Outline of basic music theory

From www.oscarvandillen.com Introduction to music theory: an outline of basic music theory. This outline offers a concise and complete overview of basic music theory. Oscar van Dillen 2011

Contents
1 Introduction 2 Sound and hearing 2.1 Sound 2.2 Hearing 2.3 Physics of sound 3 Musical notation 3.1 Notation of time and rhythm 3.1.1 Symbols for notes and rests 3.1.2 Meter 3.1.3 Time signature and bar 3.1.4 Binary time signatures 3.1.5 Dots 3.1.6 Ternary time signatures 3.1.7 Ties 3.1.8 Tuplets 3.1.9 Basic tempo indication 3.1.10 Correct rhythmical notation 3.1.11 Beaming 3.1.12 Odd time signatures 3.1.13 Complex time signatures 3.1.14 Notation of swing rhythm 3.2 Notation of pitch 3.2.1 Staff and clef 3.2.1.1 Staff lines and ledger lines 3.2.1.2 Commonly used clefs 3.2.1.3 Further study 3.2.2 Directions of notestems 3.2.3 Basic tones 3.2.3.1 Denition of basic tones 3.2.3.2 Systems for basic tones 3.2.3.2.1 Alfabetic nomenclature 3.2.3.2.2 German nomenclature 3.2.3.2.3 Latin nomenclature 3.2.3.2.4 Relative Latin nomenclature 3.2.3.2.5 Indian nomenclature 3.2.3.2.6 Indian nomenclature transcribed 3.2.3.3 Further study

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3.2.4 Alteration 3.2.4.1 Denition of alteration 3.2.4.2 Symbols for alteration 3.2.4.3 Validity of alteration symbols 3.2.4.4 Microtone alteration 3.2.4.5 Further study 3.3 Notation of intervals, chords and harmony 3.4 Notation in scores 3.5 Compact polyphonic notation 3.6 Other notation symbols 3.6.1 Tempo indications 3.6.1.1 Classical tempo notation 3.6.1.2 Metronome numbers 3.6.1.3 Counting value changes 3.6.1.4 Jazz tempo notation 3.6.2 Dynamic indications 3.6.3 Articulation 4 Basic building blocks of melody and harmony 4.1 Scales 4.1.1 Denition of scale 4.1.2 Different scales 4.1.3 Basic major and minor scales 4.1.3.1 Major scale 4.1.3.2 Natural minor scale 4.1.3.3 Harmonic minor scale 4.1.3.4 Melodic minor scale 4.1.4 Denition of mode 4.1.5 Church modes 4.1.5.1 History and use 4.1.5.2 Basic notation 4.1.5.3 Notation on c 4.1.6 Different modes 4.1.7 Further study 4.2 Intervals 4.2.1 Denition of interval 4.2.2 One sound 4.2.3 Basic intervals 4.2.4 Wide intervals 4.2.5 Perception of the interval 4.2.6 Basic intervals from c 4.2.7 Full names of the intervals 4.2.8 Intervals in order of chromatic size 4.2.9 Enharmonic equivalence 4.2.10 Inversions of the intervals 4.2.11 Further study 4.3 Triads 4.3.1 Denition of triad 4.3.2 Basic notation 4.3.3 Types of triads 4.3.4 Symbols for triads 4.3.5 Inversions of triads 4.3.6 Other positions of triads

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4.3.7 Use of triads 4.3.8 Further study 4.4 Seventh chords 4.4.1 Denition of seventh chord 4.4.2 Basic notation 4.4.3 Types of seventh chords 4.4.4 Symbols for seventh chords 4.4.5 Inversions of seventh chords 4.4.6 Use of seventh chords 4.4.7 Further study 4.5 Consonance and dissonance 4.5.1 Denitions of consonance and dissonance 4.5.2 Traditional classication of intervals in consonant and dissonant 4.5.3 Acoustic order of consonance and dissonance in intervals 4.5.4 Consonance and dissonance in scales 4.5.5 Traditional classication of chords in consonant and dissonant 4.5.6 Use of consonance and dissonance 4.6 Circle of fths 4.6.1 Major scales in order of accidentals 4.6.2 Minor scales in order of accidentals 4.6.3 Key signatures in order of accidentals 4.6.4 Geometry of the full circle of fths 4.7 Transposition 4.7.1 Denition of transposition 4.7.2 Use of transposition 4.7.3 Example of transposition 4.7.3.1 In C 4.7.3.2 Soprano saxophone in B! 4.7.3.3 Alto saxophone in E! 4.7.3.4 Tenor Saxophone in B! 4.7.3.5 Barytone saxophone in E! 5 Rhythm 5.1 Denition of rhythm 5.2 Time, beat, subdivision and feel 5.3 Polyrhythm 5.3.1 3 against 2 5.3.2 2 against 3 5.3.3 4 against 3 5.3.4 3 against 4 6 Melody 6.1 Denition of melody 6.2 Exercise in melodic building blocks 6.2.1 Printable version of melodic building blocks 7 Harmony 7.1 Denition of harmony 7.2 Functional harmony 7.2.1 Denition of degree 7.2.2 Degree as chord 7.2.3 Degree as scale 7.2.4 Basic degrees as triads 7.2.4.1 Basic degrees in major 7.2.4.2 Basic degrees in minor

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7.2.5 Basic degrees as seventh chords 7.2.5.1 Seventh chord degrees in major 7.2.5.2 Seventh chord degrees in minor 7.3 Further study 8 Form 9 Footnotes 10 Questions 11 See also 12 Book: "Outline of Music Theory" in preparation 13 External links

Introduction
Musicians have always studied music in two ways: both practically and theoretically, and both elds of study strongly developed in the course of history, and are in fact still developing. Though the two are fundamentally different, both share a common fate, in that each can only be fully learned from an accomplished master. Neither can be learned from books alone, as they both involve practical skills. The purpose of this text is to provide a concise outline and introduction to basic music theory. I sometimes also speak of common theory as it comprises basic knowledge, tools, methods and models, shared in common by many musical styles and traditions, which are commonly used in musicology as well. The study of musicology is very different from that of music theory, as this more scientic approach to music leads to knowledge rather than to skills. The masters one needs to study with musicology could as well be found in books, and such is never sufcient for music and music theory. The more one's musical skills grow, the more rewarding it is to develop one's musical theoretical skills as well. Ideally, music theory connects four elds of study, as represented in the diagram below:

Music theory interconnects these four elds of study: hearing, singing, reading and writing, in the student's awareness and brain, both as knowledge and as skill. It is not enough to know how something is or can be done (can be heard, read, sung or written), the practical skills to actually do so oneself should be considered to be included in music theoretical education and learning.

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With the emergence of ever more complicated models (which are generally presented in either visual or numerical form) for analyzing or even constructing or composing music, it suddenly becomes important to remind oneself always that music is made for the ears. When in doubt, the ears will convey the truth or falseness of any proposed system of evaluation. Though this has so far been a more or less subjective criteria, basically shared by all knowing ears, it probably won't be long before neurophysiology, with contemporary measurement instruments such as the MRI scanner, will scientically uncover the inner workings of the musical brain. With tools such as these, music theory can develop into a phenomenological interdisciplinary eld of study between art and science.

Sound and hearing

Sound
Sound is the perceived complex phenomenon of vibrations traveling as pressure waves through a medium. For all living beings on earth this medium is either air or water. Such vibrations are called sound when they are perceived by (our) hearing. There are thus three components in sound: vibration, medium, hearing. Generally, silence is considered to be the opposite of sound. A musical sound can be recognized and dened by its pitch (or frequency), duration (or relative rhythmic value), timbre (color or instrument), dynamics (loudness) and position in space (relative to the listener).[1] All music consists of related sounds and silences, which can be symbolized by notation.

Hearing
Sound is perceived by our hearing, which is a result of our ears picking up vibrations in the air and translating these to our brain, where the perception of hearing comes to awareness.

The ear translates vibrations in the ear into neural signals. Air-vibrations are received by the ear drum (tympanic membrane) and transmitted by means of the three extremely small bones called ossicles (as the fossil record shows,

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these originally evolved from jaw bones), whose intricate lever-function is to reduce the amplitude of the vibration while increasing the energy transmitted, to the inner ear (labyrinth). The middle ear thus translates pressure waves (back) into mechanical vibrations. The inner ear serves two functions, those of hearing and of balance. The cochlea is the coiled part of the inner ear which translates the mechanical vibrations into pressure waves in its internal uid, which are picked up by hair cells that convert their motion into electrical signals. These are in turn interpreted by nerve cells that transform them into electrical impulses that travel through the auditory nerve to structures in the brainstem for further processing. Hearing is a complicated mechanism!

Apart from having a vested interest in keeping one's ears in perfect condition, what most concerns musicians here, and hence music theory, is basic knowledge about vibrations, especially those that we recognize as tones, as pitches.

Physics of sound
A tone is a complex combination of a series of regular vibrations, usually with one prominent frequency which is experienced as the pitch. A regular vibration is scientically named a frequency, expressed in Hz (Herz), cycles per second.

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The amplitude of such a wave corresponds directly to the volume of a sound, the wavelength to its pitch, or frequency. Standard tuning in music today is usually to A=440Hz which means there are 440 vibrations per second to produce this tone. Although human hearing ranges between 25 to 20,000 Hz, the pitches actually used in music are roughly between 25 and 5,000 Hz. The basic regular vibration is a sine-wave, but all musical instruments actually produce a combination of various sine waves for each tone. Differences in these combinations are perceived as various colors of sound. Some examples of oscillograms are given below.

Most animals have a very different hearing (and correspondingly: sound producing) range from us humans. For example, elephants and whales hear and communicate with subsonic frequencies (infrasound) over vast distances, whereas bats and dolphins use a sonar system employing extremely high frequencies (ultrasound) to locate their prey at short range, especially in conditions where sight will not avail them. Various tones overlapping or sounding together will produce generations of audible combination tones from the interference of their compound frequencies, producing complex harmonies and tensions between different tones, described by the concepts consonance and dissonance.

Musical notation
Music is a time-art; music consists of sound and silence, performed by musicians. In musical notation therefore, symbols for both sound and silence are employed, set to a reading basis representing the ow of time. Although an experienced musician is able to almost read music notation as one reads a book, the actual sound effect of a musical score can only be fully appreciated by hearing. Notation is basically an instruction for performance, and less so an actual representation of the sound produced.

Notation of time and rhythm

Symbols for notes and rests
To represent different durations of tones, different note symbols were developed. The normal ratio of durations is 1:2, each smaller, faster note being twice as fast, or: half as long, which amounts to the same result, as the larger one. This system begins with the whole note. The smaller values then are the half note, quarter note, eighth note, etc. Older terms for some note symbols are still in use in some countries, such as quaver, semi-quaver and crotchet, but I consider these to be outdated and prefer the numerical values and names.

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A similar system of symbols with relative durations is used for musical silences, called pauses or rests.

The whole rest can be used for two purposes: 1. A true whole rest, with the exact value of a whole note; 2. A full bar rest, not literally corresponding to and therefore independent of time signature.

Meter
Meter is a usually simple repeating cycle of rhythm originating from poetry. Rhythms are often linked to meters which are also used in poetry. In Europe, these can be traced back to the ancient Greek meters, some of which have a binary strucure: iamb ! trochee - ! spondee - pyrrhic ! ! others are ternary: anapest ! ! dactyl - ! ! amphibrach ! ! In Ottoman as well as in classical Arabic poetry[2], a related but more complex system of 16 different meters was used, which explains why the rhythms in the music linked to these traditions are also more complex than those that are common in the West. Example of text and meter:[3]

There is a strong link to language and poetry in most musical traditions, and such naturally leads to the use of meter in music. Meter in music is commonly represented by time signatures in notation. With the use of a time signature, it

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becomes mandatory to visually divide the notes into groups separated by vertical lines. Such groups are called bars. Each bar within one time signature has the exact same duration, with no notes nor rests more nor less than its full duration.

Time signature and bar

A time signature consists of two numbers, one above the other, without a horizontal line between them (it is not a fraction). The upper number indicates the number of beats, the lower number represents the note value used for one beat. Although time signatures using the quarter or eighth notes as basis are more common, theoretically many more are possible, and indeed sometimes used. The most common time signatures are two-four, three-four, four-four and six-eight. Eighth and smaller notes can now be grouped and visually linked together per beat. In grouping these smaller note-values thick horizontal lines, called beams, are employed. These are double beams in the case of sixteenth notes, triple beams with thirty-second notes, etc. It is also possible to thus beam together notes of different values, as long as the beamed groups are a clear representation of the beat-structure. Further details on beaming will be explained later in this outline. With the use of time signatures, the notes become grouped in units called bars or measures, each group separated from the next by a vertical line, called the barline.

Binary time signatures

Binary time signatures are time signatures that have two beats per beat, and can be recognized by the top number being 2, 3, 4 etc. Usually the lower number is 4, pointing to the 1/4 note (sometimes the 1/2 note occurs in older music). The following examples show how such time signatures can be used in their most simple form:

Dots
Note that the last bar of a piece always ends with a double barline. Note also that a dot is used here to make a three-part note out of a two-part note: any dot adds 50% to its duration. A half note is the same as two quarter notes which is two beats. The dotted half note however equals three quarter notes, which in these time signatures equals three beats. Dots can be equally applied to notes and rests. The following examples that also include rests show how these dots can be used for more complex rhythms:

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Ternary time signatures

Ternary time signatures are time signatures that have three beats per beat, and can be recognized by the top number being 6, 9, 12 etc. Usually the lower number is 8, pointing to the 1/8 note; examples of these can be seen below:

Six-eight may be ternary per beat, it is in itself a binary time signature, as it has two beats per bar. Note that with ternary beats, it is the dotted notes that represent a one-beat note!

Ties
So far we have seen note-values which t neatly into a time signature, and durations which are also corresponding to the basic structure. But not everything can be notated this way. Often it will be necessary to use more irregular divisions and durations. The use of ties allows for more exibility in connecting notes. Two notes tied together become one value, and are performed as one tone.

Note how the second dot adds another 25%. The durations thus represented make sense only when notating sustained tones, such as of singers or wind instruments. For percussive music, such ties are normally not used, and this very same rhythm can be notated as below, with rests instead of ties:

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The tie is notated from one note head to the next note head, it cannot tie several notes together with one symbol only. A tie cannot ever connect two different pitches, or tones, only two that are identical. The tie is therefore a rhythmical symbol. Still, graphically the tie looks somewhat like a slur, but this is a sign to represent not the rhythmical, but the uninterrupted connection of various different tones being sung, played or bowed in one go. The difference is thus that ties are always used between just two notes representing exactly the same pitches or tones. The slur will be shown later, in the section on articulation. As the relative silences of rests are identical, rests are never tied together!

Tuplets
Finally, to complete the rhythmic possibilities of musical notation, what are called tuplets allow for even more subtle subdivisions, and even more variations per beat or beat-group become possible. A tuplet is a temporary deviation from the theoretically normal division or subdivision within a time signature. Tuplets can be notated in various ways, with one number or a ratio (used especially for more unusual ratios). Depending on whether the group is connected, square brackets can be used to indicate exactly which are the notes and durations concerned. Tuplets always change from the time signature (sub)divisions to another regular (sub)division, which could also be represented by time signature changes. Tuplets are used for temporary changes in rhythm or when time signature changes would become too complicated for practical reading. The most common tuplet is the triplet, allowing for three against two notes.

Other examples are the quadruplet (four against three), or quintuplet (ve against four or three). It is also possible to created nested tuplets: tuplets within tuplets. When writing such things, musicians often overlook simpler ways of writing the exact same rhythm. As notation is intended for practical use by performers, overcomplicated notation tends to create confusion and should be avoided. Besides, very complex ratios are hardly if ever performed mathematically exact, except by percussionists. The following slightly complex example contains the same rhythm thrice, notated in three different ways, ranging from simple to complex notation:

Of course, in these different examples, a slightly different counting and even tempo and feel are used. The indication of tempo in notation is generally important, especially when the sheet music is to be studied in situations without direct contact to the writer thereof.

Basic tempo indication

Basic tempo indications are done with the one-beat note-value, an = sign and the number of beats per minute (also called bpm). The example above could then be notated in the following way, to produce three times the exact same
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rhythm, because of the tempo and counting adjustments notated:

Note that when changing the one-beat note, the equals sign = actually means becomes. More on tempo indications can be found in the section on other notation symbols.

Correct rhythmical notation

But back to basics now. As stated above, it is mandatory that the structures of the time signatures remain explicitly visible in notation. This means that connections through ties and vertical lines with shorter values must follow the beats: it is a rule that rhythmic notation must always show the beats, the natural accents pertaining to the structure of the time signature.

The rst bar fails to show the third beat, which is the middle accent of the time signature. Such and similar notation is rather unpractical and will easily lead to mistakes in performance. The second bar shows all the beats and is technically correct. The third bar groups the beats evenly in two groups of two and is used very often in practice, especially in faster tempos, as more of the 'feel' of the bars as a whole is represented in this notation. It is therefore very important to write rhythm correctly, not only will incorrect notation lead to performance mistakes, but it also can cost valuable rehearsal time. Ritten stough spelt inca rectly maykes reeding tuff... So similar to reading text, the easier it is to grasp the music notated at rst sight, the less misunderstandings will occur. The structures of the time signatures are therefore important to understand, so notation may follow them. In all time signatures, the rst beat is considered to be an accent. Every beat is accented more than its subdivision, so in 4/4 the rst beat is stronger than the third, and both are stronger than beats two and four. In a longer series of off-beat notes, usually called syncopations, the beat-structure behind these faster notes should always be visible in notation, like the following example demonstrates:

A time signature adds a cycle, and hence a basic metric feel to a series of beats. Thus this series of twelve eighth-notes can become musically very different, depending on the time signature:

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Beaming
Note values smaller than 1/4 can be beamed together with the help of horizontal lines connecting the notestems; these replace the value-ags and by connections allow for more visible structuring of the rhythms intended. When writing or typesetting music notation, great care has to be taken to make the beams that touch each stem point in the proper direction, which can be either left or right. The preferred direction follows from the rhythmical grouping, where each group or subgroup is made into a visible unit by means of the value ags from the rst note onwards all pointing to the right (reading direction), whereas the last one to close the group points left, backwards, to indicated its belonging to the prior notes. Any note following a beam pointing left should be on a beat or subbeat.

A further renement in beaming is possible to be able to visually group the rhythm notated by breaking beams under a common 1/8 beam, thus clearly showing the subdivision of each beat.

Odd time signatures

A time signature without regular division and subdivision is usually an odd time signature, consisting of a prime number of beats, e.g. 5, 7 or 11. These are usually also complex time-signatures, and the intended irregular subdivisions are also shown wherever possible in notation.

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Complex time signatures

Complex time signatures consist of a compound of irregular divisions, such as a 9/8 divided in 2+2+2+3, which is a common Middle Eastern complex rhythm. In music where such are common, such are usually indicated with a simple 9/8 indication, as the irregular subdivisions are an integral part of the music style concerned.

When complex time signatures are not an integral part of the syle musicians perform (such as having the example above performed by classically trained musicians), the subdivisions can better be notated more clearly with the intended subdivision indicated in the time signature itself.

Notation of swing rhythm

"Swing" is a term used to denote Jazz interpretation of rhythmic notation, this means: in unequal eighth-notes. The sixteenth notes are not affected by this feel.

Today swing is usually notated in another font type, and indicated by adding (SWING) at the top left of the sheet music. The 1/8 notes are approximately interpreted in triplets, with every upbeat accented.

Notation of pitch
Staff and clef
A staff in notation normally consists of 5 parallel horizontal lines. The position of a notehead on a staff determines its pitch: a notehead can be notated either against or through lines.

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Special notation, such as for percussion, can also employ staves consisting of a different number of lines, even only of 1 line (e.g. for bass drum or tamtam). At the beginning of most staves a clef is employed to determine its exact usage and to determine the pitches notated. A clef (originally from French, meaning: key) determines which pitches are notated on a staff. Staff lines and ledger lines The staff lines are numbered upwards, starting with the lowest line:

This numbering is used when describing notation orally, in spoken language, but can also occur in descriptive writing. Notes outside the staff are notated with the help of (one or multiple) ledger lines. Ledger lines are small horizontal lines that act as a local extension of the staff at the position of the note, as can be seen in the next example, which shows all the steps in basic tones in a four octave scale:

Commonly used clefs The following four clefs for notating pitch are still in use today, but many more historical clefs can be encountered in older sheet music[4].

The G clef (sometimes also called violin- or treble clef) is used for most woodwind instruments, violin and the middle-high register in general. Middle C is notated on one ledger line below the staff. The F clef (also called bass clef) is used for low instruments, such as cello, double bass, bassoon and trombone, and the low register in general. Middle C is notated on one ledger line above the staff. The C clef can occur on the third or fourth line: On the third line it is called alto clef and used for viola and alto-trombone exclusively. On the fourth line it is called tenor clef and used for the middle-high register of low instruments, such as the cello, double bass and trombone. In both cases, middle C is notated on the (middle) line where the clef is put. Further study

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Special:Browse/Staff - browse to nd more whiteboards treating staffs. Special:Browse/Clef - browse to nd more whiteboards treating clefs.

Directions of notestems
As seen in the basic forms of notes, those symbols with a notestem have two versions: one with the notestem upwards, one with the notestem downwards. The proper direction of the notestem depends on severals circumtances: 1. The position of the single notehead (with 1/2 and 1/4 notes): only on the the third line of the staff one can choose freely, but should still sometimes take some care at producing a logical sequence of notes, depending on the grouping; noteheads below the third line have stems directing upwards, noteheads above the third line have stems directing downwards (bars 1 and 2) 2. When the average of the beamed group is neither above nor below the third line, one can freely choose in which direction the stems should point. (bar 3) 3. In more complex groups of notes connected with beams, the amount of "upwardness" of "downwardness" of all the noteheads is calculated per group; when on average below the third line, stems go up, and when on average above the third line, stems go down; (bars 4 and 5)

Basic tones
Denition of basic tones There are 7 basic tones in most music, from which all other tones are derived by alteration. Together, these 7 basic tones make up a diatonic scale, for example a church mode. These basic tones occur in different nomenclatures. Note that a tone represents a pitch, and is technically not identical to a note. Systems for basic tones There are various and different systems and nomenclatures for basically the same 7 basic tones. The examples in the following sections make use of 3 different clefs.

Alfabetic nomenclature

In the international Western system, the following basic tones are used: c, d, e, f, g, a, b This alfabetic nomenclature normally denotes the following tones in notation:

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German nomenclature

In the German nomenclature, the meaning of the letters is slightly deviant, as the b denotes an already altered tone in notation: c, d, e, f, g, a, h

Latin nomenclature

Latin nomenclature is another widely used and originally Western system, based upon Latin solmisation: do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, si

Relative Latin nomenclature

The latin nomenclature can also be used relatively, and do can then mean any chromatic tone, for example:

Note that in these last transpositions, some basic tones are altered in the notation. Alteration is treated in the next paragraph.
Indian nomenclature

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In Indian nomenclature the following basic tones or swaras are used: SA, RE, GA, MA, PA, DHA, NI These can be represented in notation as well, in Indian notation:

SRGMPDN
Indian nomenclature transcribed

Transcribed to Western notation, SA is usually rendered as c, even though on different instruments SA can vary, so such transcriptions may need retranscription to a certain key if intended for pratical performance. There are two systems representing the lower and higher octaves, one using a dot above or below the tone, such as !. The other system is more easy to use, typing on a computer keyboard, with apostrophes to the right when higher, such as S' and to the left when in a lower octave, such as 'S. I will use the latter:

Further study Special:Browse/Basic tone - browse to nd whiteboards treating basic tones.

Alteration
Denition of alteration Alteration in music is the changing of a basic tone, by raising or lowering it's pitch with one or two semitones or other microtones; opening up possibilties of alteration is the rst step in the direction of a chromatic system. Symbols for alteration In notation the following signs are used for this: Sharp, to raise the pitch by one semitone; Flat, to lower the pitch by one semitone; Double sharp, to raise the pitch by two semitones; Double at, to lower the pitch by two semitones; Natural, to correct any of the previous alterations. In the example below, all these alterations are notated on a b, with the enharmonic equivalents added after each note, but small:

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Validity of alteration symbols Sharps and ats notated at the clef (notated before the time signature!) are indications of a key signature; see the explanation on the circle of fths. Sharps and ats as part of a key signature are valid for the whole staff and for all octaves, until revoked or changed into a new key signature. Incidental sharps and ats can occur anywhere within a bar, and are valid for that bar only and only in the octave where they are placed. Often, so called cautionary accidentals are added to the following bar, to prevent mistakes. Cautionary accidentals can be 1. a sharp, to remind one that a former at or natural of a previous bar is no longer valid; 2. a at, to remind one that a former sharp or natural of a previous bar is no longer valid; 3. a natural, to remind one that a former sharp or at of a previous bar is no longer valid. All this is summarized in the slightly complex example below:

This melody is composed in C minor. When notating music, choosing the right key is indeed very important, as "wrong notation" will confuse the reader, which is all too often also the future performer. The key is stated by the key signature, and although the key here is somewhat ambiguous due to the abundant use of alterations, this key is still conrmed by careful listening; and this impression could easily be reinforced by adding the proper harmonies to it. The key however is therefore not as apparent as it may seem from merely glancing at the key signature: for example there are ve c's and just two e!'s, furthermore quite some extra alterations occur, plus it seems to rst end in major, before reverting back to minor at last.[5] When in doubt, the hearing takes priority over reading in determining "what key is it". Now this example was composed to demonstrate how to read accidentals in practice, and so it contains a number of details which need special attention: The bars in detail: 1. Immediately the 6th and 7th notes of the scale of c minor (natural minor being always taken as a key signature) are altered, to create a temporary minor melodic scale, the c# is notated correctly as such, and not to be confused with the d!, which appears later: here it is a leading tone from c towards d; 2. The second tone, c, has a cautionary accidental added to it: a natural, reminding the reader that the validity of the sharp just before is cancelled by the new bar. Whithout the natural, this tone would still be c natural, but this fact could easily be overlooked during performance. The cautionary accidental placed before the a! is put in parentheses (this is a matter of taste for the engraver[6]), eliminating the likelihood of another a being erroneously performed here. Parenthesizing cautionary accidentals is merely another possible style, and normally the use of the two different styles of cautionary accidentals is avoided in one and the same bar (or even

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in one and the same piece of sheet music altogether); however, in this example this is done for obvious instructional reasons. 3. Two more incidental accidentals: d! and b natural; although not a single b! appears in the melody, it still belongs at the clef, as it is part of the correct key signature. 4. A most uncommon sight: the second, higher, d has no sign to make clear whether here also a d! was intended; a possible cautionary accidental has been omitted. Confusing passages like this will often lead to varying performances of the same sheet music. According to the strict rule however, the second d is natural, and should be performed as such. Hearing should conrm its logic (or not, as much modern music can be ambiguous in such matters). 5. This bar contains no cautionary accidentals, and the student should try to read it properly him- or herself, applying the rules which have been set out and explained before. In some modern notation, ats and sharps are never valid beyond the note before which they are placed. In such notation often also bars and a time signature are missing (even though such music is not necessarily without rhythm), and sheet music like this should normally mention this out of the ordinary use of accidentals in a footnote or preface. Microtone alteration There is is no general standardization as to how to notate the ner-than-semitone intonations sometimes prescribed by composers or played by performers. In different books and scores, various alternatives have been used. In any case, notation does allow for precise quarter tone alteration and ner microtones such as shrutis and commas, as well as completely different tuning systems such as the Huygens-Fokker 31 tone system[7]. Further study Special:Browse/Alteration - browse to nd whiteboards treating alteration.

Notation of intervals, chords and harmony

When notating simultaneous pitches, these are placed in exact vertical correspondance (one above the other), except with neighbouring notes or smaller, as these will partially obliterate each other: these are placed diagonally or next to each other when identical. The placement of the notes is independent of the presence or absence of notestems, in the examples below the notestems are present for easier reference.

Notation in scores
Multiple staves can be combined into a staff-system, normal use of a staff-system will assign one staff to each instrument. Square brackets are used to group a staff-system (or a part of it) together, curly brackets assign more than one staff to one instrumental part, as is e.g. customary in piano notation. In a staff-system multiple staves are vertically synchronized like layers of simultaneous notation, the staves are connected at least at the beginning, but usually also at the end. Normally the bar lines are drawn through all the staves of a staff-system, but in case of a large score barlines between groups are not vertically connected.

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As a rule, the staves of higher pitched instruments are put above thos of the lower instruments. If this is done per group for all instruments of the classical orchestra, we call this the score-order of the staves. The following orchestrated example is based upon the same music as the above, yet by its very orchestral sound implies a slower tempo. It also has a larger staff-system in which the instrument groups are visually linked by the use of square brackets on the left. The groups are also kept visually apart by the interrupted barlines between the groups:

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In the above example there is still a lot missing: there are still no signs added to indicate tempo, dynamics, articulation or other special performance indications such as trills, mutes for the brass, stick type for timpani and so on. In a score like this it is possible to notate several musical instruments on one staff, to save space. Note however, that in these cases the notestems of the parts point in different directions (one-staff polyphonic notation). This score, set in normal score-order for the classical orchestra (top to bottom) is: Woodwind instruments (pic, 2, 2ob, 2cl, bcl, 2bsn, cbn) Brass Instruments (4 hn, 3tp, 3tbn, tb) Percussion (timp) Strings (vi1, vi2, vla, vc, cb) Any additional solo-instrument would have to be added just above the rst violin staff of the string section.

Compact polyphonic notation

Notation of chords is a simple way of notating more than one simultaneous tone on a staff. Using this notation of connecting several noteheads to one notestem, has one limitation however: all tones must have the same timing and rhythm. In various cases it may be desirable to notate more than one melody on one and the same staff, with different timing and rhythm for each changing part. The example below was composed to demonstrate what a simple two-voice notation could look like: all tones belonging to a melody share the same direction of notestems.

More complex notation can be encountered using this compact polyphonic notation, especially in certain editions of the keyboard fugues of Johann Sebastian Bach, where often also rests are included in this type of notation[8].

Other notation symbols

Tempo indications
An essential part of music, and therefore of notation, is the tempo. The very same music, performed in different tempi, can have vastly different effects and atmospheres. A proper choice of tempo is one of the main things any musician should be keenly aware of, and this choice is often dependent on the acoustic properties of the venue where a certain performance takes place as well. There are many ways of notating tempo, all basic ways are indicated in the example below:

Classical tempo notation

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Classical tempo notation is done in Italian terms, a short list of which is given here: Largo - Literally: broad, wide: very slow, one of the slowest tempo indications, only surpassed by the superlative term Larghissimo; another variation is the diminutive Larghetto, slightly less slow Lento - Literally: slow: generally slow, not further specied Grave - Literally: heavy: for serious music, with a procession-like tempo but much slower than Andante Adagio - Literally: gentle, quietly, carefully: medium slow Andante - Literally: going: slightly slow, like strolling rather than walkin; the diminutive Andantino is slightly less slow, and generally lighter Moderato - Literally: moderate: moderate tempo, neither slow nor fast Allegro - Literally: merry, cheerful: generally fast, but not too fast; the diminutive Allegretto is lighter and less fast Vivace - Literally: lively: fast and lively Presto - Literally: prompt, immediate: very fast, the fastest tempo indication, only surpassed by the superlative term Prestissimo Other Italian tempo-related terms which are relative to prior parts can also be encountered: Meno mosso - Literally: less motion: less fast than the passage before Istesso tempo - Literally: same tempo: same tempo as before, even though this may seem to not be the case Tempo primo - Literally: rst tempo: revert to the tempo of the rst section of the piece Metronome numbers Beethoven was one of the rst composers to use a metronome. Metronomes until recently had a limited numer of standard positions, a selection still often encountered in scores, ranging from 40-208 in steps of 3, 4, 6 or 8: 40 - 44 - 48 - 52 - 56 - 60 (indicated "Largo") 60 - 63 - 66 (indicated "Larghetto") 66 - 69 - 72 - 76 (indicated "Adagio") 76 - 80 - 84 - 88 - 92 - 96 - 100 - 104 - 108 (indicated "Andante") 108 - 112 - 116 - 120 (indicated "Moderato") 120 - 126 - 132 - 138 - 144 - 152 - 160 - 168 (indicated "Allegro") 168 - 176 - 184 - 192 - 200 (indicated "Presto") 200 - 208 (indicated "Prestissimo") Today digital metronomes are in widespread use and allow for a stepwise choice of tempi in beats per minute, ranging from 40 - 208 in steps of 1.[9] An interesting fact is that the tempo numbers correspond by and large by the number of beats per minute a living human heart can support: at lower and at higher rates a person dies. Counting value changes Counting value changes can be exactly notated by comparing note values, one should take care in reading and writing this, as the equals sign = should be read as becomes: meaning in the example above, that the counting value of the quarter note is henceforward replaced by the dotted quarter note as counting value, while not changing counting tempo. Jazz tempo notation In jazz, tempi are generally loosely notated, and may greatly vary per performance; even one and the same piece can

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be recorded or performed at a wide variety of tempi. For reading notated Jazz, the following short list of commonly used terms is given here: (BALLAD) - "Jazz ballad": slow, to very slow, generally with swing notation (MED BALLAD) - "Medium ballad": medium slow, with swing notation (MED) - "Medium tempo": with swing notation (MED WALTZ) - "Medium waltz": medium tempo waltz, in 3/4, usually with swing notation (BOSSA) - "Bossa Nova": medium tempo with non-swing notation (MED UP LATIN) - "Medium up tempo, Latin": with non swing notation (FAST 3) - "Fast in three": fast 3/4 tempo (UP) - "Up tempo": fast or very fast, with swing notation

Dynamic indications
Dynamic indications are indications of the loudness, or sound volume, of the music to be performed. The basic dynamic indications are usually printed in bold italics, and are given in the example below:

These Italian terms are explained here: pp, pianissimo: very soft p, piano: soft mp, mezzo piano: medium soft mf, mezzo forte: medium loud f, forte: loud ff, fortissimo: very loud In contemporary composed music, the fourfould indications pppp and ffff are quite common, and even up to a sixfold pppppp can be found with a composer like Morton Feldman. Nevertheless all these indications are quite relative and one should not be mistaken about the apparent precision they seem to imply. In practice, many more shades and differences than e.g. MIDI allows for (128 steps) are possible, but it makes no sense trying to notate such ne nuances. When for example a whole passage is indicated mf it will be only a computer to play all these notes at the same volume; all performers subtly vary the loudness of individual notes, this practice is a normal organic element of human music in all styles and from all ages. Other terms are: fp, fortepiano: a loud beginning, then an immediately soft sustained tone; variations such as fpp or ffmp and the like are also possbible sfz, sforzato or rf, rinforzato: reinforced tone, especially at the beginning, which is generally less an accent but more a quick though gradual temporal loudness growing into and leaving the beginning of a tone Gradual and sudden transitions of dynamics are also possible, both can be seen in the example below:

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crescendo, or cresc.: getting louder gradually, it is also possible to indicate this by widening lines diminuendo, or dim. is the same as decrescendo or decresc.: getting gradually softer, it is also possible to indicate this by narrowing lines subito, or sub.: "suddenly" in Italian, indicating a sudden transistion to another, often unexpected, sound volume; typically, in the example above ff comes unexpectedly after a diminuendo and an unexpected pp after a crescendo; the word subito not only claries this beyond doubt but more importantly a performer is more likely to not oversee this intended sudden dynamic transistion As a nal remark to these indications being relative, let it be noted that for orchestral or bigband use a mf for a trumpet more or less equals a f of a section of violins, (tenor or alto) saxophone or a french horn, and even a ff of a ute or solo violin, if measured in dB[10]. But all these dynamics depend not only on the timbre[11] but also on the register of the note played; for example a single piccolo playing f in its highest register can always be heard, even with 10 trumpets playing ff at the same time.

Articulation
There is a wide variety of possible articulations, many of which can be notated. But as articulation depends not only on style but also on the musical instrument used, these articulations can greatly vary in practice. Even such basic articulations as staccato are very different in performance between for example a violin and a ute player, both classically trained. One should always check how certain players or types of players respond to certain articulation signs before prescribing these in a musical score. Some examples of articulations are provided in the example below:

In different styles, there are different attitudes as well towards notated articulation. Jazz performers are used to choosing most if not all articulations themselves, often on the spot, as improvised, even when they are written out exactly in the sheet music; leading to a lively performance for sure, though perhaps not as a composer originally intended. In Jazz big bands one can expect more discipline as to the exact performance of notated articulation, especially with regard to slurs and short or accented notes. When working with classically trained musicians on the other hand, one needs to always provide at least a minimum of notated articulation, or none at all will be performed: in this tradition, players don't usually add their own articulations and are not used to improvising even these, unless they are soloists and performing as such. Especially string players that perform in sections need to coordinate their bowing, and will always change bowing direction when notes are not slurred. For this reason, at least the slurring of groups of notes into phrases can be recommended for string orchestras, because in this case (and only in this particular case: with string groups) it is true that adding slurs is almost mandatory, as writing them will always lead to a better and more coordinated performance, almost even independent of how the slurs are placed. When providing articulation however, one should take care not to overburden the sheet music with too many signs and symbols, as this may lead performers' attention away from the more essential structural elements of the music, such as phrasing and breath, and so as not to provoke unnecessary mistakes.

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Basic building blocks of melody and harmony

Scales
Denition of scale
A scale is a collection of tones arranged in a stepwise ascending or descending order, usually spanning one octave, sometimes two.

The above example in notation is of a theoretical nature, because notation without a clef on the staff does not dene the pitches.

Different scales
Different scales can start and end on different tones or tonics, and alteration of tones can be used to achieve an even greater variety of scales. There are numerous scales used throughout the world, sometimes with different ascending and descending scales. A larger set of scales can be derived from basic major, minor and diminished scales.

Basic major and minor scales

Major scale The major scale consists of two identical tetrachords (4 note groups), each 1 - 1 - " separated by a whole tone, together: 1 1 " 1 1 1 "

From the major scale the church modes are derived. As a church mode, this scale is called ionian. Natural minor scale From the major scale the natural minor scale can be derived.

The natural minor scale is derived from the major scale, which runs from its 6th step: 1 " 1 1 " 1 1, and it is called aeolian as part of the church modes. Harmonic minor scale

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The harmonic minor scale is derived from natural minor by not lowering the seventh step: 1 " 1 1 " 1" ".

This scale is not a diatonic scale, as there is an augmented second appearing between the 6th and 7th steps. From the harmonic minor, the harmonic minor modes can be derived. Melodic minor scale The melodic minor scale is derived from both major and minor by combining the lower and upper tetrachords of each, 1 " 1 and 1 1 " thus running: 1 " 1 1 1 1 ".

From the melodic minor, the melodic minor modes can be derived.

Denition of mode
A mode, like a scale, is a collection of tones arranged in a stepwise ascending or descending order, generally spanning one octave. More than a scale, in musical practice, a mode can have specic melodic requirements for performance, such as a specic order of playing the pitches involved in a makam or raga. Music based on the use of modes is generally called modal music, and though not excluding the use of harmony, this term is generally used in opposition to music "powered" by functional harmony, which is called tonal music.

Church modes
The church modes are modes which are derived from degrees of the major scale. "Church modes" is the conventional name for the seven basic theoretical medieval diatonic scales and their related derivatives, which were at the time used in European church music. This modal system was used in medieval music, yet their names are older and derived from ancient Greek music theory. In their basic form the church modes can be notated with only basic tones. History and use The church mode system is the predecessor to the Western major-minor diatonic system. The name "church modes" still refers to their usage in christian Gregorian chant and early polyphony, but since they are a result of a standardization process, they cannot be but a theoretically simplied (and thus highly censored) representation of what was actually sung in early Christendom, which must have had music and scales taken from a much older music, and larger collection of scales, used outside of, not exclusively before the existence of, the christian church. The 7 surviving modes incorporated into this collection are purely diatonical[12], and derived from 1 basic scale, they each just start and end on a different tone.

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Since the development of Jazz theory, the church modes, or shorter: "the modes", have become an integral part of teaching improvisation to jazz musicians. An extraordinary example of a very elaborate system for modal improvisation in jazz is George Russel's Lydian chromatic concept of tonal organization[13]. Although the practical value of church modes for modal jazz (mostly with alterations) is undisputed, in fast music ("up tempo") with fast changes of harmony ("changes"), their actual use remains highly questionable from a theoretical point of view, and is of little practical use. For pedagogical use these modes are still a wonderful beginners-tool to enhance auditive awareness and develop a sense of melody, interval and harmony, and for developing instrumental improvisation, independent of style; however, they have little practical value for improvising over fast changes. Different modal systems exist in other traditions, such as the Arabic moqqaam-, the Turkish makam-, the North Indian (often somewhat ethnocentrically called "Hindustani") thaat-, and South Indian (also called "Carnatic") melakarta- systems. Basic notation The 7 basic modes are: Ionian - from c to c - c d e f g abc Dorian - from d to d - d e f g a b c d Phrygian - from e to e - e f g a b c d e Lydian - from f to f - f g a b c d e f Mixolydian - from g to g - g a b c d e f g Aeolian - from a to a - a b c d e f g a Locrian - from b to b - b c d e f g a b

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The basic notation of these modes consists of basic tones and can be done without any alterations (click these music examples for playback):

Notation on c When notating all these modes on c, there appears a different logical order, by the number of alterations needed.

Thus a partial circle of fths is found with the help of the original tonics: F - C - G - D - A - E - B.

Different modes
Different modes can start and end on different fundamental tones or tonics, and alteration of tones can be used to achieve an even greater variety of modes. There are numerous modes used throughout the world, sometimes with different ascending and descending scales.

Further study
Special:Browse/Scale - browse to nd more whiteboards treating scales. Special:Browse/Mode - browse to nd more whiteboards treating modes.

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Intervals
Denition of interval
An interval in music is the sound of exactly two tones sounding together, or one after the other. All intervals can be measured by the number of diatonic steps and by their semitone distances. More technically, an interval can also be described as a frequency ratio relationship between two stable vibrations. All intervals can also occur on (above or below) all tones. Many different tunings and hence intervals have been developed and used in various traditions[14], this Outline of basic music theory treats the internationally customary tuning in Equal Temperament[15].

One sound
The sounding together of two tones creates a blending of the two into a new, specic sound, is called the interval. Within the sound of each interval, partial tones can be perceived, emerging from the interaction of frequencies as sumand difference tones. Each interval thus consists of far more than just the two tones played or performed, it is a complex sound which is at rst perceived as a whole.

Basic intervals
Due to notation, intervals are named by the distance between the two basic tones they consist of. When the lowest tone is counted as 1, the name of the interval follows from counting in diatonic steps upwards (although reversing this direction gives the same result):

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Wide intervals
Wider than the octave, music theory describes larger intervals. Though similar, the sound of these is also quite different from that of their related narrower intervals.

The similarity with the narrower basic intervals lies in the fact, that both contain the same harmonic content: the same pitches of tones. Yet the actual sound of these wide intervals, e.g. with regard to consonance and dissonance, is at the same time so different, that they can be considered as independent musical entities as well: these are intervals in their own right, and not mere octave transpositions.

Perception of the interval

The unique sound of each interval can be immediately recognized by hearing, making it in fact a truly fundamental element of all music. When listening to two simultaneous tones, their pitches and frequencies mix and react, creating even more tones sounding together: interference tones. This complex of tones becomes one comprehensive sound, and the individual pitches become acoustically more or less absorbed into the human perception of the single interval: the interval itself is in fact perceived as louder than the individual tones it consists of. It is human perception which "summarizes" the tones into the single interval, but it has good acoustic reasons to do so. Thus the interval is equally the basic prerequisite for all melody as it is for harmony.

Basic intervals from c

The basic intervals using only basic tones from c are shown below (click to play the examples).

The second series consists in fact of inversions of the rst, in reverse order.

Full names of the intervals

A full name of an interval consists of the quality plus the distance, such as minor second (m2), perfect fth (P5), or augmented sixth (A6) etc. Each interval thus has a "rst" and a "last name". For the purpose of shorter and easier writing the names of the intervals are abbreviated in the following way: the intervals are represented by numbers, their qualities by preceding letters. Summary of the abbreviations:

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Qualities: M = Major m = minor P = Perfect A = Augmented d = diminished Distances: 1 = unison 2 = second 3 = third 4 = fourth 5 = fth 6 = sixth 7 = seventh 8 = octave The whiteboard image shows the semitone relationships between the qualities of intervals: perfect are the unison, fourth, fth and octave plus wider versions of these;[16] major is larger than minor; augmented is larger than major or perfect; diminished is smaller than minor or perfect. Finally, double diminished and double augmented intervals are theoretically possible, but extremely rare. The table below thus lists all possible basic intervals. Below the table, these are also presented in notation, with c as reference tone (remember, all intervals can occur on -above or below- all tones!). d unisons seconds thirds fourths fths sixths sevenths octaves d1 d2 d3 d4 d5 d6 d7 d8 m6 m7 P8 m2 m3 P4 P5 M6 M7 m P P1 M2 M3 M A A1 A2 A3 A4 A5 A6 A7 A8

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Intervals in order of chromatic size

The table below lists all possible basic intervals in order of number of semitones, these are also presented in notation with their enharmonic equivalents, with c as reference tone (remember, all intervals can occur on -above or below- all tones!). semitones interval -1 d1 0 P1, d2 1 A1, m2 2 M2, d3 3 A2, m3 4 M3, d4 5 A3, P4 6 A4, d5 7 P5, d6 8 A5, m6 9 M6, d7 10 A6, m7 11 M7, d8 12 A7, P8 13 A8

Enharmonic equivalence
The possibility of writing one and the same sound with two different diatonic spellings is called enharmonic equivalence; such two intervals are enharmonically the same. When listened to separately, the number of semitones will determine the sound, and in ear-training usually the simpler spelling is heard, interpreted and given. Within a certain musical context however, more complex phenomena may occur, requiring specic writing, spelling and

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nomenclature, giving prevalence to one of the two possibilities for contextual reasons. In one case, a special name was assigned to such a pair of enharmically equivalent intervals: the name tritone can be used to designate both the augmented fourth and the diminished fth; this unique interval acoustically equals its own inversion. The name was derived from the fact that this interval equals exactly three whole tone distances (six semitones).

Inversions of the intervals

The inversions describe close relationships between intervals in pairs: an interval and its inversion use the same notes, but in different order or position. The two inversions together span a perfect octave, 12 semitones, thus the inversion of a Major third is the minor sixth, calculated as M3 (4 semitones) and m6 (8 semitones), together 4 + 8 = 12 semitones (P8). The close relationship between inversions can be clearly heard, as well as the fundamental difference in sound. No interval should be mixed up with its inversion, they are not identical, nor is one derived from the other[17]. The inversions are below presented in notation, with c as reference tone (remember, all intervals can occur on -above or below- all tones!).

The inversion of a perfect interval is always a perfect interval, the inversion of a major interval always a minor interval, the inversion of a diminished interval always an augmented interval, and all vice versa as well. The inversion of a second is a seventh, of a third a sixth, of a fourth a fth, and vice versa. The tritone is the only interval which is enharmonically the same as its inversion, such as can be heard by clicking and playing the above example. A table to help quickly nd the names of the inversions is given here: nature P"P M"m A"d type 2"7 3"6 4"5

Further study

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Special:Browse/Interval - browse to nd whiteboards treating intervals.

Triads
Denition of triad
A triad is a special type of chord which consists of 3 different tones, in consecutive thirds. The triad thus consists of a minimum of three intervals: 2 thirds and 1 fth, or their respective inversions.

Basic notation
The basic notation of a triad, is by virtually taking tones 1, 3 and 5 of a scale and writing them together. The examples below use the basic tones only and can be clicked for playback.

Basic scale and triad of c:

Basic scale and triad of d:

Basic scale and triad of e:

Basic scale and triad of f:

Basic scale and triad of g:

Basic scale and triad of a:

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Basic scale and triad of b:

Types of triads
Consisting of 2 thirds and one fth, the thirds can be major or minor, and the fth can be perfect, diminished or augmented, there are 6 types of triads. Major triad: consisting of a major third, a minor third and a perfect fth; Minor triad: consisting of a minor third, a major third and a perfect fth; Augmented triad: consisting of a major third, a major third and an augmented fth; Diminished triad: consisting of a minor third, a minor third and a diminished fth; Flat 5 triad: consisting of a major third, a diminished third and a diminished fth; Double Diminished triad: consisting of a diminished third, a major third and a diminished fth. These triads can occur on any tone, the examples below are the 6 triads of c (alterations are needed to obtain the tones):

Symbols for triads

For most music in which improvising plays an important role, symbols are used for triads and chords. There is no unity in the systems used for these symbols, as different symbols occur in different books. Below is a table summarizing the most commonly used chord-symbols for triads:

Triad Major Minor Diminished Augmented Flat 5 Double diminished Maj min dim Aug

Symbols M m d A !5 (no symbol) ! + -5

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Inversions of triads
A triad is still considered to be the same triad when the 3 tones it consists of are presented in another position than the basic 1-3-5 described so far. There are three basic positions for a triad: 1. The 1 is the lowest tone, this is called root position, short: root 2. The 3 is the lowest tone, this is called rst inversion or sixth position, short: 6 3. The 5 is the lowest tone, this is called second inversion or six-four position, short: 6-4 The acoustic properties are different, yet these positions can be perceived as derived from one basic structure: the triad. This perception evolved by the end of the 15th century in Europe, and the triads (and their inversions) quickly entered Western classical music to dominate it for centuries to come, at the cost of the polyphony which prevailed before. Harmony thus replaced melody as the structuring principle of musical logic. The examples below are the positions of the triads of c:

The names of the inversions are derived from the intervallic structure: the inversions of the thirds become sixths (major, minor or augmented), and the inversions of the fths become fourths (perfect, augmented or diminished).

Other positions of triads

Any chord with more than just three tones, but consisting of just three tones making up a triad, is also perceived as, and considered to be, a triad. In this way, triads can be performed with more pitches, yet three basic tones only, as is the case in many compositions for piano, band, choir, ensemble or orchestra. Other designations for positions of triads are: closed position - short CP, when no triad-tones t between the tones played, the position of the lowest tone, the bass, is disregarded in this respect open position - short OP, when exactly one triad tone would t between the tones played, the position of the lowest tone, the bass, is disregarded in this respect mixed position - short MP, when the position has a mix of "open" and "closed" intervals, the position of the lowest tone, the bass, is disregarded in this respect octave position - short 8P, when the highest tone played is the 1 third position - short 3P, when the highest tone played is the 3 fth position - short 5P, when the highest tone played is the 5 Some examples, demonstrating these positions of the triad of c-major, for piano:

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Use of triads
Any scale or mode can be harmonized by forming triads on its steps, these triads (or, when expanded: seventh chords) are called degrees. The harmony thus obtained is proper to that particular scale itself and can be modal or tonal, depending on its use.

Further study
Special:Browse/Triad - browse to nd more whiteboards treating triads.

Seventh chords
Denition of seventh chord
A seventh chord is a special type of chord which consists of 4 different tones, in consecutive thirds. The seventh chord thus consists of a minimum of six intervals: 3 thirds, 2 fths and 1 seventh, or their respective inversions. A seventh chord can be regarded as en expanded triad; each seventh chord itself consists of 2 triads. The relationships of all types of seventh chords with their constituent triads and intervals are shown in the whiteboard picture.

Basic notation
The basic notation of a seventh chord, is by virtually taking tones 1, 3, 5 and 7 of a scale and writing them together, sounding as one.

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The example below uses the basic tones only and can be clicked for playback.

Types of seventh chords

Consisting of 3 thirds, 2 fths and 1 seventh, the thirds can be major, minor or diminished, fths can be perfect, diminished or augmented, the sevenths can be major, minor or diminished. There are no seventh chords which contain an augmented third, as the enharmonic equivalence of this interval, the perfect fourth, is such a strong consonant that its top note would acoustically assume the position of the root of the whole chord, thus leading to the perception of an extended triad. Thus the number of possible seventh chords is limited to just 11: 1. Major seventh: consisting of a major third, a minor third, a major third, two perfect fths and a major seventh 2. Dominant seventh: consisting of a major third, a minor third, a minor third; one perfect fth, one diminished fth and a minor seventh 3. Minor seventh: consisting of a minor third, a major third, a minor third; two perfect fths and a minor seventh (enharmonically equivalent to a Major triad with added 6 in third inversion) 4. Minor major seventh: consisting of a minor third, a major third, a major third; one perfect fth, one augmented fth and a major seventh 5. Half diminished: consisting of two minor thirds, a major third; one diminished fth, a perfect fth and a minor seventh (enharmonically equivalent to a Minor triad with added 6 in third inversion) 6. Diminished seventh: consisting of three minor thirds; two diminished fth and a diminished seventh (enharmonically equivalent to itself in all inversions) 7. Augmented seventh: consisting of two major thirds, a minor third; an augmented fth, a perfect fth and a major seventh 8. Augmented dominant: consisting of two major thirds, a diminished third; an augmented fth, a diminished fth and a minor seventh 9. Flat 5 dominant: consisting of a major third, a diminished third, a major third; two diminished fths and a minor seventh (enharmonically equivalent to itself in second inversion) 10. Double diminished minor seventh: consisting of a diminished third, a major third, a major third, a diminished fth, an augmented fth and a minor seventh (enharmonically equivalent to an Augmented dominant in third inversion) 11. Double diminished seventh: consisting of a diminished third, a major third, a minor third, a diminished fth, a perfect fth and a diminished seventh (enharmonically equivalent to a Dominant seventh in third inversion)

The whiteboard image shows the relative mutual proximity and similarity of the 9 basic seventh chords. The arrows indicate how an alteration of one chord tone will change the chord into a neighbouring, different, but closely related, related seventh chord. All seventh chords can occur on any tone, the notated example below shows all 11 theoretically possible seventh chords of c (alterations are needed to obtain the correct tones). In practice however, only 9 seventh chords have actual chord-symbols: the last two seventh chords have no chord-symbol of themselves. These two would rather be notated as third inversions, slash chords of d (D7#5/C and D7/C, as notated in small black notes), of which they are enharmonic equivalents:

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Symbols for seventh chords

For most music in which improvisation plays an important role, symbols are used for seventh chords. There is no unity in the systems used for these symbols, as different symbols occur in different books. Below is a table summarizing the most commonly used chord-symbols for seventh chords:

Seventh chord Major seventh Dominant seventh Minor major seventh Minor seventh Half diminished Diminished seventh Augmented seventh Augmented dominant Flat 5 dominant maj7 Dom7 minmaj7 min7 min7!5 dim7 maj7#5 7#5

Symbols M7 7 mM7 m7 m7!5 d7 M7#5 7+5 7!5 -!7 -7 7 !7+5 +7 7-5 !7

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Double diminished types

(notated as third inversions on another root)

Inversions of seventh chords

A seventh chord is still considered to be the same seventh chord when the 4 tones it consists of are presented in another position than the basic 1-3-5-7 described so far. There are four basic positions for a seventh chord: 1. 2. 3. 4. The 1 is the lowest tone, this is called root position, short: root The 3 is the lowest tone, this is called rst inversion or six-ve position, short: 6-5 The 5 is the lowest tone, this is called second inversion or four-three position, short: 4-3 The 7 is the lowest tone. this is called third inversion or second position, short: 2

The acoustic properties are different, yet these positions can be perceived as derived from one basic structure: the seventh chord. The examples below are basic positions of seventh chords of c and on c:

The names of the inversions are derived from the intervallic structure: the inversions of the thirds become sixths (major, minor or augmented), the inversions of the fths become fourths (perfect, augmented or diminished) and the inversions of the sevenths become seconds (major, minor or augmented). The whiteboard image shows a full table of the nine seventh chords that have chord symbols, in all inversions on c (not "of" c, as only the root positions are C chords!).

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Use of seventh chords

Any scale or mode can be harmonized by forming seventh chords on its steps. These seventh chords are then called degrees. The harmony thus obtained is proper to that particular scale itself and can be modal or tonal, depending on its use.

Further study
Special:Browse/Seventh chord - browse to nd more whiteboards treating seventh chords.

Consonance and dissonance

Denitions of consonance and dissonance
Consonant literally means: sounding together Dissonant literally means: sounding apart Let us stop a moment and consider these concepts more closely. Especially the concept dissonant may seem strange in the context of music, which after all consists of sounds combined together into one piece. When playing simultaneous sounds, these will "sound together" by the very denition of their simultaneousness. The whole purpose of introducing the concepts of consonance and dissonance however, is to make distinctions in the nature and quality of the innummerable possibilities of combining sounds. But then, why just make this distinction seemingly oversimple and merely dual, almost resembling the opposites "good" vs "bad"?[18] The quality of the "sound together" is in fact strongly depending on the musically formal and harmonical contexts in which it occurs. Correspondingly, according to Louis & Thuilles "Harmonielehre" one should distinguish between the phenomena of acoustic dissonance and interpretational dissonance (German: Auffassungsdissonant)[19]. I consider this phenomenon as an integral part of the concept of harmony in a wider sense, and distinguish further between formally and harmonically contextual dissonances. Before going into ner detail, we shall consider the traditional classical theoretical view on consonance versus dissonance rst.

Traditional classication of intervals in consonant and dissonant

Traditionally, only the basic the intervals are classied, based on their use in the type of harmony used in classical music. perfect consonants imperfect consonants dissonants M2, m2, M7, m7, tritone plus all augmented and diminished intervals (no matter if they are enharmonically consonant)

P1, P8, P5, P4

M3, m3, M6, m6

This classication, though all too often still taught as factual, is actually rather outdated and of little practical value for most contemporary music, such as Jazz, Pop and World music, as well as contemporary composition; hence we will take a closer look at their actual acoustic properties next.

Acoustic order of consonance and dissonance in intervals

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An attempt has been made here to establish an acoustic order of the basic and wide intervals, starting with the most consonant, gradually evolving to the more dissonant, somewhat like Hindemith's Reihe 2[20]. In this order it can be observed how the wide intervals are in fact found in perhaps unexpected places for the traditionally educated music theoreticians, but as "the proof of the pudding is in the eating", in sound "the proof of the theory is in the hearing", as one can observe oneself.

This order may be true for these intervals exactly as notated, on c one octave below central c, and yet it may differ somewhat when gradually transposed to other tones, more so even in different registers. Also, this order can basically be regarded to be true for the instrument on which it is perceived, here: the piano. But consonance and dissonance depend on the harmonics-structure of the instrument used, as well as on the medium for the sound waves: the air itself, so far taken for granted. Dolphins, porpoises and whales, living and using an enormous variety of sounds under water, in many more octaves than we humans can perceive, should have a quite different perception of these intervals. Good examples of completely different sets of intervals in world music are offered by Indonesian gamelan: the bells used produce totally different overtones than the piano. When composing, arranging or improvising, great care has to be taken to judge the sounds intended not on mere theoretical grounds, but on the actual perception intended, clearly and precisely dened, taking exact register positions into account, or else one may end up with music that looks good, but sounds bad, as is all too often the case when relying too much on general theoretical knowledge, supercially studied, only partly digested and not fully understood.[21]

Consonance and dissonance in scales

Consonance and dissonance in scales is generated from the presence and position of contextual harmonically dissonant intervals embedded within a particular scale. Thus all diatonic scales contain at least one tritone, and most pentatonic scales have no dissonant intervals at all. Dissonance in a scale adds a harmonic element of tension to its melodic structure, certain tones always stand out in a particular scale, exactly because of this. Let us consider this in the church modes. The most remarkable tones by which we recognize the church modes are: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. the sharp 4 in lydian the at 7 in mixolydian the natural 6 in dorian the at 2 in phrygian the at 5 in locrian

Which does make one wonder about the two remaining modes: by what special characteristics do we recognize ionian and aeolian, also known as the basic major and minor scales, or do they stand out in a negative sense, by having no special characteristics at all?

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Now, as the image presented here attempts to show: 1. all remarkable tones are part of an embedded tritone; 2. in all 5 remarkable cases this tritone is connected to the basic triad 1-3-5 supporting the scale, the remarkable tone being outside the triad on 2, 4, 6 or 7 (except in locrian which has the tritone on 1-5); 3. only in ionian (4-7) and aeolian (2-6) the complete embedded tritone is disconnected from this basic triad. So we can conclude that the major and natural minor scales are well suited for tonal music, which depends on the use of triads 1-3-5 throughout, as the tritones embedded in these scales do not burden its basic sound with dissonance, reserving its embedded tension to be used on degrees other than its proper tonic I. The accuracy of this phenomenological observation and line of reasoning are strongly conrmed by the fact that for tonal use, the minor harmonic scale is customary, which does not atten the 7th tone, and which like natural minor has a tritone between 2 and 6. In this scale a second tritone is introduced by the natural 7, adding more tension to this scale. The position of this additional tritone now is remarkably enough between 4 and 7: exactly the same as in ionian (major). Therefore we can conclude that by embedding both tritones the minor harmonic scale combines the tension properties of major and minor into one scale, which sheds quite a new light on the concepts of molldur and durmoll, which are customary in functional harmony.[22] Finally, this procedure gives some clues as to how one can go about harmonizing makams and ragas, and in fact to the different phenomenology of harmony itself in music based on modes such as these, many of which are not harmonically connected to 3 and 5 by their performance traditions.

Traditional classication of chords in consonant and dissonant

Traditionally, only chords with perfect fths between 1 and 5, and in the case of seventh chords also between 3 and 7, are considered consonant. consonants maj and min maj7 and min7 dissonants all others: , #5 , !5 and double dim all others: 7, minmaj7, , 7, maj7#5, 7#5 and 7!5

chord type:

triads seventh chords

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Noteworthy is that the second inversion of the consonant chords is considered to be a typical contextual dissonant.

Use of consonance and dissonance

Consonance is a term that describes the phenomenon of several sounds or pitches blending together, almost as if becoming one, a unity of sound. Dissonance on the other hand, is a term that describes tension in sound, as if sounds or pitches do not blend together, and remain separate auditive entities. The apperception of whether sounds do or do not blend is highly subjective however, and strongly dependent on musical context, whereas tension is a more objectively measurable property in sound itself. In functional harmony, that is: harmony employing degrees and thus harmonic functions, the usual order is that of an increase of tension followed by a moment relaxation, so using more and increasing dissonance, to be followed and the tension released by consonance. The consonance is always chosen in relation to the musical context, the dissonants employed are style- and context-related as well. As a general rule however, it is the dissonants which represent the strongest expressional means in harmony.

Circle of fths
Major scales in order of accidentals
It is possible to construct a major scale on every tone, and different accidentals are needed to induce the proper order of steps: whole, whole, half in both tetrachords (4 tone scale part). Only the scale of c major yields this without use of accidentals. Both c d e f and g a b c share this structure: 1 1 ". These tetrachords are both connected to the fundamental c, the rst has it as lowest, the second as highest note. The remaining interval f g is a consequence of this tetrachordal construction, and in itself a whole step (major second). The total scale thus shows 1 1 " 1 1 1 ". When constructing this on different tones, we can set the scales we nd into the following order by number of accidentals, those we nd having sharps:

And those we nd having ats:

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If we allow for the use of double sharps and ats, more scales are possible, but for practical reasons we limited the list of scales to those employing a maximum of 7 accidentals.

Minor scales in order of accidentals

It is also possible to construct a similar series when studying minor. In order to obtain similar accidentals, we use the minor-parallel scale, or aeolian mode, which can be found on the VI of any major scale. VI of c being the a we nd the following order by number of accidentals, with sharps:

And another series yet, employing ats instead, starting with the parallel of f, d:

Key signatures in order of accidentals

Note that both orders are based upon this diatonical series of fths:

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either, for the sharps fcgdaeb or the reverse, for the ats beadgcf which form a circle as shown in the image, that also mentions the church modes. Not all these fths are perfect however, this diatonic circle of fths contains one diminished fth: f - b.

The order of appearance of sharps is xed as: f# # c# # g# # d# # a# # e# # b#, the example shows the correction notation of the key-signatures with sharps on two clefs:

The order of appearance of ats is also xed and the exact reverse as to the use of basic tones: b! # e! # a! # d! # g! # c! # f!, the example shows the correction notation of the key-signatures with ats on two clefs:

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Geometry of the full circle of fths

We can now summarize this structure and knowledge in the circle of fths. The image of the circle of fths summarizes and visually represents the observations on major and minor scales and keys and the key signatures with number and order of sharps and ats, but it also allows a further geometrical look into the intervals, and their place within this representation. Here are some relevant observations which help in understanding and memorizing this visual representation of "musical geometry": 1. There are the enharmonic equivalences of the major keys C!=B (7 ats equals 5 sharps enharmonically), G!=F# (6 ats equals 6 sharps enharmonically), D!=C# (5 ats equals 7 sharps enharmonically); 2. There are the enharmonic equivalences of the minor keys a!=g# (7 ats equals 5 sharps enharmonically), e!=d# (6 ats equals 6 sharps enharmonically), and b!=a# (5 ats equals 7 sharps enharmonically); 3. The enharmonic equivalences are true for the tempered tuning system alone, but this is the contemporary tuning system which we actually use in this basic music theory; 4. The circle of fths is not valid in other tuning systems; 5. In the outer black ring the major keys are represented in white capitals; 6. In the inner white ring the minor keys are represented in black minuscules; 7. In the inner gray circle all possible interconnections between points are shown, these represent intervals; 8. Outside the rings, the number of accidentals is shown, from zero up to seven; 9. On the top and bottom left and right are red accidentals, to show the left side contains ats, and the right side contains sharps; 10. The fact that the starting point C - a is represented on top, is arbitrary but customary; 11. Intervals can also be visualized in this geometrical representation, as the innermost gray circle contains all interconnections between all 2 points, these represent the following intervals: 1. neighbours are a perfect fth (or its inversion the perfect fourth) apart - completing this as a pattern one gets a dodecagon or the full circle of fths; 2. neighbours to neighbours, skipping one in between, are a major second apart (or its inversion the minor seventh) - completing this as a pattern one gets a hexagon or half the circle as a whole tone scale (acoustically there are only two such scales); 3. skipping two one nds a minor third (or its inversion the major sixth) - completing this as a pattern one gets a square or a diminished seventh chord (acoustically there are only 3 such chords); 4. skipping three one nds a major third (or its inversion the minor sixth) - completing this as a pattern one gets an equilateral triangle or an augmented triad (acoustically there are only 4 such triads);

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5. opposites are in a tritone (augmented fourth or its inversion diminished fth) relationship (acoustically there are only 6 such intervals); 6. neigbours to opposites are a minor second apart (or its inversion the major seventh) - completing this as a pattern one gets the full circle as a star representing the chromatic scale (acoustically there is only 1 such scale); 12. A still fuller circle of fths is possible when wrapping the full sequence of ats, naturals and sharps of basic tones in order onto itself, 21 tones wrapped in the form of a 12 tone circle, with only g, d and a having no enharmonic equivalents with a single accidental: f! - c! - g! - d! - a! - e! - b! - f - c - g - d - a - e - b - f# - c# - g# - d# - a# - e# - b#; where all fths are perfect. Doing this however would lead to needlessly encumbering the image with highly unusual keys and scales, as well as to overooding the eye with too much information, but one can and should attempt to imagine this overcomplete image nevertheless. The whiteboard below shows the gradual development of the circle of fths out of a series of basic tones, curled onto itself as a spiral: step 0: Original ancient deduction of basic tones from a as !"#$%[23] using perfect fths, creating pentatonic and diatonic scales, nding the tritone; step 1: Diatonic circle of fths, also the basis for the order of sharps and ats; step 2: Diatonic spiral of fths, charting all at and sharp alterations of basic tones; step 3: Chromatic spiral of fths including Pythagorean comma,[24] a dilemma for tuning; step 4: Full chromatic circle of fths with major and minor keys and geometry of intervals.

Making sure to check and gradually understand fully all of these steps towards, and observations on, the circle of

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fths, will enable one to memorize it as more than a mere photographic image, but rather as a dynamic "Gestalt" or "Mandala", implied by and underlying the tone-structure of the tempered tuning system.

Transposition
Denition of transposition
Transposition is the shifting of musical notation by a certain specic interval.

Use of transposition
Transposition may be used in order for a certain musical instrument to play the correct tones, or to change the key of a composition, song, or part of any music. Commonly occurring reasons to transpose music are: 1. 2. 3. 4. to correctly write the staff or part for a transposing musical instrument[25] to t the music to the ambitus (range) of a particular instrument to t the music to the range of a particular singer or voice to change the key of a (part of a) piece of music

Example of transposition
The example below gives a melody in c then transposed for four different transposing instruments. Please note that, when performed, all these different notations give the exact same pitches! In C This is an example of a melody, written "in C", meaning the pitches sound exactly as notated, in the exact register as notated:

Soprano saxophone in B! As this instrument sounds a major second lower than notated, the music should now be transposed a major second up, not just the notes, but also the key signature:

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Alto saxophone in E! As this instrument sounds a major sixth lower than notated, the music should now be transposed a major sixth up, not just the notes, but also the key signature:

Tenor Saxophone in B! As this instrument sounds a major ninth lower than notated, the music should now be transposed a major ninth up, not just the notes, but also the key signature:

Barytone saxophone in E! As this instrument sounds a major thirteenth lower than notated, the music should now be transposed a major thirteenth up, not just the notes, but also the key signature:

A special and unique peculiarity occurs with transposing for a barytone saxophone: the noteheads happen to be on exactly the same positions on the staff when written in either clef, sounding in f-clef or transposed in g-clef the positions are identical and only the alterations differ.

Rhythm
Denition of rhythm
Rhythm is the timed sequence of sounds in music.

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Time, beat, subdivision and feel

Most rhythm has a regular beat, which can group a ner division into larger units for practical counting, and which is also used for dancing. A cycle of beats is called the time. Within cycles of beats, there are usually stronger and weaker beats (sometimes called thesis and arsis). The subdivision of each beat can be called the feel.

Polyrhythm
Polyrhythm is the simultaneous presence of more than one beat or feel in the same music. The patterns below present the basic polyrhythmic patterns based on 2, 3 and 4 in mutual combinations. These should be practiced one after the other with two hands, while always keeping the beat in the same hand. The beat patterns here are notated with notestems downwards. In the examples every rst bar offers a tuplet notation, every second bar offers a notated analysis with the smallest common beat-particles regrouped by tying together, every third bar offers a practical notation which is best for performance (and especially much clearer than duplets and quadruplets).

3 against 2

2 against 3

4 against 3

3 against 4

Melody
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Denition of melody
Melody is created by a sequence of different single pitches in time.

Exercise in melodic building blocks

The following exercise makes use of the hexachord and a leading tone, 6 above and 1 below c. To be sung without accompaniment, all in this order, without halting, in major (the example below can be clicked to play/cheat):

All these melodies above should also be practiced in the church modes; below they are given in harmonic minor:

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Printable version of melodic building blocks

A complete and printable version in pdf can be found here: melodic building blocks (exercise)

Harmony
Denition of harmony
Harmony is created by the interrelationships of different pitches together in time; the timing of the sounds used, called harmonic rhythm, is an ingredient as essential as the sounds themselves!

Functional harmony
Whereas harmony in general is a concept which describes the relative sounds of large groups of tones, the term functional harmony is used for a type of harmony generating a specic expectation of a central tone or chord, called the tonic, by means of tension and resolution. Functional harmony rests on three pillars, called functions: 1. Tonic: a "home" sound or chord, a resting place within the progression of chords

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2. Dominant: a point of maximum tension relative to home, the "going home" chord, creating expectations of resolution 3. Subdominant: an alternative resting place, though not "home", but rather perhaps an "out, on a holiday" chord, anything can happen after this Functional harmony can create story-like structures in time with these elements, relatively easy to hear and follow, even for non-trained ears.

Denition of degree
A degree is a harmonization of a particular scale-step, indicated by a Roman numeral. A degree exists in relation to an audible harmonic center, called the Tonic, symbolized by a I. Relative to this I, other degrees are numbered around it. If another degree than the I forms a temporary harmonic center, this is created by at least one Secondary degree, usually a Dominant sometimes accompanied by a Subdominant degree.

Degree as chord
Any scale can be harmonized by forming triads, seventh- or other chords on its steps. The harmony thus obtained is proper to that particular scale itself and can be modal or tonal, depending on its use. Mostly, degrees are formed by a construction of thirds, but this can also be done with other intervals.

Degree as scale
New scales or modes can be derived from any particular scale, by using the scale on a degree of another scale. Thus the church modes, the harmonic minor modes and the melodic minor modes can be found, but one could also imagine this method as a starting point for harmonizing very different modes still, such as a Carnatic raga or a Turkish makam.

Basic degrees as triads

Basic degrees in major The basic major scale (in c consisting of basic tones) generates the degrees below.

Basic degrees in minor There are several basic minor scales, these generate the degrees below:

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Basic degrees as seventh chords

Seventh chord degrees in major The major scale generates the degrees below:

Seventh chord degrees in minor There are several basic minor scales, these generate the degrees below:

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Further study
Special:Browse/Harmony - browse to nd whiteboards treating harmony. Special:Browse/Degree - browse to nd whiteboards treating degrees.

Form
The concept of form in general depends on the human awareness being capable of distinguishing an object from its surroudings. An awareness without this ability to distinguish would be able to experience a totality of being, or stream of awareness, yet without objects, so it would not be aware of its own being itself at the same time, a state of mind often mistaken for nirvana, which does not use the full capacity of human understanding. To be aware of oneself and one's surroundings at the same time, creates the awareness of identity and differences, the awareness of objects, or forms, themselves being identities, as such like yet apart from oneself, all separated from their surroundings by the boundaries perceived in time and space. When thinking of "Form in art" one usually thinks of the visual arts, where forms are distinct objects in space. In music though, "Form in music", "objects" are not primarily perceived in space, but in time. Both abilities, to distinguish between forms in space, and forms in time, develop at least from birth onwards, as a child learns quickly to not only distinguish the faces of its parents from other surrounding phenomena, but also their voices from other surrounding sounds. Both abilities depend on the function of memory, yet the dependence on memory is stronger with sound, because sounds disappear in time and comparison has to always be done in memory[26]. Without memory, no awareness of form in music is possible: music is primarily (though not exclusively) a time-art. These philisophical considerations being mentioned, for this outline it is sufcient to mention that there are many forms in many music styles, and even concepts which transcend the concept of form, though not being something totally different. Below an incomplete list of examples is given of well-described forms, which are part of music theory: Antiphon Conductus Ballat Virelai Rondeau Madrigal Fugue Minuet Allemande Gigue Sarabande Suite form Sonata form Lndler

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Waltz Song form Blues Ballad Mambo Montuno Descarga Raga Alap Jor Jhala Sargam Gat Makam Semai Taksim This list of examples is far from complete of course, and intended to give a rst impression of the wealth of musical forms that exist. Any fuller description of even just these, including the attempt of giving a more complete list of forms, would certainly have to become a book in itself.

Footnotes
1. $ The ve dimensions of sound were rst described as such by Karlheinz Stockhausen, in his article Musik im Raum (Die Reihe 5, Vienna 1959). 2. $ Maqam world (http://www.maqamworld.com/rhythms.html) on rhythm and meter 3. $ The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Rime_of_the_Ancient_Mariner) by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (original editions on Wikisource) 4. $ See the page clef for a full overview. 5. $ The phenomenon of a major ending to what is basically a piece of music in minor is quite common though, and since the 17th century this is called the Picardian third, after the folk-music of the Picardie, a region in North-West France. 6. $ An engraver is the person responsible for the nal look and layout of sheet music, a name still in use which refers to the centuries-long tradition of the engraving needed to produce the metal plates needed for printing. 7. $ Huygens Fokker Foundation website (http://www.huygens-fokker.org/microtonality/theory.html) on theory of microtonal music 8. $ An example of a more complex compact polyphonic notation can be found in Bach's rst book of the Well-Tempered Klavier: the ve-voice fugue in C# minor. The Petrucci Library (www.imslp.org) has a.o. this version (http://imslp.info/les/imglnks/usimg/c/cf/IMSLP02209-BWV0849.pdf) ; one should especially look at the ending. 9. $ German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen proposed and actually used a unique "equal tempered tempo system". Comparing the doubling of the tempo to an octave, he divided this into twelve equal steps: 60 - 63.6 67.4 - 71.4 - 75.6 - 80.1 - 84.9 - 89.9 - 95.2 - 100.9 - 106.9 - 113.3 - 120 (from his article ...Wie die Zeit vergeht..., Die Reihe 3, Vienna 1957). This system in part closely resembles the older metronome tempi, yet the latter still has seven more steps in between: the older more differentiated system was never replaced. 10. $ dB is the scientic abbreviation of Decibel, referring to sound-pressure: the scientic unit for sound volume. 11. $ Timbre means sound color, usually referring to the specic character, indenpendent of pitch, but strongly dependent on the musical instrument. Not only do all instruments have a different timbre in relation to each other, but each instrument can produce a certain range within its own sound. 12. $ diatonical means: consisting of whole and half tone (semitone) distances only, not containing any larger intervals such as augmented seconds nor any thirds

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13. $ The Lydian chromatic concept of tonal organization (http://www.georgerussell.com/lc.html) described on www.georgerussell.com 14. $ List of pitch intervals (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_pitch_intervals) including other tuning systems, on Wikipedia (with sound examples) 15. $ Equal temperament (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equal_temperament) explained on Wikipedia 16. $ seconds, thirds, sixths and sevenths, plus the wider versions of these, are never perfect but either major or minor 17. $ Rameau (http://books.google.com/books?id=TdUtrQ1cJLgC&printsec=frontcover&dq=rameau&hl=en& ei=rsSLTMSlFY-RjAe_paT9BQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1& ved=0CCgQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=descartes&f=false) , Treatise on Harmony (1722) 18. $ A similar simplied "interpretational truth" usually arises from the famous medieval quote "Tritonus Diabolum in Musica est" (the tritone is the devil in music) which does not mean the tritone sounds bad nor that it is bad, but that one has to be extra careful handling, using, this particular interval. Thus a rather non-condemning uncontemporary medieval practical mind speaks from these words in fact. In the centuries after, the tritone, as we now know, developed its full potential as the basis of all functional harmony, even though most musical theoretical models rather stuck to the much simpler perfect fourths and fths ("Quintfall", falling fth or circle progression) or even seconds ("Sekundgang", stepwise progression) for their ultimate explanations. One might however conclude that the tritone's primal harmonic potential was suspected and perceived much earlier by musicians, and at the time certainly not regarded as an enemy of the earlier polyphony. 19. $ "Die Auffassung des vorhaltartigen (auffassungsdissonanten) Quartsextaccords als einer Harmonie, die sich nach dem Dominantaccord aufzulsen hat, ist uns freilich so sehr in Fleisch und Blut bergegangen, da die Anwendung des betonten Quartsextaccords ber einer andern als der 5. Stufe stets eine gewisse Vorsicht erheischt. Unser Ohr ist geneigt, die Stufe, auf der ein derartiger Quartsextaccord erscheint, als Dominante zu hren, bezw. wenn sie es nicht ist, dazu zu machen" (Chapter II 16 [49], page 57). Other online versions of Louis and Thuille, "Harmonielehre" are available online at us.archive.org (http://www.archive.org/details /harmonielehre00loui) (in various digital formats) 20. $ Paul Hindemith, Unterweisung im Tonsatz (1937), Section 3 21. $ Recommended further reading on this is Morton Feldman, Essays (1985) 22. $ Have these questions been raised before, have they been answered? As far as I know, these seemingly obvious facts and observations have been overlooked by theoreticians for centuries, and have by my knowledge never been published before. 23. $ "#$%& (mesos) means "middle (tone)": the ancient Greeks eventually constructed scales from a middle tone outwards, in two interlinked tetrachords. The concept of a fundamental tone came more than 2000 years later when functional harmony developed. 24. $ The Pythagorean comma is represented by this inequality: which is a calculation that

refers to a tuning problem, and its provisionary solution is actually represented in the circle of fths. In this formula and the following formulae, 1/2 is used instead of 2 throughout, representing the octave upwards instead of downwards (halving the ratio, as opposed to doubling), which may seem less customary but which does not change the logic nor the basic conclusions. The fractions represent the intervals of an octave (1/2) and a fth (2/3), whereas the powers 7 and 12 are consecutive repetitions of these intervals. The formula can therefore be expressed in langague: "Seven octaves do not equal twelve fths". However, in the circle of ths, in modern tempered tuning, they do equal one another! All the intervals are actually detuned to make this true, meaning that all the fths commonly used are not truly perfect to nature, not exactly 2/3. The bridging of this "system-gap" of the Pythagorean comma is mathematically done by drawing upon a logarithmically calculated minor second, or semitone: . Today this is often represented in

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cents, a netuning unit dividing the octave in 1200 steps: interval can be calculated which, when repeated 12 times, equals 1 octave:

and so the exact

. In practice, this logarithmically regular scale, although signicantly and hence audibly deviating from the Pythagorean sounds of the intervals, nevertheless leads to a currently acceptable spreading of a detuning over all the intervals, except the octave. The results are visualized in the diagram below, which sums up the Pythagorean and Tempered tuning pitches, and shows their differences:

In this diagram it can clearly be seen which intervals differ most from their Pythagorean or natural versions (not all Pythagorean intervals should be considered to be simply "natural intervals" as well). Yet even this practical solution to the tuning problem is still really only strictly mathematically true, because on pianos (and modern keyboards) also and even the octaves are detuned, deliberately very slightly sharp, called streched tuning, so as to bring out the diferent registers more clearly. Modern keyboards allow for custom tunings, to be programmed in cents; in this way players can customize their sounds all the way into the very intervallic fabric of their performance. On other musical instruments, the precise intonation is done by the musicians by more traditional techniques, and of course by their extremely acute hearing. In the end, for all musical instruments, what is actually played exactly, is (pre)determined by the (hopefully expert) ears. 25. $ List of transposing instruments (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transposing_instrument) on Wikipedia 26. $ "When you hear music, after it's over, it's gone, in the air. You can never capture it again." (Eric Dolphy)

Questions
Outline of basic music theory: questions - an overview of possible questions to test one's understanding of the

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Outline of basic music theory.

See also
Melodic building blocks (exercise) (complete printable version in pdf) Whiteboards Browse whiteboards Theory of music Book of exercises Music paper (12 staves per page, A4 landscape)

Book: "Outline of Music Theory" in preparation

By Oscar van Dillen, publication foreseen for 2014, see http://www.outlineofmusictheory.com

External links
English Wikipedia on Music Theory (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_theory) Harmony Explained: Progress Towards A Scientic Theory of Music (http://arxiv.org/html/1202.4212v1) by Daniel Shawcross Wilkerson

Oscar van Dillen 2011 Retrieved from "http://www.OscarvanDillen.com/Outline_of_basic_music_theory" Categories: Theory of music | English writings

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