Music

Subject Code: MSM315115

Theory and Aural Skills (2016 – 2019)

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Thisdocumentclarifiesthecoursecontentformusicliteracy.Itdetailsthetheoreticalconcepts,andcorrespondingmusicnotation,tobecoveredwhenteachingMSM315115Music.ThedocumentshouldbereadandusedinconjunctionwiththesyllabusdocumentforMSM315115.

Theconcepts,andtheirnotation,areaminimumofwhatshouldbetaughtforstudentworkthatistobeassessedbyCriterion5and6.Tofurtherextendstudents,andtopursueareasofparticularinterest,teachersarestronglyencouragedtointroduceadditionalideasandrefertoothermaterial.

Teachersandstudentsshouldnotethatitisnotsufficienttomerelyknowthemeaningofeachofthesymbolsthatappearbelow.Thesymbolsshouldalsobeusedcorrectlyinaccordancewithcurrentnotationconventions.Fordetailedlistsofconventions,refertothesourcescitedinthereferencelistattheconclusionofthisdocument.

Toassistteachers,occasionallycriterion-specificinformationisprovidedregardingparticularconcepts.

PITCH

Clefs

TrebleClef BassClef AltoClef PercussionClef Whenreadingandwritingnotationintheaboveclefs,studentswillalsobeexpectedtouse/interpretledgerlines,andadheretoconventionsregardingstemdirections.Notethatthenumberoflinesinthestave(s)usedwiththepercussionclefmayvarydependingonthepercussioninstrumentused.Intheauralsectionoftheexamstudentswillbeaskedtonotatepitchbyearusingonlythetrebleandbassclefs.Theymaybeaskedtonotaterhythmusingthepercussionclef.Thealtoclefwillonlybeusedwhenreadingorre-writingnotation.

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Scales

• Major*• Naturalminor• Harmonicminor• Melodicminor*• Chromatic• Majorpentatonic*• Bluesscale*• Wholetone*

Notatedexamplesofthescalesmaybefoundattheendofthisdocument.Intheauralpartoftheexamstudentswillbeaskedtoidentifybyearonlythescalesselectedfromthosemarkedwithanasterisk.Theywillalsoonlybeaskedtonotatemelodiesusingthesame.Inthewrittencomponentstudentsmaybeaskedtoidentifyanyoftheabovescales.

ScaleDegreeNames

Tonic Supertonic Mediant Subdominant Dominant Submediant

LeadingNote

(LeadingTone)

Tonic

Intervals

Allmajor,minor,perfect,augmentedanddiminishedintervals,usedeitherharmonicallyand/ormelodically.Theseincludecompoundintervalsuptoandincludingthe9th.Studentswillnotberequiredtoidentifyspecificintervalsintheauralcomponentoftheexam.Nonetheless,theabilitytorecogniseintervalsbyearishelpfulwhennotatingmelody.

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Key

Signatures

Sharps

Flats

Accidentals

Flat DoubleFlat Sharp DoubleSharp Natural

Triads

Major(C)

minor(Cmin)

diminished(Cdim)

Augmented(CAug)

ThefourbasictriadtypeslistedhereareinCMajorbutcouldappearinanykeyinthewrittensectionoftheexam.Studentsmayberequiredtoidentifysomeoftheaboveintheauralcomponentoftheexam.Notethecompositionofthetriadsinrootposition:

• Majortriad–Majorthirdonthebottom,minorthirdontop• Minortriad–minorthirdonthebottom,Majorthirdontop• Diminishedtriad–twominorthirds• Augmentedtriad–twoMajorthirds

CMajGMajDMajAMajEMajBMajF#MajC#MajAminEminBminF#minC#minG#minD#minA#min

CMajFMajBbMajEbMajAbMajDbMajGbMajCbMajAminDminGminCminFminBbminEbminAbmin

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Chord

Extensions

Major7th(eg.,CM7) Dominant7th(eg.,C7) Minor7th(eg.,Cm7)

Major9th(eg.,CM9) Dominant9th(eg.,C9) Minor9th(eg.,Cm9)Notethatwhenvoicinganextendedchordsomenotesmaybeomitted,particularlythefifthofthechord.Thetypesofchordslistedherecouldappearinanykeyinthewrittensectionoftheexam.Studentswillnotberequiredtoidentifyindividualextendedchordsintheauralcomponentoftheexambutmayberequiredtoidentifyachordprogressionusingsomeofthechords.

Chord

Inversions

RootPositionCorI or C

1stInversionC/EorIborC6

2ndInversionC/GorIcorC

3rdInversionC7/BborIdorC

TheinversionslistedhereareinCmajor.Inthewrittensectionoftheexamtheymayappearinanykey.Studentsmayberequiredtoidentifytheabovechordpositionsintheauralsectionoftheexam.

Chord

Alterations

Suspended4th(eg.,Csus4)

diminished7th(eg.,Cdim7orCo7)

Halfdiminished(eg.,Cm7(b5)orCØ)

Major6th(eg.,CM6)

ThealterationsandextensionslistedhereareinCmajor.Inawrittenexamtheymayappearinanykey.Studentswillnotbeexpectedtorecognisethesebyear.

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Triads–

DegreesoftheMajorScale

Triads–

DegreesoftheMinorScale

ChordSymbols

• CapitalLettername(e.g.,C)=Majorchord• min(also–andlowercasem)=minorchord• +(alsoAug)=Augmentedchord• O(alsodim)=diminishedchord• 7=minorseventh(intervalfromtherootofchord)• 6=MajororminortriadwithanaddedMajor6thinterval• Maj7(also)=Majorseventh(intervalfromtherootofchord)• o7=diminishedseventhchord• ø=halfdiminishedchordormin7b5• Sus4=suspendedchord

SimpleHarmonisation

Harmoniseasimplemelodyusingthechordsoutlinedabove,whilstadheringtoprinciplesofvoiceleadingasappropriate.Themelodymaybeharmonisedbyplacingchordnamesabovethemelodyand/orbyvoicingtheprogressioninpiano-stylearrangement.

Cadences

Perfect,Plagal,ImperfectandInterruptedcadences.Intheexamthefourcadencesmayneedtoberecognisedaurallyandmayneedtobeidentifiedinawrittenscore.Studentsmayberequiredtowritecadences.Writtencadenceswilleitherbeinfour-partvocalstyleand/orinstrumentalarrangementand/orpianostyle.Notetheuseofthemoretraditionalnamesofcadencesratherthan‘authentic’,‘half’or‘deceptive’.

TonicSupertonicMediantSubdominantDominantSubmediantLeadingNoteTonicMajorminorminorMajorMajorminordiminishedMajor

TonicSupertonicMediantSubdominantDominantSubmediantLeadingNoteTonicminordiminishedAugmentedminorMajorMajordiminishedminor

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Transposition

Studentswillbeexpectedtotransposebyintervalandbyinstrument.Theinstrumentsinclude:

WoodwindBrass String Percussion VoiceOboePiccoloFluteBbClarinetBassoonEbAltoSaxophoneBbTenorSaxophone

BbTrumpetTromboneFrenchHorninF

ViolinViolaCelloDoubleBassBassGuitarGuitar

PianoSopranoAltoTenorBass

TIME/RHYTHM

Meter

SimpleMeters CompoundMetersSimpleduple CompounddupleSimpletriple Compoundtriple

Simplequadruple CompoundquadrupleMetersmayalsobeirregular/asymmetric.Notethetwo-partidentificationofmeterfortheregularmeters:‘simple’+‘duple’.Studentsmayberequiredtoidentifyameteraurallyorfromwrittennotation,andtoidentifymeterswithparticulartimesignatures.

Time

Signatures-Simple

Timesignatureswilloccurinboththeauralandwrittensectionsoftheexam.

Time

Signatures-Compound

Timesignatureswilloccurinboththeauralandwrittensectionsoftheexam.

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Time

Signatures–Irregular/Asymmetric

Timesignatureswilloccurinboththeauralandwrittensectionsoftheexam.

RhythmicNotation

Semibreve/Wholenote:

Semibreve/Wholerest:

Minim/Halfnote:

Minim/Halfrest:

Crotchet/Quarternote:

Crotchet/Quarterrest:

Quaver/Eighthnote:

Quaver/Eighthrest:

Semiquaver/Sixteenthnote:

Semiquaver/Sixteenthrest:

Demisemiquaver/Thirty-secondnote:Thedemisemiquaverisforwrittenidentificationonly.Itwillnotbeusedintheauralsection.

Demisemiquaver/Thirty-secondrest:Thedemisemiquaverrestisforwrittenidentificationonly.Itwillnotbeusedintheauralsection.

Studentswillberequiredtonotaterhythmsusingtheabovedurations.Thismayincludesettingcoupletsorversetorhythm.

Barlines

Normal Double Final StartRepeat

EndRepeat

1sttimebar 2ndtimebar

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DottedNotes

Adotafteranoteincreasestherhythmicvalueofthenotebyhalf.

=

+

Inthewrittenexaminationdotsmaybeappliedto:semibreves;minims;crotchets;quavers;semiquavers;andequivalentrests.

Triplets

Tripletsareatypeoftuplet,onewherethreenotesappearinthetimeoftwo.Theyareusuallynotatedwiththefigure‘3’placedwithinaslurorabracket.Sometimes,justthefigure‘3’isused.Tripletscanbeaddedtoanyrhythmicvalue.

Studentsmayberequiredtoidentifytripletsaurallyandinwrittenform.

DupletsDupletsarealsoatypeoftuplet,onewheretwonotesinthetimeofthree.Dupletsareusuallynotatedwiththefigure‘2’placedwithinaslurorabracket.Sometimes,justthefigure‘2’isused.Dupletscanbeaddedtoanyrhythmicvalue.

Studentsmayberequiredtoidentifydupletsaurallyandinwrittenform.

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Ties

Atiejoinstwonotesofequalpitch.Thisisnottobeconfusedwithaslur,whichjoinstwonotesofdifferentpitch.

Tiesmaybeusedacrossbars.

Inthewrittensectionofthestudentsmayberequiredtoidentify,interpretand/orwritenotation,usingties.Intheauralsectionoftheexam,studentsmayberequiredtonotatebyearrhythmsthatmayincludeties.Itisacknowledgedthattherecanbeseveralacceptablewaysofnotatingarhythmotherthanusingties.

=

Couplets/VersetoRhythm

Notatingcoupletsorshortversesinsimpleandcompoundtime.Whennotatingtext,attentionshouldbegiventotheplacementofhyphensforbreakingwordsintosyllables,phrasingandwhereappropriate,theuseofunderscorestoextendthelengthofanote.Rhythmicnotationmaycommencewithorwithoutananacrusis.

Tie Slur

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NoteGroupings

Individualrhythmicdurationsaregroupedinwaysthatreflecttheunderlyingmeter,assuggestedbythetimesignature,andmakethenotationeasytoread.Examples:

1. Subdivisionsarewritten/beamedsothattheyclearlydemonstrateeachbeat.

Iscorrect Isnotcorrect

2. Likewise,restsneedtocompletethecurrentbeatbeforebeingfollowedwithadditionalrestsornotes.

Iscorrect Isnotcorrect

3. Beatstwoandthreearenot‘joined’usinganoteorrest.Insteadtiesareused.

Arecorrect Arenotcorrect

4. Whenusingrests,thelongestpossiblerestisusedprovidingtheaboveconventionsareadheredto.Theresultistheuseoffewerrests.

Iscorrect Isnotcorrect

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FORM&STRUCTURE(Criteria5&6)

BinaryForm SchematisedasA-B.Apiecein2partswherethefirstsection(A)differstothesecondsection(B)

TernaryForm

SchematisedasA-B-A.Apiecewherethefirst(A)andthird(A)sectionsarethesamewithacontrastingmiddlesection(B)

RondoForm

MostcommonlyschematisedasA-B-A-C-A.Apiecewhereareoccurring‘A’sectionalternateswithcontrasting‘B’and‘C’sections

ThemeandVariation Astructurewherematerialisrestatedwithalterations

12-BarBlues

Apiececonsistingof12barsfollowingasetchordprogression.ThechordprogressioninRomannumeralsis:I-I-I-I,IV-IV-I-I,V7-IV-I-I.EachRomannumeralrepresentsonebar.

Popularsongform SchematisedasA-A-B-A.Occursover32barswith8barspersectioninthepopularstyle.

TEXTURES(Criteria5&6)

Polyphony Musicwithtwoormoreindependentmelodicpartssoundedtogether.Phrasingwillgenerallyoverlapbetweenparts.

Monophony Asinglemelodiclinewithoutaccompaniment

Homophony Asinglemelodiclinewithaccompaniment.Partswillbegenerallyphrasedtogether.

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EXPRESSIVEDEVICES(Criteria5&6)

Crescendo Graduallybecominglouder

Diminuendo/Decrescendo Graduallybecomingsofter

Sforzando Suddenlyorstronglyaccented

Staccato Shortanddetached

Pizzicato Whereastringedinstrumentistobeplucked

Arco Whereastringedinstrumentistobeplayedwiththebow(usedafterpizzicato)

Tremolo a. Therapidrepetitionofasinglenoteproducedbythebowonastringedinstrument;b. Therapidreiterationoftwonotesofdifferentpitchproducingavibratingeffect

Rallentando(rall.) Graduallybecomingslower

Ritardando(ritard.) Graduallybecomingslower

Ritenuto(rit.) Heldback(ie.Immediatelyslower)

Legato Smoothlyorwellconnected

Crescendo(cresc.)

Graduallybecominglouder

Diminuendo(dim.)

Graduallybecomingsofter

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COMPOSITIONALDEVICES(Criteria5&6)

CallandResponse

Itconsistsoftwodistinctphrases,wherethesecondphraseisheardasaresponsetothefirstphrase(call)

Riff Ashortrepeatedrhythmicand/ormelodicphrase.Usedparticularlyinjazzandrockmusic

Ostinato Ashortmelodicphraserepeatedthroughoutapieceofmusic

RhythmicOstinato Ashort,constantlyrepeatedrhythmicpattern

GroundBass Abasslinethatiscontinuallyrepeatedthroughoutacomposition

Syncopation

Atemporarydisplacementofaregularmetricalaccentwheretheaccentshiftsfromastrongtoaweakbeat

Polytonality Theuseofmorethanonekeysimultaneously

WholeToneTonality Apieceusingthewholetonescale

Modulation Akeychangewithinapiece

Improvisation Musicthatiscreated“on-the-spot”,withoutpreparation

Chromaticism Theuseofaccidentalnotesoutsidetheprevailingdiatonickey

Imitation Therestatementinsuccessionofidenticalmusicalmaterialintwoormoreparts

DroneAdroneisacontinuousunchangednoteorsetofnotesthatdonotcontributetotheharmonicmovementofthepiece.

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PedalPoint Apedalpointisasustained(oftenbass)notethatsupportstheharmonicmovementofthemusicbycreatingtensionandresolution.Pedalnotescanvaryinlength

Ornamentation Wherethemelodyisembellished(ordecorated)withornaments;suchastrills,mordents,turns,gracenotes,glissandi,slides,pitchbends,dropnotes,scoops,flams

Accelerando(accel.) Graduallybecomingfaster

Meterchange Wherethemeter(timesignature)changeswithinthepiece

Polyrhythm

Thesimultaneouscombinationofcontrastingrhythms,wherethenotesofonerhythmarenotdivisiblebythenotesoftheother.Therefore‘twoagainstthree’isapolyrhythmbut‘twoagainstfour’isnot–seetwosimplemeterexamplesbelow:

Isapolyrhythm Isnotapolyrhythm

IrregularTimeSignature

Atimesignaturethatdoesnotconformtoeitheraduple,tripleorquadruplemeter.Examplesincludetimesignaturesrepresentingfiveorsevenbeatsinthebar.Irregulartimesignatures/metersareoftenperceivedashavingalternatingsub-groupsoftwo,threeandsometimesfourbeats,eachbeginningwithitsowndownbeat.Theresultisastrongbeatoccurringatirregularintervals,hencethedescription‘irregularmeter’

TempoChangeAnongoingchangeinthespeedofthebeat,oftenoccurringatthecommencementofanewsectionofmusic.Oftenatempochangeisinitiatedbyagradualaccelerandoorrallentandowhichisanintegralpartofthestructureofthepiece

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AugmentationTherestatementofathemewherethenotesareofalongerduration(generallydoublethebeatvalueoftheoriginal)-

DiminutionTherestatementofathemewherethenotesareofashorterduration(generallyhalfthebeatvalueoftheoriginal)-

Inversion

Whentheintervalsofanoriginalmusicalmotifarereversed(turnedupside-down)

Sequence

Theimmediaterestatementofamotifatahigherorlowerpitchinthesamevoice.ItisstillasequenceiftherestatementofthemotifisgreaterthanatoneExample1:Example2:

RetrogradeWhereamusicaltheme(ormotif)isplayedbackwards

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ADDITIONALMUSICTERMS(Criterion6only)

Terms Definitions Terms Definitions

Adagio Slowly Allegretto Moderatelylively

Allegro Livelyandfast Andante Ataneasywalkingpace

Moderato Atamoderatespeed Poco Alittle

Presto Veryfast Pocoapoco Littlebylittle

Vivace Livelyandspirited Molto Very

Menomosso Lessmovement(slower) Dalsegno Fromthesign()

PiumossoMoremovement(quicker)

DacapoalfineFromthebeginningtothewordfine

Tempoprimo Returntooriginaltempo Fine End

Atempo ReturntoformertempoFermata Toholdthenoteorrestbeyondits

normalvalue.

Rubato

‘Temporubato’literallymeans‘robbedtime’.Themusicisthereforeperformedwithsomefreedomintime

8va(ottava)

Notesshouldbeplayedanoctavehigherthanwritten

Forte(f) Loud8vb

(ottavabassa)Notesshouldbeplayedanoctavelowerthanwritten

Mezzoforte(mf) Moderatelyloud Tenuto(-) Tobeheldforthefulltimevalue

Fortissimo(ff) VeryloudMarcatoaccent

(>)Markedaccentfullvalue

Piano(p) SoftMartellatoaccent(^)

Strong(often)detachedaccent

Mezzopiano ModeratelysoftBarrepeat

Repeatthenotesofthepreviousbar.

Pianissimo(pp) VerySoft

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ADDITIONALMUSICTERMS(Continued)

Mezzopiano ModeratelysoftFortepiano Playedloudthenimmediately

soft.

Dynamicsplayedloudlythefirsttimeandplayedsoftlyontherepeat.

Hammeron/pulloff

Hammer-on–tobringthefretting-handdownontheguitar’sfingerboardbehindafretcausingthenotetosoundPull-off-pullingthefingeroffthestringcausingthenotetosoundInconventionalnotationthetwotechniquesareexpressedwithslurs.Intablature,theyareexpressedusingtheletters‘H’and‘P’respectively

Rimclick

Thesoundproducedbyhittingtherimwiththestickacrossthefaceofthedrumheadrestingontheskin

Rimshot

Thesoundproducedbyhittingtherimandtheheadofadrumsimultaneouslywithadrumstick

Inthisinstancethetempowouldequateto120crotchetbeatsperminuteThissometimesappearsas‘M.M.=120’

Ripplechord/Arpeggio(Rolledchord)

Wherethenotesofthechordareplayedseparately,inrapidascendingordescendingorderdependingonthesymbolused.

Flam

Adrumbeatconsistingoftwostrokesthefirstofwhichisaveryrapidgracenote

Metronomemarking

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ListofScalesMajor

Tone=T;Semitone=S

Naturalminor

Thenaturalminorscaledoesnotcontainaraised7thnote.

Harmonicminor

Inaharmonicminorscale,the7thnoteisalwaysraised.

Melodicminor

Inamelodicminorscale,notes6and7areraisedascendingandlowereddescending.

Chromatic

Includeseverynotewithintheoctave.Sharpsareaddedascendingandflatsdescending.

Major

Pentatonic

Apentatonicisa5-notescale,plusthe‘uppertonic’–Notes1,2,3,5,6,8.

Blues

Thebluesformulaconsistsofnotes1,3,4,b5,5,b7,8.

WholeTone

Awholetonescaleconsistsofnotesbuiltsolelyfromtones.

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TSTTST½S

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