Review of Music Rudiments

Music 1133

Pages 3-38

The essence of music

Music essentially has two basic components

Sound - pitch, timbre, spaceTime - distribution of sounds over

time Modern Western notation system

plots these two components in a Cartesian-like graph

X and Y axis

Time

Space - pitch, combinations of pitches, and distance between pitches

5-line Stave

Revolutionary notation technologyAllows for maximum number of

pitches to be represented while still allowing instant identification of pitch

Each line and space of the stave represents a different “letter name” of pitch

Alphabet for Musicians

In Western music, pitches are designated names corresponding to the first 7 letters of the alphabet

A, B, C, D, E, F, G, - corresponds to white keys on a piano keyboard

Note C is a reference

A0 C1 C2 D2 etc. C4 - Middle C

Clefs

Clefs are symbols used to indicate reference pitches on the 5-Line stave

Bass Clef (Also F Clef)

Treble Clef (Also Soprano Clef or G Clef)

G4

C4 - Middle C

F3

C Clefs

Alto

Tenor

C4 - Middle C

Scale and ModeSuccession of pitches known as a scale - begin

on one pitch and end on pitch above or below with the same letter designation (A ascending to A etc.)

On piano keyboard, distance between successive white keys is not always the same

Some adjacent white keys have black keys between them, which are separate pitches

Semitones - pitches with no pitch in betweenTones - Pitches with one pitch in betweenSuccession of tones and semitones determines

mode

Tone - Whole Step SemiTone - Half Step

Sharps and Flats Black Keys are named according to their adjacent

white keys Black key to the right of C is C sharp - sharp

symbol raises pitch by 1 semitone Same pitch could also be called D Flat - Flat

symbol lowers pitch by one semitone B Sharp sounds same as C F Flat sounds same as E Pitch Class - Word used to determine pitches

which are enharmonically equivalent (sound the same) or octave equivalent (same name in different octave)

White Key Modes Any scale using the white keys only contains 2

semitones and 5 whole tones For example: A to A - T, ST, T, T, ST, T, T Order of Tones and Semitones determines Mode Greek Names (early church modes): A (Aeolian/Minor), B (Locrian), C (Ionian/Major), D

(Dorian), E (Phrygian), F (Lydian), G (Mixolydian) These modes can also involve black keys - For Example

Phrygian Mode beginning on A - A, Bb, C, D, E, F, G, A - same order of tones and semitones as “white key mode” beginning on E

Tonal Modes

Tonal Music Utilizes two of these modes: Ionian or Major and Aeolian or Minor

Succession of Tones and Semitones most conducive to harmonic function

Other Western music traditions use other modes more freely (fiddle music, pipe music, plainchant)

Major Mode and Scale The Major Mode contains the following succession of

Tones and Semitones: T, T, ST, T, T, T, ST White key mode from C to C Major Scales use this succession of Tones and

Semitones starting on any pitch For Example: D Major = D, E, F#, G, A, B, C#. Key of D

Major - uses this scale melodically F Major: F, G, A, Bb, C, D, E. Key of F Major uses this

scale melodically Notice how in both scales, all letter names are

represented. F major would not be written as F, G, A, A# etc.

Key Signature

It turns out that key centres 7 semitones apart (a fifth) differ in their scales by only one sharp or flat.

G Major (fifth above C) - 1 sharp (F#)D Major (fifth above G) - 2 sharps (F#, C#)The additional sharp or flat is also separated by

a fifth above (sharp) or below (flat)F Major - (fifth below C) - 1 flat (Bb)Bb Major - (7 semitones below F) - 2 flats (Bb,

Eb)

Cycle of Fifths

Minor Scales Natural Minor Scales correspond to the white key mode

beginning on A (Aeolian) T, ST, T, T, ST, T, T A minor considered the relative minor of C major

because it has the same number of sharps and flats (none)

Relative minor always 3 semitones below the relative major - eg. A major/F# minor

Relative major and minor have the same key signature Two other variants of the natural minor scale are more

commonly used Harmonic Minor and Melodic Minor

Harmonic Minor

Natural minor scales end with a whole toneBasic principle of tonal music is the ti/do

semitone motion as last interval in scale (to be discussed later)

Raising the last note creates this semitone so harmonic minor has a raised 7th scale degree

G Natural MinorG Aeolian

G Harmonic Minor

Whole Tone

Semitone

Melodic Minor

Harmonic Minor contains an augmented 2nd interval (to be discussed shortly) between 6th and 7th pitch

In Western tonal music, this melodic interval is not often used

Melodic minor raises 6th scale degree as well on the way up to eliminate the Aug 2nd

Descending, both the 6th and 7th return to natural state

G Harmonic Minor

Augmented 2nd

G Melodic Minor

Intervals

Intervals refer to the “space” between pitchesMeasured between letter namesF-A is a third - three letter names - F, G, AG-E is a sixth - six letter names G, A, B, C, D, EC to C, A to A etc. called an octave Intervals above an octave (9th, 10th etc.) called

compound intervalsA 10th also called a compound 3rd

Third (melodic) Sixth (melodic) Third and Tenth (Harmonic)-also octave E-E

Interval Quality

Intervals are oddly classified as either perfect or imperfect

Unisons, 4ths, 5ths, and octaves are considered perfect

2nds, 3rds, 6ths, and 7ths are imperfectImperfect Intervals can be either major

or minorAll intervals can be augmented or

diminished

Major vs. Minor Imperfect intervals are considered major when the higher

pitch is part of the major scale of the lower pitch Imperfect intervals are considered minor when the higher

pitch is one semitone below the major inyterval Both intervals below are sixths In the first case, the higher pitch B is part of the major

scale of the lower pitch D so it is a Major 6th In the second case, the higher pitch Bb one semitone

lower than B – the major 6th

Major 6th (M6)

Minor 6th (m6)

Augmented and Diminished

Augmented intervals are perfect or major intervals that are raised an additional semitone

Diminished intervals are Perfect or minor intervals that are lowered an additional semitone

Augmented 6th (A6)

Diminished 6th (d6 or 06)

Augmented 5th Diminished 5th

Inverting Intervals Interval distances are always measured from the

lower pitch Inverting an interval involves changing the lower

pitch to become the higher pitch (transposing up an octave)

The new interval is then read from the new lower pitch

Inverting always reverses interval quality - major/minor, aug/dim, perfect remains perfect

The sum of the original and inverted interval distances always equals 9

m7 inverts to M2

Minor to Major 7+2=9

A4 inverts to d5

Augmented to Diminished 4+5=9

Tritones

Consonance and Dissonance These are complicated and culturally-influenced terms Loosely meaning “pleasing to the ear” and “not pleasing to

the ear” Can refer to a number of musical parameters For now, we will apply these terms to intervals Consonant intervals are perfect intervals (4ths are a

special case), and major and minor 3rds and 6ths Dissonant intervals are 2nds, 7ths, and tritones

(sometimes considered neutral) P4ths are considered dissonant if the 4th is above the bass

note - more later Describing intervals as dissonant does not mean that they

sound bad - they are considered harmonically unstable in this system

Resolution of dissonance to consonance is a fundamental process in tonal music

Rhythm and Metre

These terms refer to the temporal component of music

Music exists in time Metre refers to the way we measure time

in music - normally in beats or pulsesRhythm refers to the series of note

durations that fill in this time and the patterns that these durations create

Note Durations

Our musical system contains a set of symbols for relative note durations

There is a temporally equivalent set of symbols to represent rests (silences)

The value of each duration symbol may change depending on the musical metre

The relative durations are always fixed - each symbol represents a duration twice as long or twice as short as the next duration level

See p. 27 in text

Dots and Ties

Dots and ties are used to create note durations that are greater or lesser than those represented by individual duration symbols

Dots add half of the value of the notes they follow

A note that is “tied” to an adjacent note assumes the duration of both notes

Musical MetreMetre is defined by regular beats of a fixed

lengthBeats are grouped into bars or measuresThe number of beats in each measure is

determined by the time signatureThe time signature also identifies the next level

of subdivision of each beat It is important to remember that barlines and

time signatures are convenient notational symbols that allow us to measure music

Real music simply exists in time without these artificial divisions

Simple and Compound Time

Beats are often subdivided into smaller divisions

These divisions can be any prime number (2, 3, 5, 7)

In Western music, beats are divided by 2 or 3

Division by 2 is called simple time Division by 3 is called compound time

Metrical Number

The number of beats in each measure is determines the overall metre

Duple time features 2 beats per measureTriple time features 3 beats per measureQuadruple time features 4 beats per

measureAdditional beat numbers are possible

though they are found less frequently in Western tonal music

Simple Time Signatures Time Signatures indicate the number of beats per

measure and the subdivision of each beat Simple time signatures include 2/4, 3/4, 4/4 - also 2/2, 3/2,

4/2, 2/8, 4/8, 2/16, 4/16 In 2/4 time there are two beats per measure and each

beat is a quarter note in length. This implies that each beat can be divided into two 8th

notes - called simple duple time 3/4 is simple triple time (so is 3/2) 4/4 is simple quadruple time (so is 4/2) Time signatures with shorter beat durations (8 and 16)

depend on context to determine whether simple, compound, or something more complex

Compound Time Signatures In compound time, each beat is divided into three subdivisions Duration symbols feature division by two so each beat in

compound time is usually a dotted value Compound duple time features two dotted-quarter (or dotted

half, eight etc.) note beats per measure Each beat is therefore divisible into three 8th note

subdivisions Time signatures use numbers to represent note values

(4=quarter, 8=eighth) There is no number that can represent a dotted value Compound duple time uses the number 8 in the denominator =

6/8 Though this indicates six 8th notes per measure, three eighth

notes are grouped into two dotted-quarter note beats Compound Triple = 9/8 Compound Quadruple = 12/8