Music
Theory
Tutorial
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Here you can learn about
music theory and the magic of making music.
In music, as we know it in the Western world, there are 12 notes. When you
get to the thirteenth note in a row, it's the same as the note you started,
only 1 octave higher. Push the button
to hear what two notes an octave
apart sound like.
Scales
Here are the twelve notes in succession, going from middle C to C1 (one octave
above middle C)
You'll hear them played three times, first in quarter notes, then in eighth
notes, and finally, in sixteenth notes; so that each scale will be progressively
faster by twice the speed of its predecessor. The succession of each of the twelve
notes in order is known as the "Chromatic" scale.
There are many scales. A scale is a particular succession of notes. In the
chromatic scale, all 12 notes are played. In a "Major" scale, there are 7 notes
before repeating in the next octave. In the key of C, these notes are C, D, E,
F, G, A, and B. On the piano, these notes correspond to the white notes of the
keyboard. The black notes are the sharps and flats of these 7 notes. A black key
between the two white keys, C and D, can be either called a C sharp (C#) or a D
flat (Db), depending on the scale being played. In Western music, there are 7
scales with 1 to 7 sharps and there are 7 scales with 1 to 7 flats. The key of C
has no flats and no sharps. The key of G has 1 sharp, D has 2, A-3, E-4, B-5,
F#-6, C#-7. In the key of C#, all seven notes of the scale are sharped.
In this example, you'll first hear the major scale in quarter notes, then in
eighth notes going up, then down.
For a contrast, listen to this Arabian scale.
This also has 7 notes like the Major
scale but the intervals between the notes are a little different.
Intervals
The space between any two notes is called an interval. Each spacing has a
distinctive sound.
This is an interval of
a fifth. With middle C on the bottom and G on top.
An interval a 5th apart will have the same quality no matter what key it's
in.
Here's a
few different 5th's played in succession. See if you can recognize the
similarity in these intervals.
Minor 2nd. C
on the bottom, C sharp(#) on top (inverted Major 7th).
Major 2nd. C
on the bottom, D on top (inverted Minor 7th).
Minor 3rd. C
on the bottom, D# on top (inverted Major 6th).
Major 3rd. C
on the bottom, E on top (inverted Minor 6th).
Perfect 4th. C
on the bottom, F on top (inverted Perfect 5th).
Sharped 4th or Flatted 5th. C
on the bottom, F sharp(#) on top (same interval both directions!).
Perfect 5th. C
on the bottom, G on top (inverted Perfect 4th).
Minor 6th. C
on the bottom, G# on top (inverted Major 3rd).
Major 6th. C
on the bottom, A on top (inverted Minor 3rd).
Minor 7th. C
on the bottom and A# on top (inverted Major 2nd).
Major 7th. C
on the bottom, B on top (inverted Minor 2nd).
Notice that the inverted form of each interval will always add up to 9 and
the major is always paired with a minor. For instance, the minor 2nd is
paired with a major 7th, adding up to 9 and having both the major and minor.
Also notice that the 4th and 5th tones do not have a designation of major or
minor. These tones do not establish tonality in the same way as the other
notes in the major/minor system of western music.
These are the basic intervals, or spaces, between any two notes.
The intervals beyond the Octave, or 8th note in a Major or
Minor scale, repeat the notes in these initial intervals, so
that the 9th note is the same as the 2nd, only an octave higher;
the 11th note is the same as the 4th; and the 13th the same as
the 6th...
Chords
A chord is a grouping of at least three notes together. There are 4
basic families of chords: Major, Minor, Augmented, and Diminished. A
major or minor chord is determined by the 3rd note in the scale. In
a major chord, the 3rd note is two whole steps above the tonic, or
root note of the scale. In a minor chord, the third note is one and
one half steps above the root. In an augmented chord, the 5th note
will be sharped; in a diminished chord, the 5th note will be flatted.
Here are the basic three note chords:
| MAJOR | 1-3-5 |
| MINOR | 1-b3-5 |
| AUG | 1-3-#5 |
| DIM | 1-b3-b5 |
Major chord
Minor chord
Augmented chord
Diminished chord
Adding a 4th note
Adding a fourth note to a three note chord will give a chord more
'color', or expressive possibilities. Commonly, the 7th tone is a
typical addition to a chord. There are both major and minor
sevenths (as described above) and either of these could be added to
any one of the 4 primary chords, giving 8 more possibilities.
| MAJOR 7 | 1-3-5-7 |
| MINOR 7 | 1-b3-5-b7 |
| DOM7 AUG | 1-3-#5-b7 |
| DOM7 DIM | 1-b3-b5-b7 |
| DOM 7 | 1-3-5-b7 |
| MINOR M7 | 1-b3-5-7 |
| M7 AUG | 1-3-#5-7 |
| M7 DIM | 1-b3-b5-7 |
Major 7th chord
Minor 7th chord
7th Augmented chord
7th Diminished chord
Dominant 7th chord
Minor-Major 7th chord
Major 7th Augmented chord
Major 7th Diminished chord
In addition to adding the 7th tone of a scale as a 4th note in a chord,
you could just as easily add the 6th or flatted sixth in combination with the
major and minor 3rds and diminished and augmented chords to create another
family of 8 chords. Adding the second tone or flatted second tone of a scale
to a chord will also generate another family of chords. Sometimes that 2nd
note of the scale will be above the octave and referred to as the 9th. If
the 7th tone isn't in that chord then it's called an Add9. If the 4th tone
is added to a chord, in most cases you will not play the 3rd tone and the
4th tone chord is referred to as a suspended chord or sus4. If you decide
you really like the dissonance of having both the 3rd and the 4th in your
chord, often the 4th will be played above the octave and referred to as an
add11.
As you can see, just adding the 7th tone to a chord opens up numerous
possibilities. 5 note chords (and beyond) will exponentially increase the number of
"flavors" dramatically. I recommend taking one bite at a time and chewing
slowly.
Adding a major 2nd tone is often referred to as an ADD9. This is because
chords are built beginning with the 1st, 3rd, and 5th tones of the scale first.
The 6th and 7th tones come after the 5th but the 2nd comes before so is
considered above the octave as the 9th tone, when a chord already has the 7th
tone. This also goes for the 4th, which is called the 11th. The 6th, when added
to a chord that already has the 7th and 9th tones, will be called a 13th. If
the 6th is added to a chord which has the 7th tone but not the 9th, then it's
called a 7/6 chord. I know, this is getting a little confusing. But if you're
with me so far, welcome to the world of jazz voicings. We're just gettin'
started.
Let's move on to the next page, Music Theory II. We'll
talk more in depth about the structures of scales and chords.
©2000 by Jaris Dreaming
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