Film Music Unit 1

Keyboard Layout

88 keys, recurring pattern of 12 white & black keys

A to G, usually begin with letter C

Black keys: sharp # if half-step above, flat b if half-step below

-No black key btw E to F, B to C

Half-step or semitone: adjacent keys

C to C#, C# to D, E to F

white to black, black to white, white to white

Whole-step or whole tone: 2 half-steps, 1 key btw them

C to D, C# to C#, E to F#, Bb to C

white to white, black to black, white to black, black to white

Octave: repeating pattern of notes on keyboard

-8 letter-name notes C, D, E, F, G, A, B,C

—First and 8th note have arithmetic relationship 2:1 in pitch frequency

—2 notes octave apart sound so similar that seems like single pitch

Octave: Pick 7 pitches AKA keys

-really 12 different pitches in a single octave

Diatonic Scales

Diatonic Scale = seven-note scale of white keys

—8th note of scale is octave above starting pitch

—Notes = scale degrees

Major Scale, major key: C to C

-C Major only one not requiring b or # to get pattern

-WW H WWW H

Minor Scale, minor key: A to A

-A minor only one not requiring b or # to get pattern

-W H WW H WW

Relative Major & Minor

Chromatic Scale undifferentiated semitones in an octave

-order across keys white & black

-rarely heard

-divide an octave into 12 equal semitones

-all 12 pitches = chromatic scale

Scale = Mode

C major & A minor both use SAME 7 diatonic pitches but different start

-C major is the relative major to A minor, vice versa

Parallel Major/Minor

C major & C minor

-C major is parallel major to C minor, vice versa

-changing btw is “changing of mode”

—not a transposition

Built from different diatonic pitches, starting on the same pitch

3rd scale degree is most significant difference between major & minor scales

Staff, Clefs, Pitch

Staff

-5 horizontal lines in notation

-@ beginning is a clef indicating range of pitches

-higher on staff = higher note’s pitch

-corresponds directly to keyboard keys

Treble clef

-higher range of notes

Bass clef

-lower range of notes

Grand staff

-both clefs combined and shown

-typically how piano music is written

Rhythm and Meter

Beat

-pulse felt in music

Tempo

-speed of passing beats

Note

-actual musical sound

Rhythm

-succession of notes

-has pitch & duration

-beat provides context to make sense of it

Meter

-grouping of beats

-typically fills 1 measure

Time Signature

-begging of staff

-indicates beat grouping

-top # = how many beats per measure

-bottom # = what type of note carries beat

—4 means quarter note carries beat

Simple Meter

Duple

-alternating strong & weak beats

-2/4

Triple

-strong-weak-weak

-3/4

Quadruple

-combines 2 duple groups

-stronger first beat, lesser 3rd beat

-4/4

Rhythmic Interest

Pickup

-note or group of notes leading to the downbeat

-upbeat or anacrusis

-the incomplete measure lead in

What is Jazz?

Uniquely American

Blend of African & European American

Invention of African Americans

Tends to breathe: altering tension & relaxation

-increasing & decreasing rhythmic complexity

3 Essential Features:

-Improvisation

-Swing Feeling

-Bluesy Flavor

Swing Feeling 3 Components:

Swing 8th notes

-unevenly divide quarter note instead of equally

—first is slightly more than half, second is remainder

Abundance of Syncopations

Frequent polyrhythms

Syncopation

-accent on note unexpected or off beat

—note on 1 or 3 in 4/4 meter

-using swing 8th provides further drive forward

Polyrhythm

-combining 2+ rhythms

-increase tension in music, produce excitement & intensity

The Blues

Developed through combining earlier AA genres

-field hollers, street cries, gospel hymns

Blue Note

-don’t precisely fit in 12 note system

-notes in the “cracks”

-lowering the 3rd, 5th or 7th note of major scale by half-step

Pitch Bending

-heart of blue note

-gradual change in pitch, sliding btw notes

Blues Melodies divide 3 4-bar phrases

-AAB form

Blues predominantly more vocal than jazz

Jazz has greater harmonic & melodic complexity

Harmony

2+ pitches played together

Important in both and jazz

In Western music, based on interval of a third

Interval

-distance between 2 notes

—C to E is a third, E to G is a third

Chords

Chord

-3+ notes sounding together

Root

-if C-major, C is the ROOT

-E is third note

-G is fifth note

Seventh Chord

-add seventh note to chord

Most important harmonic scale degrees in Western Harmony

-1st, 4th, 5th notes of scales

Chord Progressions

-most common: I, IV, V, I

—12-bar form AKA 12 measures of chords of 1, IV, V most commonly used in blues

“Changes”

-how musicians refer to chord progression

Tonality

language of blues & rock-n-roll, almost all pop music

Tonal center AKA tonic

-1st note in scale

-what’s expected to hear at the end of the piece

Tonic-dominant relationship

-harmonic relationship btw 1st and 5th note AKA dominant

-I and V chords

Standard Forms & Pedal Point

Song Form

-32 bars divided into 4 8-bar phrases or sections

-AABA

—B is the bridge

Pedal Point

-repeated or sustained note

-in tonal music: on tonic & dominant pitches

—grounds musical activity to either tonic or dominant harmony

—background shit to ground action