Music Theory Notes

Sound

  • A disturbance (wave) that needs a median to travel

  • How high/low they go is amplitude, how quickly they arrive is frequency

  • MOST INSTRUMENTS TUNE THEIR A ABOVE MIDDLE C, 440 HERTZ


Instrument Classification

Voice

  • Tessitura is the most comfortable range a person can sing

Scales

  • Chromatic Scale: An octave divided into all half steps

  • Diatonic Scale: An octave divided into 5 whole steps and 2 half steps. 3 minor scales, 1 major

  • Major Scale: 5 whole notes, 2 half notes. Pattern is Tonic-Whole-Whole-Half-Whole-Whole-Whole-Half

  • Natural Minor Scale: Tonic-Whole-Half-Whole-Whole-Half-Whole-Whole

  • Harmonic Minor Scale: Tonic-Whole-Half-Whole-Whole-Half-1.5-Half

  • Melodic Minor Scale: Tonic-Whole-Half-Whole-Whole-Whole-Whole-Half ascending

  • Pentatonic Scale: Tonic-Minor Third-Whole-Whole-Minor Third-Whole

Intervals

  • Half step = semitone

  • Sharp keys= raised by a half step

  • Flat keys= lowered by a half step

  • Melodic Intervals= DO NOT PLAY AT THE SAME TIME

  • Harmonic Intervals= PLAY AT THE SAME TIME


Pitch/Tempo/Dynamics

  • Tempo is how slow or fast the beat goes in bpm

  • Pitch refers to one single note and how high/low it is. Most drums/percussion ARE NOT PITCHED

  • Dynamics= how soft or loud the music is