Music Theory 1

Why Theory?

Music theory aims to equip those who want to explain music with the correct vocabulary to describe concepts that may be difficult to explain. It also seeks to help those pursuing a professional career in music with the professional terms that the field may use. Understanding theory separates those who are casual about music from those with professional careers in the field.

Figuring out the best words, symbols, and phrases allows musicians and teachers to effectively communicate the ideas and feelings they are looking for, especially when concepts in the music world are more of an expression than a physical medium.

1- Pitch & Pitch Class

Outline

• Intro to Pitch

  • Pitches and Pitch Class

• The Piano Keyboard

  • White Keys

  • Black Keys

  • Enharmonic equivalents

  • Intervals

  • Double Flats & Sharps

• Reading Pitches from a score

  • Staff Notation

  • Treble Clef

  • Bass Clef

  • C clef and others

  • Naming Registers

  • Ledger Lines

  • Writing Pitches on a Score

• Dynamic Markings

• Style Periods

Introduction To Pitch/Letter Names

Music notes are names with the first seven letters of the alphabet- A, B, C, D, E, F, G - repeated endlessly. On the left in the diagram above are the letter names in skips. On the right, is the letter names in the “counting” idea, where the letters are arranged like a clock, to show that the letters continue repeating over and over.

In this system, all the letters repeat every eight notes or position. Eight below C is another C. Notes eight letters apart are known as octaves. They sound similar, a principle known as octave equivalence. You can see this in the figure below with Mozart’s Sonata in C Major, mvt. 1 mm. 1-4.

Listen to hear pitch class C played in different octaves at the same time. Both belong to the same class of pitch. Pitch class C refers to ALL of the pitches of that note name.

The Piano Keyboard

White Keys

The white keys are the seven letters of the musical alphabet, A, B, C, D, E, F and G. Immediately to the left of any group of two black keys is a C, and to the right is an E.

Middle “C” refers to the closest C to the center of the keyboard. It’s often used as a reference point in music.

Black Keys: Flats and Sharps

The black keys are the pitches in between the white keys. These are named after their neighboring white keys. When you go up from a white key to the key directly next to it going to the right- that is a sharp. When you go down to the key directly next to that white key (going to the left) that is a flat.

Naturals are another type of accidental. This notation brings back a pitch to its “natural” state, or on the keyboard, to it’s white key.

Enharmonic Equivalents

Enharmonics refers to the spelling of a pitch. More specifically to notes that have two names on a piano.

Not all sharp or flat pitches are black keys. As the diagram above shows F natural is also E#, and E is also Fb. Enharmonics are important because they show how to correctly spell note ideas in a key.

Intervals: Half and Whole Steps

Intervals refer to the distance between two pitches. Whether that is a half step, when the notes are right next to each other on a keyboard or an octave, and they are eight whole steps apart from each other.

Normally, A half step goes from one colored key to a different colored key. Such as D# and E. This also can be seen in two cases on white-to-white keys- B to C and E to F.

A whole step goes to the same colored key typically. This is like F# to G#. There are some cases where this doesn’t apply. Such as Eb and F, which is a whole step.

Double Flats, Double Sharps, and Naturals

All of these notations- sharp, flat, double sharp, double flat, and natural are called accidentals.

• Double Flats

  A double flat lowers a pitch by two half steps. Notated as (bb). It’s used like Gbb is the same F since they are enharmonic

• Double Sharps

  A Double sharp raises a pitch by two half steps. Notated as (x). It’s used like Ax is the same as B, since they are enharmonic.

Reading Pitches From A Score

Staff Notation

The earliest forms of Western notation showed rising or falling melodies, without identifying pitches by name. With the invention of the staff (or staves) specific pitches could be notated by placing them either on a line or a space. Earliest staves had different numbers of lines and spaces, but today we have five lines and four spaces.

Treble Clef

The treble clef is used for higher notes. It is also referred to as the G clef since the staff’s clef resembles that of an uppercase cursive G. The end of it’s central curving line rests on staff line G.

Bass Clef

Lower notes are used on the bass clef. It is known as the F clef because of the shape of the clef, and that the line “F” is between the two dots of the clef.

C clefs and other clefs

C clef is a “movable” clef, its distinctive shape identifies middle C point on the staff with the shape of its clef. Depending on its position, it can be soprano, mezzo-soprano, alto, tenor, or baritone position.

Choral tenor clef has a small 8 under the G clef, this indicates that the pitches are meant to be read down an octave.

Musicians read different clefs because each one corresponds to the range of pitches needed for a particular instrument or voice type. The higher instruments like violin or flute read treble and the lower instruments like bass and tuba use bass clef. Violas use alto clef exclusively.

Naming Registers

Pitch names specify a precise octave placement, while pitch-class names are the same for all octave-related notes. TO indicate the octave we will use the system shown below.

The lowest C on the piano is C1, and the highest is C8. Middle C is C4. The number for a particular octave includes all the pitches from that C to the next. The three notes below the C1 on the staff are A0, Bb0 and B0. The G on the treble clef is G4, and the two dots on the bass clef surround F3.

Ledger Lines

Like most piano music, it is notated on the grand staff- two staves one with a treble clef and one with a bass clef, connected with a curly brace. The circled pitches below are on ledger lines. These are written above, below or between staves They are read the same way as typical lines and spaces.

Pitches near middle C may be written between the two staves of the grand staff. In key board music, the choice of the clef usually indicates which hand should play the note.

Writing Pitches On A Score

Practice writing staves on paper, as well as notes. If a note is below the center line it’s line should go up and if it is above the center line the note should go down.

Dynamic Markings

Every pitch in this short excerpt is a C, E, or G, notates in treble bass or alto clef (see viola score in on pg. 20). This passage begins with a full sound, indicated by the ff in the score. This indication is called a dynamic marking, which tells a performer how loud or soft to play. These markings can also help define the character and mood of a piece.

The ff stands for fortissimo, a loud or strong dynamic marking. Piano, (p) is a soft or quiet one. When performing, pay attention to dynamic markings, they contribute greatly to shaping a musical and sensitive performance.

Style Periods

Because compositional styles have changed over the years, it can be helpful to understand when a composer lived and worked. These are the most common style periods

Early Music

• Medieval (500-1400)

  Guido d’Arezzo, Hildegard con Bingen, Gregorian chant

• Renaissance (1400-1600)

  William Byrd, Maddalena Casulana

Common Practice

• Baroque (1600-1750)

  Johann Sebastian Bach, George Fredric Handel

• Classical (1750-1820)

  Ludwig van Beethoven, Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

• Romanic (1815-1910)

  Frederic Chopin, Georges Bizet, Amy Beach, Franz Shubert

Modern and Contemporary

• Early Twentieth century and modernist (1890-1945)

  Claude Debussy, Scott Joplin, Bela Bartok

• Post WW2 and Late twentieth century (1945-2000)

  John Cage, Gyorgy Ligeti

• Twenty-first century

  John Adams, Joan Tower, Chen Yi