Draw five horizontal lines equally spaced. You have a stave.
Draw ellipses over the lines and in the spaces. The higher the ellipse the higher the pitch. Music rises and falls on the page as it does in your ear.
Which instrument would you choose to play these notes? High pitched instruments and voices use treble clef. Low pitched instruments and voices use bass clef. The clef is an ornamental symbol drawn far left of the stave.
Treble Clef:
Bass Clef:
You may meet many clefs in your travels. Let us introduce two more. When you write for viola and alto voices you use alto clef. In classical music the alto clef is also used by trombone.
Alto Clef:
When you write for tenor voices you use tenor clef. Cello, bassoon and trombone use tenor clef occasionally.
Tenor Clef:
Though we know the stave as five horizontal lines it originated as eleven. The 11 line stave is called the grand stave. Pitch ascends through the lines and spaces of the grand stave.
Our five line stave is easier to read than the grand stave. But to reduce our stave to five lines we need to know which five lines we are referring to. For that we use a clef.
It is comforting to see how closely the staves are related.
We name the ascensions of pitch with the first 7 letters of the alphabet, A B C D E F G. The alphabet ascends smoothly through the lines and spaces of the grand stave. We repeat the names at each eighth ascension.The easy ascension on the grand stave doesn't look so easy on the 5 line staves. The middle line is B on the treble clef, D on the bass clef, C on the alto clef and A on the tenor clef.
Soprano instruments lend themselves to melody, light harmony and colour. Tenor instruments too play melody. Bass sometimes plays melody. It takes a skillful arranger to write an effective and appropriate bass melody. Bass is the band's tonal foundation. If an inappropriate move is made the building comes tumbling down. To study bass we must be able to talk about it in quantifiable terms. Bass C is an octave under Middle C. Pedal C is an octave under Bass C. Bass notes are between Bass C and Pedal C. Pedal notes are all notes under Pedal C. We must also talk about very high notes in quantifiable terms. The higher the note the thinner it is. Above the treble clef notes noticeably thin out. Very thin notes are used for colour and effect, rarely melody. Some instruments play as high as C above the treble clef (Top C). Very few instruments play as high as C above Top C (double top C). Notes between top C and double top C are top notes. Notes above double top C are double top notes.
Now you understand pitch on a grand orchestral scale. We turn to the smallest intervals in western music the tones and semitones. The letters of the alphabet are separated by tones and semitones. E to F is a semitone. Twice a semitone is a tone. F to G is a tone. The alphabet is not equidistant. F to G is twice the distance of E to F.
Western music is divided into 12 equidistant semitones. How do we write the interval between F and G? We introduce new notation. A semitone higher than F is F#. A semitone lower than G is Gb. F# and Gb are the same pitch. They represent the semitone between F and G. The step-like alphabetic ascension of tones and semitones is familiar to all who play the piano keyboard.
One of the most basic and fundamental elements in music is the scale. A scale is simply a series of ascending and descending notes. The first type of scales I will discuss will be the diatonic scales. These scales make use of whole steps and half steps (and one step-and-a-half). In these scales, each note has particular importance, and the first tone is particularly important. The major scale is the most commonly used diatonic scale in western music. The easiest way to construct a major scale is to memorize the step patterns. Below is a diagram of the step pattern.
The best way to remember this series of steps is to use this formula: WWHWWWH
I'll give you an example. A C major scale starts on C. The next note in the scale is D(a whole step up from C). The next note would be E(a whole step up from D). Then it would be F(a half step from E), then G (whole step from F), then A (whole step from G), then B (whole step from A), and finally you resolve to C(a half step from B). This formula will work for any note you pick, as long as you stick to the WWHWWWH pattern. The minor scale is another commonly used diatonic scale. There are several distinct forms of a minor scale, each one alters the pitch of the sixth and seventh notes of the scale. Although these forms are very separate and distinct, they are still thought of as one minor scale. There are three forms of the minor scale: the natural, the harmonic, and the melodic. The natural minor scale can be thought of as a major scale starting on the sixth note, see the diagram below.
Major Minor C a G e D b A f# E c# B (Cb) a flat (g#) F# (Gb) e flat (d#) C# (Db) b flat (a sharp) Ab f Eb c Bb g F d
The best way to memorize this is to simply play the root note, and go up one whole step and one half step, then figure out the major key that is related to the minor key you are trying to figure out. Then simply play the major scale, starting on the sixth note (the note you originally started with).
The harmonic form is even easier. The only difference between the harmonic form and the natural form is that the harmonic form has a raised seventh. The last note of the scale before the octave is raised one half step. For instance, the G in the A natural minor form would become a G# in the A harmonic minor form. This is done because half steps are very important in music. When moving in half steps, the first will naturally "pull" towards the second. Also, this leaves a distance of a step-and-a-half between the sixth and seventh notes of the scale, which adds a nice "snake charmer" kind of sound. And, if the seventh note of the scale is raised, that means that the dominant chord will be major (instead of minor, as in the natural minor scale) and will have more pull towards the root chord.
The melodic minor form is a little more complicated. In this form, the sixth and seventh notes of the natural minor scale are raised when ascending, and lowered when descending. An example: the D minor scale. The natural form would be DEFGABb CD (related to F major). In the melodic form, it would be like this:DEFGAB(natural)C#D C(natural) Bb AGFED.
The major and minor scales are by far the most used, but there are many other non-diatonic scales in existence. One which is commonly used is the chromatic scale. This scale consists entirely of half steps, and has no tonic key or root note. This is usually not used as a foundation, but often appears in short passages or as a transitional statement. The major and minor scales are by far the most used, but there are many other non-diatonic scales in existence. One which is commonly used is the chromatic scale. This scale consists entirely of half steps, and has no tonic key or root note. This is usually not used as a foundation, but often appears in short passages or as a transitional statement. From c.800-1500 C.E., the church "modes" formed the basis for nearly all western music. Later, in c.1400-1600, a few more modes were put into place. A mode is directly related to a major scale. There are seven modes: Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, and Locrian. The modes are simply major scales starting on notes other than the tonic. In fact, the first mode, Ionian, is simply a major scale. The sixth mode, Aeolian, is simply a natural minor scale. The Dorian and Mixolydian are the most commonly used modes, and the Locrian is very very rare.
A chord is a harmonic unit with at least three different tones sounding simultaneously. This could be any combination of notes, in any octave and on one or several different instruments. Strictly speaking, a triad is any three-tone chord. However, in western music (1600-present), the term implies three notes built in stacked thirds (one 3rd placed upon another.) The word "root" is the note upon which a chord is based. a C Major triad refers to a Major triad whose root is C. Four types of triads are common in western music. The most widely recognized is the Major triad. It consists of a minor 3rd stacked on top of a minor third (C-E=M3, E-G=m3.) A minor triad consists of a Major third stacked on top of a minor 3rd (D-F=m3, F-A=M3.) A diminished triad consists of two minor thirds stacked on top of one another (E-G=m3, G-Bb=m3.) An augmented triad consists of an augmented third stacked upon a Major third (G-B=M3, B-D#=aug3.)
When analyzing a piece of music, chords are one of the first things you try to figure out. There is a roman numeral system that corresponds to each type of chord. Upper case roman numerals refer to a major chord (i.e. I, IV, V, etc.), lower case refers to a minor chord (i.e. v, vi, ii, iv, etc.), lower case numerals with a ° denote diminished chords (i.e. ii°, vii°, etc.), and upper case numerals with a + means an augmented chord (i.e. III+, VII+, etc.) It is commonly known that a Major chord is the most stable, and a minor is quite stable, while augmented and diminuted chords are quite weak and are hardly ever used as a resolution point.
Music is similar to spoken language in many, many ways. In language, the end of a sentence is marked by a period, and the end of clauses and phrases is marked by a comma. In music, these endings are brought about by a musical punctuation called a cadence. Cadences bring the end of musical statements, some end the sentence for good, others simply end the idea and continue with a new one. In most western music, the types of cadences will usually fall under one of four categories: Perfect Authentic, Imperfect Authentic, Half, or Deceptive. A perfect authentic cadence is used to bring a very "finished" feeling into a piece, it is usually put at the end of a major section in the piece. The perfect authentic cadence consists of a two chord progression, V-I. What makes this cadence perfect is that both the V chord and the I chord must be in root position (not inverted). If the progression goes V-I, but the chords are inverted, then it is an imperfect authentic cadence. This type of cadence is not as strong as a perfect authentic cadence, but it still has a very "finished" feeling to it. A half cadence is used to leave things "up in the air". It usually falls in the middle of a two-phrase statement, or at the end of any passage that is followed by a continuation of the theme. This cadence is a also a two chord progression, but instead of going V-I, as in the authentic cadences, it goes I-V, leaving a very "unfinished" feeling. A deceptive cadence is basically any cadence that starts on the V, but moves to any other chord besides the I. These cadences are there to trick your ear, they make you think that V will resolve down to I, but instead it stays on the five, and then moves to some other chord and starts another phrase. These cadences are found mostly in sections where a single theme is being presented, for they do not provide any kind of closure to the statement. There are other kinds of cadences, one of which is a Plagal cadence. Mostly, this cadence is IV-I, and brings a somewhat weak end to a phrase or statement. There are also Plagal Half cadences, which go I-IV, but they are used infrequently because it doesn't seem to end things at all.
By now, you should have a firm understanding of harmonic tones (tones which are part of a chord or key.) The next step is to learn about nonharmonic tones. Nonharmonic tones will usually be found stuck in between two chord tones (ex. {C maj chord} C-D-E.) Often, these nonharmonic tones will be on the upbeat, or unaccented, to avoid dissonance. There are several types of nonharmonic tones: Passing tones (ascending and descending), neighbor tones (upper and lower), escape tones, appoggiaturas, suspensions, retardations, and anticipations. See the chart below, the nonharmonic tone is circled.
A passing tone is simply an ascending or descending stepwise motion, with the nonharmonic note in between two chord tones. A neighboring tone goes from a chord tone up or down (upper or lower) to a nonharmonic tone, then back to the original chord tone. An escape tone moves from a chord tone, up (or down) to a nonharmonic tone, then skips back in the direction of the original chord tone, but bypasses it for the next chord tone above that. The escape tone will usually fall over a two chord progression, with the first note being a chord tone of chord 1, the second note being the escape tone, and the third note being a chord tone in chord 2. The same goes for the next few nonharmonic tones. The appoggiatura is like a backwards escape tone. Instead of going step-skip, it goes skip-step. The chord tone is hit, then it skips to the appoggiatura, then moves stepwise to another chord tone. A suspension simply lingers on a note after the chord is hit, then resolves. It starts on a chord tone of chord 1, then when chord 2 is struck, it re-articulates the same note (which was a chord tone with chord 1, but is not with chord 2) before finally resolving to a chord tone of chord 2. A retardation is simply a suspension that resolves up, all suspensions resolve down, a retardation resolves up. An anticipation is the opposite of the suspension and retardation. This time, a chord tone is struck with chord 1, then before chord 2 is hit, the anticipation sounds (a chord tone of chord 2, but a nonharmonic tone with chord 1), and is re-articulated when chord two is sounded. Beat placement and accents are very important with nonharmonic tones. The effect of a nonharmonic tone is greatly altered if that tone is sounded on the beat. It can be done, and it is not against any kind of rule to place them on the beat, it is done quite frequently, but the effect is all together different.
