Musicianship II: A Foundation of Vital Skills and Knowledge

Transcription

1 Musicianship II: A Foundation of Vital Skills and Knowledge By Mr. Jeff Hart, Instructor X2112 jhart@havsd.net 1 st Edition, 2016

2 Foreword Thank you for choosing to broaden your education in music, by pursuing the study of music theory. It is my hope that this course will provide you with a solid foundation that will serve you during your high school years, and beyond. Please make sure to have this workbook with you for every class, follow along with its lessons to the best of your ability, and also study from it at home. Remember to ask questions during the course if you are confused. Music Theory can get confusing sometimes, and I m here to help. Welcome and best wishes! Mr. Hart Content and Goals Chapter I: The Basics By the end of this chapter, you will: know and be able to write the basic symbols used in music theory know and be able to write the various note values and their corresponding rests know and be able to write notes on the grand staff Chapter II: Key Signatures and Scales By the end of this chapter, you will: know and be able to write the flat key signatures know and be able to write the sharp key signatures know and be able to write all 12 major scales Chapter III: Intervals By the end of this chapter, you will: be able to identify and write generic intervals (distance only) be able to identify and write specific intervals (quality + distance) begin to hear the difference between various specific intervals Chapter IV: Triads By the end of this chapter, you will: be able to identify and write major triads be able to identify and write minor triads be able to identify and write augmented triads be able to identify and write diminished triads begin to hear the difference between the four types of triads Chapter V: Triads in Inversion By the end of this chapter, you will: be able to identify and write first inversion triads be able to identify and write second inversion triads be able to identify whether a triad is in root position, first inversion, or second inversion Chapter VI: Your First Composition By the end of this chapter, you will: have composed a short piece within the given parameters, utilizing the acquired skills and knowledge 2

3 Chapter I: The Basics Introduction Our current system of notation (writing music down on paper / computer monitor) evolved to its current state over the course of hundreds of years. You are already very familiar with reading notation from a piano book in our Musicianship I course. Let s take a moment to review some of the basic symbols that are seen in music notation. Here is the Grand Staff, showing both the treble clef and bass clef, and a C major scale spanning 4 octaves. Do you see how some notes can be written in both clefs? Did you notice how the note heads are either on a space or on a line? This is also true of the extreme low or extreme high notes, which are shown with ledger lines. When you begin to write music by hand, it s very important to make it clear if you are writing a line note or a space note. à Practice writing the following symbols below: treble clef, bass clef, and a few notes on the staff. Mr. Hart will show you the correct way and incorrect way to accomplish these tasks. à Fill in The treble clef is also called the note. clef because the curly part on the bottom wraps around the line which shows the The bass clef s dots surround the line which shows the note. For this reason it is also called the clef. When writing notes on the staff, notes that are above the middle line have stems that are on the and point. When writing notes on the staff, notes that are below the middle line have stems that are on the and point. side side 3

4 Notes that are on the middle line have stems that may point either or. The stem direction will depend on the contour of the musical line, and what looks neat and clear in these situations is best. Before we begin to discuss the values of notes and rests, let s go back and draw a few more symbols on the staff, specifically the brace and bar lines. à Add a brace and a few bar lines to your previous page. Music notation includes symbols to indicate specific pitch (how high or low) and also duration (how long a sound lasts). Let s take a look at note values and their corresponding rest values. Notes are shown in the treble clef staff, and their corresponding rest (silent) values are shown in the bass clef staff. à Fill in The 1 st measure shows a note / rest. The 2 nd measure shows notes / rests. The 3 rd measure shows notes / rests. The 4 th measure shows notes / rests. The 5 th measure shows notes / rests. à Practice drawing these note values and rest values below. Let s leave duration for a moment, and return to pitch names. Our musical system uses the letters A through G, giving us 7 letters. That doesn t seem like a lot to remember, but it can be a challenge to recognize notes quickly on the staff. One very effective way to achieve confidence at recognizing note names on the staff is to come up with some kind of mnemonic. Though many of these exist already, it s your turn to come up with your own! à Create your own mnemonic for Line notes in treble clef 4

5 Space notes in treble clef Line notes in bass clef Space notes in bass clef Returning to our discussion of duration, it s important to discuss time signatures. These are symbols that appear at the beginning of a piece of music. The top number indicates how many beats are present in one bar (measure) of music. In theory, the top number can be any positive whole number above 0. The bottom number indicates what kind of note is receiving the beat. The bottom number can only ever be one of eight numbers that represent the eight note durations in music. These are: 1 (whole note), 2 (half note), 4 (quarter note), 8 (eighth note), 16 (sixteenth note), 32 (thirty second note), 64 (sixty fourth note), or 128 (one hundred twenty eighth note). The most common bottom numbers we see, though, are 4, 2, and 8. If you are familiar with the latter three, then that is all you really need right now! Here is an excerpt that shifts between several commonly used time signatures. Notice how the bar line separates each complete bar (measure). à Try some musical division problems (draw the note value for your answer): divided into two is divided into two is divided into two is 5 divided into two is

6 One rhythmic symbol we have not discussed is the dot. The dot increases a note by half of its original value. So a dotted quarter note would have the value of quarter note + eighth note. A dotted half note would half the value of half note + quarter note. The dot is a shorthand device and allows certain rhythms to be written quicker and without the use of ties. Our final lesson for Chapter I deals with the various accidental symbols. Here are all five, shown in a measure of music: à Fill in The three treble clef notes shown above are,, and. The two bass clef notes shown above are and. The function of these symbols is as follows: Sharp raises a note by a half step Double Sharp raises a note by two half steps Flat lowers a note by a half step Double Flat lowers a note by two half steps Natural removes any previous accidental You should already be familiar with half steps from Musicianship I. Remember, any note can have an accidental attached to it, and yes, there are such things as B sharp and F flat! Are you wondering why the double sharp and double flat exist, if we are able to play all twelve pitches without using them? Double sharps and double flats exist because of the need to spell intervals (distances between notes) and chords (two or more notes played at the same time) accurately. This will become clearer later on! 6

7 Chapter II: Key Signatures and Scales Introduction Key signatures and scales are the essential vocabulary and sentences in our musical language. It is imperative that you develop fluency in memorizing, recognizing and writing key signatures and scales, as they will be with us for our entire course of study! The key of C major is a good starting point for us. Its key signature and scale are shown below, in both treble clef and bass clef: The key signature comes after the clef, and before the time signature. As shown above, there are no sharps or flats in this key. Some key signatures utilize flats in their key signatures. Here are all of the flat key signatures: Notice how each measure adds one flat to the key signature. Thus, we can show the above information in a table like this: Key of The Order of Flats Used in Given Key Signature F Bb Bb Bb Eb Eb Bb Eb Ab Ab Bb Eb Ab Db Db Bb Eb Ab Db Gb Gb Bb Eb Ab Db Gb Cb Cb Bb Eb Ab Db Gb Cb Fb à Find a pattern that explains how to discover the major key, given the key signature. Explain below: 7

8 The flat signs follow a pattern when placed on the staff of up, down, up, down, etc. à Practice writing out all seven flats on the grand staff below. Remember your treble clef, bass clef, and brace! Once we understand the key signatures, we can write out the seven major scales that use flats. à Write all of the major scales that have flat key signatures below. The first one, F major, has been done for you. Don t worry about time signatures or stems right now; just colored-in note heads, as shown. Some key signatures utilize sharps in their key signatures. Here are all of the sharp key signatures: 8

9 Notice how each measure adds one sharp to the key signature. Thus, we can show the above information in a table like this: Key of The Order of Sharps Used in Given Key Signature G F# D F# C# A F# C# G# E F# C# G# D# B F# C# G# D# A# F# F# C# G# D# A# E# C# F# C# G# D# A# E# B# à Find a pattern that explains how to discover the major key, given the key signature. Explain below: The sharp signs follow a pattern when placed on the staff, that is slightly different from the pattern of the flats. à Practice writing out all seven sharps on the grand staff below. Remember your treble clef, bass clef, and brace! Once we understand the key signatures, we can write out the seven major scales that use sharps. à Write all of the major scales that have sharp key signatures below. The first one, G major, has been done for you. Don t worry about time signatures or stems right now; just colored-in note heads, as shown. continued on next page 9

10 Lastly, there is one very convenient device to memorize, for remembering how the order of flats and order of sharps are related: The order of flats is the order of sharps backwards, and vice-versa. See below: Order of flats: Bb Eb Ab Db Gb Cb Fb (read this backwards for the order of sharps) Order of sharps: F# C# G# D# A# E# B# (read this backwards for the order of flats) Remember, practicing the memorization of key signatures and scales is crucial to moving forward in your music theory studies. Take the time to review with a friend, using flashcards or online quizzes! 10

11 Chapter III: Intervals Introduction As a chef must measure ingredients and a builder needs must building materials, so we as musicians must measure the distance between notes, which we call intervals. We will begin with generic intervals that measure the distance between notes only. Then we ll get more specific as we discover attach quality to those distances. To start, let s return to our C major scale. Here are the generic intervals that exist from the root (first note) of the scale: à Practice writing generic intervals from any given note in treble clef or bass clef. Be sure to label your intervals. Now it s time for us to get more specific with our intervals found in the major scale. Going from the root of the major scale as before, we have two descriptors we can further give these intervals: perfect or major. Notice the intervals that are Perfect: the 1, 4, 5, and 8. The remaining intervals (2, 3, 6, and 7) are Major. Don t worry about why this is so, for now. à Play the intervals above on your keyboard, and get used to how they sound. These are all intervals found from the root of the major scale. Can you think of songs you know that use these sounds? Write your ideas below. P1 M2 M3 P4 P5 11

12 M6 M7 P8 This is a good starting point, but there are more kinds of intervals we have yet to discover! Let s use our original M3 (major third) as an example of further changes we can make, using accidentals to bring the pitch down: We began with a major 3 rd, C to E. We then lowered the E by a half step using a flat sign, producing a minor 3 rd from C to Eb. Notice the lowercase m. From there we lowered that Eb again by a half step, producing a diminished 3 rd from C to Ebb. Notice the lowercase d. à Play these sounds on your keyboard. There is still one more interval available! Again using the M3 (major third) as an example of further changes we can make, we use an accidental to bring the pitch up: We began with a major 3 rd, C to E. We then raised the E by a half step using a sharp sign, producing an augmented 3 rd from C to E#. Notice the uppercase A. à Play these sounds on your keyboard. So, in total, we have four types of intervals that are available for our 2nds, 3rds, 6ths, and 7ths: Available intervals for 2nds, 3rds, 6ths, and 7ths Augmented Highest and widest distance between notes Major High, but ½ step lower than Augmented minor Low, ½ a step lower than Major diminished Lowest and narrowest distance between notes If this seems confusing, don t worry! You will practice writing and identifying intervals as a class and on your own. The good news is that our remaining perfect intervals (1sts, 4ths, 5ths, and 8ths) are not as complicated as the 2nds, 3rds, 6ths, and 7ths. We will soon see why. 12

13 Let s take the example of the perfect 5 th from our C major intervals, and see what happens when we change the distance with accidentals: We began with C to G, the original perfect 5 th. By flatting the G, we created a diminished 5 th. By sharping the G, we created an Augmented 5 th. So, in total, we have three types of intervals that are available for our 1sts, 4ths, 5ths, and 8ths: Available intervals for 1sts, 4ths, 5ths, and 8ths Augmented Highest and widest distance between notes Perfect In the middle diminished Lowest and narrowest distance between notes If we had to create a table of all of the available intervals from high (top) to low (bottom), it would look like this: 1 st 2 nd 3 rd 4 th 5 th 6 th 7 th 8 th A1 A2 A2 A1 A1 A2 A2 A1 P1 M2 M2 P1 P1 M2 M2 P1 d1 m2 m2 d1 d1 m2 m2 d1 d2 d2 d2 d2 Using the above table we are reminded of the following: 1sts, 4ths, 5ths, and 8ths can never be major or minor. 2nds, 3rds, 6ths, and 7ths can never be perfect. Let s try our hand at identifying some intervals. Here is an example with a thought process shown: Ok, it s treble clef. The notes are Bb and F. Let me count the distance B, C, D, E, F 5. So I know it s some kind of 5 th. Moving on to the quality now...because it s a 5 th, I only have three choices for my answer, A, P, or d. The 5 th note of the Bb major scale is F, which is the Perfect 5 th (P5) in that key. So the answer must be P5. 13

14 Here s another example that might be a bit trickier. Once again, check out the thought process shown: Ok, this one is in bass clef. It s a C# to a B. That distance is C, D, E, F, G, A, B 7. So it s some kind of 7 th. Now for the quality of this interval. The 7 th note of the C# major scale is B#. That would be a Major 7 th. But this is a B natural, not a B#. So it s a half step lower than B#. If it s one half step lower than major, then it s minor. The answer is minor 7th, or m7. à Identify the examples that Mr. Hart gives you on the board. Use the space below. What if you are given a starting note interval as your starting point, and asked to find the missing note? That s the next thing we ll learn. The thought process is very similar to the exercises we just completed, but there is some working backwards involved. Here s a sample question, with the thought process shown: Find an Augmented 4 th (A4) above this note: Ok, the note is an A in treble clef. The question asks for an Augmented 4 th above this A. Let me just worry about the 4 th. That would be some kind of D. In the A major scale, D natural is the 4 th note, which is a Perfect 4 th. But this question is asking for an Augmented 4 th. So I need to raise the D by a half step. The answer must be D#. 14

15 Here s one more: Find a Major 3 rd (M3) above this note: This is a Gb in bass clef. Thinking of just the generic 3 rd, that would be G, A, B some kind of B. In the Gb major scale, the third note is Bb, which is the Major 3 rd. So the answer is Bb. à Write the missing note, given starting note and interval that Mr. Hart provides. Be sure to continue practicing identifying and writing various kinds of intervals. Your success in this area will make the material in our next chapter seem extremely easy! 15

16 Chapter IV: Triads Introduction So far, we have measured the distance between two notes at a time. This chapter will focus on stacking three adjacent line notes or three adjacent space notes on top of each other, which creates a triad. Triads are chords that add harmony to music. Think back to our beginning keyboard class, and you ll remember that your left hand was usually playing triads! Let s begin with choosing a major scale. Here is the E major scale written out, without a key signature so you can better see the sharp notes. If we take the first, third, and fifth notes of this scale and stack them up, we end up with an E major triad: The notes in this triad are E, G#, and B. Notice how they are all line notes, stacked in thirds. This same process can be used with any of the twelve major scales. Some triads will be all space notes, stacked in thirds. à Play the E major scale, and E major triad on your keyboard. à Play a major scale other than E major, and play its corresponding major triad. Going back to our example of the E major triad, we need to take a closer look to discover why it sounds major. The answer lies in the intervals: The bottom to the middle of the E major triad, E to G#, is the interval of a major 3 rd (M3). The middle to the top of this triad, G# to B, is the interval of a minor 3 rd (m3). The outer notes of the triad, E to B, give us an interval of a perfect 5 th (P5). All major triads follow this pattern: à Write some other examples of major triads below, in either treble clef or bass clef. You may use your keyboard to help you. 16

17 Using the major triad as the foundation, it is very simple to transform this E major triad into an E minor triad. The middle note needs to be lowered by a half step, in order to make it minor. Since the middle note is G#, lowering it by a half step would give us G natural, using the above reference continuum chart of accidentals from highest to lowest. So our E minor triad looks like this: Notice the new arrangement of the minor 3 rd (m3) and major third (M3). Also notice that there is still a perfect 5 th (P5) from E to B. All minor triads follow this pattern. à Compare the arrangement of the 3rds, between the major triad and minor triad. What is obvious about it? à Play the E minor triad on your keyboard. à Write some other examples of minor triads below, in either treble clef or bass clef. You can transform the major triads you already wrote, if you like. You may use your keyboard to help you. 17

18 There are two more types of triads to cover. Returning to our original E major triad, if we raised its top note by a half step, we would end up with an augmented triad: Notice that now we have two major thirds on top of one another: E to G#, G# to B#. And the interval between the outer notes is an augmented 5 th (A5) from E to B#. All augmented triads follow this pattern. à Play the E augmented triad on your keyboard. à Write some other examples of augmented triads below, in either treble clef or bass clef. You can transform the major triads you already wrote, if you like. You may use your keyboard to help you. Lastly, the diminished triad is constructed with two minor thirds on top of one another. We can use the E minor triad as our starting point. Like the augmented triad, the diminished triad has two identical thirds. But this time, they are minor thirds (m3). The interval between the outer notes is a diminished 5 th (d5). All diminished triads follow this pattern. à Play the E diminished triad on your keyboard. à Write some other examples of diminished triads below, in either treble clef or bass clef. You can transform the minor triads you already wrote, if you like. You may use your keyboard to help you. 18

19 Here is a chart to help you understand the four different kinds of triads: Triad Name Construction Sound Augmented (A) M3 M3. Outer notes A5. Bright and bizarre Major (M) M3 m3. Outer notes P5. Happy Minor (m) m3 M3. Outer notes P5. Sad Diminished (d) m3 m3. Outer notes d5. Spooky and dark à Practice writing triads of various types with Mr. Hart. à Practice identifying various types of triads with Mr. Hart. 19

20 Chapter V: Triads in Inversion Introduction As we have discovered, triads are built in thirds with three adjacent line notes or three adjacent space notes. But triads don t always have to be played or written in this manner. This chapter will explore the two inversions that available for any triad. When a triad is built with three adjacent line notes or three adjacent space notes, we say that it is in root position. The root of the triad is on the bottom, the third of the triad is in the middle, and the fifth of the triad is on the top. The below example shows an F minor triad in root position: F minor triad in root position. This can be written as Fm or F-. Notice: space note, adjacent space note, adjacent space note. Triads in root position have a tidy appearance. à Play the F minor triad on your keyboard. What if we were to take the root note (F), and place it above the other notes? That would leave the third (Ab) as the lowest note of the triad. It would look like this: F minor triad in 1 st inversion. This can be written as Fm/Ab or F-/Ab. The triad itself has not changed: it is still an F minor triad. But the fact that the third of the triad (Ab) is the lowest note, makes it a 1 st inversion triad. à Play the F minor triad in 1 st inversion on your keyboard. One more inversion is possible. What if we were to take the lowest note, which is now the third (Ab), and place it above the other notes? That would leave the fifth (C) as the lowest note of the triad. It would look like this: 20 F minor triad in 2 nd inversion. This can be written as Fm/C or F-/C. Again, the triad itself has not changed: it is still an F minor triad. But now the fifth of the triad (C) is the lowest note, making it a 2 nd inversion triad.

21 à Play the F minor triad in 2 nd inversion on your keyboard. How can we tell the difference between root position, 1 st inversion, and 2 nd inversion? Let s put them next to each other and take a look: à Play all three F minor triads in succession: root position, 1 st inversion, and 2 nd inversion. The root position triad should be easy to spot. Notice, on the 1 st inversion triad, that there is a third on the bottom (Ab to C). On the 2 nd inversion triad, there is a third on the top (F to Ab). Looking for the arrangement of the thirds is one way to identify the inversion of a triad. Another way to identify a triad inversion is to rearrange the notes so that they are back into root position, and then determine the inversion from there. Both the former and latter methods are acceptable: it s a matter of personal preference. In either case, playing the triads on your keyboard will help, too. à Practice identifying various triads in root position, 1 st inversion, and 2 nd inversion with Mr. Hart: 21

22 à Practice writing various triads in root position, 1 st inversion, and 2 nd inversion with Mr. Hart: 22

23 Chapter VI: Your First Composition Introduction Now we ve finally gotten to the creative part of music theory: composition! Using the parameters below, compose a short piece of music. You may use Noteflight (a web-based program) or Finale (an application installed on your computer). In either case, it is suggested that you make your initial draft sketches on paper. The following pages are filled with blank staff paper for this purpose. Composition Parameters: Length: 16 bars, at least Instrument: Piano (grand staff): melody in treble clef, triads in bass clef. You can also have triads in the treble clef if desired. Key Signature: Any major key except for C major Time Signature: 3 4 or 4 4 time Rhythms: A variety of whole notes, half notes, quarter notes, 8 th notes, and 16 th notes should be used. Dotted rhythms are allowed. Have fun and be prepared to share with the class! 23

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