INTRODUCTIONTO MUSIC THEORY

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Music Sharing! Review: Common Harmonies (major & minor) Review: Cadences New: Passing Tones & Neighboring Tones New: Composition in Major & Minor New: More scales!

◦ The blues scale◦ The pentatonic scale

New: The 12–Bar Blues Chord Progression Work on: Compositions!

TODAY:

MAJOR:◦ Scale degrees 1, 3, 5 = I chord (C, E, G)◦ Scale degrees 2, 4, 5, 7 = V (or V7) chord (G, B, D,

F)◦ Scale degrees 1, 4, 6 = IV chord (F, A, C)◦ When harmonizing with the V7 chord, the 5th

is often omitted. ◦ Most harmonizations begin with a I chord◦ Typical progression at the end of a piece:

ii–vi–V–I IV–V–I

COMMON HARMONIES:

MINOR:◦ Scale degrees 1, 3, 5 = i chord (a, c, e)◦ Scale degrees 2, 4, 5, 7 = V (or V7) chord (e, g, b,

d)◦ Scale degrees 1, 4, 6 = iv chord (d, f, a)◦ When harmonizing with the V7 chord, the 5th

is often omitted. ◦ Most harmonizations begin with a i chord◦ Typical progression at the end of a piece:

ii–vi–V(7)–I IV–V(7)–I

COMMON HARMONIES:

A progression of at least two chords that end a phrase, section, or piece of music.

◦ Authentic Cadence: V(7)–I or V(7)–i

◦ Plagal Cadence: IV–I or IV–i (“Amen”)

◦ Half Cadence: any cadence ending on V

◦ Deceptive Cadence: V– any chord other than I (typically ii, IV6, iv6, vi or VI)

CADENCES:

PASSING TONES & NEIGHBORING TONES: Most melodies include tones that are not part of

the chord used for the harmony. These non–chord tones are called “non–harmonic tones.”

When a melody passes from one chord tone to a different chord tone with a non–harmonic tone in between, the non–harmonic tone is called a PASSING TONE.

When a melody passes from one chord tone back to the same chord tone with a non–harmonic tone in between, the non–harmonic tone is called a PASSING TONE.

Upper & lower neighboring tones

COMPOSITION: Composition is a similar process regardless

of whether you are composing in a major or a minor key. You can compose a melody based on a given chord progression.

Analyze the chord progression by writing Roman numerals below the chords and/chord symbols above the staff.

COMPOSITION: Use both chord tones and non–chord tones

(passing and neighboring) to make the melody unique and interesting.

Remember that the first and last note of a melody tends to be the root of the I (or i) chord.

Also, remember that a V or V7 chord usually precedes the last chord.

To change a major scale into a blues scale, do the following:◦ Completely remove the 2nd and 6th scale degrees◦ Flat the 3rd and 7th scale degrees◦ Add a flatted 5th before the regular 5th scale degree

C Major: C D E F G A B C C Blues: C Eb F Gb G Bb C

A blues scale only has SEVEN (7) pitches! The flatted notes (3, 5, 7) are often called

“blue notes”.

THE BLUES SCALE:

Technically speaking, any scale composed of five notes can be called a pentatonic scale (penta=five).

Learning only two different pentatonic scales will cover 99% of the playing situations that you will encounter. These two scales are referred to as the MAJOR PENTATONIC and the MINOR PENTATONIC.

The major pentatonic is built from these intervals: R-2-3-5-6 In the key of C, that would be: C-D-E-G-A This scale works very well over chord progressions that are

based on major chords, such as I-IV-V-I, V-IV-I-V or I-iv-IV-V-I.

The minor pentatonic is built from these intervals: R-b3-4-5-b7 In the key of C, that would give us: C-Eb-F-G–Bb This scale works well for chord progressions based on minor

chords, such as iv-ii-iii-iv or ii-iii-IV-ii.

THE PENTATONIC SCALE:

“The Blues” has its roots in America’s south, where musicians combined west African rhythms and gospel singing with European harmonies. The blues can often be found in jazz, rock, and pop music.

THE 12–BAR BLUES:

A blues chord progression is usually 12 measures (or bars) long. While there are many variations, a traditional blues progression generally consists of:◦ the I chord (4 measures)◦ the IV chord (2 measures)◦ the 1 chord (2 measures)◦ the V or V7 chord (1 measure)◦ the IV chord (1 measure)◦ The I chord (2 measures)

THE 12–BAR BLUES: