music theory guide

8/22/2019 Music Theory Guide

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Music Theory

The Basics

By Daniel Brown



1

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION TO MUSIC THEORY 2

OVERVIEW 2WHY? 2HOW WILL THIS HELP OUR HOMEWORK? 2

NOTATION 3-5

THE STAVE 3

THE CLEFS 3

NOTE DURATION 4

STEPS AND ACCIDENTALS 5

RHYTHM AND METER 6-8

TIME SIGNATURES 6

REST DURATION 7

DOTS AND TIES 7

SIMPLE AND COMPOUNT METER 8

ODD/IRREGULAR METER 8

SCALES AND KEY SIGNATURES 9-11

THE MAJOR SCALE 9

THE MINOR SCALE 9

DEGREES OF THE SCALE 10

KEY SIGNATURES 10

INTERVALS 11

CHORDS 12-14

INTRODUCTION TO CHORDS 12

TRIADS INVERSIONS 12

SEVENTH CHORDS 14



2

INTRODUCTION TO MUSIC THEORY

This booklet will cover the following: Basic notation, rhythm

and meter, scales and key signatures, intervals, and chords.

WHY?

I am creating this booklet because firstly I need to refresh my

knowledge, it has been a while since I’ve sat my grade 8 theory,

secondly, a few people are worried about their lack of

knowledge and hopefully this will help with the homework.

MUL151 – Musical Grammar: Consider

the elements of music theory that you feel

the least confident with. Bring your

concerns to the first session. Also

consider what elements of music theory

you consider the most important to your

future practice as a performer.

HOW WILL THIS HELP WITH THE HOMEWORK?

Well, there are 6 elements of music theory: Harmony and

tonality, Rhythm and metre, Texture, Timbre, and Notation.

Which of these do you feel least confident with? After you have

read this booklet this should give you grounding in each of theelements, so you can make a better judgment as to which is

your weakest!



3

NOTATION

Firstly, we will start with the stave; the stave is the foundation

upon which all notes are drawn.

A stave consists of 5 lines and 4 spaces, as you can see here.

Each space or line represents a white key on a piano.

CLEFS

There are 3 main clefs; the treble clef (a), the alto clef (b) and

the bass clef (c).

(a) (b) (c)

When using the treble clef, the spaces spell out FACE,

the alto clef spells GBDF, and the bass clef spells ACEG.

The rest of the letters go up or down in the alphabet

respectively.

Once you reach G you repeat the alphabet.



4

The letter ‘H’ is used in music; it is German for B natural.

Middle ‘C’ is the central point when referencing what

octave to begin playing or singing in. Here is middle C ineach clef. Middle C should be used when referencing

what clef to write in, below middle C then use bass clef,

above middle C then tenor clef.



5

NOTE DURATION

Note duration is best described using the pyramid system.

1 Semibreve is worth 2 minims

1 minim is worth 2 crotchets

1 crotchet is worth

2 quavers

1 quaver is worth

2 semi-quavers.

So one semibreve is worth 4 beats, a minim 2 beats, a crotchet 1

beat,

A quaver is worth half a beat, and a semi-quaver is worth a

quarter of a beat.



6

STEPS AND ACCIDENTALS

When you are trying to understand steps, you need to know two

terms; Semi-tones and tones.

A semitone is the distance from one note to its adjacent note.

A tone is two adjacent notes.

The red lines indicate semitones.

The green lines indicate tones.

An accidental is a sign used to lower or raise the pitch of a note

by a semitone or tone.

There are five symbols; double flat, flat, natural, sharp and

double sharp. These are displayed using the following symbols.

Double flat:¬ a double flat lowers the note by a tone.

Flat: ¨ a flat lowers the note by a semitone.

Natural: ª a natural returns the note to its original position.

Sharp: © A sharp raises the note by a semitone.

Double Sharp: X A double sharp raises the note by a tone.



7

TIME SIGNATURES

Time signatures are used to describe the amount of notes

needed in each bar.

They are made up of two numbers. The top number describeshow many notes,

and the bottom lets you know what type of note.

How many?

What type?

This is how the bottom notes are denoted.

1

2

4

8

16

So the time signature 6/8 means 6 quavers a bar.

And the time signature 3/4 means 3 crotchets a bar.

Simple



8

REST DURATION

Rest durations are equal to their equivalent symbol.

4 2 1 1/4 1/8

Each rest replaces its equivalent note to aid filing the bar.

DOTS AND TIES

Dotes and ties create skipping rhythms and syncopation.

Dotes add half the value to the note. So in this example, the

crotchets are dotted. Meaning instead of being one beat each;

they are now one and a half beats long.

The tie used by the two quavers and also by the two crotchets is

used to create one note. The two tied quavers now become a

crotchet. And the two crotchets now become minim,



9

SIMPLE AND COMPOUND TIME SIGNATURES

Every time signature has a name. It can be classified as either

duple, triple, or quadruple.

It is then called simple if the notes are divisible by two, or

compound if they are divisible by three.

For example; 2/4 is simple duple. Simple because two is

divisible by two and duple refers to there being two beats in the

bar.

3/8 is compound triple. Compound because it’s divisible by

three, and triple as there are three beats in each bar.

ODD/IRREGULAR TIME SIGNATURES

An odd or irregular time signature is a bar which has both

compound and simple beats in a bar. For example 5/8

Other examples include 10/8, 8/8, and 11/8.



10

THE MAJOR SCALE

A scale contains 8 notes, from the starting letter, to the letter

again. For example: CDEFGABC.

A simple formula can be used to construct a major scale.

TTSTTTS

T – Tone,

S – Semi-tone.

Using the formula above, let’s create the scale of A major.

We start on A, a tone from A is B, a tone from B is C#, a

semitone from C# is D, a tone from D is E, a tone from E is F#,A tone from F# is G#, a semi tone from G# is A.

Scale completed.

A B C# D E F# G# A.

This formula can be completed on any note.

THE MINOR SCALE

There are three times of minor scale; harmonic, melodic, and

natural.

The formula for a natural minor scale is simple.

TSTTSTT

T – Tone,

S – Semi-tone.

Using this formula, A natural minor scale is as follows:

ABCDEFGA.

To create a harmonic minor raise the 7th note. In A harmonic

minor: ABCDEFG#A.



11

And finally to create a melodic minor scale raise the 6th and 7th

on the way up and natural them on the way down:

ABCDEF#G#AGFEDCBA.

DEGREES OF THE SCALE

There are seven degrees of the scale, the table below shows the

degree and its name. A degree of the scale basically means the

position and name of a note in a scale!

1st Tonic

2nd Supertonic

3rd Mediant

4th Subdominant

5th Dominant

6th Submediant

7th Leading Note

KEY SIGNATURES

Before we begin on key signatures, you need to know the order

of sharps and flats.

SHARPS:

Father Charles Goes Down And Ends Battle; FCGDAEB

FLATS:

Battle Ends And Down Goes Charles Father; BEADGCF



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Remembering these phrases will make remembering the order a

lot simpler!

The table below shows how many sharps and flats are in each

key signature.

It is read like any other table. For example a key signature with

4 sharps, would be either E major or C# minor. Or a key with 2

flats, would be either Bb major or G minor.

Number: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

#Major C G D A E B F# C#

Minor A E B F# C# G# D# A#

¨ Major C F B¨ E¨ A¨ D¨ G¨ C¨

Minor A D G C F B¨ E¨ A¨

INTERVALS

An interval is the space between two notes. To number the

interval remember to count the note you start on.

A 3rd, 5th, or an 8ve, can be augmented, perfect, or diminished.

Every other interval can be augmented, major, minor, or

diminished.



13

INTRODUCTION TO CHORDS

A chord or a triad is a combination of three or more notes.

To build a generic major chord, start with the root note, add a

major 3rd and a perfect 5th. E.g. C, E, G.

To build a minor chord, again start with the root note, add a

minor 3rd and a perfect 5th. E.g. C, Eb, G.

A diminished chord is a chord built using 2 minor thirds,

C, Eb, G.

And an augmented chord is a chord using two major thirds,

C, E, G#.

TRIAD INVERSIONS

A chord has three inversions. Root, 1st inversion, 2nd inversion,

3rd inversion.

They are built by simply re-arranging the notes of the chord.

G C E G

E G C E

C E G C

Bb

Root 1st 2nd 3rd

inv. Inv. Inv. Inv.

The 3rd inversion is built with the 7th of the chord as the root.



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SEVENTH CHORDS

There are five different types of seveneth chords,

Firstly, there is a dominant seventh. This is simply achieved by

adding a minor 7th to the chord. C-E-G-Bb.

Secondly, there is a major seventh. This is adding a major 7th to

the chord. C-E-G-B.

Thirdly, there is a minor seventh. Like a major 7th, but a minor.

C-Eb-G-Bb

Fourth, is the half diminished seventh chord, this is a minor

chord with a minor 7

th

on top. C- Eb-Gb-Bb

Fifth, is the diminished seventh chord. This is four minor 3rds.

C-Eb-Gb-Bbb

BIBLIOGRAPHY

http://www.musictheory.net - More information can be foundon this brilliant site!

http://www.musictheory.net/



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