Overview
This lecture provides a crash course in music theory fundamentals, including notes, scales, chords, chord progressions, melodies, and rhythm, with practical exercises throughout.
What is Music Theory?
- Music theory is the language that helps understand, interpret, and communicate about music.
- Knowing music theory allows musicians to create and analyze music more naturally and fluently.
Notes and Pitch
- Sound is made of vibrations, with faster vibrations producing higher notes (pitches).
- There are twelve notes commonly used in Western music, repeating in higher and lower ranges (octaves).
- The distance between adjacent notes is called a semitone (half-step); two semitones make a whole tone (whole step).
- Note names are A to G for white keys; black keys are sharps (#, higher) or flats (b, lower).
Scales and Keys
- A key is a group of notes that sound good together, typically using seven of the twelve notes.
- The major scale formula is: whole, whole, half, whole, whole, whole, half steps.
- The C major scale uses all white keys; other scales follow the same step pattern starting on a different root.
- Scale degrees number notes in the scale from 1 (root) to 7.
Chords and Triads
- Chords are multiple notes played together, usually from the same key.
- The basic chord (triad) uses the 1st (root), 3rd, and 5th notes of the scale.
- Major triads are spaced four then three semitones (major = 4, 3); minor triads are three then four (minor = 3, 4).
- Each scale degree can form its own triad, leading to major or minor chords depending on degree.
Chord Progressions and Number System
- Chord progressions often use scale degrees as shorthand (e.g. I-V-vi-IV).
- Major scale triads follow the pattern: major, minor, minor, major, major, minor, diminished.
- Thinking in numbers allows transposing progressions to any key.
Inversions
- Inversions rearrange chord notes so the root, third, or fifth is the lowest note.
- Inversions smooth out chord transitions and change chord flavor.
Melodies
- Melodies are single note sequences often sung or played over chords.
- Good melodies balance notes within the chord (stable) and outside the chord (tension).
- The major pentatonic scale (major scale minus 4th and 7th notes) often sounds good for melodies.
Rhythm and Counting
- Music is divided into bars (measures) with typically four beats per bar.
- Beats are subdivided into quarter, eighth, and sixteenth notes (1, 1-and, 1-e-and-a).
- Rhythmic notation helps record and communicate musical ideas.
Key Terms & Definitions
- Semitone/Half-step — the smallest interval between two notes.
- Whole tone/Whole step — two semitones.
- Octave — interval between one note and the next of the same name.
- Scale Degree — position of a note within a scale, numbered 1-7.
- Triad — three-note chord built from the root, third, and fifth.
- Inversion — rearrangement of chord notes so a note other than the root is lowest.
- Pentatonic Scale — five-note scale removing 4th and 7th degrees.
- Bar/Measure — segment of music containing a fixed number of beats.
Action Items / Next Steps
- Practice building major scales and naming notes by both letter and scale degree.
- Create triads on scale degrees 1-6 in several major keys and label each as major or minor.
- Compose chord progressions using the number system and try transposing to different keys.
- Experiment with chord inversions for smoother progressions.
- Write melodies over chord progressions, using the pentatonic scale if needed.
- Analyze rhythms from songs you like using sixteenth note notation.