Free Music Theory Lessons

www.mariotrane.com
mario@mariotrane.com

What Is Music Theory?

Music theory is the study of melodies, intervals, scales and chords.

Intervals are used to analyze melodies. Scales are the notes of melodies arranged alphabeticly.

Major and minor scales adapt the intervals used in melodies with equivelent temper tuned" intervals to accomodate harmony or chords.

Melodies use consecutive sounding intervals.

Harmony or chords use intervals sounding simultaniously.

Musical notation developed from the analysis of the intervals in melodies and the scales chords derived derived from them.

What Are Intervals?

The distance between any two notes is called an Interval. The traditional instrument for measuring intervals is called a monochord or one string instrument. Using a bridge to shorten the length of the string to compare the notes, intervals can be measured. All intervals can be expressed as ratios. The ratio 1:2 compares the note produced by the original string 1:, with the note produced when the string is divided in halve :2. The ratio 2:3 compares the note produced by the string divided in halve :2, with the note produced when the string is divided in halve again or quartered :3, and so on. Centuries before Christ, the Greeks discovered that intervals called Octaves, Fifths, and Fourths or the consonant intervals could be expressed in ratios 1:2, 2:3, 3:4. Usually attributed to Pythagoras, this is one of the greatest achievements in musical theory.

On What Notes Are Melodies Based?

While the notes used for melodies from culture to culture varies considerably, the consonant intervals appear in melodies from almost every culture in the world. The first ratio 1:2 represents the interval called the octave. In almost every culture in the world the octave is considered a repetition of the original note and all other intervals are divisions of the octave. Notes higher or lower than the original octave are considered repetitions of their equivalents within the original octave.

What Are Scales?

Scales are the notes used in melodies. Every melody has a fundamental note called the Root Note that the melody ends on. Other notes of the melody are the consonant notes; the note an octave above, the note a fifth above and the note a fourth above. This is four notes from which a melody can be produced. Almost every culture in the world uses at least one other note, a five note scale called a pentatonic scale. All scales use notes that divide the octave. Notes in melodies that go above and below one octave are counted as their equivalent notes within the octave. A pentatonic scale uses five notes. In western music twelve notes divide the octave called the chromatic scale. Each note is an interval of a Half Step, or Minor Second. Eight letters are used with four notes added in between some of the letters called Chromatic notes. Chromatic notes are represented with sharp or flat symbols which add or subtract a half step.

What Are Major And Minor Scales?

A major scale uses eight notes from the chromatic scale skipping over some of the notes. A major scale uses a whole step(two half steps), whole step, half step, whole step, whole step, whole step, half step. Different Minor scales use different variations of whole and half steps. Major and minor scales are subset scales of the chromatic scale and are modern versions of scales derived from songs from the Roman Church, sometimes called Gregorian Chants.

What Are Chords?

Intervals can be performed one at a time called melody or simultaneously called Harmony or Chords. Early attempts at harmony occurred when two singers sang the same melody at the same time but on different root notes. The most common forms used the original melody with other voices starting on the note an octave, fourth or fifth above the original note. This type of harmony is called Organum. This lead to a type of mirroring of the original melody (when the original melody went up the other voice went down or visa versa) called Contrary Motion. Counterpoint is two or more melodies with independent rhythms. Today almost all music uses counterpoint.

Where did musical notation come from?

Guido de Arrezo (c.1000 a.d.) invented a system of musical notation using four lines and the spaces between the lines called a staff with points or notes indicating each note of a melody. Today the staff uses five lines but is remarkably similar to the original staff invented by Guido. Originally rhythms were designated with different colors. One color indicated longer notes another color a shorter rhythm. Today long notes are hollow points called Whole Notes. The length of the note is shortened by adding a stem to the hollow point called a Half Note. A Quarter Note fills in the hollow of the point and Eighth, Sixteenth and Thirty-second notes add one, two or three flags respectivly to the quarter note.