Idiot's Guides - Music Theory

by Michael Miller

  Exercise

  Exercise 21-1

  Use a blank piece of score paper or your music notation program of choice to create a simple eight-measure chart for big band. Base your piece on the chord progressions listed in the rhythm parts, and use the transposed keys for each instrument.

  The Least You Need to Know

  Lead sheets present melody, chords, and lyrics.

  Chord sheets are used to present chords only—and can use standard chord notation or the simplified Nashville Number System of notation.

  Choral scores include individual parts for soprano, alto, tenor, and bass plus piano accompaniment.

  Band and orchestral scores include separate staves for each instrument—and can be written in either concert or transposed keys.

  The chore of creating written music can be made easier by computerized music notation programs, such as Finale or Sibelius.

  Coda

  Thus ends this book—and your first exposure to basic music theory. I hope you’ve found the information in these pages helpful, and that I’ve passed on some of my love and enthusiasm for how music gets created.

  The key thing to remember (aside from all the notes and rhythms and such) is that these musical building blocks exist for you to use—however you like. We may say that there are rules and conventions, but when it comes to creating music, all the rules are made to be broken. What ultimately matters is how a piece of music sounds—to you, and to your listeners.

  Theory is good, but it’s just a guideline for what happens out in the real world. If you want to use parallel fifths in your harmony, go ahead. If you want to flat a fifth or resolve a turnaround to the ii chord instead of the I, do it. Some of the greatest pieces of music have broken all sorts of rules. As long as it sounds good, it’s all okay.

  Just because you’re done with this book, however, doesn’t mean that your music education has ended. In fact, if you choose to make music a part of your life, your education never ends. Every song you listen to, every piece of music you hear is an opportunity to learn more about the music you love. Keep your ears open and your mind free, and you’ll continue to expand your knowledge and skills for the rest of your musical life.

  You can also further your music education with more reading. If you’re serious about becoming a better musician, I recommend you check out the following books:

  Arranging and Composing (David Baker, Alfred Publishing, 1970; revised edition, 1988)

  Arranging Concepts Complete (Dick Grove, Alfred Publishing, 1972; second edition, 1985)

  Hearing and Writing Music: Professional Training for Today’s Musician (Ron Gorow, September Publishing, 2000; second edition, 2015)

  Melody in Songwriting: Tools and Techniques for Writing Hit Songs (Jack Perricone, Berklee Press, 2000)

  Sounds and Scores: A Practical Guide to Professional Orchestration (Henry Mancini, Northridge Music Inc., 1973)

  The Study of Orchestration (Samuel Adler, W.W. Norton & Company, fourth edition, 2016)

  Tunesmith: Inside the Art of Songwriting (Jimmy Webb, Hyperion, 1998)

  What to Listen for in Music (Aaron Copland, Mentor, 1939; softcover revision, 2011)

  I’d be remiss if I didn’t also mention some of the other music books that I have written. Like this book, they’re all in Alpha Books’ Idiot’s Guides series, and (I hope) are equally easy to read and follow. These books include:

  The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Conducting Music (Michael Miller, Alpha Books, 2012)

  The Complete Idiot’s Guide to the Music Business (Michael Miller, Alpha Books, 2010)

  The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Music Composition (Michael Miller, Alpha Books, 2005)

  The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Music History (Michael Miller, Alpha Books, 2008)

  The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Playing Drums (Michael Miller, Alpha Books, 2000; second edition, 2004)

  The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Singing (Michael Miller and Phyllis Fulford, Alpha Books, 2003; second edition, 2014)

  Of course, if you really want to learn about music, you need a good teacher. Whether you study one-on-one with a professional educator, or attend music classes at your favorite school or university, a teacher can provide the individual instruction that’s necessary to develop your own unique musical skills.

  There are also many music theory resources on the internet. These tend to change from year to year, so go to Google and do a search on “music theory” and see what you find. Among my favorite sites are Teoría Music Theory Web (teoria.com) and Musictheory.net (musictheory.net)—although a quick Google search will find even more sites to explore.

  While you’re online, make sure you check out my personal website (millerwriter.com). There you’ll find information about my latest book projects and any updates or corrections to the information in this book. There’s also a contact form you can use to send messages or questions my way. (You can also follow me on Twitter; my handle is @molehillgroup.)

  If you love music, as I do, you’ll want to experience as much of it as possible. The more you play, or sing, or just listen, the more you’ll learn about the theory behind the music. So put down this book and listen to your favorite music—or pick up your instrument and start playing. The music is waiting for you!

  APPENDIX

  A

  Glossary

  a cappella Vocal music, without instrumental accompaniment.

  a tempo Return to the previous tempo.

  accelerando Gradually speed up. (Abbreviated as accel.)

  accent A note played louder or with more emphasis than regular notes.

  accidental A marking used to raise and lower the indicated pitch. Sharps raise the note a half step, flats lower the note a half step, and naturals return the note to the original pitch.

  adagietto Tempo marking for a moderately slow tempo, slightly faster than adagio.

  adagio Tempo marking for a moderately slow tempo.

  allegretto Tempo marking for a moderately fast tempo, not quite as fast as allegro.

  allegro Tempo marking for a fast, cheerful tempo.

  altered bass chord A chord with some note other than the root in the bass. The altered bass note is typically notated after a slash, like this: Am7/D.

  alto clef A clef, used primarily by the viola, that places middle C on the middle line of the staff.

  alto voice The lowest female voice.

  andante Tempo marking for a moderate, walking tempo.

  andantino Tempo marking for a moderate tempo, slightly faster than andante.

  arpeggio A chord that is broken up and played one note at a time.

  articulation The manner in which notes are struck, sustained, and released. One indicates articulation by the use of markings such as legato, staccato, tenuto, and so on.

  atonality Music that has no tonal center and no underlying key. In pure atonal music, the notes of the chromatic scale are used impartially and independently, with no home degree or tonic.

  attack The beginning part of a sound.

  augmented chord A chord with a major third and a raised fifth (1-3-♯5).

  backbeat In 4/4 time, beats two and four, typically played by the drummer on the snare drum.

  bar See measure.

  bar line The vertical line placed on the staff between measures.

  baritone voice A male voice pitched between the bass and tenor voices; not always isolated in choral music.

  bass The lowest pitch of a chord (not necessarily the root).

  bass clef A clef, used by lower-pitched voices and instruments, that places middle C on the first ledger line above the staff.

  bass voice The lowest male voice.

  beat Any pulsing unit of musical time.

  big band A large ensemble for playing jazz music, consisting of saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section.

  block chord An unbroken chord, where all the notes are played at once, typically along with the same rhythm as the melody.

  blues Music
, originating in the African American community, that incorporates flatted notes and a specific chord progression (the blues progression).

  blues progression A 12-bar sequence of chords common in blues and jazz music, as follows: I-I-I-I-IV-IV-I-I-V7-V7-I-I.

  blues scale The scale used in blues music with the following scale tones: 1-♭3-4-♭5-5-♭7.

  brass The family of instruments, typically made of brass, that produces sound by blowing through a mouthpiece. The brass family includes the trumpet, trombone, tuba, and French horn.

  broken chord Another name for an arpeggiated chord, where the notes are played in sequence as opposed to all at once.

  cadence A pause or stopping point, typically a short chord progression inserted at the end of a phrase or piece of music.

  canon A musical form in which the melody is imitated by various parts in contrapuntal fashion.

  choir A large vocal ensemble.

  chord Three or more notes played simultaneously.

  chord progression A series of chords over a number of measures.

  chord sheet A sheet of music containing only the chords of a song.

  chromatic Pitches outside the underlying key or scale. The opposite of diatonic.

  chromatic scale A scale containing 12 equal divisions of the octave—all the white keys and black keys within an octave.

  clef A graphic symbol placed at the beginning of the staff to indicate the pitch of the notes on the staff.

  coda A short section at the end of a composition.

  common time The 4/4 time signature.

  compound chord Two chords sounded together. Typically notated with a vertical slash between the two chords.

  concert key See concert pitch.

  concert pitch The actual (nontransposed) pitch of a piece of music; some instruments (such as the trumpet) read their music transposed from concert pitch.

  consonance Harmonious combination of tones. The opposite of dissonance.

  contralto A lower subset of the alto voice, even lower than the traditional alto range; not used in all choral music.

  contrapuntal See counterpoint.

  contrary motion Where one voice moves in the opposite direction of another.

  counterpoint Two or more simultaneous, independent lines or voices. Some music theorists apply strict rules to the creation of contrapuntal lines.

  crescendo Gradually louder.

  cut time The 2/2 time signature.

  D.C. al Coda Navigation marking meaning to go back to the beginning and play to the Coda sign; then skip to the Coda section.

  D.C. al Fine Navigation marking meaning to go back to the beginning and play through to the end.

  D.S. al Coda Navigation marking meaning to go back to the Segno sign and play to the Coda sign; then skip to the Coda section.

  D.S. al Fine Navigation marking meaning to go back to the Segno sign and play through to the end.

  decrescendo Gradually softer.

  diatonic Notes or chords that are in the underlying key or scale. For example, in the key of C Major, the diatonic notes are C, D, E, F, G, A, and B; all other notes are chromatic.

  diminished chord A chord with a minor third and a diminished fifth (1-♭3-♭5).

  dissonance A combination of tones that sounds discordant and unstable, in need of resolution to a more pleasing and stable harmony. The opposite of consonance.

  division Fractional parts of a beat.

  dominant The fifth degree of a scale, a perfect fifth above the tonic. Also refers to the chord built on this fifth scale degree.

  dominant seventh chord A major chord with a minor seventh added (1-3-5-♭7). Typically found on the fifth degree of the scale, and noted as V7.

  doppio movimento Play twice as fast.

  double bar Two vertical lines placed on the staff to indicate the end of a section or a composition.

  downbeat The major beats in a measure; in 4/4 time, the downbeats are 1, 2, 3, and 4. (Some theoreticians hold that there is only one downbeat per measure—the very first beat.)

  dynamics Varying degrees of loud and soft. For example, forte signifies a loud dynamic, while piano signifies a soft dynamic.

  enharmonic Different notations of the same sound; for example, F♯ and G♭ are enharmonic notes.

  extended chords Chords with additional notes (typically in thirds) added above the basic triad. (Some theoreticians consider seventh chords extended chords; others don’t.)

  fermata Symbol used to indicate that a note should be held indefinitely. Sometimes called a “bird’s eye.”

  flag The part of eighth notes, sixteenth notes, and all smaller notes dangling off the stem. The flag is always at the end of the stem, so if the stem is pointing up, the flag is above the notehead; if the stem is pointing down, the flag is below the notehead.

  flat The lowering of any pitch by a half step; signified by the ♭ sign.

  forte Loud. (Abbreviated as f.)

  fortissimo Very loud. (Abbreviated as ff.)

  fortississimo Very, very loud. (Abbreviated as fff.)

  frequency A scientific measurement of how fast the molecules of air are vibrating; the faster the vibrations, the higher the pitch.

  fugue A contrapuntal form that is built from a single subject.

  glissando A mechanism for getting from one pitch to another, playing every single pitch between the two notes as smoothly as possible.

  grace note One or more notes, played lightly and quickly, that precede a main note.

  grave Tempo marking for a very slow or solemn pace.

  half step The smallest distance between notes in a chromatic scale.

  harmonic composition Composing with the chords first and then fitting a melody to those chords.

  harmonic interval The interval between two notes sounded simultaneously to create harmony. (Contrast this with a melodic interval, which consists of two notes played one after another to create a melody.)

  harmonic rhythm The pace of a chord progression.

  harmonization The choice of chords to accompany a melodic line.

  harmony The sound of tones in combination. Also used to refer to the accompanying parts behind the main melody.

  interval The distance between two pitches or notes.

  inversion A chord in which the bass note is not the root of the chord.

  jazz band See big band.

  key A combination of a tonic and a mode. For example, the key of F Major has F as the tonic and major as the mode.

  key signature The sharps or flats that are placed at the beginning of a staff to indicate the key of the music.

  larghetto Tempo marking for a slow tempo, slightly faster than largo.

  largo Tempo marking for a slow and dignified tempo.

  lead sheet A piece of sheet music that contains a single staff for the melody, with the accompanying chords written above the staff.

  leading tone The note that is a half step below the tonic; thus leads up to the tonic.

  lento Tempo marking for a slow tempo.

  major The most common mode, consisting of the following intervals: whole-whole-half-whole-whole-whole-half.

  major chord A chord with a major third (1-3-5).

  measure A group of beats, indicated by the placement of bar lines on the staff.

  mediant The third degree of a scale, or a chord built on that degree (III).

  melodic composition Composing with the melody first and then fitting chords to that melody.

  melodic interval The interval between two notes played one after another.

  melody The combination of tone and rhythm in a logical sequence.

  meter The organization of beats and their divisions.

  metronome A device that precisely ticks off beat after beat at a specified tempo. Metronomes can be either pendulum-type affairs or computerized devices that emit an electronic beat.

  mezzo forte Medium loud. (Abbreviated as mf.)

  mezzo piano Medium soft. (Abbreviated as mp.)

&
nbsp; microtone An interval smaller than a semitone, prevalent in some non-Western music and twentieth-century art music.

  minor One of three modes, each with a flatted third of the scale. Natural minor is identical to Aeolian mode, with the following intervals: whole-half-whole-whole-half-whole-whole. Harmonic minor contains the following intervals: whole-half-whole-whole-half-whole-half-half. Melodic minor is different ascending and descending; ascending, the intervals are whole-half-whole-whole-whole-whole-half, whereas descending it uses the same intervals as natural minor.

  minor chord A chord with a minor third (1-♭3-5).

  mode (1) A series of notes that indicate the structure of a major or minor scale key or piece. (2) A set of scales, based on centuries-old music that preceded today’s major and minor scales; these include the Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Ionian, Locrian, and Aeolian modes.

  moderato Tempo marking for a moderate pace.

  modulation A change of key within a piece of music.

  molto Modifier for tempo markings; means “very.”

  motet Short, unaccompanied vocal work for two or more voices.

  motif (or motive) A brief melodic or rhythmic idea.

  neighboring tone A tone one diatonic step above or below the main tone.

  notation The art of writing musical notes on paper.

  note A symbol used to indicate the duration and pitch of a sound, as in whole notes, half notes, and quarter notes.

  notehead The big, oval part of a note. The stem is always attached to the notehead.

  octave Two pitches, with the same name, located 12 half steps apart.

  odd time Any non-4/4 time signature, such as 3/4, 5/4, or 9/8.

  orchestra A group of instruments organized for the performance of symphonies and other instrumental works, or to accompany an opera or other staged presentation.