The Language of Music

More Advanced theory


Contents

1.    Types of Scale
2.    Ornaments
3.    Clefs and Octave Lines
4.    Numbering Chords
5.    Cadences


1.    Types of Scale

In western music we divide each Octave into 12 devisions. We call this a “Chromatic Scale”.


When we write pieces of music we generally don’t use all the notes of the chromatic scale. In fact most of the time we only use 7 of them. We call this a “Diatonic Scale”.

The Diatonic Scale comes in 2 types. The Major and the Minor .

The Major diatonic scale.


Just to complicate matters the Minor diatonic scale comes in 3 variations.

The Natural Minor diatonic scale.

This uses the same notes as the Major scale staring in the 6th position.


The Harmonic Minor diatonic scale.

This is very similar to the Natural Minor but with a raised 7th.


The Melodic Minor diatonic scale.

In this variation we raise the 6th and 7th on the way up the scale and return to the natural minor on the way back down.


We are all familiar with the note names like A or F or G sharp. Within a Diatonic scale each of the notes are given another name this helps us to understand the relationships between them.

Diatonic Note Names
Seventh Leading tone
Sixth Submediant
Fifth Dominant
Forth Subdominant
Third Mediant
Second Supertonic
First Tonic


There is also a much older 5 note scale called the Pentatonic Scale. This is used extensively in Blues Jazz and Pop Music. It is also the most common base for improvisation due to how well the notes fit together.


There is another less used scale called the Whole Tone Scale. This is also used in Jazz and Pop Music.


Some places in the world, notably Arabia, use a slightly different scale which is divided in 24 equal parts.24edo.






2.    Ornaments



Ornaments or embellishments are flourishes or extra quick notes added to the melody (or harmony) which decorate the tune.
Today we have very specific meanings for ornaments and a player would be expected to play exactly what is written. However in the Baroque period (from 1600 to 1750), ornaments were used to indicate where a player should embellish the tune. In these styles of music and in Jazz today the performer would commonly play the music simply at first and then, in the repeat, play extra notes and slides to excite or surprise the listener and show off the performer’s virtuosity.
Today composers are able with the advance of computer technology to write exactly what they wish the performer to play or they might write AD LIB. if they wish the performer to play whatever they want to.

COMMON ORNAMENTS

MORDENT

The Mordent has two types the upper or the lower, where the player adds an extra note after the written note higher or lower, and then returns to the written note. The Upper Mordent is written as a short sideways zigzag line over the note and the Lower Mordent is the same with a vertical line through. P.S. The Mordent is sometimes referred to as a Short Trill.


TURN

The Turn also has two variations the Turn and the Inverted Turn. The Turn starts on the written note then plays the note above, the written note again, the note below and back to the written note. Like playing an Upper Mordent and a Lower Mordent together. As it’s name implies the Inverted Turn is played the other way around. Written note, down one, written note, up one and back to written note. The TURN is written with a symbol a bit like a backwoods letter s on its side, and the Inverted Turn is the same symbol the other way up.


TRILL

The player alternates between, the written note and the next note above in the scale, as quickly as possible for the whole length of the written note.
In the Baroque period, the Trill was called a Shake however these days a Shake is quite literally that, you would shake the instrument to affect the sound or quality of sound rather than the pitch.


GLISSANDO

A Glissando is a Glide or Slide between two notes where the player plays all the notes they can between the two notes.
Different instruments can do this in different ways.
For example violins (and other non fretted strings) and Trombones and the human voice can perform a continuous slide between notes which we call a Portamento While the Harp can play arpeggios.
Keyboard instruments like the Piano can Slide up all the white keys, or all the black keys, or play a quick chromatic scale or sometimes a whole palm full of keys depending on which key or style of music they're playing.


GRACE NOTES, APPOGGIATURA and ACCIACCATURA

Grace Notes are embellishments that go before the written note. They are written as very small notes to show that they should take up as little time as possible.
Strictly speaking they come in two types the Acciaccatura which is a grace note played just before the written note, effectively leading us into it. The Acciaccatura is notated as a small note just in front of the written note with a line through its stem to show it should take up as little time as possible, and the Appoggiatura which is played at the start time of the written note, effectively delaying the start of the written note. These would frequently be played slower in a more relaxed fashion. These are written as a very small note without a slash through the stem showing the player can take some time over it.
In reality today with modern printed music if you see a grace note with or without the slash you would play it ahead of time like the Acciaccatura. Modern Composers and Engravers would write out an Appoggiatura in full and if they wish the performer to ad emphasis or relaxed timing they do it another way.






3.    Clefs and Octave Lines

Different instruments play at different pitches, so to make the music easier to read we use different clefs.

The most common are the Treble and Bass clef, but some instruments, like the Viola and Bassoon, are frequently playing at a pitch that would need lots of ledger lines. They are the little lines we put behind the notes to extend the stave higher or lower.

Sometimes we write passages for these instruments in the Alto or Tenor clef. Also when we write for singing groups the tenor part is written on the treble clef to sound an octave below.

In our example below all the notes are the same, a middle C. Except for the last one which, as its on a Percussion clef is probably a Bass Drum but we would need to check the part name to be sure.


In a similar way to the need for using different clefs Sometimes we have a passage which is very high or very low, so we use an Octave line to inform the player to play an octave (or occasionally two octaves) higher or lower.




ANALYZING MUSIC STRUCTURE



4.    Numbering Chords

<>Once we are able to identify the chords in a piece of music, we then are able to compare the chords with the key the music is in. (It’s important to know the key signatures well. They are listed previously.)

It may help your understanding chords visually if you practice converting chords to their basic triad.

Next we number the chord according to the scale within the key.
If the music is in the key of C major then, as C is the first note in the scale of C, we call the C chord One (1), and as D is the second note we call the D chord Two (II), the E chord three (III), the F chord four (IV), the G chord five (V), the A chord six (VI), and the B chord seven (VII).

It is standard practice to use Roman numerals to name those various chords instead of the letter name.

  Example in the
  key of G

F# minor b5 VII
E minor VI
D major V
C major IV
B minor III
A minor II
G major I

  Example in the
  key of F

E minor b5 VII
D minor VI
C major V
Bb major IV
A minor III
G minor II
F major I

  Example in the
   key of Bb

A minor b5 VII
G minor VI
F major V
Eb major IV
D minor III
C minor II
Bb major I

(so the numbering of the chords is key specific)



5.    Cadence

<>Following on from numeralizing the chords in a piece of music, we can name the structures of the endings of sections of music, or the ending of the piece itself. There are four types of cadence.

Perfect Cadence. 5 to 1 or V - I
Plagal Cadence. 4 to 1 or IV - I
Imperfect or Half Cadence. Any chord to 5 or Any - V
Deceptive Cadence. 5 to 6 or V - VI

The CADENCE refers to the last two chords of a phrase or section of the music, or the last two chords in the piece.
Once you have done this a few times, it becomes possible to work out the likely chord structure just by looking at the melody, but assumptions will have to be made.









THE STRUCTURE of a MELODY

Today’s popular music commonly follows four chord structures.
A song that is in the key of C major can have the repeated chord pattern of 6/4/1/5 for example. (A minor, F major, C major, G major) This is just one of many common options. Many songs use a verse in one structure and a chorus in another. (It is likely we learn and like a song more when the song follows a 4 chord structure.)

When composing a song it is therefore useful and time saving to select a structure and then compose an interesting melody that fits that structure.


ANALYSIS of MUSIC ENDING (3 chord sequences)

A piece of music sounds satisfyingly completed with a perfect cadence ending. This is enhanced by adding a 5th of the penultimate chord before it, or within the specific key, 2/5/1 commonly written in Roman numerals, II, V, I

Other common satisfying endings are,

4/5/1. or IV, V, I. (perfect)
6/4/1. or VI, IV, I. (plagal)
1/5/1. or I, V, I. (perfect)
1/5/6. or I, V, VI. (deceptive)
1/4/1. or I, IV, I (plagal)










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