
Triads
... Another kind of musical texture is found outside of western tradition, primarily in eastern and near eastern cultures. This is called heterophonic texture and is characterized by an embellishment of one melodic line by several different voices. In other words, it is like theme and variation at the s ...
... Another kind of musical texture is found outside of western tradition, primarily in eastern and near eastern cultures. This is called heterophonic texture and is characterized by an embellishment of one melodic line by several different voices. In other words, it is like theme and variation at the s ...
Introduction to Pitch Class Set Analysis
... Segments are usually identified as contiguous elements but may be non-contiguous as well. The consistency of a musical surface composed of small groups of pitch-classes is regarded by Forte as a foundation for making statements about large-scale structure. In the following example, register, rhythm, ...
... Segments are usually identified as contiguous elements but may be non-contiguous as well. The consistency of a musical surface composed of small groups of pitch-classes is regarded by Forte as a foundation for making statements about large-scale structure. In the following example, register, rhythm, ...
Benward Chapter 9
... the tone on which the chord is constructed, which is the root of the triad. The note a third above the root is called the third of the triad. The fifth above the root is the fifth of the triad. Triads are named by the root and the quality of sound: thus, in the following example, a major triad built ...
... the tone on which the chord is constructed, which is the root of the triad. The note a third above the root is called the third of the triad. The fifth above the root is the fifth of the triad. Triads are named by the root and the quality of sound: thus, in the following example, a major triad built ...
1. Historical definitions.
... alien areas of tonality rather than circumscribe a particular key. It is only by correlating a given scale with a fundamental bass relying primarily on steps of a 5th that a key can be unmistakably defined. The cadence I–IV–V–I, or tonic–subdominant–dominant– tonic, relies first on the wholeness of ...
... alien areas of tonality rather than circumscribe a particular key. It is only by correlating a given scale with a fundamental bass relying primarily on steps of a 5th that a key can be unmistakably defined. The cadence I–IV–V–I, or tonic–subdominant–dominant– tonic, relies first on the wholeness of ...
Major (our most common scale)
... When a pitch is sounded, many other “higher” sympathetic pitches also vibrate, called overtones. The strongest overtone of any pitch is the octave. Octaves are all pitches whose frequencies are related by powers of 2, meaning twice as fast or twice as slow, i.e. an “A” will sound with = 220, 440 or ...
... When a pitch is sounded, many other “higher” sympathetic pitches also vibrate, called overtones. The strongest overtone of any pitch is the octave. Octaves are all pitches whose frequencies are related by powers of 2, meaning twice as fast or twice as slow, i.e. an “A” will sound with = 220, 440 or ...
Jefferson College Course Syllabus MSC101 Fundamentals of Music
... Construct a major scale on any pitch using half-steps and whole steps. ...
... Construct a major scale on any pitch using half-steps and whole steps. ...
Transposing Chord Symbols
... major thirteenth is added to the eleventh chords given above if, to relieve the texture, the eleventh is missing the chord remains a 13th; if, however, the eleventh is present but altered, this must be shown in the name of the chord Here are a number of other chords that feature in modern popular mu ...
... major thirteenth is added to the eleventh chords given above if, to relieve the texture, the eleventh is missing the chord remains a 13th; if, however, the eleventh is present but altered, this must be shown in the name of the chord Here are a number of other chords that feature in modern popular mu ...
History of Music Theory - Totally Ratted Limited
... prior to the life of Pythagoras. Conversely, the start of music theory being important to the tuning of instruments almost certainly begins with the words of Philolaus. It is likely that prior to the advent of the Pythagorean ratios that musical scales were very varied and perhaps even unique to the ...
... prior to the life of Pythagoras. Conversely, the start of music theory being important to the tuning of instruments almost certainly begins with the words of Philolaus. It is likely that prior to the advent of the Pythagorean ratios that musical scales were very varied and perhaps even unique to the ...
Bi-tonal Quartal Harmony
... same chord class share abundant common notes, just as 3rd-‐relation chords in diatonic music. Example 5 also illustrates the property of inversional equivalence (identical interval vectors) shared by chords. ...
... same chord class share abundant common notes, just as 3rd-‐relation chords in diatonic music. Example 5 also illustrates the property of inversional equivalence (identical interval vectors) shared by chords. ...
PDF text - Music Theory Online
... non-temporal factor promotes grouping: Groups of complex tones fuse insofar as their “combined spectral content conforms to a single hypothetical harmonic series.” In pairs of complex tones, it happens that this occurs when their frequencies “are related by simple integer ratios.” (12) Perfect uniso ...
... non-temporal factor promotes grouping: Groups of complex tones fuse insofar as their “combined spectral content conforms to a single hypothetical harmonic series.” In pairs of complex tones, it happens that this occurs when their frequencies “are related by simple integer ratios.” (12) Perfect uniso ...
File - Oak Bay Band
... B. Minor Triads Based on your prior knowledge, and as noted in the section above, triads are the combination of the root, third, and fifth scale degrees. Minor triads are no different, except that they will sound different than the major triad with the same root pitch. Be sure to spend some time lis ...
... B. Minor Triads Based on your prior knowledge, and as noted in the section above, triads are the combination of the root, third, and fifth scale degrees. Minor triads are no different, except that they will sound different than the major triad with the same root pitch. Be sure to spend some time lis ...
Cadences Chord Hierarchy in Cadences Authentic Cadences V
... 1. Like authentic cadences they are characterised by a rising leading note, but instead of going from chord V to I, interrupted cadence move from chord V to vi. 2. Expected chord I missing, so it is known as a deceptive cadence (DC) 3. If the leading note is in the soprano part of chord V (very comm ...
... 1. Like authentic cadences they are characterised by a rising leading note, but instead of going from chord V to I, interrupted cadence move from chord V to vi. 2. Expected chord I missing, so it is known as a deceptive cadence (DC) 3. If the leading note is in the soprano part of chord V (very comm ...
CHAPTER 1 TONAL MODULATION WITH JUST
... (rounded off to the nearest tenth of a cent in the case of the Monophonic intervals) are used for both equal tempered intervals and Monophonic intervals as a unit of comparison.6 In the column for “Cents Deviation” the difference between the two versions is calculated. From this, one can see that th ...
... (rounded off to the nearest tenth of a cent in the case of the Monophonic intervals) are used for both equal tempered intervals and Monophonic intervals as a unit of comparison.6 In the column for “Cents Deviation” the difference between the two versions is calculated. From this, one can see that th ...
Glossary - terms used in music analysis
... Passing note - a note which does not belong to the prevailing harmony (chord), which links two other notes by step. Passing notes can be accented (i.e. on the beat) or unaccented, and can be diatonic (not requiring an accidental) or chromatic (requiring an accidental. and moving in semitone step). F ...
... Passing note - a note which does not belong to the prevailing harmony (chord), which links two other notes by step. Passing notes can be accented (i.e. on the beat) or unaccented, and can be diatonic (not requiring an accidental) or chromatic (requiring an accidental. and moving in semitone step). F ...
The Sound of It: Chords and “Sonority”
... terms of music theory. If there are words you don’t understand, you can research them in just about any music dictionary, book, or just type “music theory basics” into Google and follow the links. My main concern here is to clear up the problems created when we borrow terms from Western music and th ...
... terms of music theory. If there are words you don’t understand, you can research them in just about any music dictionary, book, or just type “music theory basics” into Google and follow the links. My main concern here is to clear up the problems created when we borrow terms from Western music and th ...
PowerPoint Presentation - The Effects of the Una Corda Pedal on
... Energy is transmitted into the strings, producing a sound wave. The strings alone are too small to provide sufficient volume, so a wooden soundboard is built into the piano. Higher pitches have multiple strings to provide volume equal to that of the lower pitches. The three strings of a pitch are sl ...
... Energy is transmitted into the strings, producing a sound wave. The strings alone are too small to provide sufficient volume, so a wooden soundboard is built into the piano. Higher pitches have multiple strings to provide volume equal to that of the lower pitches. The three strings of a pitch are sl ...
Elements of Music
... 3. When individual instruments are combined, new effects of tone color are created. 4. When formal structures call for repetition of themes, variety may be achieved by use of contrasting tone colors. Preliminary Perceptual Experiences 1. Listen to a pattern of non-tonal sounds and compare it with th ...
... 3. When individual instruments are combined, new effects of tone color are created. 4. When formal structures call for repetition of themes, variety may be achieved by use of contrasting tone colors. Preliminary Perceptual Experiences 1. Listen to a pattern of non-tonal sounds and compare it with th ...
Supporting Materials - Melody, Rhythm, Accompaniment
... The pentatonic scales are especially useful for developing improvisational skills. The absence of half steps removes the leading tone tendency associated with traditional harmony. Melodies can be improvised that are free to follow their own logic rather than fulfill harmonic implications. Improvisat ...
... The pentatonic scales are especially useful for developing improvisational skills. The absence of half steps removes the leading tone tendency associated with traditional harmony. Melodies can be improvised that are free to follow their own logic rather than fulfill harmonic implications. Improvisat ...
The Augmented Sixth Chord
... The augmented sixth chord was born in the Baroque period but occurs with greater frequency in the Romantic period. The aug. sixth chord may be understood as being derived from chromatic alterations of the iiº7 or iv7 chords. They do not function as subdominants, however, but function as predominants ...
... The augmented sixth chord was born in the Baroque period but occurs with greater frequency in the Romantic period. The aug. sixth chord may be understood as being derived from chromatic alterations of the iiº7 or iv7 chords. They do not function as subdominants, however, but function as predominants ...
CADENCES AND PHRASES
... A musical paragraph is called a period. A period is a collection of phrases with the last phrase having the strongest (most conclusive) authentic cadence. Like the “bite-sized” notion behind cadences and phrases, the organization of a period helps to serve the larger sense of direction in music. By ...
... A musical paragraph is called a period. A period is a collection of phrases with the last phrase having the strongest (most conclusive) authentic cadence. Like the “bite-sized” notion behind cadences and phrases, the organization of a period helps to serve the larger sense of direction in music. By ...
class9#
... Ab and G# are not part of C, so they will point to some other scale and behave according to there function in that context. Another possibility: In a CHROMATHIC PASSAGE, the chromatic not assigned any harmonic function. In that case, an upward is indicated by an uplifting alteration -- #, and a down ...
... Ab and G# are not part of C, so they will point to some other scale and behave according to there function in that context. Another possibility: In a CHROMATHIC PASSAGE, the chromatic not assigned any harmonic function. In that case, an upward is indicated by an uplifting alteration -- #, and a down ...
Lesson SSS - Diatonic Sequences
... patterns, or, LIPs for short. Each of the sequences discussed in this lesson can be similarly analyzed as LIPs. The reduction given in Example 3 also shows a second level of Roman numerals. In this case, we can see that the sequence functions as a prolongation of the predominant area of a basic phra ...
... patterns, or, LIPs for short. Each of the sequences discussed in this lesson can be similarly analyzed as LIPs. The reduction given in Example 3 also shows a second level of Roman numerals. In this case, we can see that the sequence functions as a prolongation of the predominant area of a basic phra ...
Revisiting the Innate Preference for Consonance (PDF
... ratio) have many harmonics in common and few that interact (i.e., interfere with one another) within a critical band so that there is little beating. By contrast, intervals with complex ratios (e.g., minor second or 16:15 ratio) have many interacting harmonics within a critical band, resulting in be ...
... ratio) have many harmonics in common and few that interact (i.e., interfere with one another) within a critical band so that there is little beating. By contrast, intervals with complex ratios (e.g., minor second or 16:15 ratio) have many interacting harmonics within a critical band, resulting in be ...
Benward Chapter 6
... Organized in scales, with key signatures that show immediately what tonal materials can be expected in a piece of music and placed together simultaneously to produce intervals or chords ...
... Organized in scales, with key signatures that show immediately what tonal materials can be expected in a piece of music and placed together simultaneously to produce intervals or chords ...
Consonance and dissonance

In music, consonance and dissonance form a structural dichotomy in which the terms define each other by mutual exclusion: a consonance is what is not dissonant, and reciprocally. However, a finer consideration shows that the distinction forms a gradation, from the most consonant to the most dissonant. Consonance and dissonance define a level of sweetness / harshness, pleasantness / unpleasantness, acceptability / unacceptability, of the sounds or intervals under consideration. As Hindemith stressed, ""The two concepts have never been completely explained, and for a thousand years the definitions have varied"" (Hindemith 1942, p. 85).The opposition can be made in different contexts:In acoustics or psychophysiology, the distinction may be objective. In modern times, it usually is based on the perception of harmonic partials of the sounds considered, to such an extent that the distinction really holds only in the case of harmonic sounds (i.e. sounds with harmonic partials).In music, even if the opposition often is founded of the preceding, objective distinction, it more often is subjective, conventional, cultural, and style-dependent. Dissonance can then be defined as a combination of sounds that does not belong to the style under consideration; in recent music, what is considered stylistically dissonant may even correspond to what is said consonant in the context of acoustics (e.g. a major triad in atonal music).In both cases, the distinction mainly concerns simultaneous sounds; if successive sounds are considered, their consonance or dissonance depends on the memorial retention of the first sound while the second is heard. For this reason, consonance and dissonance have been considered particularly in the case of polyphonic Occidental music, and the present article is concerned mainly with this case.Most historical definitions of consonance and dissonance since about the 16th century have stressed their pleasant/unpleasant, or agreeable/disagreeable character. This may be justifiable in a psychophysiological context, but much less in a musical context properly speaking: dissonances often play a decisive role in making music pleasant, even in a generally consonant context – which is one of the reasons why the musical definition of consonance/dissonance cannot match the psychophysiologic definition. In addition, the oppositions pleasant/unpleasant or agreeable/disagreeable evidence a confusion between the concepts of 'dissonance' and of 'noise'. (See also Noise in music, Noise music and Noise (acoustic).)While consonance and dissonance exist only between sounds and therefore necessarily describe intervals (or chords), Occidental music theory often considers that, in a dissonant chord, one of the tones alone is in itself the dissonance: it is this tone in particular that needs ""resolution"" through a specific voice leading.