Music Notation and Theory for Intelligent Beginners

Music Notation and Theory

for Intelligent Beginners

by

Jono Kornfeld

Cover art by

Jason Dullack

? 2001, revised 2005 Jono Kornfeld

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be duplicated in any form without written permission of the author.

Artwork ? 2004 Jason Dullack: all rights reserved

Music Notation and Theory for Intelligent Beginners

? 2001, revised 2005 Jono Kornfeld

Table of Contents

Notes, The Staff

The Keyboard

Clefs

Ledger Lines

The Grand Staff, Accidentals

Simple Intervals

Enharmonic Equivalence

Double Accidentals

Note Values

Beaming

Stem Direction

Stem Length

Measure, Bar Line

Time Signatures

Beat Emphasis

Putting Notes into Practice

Counting Eighth Notes

Counting Sixteenth Notes

Rests

The Dot

Ties

Slurs

Other Time Signatures

Compound Time Signatures

The Triplet, Syncopation

Tempo I

Tempo II, Tempo Changes

Dynamics

Articulation

Economical Devices I

Economical Devices II

Economical Devices Exercises

The Major Scale, Keys

Scales Using Flats

Scales Using Sharps

Key Signatures, The Key

The Circle of Fifths

Transposition

Scale Degrees, Note Names

The Minor Scale

The Three Minor Scales

1

2

3

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

32

33

34

35

36

37

39

40

41

42

Review

Continuity

Motion

Intervals

Spelling Intervals

In the scale

Determining Intervals I

Determining Intervals II

Inversion

Compound Intervals

Hearing Intervals

Identifying in Context

Triads

In the Scale

Roman Numerals

Harmonization

Minor Key Harmonization

Terminology

7th Chords

Inverting Chords

Figured Bass Notation

Application to Analysis

Position of Upper Notes

Voicing a Chord

Contemporary Context

Cadences and Phrases

The Period

Melodic Aspects

Analysis

Melodies and Voice Leading

Examples

Combining Melody and Harmony

The Process

Non-Chord Tones

Passing Tone

Neighbor Tone

Suspension

Modulation

Appendix /Review

Scales

Keys & Key Signatures

Circle of 5ths Reference

Major Scales Reference

Intervals & Figured Bass

Reference

43

44

45

47

50

51

53

54

56

58

59

61

63

64

65

65

66

67

70

73

74

76

77

78

81

82

83

84

85

87

89

91

92

93

94

95

96

98

A-1

A-3

A-5

A-6

A-7

X

NOTES

One of the most basic elements in music is the note.

In written music, it might look like this:

h

¨B

q

e

Some free-standing notes

Or this (if there are more than one):

or

THE STAFF

The five horizontal lines on which the notes sit are called a staff.

a staff with no notes on it

Each line or space on the staff is for its own note.

Notes represent sounds called pitches. Because music employs a set of pitches (ranging from low to

high), the staff acts like a map for the notes--allowing us to hear, read or write them as:

Higher

(higher on the staff)

Lower

(lower on the staff)

We read the sequence of notes from left to right.

Another way to understand the idea of pitches being lower or higher is to compare it to bears and birds.

A bear's voice is low-pitched, while the voice of a bird's is high (this explanation works well for children!).

A less musically specific term for pitch is frequency, which is also referred to as low or high.

1

1

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