ACADEC Music Theory By Micah Gautney
ACADEC Music Theory
ACADEC Music TheoryBy Micah GautneyIntroductionWe study the musical patterns of the western world
6 time periods in musicMiddle Ages, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Modern
Music has slowly progressed over the past 2000 years to give us what we have todayWhat is music?Sound organized in time
Sound is a wave of energy
A wave of energy has two characteristicsAmplitude determines the decibel levelFrequency determines pitchFrequency and PitchesMeasured in Hz
Hz means cycles per second
Humans hear 20-20,000 Hz
An octave is the doubling of the frequency
Standard A-440 Overtones and partialsVery few sounds consist of one pure frequency
Most pitches consist of..A dominant or fundamental frequencyOther, less noticeable frequencies of smaller wavelengths Wavelengths of one half, one third, one fourth, etc.
These higher pitches with smaller wavelengths are called overtones or partials
Equal Temperament Since about 1750 a system of tuning called equal temperament has dominated western music
Divides the octave into 12 equal parts
These twelve pitches in order are called the chromatic scaleThe Keyboard and Staff
Scales A succession of whole steps and half steps
There are many different types of scalesMajorminor Church modesBlues, pentatonic, chromatic, whole tone, Arabic, byzantine, etc.
Often used as the common notes for a piece of music
Rhythm, Beat, and TempoRhythm is the way music is organized in timeBeat is the steady pulse that underlies most music (unless it is unmetered)Tempo is the speed of the beatTempo can change (rubato)RitardandoAccelerando Poco a pocosubito
Meter Beats have equal length but not equal importance. Some beats have more stress applied to them.There is normally a regular pattern of stressed and unstressed beats.Beats are grouped into measures based on the stressed beats. These measures are separated by bar linesThere are different types of metersDuple, triple, quadruple, or irregularMeter is often shown by the time signatureRhythmic NotationSymbols are used to show how long a note should last
Time SignatureIndicates meter Looks like a fraction without a barBottom number indicates the durational value of the beatTop number indicates beats per measureMost common is four-four time or common timeTwo-two is cut time
Simple and Compound MeterBased on subdivision of beats
If a beat is subdivided into two beats, it is simple
If a beat is subdivided into three beats, it is compound
ChordsThree or more notes sounding simultaneouslyA triad is a chord consisting of three notes with intervals of a third in between eachThere are 4 qualities of triadMajor, minor augmented, diminishedinversions
Key Not a piano keyA key is the world of pitch relationships within which a piece of music takes placeThe set of seven notes a piece or section of music usesKey signature