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| When would people say that music is "in a key?" | When its tones relate to one central tone (the one that has the same name as the key) and when the functions of the other tones result from the ways in which they relate to the central one |
| Tonic | Central tone of a key= Forms "the point of departure" from which the other tones move and the "goal" to which they are directed |
| Scale | (Latin "SCALA"= steps, staircase, ladder) Results when all the notes that belong to a key occur in consecutive order, each one next to those closest to it in pitch |
| What is the basic form of a scale? | One that begins and ends on the tonic |
| Scale Degrees | Capped numbers (^): 1, 2, 3... |
| Scale Degree: 1 | Tonic |
| Scale Degree: 2 | Supertonic |
| Scale Degree: 3 | Mediant |
| Scale Degree: 4 | Subdominant |
| Scale Degree: 5 | Dominant |
| Scale Degree: 6 | Submediant |
| Scale Degree: 7 | Leading Tone |
| Equivalents | When 2 tones are separated by an octave (Latin: "eighth")= Variants of the same sound |
| Distance to the very next note | Half-step (or "semitones") |
| Distance to the note just after the adjacent note | Whole-step (or "whole tones") |
| Major Scale | (Is 1 kind of DIATONIC SCALE) W-W-H-W-W-W-H |
| Major Scale: Where do the half steps occur? | Between scale degrees 3-4 and 7-8 |
| Diatonic Scale | Scales that contain 5 Whole-Steps and 2 Half-Steps within the octave= However, each of the different types of diatonic scale has the Half-Steps in different places |
| Interval | Is the relationship between 2 tones heard in a single voice/context |
| Vertical Interval | (i.e. Harmonic Interval) Are intervals formed by simultaneously sounding tones (because they are written 1 above the other) |
| Horizontal Intervals | (i.e. Melodic Interval) Are intervals formed by tones that sound one after the other |
| Chord | Is a group of 3 or more tones that make sense when played or sung all at the same time (in essence a chord is a vertical unit) |
| Block Chord | Is the simplest and most basic way to present a chord= Has all the tones sounding at once |
| Arpeggio | (i.e. Broken Chord) When the tones of a chord are played one after the other (not all at once) |
| Triad | A chord containing 3 tones (1-3-5)= Top note forms a 5th with the root/bass= Middle note forms a 3rd with the bass/root= In every key, the triad 1-3-5 has the tonic as its lowest tone (called the "root") |
| Root | The lowest tone of a chord= Functions as the basis of the chord |
| Tonic Triad | (i.e. Tonic Chord) 1-3-5 |
| Active Tones & Stable Tones | Music has motion= Can be said that all other scale degrees beside scale degree 1 are ACTIVE in the direction of 1 (i.e. that they tend to move to this stable, central tone)= However, 3 and 5 can also function as STABLE TONES (though they are less stable than 1)= Scale degrees 3 and 5 can serve as goals to which other, still more active tones can move because they are members of the tonic triad and thus closely associated with 1= Motion to 3 or 5 will NOT have the same finality as motion to 1 |
| What scale degree(s) do many melodies begin on? | Many begin on 3 or 5 rather than on 1= However, if these melodies are harmonized, the tonic will almost always appear in the lowest part (thus, the music will still move from a tonic at the beginning to a tonic as the final goal even if 1 does not serve as the initial melodic tone) |
| What are the Stable Tones | 1-3-5-8 |
| Active Tones | Lead from one stable tone to another (e.g. up from 1 to 3, 3 to 5, and 5, to 8) |
| Passing Tone | A tone that forms a stepwise connection between two stable tones (NOTE: A single passing tone connects 1 with 3 and 3 with 5 but 2 passing tones are needed to connect 5 with 8) |
| Scalar Motion | (i.e. Motion along the scale) Motion with passing tones= Is not the only type of melodic progression, though it is the basic type |
| Neighboring Tone | (i.e. Neighbor [N]) A tone that moves by step away from and back to a stable tone= (sometimes it is helpful to specify the direction of a neighboring tone by referring to it as an upper or lower neighbor [UN or LN]) |
| What is the result when an Active Tone (Passing or Neighboring) lies a half-step from the stable tone to which it is attracted? | Its motion to the goal tone has a particularly intense character= The closeness in pitch between the 2 tones raws the active tone into the "gravitational field" of the stable one and enhances the attractional power of the latter |
| In major, what does scale-degree 4 tend to like to move to? | In major, scale-degree 4 tends to move more readily to 3 than to 5 (the other possible goal tone) |
| In major, what does scale-degree 7 tend to like to move to? | In major, scale-degree 7 is very strongly attracted to 8 (actually, the term "Leading-Tone" refers to the active way in which 7 leads into 8) |
| In what way are the half-steps very well situated in major? | The instability of 7 and 4 helps to strengthen 1 and 3 and leads to a clear definition of the key |
| Incomplete Neighbor (IN) | Denotes neighboring tones that are connected with one rather than two main tones (i.e. the neighboring tone will move either to the stable tone or from it, but NOT both) |
| Double Neighbor (DN) | (Also derived from the neighbor) Is a 4-note group consisting of a stable tone, both the upper and the lower neighbor (in either order), and a return to the stable tone |
| Recapitulation | Is the name for a return in a sonata movement to the opening idea of the song (the theme)= Usually a recapitulation is in the same key as the beginning of the movement |
| Transposing | Putting a piece (or section) of music into another key= If we transpose a piece from C to any other major key, we must use flats or sharps to preserve the half steps between 3 and 4 and 7 and 8= These sharps or flats are gathered together into a KEY SIGNATURE that occurs at the beginning of each line of music= Sometimes, a change of key within a piece is accompanied by a new key signature, but very often, the necessary flats/sharps/naturals/etc. occur in the body of the music as ACCIDENTALS |
| Key Signature | Is the group of sharps/flats that occur at the beginning of each line of music |
| Accidentals | Are flats/sharps/naturals/etc. that occur in the body of the music= Accidentals do not always signal a change of key= Very often, occur when a composer wishes to emphasize a scale degree by means of the melodically intense half-step progression |
| Chromaticism | The use of tones that normally do not belong to a key= Sometimes involves the use of double sharps and double flats |
| Chromatic Elements/Tones | Embellish a basically diatonic substructure= The term "CHROMATIC" (Greek "chroma", color) clearly conveys the decorative character of these tones= Not every chromatic tone produces a chromatic half step |
| What is the result of using chromatic tones? | Creates the possibility for a new kind of half step, the "CHROMATIC HALF STEP" |
| Diatonic Half Step | Involves 2 tones with adjacent letter names |
| What do Chromatic Passing Tones do? | They divide a whole step into a chromatic half step plus a diatonic one (F-natural=F#=G)= The Chromatic Half Step normally comes first= The Chromatic Passing Tone uses the same letter name as the preceding diatonic tone |
| What would a Chromatic Passing Tone from A down to G be? What would be the melodic progression? | Would be "Ab"= The melodic progression would thus be [A-natural=Ab=G] |
| What would be a chromatic passing tone between F# and G#? How about between Bb and Ab? | Chromatic passing tone between F# and G# would be "Fx"= One between Bb and Ab would be "Bbb" |
| Equally Tempered Scale | (Keyboard instruments are tuned to this scale to enable playing in all keys and to make possible an extensive use of chromaticism) A scale that divides the octave into 12 equal semitones= Tempered Tuning eliminates the small differences in pitch between, say, G# and Ab or B# and C-natural |
| Enharmonic Equivalents | Are 2 tones with different names but the same pitch (or, in nontempered tuning, almost the same pitch) |
| What is a "Minor Key" | Is a key containing a small or minor 3rd between scale-degrees 1 and 3 |
| What is a "Major Key" | Is a key containing a large or major 3rd between scale-degrees 1 and 3 |
| What is the fundamental difference between major and minor? | The contrast in sound between the 2 kinds of 3rds |
| Natural Minor Scale | W-H-W-W-H-W-W |
| Natural Minor: Describe the scale | The minor 3rd between 1 and 3 lends its characteristic color to the scale= The half steps between 2 and 3 and 5 and 6 create an intensity in the motions from 2 to 3 and from 6 to 5 quite different from the corresponding progressions in major= Also, the whole step between 7 and 8 fails to lead into the tonic with the same conviction as in major (THUS, the term "LEADING TONE" is NOT used to indicate the 7th degree of the minor scale in its natural form= Rather, the term "SUBTONIC" is used) |
| Minor Scale= Ascending and Descending | When descending, the lack of a leading tone does not present a problem, for 7 leads away from 8 rather than toward it= However, when ascending, the whole step between subtonic and tonic can constitute a problem because 8 does not sound like a goal (its power to act as the central tone of the key is impaired= For this reason, 7 in minor must be raised to create the necessary half step whenever it moves to 8 as a goal, or whenever the composer wishes to suggest such a motion, even if it isn't immediately fulfilled) |
| Harmonic Minor | Minor scale with a raised 7th= The scale has 3 half steps (between 2 and 3, 5, and 6, and 7 and 8)= In some keys, raising 7 the seventh (to produce this scale) requires a double sharp ("x") |
| Harmonic Minor: Characteristics and their results | One characteristic of this scale makes it unstable for normal melodic progression= The interval between 6 and 7 is larger than a whole step (is equivalent to a step and a half)= This larger interval creates a gap in the continuity of the scale that can destroy melodic flow |
| Harmonic Minor: In which keys will raising the 7 require a double sharp? | G# minor, D# minor, and A# minor (EX: In A# minor, the leading tone is Gx) |
| Melodic Minor | Ascending: Minor scale with raised 6 and 7 ||| Descending= Minor scale (with the accidentals for 6 and 7 canceled) |
| Melodic Minor: Result from raising 6 as well as 7? | We gain a leading tone, but without creating an awkwardly large interval between 6 and 7= In a melodic line in minor, therefore, if 6 comes before the leading tone (raised 7), it too will be raised |
| Minor Scales: Melodic lines that ascend 6-7-8 tend to use... | Tend to use the ascending melodic scale |
| Minor Scales: Melodic lines that are descending tend to use... | Tend to use the descending melodic (or natural) form |
| Relative Major/Minor | Terms used to denote a major/minor key with the same signature as a given minor/major one (EX: C major is the relative major of A minor, and D minor is the relative minor of F major)= Although relative keys share the same signature, they are not the same key simply because they have different tonics |
| What is the tonic of a minor key in the relative major? | The tonic of the minor key is 6 in the relative major |
| What is the tonic of a major key in the relative minor? | The tonic of the major key is 3 in the relative minor |
| Parallel Major/Minor | Major and minor keys with different signatures but with the same tonic tone/note (EX: G minor is the parallel minor of G major) |
| Parallel Major/Minor VS Relative Major/Minor | Parallel Major and minor keys are much more closely related than are relative majors and minors |
| Ionian | (Uses only white keys) Starts on C = The scale is MAJOR |
| Dorian | (Uses only white keys) Starts on D |
| Phrygian | (Uses only white keys) Starts on E |
| Lydian | (Uses only white keys) Starts on F |
| Mixolydian | (Uses only white keys) Starts on G |
| Aeolian | (Uses only white keys) Starts on A |
| Locrian | (Uses only white keys) Starts on B |
| Modes | Refers to major and minor= Also, there are the 7 Diatonic Modes (which are scales consisting of only white keys that are built off of the scale degree names/note) |
| 7 Diatonic Modes | Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, Locrian |
| Tonal | Is a term that describes any piece or type of music organized around a central tone |
| Tonality | Is the principle of organization |
| What is most music? | TONAL: Music in major and minor keys, modal music, much non-Western music, and a good deal of 20th century music |
