Introductory music theory

Music theory is the most essential guide of musical composition. Once you understand how music works under the rules of the musical world, you are able to produce your own music. 

For those with solid knowledge about basic music theory but have no idea how to write your own piece of music, please start reading from chord progressions. 

 

Solfa and Letter Names

When speaking of music, we often use do re mi fa so la ti to refer to the notes. This notation is called Tonic Solfa. In the musical world, a more commonly used and more formal way to refer to notes are by calling their letter names. The letter names for do re mi fa so la ti are C D E F G A B, respectively.

 

Key:

If a piece of music uses notes in C major scale, then it would be in the key of C major. So, a key is a particular scale where we choose only notes from that key to compose a piece of music.

 

Key Signatures

Sharps: indicate that the notes should be played half step above the originals.

Flats: indicate that the notes should be played half step lower the originals.

 

Using Key signatures is a way to avoid writing sharps or flats every time. We use a key signature at the beginning of the music to tell people which notes are flat or sharp in the whole piece.

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Time Signatures

Time signatures are made up of two numbers like these:

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The top number represents how many beats there are per bar. If the top number is a multiple of 3, then the beats are arranged in groups of 3. The bottom number indicates what kind of beat a bar has. For example, a 6/8 tells us there are 6 eighth notes / quavers per bar, and a 2/4 tells us there are 2 quarter notes / crotches per bar. In modern music, the most commonly used time signature is 4/4.

 

Scales and Scale degrees:

Scales are groups of notes that are arranged by ascending or descending order of pitch. 

A scale degree is the position of note within a scale, represented by numbers. For example, the following chart is a C major scale with scale degree labelled:

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In every scale, the 1st note is called tonic which is the starting note of the scale and root of its associated chords.

 

Major scales: 

Major scales follow a strict pattern of Tone- Tone- Semitone- Tone- Tone- Tone- Semitone

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Minor scales:

There are 3 types of natural minor scales.

 

1. Natural Minor Scale

This is the most basic form of the minor scale. It has a pattern of Tone-Semitone-Tone-Semitone-Tone-Tone. Here is an example of A natural minor scale.

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​2. Harmonic Minor Scale

We build a harmonic minor scale by adding a slight variation to the natural minor scale: we raise the 7thnote by a semitone. Here is an example using the same A minor scale:

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​3. Melodic Minor Scale

The melodic minor scale sounds more intense and eerie compared to the former two. We build a melodic minor scale by raising both the 6th and 7th notes of the natural minor scale by a semitone only ON THE WAY UP. That means the melodic minor descending scale is the same as the natural minor scale. 

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Chords:

Chords are the building blocks of musical compositions. Basically, a chord is a collection of at least three notes that are constructed in a way to make harmonious sounds. Roman numerals are commonly used to describe chords within keys. Capital Roman numbers such as I, IV, and V represents major chords while smaller ones such as I, iv, and v represent minor chords. For example, a IV in D major represents the major chord building on the fourth note in D major which is G B D, and a ii in E minor represents the minor chord building on the second note in E minor which is F# A C#.

 

The following 2 types of chords commonly used in modern musical composition.

 

1. Major chords

A major chord is the most commonly used for progressions in modern pop music.

A major triad (a chord with 3 notes) consists of the 1st, 3rd, and 5th scale degrees of the major scale.

 

We can also have chords with additional notes. For instance, a 7th chord (a chord with 4 notes) consists of the 1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th scale degrees.

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2. Minor chords

A minor chord is another popular chord used in music with a sad, depressing, and melancholic vibe. Like a major chord, a minor chord consists of the 1st, 3rd and 5th notes of the minor scale.

 

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For information on how to build more advanced chords, see (http://www.piano-keyboard-guide.com/piano-chords.html)