Music Theory For Dummies

Title Page......Page 3
Copyright Page......Page 4
Contents at a Glance......Page 5
Table of Contents......Page 7
 About This Book......Page 15
 Foolish Assumptions......Page 16
 Where to Go from Here......Page 17
Part I Getting Started with Music Theory......Page 19
 Chapter 1 What Is Music Theory, Anyway?......Page 21
  Unearthing Music Theory’s Beginnings......Page 22
   Manipulating and combining notes......Page 23
   Studying musical form and compositions......Page 24
  Seeing How Theory Can Help Your Music......Page 25
 Chapter 2 Determining What Notes Are Worth......Page 27
  Meeting the Beat......Page 28
   Examining the notes and their components......Page 29
   Looking at note values......Page 32
  Checking Out Whole (Semibreve) Notes......Page 33
  Homing In on Half (Minim) Notes......Page 34
  Considering Quarter (Crotchet) Notes......Page 35
  Examining Eighth (Quaver) Notes and Beyond......Page 36
   Using dots to increase a note’s value......Page 38
   Adding notes together with ties......Page 39
  Mixing All the Note Values Together......Page 40
 Chapter 3 Giving It a Rest......Page 43
   Whole (semibreve) rests......Page 44
   Half (minim) rests......Page 45
   Quarter (crotchet) rests......Page 46
   Eighth (quaver) rests and beyond......Page 47
  Practicing Beats with Notes and Rests......Page 49
  Decoding Time Signatures and Measures......Page 53
  Keeping Things Easy with Simple Time Signatures......Page 55
   Using measures to count in simple time......Page 56
   Practicing counting beats in simple time......Page 59
  Working with Compound Time Signatures......Page 60
   Using measures to count in compound time......Page 61
   Practicing counting beats in compound time......Page 63
  Feeling the Pulse of Asymmetrical Time Signatures......Page 64
  Creating Stress Patterns and Syncopation......Page 67
   Syncopation: Hitting the off‐beat......Page 68
  Getting a Jump on Pick‐Up Notes......Page 70
   Adding interest with triplets......Page 72
   Working with duplets......Page 73
Part II Putting Notes Together......Page 75
 Chapter 6 Music Notes (And Where to Find Them)......Page 77
   The treble clef......Page 78
   The bass clef......Page 79
   The grand staff and middle C......Page 80
   C clefs: Alto and tenor......Page 81
   Working with half steps......Page 82
   Taking whole steps......Page 84
   Changing pitch with accidentals......Page 86
  Finding the Notes on the Piano and the Guitar......Page 89
   Picking out notes on the guitar......Page 90
  Using Mnemonics to Help Remember Notes......Page 92
 Chapter 7 Mastering the Major and Minor Scales......Page 95
  Following Major-Scale Patterns......Page 96
   Working with major scales on piano and guitar......Page 97
   Listening to the major scales......Page 100
   Playing natural minor scales on piano and guitar......Page 101
   Having fun with harmonic minor scales on piano and guitar......Page 103
   Making great music with melodic minor scales on piano and guitar......Page 105
   Listening to the minor scales......Page 107
 Chapter 8 Key Signatures and the Circle of Fifths......Page 109
  Understanding the Circle of Fifths and Recognizing Major Key Signatures......Page 110
   Flats: Battle Ends and Down Goes Charles’s Father......Page 112
  Finding Minor Key Signatures and Relative Minors......Page 113
   C major and A natural minor......Page 114
   G major and E natural minor......Page 115
   A major and F sharp natural minor......Page 116
   B/C flat major and G sharp/ A flat natural minor......Page 117
   F sharp/G flat major and D sharp/ E flat natural minor......Page 118
   C sharp major/D flat and A sharp/ B flat natural minor......Page 119
   E flat major and C natural minor......Page 120
   F major and D natural minor......Page 121
  Breaking Down Harmonic and Melodic Intervals......Page 123
   Quantity: Counting lines and spaces......Page 124
   Quality: Considering half steps......Page 127
   Perfect unisons......Page 128
   Octaves......Page 129
   Fourths......Page 130
  Recognizing Seconds, Thirds, Sixths, and Sevenths......Page 133
   Seconds......Page 134
   Thirds......Page 137
   Determining quantity......Page 140
   Establishing the quality......Page 141
  Showing Major and Perfect Intervals in the C Major Scale......Page 143
   Creating a compound interval......Page 144
   Returning a compound to its simple state......Page 145
 Chapter 10 Chord Building......Page 149
   Roots, thirds, and fifths......Page 150
   Major triads......Page 153
   Minor triads......Page 154
   Augmented triads......Page 156
   Diminished triads......Page 158
  Expanding to Seventh Chords......Page 159
   Major sevenths......Page 160
   Minor sevenths......Page 161
   Dominant sevenths......Page 162
   Minor 7 flat 5 chords......Page 163
   Minor‐major sevenths......Page 164
   A......Page 165
   B flat......Page 166
   C flat......Page 167
   D flat......Page 168
   E flat......Page 169
   G......Page 170
   Taking a look at open and close voicing......Page 171
   Identifying inverted chords......Page 172
   Ninth chords......Page 175
   Minor ninth chords......Page 176
   Ninth augmented fifth chords......Page 177
   Seventh flat ninth piano chords......Page 178
   Eleventh chords......Page 179
   Thirteenth chords......Page 180
 Chapter 11 undefined......Page 183
  Reviewing Diatonic Chords, Chromatic Chords, and Minor Scale Modes......Page 184
   Assigning chord names and numbers......Page 185
   Looking at chord progressions in major keys......Page 186
   Checking out chord progressions in minor keys......Page 188
  Adding a Seventh Chord to a Triad......Page 189
  Seeing (And Hearing) Chord Progressions in Action......Page 191
  Applying Chord Knowledge to Fake Books and Tabs......Page 193
  Modulating to a New Key......Page 194
  Reaching a Musical Cadence through Chord Progressions......Page 195
   Authentic cadences......Page 196
   Plagal cadences......Page 198
   Deceptive cadences......Page 199
   Half‐cadence......Page 200
Part III Musical Expression through Tempo and Dynamics......Page 201
  Taking the Tempo of Music......Page 203
   Establishing a universal tempo: The minim......Page 204
   Translating tempo notation......Page 205
  Dealing with Dynamics: Loud and Soft......Page 207
   Modifying phrases......Page 208
   Checking out other dynamic markings......Page 210
   Examining the piano pedal dynamics......Page 211
   Looking at the articulation markings for other instruments......Page 212
 Chapter 13 Instrument Tone Color and Acoustics......Page 215
   Attack: Checking out the beginning sound of a note......Page 216
   Timbre: Hearing the body of a note......Page 217
  Building the Band: An Acoustics Lesson......Page 219
Part IV Musical Expression through Form......Page 221
 Chapter 14 The Building Blocks of Music: Rhythm, Melody, Harmony, and Song Form......Page 223
  Establishing Rhythm......Page 224
  Shaping the Melody......Page 225
  Complementing the Melody with Harmony......Page 227
  Working with Musical Phrases and Periods......Page 228
  Linking Musical Parts to Create Forms......Page 230
   Binary form (AB)......Page 231
   Three‐part form (ABA)......Page 232
   Arch form (ABCBA)......Page 233
  Counterpoint as a Classical Revelation......Page 235
   Starting with the exposition......Page 236
   Moving on to something new: Development......Page 237
   Taking a rest with recapitulation......Page 238
  Rounding Up the Rondo......Page 239
  Figuring Out the Fugue......Page 240
  Combining Forms into a Symphony......Page 242
   Fantasia......Page 243
 Chapter 16 Tapping Into Popular Genres and Forms......Page 245
   12‐bar blues......Page 246
   8‐bar blues......Page 247
   32‐bar blues ballads and country......Page 248
  Having Fun with Rock and Pop......Page 249
  Improvising with Jazz......Page 252
Part V The Part of Tens......Page 253
  Why Is Music Theory Important?......Page 255
  Why Is So Much Music Theory Centered on the Piano Keyboard?......Page 256
  How Do I Identify a Key Based on the Key Signature?......Page 257
  Do I Need to Know Theory if I Just Play Drums?......Page 258
  How Does Knowing Theory Help Me Memorize a Piece of Music?......Page 259
  The Basics......Page 261
  Study Scores......Page 262
  Tablature......Page 263
  Figured Bass Notion......Page 264
  Pythagoras (582–507 BC)......Page 265
  Boethius (480–524 AD)......Page 266
  Gerbert d’Aurillac/Pope Sylvester II (950–1003)......Page 267
  Nicola Vicentino (1511–1576)......Page 268
  Arnold Schoenberg (1874–1951)......Page 269
  Harry Partch (1901–1974)......Page 270
  Robert Moog (1934–2005)......Page 271
Part VI Appendixes......Page 273
 Appendix A Audio Tracks......Page 275
 Appendix B Chord Chart......Page 281
 Appendix C Glossary......Page 319
Index......Page 323
EULA......Page 339