SUMMER
MUSIC CLINIC
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Music Theory
1. Rhythm
a. Notes Values
b. Rests
c. Accidentals
d. Time Signature
e. Tempo
2. Melody
a. Major Scales and Natural Minor Scales
b. Tones and Semitones
3. Harmony
a. Triads
b. Harmonizing The Major Scale
c. Chords
Introduction
Welcome to the Practical Music Course lesson! In this book, we will study the
basic elements of music.
Learning music theory is important as you go through the process of creating your
own song.
The theoretical components of music may seem overly technical and difficult to
grasp, but they can be understood in a number of different ways. For example,
whenever we sing a song or play chords, we are demonstrating some
understanding of the concepts of melody and harmony.
In this book, we will talk about fundamental elements of music which are
essential in music composition: rhythm, melody, harmony, and form.
The Elements of Music
Rhythm
All music has a rhythmic component. When we talk about rhythm, we are talking
about how music flows through time.
Rhythm is the element of time in music and is measured in beats. A beat is a
regular pulse like the ticking of a clock.
NOTE VALUES
A note is the basic symbol for sound and can be altered in a variety of ways to
indicate length or duration.
RESTS
Silence in music can be as important as sound. Just as notes represent duration of
sound, rests indicate duration of silence. The whole and half rest are attached to
one of the lines of the staff.
Activity
With a partner, clap and perform the rhythmic patterns below!
Student 1
ACCIDENTALS
# A sharp raises the pitch to the right by a semitone going to the nearest black
or white key.
A flat lowers the pitch by a semitone going to the left to the nearest black or
white key.
TIME SIGNATURE
To specify the beat and the number of beats in each measure, composers use a
time signature. It indicates how many beats there are in a measure and the kind
of note being used to represent a beat.
TEMPO
Tempo is the speed at which a piece of music is played. It is measured in beats per
minute (bpm), and the beat is often defined by a quarter note.
Tempo can also be expressed in words. There are basic tempo markings found in a
piece:
Grave – slow and solemn (20-40 bpm)
Largo – broadly (40-60 bpm)
Adagio – slow and stately (literally, “at ease”) (66-76 bpm)
Andante – at a walking pace (76-108 bpm)
Moderato – moderately (108-120 bpm)
Allegro – fast, quickly and bright (120-168 bpm)
Vivace – lively and fast (=140 bpm) (quicker than allegro)
Presto – very fast (168-200 bpm)
Melody
Melody is the horizontal presentation of pitch (the highness and lowness of
sound.)
SCALES
A scale is a succession of notes most often arranged in ascending tones and
semitones. It comes from the Italian word “scala” which means “ladder”.
Major Scale and Natural Minor Scale
The Major and Minor Scale is a commonly used scale in music. The first note in
the scale is called the tonic or root. This could be any of the 12 notes of the
musical alphabet (including sharps (#) and flats (b)), which means there are 12
major and minor scales all in all.
Tones and Semitones
Tone - There is one key between two keys. It can be either a black or white key
Semitone – There is no key between two keys
To get all the Major and Minor scales in Piano, start with the root you desire and
apply this pattern. T for tone and S for semitone
Constructing Major Scales
The major scale is an interval pattern of five tones and two semitones.
Formula for Major Scale: T - T - S - T - T - T - S
tone tone semitone tone tone tone semitone
Formula for Minor Scale: T - S - T - T - S - T - T
tone semitone tone tone semitone tone tone
Constructing the C Major Scale:
C D E F G A B C D E F G A B
T T S T T T S
C D E F G A B C
ACTIVITY: Constructing Major Scales
Fill in the blanks with notes that make up the Bb Major Scale
Bb Db Eb Gb Ab Bb
B C D E F G A
Bb Major Scale:
Bb __ __ Eb __ __ A __
T T S T T T S
Harmony
Playing more than one note at the same time is called harmony. Harmony
supports the melody and gives the music texture or mood.
TRIADS
A major triad is made up of the root, third and fifth notes of a major scale.
C E G
C to E = major 3rd
C to G = perfect 5th
Interval TRIAD
quality
5th G
3rd E
Root C
HARMONIZING THE MAJOR SCALE
The major scale can be expanded from single notes to chords – this is known as
harmonizing the scale, or building a triad out of each note in the scale.
F Gm Am Bb C Dm Edim
Triad I ii iii IV V vi vii°
5th C D E F G A Bb
3rd A Bb C D E F G
Root F G A Bb C D E
Major F G A Bb C D E
Scale (F)
Interval Unison Major 2nd Major 3rd Perfect Perfect Major 6th Major 7th
quality 4th 5th
CHORD
Is made up of three or more keys played together. A chord with three piano keys
is called triad chord. Example of triad chords are major, minor, suspended and
augmented chord.
MAJOR CHORDS
Represented by a capital letter (C D E F G A B C) or with “maj” symbol, sometimes
with sharps or flats. It is composed of tonic (root), major 3rd (M3) and perfect 5th
(P5). For example, in C Major scale, the notes are C D E F G A B C. The tonic (root)
is C, the M3 is E and the P5 is G, therefore the C major chord is composed of C-E-
G. See example below.
Tonic M3 p5
MINOR CHORDS
Represented by a small “m” or “min” symbol. Sometimes with # or b. Example of
a minor chord, Cm Dm Em F#m C#m. It composed of tonic (root), minor 3 rd (m3)
and perfect 5th (P5). For example, in C minor scale, the notes are C D Eb F G Ab Bb
C. The tonic (root) is C, the m3 is Eb, and the P5 is G, therefore the C minor chord
is composed of C-Eb-G. See example below.
For reference, see table below.
Scale Chord
G Major scale: g-a-b-c-d-e-f#-g G-B-D
D Major scale: d-e-f#-g-a-b-c#-d D - F# - A
E Major Scale: e-f#-g#-a-b-c-d#-e E - G# - C#
A Major scale: a-b-c#-d-e-f#-g#-a A - C# - E
A minor scale: a-b-c-d-e-f-g-a A-C-E
B minor scale: b-c#-d-e-f#-g-a-b B-D-F
C# minor scale: c#-d#-e-f#-g#-a-b-c# C# - E - G#
F# minor scale: f#-g#-a-b-c#-d#-e-f# F# - A - C#
Tips: simple way to get a minor chord is to flat the 3rd from major chord. For
example if G major is G-B-D, then the G minor is G-Bb-D.
