Music Theory For Dummies

Description

Title Page Copyright Page Contents at a Glance Table of Contents Introduction About This Book Foolish Assumptions Icons Used in This Book Beyond the Book Where to Go from Here Part I Getting Started with Music Theory Chapter 1 What Is Music Theory, Anyway? Unearthing Music Theory’s Beginnings Putting the Spotlight on Music Theory Fundamentals Understanding the foundation: Notes, rests, and beats Manipulating and combining notes Studying musical form and compositions Seeing How Theory Can Help Your Music Chapter 2 Determining What Notes Are Worth Meeting the Beat Recognizing Notes and Note Values Examining the notes and their components Looking at note values Checking Out Whole (Semibreve) Notes Homing In on Half (Minim) Notes Considering Quarter (Crotchet) Notes Examining Eighth (Quaver) Notes and Beyond Extending Notes with Dots and Ties Using dots to increase a note’s value Adding notes together with ties Mixing All the Note Values Together Chapter 3 Giving It a Rest Getting to Know the Rests Whole (semibreve) rests Half (minim) rests Quarter (crotchet) rests Eighth (quaver) rests and beyond Extending the Break with Dotted Rests Practicing Beats with Notes and Rests Chapter 4 Introducing Time Signatures Decoding Time Signatures and Measures Keeping Things Easy with Simple Time Signatures Using measures to count in simple time Practicing counting beats in simple time Working with Compound Time Signatures Using measures to count in compound time Practicing counting beats in compound time Feeling the Pulse of Asymmetrical Time Signatures Chapter 5 Playing with Beat Creating Stress Patterns and Syncopation Placing stress: Knowing the general rules Syncopation: Hitting the off‐beat Getting a Jump on Pick‐Up Notes Exploring Irregular Rhythms: Triplets and Duplets Adding interest with triplets Working with duplets Part II Putting Notes Together Chapter 6 Music Notes (And Where to Find Them) Meeting the Staff, Clefs, and Notes The treble clef The bass clef The grand staff and middle C C clefs: Alto and tenor Identifying Half Steps, Whole Steps, and Accidentals Working with half steps Taking whole steps Changing pitch with accidentals Finding the Notes on the Piano and the Guitar Looking for notes on the piano Picking out notes on the guitar Using Mnemonics to Help Remember Notes Chapter 7 Mastering the Major and Minor Scales Following Major-Scale Patterns Working with major scales on piano and guitar Listening to the major scales Discovering All That Minor Scale Patterns Have to Offer Playing natural minor scales on piano and guitar Having fun with harmonic minor scales on piano and guitar Making great music with melodic minor scales on piano and guitar Listening to the minor scales Chapter 8 Key Signatures and the Circle of Fifths Understanding the Circle of Fifths and Recognizing Major Key Signatures Sharps: Father Charles Goes Down and Ends Battle Flats: Battle Ends and Down Goes Charles’s Father Finding Minor Key Signatures and Relative Minors Visualizing the Key Signatures C major and A natural minor G major and E natural minor D major and B natural minor A major and F sharp natural minor E major and C sharp natural minor B/C flat major and G sharp/ A flat natural minor F sharp/G flat major and D sharp/ E flat natural minor C sharp major/D flat and A sharp/ B flat natural minor A flat major and F natural minor E flat major and C natural minor B flat major and G natural minor F major and D natural minor Chapter 9 Intervals: The Distance Between Pitches Breaking Down Harmonic and Melodic Intervals Quantity: Counting lines and spaces Quality: Considering half steps Naming intervals Looking at Unisons, Octaves, Fourths, and Fifths Perfect unisons Augmented unisons Octaves Fourths Fifths Recognizing Seconds, Thirds, Sixths, and Sevenths Seconds Thirds Sixths and sevenths Building Intervals Determining quantity Establishing the quality Showing Major and Perfect Intervals in the C Major Scale Checking Out Compound Intervals Creating a compound interval Returning a compound to its simple state Chapter 10 Chord Building Creating Triads with Three Pitches Roots, thirds, and fifths Major triads Minor triads Augmented triads Diminished triads Expanding to Seventh Chords Major sevenths Minor sevenths Dominant sevenths Minor 7 flat 5 chords Diminished sevenths Minor‐major sevenths Looking at All the Triads and Sevenths A A flat B B flat C C flat C sharp D D flat E E flat F F sharp G G flat Manipulating Triads through Voicing and Inversion Taking a look at open and close voicing Identifying inverted chords Exploring Extended Chords Ninth chords Minor ninth chords Major ninth chords Ninth augmented fifth chords Ninth flatted fifth chord Seventh flat ninth piano chords Augmented ninth chords Eleventh chords Thirteenth chords Chapter 11 undefined Reviewing Diatonic Chords, Chromatic Chords, and Minor Scale Modes Identifying and Naming Chord Progressions Assigning chord names and numbers Looking at chord progressions in major keys Checking out chord progressions in minor keys Adding a Seventh Chord to a Triad Seeing (And Hearing) Chord Progressions in Action Applying Chord Knowledge to Fake Books and Tabs Modulating to a New Key Reaching a Musical Cadence through Chord Progressions Authentic cadences Plagal cadences Deceptive cadences Half‐cadence Part III Musical Expression through Tempo and Dynamics Chapter 12 Creating Varied Sound through Tempo and Dynamics Taking the Tempo of Music Establishing a universal tempo: The minim Keeping steady time with a metronome Translating tempo notation Speeding up and slowing down: Changing the tempo Dealing with Dynamics: Loud and Soft Modifying phrases Checking out other dynamic markings Examining the piano pedal dynamics Looking at the articulation markings for other instruments Chapter 13 Instrument Tone Color and Acoustics Delving into Tone Color Attack: Checking out the beginning sound of a note Timbre: Hearing the body of a note Decay: Listening for the final sound of a note Building the Band: An Acoustics Lesson Part IV Musical Expression through Form Chapter 14 The Building Blocks of Music: Rhythm, Melody, Harmony, and Song Form Establishing Rhythm Shaping the Melody Complementing the Melody with Harmony Working with Musical Phrases and Periods Linking Musical Parts to Create Forms One‐part form (A) Binary form (AB) Three‐part form (ABA) Arch form (ABCBA) Chapter 15 Relying on Classical Forms Counterpoint as a Classical Revelation Sussing Out the Sonata Starting with the exposition Moving on to something new: Development Taking a rest with recapitulation Rounding Up the Rondo Figuring Out the Fugue Combining Forms into a Symphony Observing Other Classical Forms Concerto Duet Etude Fantasia Chapter 16 Tapping Into Popular Genres and Forms Feeling the Blues 12‐bar blues 8‐bar blues 16‐bar blues 24‐bar blues 32‐bar blues ballads and country Having Fun with Rock and Pop Improvising with Jazz Part V The Part of Tens Chapter 17 Ten Frequently Asked Questions about Music Theory Why Is Music Theory Important? If I Can Already Play Some Music Without Knowing Music Theory, Why Bother Learning It? Why Is So Much Music Theory Centered on the Piano Keyboard? Is There a Quick and Easy Way to Learn to Read Music? How Do I Identify a Key Based on the Key Signature? Can I Transpose a Piece of Music into Another Key? Will Learning Music Theory Hinder My Ability to Improvise? Do I Need to Know Theory if I Just Play Drums? Where Do the 12 Musical Notes Come From? How Does Knowing Theory Help Me Memorize a Piece of Music? Chapter 18 Ten Keys to Reading a Musical Score The Basics Lead Sheets Full Scores Miniature Scores Study Scores Piano Scores Short Scores Vocal Scores Tablature Figured Bass Notion Chapter 19 Ten Music Theorists You Should Know About Pythagoras (582–507 BC) Boethius (480–524 AD) Gerbert d’Aurillac/Pope Sylvester II (950–1003) Guido D’Arezzo (990–1040) Nicola Vicentino (1511–1576) Christiaan Huygens (1629–1695) Arnold Schoenberg (1874–1951) Harry Partch (1901–1974) Karlheinz Stockhausen (1928–2007) Robert Moog (1934–2005) Part VI Appendixes Appendix A Audio Tracks Appendix B Chord Chart Appendix C Glossary Index EULA