Musical Intervals

Musical Intervals

Complete the table below with at least two melodies that start with each interval.

Interval / Distance in semi-tones / Association
Minor 2nd / 1
Major 2nd / 2
Minor 3rd / 3
Major 3rd / 4
Perfect 4th / 5 / Away in a manger,
Tritone / 6
Perfect 5th / 7
Minor 6th / 8
Major 6th / 9
Minor 7th / 10
Major 7th / 11
Octave / 12

Scales and intervals

Name the intervals reached for the tonic for a) a major scale b) a melodic minor scale.

a)Major scale (this example: C major)

______

b)Melodic minor scale (this example: C melodic minor)

ii)Ascending

______

ii) Descending

______

Which intervals can be found in all three excerpts above? ______

Ways of naming notes of a scale

There are many different ways to name the notes of a scale. Here are some examples:

Example for C major:
8 / VIII / Do / C
7 / vii / Ti / B
6 / vi / La / A
5 / V / So / Dominant / G
4 / IV / Fa / Sub-dominant / F
3 / iii / Mi / E
2 / ii / Re / D
1 / I / Doh / Tonic / C

*You need to know these terms*

The terms Tonic, Sub-dominant and Dominant will crop up numerous times throughout the course. Make sure you know that they mean the 1st, 4th and 5th note of the scale respectively!

Key point to understand: The Tonic, Sub-dominant and Dominant refers to the 1st, 4th and 5th note of the scale. However, these words also refer to the chords built upon each note.

Major Scales

Every major scale has the following pattern of tones and semi-tones: T T St T T T sT

Because of where the black notes on the piano are placed, the key of C major uses all the white notes (no sharps or flats):

Use the piano above to work out what flats or sharps are needed for major scales starting on D, E, F, G, A and B, then write them in. D major has been done for you.

Example: D major: DEF#GABC#D

a)E major: EFGABCDE

b)F major:FGABCDEF

c)G major:GABCDEFG

d)A major:ABCDEFGA

e)B major:BCDEFGAB

What accidentals do I need for each major scale?

Complete the tables below:

Sharps:

Scale / Number of sharps / Which are the sharpened notes?
C major / 0 / N/A
1
2
3
4
5

Flats:

Scale / Number of flats / Which are the flattened notes?
C major / 0 / N/A
1
2
3
4
5

AMDGName: ......

More on sharps and flats

1.How can we remember the order of sharps / flats that are used?

......

2.If we know what sharps are used, how can we work out the key signature?

......

e.g......

3.If we know what flats are used, how can we work out the key signature?

......

e.g......

Key point to understand: The Tonic, Sub-dominant and Dominant refers to the 1st, 4th and 5th note of the scale. However, these words also refer to the chords built upon each note.

What is the key?

You need to be able to recognise ear whether music is major or minor. If you have a notated score, you should also be able to name the key of the piece (e.g. ‘B minor’)

1. When I have music notation, I can use the following tips to work out the key signature:

______
______
______
______
______
______

2. Name the key signature for the following excerpts:

Key signature = ......

Triads

A triad is made up of three notes: the 1st, 3rd and 5th. For example, a triad on C would be C, E and G. We use roman numerals to explain what degree of the scale the triad is based on.

Complete the following triads on the correct note of the scale. The first 3 have been done for you

a)C major

I II III IV V VI VII

b)Bb major

I II III IV V VI VII

c)B minor

I II III IV V VI VII

Chords

The aim of this task is to find out the ways that different chords can be strung together to make musical phrases. The choice of chords used and the order they are played in affects how the music sounds.

What do you think is the difference between a triad and a chord?

Task: Familiarise yourself with the chords below. Take three or four of the chords and choose an order to play them in. Experiment with different combinations, and note down which combinations sound particularly good.

For guitarists – use D major:

IIIIIIIVVVIVII

DEmF#mGABmC#m°

For pianists – use C major:

IIIIIIIVVVIVII

CDmEmFG Am B°

Hint: Chords I, IV and V are most common in music. Include one or two in each combination

Your task:Try out the chpord progressions below and decide which sound the best:

I – V - II – II – V – III – V - VII - IV - VII - I

I – III – VI – II – IV - V – IV – I – I - IVI - III - II - V

Sequences that sound good / Sequences that don’t sound good

Cadences

As you should already know, most Western European music (up until 1900, at least) along with most pop and rock music, is based around chords.

In the same way that words make up a sentence, chords make up a ‘chord sequence’or ‘chord progression’.

How the sequence ends is very important. This is called a cadence.

1.Play the following cadences through in a key of your choice.

a)Discuss which cadence

i) sounds like it has returned‘home’ - perfect

ii) sounds unfinished - imperfect

iii)sounds unexpected - interrupted

iv) sounds like the end of a hymn (“Amen”) - plagal

I – VIV – IV – VI V - I

This sounds ...... This sounds ...... This sounds ...... This sounds ......

Name of cadence: ...... Name of cadence: ...... Name of cadence: ...... Name of cadence: ......

Inversions

Task #1: What does the word ‘inverted’ mean? Discuss.

When a chord is played, the lowest note...Chords can be played in many different ways. Here are some different voicings of the same chord:

All of the versions above will sound slightly different when played, but it is the lowest note of the chord that really affects how the chord sounds.

We use the terms ‘root position’, ‘1st inversion’ and ‘2nd inversion’ to explain whether the 1st note of the chord, the 3rd, or the 5th note of the chord is lowest, i.e:

Root position 1st inversion 1st inversion Root position 2nd inversion

It is more common, however, that the lowest note will be in the bass line. This is what you will have to listen out for in your exam.

The examples below show the chord of C major in root position and with 1st and 2nd inversion:

Root position 1st inversion 2nd inversion

(C in bass) (E in bass) (G in bass)

Task #2:Two for the following examples are wrong. Cross out the two descriptions that are wrong and write in the correct description underneath.

2nd inversion Root position 2nd inversion Root position 2nd inversion 1st inversion Root position