INTERMEDIATE MUSIC

Not quite. Learning music theory chords is a big deal when it comes to understanding music. However, it's not as hard as it seems at first. The key is to take them in baby steps; in small pieces. That why we'll just work with triads, or three note chords for now. Just as notes are the building block of melodies, chords are the building blocks of the general tone of a song. Lots of sad sounding songs will use what we call minor chords. Lots of pretty sounding songs will use major seventh chords or suspended second chords. Chords are simply several notes played together as a group. They can be used to make arpeggios for melodies. They can also be arranged in different orders called progressions to create movement and direction in a song. Let's Start Building! When building chords, we will start with scales. Each scale degree receives a number. These numbers will be used to build different kinds of chords. C D E F G A B C 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 Again, we&#

Here we're going to work on basic music theory intervals. Ok, I didn’t actually realize until I started writing this, but apparently, I use them all the time without thinking about it. Whether it’s learning harmonies in my vocal lessons, working out new melodies, or tuning the strings on my instruments, intervals are everywhere, and you won’t be able to get around without them. What is an interval? This is an easy question. An interval is just the distance between two notes. That’s it. The distance from A to G is an interval called a seventh. The distance from C to E is an interval called a third. The distance from F to B is an interval called a fourth. Get the idea? There are actually two ways to play intervals: harmonic and melodic. Harmonic intervals are when you play the two notes at the same time, (like in a chord). Melodic intervals are when you play one note, then the other one, (like in a melody). There are different types of sevenths, thirds, and fou

Learning music intervals is essential to becoming a good musician. An interval simply is the distance between two notes. It's not quite as simple as it sounds though. We measure these distances in terms of whole steps and half steps, and according to their position in the scale. While this sounds like it would make things harder, what it actually does is trains you to relate notes in a way that can be universally applied to all scales and positions. Basic Intervals In this lesson we cover the system of naming music intervals by their position in the scale. We use numbers instead of letters for this so that we can apply these names in all keys and all scales. Intermediate Intervals In this lesson, we'll combine the above system of naming intervals by their position in the scale with a system of naming them by their size. An interval's size is its distance from the lower note to the higher note.

And why do you need a pentatonic scale lesson? Because pentatonic scales are VERY useful in learning music theory, writing or arranging music, and ESPECIALLY improvising. The word "pentatonic" comes from the Greek "pente" meaning 5 and the Latin "tonicus" meaning tone. So a pentatonic scale is a scale with only 5 tones. there are two standard pentatonic scales: major and minor. They actually are the same scale, just inverted (flipped) differently as I'll explain in a minute. We'll start with the major pentatonic. As with most scales, we will be working with their scale degrees. A major pentatonic scale consists of 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6. So it is basically a major scale with the 4 and 7 left out. Ex. C D E F G A B C C D E G A Ex. F# G# A# B C# D# E# F# F# G# A# C# D# With a minor pentatonic, we use 1, 3, 4, 5, and 7. So it is basically a minor scale with the 2 and 6 left out. Ex. A B C D E F G A A C D E G

Music scales are a set of notes that we choose to use for a particular song. These notes are chosen because they sound good together. Different cultures have different scales that they use more. The most common to most of us is the major scale. To form a scale, we proceed through the alphabet choosing notes that go together to achieve a particular sounding set. Most of the time we do this by putting together 'whole steps' and 'half steps'. To read more on this, let's start with major scales. Major Scales In this lesson we cover how to put together scales by starting with the simplest one, the major scale. A major scale is put together using whole steps and half steps in a particular regular pattern. Minor Scales Minor scales are different than major scales in the fact that there is no one "right" minor scale. Minor refers to the fact that the 3rd degree (or 3rd note in the scale) is a half step lower than it is in the m

So by now, you already have a handle on how music works for the most part. If not, check out the ELEMENTARY section again. Intermediate music theory can be lots of fun as you learn more and use your own creativity to explore the different possibilities. Once you have control of the building blocks, you get to be the architect! There are certain components of this level of study that are pretty much essential for learning beyond this point. These things are all interrelated, and each one is necessary in understanding another. Intervals Here's a slightly more advanced sequel to the Basic article on intervals. Discover what major, minor, augmented, diminished, and perfect are and how they relate to different kinds of intervals. Diatonic Chords Diatonic chords are the chords that naturally fit into a particular scale because they were built from it. Almost all of the chords you hear in today's music are diatonic. Nashville Number System The Nashville