INTRODUCTION:
western music theory (wmt) + its modern usage tend to both go from being willfully ‘learned'(unreachable) to off-handedly cryptic (indecipherable). wmt does, however, tend to dominate guitar based music (for obvious reasons) + must be fronted up to at some point.
these ‘resource’ pages aim to either fill in wmt gaps or build a few bridges depending on one’s vantage point. it will be kept shorthand + there’s no grand plan as to precisesly how it will develop. no doubt there will be revisions + changes of mind reams of diagrams and scribblings get waded through over time.
i decided to start at (what i see as almost) the useful beginning. absorbed these scales, intervals + chord constructions + there is something tangible to work with. those interested will already have a grasp (nomatter how tenuous) on, or interest in, this stuff; so things should come alive once the line of pennies start to drop.
note: rhythm + tempo, while being more fundamental, are perhaps more difficult to explain on paper + so need a parallel journey into music notation. that will be in another section. (mo)
(a) the basic scale
we take a 7 note diatonic scale (C>C, using so called natural notes, which are the ‘white’ notes on the piano) then extract the theory + associated terminology. this underpins + helps explain more complex scales, modes, chords + harmonic ideas. to understand advanced theory (+ even basic chord construction) the logic of these basic rules (which work as the building blocks of most western music genres) needs to be absorbed first.
the scale + intervals
BLACKBOARD 1 (the major scale)
the above BLACKBOARD 1 takes the basic C major scale + condenses most associated theory into a single blackboard image. in the following sections we encounter the intervals + interval rules that concern us; BLACKBOARD 1 will be at the top of the page to keep checking back to.
(b) modes (+ the degrees of a scale)
the deep end! before we explore intervals + chord construction let’s pause to have a quick look at the top of the blackboard + the 7 distinct modes that lie within the major scale. as with all musical theory one needs to ‘hear’ the mode + why each is different. a good way to start is on the white keys of a keyboard (all the ‘natural’ notes).
played in sequence from C to next C'(an octave higher) one hears the common major scale (doh-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-doh). in modal terms this is known as the ‘C ionian’ mode. notice it contains the C major triad + C Maj 7 chord (or CM7) so gives a distinctive major chord/scale tonality.
in classical language the 1st note of any scale is termed the tonic and the triad formed from the tonic note is the tonic triad. a major scale 1-3-5 triad is a major triad. similarly all the other degrees of the scale generate a particular tonality.
I(tonic), IV(subdominant) + V(dominant) = major triads
ii(supertonic), iii(mediant) + vi(submediant) = minor triads
therefore starting on the second note D and playing up to the next D’ the tonality dramatically changes. this is now the ‘dorian mode’, which contains the D minor triad and Dm7 chord (ie 1-3-5-7 = D-F-A-C).
understanding the link between the tonality + the degrees of the scale, along with associated modes + chords, is necessary to move forward. as an interim step this next schematic approaches from a different angle, expanding the top half of the blackboard to show how each of these 7 modes generate their unique scalar tonality which corresponds with the triads build from each degree of the scale (which can be found in western ‘art’ music from the late renaissance, and is typified in the harmonic construction of ‘classical music’ of the 18th century to early 20th century).
it is worth noting that just as the ionian mode is the same as the major scale (both starting from the tonic note) so the the aeolian mode starting on the 6th (or submediant) note corresponds with the relative ‘natural’ minor scale.
| I | – | ii | – | iii | IV | – | V | – | vi | – | vii | VIII | ( | – | = | semitone | interval | ) | ||||||
| C | – | D | – | E | F | – | G | – | A | – | B | C | – | D | – | E | F | – | G | – | A | – | B | C |
| C | – | D | – | E | F | – | G | – | A | – | B | C | < | IONIAN | MODE | rl. | = | relative | ||||||
| root | – | – | – | mj.3rd | – | – | pf.5th | – | – | – | mn.7th | (=Cmaj7) | mj. | = | major | |||||||||
| D | – | E | F | – | G | – | A | – | B | C | – | D | < | DORIAN | MODE | mn. | = | minor | ||||||
| root | – | – | mn.3rd | – | – | – | pf.5th | – | – | mn.7th | (=Dm7) | pf. | = | perfect | ||||||||||
| E | F | – | G | – | A | – | B | C | – | D | – | E | <PHRYGIAN | MODE | dm. | = | diminished | |||||||
| root | – | – | mn.3rd | – | – | – | pf.5th | – | – | mn.7th | (=Em7) | dom. | = | dominant | ||||||||||
| F | – | G | – | A | – | B | C | – | D | – | E | F | < | LYDIAN | MODE | |||||||||
| root | – | – | – | mj.3rd | – | – | pf.5th | – | – | – | mj.7th | (=Fmaj7) | ||||||||||||
| G | – | A | – | B | C | – | D | – | E | F | – | G | < | MIXOLYDIAN | MODE | |||||||||
| root | – | – | – | mj.3rd | – | – | pf.5th | – | – | mn.7th | (=G7) | = | dom.7th | |||||||||||
| AEOLIAN | MODE | > | A | – | B | C | – | D | – | E | F | – | G | – | A | |||||||||
| root | – | – | mn.3rd | – | – | – | prf.5th | – | – | mn.7th | (=Am7) | = | rel.mn | |||||||||||
| LOCRIAN | MODE | > | B | C | – | D | – | E | F | – | G | – | A | – | B | |||||||||
| root | – | – | mn.3rd | – | – | dm.5th | – | – | – | mn.7th | (=Bm7b5) |
SCHEMATIC 1 (major scale modes)
THE 7 MAJOR SCALE MODES + ASSOCIATED CHORDS/TONALITIES
the above SCHEMATIC 1 is perhaps out of sequence but can be returned to any time. it is placed there to show that the major scale is not ‘frozen’ (tied to its tonic note (I) in “do-re-mi etc” territory) but is a flexible musical concept; which includes being the source of 7 modes, or inner scales.
look at BLACKBOARD 1 + learn the intervals. try to understanding + feel comfortable using the associated rules. this knowledge is needed to master the shorthand language of chords in jazz + popular music. if side-stepped we become reliant on approximations or chord diagrams.
(c) chord construction
STEP 1: is to fully understand the triad (ie 3 notes) that sits at the core of (most) chords, and from which these chords derive their tonality (+ in turn their names).
BLACKBOARD 2 (triads)
the above triad types simply cover their construction. the three notes can then be arranged (voiced) differently going from the lowest to the highest note (this is called an inversion) to produce a different harmonic ‘shading’:
- 1-3-5 [C-E-G if C major triad] = ‘root position’
- 3-5-1 [E-G-C if C major triad] = ‘first inversion’
- 5-1-3 [G-C-E if C major triad] = ‘second inversion’
note: inversions also underly jazz ‘voicings’ of more complex chords, ie the ‘drop 2’ used by guitarists looking to maximise harmonic possibilities on their instrument.
STEP 2: is to decypher the logic of how to build upon the core triad, and how basic diatonic theory enables us to name these chords, no matter how complex.
start with the major triad chords; for the most part the logic of how to built from there applies in turn (albeit with certain modifications) to all triad extensions. it entails using those intervals again + adding some basic rules about the principle chord families such as ‘dominant 7th’ (or 7th) or ‘major 7th’.
This is explained in SCHEMATIC 2 below (all schematics + blackboards can be zoomed into on mobile phones).
SCHEMATIC 2 (major chord construction)
it is best to concentrate wholly on the above schematic until the rules + logic start to become clear. if in doubt scroll back up to the ‘blackboards’ at the top.
when playing these chord groups on a polyphonic instrument (piano, guitar, harp, accordian etc.) or a monophonic instrument (up and down the arpeggio in question) listen to difference the addition of that extra note makes to the underlying triad be it an interval of a ‘major 6th’, a ‘7th’ or a ‘major 7th’. These generated 4 note groupings in turn form their own ‘families’ of chords.
STEP 3: when the above is starting to become clear move onto how changing the core triad changes the tonality and naming of the chords; remember the logic remains constant of ‘triad + extension‘. next, the minor triad group of chords.
SCHEMATIC 3 (minor chord construction)
the same points made for the major triad chords apply. play them (or sing them one note at a time) + absorb the difference that minor third interval makes.
now apply this logic of construction + naming to the less commonly used triads (see BLACKBOARD 2 above).
SCHEMATIC 4 (diminished + augmented chord construction)
CHORD CONSTRUCTION SUMMARY: there are (and always will be) differing ways of writing chords (especially use of symbols) or the technically inaccurate (but understood) use of shorthand terms. so this guide is NOT meant to be definitive but to provide a diagramatic overview of what is often spread over several pages (chapters?) in theory books.
everything from a cowboy G7 on a guitar to the most head scratching of Thelonious Monk voicings can be generally decyphered by following the above rules (or being guided by the logic of these rules), even if these ‘basic rules’ do get a bit twisted or tangled sometimes.
music is an art, like all of the arts it is inextricably linked with science of some sort, yet often the science of explanation [theory] has itself developed from trying to explain the instictive art of intuitive expression
to be continued….