Composition

Question 1

What is Equal Temperament”?

Answer 1

The octave is divided into 12 equal steps, or pitches:
C C# D D# E F F# G G# A A# B
The distance between each successive pitch is exactly the same.

Question 2

What is a chromatic scale?

Answer 2

A 12 note scale, as it uses every pitch within an octave.
C C# D D# E F F# G G# A A# B C

It has an ambiguous character, as it has no tonal centre (each note is a semitone away from each other). Consequently, each note is given equal importance.

Question 3

Major Scale Formula

What is the Major Scale’s Pattern?

Answer 3

C D E F G A B C
T-T-S-T-T-T-S

The major scale has a very strong tonal centre, due to the combination of tones and semitones. It gives the feeling that some of the notes want to move to other notes. Sort of like a magnet.

Question 4

Why is the major scale so important?

Answer 4

It’s the parent scale of the diatonic system. It’s the foundation of the European musical tradition.

Question 5

What is a relative minor scale?

Answer 5

It’s a scale that uses the same notes of a major scale, but in a different order (or more correctly, starting on a different note).

Question 6

What’s the easiest way of finding a Major Scale’s Relative Minor?

Answer 6

To find a relative minor scale, go down 3 semitones from the major scale’s tonic.
(A, Bb, B, C)

Question 7

Natural Minor Scale Formula

What is the Natural Minor Scale’s Pattern?

Answer 7

A B C D E F G A

T-S-T-T-S-T-T

Question 8

What is the Tonic note?

Answer 8

It’s the note that all the other notes in the scale are built upon.

Question 9

What makes a “good” melody?

Answer 9

1. Have a nice combination of steps and leaps.
2. Create a balance between repetition and variation.
3. Be careful of too much movement without enough repetition. Too much variation and confuse the listener.
4. It should have contour or shape and take the listener on a journey.

Question 10

What is special to note about Perfect Intervals?

Answer 10

They are neither Major nor Minor, as they appear in both scales.

When inverted, the intervals remain perfect. e.g.
C-F = Perfect 4th. F-C = Perfect 5th
C-G = Perfect 5th. G-C = Perfect 4th.

They sound very consonant.

Perfect intervals = Unison, Perfect 4th, Perfect 5th, Octave.

Question 11

Major Pentatonic Scale Formula

Answer 11

C D E G A C
T-T-m3-T-m3

A 5 note scale.

Question 12

What is special to note about the Major Pentatonic Scale?

Answer 12

Leaving out the 4th and 7th notes, gives this scale its character.

It sounds more consonant and open sounding with a lack of tension because of a lack of dissonance between any of the intervals.

There are less dissonant intervals in the scale:

1) The semitone (minor 2nd) intervals are removed e.g. E-F (m2) and B-C (m2) become E-G (m3) and A-C (m3).
2) The tritone (6 semitones, 3 tones) has also been removed: F-B (tritone) becomes F-A (M3)/F-C (P5).

Question 13

Minor Pentatonic Scale Formula

Answer 13

A C D E G A
m3-T-T-m3-T

A 5 note scale.

Question 14

What is special to note about the Minor Pentatonic Scale?

Answer 14

Compared to the Major Pentatonic, it has a more serious and dark quality about it.

Question 15

Blues Scale Formula

Answer 15

The blues scale is like the Minor Pentatonic scale, but has 6 notes - a flattened 5th:

A C D Eb E G A
m3-T-S-S-T-m3

Question 16

What is special to note about the Blues Scale?

Answer 16

One of the most useful and widely heard scales in rock and blues.

It’s based in the minor pentatonic but with a flattened 5th as an additional note.

The b5 acts as the blue note. It makes the minor pentatonic sound more bluesy.

It’s well suited to the guitar due to all the stylistic inflections it can perform (hammer ons & pull offs etc.)

Question 17

Whole Tone Scale Formula

Answer 17

C D E F# G# Bb C
T-T-T- T-T-T

It’s a symmetrical scale.

Question 18

What is special to note about the Whole Tone Scale?

Answer 18

It has an ambiguous character, as it has no tonal centre (each note is a tone away from each other). Consequently, each note is given equal importance.

Often used in film scoring, jazz and 20th C classical music.

Sounds quite dreamy and also devilish due to having so many tritones (three tritones) e.g. C-F#, D-G#, E-A#.

Question 19

Octatonic Scale Formula

Half-Whole Diminished Scale

Answer 19

C Db Eb E Gb G A Bb C
S-T-S-T-S-T-S-T

Has a pattern of repeated intervals.

A symmetrical scale.

Sounds exotic and mysterious, as it contains both a lot of consonant and dissonant intervals (m2, M2, m3, M3, P4, P5, Tritones (A4/D5), m7, M7.

Question 20

Augmented Scale Formula

Answer 20

C Eb E G G# B C
m3-S-m3-S-m3-S

A symmetrical scale that uses a repeated m3-S pattern.

Used over augmented chords. Common on Jazz and Classical.

Question 21

Harmonic Minor Scale Formula

Answer 21

A B C D E F G# A
T-S-T-T-S-m3-S

It is a natural minor scale with a raised 7th.

Sounds middle eastern, reminiscent of Arabic and Turkish music.

The harmonic minor scale serves as the foundation of minor mode music. The raised 7th creates a leading tone back to the root, which indicates strong harmonic movement.

Composers of classical music often found that the m3 interval contained in the scale too disruptive for smooth melodic writing. So they created a melodic minor scale…

Question 22

Melodic Minor Scale Formula

Answer 22

The scale is different ascending than descending.

Ascending Melodic Minor scale:
A B C D E F# G# A
T-S-T-T-T-T-S

Descending Minor scale - the same as the natural minor scale.

It is a natural minor scale with a raised 6th and raised 7th.

It’s now closer to a major scale, but with a flattened 3rd.

The melodic minor scale removes the m3 interval contained within the harmonic minor scale. This makes the scale smoother, more suitable for melodic writing.

Question 23

The Modes

Answer 23

Modes are not transposing a scale, they are a change in the scale’s interval structure. To do this we change the scale’s tonic, whilst still playing the same notes of the scale.

CDEFGABC
DEFGABCD - starts in the second degree.
T-S-T-T-T-S-T

Question 24

List the Modes

Answer 24

1. Ionian (same as major scale)
2. Dorian
3. Phrygian
4. Lydian
5. Mixolydian
6. Aeolian (same as the natural minor scale)
7. Locrian

Question 25

How do we build modes?

e.g. G Dorian

Answer 25

1. Find the scale’s parent mode.
   - Dorian = a mode starting on 2nd degree of the parent scale; the parent scale must therefore be a tone lower than G - and therefore F.
2. Build the scale using the key signature of that parent scale.
   - G Dorian = G A Bb C D E F G

Question 26

What are the major sounding modes?

Answer 26

Ionian, Lydian, Mixolydian.

This is because they all do not have a minor 3rd, they have a major 3rd like the major scale:
C Ionian: C-E (Major 3rd)
C Lydian: C-E (Major 3rd)
C Mixolydian: C-E (Major 3rd)

Question 27

What are the minor sounding modes?

Answer 27

Aeolian, Dorian, Phrygian

These all have a flattened 3rd degree, i.e. they have a minor 3rd;
C Aeolian: C-Eb (Minor 3rd)
C Dorian: C-Eb (Minor 3rd)
C Phrygian: C-Eb (Minor 3rd)

Question 28

What mode is a type of Diminshed scale?

Answer 28

Locrian, as it doesn’t have a Perfect 5th.

Question 29

What do the Modes sound like?

Answer 29

1. Ionian - bright, happy, positive.
2. Dorian - a middle ground between happy and sad.
3. Phrygian - exotic, gypsy, sad, flamenco.
4. Lydian - hopeful, innocent, playful, spacey.
5. Mixolydian - bluesy, rock’n’roll, raga-like, Celtic.
6. Aeolian - solemn, sad, sorrowful.
7. Locrian - who knows…

Question 30

What is modulation?

Answer 30

Modulation is simply a key change.

C -> G is a common key change. It will usually always return to the home key, therefore C G C.

Question 31

What are common diatonic modulations?

Answer 31

The tonic (I) will frequently modulate to:
The dominant (V)
The subdominant (IV)
The relative minor (vi)
The parallel minor (i)

This is because these keys share a lot of the same notes of the tonic:
I: C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C
V: G-A-B-C-D-E-F#-G (only the F# is different)
IV: F-G-A-Bb-C-D-E-F (only the Bb is different)
vi: A-B-C-D-E-F-G-A (the same notes)
i: C-D-Eb-F-G-Ab-Bb-C (seems like a remote key, but as they have the same tonic, they are very strongly linked).

Because of the above, modulating from the tonic to these sound very pleasing to the ear.