MUSIC THEORY

This is a summary of the basic

concepts that you have learned
in music.
This can be used for a quick review for
tests.
Music Theory Contents


Pitch
Musical Alphabet
Music Staff
Whole and Half Steps
Accidentals
Treble Clef
Bass Clef
Time value
Scale

What Is Pitch?

Pitch is the musician's term for the frequency of a note.
Pitch refers to how high or low a note sounds. High
pitches are on the right side of the piano keyboard and
low pitches are on the left side of the piano keyboard.
Pitch ranges are often referred to in terms of the human
singing voice
.

Soprano - a high woman's voice
Alto - a low woman's voice
Tenor - a high man's voice
Bass - a low man's voice

The accepted pitch standard is A-440, i.e., the note A
above middle C has a frequency of 440 cycles per second.



Musical Alphabet

The musical alphabet consists of the letters A, B, C, D,
E, F, and G. These letters represent musical pitches
and correspond to the white keys on the piano. As you
move forward through the musical alphabet the pitch
of each note gets higher. The musical alphabet is
repeated a little over seven times on the 88 keys of
the piano keyboard

Music Staff

The music staff consists of five lines and
four spaces. Each letter of the musical
alphabet A to G corresponds to a specific
line or space. The plural of staff is staves.
Staves are often connected by a brace or
b r a c k e t a n d b a r l i n e s .


Tones and Semi-Tones

The half step (semi-tone) is the smallest unit of pitch
used in Western music. On the piano, a half step is the
musical interval from any one key to its closest neighbor,
either black or white. Half steps occur naturally between
the two white key pairs E-F and B-C. Two consecutive half
s t e p s a r e c a l l e d a w h o l e s t e p ( t o n e ) .

Accidentals

Accidentals are symbols that alter the pitch of a
note.







Accidentals are placed immediately to the left of
the note they affect.
*N.B: Learn only the sharp, flat and Natural*

Treble Clef

The treble clef is also called the G clef because the
clef symbol curls around the line that represents the
G above middle C.






The names of the treble clef lines can be remembered
by the saying "Every Good Boy Does Fine." The
spaces spell "F A C E."





Bass Clef

The bass clef is also called the F clef because the clef
symbol locates the line that represents the F below
middle C.





The names of the bass clef lines can be remembered by
the saying Good Boys Deserve Food Always"
The spaces by "All Cows Eat Grass" or "All Cars
Eat Gas."




Time value Summery
This chart is important to create different rhythms .
N.B: Form ONES: Learn the semibreve, minim, crotchet and quaver.
Form TWOS AND THREES: Learn up to the semi-quaver. (Disregard
the last line)

X- Dont learn
What Is A Scale?

A scale consists of a series of pitches arranged in ascending
order, spanning an octave.

The most commonly used scales are major and minor. Many other
types of scales are used including Modes and Jazz Scales.

Form 1: C Major Scale
Form 2: C,G,D,F,Bb Major Scale
Form 3: C,G,D,F,Bb Major Scale, A Minor Scale.


THE END
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