The complete musician: an integrated approach to tonal theory, analysis, and listening

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• File: The complete musician by Laitz (2012).pdf
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• Type: Book
• Title: The complete musician: an integrated approach to tonal theory, analysis, and listening,
• Author: Laitz, Steven G.;
• Publisher: Oxford University Press,
• Location: New York,
• Year: 2012
• ISBN: 978-0-19-974278-3

Abstract

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• Keywords: 01 Unread; Music; Music Theory

Comments

Includes index

Annotations

Notes

See: music

Appendix 1A: The Pitch Realm

• circle of fifths

Appendix 1B: Pulse, Rhythm, and Meter

• Tempo: Speed of the beat
• Meter: Grouping of strong & weak beats into recurring patterns (in bars / measures)
  • Simple meter: each beat is divided into two equal parts (in 4/4, a beat can be divided into two eighth notes)
  • Compound meter: each beat is divided into three equal parts, i.e. each beat can be denoted by a dotted note
  • Meter signature / Time signature: two numbers (one on top of another) that denotes the meter of a piece or a section. The top number represents the number of beats per measure, while the bottom number represents the note unit that represents the beat (2 = a beat is a half note, 4 = quarter, and so on)
  • Compound meter signatures: It is not possible to notate a dotted beat in the bottom number of the meter signature, therefore it is normal to subdivide the beat instead. It is common to subdivide the beat into 3 equal parts and thus denote a meter of 2 dotted quarter notes per measure as 6/8 (2 times 3 eighth notes / eighths = 6/8). To reverse this process and obtain the meter from the time signature, divide the top number by 3 to get the number of beats and dot to the note of the bottom number halved (4 → 4/2 → 2 → dotted half note = 3 quarter notes).
• Notation of a note: notehead (unfilled of filled / blackened) + stem (points down when on 3rd staff line or above) + flags (each additional flag halves the note duration)
• Dotting: each dot increases the note / rest duration by one-half (it compounds). A dotted note is 1½ times its original duration, while a double-dotted note is 1¾ its original duration.

Appendix 1C: Intervals

• Simple intervals: intervals within an octave
• Compound intervals: intervals larger than an octave; to name intervals larger than a twelfth, combine “compound” and its simple form name (where octaves are ignored), e.g., “twenty-fifth” = “compound fourth”
• Generic intervals: intervals in which the interval quality does not matter
• To identify generic intervals (p. 730):
  • When the notes both fall on lines or on spaces, count the empty lines or spaces between them, add one to it, multiply by two, then add one to it again.
  • If that’s not the case, then count the unoccupied spaces between the two notes, add one to it, then multiply the number by two (in other words, do the same thing but don’t add one at the end).
• Specific intervals: intervals in which the interval quality does matter
• Quality: basic categories of intervals (perfect, P; major, M; minor, m)
• Specific intervals in a major scale (in relation to the tonic): P1, M2, M3, P4, P5, M6, M7, P8
• Specific intervals in a minor scale (in relation to the tonic): P1, M2, m3, P4, P5, m6, m7, P8
• Except m2, all non-perfect intervals in the minor scale are minor (m3, m6, m7).
• Diatonic interval: an interval found within the major or the minor mode
• To identify the specific size of a diatonic interval / to identify a specific interval:
  • Identify its generic size (refer to earlier notes)
  • Find where the upper pitch lands within the major scale built from the lower pitch. If it is not found, find where it lands within the minor scale.
• Augmented interval: a major or perfect interval where the upper pitch is raised by a half step
• Diminished interval: a minor or perfect interval where the upper pitch is lowered by a half step
• Transforming perfect intervals (arrow direction does not limit direction of transformation): diminished ← perfect → augmented
• Transforming major / minor intervals: diminished ← minor ↔ major → augmented
• Interval inversion
  • To invert an interval, move the lower pitch up an octave or move the upper pitch to a lower octave
  • The generic size of the interval plus the generic size of the inverted interval add up to nine, e.g., after inversion, a second becomes a seventh (2 + 7 = 9). The total number of half steps sum to twelve.
  • The interval quality flip (from major to minor, augmented to diminished, vice versa) after the inversion except for perfect intervals
• To calculate an interval below a given pitch
  • Method 1
    • Invert the interval (e.g., M7 → m2)
    • Find the interval (above the given pitch)
    • Transpose the upper pitch down an octave
  • Method 2
    • Count a generic interval down from the given pitch
    • Find the specific interval using the scale membership method (i.e., check whether the lower pitch is a member of the major / minor scale of the upper pitch)
    • Add sharps or flats when needed.

Appendix 1D: Triads, Inversions, Figured Bass, and Harmonic Analysis

• Triad types
  • Consonant triads: Major & minor triads
  • Dissonant triads: Augmented & Diminished triads
  • Major triad: M3 + m3
  • Minor triad: m3 + M3
  • Augmented triad: M3 + M3
  • Diminished triad: m3 + m3
• Augmented is not regarded as units of harmony. It is only a result from the convergence of contrapuntal lines (p. 742).
• Spacing / voicing: Distance between chordal members (pitches of a chord). Hard to hear the bass clearly.
• Close position: Tight spacing between chordal members
• Open position: Sparse distribution of chordal members. Generally wider between the lowest pitch and the pitch above it to make the bass more salient.
• Doubling: To thicken the sound of triads, a certain chordal member can be doubled (repeated) in another register. The root is usually doubled for its stability, but the third and the fifth are often doubled as well.
• Triad Inversion
  • In root position / Root-position chord: A triad is in root position when the root is the lowest sounding pitch.
  • Inversion: A chord is inverted when a pitch other than the root appears in the bass, i.e., the root sits somewhere above the bass. The type of inversion only depends on the lowest pitch, and how other pitches are distributed do not matter.
  • First inversion: The third of the chord is the lowest pitch
  • Second inversion: The fifth of the chord is the lowest pitch
  • Root-position triads are the most stable. Inversions are less so because of sixths (imperfect consonance), which causes the listener to want the chord to move forward in a cadence and resolve in a root-position chord.
• Figured Bass