Fundamentals

of Music

a m o d e r n

a p p r o a c h

Richard N. Kahn

Fundamentals of Music

a m o d e r n

a p p r o a c h

R ichard K ahnLos Angeles Valley College

F I R S T E D I T I O N

Concourse Music, Los Angeles 90048 © 2009, all rights reserved

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Contents

Preface, xiSheet Music and Notation, xi The Elements and Nature of Sound, xiiiConsonance and Dissonance in Sound, xivMusic: Sound in Time xivReading Exercises, xvWritten Exercises, xvListening Exercises, xvApplied Keyboard Exercises, xvi How to Practice and Have Fun at the Same Time, xvi One Possible Activity Tree, xvii Solfeggio, Moveable “Do,” and the Numerics of Melody, xviii Using Worksheets, xixWritten and Performance Exams, xix Acknowledgements, xx Chapter One: Notating Rhythm, 1Key Terms and Concepts, 1 The Vocabulary of Western Music, 1 Traditional, Commercial, Latin and Jazz, 1 Beats and Tempo: Where’s “the Beat?”, 2Groupings of Beats, 2 Measures and Bar Lines, 2 Primary Beats, Secondary Beats and Subdivisions, 3 Slash Notation, 3Symbols for Durations of Sound, 3 Components of a Note, 3 The Staff, 3 Stem Directions, 3 Notes: Symbols for Durations of Sound , 4 Proper Notation of Sounds (Notes), 4 Labeling and Counting Rhythms, 4 Flags, 5 Duplets, Triplets and Quadruplets, 5Ties and Tied Notes, 5Dotted Notes and Ties, 5 Comparison of Dotted Notes to Tied Notes, 6Slurs and Slurred Notes, 6Symbols for Durations of Silence, 7

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Proper Notation of Silence (Rests), 7 Lengths of Sound and Equivalent Lengths of Silence, 7 Dotted Rests, 8 Multimeasure Rests, 8The Notation of Rhythm, 8 Rhythm, 8 Time Signatures (Meter), 8 What Note Duration Gets “the Beat?”, 8 Simple Time Signatures, 9 Simple Meter, 9Compound Time Signatures, 9 Duple-Triple, Triple-Triple, Quadruple-Triple, 9 Counting Beats and Subdivisions in Compound Time, 10 Double Bar and Final Double Bar, 10Group Activities, 11Worksheet 1-1 Time Signatures, Stem Directions, Ties and Note Lengths, 12Worksheet 1-2 Rhythmic Notation, 13 Chapter Two: Notating Pitch, 15Key Terms and Concepts, 15 The Staff: Tool Number One, 15 Staff, Staves, 15 Slash, Rhythm and Standard Notations, and One Bar Repeats, 16Pitch: High and Low Sounds, 16 Pitch, 16 Timbre, 16Ledger Lines, 16Clefs, 17 Extending the Staff, 17 Ledger Lines, Octava, Octava Basso, and 15ma, 17The Treble Clef (G Clef), 17The Bass Clef (F Clef), 17Movable Clefs, 18The Grand Staff, 19 Split Point, 19 Group Activities, 20 Worksheet 2-1 Pitch Notation, 21 Chapter Three: The Keyboard. 23 Key Terms and Concepts, 23Western Music: The System of Whole and Half Steps, 23The Piano Keyboard: Tool Number Two, 24

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Half Steps and Whole Steps, 25Accidentals: Alterations of the Letter Names, 25 The Sharp, Flat, Natural, Double Sharp and Double Flat, 26 Half Steps and Whole Steps, 26 Diatonic and Chromatic Spellings, 26 Enharmonic Equivalents, 26Group Activities, 27 Worksheet 3-1 Definitions, Multiple Choice, 28Worksheet 3-2 Chromatic and Diatonic Half and Whole Steps, 30

Chapter Four: Form and Rhythm School, Part One, 33Key Terms and Concepts, 33Form in Music, 33 Phrase, 33 Antecedent-consequent, 33 Period, 33Repeated Sections and Repeats, 34 Cadence, 34 First and Second Endings, 34 Segnos and Codas, 35Conducting Patterns in Simple Meter, 35 Conducting, 35 Compound Meter Conducting Patterns, 36Using Your Hands and Feet, 36Group Activities, 37Worksheet 4-1 Definitions: Form and Conducting, 38 Worksheet 4-2 Rhythmic Analysis and Performance, 40Worksheet 4-3 Rhythm Exercises for Jazz, 41

Chapter Five: Major Scales and Key Centers (Keys), 43Key Terms and Concepts, 43 The Overtone Series, 43V-I and the Establishment of Tertian Harmony, 44 Scales, 45 Formula for All Perfect Authentic Major Scales, 46 WWHWWWH in 15 keys, including enharmonic keys, 46 Diatonic Scales Degrees, 46Major Scales , 47Circle of Descending Fifths: Tool Number Three, 48Sharps and Flats, 49Major Key Signatures, 50 Transposition: the Act of Changing Key Centers, 50 Tetrachords, 51

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Group Activities, 52Worksheet 5-1 Notating Pitches, 53Worksheet 5-2 Drawing Major Key Signatures, 54Worksheet 5-3 Definitions, Multiple Choice, 55 Chapter Six: Rhythm School, Part Two, 59Key Terms and Concepts, 59 The Anacru sis, or “Pickup Note”, 59Beat One and the Middle of the Measure, 60Swing, Shuffle and Straight Eighth Notes, 61 Tumbao, 63 Basic Tumbao Pattern, 63 Tumbao Bass Pattern, 63Group Activities, 65Worksheet 6-1 Rhythm Exercises, Syncopation, and Coordinated Skills, 66Worksheet 6-2 Rhythm Exercises for Jazz, 67 Chapter Seven: Intervalss, 69Key Terms and Concepts, 69 Types of Intervals, 69 Melodic versus Harmonic Intervals, 69Qualities of Intervals, 70 Major, Minor, Diminished and Augmented Intervals, 70 Diatonic Intervals, 70 P1, M2, M3, P4, P5, M6, M7, P8, 70 Intervals by Number Size, 71 Simple and Compound Intervals, 71Constructing Intervals by Half and Whole Step, 72Constructing Intervals Upward, 72Constructing Intervals Downward, 74 Method by Identification and Alteration, 74 Method by Counting by Whole and Half Steps, 74 Method by Interval Inversion, 74Interval Inversion, 74Interval Hierarchy: Consonant to Dissonant, 76 Group Activities, 76Worksheet 7-1 Analyze and Label Intervals, 78Worksheet 7-2 Constructing Intervals Up and Down, 79Worksheet 7-3 Intervals On the Keyboard, 80 Chapter Eight: Triads, 81 Key Terms and Concepts, 81

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The Basics of Triads, 81 Harmony and Triads, 81Determining the Root, 82 First and Second Inversions, 82 Closed and Open Position, 82Triads and Their Qualities, 82 Major, Minor, Diminished, Augmented Triads, 82Using Key Signatures to Determine Triad Quality, 83 Arpeggios, 83Primary Triads, 84 Primary Triads in 12 Keys, 85Root Movement by Descending P5, 85 #iv – vii – iii – vi – ii – V - I, 86 The Cadence, 86 Authentic Cadence, 86 Half Cadence, 86 Plagal Cadence, 86The ii – V – I Progression, 87 Diatonic ii – V – I in 12 Keys, 87Chord Quality Grids, 88Forming Chord Quality Grids, 88 Group Activities, 89 Worksheet 8-1 Triads and Inversions, 90Worksheet 8-2 Chord Quality Grids: Triads, 91Worksheet 8-3 The ii – V – I Progression, 92Worksheet 8-4 The ii – V – I in Major, 93 Chapter Nine: Minor Scales and Key Centers, 95 Key Terms and Concepts, 95 The Minor Scale, 95 WHWWHWW, 95Natural Minor Scales and Key Signatures, 96 The Minor Circle of Fifths, 97Relative Keys, 97Parallel Keys, 99 Relative Minor Scales and Keys, 100 Parallel Minor Scales and Keys, 101Minor Scale Forms, 102 Natural Minor, 102 Harmonic Minor, 102 Melodic Minor, 102 Minor Scale Forms, Ascending, 103Diatonic Minor Triads, 104Triads and Musical Styles, 105

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Diatonic Scale Degrees in Minor Diatonic ii – V – I in Minor, 107Group Activities, 108Worksheet 9-1 Constructing Minor Scale Forms, Ascending, 109Worksheet 9-2 Parallel Minor Scales, 110Worksheet 9-3 Major and Minor Circle of Fifths, 112Worksheet 9-4 Roots and Chord Qualities of Minor ii – V – i Progression, 113

Chapter Ten: Seventh Chords, 115 Key Terms and Concepts, 115 Four Note Chords, 115 Add 9 Chords and Add 6 Chords, 116Seventh Chords, 116 Major Seventh Chords (M-M), 116 Dominant Seventh Chord (M-m), 116 Minor Seventh Chord (m-m), 116 Half-Diminished Chord (d-m), 117 Diminished Seventh Chord (d-d), 117 Inversions of Seventh Chords, 117 Root Position, First Inversion, Second Inversion and Third Inversion , 117 Chord Symbol Conversion Chart, 118 Improvisation, 119 Comping, 119Group Activities, 119 Worksheet 10-1 Seventh Chord Names and Qualities, 120Worksheet 10-2 Identifying Seventh Chords, 121Worksheet 10-3 Notating Seventh Chords, 122Worksheet 10-4 Seventh Chord Grids, 123Worksheet 10-5 Triads With a V7 – I and V7 – i Cadence, 124Worksheet 10-6 ii – V – I: Major Keys, Three Part Voicing Exercise, 125

Chapter Eleven: Form and Tonality, 127 Key Terms and Concepts, 127 Functional Harmony, 127 Central Pitch Reference, 127Predominant Functions, 128Dominant Functions, 128 Melodic Tendency, 128 Stable Pitches and Active Pitches, 128 Timbre, 129Tonic Functions, 129 Constructing Phrases, 130

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Extending Lengths of Phrases, 130 Rhythmic and Melodic Motifs: a, a’, b, b’, c’, c’, 130 Texture, 130Techniques for Extending Lengths of Phrases, 130 Augmentation, Counterpoint, Diminution, Homophony, Imitation, Inversion, Repetition, Retrograde, Retrograde Inversion, Sequence, 130 Song Forms, 131Strophic Form, 131 Verse Chorus (VC or AB), 132 Verse-Chorus-Verse (VCV or ABA), 132 Verse-Verse-Chorus-Verse (VVCV or AABA), 132 Through-composed, 132 Group Activities, 132 Worksheet 11-1 Definitions, Matching: Form, 133 Chapter Twelve: Other Scales, Keys and Modes, 135 Key Terms and Concepts, 135 Church Modes, 135 Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian and Locrian Modes Key Signatures, 136Example: The First Noel, 137 “The First Noel” in Different Modes, 137 Determining Key Signature in Different Modes, 138 Characteristic Cadential Formulations, 138 Other Modes and Scales, 139 Chromatic, Whole-Tone, Diminished and Augmented Scale, 139The Major and Minor Pentatonic Scale, 140The Blues Scale, 141 Blues on Tonic, 141 Blues on the Sixth Scale Degree, 141 Seven Note Blues Scale, 141 Nine Note Blues Scale, 142Bebop Scales, 142 Bebop Dominant, Bebop Dorian, Bebop Major, Bebop Melodic Minor and Bebop Harmonic Minor, 142Even More Scales and Modes, 143 Phraygish and Spanish Phrygian, 143Twelve-Tone Rows, 144 Original, Inversion, Retrograde and Retrograde Inversion, 144 Group Activities, 146Worksheet 12-1 Terminology: Other Scales, Keys and Modes, 147Worksheet 12-2 Modes of the Major Scale, 148Worksheet 12-3 Church Modes, 149Worksheet 12-4 Twelve Tone Rows , 150

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Chapter Thirteen: Blues and the Pentatonic Scale, 151 Key Terms and Concepts, 151 Blues As a Form, 151 12 Bar Progression, 151 Turnaround Progression, 151What is Blues?, 152 Features regular meter, improvisation, distinctive instruments and perfor mance techniques and swing rhythms, 152 Developmental and Interactive Storyline, 152 Rhythm Section and Solo Voice(s), 152Traditional Harmonic Movement With Nontraditional Chord Qualities, 153 Root Progressions and Tonal Harmony, 153 Nontraditional Usages of Seventh Chords, 153 Five Most Common Blues Progressions, 153A Brief History of Improvisation, 155What is Jazz?, 156 Ragtime, Classic Jazz (New Orleans Jazz), Dixieland, Hot Jazz, Chicago Style, Swing, Kansas City Style, Gypsy Jazz, Bebop, Vocalese, Mainstream, Cool, West Coast Jazz, 156 Group Activities, 157Worksheet 13-1 Blues Progression in F, 158Worksheet 13-2 Rhythm Exercises with Jazz Articulations, 160Worksheet 13-3 F Walking Bassline, Right Hand Comp Pattern, 161Worksheet 13-4 Terminology: Blues and Jazz, 162 Chapter Fourteen: Commercial Music Chord Symbols, 163 Key Terms and Concepts, 163 The Necessary Members of a Chord, 163 Triad and Seventh Chords, 164Voicing a Seventh Chord, 164 R-3-7, R-7-3, and R-7-4, 164 Root Range, 164 Structural Harmony, 164Naming Seventh Chords With Extensions, 165 Root, Suffix and Extensions, 165 Nondiatonic or Altered Extensions, 165Chord Symbol Conversion Chart, 166Seventh Chord Root Movement and Chord Progressions, 167 Root Movement by Step or Half Step (Linear), 167 Root Movement by Descending Perfect 5th (Circular), 167Pairing of Seventh Chords, 168 Minor Seventh or Half Diminished Chord, Followed by a Dominant Seventh Chord, 168

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Common Root Movement Progressions, 167 Group Activities, 169Worksheet 14-1 Labeling Seventh Chords With Extensions, 170Worksheet 14-2 Constructing Root Progressions: ii – V - I and I – IV - V, 171Worksheet 14-3 Voicing Structural Harmony: the ii – V – I, 172Worksheet 14-4 Voicing Linear Movement With Seventh Chords , 173

Appendices, 177 Appendix A: Glossary of Music Terms, 177 Appendix B: Performance Terms, 184Tempo Terms, 184Change-of-Tempo Terms, 184Dynamic Terms, 184Other Music Terms, 185Voice Types, 185Instruments of the Orchestra, 186Appendix C: Practice Tool: The Activity Tree, 187Appendix D: Daily Practice Routine for the Aspiring Pianist, 188Appendix E: Flashcards, 190Appendix F: Triad Visualizer Tool, 207Appendix G: Seventh Chord Visualizer Tool, 209

Index, 211

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1Notating Rhythm

K E Y T E R M S A N D C O N C E P T S

AccentBarBeamBeatCompound meterDotDotted noteDouble barlineDownbeatFlag

HookLegatoLineMeasureMeterMulti-measure restMusicNotationNoteNotehead

PhraseRestRhythmSimple meterStemTempoTieTied notesTime signatureWestern music

Traditional Western music refers to the evolution and practice of music that began in the Catholic Church and was progressively integrated into the middle class of Eu-rope and, later, the United States. It includes principles of music theory, rhythm, melody and harmony that live in some degree in much of the music of the current era. Throughout the history of Western music, composers, arrangers and copyists have struggled with the need to unify the rules of notation. Suffice it to say that those same rules and principles have been greatly affected by the tremendous growth of ama-teur musicianship, particularly in the stylistic areas of country, rock, pop, jazz, Latin, hiphop and rap. These musicians are engaged in the arena of commercial music, and constitute the largest body of performing and recording musicians of the modern era. What exists today is an amalgamation of hundreds of years of ideas and traditions, modified by thousands of composers and publishers, attempting to meet the needs of tens of thousands of musicians, educators and music students.

The Vocabulary of Western Music

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Simply put, music is sound and silence in time. There are two basic types of time: measured time (such as the ticking of a clock) and ontological time (the perception that the pot of water will never boil). The study of rhythm is best undertaken in the realm of the prior, rather than the latter. Given that so many people live their lives by the clock, and that regular divisions and subdivisions of daily life often occur re-petitive patterns, it is no surprise that rhythms are better investigated in measured time. It is important to note that, given the variety of rhythms used internation-ally, there may be conflicting notational techniques. In these cases, latitude must be given to those composers and performers who successfully operate within those practices. In other words, give the performer what the performer needs to execute the best performance possible, and the music will probably sound “better.”

Music that is in measured time often consists of recurring patterns of accented and unaccented pulses. The recurring patterns are grouped together in bars or measures of music. It is similar to the idea of dividing miles into feet, feet into inches and inches into fractions of an inch. The primary pulse (or beat) of each measure, known as the downbeat, receives the most weight (or accent). The remaining pulse in the measure have varying degrees of lesser weight.

In Western music, it is common to group beats in twos, threes, fours, and even fives, sevens and nines. Larger groups usually consist of smaller groupings. Groups of five may subdivide into smaller groups of two and three. Groups of seven may subdivide into smaller groups of four and three, and so forth.

In music that has groupings of four beats, the relative stress of each beat can be represented as:

ONE two THREE four ONE two THREE four

In music that has groupings of three beats, the relative stress of each beat can be represented as:

B E A T S A N D T E M P O : W H E R E ’ S “ T H E B E A T ? ”

G R O U P I N G S O F B E A T S

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ONE two three ONE two three

The “slashes” above indicate the passing beats, but do not indicate the exact length of the sounds associated with the beats (notes) nor the speed at which the beats go by (tem-po). The emboldened and capitalized beats are primary beats and the other beats are secondary beats. Divisions and subdivisions of beats are required for the proper con-struction of rhythms. If a phrase of music does not contain a variety of beats, divisions and subdivisions, it likely will not be particularly interesting. Towards this end, symbols have been created to represent the beginning of a sound or silence and its length.

The illustration on the following page depicts the relationship between lengths of sound in music notation.

All notes, except whole notes, consist of a notehead, stem and possibly flags (hooks) or beams, depending on the duration. Flagged notes can be difficult to read. Beams may replace a group of flags if a cleaner look is desired. The number of beams corresponds to the number of flags: one beam for eighth notes, two beams for sixteenth notes, three beams for thirtysecond notes.

The staff is the set of five lines and four spaces on which most music is notated. The lines and spaces that are lower represent sounds (pitches) that are slower in waveform frequen-cy. The lines and spaces that are higher represent pitches that are faster in frequency.

Stems are drawn down if the notes are above the middle line of the staff that they are on. Stems are drawn up if the notes are below the middle line of the staff that they are on. Notes on the middle line may have either stem direction, depending on the context.

S Y M B O L S F O R D U R A T I O N S O F S O U N D

Lower pitches

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Flagged notes may be grouped together with a beam.

Notes: Symbols for Duration of Sound

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Flags indicate note lengths that are shorter than the length of a quarter note. Eighth notes have one flag and may be beamed together in groups of two, three or four with one beam. Sixteenth notes have two flags and may be beamed together in groups of two, three or four with two beams. Notes that are grouped and brack-eted together in odd multiples, such as three or five, are called tuplets.

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Ties and Tied Notes

Dotted Notes and Ties

A tie is a curved line connecting two or more notes that are the same pitch. Pitch is how high or low a sound is. The first note inherits the length of the second note, extending it past its normal duration. The second pitch is never resounded. A tie is necessary if a note needs to be held beyond the bar line or the middle of a measure.

Tied notes have dashes between them, indicating the notes are sustained beyond their normal length.

Any note followed by a dot inherits an additional one-half of that note length. For example, a dotted half note is the same as a half note tied to a quarter note. Dotted notes are used in situations where a tie would overly clutter the score or misrepresent the rhythm. The following chart compares dotted notes to tied notes.

DID

YOU

KNOW

... ? Q: What patriotic song about a flag was originally titled “The Defense of Fort McHenry?

A: “The Star Spangled Banner”

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Comparison of Dotted Notes to Tied Notes

Slurs and Slurred NotesA slur is a curved line connecting two or more notes that are different pitches. The second note is sounded and is connected smoothly (legato) to the note that precedes it. These pitches are slurred together and are performed in a legato fashion:

DID

YOU

KNOW

... ? Q: What great jazz musician got his nickname by shortening then slurring “Satchel Mouth”?

A: Louis Armstrong, or “Satchmo”

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Lengths of Sound and Equivalent Lengths of Silence

S Y M B O L S F O R D U R A T I O N S O F S I L E N C ERests indicate measured silence. Each note length has an equal rest length. Rests are never tied and may be dotted, if desired. A succession of rests produces an uninterrupted length of silence.

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In an ensemble (more than one musician), individual parts may be silent for a longer period of time. A multi-measure rest, drawn on the center line with a number above it, indicates the number of measures that are silent.

This is a THREE measure rest.

Any dotted rest can be (and should be, if possible) replaced by a succession of rests. It is much easier to read; often the dot looks like a flaw in the printing.

is equal to

T H E N O T A T I O N O F R H Y T H M

Rhythm is established by combining notes and rests in measured time.

The time signature or meter, is given at the beginning of the piece of music. It estab-lishes a recurring pattern of stressed and unstressed beats. The top number of the time signature indicates how many beats are in every measure. The bottom note indicates what length of note (typically a quarter or eighth note) is designated as “the” beat.

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Simple meter divides the beat into TWO subdivisions. Each subdivision is ex-actly ONE-HALF of the length of the beat. The beat is determined by the bottom number of the time signature.

Simple Time Signatures

Compound Time SignaturesCompound meter divides the beat into THREE subdivisions. Each subdivision is exactly ONE-THIRD of the length of the primary pulse (in this case, a dotted quarter).

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Depending on the speed of the beats (tempo), musicians may opt to count com-pound meter based on the relative STRESS of the beat, rather than the actual beat as designated by the time signature.

A double bar may be placed at the end of a section of music.A final double bar is used at the end of a piece.

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Double Bar Line

DID

YOU

KNOW

... ? Q: What jazz composer is most famous for using odd meters?

A: Dave Brubeck

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Group Activity 1: Divide the class into two groups. One half of the class will per-form the rhythms on TOP of the line (stems up) while the other half performs the rhythms on the BOTTOM of the line (stems down). Concentrate on accuracy and tempo. Start with clapping and gravitate towards using other body parts, such as tapping feet or snapping fingers, concluding with using an object, such as a pencil. The individual lines of music will be more clearly articulated if two objects of differing sound are used.

Group Activity 2: Have the class stand in a line, with the instructor in front. Per-form the following rhythms, by marching and clapping. The top lines music should be clapped while the bottom line maintains the beat and tempo in a steady tempo.

G R O U P A C T I V I T I E S

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W O R K S H E E T 1 — 1

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W O R K S H E E T 1 — 2Rhythmic Notation

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2Notating Pitch

K E Y T E R M S A N D C O N C E P T S

Bass clefBraceBracketChord symbolsClef F clefG clef Grand staffIntervalLedger lines

Octave8va8vb15ma15mbPitch RegisterSplit pointStaffStaves

SystemTablatureTimbreTreble clef

The staff is the set of lines and spaces on which music is notated. The music and all other instructions are read written from left to right. The plural of staff is staves. When an ensemble or group of musicians performs their music in syn-chronicity, they all read their individual staves from left to right. Systems are bracketed combinations of staves that simultaneously read from left to right.

There are other techniques for describing and notating music. A one-line staff is often used when notating unpitched music, such as percussion. Guitarists often prefer tablature, fretboard or chord symbols with slash notation. Drummers often prefer slash and rhythm notation with instructions for the form being indicated by capital letters, such as AABA.

T H E S T A F F : T O O L N U M B E R O N E

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Appendices

“and 1” rhythm the anacrusis or pickup note before a strong beat#iv – vii – iii – vi – ii – V – I circle of fifths root movement from the farthest key from tonic15ma transpose up by two octaves15mb transpose down by two octaves8va transpose up by one octave8vb transpose down one octave

a440 the central tuning pitch for a pianoaaba verse-verse-chorus-verse musical formaba verse-chorus-verse musical formabab verse-chorus-verse-chorus musical forma capella unaccompanied vocal pieceaccent a stressed note or beataccidental a sharp, flat or natural intro-duced momentarily to the musicaction the mechanical workings of a pi-anoactive pitch an unstable sound with a lot of dissonanceadd 9 chord the addition of a M2 to a major or minor triadaeolian mode sixth mode of the major scaleAlberti bass repetitive left hand piano ac-companiment in a broken chord fashionaltered chords chords whose diatonic quality has been changedaltered seventh chord a seventh chord with nondiatonic extensionsanacrusis pickup beat(s)arpeggio a broken chordarticulations symbols which represent modifications in the loudness, shortness and connection of and between notesatonal music that avoids standard tonal centers

A P P E N D I X A :Glossary of Music Terms

augmentation stretching out or elon-gating a musical motifaugmented interval a major or perfect interval enlarged by one half stepaugmented scale minor third-half step scale formulaaugmented triad a major triad with a raised fifth, or two stacked M3rds authentic cadence the harmonic pro-gression V-I or V-I at the end of a phrase or section

back beat beats two and fourbar a measure or unit of time in musicbass the lowest sounding note of a sonor-ity or chordbass clef a symbol that designates where the note low F is found on the staffbeam a thick line replacing the individ-ual flags in a visual grouping of subdivi-sionsbeat a pulse in musicbebop scale a synthetic eight note scale with an extra half stepblues a style, form and scale formula based on the minor pentatonic modeblues on the sixth scale degree a mode of blues in which the harmonic progres-sion remains true to the tonic key, but the scale materials are drawn from the 6th scale degreeblues on the tonic scale degree both formula and scalar materials are from the tonic keyblues scale root, minor 3rd, perfect 4th, augmented 4th, perfect 5th and minor 7thbrace a bracket enclosing the two staves of a grand staffbracket a symbol that encloses several staves of a group

AB

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cadence the characteristic way that a phrase or section endscadenza an improvised section of music within a nonimprovised compositioncent 1/100th of a half stepcentral pitch reference the system of tonalityChicago jazz jazz style of displaced New Orleans musicianschord three or more notes sounded si-multaneouslychord quality grid tool for selecting har-monies and notes from a graphic square gridchord symbols a graphic depiction of what notes could be chosen for a chord voicingchorus form sectional way of construct-ing music, using verses or stanzaschromatic a half step, one of twelve in the octavechromatic scale sequence of all twelve notes, not omitted nor repeatedchurch modes seven displacements of the same set of pitches as used by the Churchcircle of fifths diagram of 12 key cen-ters plus three enharmonic keyscircular movement root movement by descending perfect fifthclassic jazz music of the New Orleans jazz eraclavier any keyboard instrumentclef symbol that assigns a letter name to one of the lines of a staffclose position the members of the chord are less than an octave in their spacingcoda a short additional piece of music added to the end of a longer piececommercial music music intended to be exploited for financial gaincomping rhythmically completing the har-monies suggested by the chord symbolscompound interval a distance of great-er than an octavecompound meter time signatures with a triplet subdivision, rather than dupleconducting rehearsing or leading an en-sembleconsonance relatively stable pitches and pitch relationships

contrapuntal two or more independent lines of music following the same harmo-niesconversational phrases music that is interactive in its phrase structurecool jazz a style of jazz in contrast to be-bop, cerebral and smooth in texturecounterpoint the study of contrapuntal musiccourtesy accidental a cautionary ac-cidental placed to avoid chromatic confu-sioncut time alla breve, or duple meter with a half note as the beat

D.C. da capo, return to the beginning of the section or pieceD.C. al coda return to the beginning of the section or piece and perform until the coda sign, then jump to the codaD.C. al fine return to the beginning of the section or piece and perform until the fine sign.D.S. dal segno, return to the “sign” and begin performing againD.S. al coda return to the segno, then perform until the coda sign, then jump to the coda and finish the pieceD.S. al fine return to the segno, then perform until the fine sign.deceptive cadence a cadence of V - VI instead of V - Idiatonic pertaining to that scale or set of pitchesdiatonic scale degree a pitch that nat-urally falls within a given key or mode of musicdiminished interval the distance of three half stepsdiminished scale a repetitive sequence of whole steps followed by half stepsdiminished seventh chord a four note chord, consisting of only minor thirdsdiminished triad two harmonic minor thirdsdiminution a compositional technique in which a motif is presented in shorter time valuesdissonance unstable, or active, pitches

C

D

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A P P E N D I X C :Practice Tool: The Activity Tree

For example, practice the ii – V – I progression as a Bossa Nova at MM=80, beginning in C Major, moving the key center up by m2. Then, vary one element, the key center, by moving down by M2. Then vary one element, the style, by playing the exercise with a two beat swing feel. Create and use your own activity trees. Write them down and keep them in a notebook. You are limited only by your creativity in using activity trees as a practice tool.

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Sample Goal or Activity

Key

Circular

Down P5

Parallel Key Relative Key Up m3 Up 1/2 Two Beat Four Beat Bossa Rock

Up P4 Down 1/2 Down 1 Swing Straight

Linear Meter Rhythm

Tempo

One Possible Activity Tree

1. Set a goal.2. Choose a place to begin on the tree.3. Vary the elements of the activity, one at a time.

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Print gridlines Activity S M T W R F S

Warm-up (10 min) Hanon: any one exercise in 12 keys

Scale study (20 min) Major in 3rds, 6ths, 10ths

Minor (all three)

Bebop (all four)

Diminished (all three)

Major Pentatonic

Minor Pentatonic

Blues on tonic and sixth

Augmented

Arpeggios (20 min) Triads in 3rds, 6ths, 8ves

Sevenths: Major

Sevenths: Minor

Sevenths: Dominant

Sevenths: Half-diminished

Sevenths: Diminished

Rhythm Section Piano (20 min) Montuna(s) in 12 keys

Comp chords

Style studies: Music from all periods

Patterns: Pop, Rock, Jazz (20 min) 3 per day, 12 keys

Transposition: 12 keys (20 min) Blues (most common short form)

“Piano Man” (Descending Bassline)

“Autumn Leaves” (ii –V-I Major to Minor)

“All the Things You Are” (vi-ii-V-I-IV)

All classic rock and blues grooves

Melodic fragments (“licks” or “riffs”)

I-vi-ii-V (major and minor)

Chord voicings of all qualities

Ear-training (60 min) Listen to exemplary versions of your piece

Sing, then play short musical ideas

Memorize and sing classic solos

Transcribe songs and solos

Rhythm (30 min) Transcribe rhythms of famous pieces

Read and perform rhythms at tempo

Perform vamps with a metronome

A P P E N D I X D :Daily Routine for the Aspiring Pianist, 4.5 Hours/Day

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A P P E N D I X E :Flashcards

These flashcards, which are compatible with Avery White Index Card Template #5388, can be used to memorize notes and pitches on each the G clef and F clef.

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A P P E N D I X F :Triad Visualizer Tool

Cut across the dashed lines and separate.

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A P P E N D I X G :Seventh Chord Visualizer Tool

Cut across the dashed lines and separate.

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Index

“and 1” rhythm, 5915ma, 17, 1915mb, 19 8va, 17, 198vb, 17, 19a440, 24, 42 aaba, 17, 132aba, 132abab, 132a capella, 176accent, 2, 62accidental, 25-26, 49-50, 144action, 23add 9 chord, 177 aeolian mode, 135Alberti bass, 177altered chords, 177altered seventh chord, 177 anacrusis, 59arpeggio, 83articulations, 177 atonal, 177augmentation, 130 augmented interval, 70-71, 75 augmented scale, 140augmented triad, 82, 140authentic cadence, 86back beat, 61-62bar, 5, 10bass, 143, 152, 155-157bass clef, 15, 17, 63, 82beam, 3-5, 61beat, 2, 8-10, 35, 60, 63bebop scale, 177blues, 106, 117, 141, 151-154blues on the sixth scale degree, 177blues on the tonic scale degree, 177blues scale, 141-142, 152brace, 17bracket, 177cadence, 34, 86-87, 97, 102, 104cadenza, 155cent, 44central pitch reference, 127, 144

Chicago jazz style, 156 chord, 81-82, 86, 163chord progression, 48, 85, 99, 104, 106 136, 138, 140 chord quality grids, 88chord symbols, 117-118, 138, 165-166chorus form, 131-132chromatic, 26, 142-143chromatic scale, 139church modes, 135circle of fifths, 48-49, 72, 74, 84-85, 97, 153circular movement, 177classic jazz, 156clavecin, 180clavier, 177clef, 17closed position, 82, 164coda, 34-35commercial music, 1, 62, 82, 104, 116, 131, 168comping, 119compound interval, 71, 73 compound meter, 9-10, 35conducting, 35consonance, 44, 130contrapuntal, 130conversational phrases, 178cool jazz, 157counterpoint, 130, 155courtesy accidental, 178cut time, 178D.C., 34D.C. al coda, 34D.C. al fine, 34D.S., 34D.S. al coda, 34D.S. al fine, 34deceptive cadence, 178diatonic, 26, 50, 69, 153diatonic interval, 70, 88diatonic root movement, 128diatonic scale degree, 46, 48, 74, 106, 136, diminished interval, 69-70, 75diminished scale, 140

Fundamentals of Music: A Modern Approach is the perfect introductory music textbook for

high school and college students.

Featuring 14 detailed chapters, Fundamentals of Music: A Mod-ern Approach is both comprehensive and comprehensible, de-livering a fresh perspective on music fundamentals. By infus-ing century-old content with his rich experience in the jazz and commercial music industry, Richard N. Kahn effectively bridges the divide between classical music pedagogy and jazz and commercial techniques. In this way, Fundamentals of Mu-sic: A Modern Approach provides even-handed coverage of a wide variety of musical styles, from Medieval to Motown.

Included in the text are original tools for studying, memoriz-ing, and practicing at and away from the keyboard:

Skills Worksheets•Group Activities•Chord Visualizer Tools•Detachable Flashcards•

Richard N. Kahn is an Associate Professor of Music at Los AngelesValleyCollege.Withovertwenty-fiveyearsofexpe-rience in teaching, composing and performing, he shares his insights into the constantly evolving skill sets demanded by the music and entertainment industry.

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