Ch. 4 - Organization of Sounds PDF

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Ch. 4 - Organization of Sounds; The Musical Experience at Belmont University...

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The Musical Experience MUH 2000 Ch. 4 - The Organization of Musical Sounds Key Points

- An octave is the interval spanning eight notes of the scale • In Western music, the octave is divided into twelve half steps; two half steps make a whole step

- The chromatic scale is made up of all twelve half steps, while a diatonic scale consists of seven whole and half steps whose patterns form major and minor scales

- A sharp is a symbol that raises a pitch by a half step, while a flat lowers a pitch by a half step

- Other scale types are found around the world, sometimes using microtones, which are intervals smaller than half steps

- The tonic chord, built on the first scale note, is the nome base to which active chords (dominant and subdominant) need to resolve

- Composers can shift the pitch level (key) of an entire work (transposition), or change the key during a work (modulation)

- In Western music, the octave is divided into semitones or half-steps • Some non-Western music features intervals even smaller than half-steps called microtones Chromatic Scale - The Chromatic Scale with a tonic of C would be: C C# D D# E F F# G G# A A# B C Major Scale 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 do ti la sol fi mi re do

- Tonic going to dominant and returning to tonic is a basic progression of harmony in western music Minor Scale

- Has a lowered, or flattened, third note • W-H-W-W-H-W-W

Diatonic vs. Chromatic

- Music in a major or minor key focuses on the seven notes of the respective scale and is considered diatonic

- Chromatic compositions introduce notes that are foreign to the scale

Other Scale Types

- Pentatonic: five-note scale used in some African, Asian, and Native American musics

- Tritonic: three-note pattern also found in the music of some African cultures

Major-Minor System

- Tonic chord —> rest chord (1 chord) - The 5th scale step (sol) is the dominant - The 4th scale step (fa) is the subdominant...