Music theory

Intervals

In western tonal music, the musical range of instruments is subdivided into 12 equal parts separated from each other by a half-step (which on a keyboard is the jump from one note to the next). Each of these representing a note in the chromatic scale. The difference between different of these notes are called intervals and are measured in half-steps (semitones) or whole steps (tones).

Scales, Keys and Modes

Scales

A scale is a sequence of notes following a certain pattern of half-steps and whole steps between the notes. Scales generally span a single octave since the pattern repeats with higher or lower octaves.

Scales can have different number of notes in them, the chromatic scale has 12, a heptatonic scale has 7, a hexatonic scale has 6, and a pentatonic scale has 5. More ancient forms of music used even smaller scales of 4 (tetratonic), 3 (tritonic) or 2 (ditonic) notes.

The most central and stable note in a scale is called the tonic, usually in a common scale the tonic will be the starting note, for example in the C major scale, the tonic would be C and often in song composed in that key, the first and last notes will be this tonic.

The chromatic scale is a scale with 12 notes, all eqally spaced by a half-step, one of it’s functions is to add color or embellish the major and minor scales.

The major scale

The minor scale, sometimes referred to as natural minor

The harmonic minor scale is a variation of the minor scale in whch the degree VII has been raised by a half-step, allowing to create a dominant seventh chord from the ffth degree of the scale.

The melodic minor scale is a variation of the harmonic minor scale made to make melodies of ascending and descending consecutive notes more harmonious. When the melodic minor scale s played in an ascending pattern it’s degrees VI and VII are increased by a half-step and when played in a descending pattern it’s degrees VI and VII are decreased by a half-step.

------ ascending ------> <------ descending ------ I II III IV V VI VII | I II III IV V VI VII C D Ef F G A B | C D Ef F G Af Bf T | T |‑[hs]‑|‑[hs]‑|‑[hs]‑|‑[hs]‑|‑[hs]‑|‑[hs]‑| | |‑[hs]‑|‑[hs]‑|‑[hs]‑|‑[hs]‑|‑[hs]‑|‑[hs]‑| The C melodic minor scale

Keys

A key is the combination of a tonic or central notes, a scale and a set of chord progressions. These are all the keys in the western classical musical tradition, which are the most commonly used in contemporary electronic music.

Modes

Alternatively to a key, a mode represent different ways to use a specific scale to compose music. Scales can have different modes, which are the same sequence of notes as the note’s major scale but starting on a different note.

Chords and progressions

For every note in a key, a chord can be made by adding a note a 3rd and a 5th above the root note. These chords can be referred by a number, corresponding to the position of the note in the key.

I II III IV V VI VII C - Dm - Em - F - G - Am - Bdim Chords of C major key and their number in roman numerals

A chord can be inverted by moving it’s 3rd or 5th up or down an octave, this is useful when makng chord progressions and wanting to keep the different chords in a similar pitch range.

chord progressions refer to a sequence of chords, usually from the same key, but that can also include chords and notes from outside the key. They can be referred to by their numbers, for example: I - II - VI - V.

Rhythm

Composition and structure

The Five Arrangement Elements

It’s helpful to break an arrangement down into these five main elements, bearing in mind that some instruments may do different jobs at different parts in a song, or even fulfill multiple roles at once:

• Foundation: This is usually the rhythm section - drums providing the major pulse of the song that you would feel and count along to, and bass providing harmonic context for all other pitched instruments. The rest of the arrangement is built upon the foundation.
• Pads: Long sustained sounds - often chords, notes, or atmospheric effects which are held to fill some of the background space.
• Rhythm: Rhythm is any instrument that plays off of the Foundation’s pulse, adding movement and excitement to the track.
• Lead: What you would sing along to and probably pay the most attention to when listening.
• Fills: Fills occupy the spaces in between Lead lines to maintain interest when it’s natural for the main melody to take a break.

Tension and Release

• Harmonic tension: The root chord of the key of your song is the most stable and resolved harmonic position. Tension is introduced as you move to other chords, as well as by accompanying them with some lead or bass notes which fit in less “expected” ways, i.e. notes that are outside of the current chord.
• Rhythmic tension: A lot of fun and interest comes from accentuating “weaker” beats - mainly, ones that don’t fall on the quarter note “1 2 3 4” that you would typically count along to most songs with. Think about rhythmic tension not only for typical “rhythm” parts like percussion, but also the rhythm of your main melody or the rhythm of the chord changes. As you’re working, consider how tension and release play out across every aspect of your song - the impression of the introduction, the quantization of notes, the length of a buildup, contrasts in volume or brightness…

Melody aspects

phrase - repetition of bunch of notes with same rythm but can change in pitch chords - multiple notes played together, often accompanying melody range - range of notes on scale applied to a melody higher notes towards the end keep the phrase length the same overall insérer des breaks dans un rythme de drums

Resources

• Music theory notes
• List of chord progressions
• Color of keys
• analysis of keys and modes per genres