Introduction to Music Theory

A basic understanding of the piano keyboard is needed to start.

All sounds are caused by vibrations. To make music, you have to control vibrations.

Each note on an instrument is individually tensioned (tuned) to its fundamental frequency.

Music is built around structure, patterns and order. The most important patterns that give universal order and structure to music are called scales.

Intervals describe the relationship between the pitch of two notes. They are the language of music communication.

The octave is the most important interval in music as it is the same note at double the frequency.

When the intervals are arranged in the ascending order of their ratios, it produces the eight white notes of the major scale: The Diatonic scale.

The perfect fifth is the second most important interval in music after the octave. Chords formed at the perfect fifth interval above the Tonic are known in music as Dominant chords.

The Tonic, the Dominant (perfect fifth), and the Sub Dominant (perfect fourth) are the foundation on which harmony in Western music is constructed.

The interval covers three white positions of the C major scale. Four semitones span the notes of a major third interval.

The interval between the fifth harmonic (5X) and the sixth harmonic (6X) gives the minor third interval.

This interval covers six white positions of the major scale. Nine semitones span the notes of a major sixth interval.

There are two semitones spanning the notes of a major second interval. This major second distance between the root and second notes of chords are known as suspended chords.

This seventh interval is essential when we examine chords formed with four notes. These chords are known as seventh chords.

When the intervals are arranged in the ascending order of their ratios, it produces the eight white notes of the major scale: The Diatonic scale.

In this section, we examine three-note combinations, known as triad chords, which are the basic building blocks of Western music.

Now that we have introduced intervals, we will examine the major scale patterns and apply them in practice.

As we apply the scale pattern template to different starting note positions, black note positions will feature in all the major keys except for the C major key.

Musical keys are named in a similar fashion to its corresponding scale name. For example, the G major scale will provide the notes for the G major key, which is the key of G.

You might wonder why we need minor keys. Haven't we covered enough with major and major flat (♭) keys in the previous sections?

The standard practice is to express the keys of the black notes (except for F♯) as flat (♭) keys instead of sharp (♯) keys. Flat (♭) keys are a practical and clear substitute for the sharp (♯) keys in these instances.

The Circle of Fifths is the cornerstone of music theory. It looks very intimidating, but don’t worry; we have developed a simple alternative to the Circle of Fifths.

The Rectangle of Fifths will help you identify the key signature of any major/minor, sharp # or flat ♭ key starting from that tonic note position.

A positive keyboard position value on the Rectangle of fifths equals the number of sharp ♯ black positions for major keys starting from that white keyboard position -let’s put this in practice!

Using the Rectangle of Fifths, we can now quickly and intuitively find the notes of all the Major Scales.

In this section, we focus on the F♯ tonic position. The other four black tonic positions will be discussed in the flat (♭) section.

In this section, we cover the major keys for the remaining four black tonic notes. When the tonic of a major key moves from a white key to a flat (♭) position, the sharp (♯) positions move to white keys, and the white keys move to flat (♭) positions.

To find the tonic position of a relative minor key, add three to the tonic keyboard position value of its major key. If the major key's tonic is a flat (♭), the resulting value also moves back one position.

A parallel minor key shares the same tonic note as its major key but has a different key signature. Rule for Key Signature of Parallel Minor Keys — Subtract three from the tonic keyboard position value to find the key signature of the parallel minor key.

In this video, we will give you a recap of the Rectangle of Fifths and how you can use this system with Chordwalk.

In this video, we will give you a recap how to use the Rectangle of Fifths to intuitively recognise the Key Signature of Flat Major Keys with their Tonic on a black note.

In this video, we will give you a recap of how to use the Rectangle of Fifths to recognise the Key Signature of Natural Minor Keys intuitively