Twelve-Bar Blues

20th Century popular music such as boogie-woogie, rock-n-roll, rhythm and blues are based on the twelve-bar blues. Twelve-bar blues are built on chord 1, chord 4 and chord 5 of the major scale. The chords can be written in roman numerals (I), (IV) and (V). In C major the chords will be chord (I) CEG, chord (IV) FAC and chord (V) GBD. It is straight forward to work out. C major chord (I) is C, then miss a note, then E, then miss a note, then G. Chord (IV) starts with the 4th note of the scale which is F, then follow the same pattern, miss a note, then A, miss a note, then C. Chord (V) starts on the 5th note of the scale which is G, miss a note, then B, miss a note, then D. Below are two examples of chords in C major, GBD (V) and FAC (IV):


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Below are chords (I), (IV) and (V) in different major scales:

C major : (I) CEG, (IV) FAC, (V) GBD
D major : (I) DF#A, (IV) GBD, (V) AC#E
F major : (I) FAC, (IV) BbDF, (V) CEG
G major : (I) GBD, (IV) CEG, (V) DF#A
A major : (I) AC#E, (IV) DF#A, (V) EG#B

The Twelve-Bar Blues

In 4 time | chord (I) | chord (I) | chord (I) | chord (I) | chord (IV) | chord (IV) | chord (I) | chord (I) | chord (V) | chord (IV) | chord (I) | chord (I) ||


Alldis, D. (2000). A classical approach to jazz piano. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard, p.10.


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Ties, Dots and Slurs

Ties and dots both extend the values of notes. Slurs join the note sounds together with no break in sound between, they are played smoothly.

In the picture below there are notes with dots to the right of the note. This extends the value of the note by a half. In this example, the notes are minims which is 2 beats, then add another half of the note value, half of 2 is 1, so the total value of the note is 2 + 1 = 3. The picture below also has examples of ties. The lines joining the notes extend the note so the complete duration of sound is the value of the two notes or three in this case.

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In the example below there are lines joining up the notes called slurs. The notes are played with no break in sound between them.

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The difference between ties and slurs are shown below. Ties are notes of the same pitch as in the top stave, the note duration is extended. With a slur, it is notes of a different pitch. In the bottom stave, the notes are played with no break in sound between each note.

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Below are more examples of slurs.

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The joined notes below are more examples of ties.

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Below are more examples of dotted notes.

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Taylor, E. (1990). Music Theory In Practice Grade 1. London: The Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, pp.12, 13 and 28.

Minor Scale Structure

When working out the minor scale structure, there are two forms, the harmonic minor and the melodic minor.

I will show the structure of the harmonic minor. The first stage is working out the key signature of the minor scale. If we want to know C minor, we must move up the keyboard three semitones from C, this would be to Eb. The key signature of Eb is Bb, Eb, Ab. To work out the key signature, see Key Signatures and Writing Key Signatures posts on this blog. The next stage is to raise the 7th note a semitone. This is B in the scale of C minor. B is Bb on this scale so it would be raised a semitone to B natural.

So the scale of C minor is;

C, D, Eb, F, G, Ab, B natural, C

Now I will show the structure of the melodic minor. The first stage is the same as the harmonic minor, we work out the key signature, but then raise the 6th and 7th note of the scale a semitone on the way up and lower the 6th and the 7th on the way down.

So the scale of C melodic minor is:

C, D, Eb, F, G, A natural, B natural, C then back down C, Bb, Ab, G, F, Eb, D, C

In the picture below are examples of melodic minor scales, they have a raised 6th and 7th note on the way up and a lowered 6th and 7th on the way down. The first scale on the left is an example of D melodic minor. The scale underneath is an example of C melodic minor. The top scale on the right is an example of G melodic minor and underneath that scale is an example of F melodic minor.


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In the picture below are examples of harmonic minor scales. The top scale is D harmonic minor, then G harmonic minor, then C harmonic minor, F harmonic minor, Bb harmonic minor and Eb harmonic minor. They all have the raised 7th note.


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Note:
Each key signature has its own major and minor scale.
C minor and Eb major, D minor and F major, G minor and Bb major and so on.

If you want to work out the minor key signature, count up three semitones from the tonic note for example: C minor will be to Eb, D minor will be to F, E minor will be to G, G minor will be to Bb and so on.

Warburton, Annie O. Basic Music Knowledge. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995. Print, p. 40.

Some Common Italian Terms

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The majority of musical terms are in Italian. The reason for this is many early composers were Italian. They indicate to the performer how the piece should be played. Below are some of the most commonly used ones:

adagio                slow

allegretto            quite fast

allegro                fast

andante               at a walking pace

a tempo               back to the original tempo

dolce                   sweetly

largo                    broadly, quite slow

lento                    slow

moderato             moderate tempo

meno                   less

poco a poco         little by little

presto                  very fast

vivace                  lively

giocoso                playful, humerous

Baxter, Harry and Michael Baxter. The Right Way To Read Music. Tadworth: Right Way, 1993. Print, pp. 174 to 180.

Note Groupings

Grouping of notes depend on the time signature. In simple time and compound time, notes are generally grouped in beats. The exception is 4/4 time where you cannot beam over beats two and three as we see in the example below.



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In 2/4 time we see each beat, but can also be beamed as one complete bar.


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The example below shows 3/4 time which is three beats per bar. We can see that notes can be beamed by beat or beamed altogether in one bar.


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In the example below, the music is in 3/8 in the first bar where the whole bar is beamed together, 9/8 in the second and third bars where the notes are beamed in three beats and 6/8 in the fifth bar where the notes are beamed in 2 beats.


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2/4 can be beamed into two beats or as one complete bar.
3/4 can be beamed into three beats or as one complete bar.
4/4 is not beamed over beats two and three.

6/8 is beamed into two beats.
9/8 is beamed into three beats.
12/8 is beamed into four beats.

Baxter, Harry and Michael Baxter. The Right Way To Read Music. Tadworth: Right Way, 1993. Print, pp. 72 and 73.

Inversions

In every triad there are three different ways they can be structured. This means that the note in the base of the triad will be different depending on the inversion.

Root: 1st (root), 3rd then 5th note of the triad.
1st inversion: 3rd, 5th then 1st (root) note of the triad.
2nd inversion: 5th, 1st (root) then 3rd note of the triad.

If we look at the picture below, the first triad contains notes C, E and G. This is the triad of C major. The root position triad of C major will have C in the base (bottom note), the 1st inversion will have E in the base and the 2nd inversion will have G in the base. The first triad has an E in the base so it is C major 1st inversion.

If we look at the fourth triad in the picture, it has notes C, E and G again so it is also C major but the note in the base is G, so this triad is C major 2nd inversion.

C major triad in root: C E G
C major triad in 1st inversion: E G C
C major triad in 2nd inversion: G C E



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All triads are worked out in the same way:

F major triad in root: F A C
F major triad in 1st inversion: A C F
F major triad in 2nd inversion: C F A

The minor triads are the same:

G minor triad in root: G Bb D
G minor triad in 1st inversion: Bb D G
G minor triad in 2nd inversion: D G Bb


Baxter, Harry and Michael Baxter. The Right Way To Read Music. Tadworth: Right Way, 1993. Print, pp. 66.

Major, Minor, Diminished and Augmented Triads

Triads are the foundation of the harmony of music.

If we look at the picture below, the top stave shows two sets of triads. The first triad is the G major triad and the second triad is the F major triad. The G major triad consists of the first note (root), the third note and the fifth note of the scale of G major, this is G, B and D. The F major triad consists of the root, third and fifth notes of the scale of F major, F, A and C. Another way of working out the major triad is through semitones. Between the root and the third is four semitones (G-G#-A-A#-B). Between the third and the fifth is three semitones (B-C-C#-D).  The F major triad between the root and the third (F-F#-G-G#-A) and between the third and the fifth (A-A#-B-C). The same system can be applied for all major triads.

If the triads in the picture below were minor, the G minor triad would consist of the first note, third note and fifth note of the scale with a lowered third, the 3rd note would be lowered a semitone (G, Bb, D) and F minor (F, Ab, C). There are three semitones from the root to the third in G minor (G-G#-A-A#(Bb)), F minor (F-F#-G-G#(Ab)) and four semitones from the third to the fifth in G minor (A#(Bb)-B-C-C#-D), F minor (G#(Ab)-A-A#(Bb)-B-C). All minor triads can be worked out in the same way.

The diminished triad has a lowered 3rd and 5th, the 3rd and 5th note would be lowered a semitone. If in the picture below were diminished triads, the G diminished triad would consist of G, Bb, Db and the F diminished would be F, Ab, Cb. The distance between the root and the third is three semitones and between the third and the fifth is also three semitones.

The augmented chord has a raised 5th, the 5th note would be raised a semitone. It has four semitones between the root and third and also four semitones between the third and the fifth. The G augmented triad would consist of notes G, B, D# and the F augmented would consist of notes F, A, C#.

Note:
Three semitones is a minor 3rd, four semitones is a major 3rd.
A#(Bb), G#(Ab) are examples of enharmonic equivalents. The note sounds the same but has a different name.

Major triad: major 3rd and minor 3rd
Minor triad: minor 3rd and major 3rd
Diminished triad: minor 3rd and minor 3rd
Augmented triad: major 3rd and major 3rd


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Baxter, Harry and Michael Baxter. The Right Way To Read Music. Tadworth: Right Way, 1993. Print, pp. 64 and 65.

Enharmonic Equivalents

Enharmonic equivalents are notes that have different names but are the same pitch (sound). If we look at the keyboard below, the black note between G and A is called G# and Ab. The black note between A and B is called A# and Bb. The black note between F and G is called F# and Gb and so on. When there is no black note in the middle, the C is also called a B# and the B is also called a Cb. The F is also called an E# and the E is also called an Fb.

The same applies to double sharp (x) and double flat (bb). C double sharp (x) is the same as D, G double flat (bb) is the same as F and so on.



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Baxter, Harry and Michael Baxter. The Right Way To Read Music. Tadworth: Right Way, 1993. Print, p.31.

Writing Key Signatures

When writing key signatures, it is important to be aware of the order that sharps and flats are written. There is a rhyme that I was taught to use by my teacher when learning to write key signatures, also when I wanted to work out how many flats or sharps in a scale.

The rhyme for flats is: Battle Ends And Down Goes Charles Father

In the picture below, the key is Ab major and the key signature has four flats. The order is; Battle Ends And Down. When working out how many flats in the key signature we need to say the rhyme until the name of the key we want to write, in this example A, Battle Ends And, then add the next word of the rhyme which is Down and that gives us the flats in the key of Ab major; B, E, A, D. Another example is Db major. Say the rhyme until we reach D, Battle Ends And Down, then add the next word, Goes. The flats for Db major are; B, E, A, D, G.

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The rhyme for sharps is: Father Charles Goes Down And Ends Battle

In the next picture, the key is B major and there are five sharps in the key signature. The order is; Father Charles Goes Down And. When working out how many sharps in the key signature we need to say the rhyme until the name of the key we want to write, in this example B, Father Charles Goes Down And Ends Battle, then remove the last two words which are Ends and Battle, the remaining words of the rhyme give us what sharps are in the key of B major; F, C, G, D, A. Another example is E major. Say the rhyme until we reach E. Father, Charles, Goes Down And Ends, then remove the last two words, And and Ends. The sharps for E major are; F, C, G, D.

 

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