AP Theory Summer Review Sheet

AP Theory Review Sheet The following is a study guide to prepare you for AP Music Theory. Please review all of the information so we can start our year ahead of the game. Basics of Notation Whole note Whole rest Half note Half rest Quarter note Quarter rest Eight note Eight rest Sixteenth note Sixteenth rest It is important to understand that the values of these notes are not a constant. They change based on the time signature. The one thing that is a constant is the following diagram that shows how each note relates to another Note Relationships Counting in Time These notes are based on time for example purposes only. Refer to the time signature chart below for exact counting in other time signatures. Notice how each beat is counted, no matter how small the division there are always whole numbers starting each set of beats. Note Value Counting Style 4 beats 1234 2 beats 12 34 1 beat 1 2 3 4 etc ½ beat 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + ¼ beat 1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a Triplet 1 la le 2 la le 3 la le 4 la le Dotted Rhythm = 1(2) + = 1 (2) + 1(e+) a = 1 (e +) a Below is just a sample of how the note values can change based on the time signature the composer uses: 1 2 N/A 4 N/A 8 N/A ½ 1 2 2 4 4 8 ¼ 1/2 1 1 2 2 4 1/8 1/4 1/2 1/2 1 1 2 1/16 1/8 1/4 1/4 1/2 1/2 1 It is a very common misconception that the quarter note always equals one beat and that anything smaller than a quarter note is just played “fast.” What is important to remember is that the smaller the note’s value the more divided the beat is and not the faster the tempo. The above image demonstrates the concept of division. Notice that the circle has many divisions, but the overall size of the circle has not changed. This “pizza pie” concept is what happens with smaller note values. The tempo does not increase because the note values are smaller; we only divide the beat into more parts. Below are two different rhythms in the same time. Notice that even though the rhythms are very different you can see that the beat duration is the same. Pitch Relationships There are two main types of clefs in which music is written, the first being the treble or G clef and the second being the bass or F clef. Each clef has its own distinct set of note arrangements. Please refer to the following example: Every single line and space has a note name attached to it. The notes names we use in music are A,B,C,D,E,F,G. There are ways to memorize the order of notes in both clefs. The treble clef lines create the following statement: “Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge” The treble spaces spell out: “FACE”. The bass clef lines create the following statement: “Good Boys Deserve Fudge Always” The bass clef spaces create the following statement: “All Cows Eat Grass.” Movable C Clef We use this clef when too many ledger lines are involved in the music. Earlier composers would use these clefs for instruments like the trombone and bassoon. Both instruments have a wide range and the use of the C Clef made it easier to read higher notes above the staff. The line that is in the center of the clef is always C, hence the name, MOVABLE C CLEF , , , Let us look at the piano Below we have labeled the notes of all of the keys on the piano. We distinguish between the different clefs by recognizing “Middle C.” This is the pitch that is shared by both the treble and the bass staves. The keys that have two possible note names are called enharmonic, this means that they sound the same but are spelled differently. C# D# F# G# A# C# D# F# G# A# C# Db Eb Gb Ab Bb Db Eb Gb Ab Bb Db C D E F G A B ^ D E F G A B C Middle C Middle C is also know as C4, which is a description of the octave in which it belongs. Please refer to the example below: C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 From C1 to C2 every note has the number 1 following it, from C2 to C3 every note has a 2 after it and so on. This is the easiest way to distinguish where every note should be on the staff. Then there were scales... Every scale consists of a series of whole and half steps. The arrangement of the whole and have steps determines the name and quality of the scale. W=whole Step H= Half Step C Major Scale W W H W W W H A Natural Minor Scale W H W W H W W A Harmonic Minor W H W W H W&H H A Melodic Minor W H W W W W H W W H W W H W Aside from letter name, the notes of the scale also go by: Tonic, supertonic, mediant, subdominant, dominant, submediant and leading tone. That would be scale degree 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 respectively. The Key Master.... Each scale whether major or minor has its own key signature attached. The key signature is a series of sharps and flats set at the beginning of the piece that gives the piece its overall tonality. Below is the Circle of Fifths for all major keys: There is a pattern here with the order of flats and with the order of sharps. With flats we have the following order “BEADGCF” an easy way to remember that is BEAD Greatest Common Factor (for all of you math brains out there). BEADGCF is used to find the order in which flats appear in a key. For example if you have BbEb you go backwards one flat from the last flat added and you now know the key you are working in Bb. The next question might be, “Where does F come from when I only have Bb?” Well the answer to that is simple, the order is circular, “BEADGCFBEAGCFBEADGCF”. It is very similar to the names of the notes, you never go past G, now you never go past F you just keep repeating the pattern. The order of sharps is very similar the only difference is that it is backwards. We start on F and end on B. The easy way to determine the name of the key in sharps is to go up a half step from the last sharp. Therefore, if we have F# as our last sharp we go up a half step and we get the key of G Using the key to unlock intervals... Once you have an understanding of key it is easy to determine the relationship of two notes played together or one after another. On the AP Theory exam, you will be expected to use this knowledge both aurally and visually. The types of intervals are as follows Unison, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh and Octave. After you determine the distance between two notes you need to decide whether they are Perfect, Major, Minor, Diminished or Augmented. If the notes that are played together or in sequence are in the given key then they will be Perfect or Major. Once we involve accidents we will delve into the minor diminished and augmented intervals. P=perfect M=major m=minor o =diminished +=augmented PP +P m2 M2 + 2 m3 M3 +3 o 4 M4 +4 o 5 P5 +5 m6 M6 +6 m7 M7 o 8 P8 The minor circle... Now that we have a better understanding of intervals we can take into consideration the minor forms of all scales. Each major key is shared by a minor key. A key that shares the same key but is a different name is called “Relative Minor” for example C Major is the same key signature for A minor. A key that shares the same name but different key is called a “Parallel Minor”, for example C major and C minor(major key of Eb). If we want to find the relative minor we go up a major 6th and that gives us the new minor key. If we want to find out the parallel minor key signature we go up a minor 3rd and we arrive at the key signature. For example if we go up a minor 3rd from C we end up at Eb, which gives us our key signature for C minor. See below for further clarification. Here is our major key, if we go up a major 6th we A minor shares the same key signature with C find the relative minor scale that shares the same major therefore we consider them relative keys key signature. In the case of C the M6 is A Here is our major key, if we go up a minor 3rd we C minor shares the key signature with Eb major find the parallel minor that shares the same Tonic but it starts on C so we call it C minor. Since both (C). In this case of C the m3 is Eb scales start on C we call them parallel. And then there were three... Once you have developed an understanding of interval relationship the next step is understanding chords.

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