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Basic Music Theory Explained

This document provides an overview of basic music theory concepts including [1] chord names like major and minor chords, [2] the octave and major scale, [3] key signatures and the notes within different major keys, and [4] the chords associated with each major key. It aims to introduce musical terminology without overloading the reader with extensive details.

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Rohwer Joannalisa
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171 views12 pages

Basic Music Theory Explained

This document provides an overview of basic music theory concepts including [1] chord names like major and minor chords, [2] the octave and major scale, [3] key signatures and the notes within different major keys, and [4] the chords associated with each major key. It aims to introduce musical terminology without overloading the reader with extensive details.

Uploaded by

Rohwer Joannalisa
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Basic Music Theory Explained

What you should get from this section:

In this section, I want to give you a basic understanding of


musical theory, but without overloading you with
information. If you know your stuff as far as musical
theory goes, you’ll notice that I’ve left a lot out, and this
has been done on purpose.

If you DO have a good understanding and grounding


already, you will just be able to work through the book a
bit faster.

Nomenclature :
During the course, I’ll be referring to chord names and
interval names, so it’s important that you understand what
we’re talking about. These are the chord names we’ll be
using:

Major Chord :
Any time you see a letter on it’s own for example “F” you
know we mean F Major. I also may write it as “F Maj”, so
either of these requires you play the Major chord.

Minor Chord :
If you see a letter followed by a little m E.g. “Fm” then
this relates to the minor chord. Again, I might write “F
min”, or “F minor”, and either of these will relate to a
minor chord.

There are literally hundreds of chords, and variations, but


you won’t need most of them in this course, and there are
plenty of chord books and chord information on various
websites available, so I won’t cover them all here. The
purpose of this course is to help you to compose music,
not learn every chord in existence.

Flats and Sharps:


A flat note uses the symbol (b) and a sharp note uses the
symbol (#).

The Octave:
An octave is a musical term that covers a total of 11
notes, and spans from one note, to the next note of the
same name. The notes within the Western musical range
are as follows:

A, A#/Bb, B, C, C#/Db, D, D#/Eb, E, F, F#/Gb, G, G#/Ab,

After the Ab, we end up at the A again. All the notes you’ll
ever play will be one of these. You’ll notice that there are
no sharps or flats between the notes B and C or E and F.
There ARE exceptions to this rule, but you won’t need to
learn them here.

The Major Scale :


The major scale is a series of seven notes that follow a
particular order. The order is as follows:

12345671

Root - Tone – Tone – Semitone – Tone – Tone – Tone –


Semitone

This scale is the basis for all musical theory. You would
probably recognise it from your school days as:

Do – Re – Mi – Far – So – La – Ti – Do

The Minor Scale:


Each major key has a corresponding, relative minor key.
The minor key will be in the same key signature, and will
contain the same notes as the major key. The only
difference between the two is that the minor key simply
STARTS on a different note. For example, in the key of C
Major, the relevant, corresponding minor key is A minor.

You can always find the relative minor key by counting up


six notes from the root of the Major key. So in the C Major
example: C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C. Hence the minor key
starts on the A.

The sequence of a minor scale is different, and goes like


this:

Root – Tone – Semitone – Tone – Tone –Semitone – Tone


- Tone

So if as an example we use the A minor scale which is the


relative minor scale of C Major, we have the following
sequence of notes:

ABCDEFGA

If we were playing in F Major, the relative minor would


again begin on the sixth note in the key, which would be
the D, and the sequence of notes would be:

D E F G A Bb C D

Key Signatures:
A semitone (or half step) is the smallest increment on a
western musical instrument. On a piano, it is represented
by moving from one key to the next, and on a guitar, it is
represented by moving from one fret to the next.

As an example, on a piano, moving from middle C to the


black key directly next to it on the right, we would get a
C# would be a semitone. Moving from middle C to the
next WHITE key on the right, which is the D, would be a
tone from the middle C (also known as two semitones or a
whole step).

On a guitar, moving from the open A string to the first fret


on the A string A# would be a semitone, whilst moving
from the open A string to the second fret B would be a
tone (two semitones).

So if we look at the C Major scale, it looks like this:

C (root note)

Then up a TONE to D

Then up a TONE to E

Then up a SEMITONE to F

Then up a TONE to G

Then up a TONE to A

Then up a TONE to B

And finally up a SEMITONE again to finish back on C.

All major keys follow this pattern, and you can start a
Major scale on any note.

A couple of things to be aware of: Some notes have the


same sound, but different names depending on which KEY
they are in. For example, an A# is the same note as a Bb as
if you move up ONE semitone from A it becomes A# and if
you move down ONE semitone from B it becomes a Bb.
Again, you don’t need to worry too much about this if it’s
confusing you as we’re going to stick mainly to simple
chords and keys throughout this site.
Keys :
As a reference, here is a list of all the keys, the notes
within them, and the chords within the key!

C Major :
Notes: C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C

Key signature: (No key signature)

Chords within Key: C, Dm, Em, F, G, Am, B diminished

G Major :
Notes: G, A, B, C, D, E, F#, G

Key signature: One sharp on the F line

Chords Within Key: G, Am, Bm, C, D, Em, F# Diminished


D Major:

Notes: D, E, F#, G, A, B, C#, D

Key Signature: Two Sharps on the F line, and C line

Chords Within Key: D, Em, F#m, G, A, Bm, C# Diminished

A Major:

Notes: A, B, C#, D# E# F#, G#, A

Key Signature: Three sharps on the F line, C line, and G


line

Chords Within Key: A, Bm, C#m, D, E, F#m, G#


Diminished
E Major:

Notes: E, F#, G#, A, B, C#, D#, E

Key Signature: Four sharps on the F line, C line, G line,


and D line

Chords within Key: E, F#m, G#m, A, B, C#m, D#


Diminished

B Major:

Notes: B, C#, D#, E, F#, G#, A#, B

Key Signature: Five sharps on the F line, C line, G line, D


line, and A line

Chords within Key: B, C#m, D#m, E, F#, G#m, A#


Diminished
F# Major:

Notes: F#, G#, A#, B, C#, D#, E#, F#

Key Signature: Six sharps on the F line, C line, G line, D


line, A line, and E line.

Chords within Key: F#, G#m, A#m, B, C#, D#m, E#


Diminished

And Now The Flat Keys:

F Major:
Notes: F, G, A, Bb, C, D, E, F

Key Signature: One Flat on the B line

Chords within Key: F, Gm, Am, Bb, C, Dm, E Diminished

Bb Major:

Notes: Bb, C, D, Eb, F, G, A

Key Signature: Two flats on the B line and the E line

Chords within Key: Bb, Cm, Dm, Eb, F, Gm, A Diminished

Eb Major:

Notes: Eb, F, G, Ab, Bb, C, D, Eb

Key Signature: Three flats on the B line, E line, and A line

Chords within Key: Eb, Fm, Gm, Ab, Bb, Cm, D Diminished
Ab Major:

Notes: Ab, Bb, C, Db, Eb, F, G, Ab

Key Signature: Four flats on the B line, E line, A line, and


D line

Chords within Key: Ab, Bbm, Cm, Db, Eb, Fm, G


Diminished

Db Major:
Notes: Db, Eb, F, Gb, Ab, Bb, C, Db

Key Signature: Five flats on the B line, E line, A line, D


line, and G line.

Chords within Key: Db, Ebm, Fm, Gb, Ab, Bbm, C


Diminished.

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