Jnacc's Music Blog

A return

jnacc — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 23:06:21 +0000

First, I want to apologize for the sudden drop off, certain circumstances led to a loss of interest and time, but I’m back. I’m starting anew at naccmusic.wordpress.com

don’t worry btw, the posts here will be copied there so they’re not lost.

The Basic Chords

jnacc — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 06:02:37 +0000

Now that I have covered the basics of scales, I wanted to cover some chords. A chord is a set of at least three different notes that are played simultaneously. Thusly, a Major chord is a chord that contains the root, a major third, and a perfect fifth. The root is simply the starting note of the chord. The other intervals have been explained previously, but for easy reference a Major scale has the a semitone pattern of 4:3 (ex. CEG) note that these are the required notes, additional ones may be added. Major chords are often written as CMaj, CM or CMajor.

A minor chord in comparison is made up of the root, a minor third and a perfect fifth. This gives it a semitone pattern of 3:4 (ex. CEbG.) This chord, much like the minor scale, has the tendency of having a darker sound. Minor chords are written as either Cm, Cmin, C-.

Then there is the Augmented chord. It is essentially a major chord with a raised fifth, making it a root, major third and a raised fifth. (ex. CEG#.) This gives it a pattern of 4:4. This is often written as CAug or C+

In comparison, a diminished chord is essentially a minor chord with a lowered fifth. This gives it a pattern of 3:3, using a root, a minor third, and a diminished fifth. (CEbGb.) This chord is seen as dissonant because of its lack of a tonal center. Diminished chords are demonstrated as either Cdim or C* (the asterick is actually supposed to be a small circle.)

Lastly I want to mention the suspended chord. Using the same root and perfect fifth seen in the major and minor chords (C and G in the examples) we drop the third. It is then replaced with a perfect fourth or a major second (CFG and CDG respectively.) These are shown as Csus4 and Csus2. This chord because of its lacking of the third, tends to sound more open which allows itself to suggest either a major or minor tonality depending upon the circumstances. A good example of this is the verse in Pinball Wizard by The Who.

Note that all chords used as examples are triads, a chord using three notes. More complex chords using more notes will be covered in the next lesson, until then learn the differences between these basic chords and experiment with how they sound.

Key Signature

jnacc — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 23:21:45 +0000

Key Signature was mentioned in passing during my explanation of the Circle of Fifths during my last entry. The Key Signature is a group of sharps or flats located on the staff to signify when a note is sharp or flat through out a piece of music.

In the Key Signature above, which could represent something in either the key of A major or F# minor. Notice the sharps placed in the positions of the C, F, and G. This means that anytime a C, F, or G note is shown after this, it is to be sharp unless altered by an accidental, which are pictured below in the order of a sharp, a flat, and a natural. An accidental is a note outside of the Key Signature.

The Key Signature is most often placed after the Clef, although it may appear elsewhere, such as after a double bar line. You may refer to the Circle of Fifths in the previous post to see what key signature goes with which scales, or you can use mnemonics.
For the sharps: Father Charles Goes Down And Ends Battle. (FCGDAEB)
For the flats: Battle Ends And Down Goes Charles’ Father. (BEADGCF)

Notice that the order of the sharps and flats are inverse of eachother. So knowing one, you know the other.

The Minor Scale(s): Part II

jnacc — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 20:03:05 +0000

This is a continuation of the previous lesson, on minor scales. The last of the three minor scales covered here is the melodic minor scale.

The Melodic Minor Scale:

This scale was created because the augmented second (three semitones) taking place between the sixth and seventh notes in the Harmonic minor can be awkward, especially in vocal music. Thusly the Melodic Minor Scale was created. The confusing part about it is that it differs depending upon whether it is ascending or descending. While ascending, the Melodic Minor Scale keeps the raised seventh note from the Harmonic Minor Scale, but also raises the sixth note. The descending Melodic Minor Scale is the same as the Natural Minor. This gives the Ascending scale a semitone pattern of 2:1:2:2:2:2:1. Below you will find the Ascending Melodic Minor Scale, the descending is omitted since it is identical to the Natural Minor from the previous lesson.

A melodic minor: A, B, C, D, E, F#, G#, A.
Bb melodic minor: C, Db, Eb, F, G, A, Bb.
B melodic minor: B, C#, D, E, F#, G#, A#, B.
C melodic minor: C, D, Eb, F, G, A, B, C.
C# melodic minor: C#, D#, E#, F#, G#, A#, B##, C#.
D melodic minor: D, E, F, G, A, B, C#, D.
Eb melodic minor: Eb, F, Gb, Ab, Bb, C, D, Eb.
E melodic minor: E, F#, G, A, B, C#, D#, E.
F melodic minor: F, G, Ab, Bb, C, D, E, F.
F# melodic minor: F#. G#, A, B, C#, D#, E#, F#.
G melodic minor: G, A, Bb, C, D, E, F#, G.
Ab melodic minor: Ab, Bb, Cb, Db, Eb, F, G, Ab.

All of the minor scales are used in different circumstances, mostly depending on the composer’s preferences and the musical style.

The Circle of Fifths

The Circle of fifths is a nifty little tool that can be used to quickly find out what key signature a scale is in (as long as it is a major or natural minor scale.)

Looking at the Circle of Fifths above, you’ll notice Major scales on the outside of the circle, and minor scales on the inside of the circle. The scales that share the same key signature are known as relative scales. So for example, C Major is the relative major of A Minor. And reversely, A Minor is the relative minor of C Major. Note that The Circle of Fifths also shows some of the Enharmonic scales.

The Minor Scale(s)

jnacc — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 23:44:57 +0000

Now that I have covered intervals, we can go into what the minor scale is. In theory, a minor scale is a scale that contains a minor third (m3) from the tonic. The tonic is the starting note of the scale. You may have noticed that the title contains an “s” after scale, and that is because there is in fact multiple minor scales. The first one that we will look at is known as the natural minor scale (Aeolian mode.)

The Natural Minor Scale

Looking at the natural minor scale in terms of semitones, it is arranged as 2:1:2:2:1:2:2. One may notice that this pattern is similar to that of the Major scale covered previously, and there is a major connection that will be expanded upon later. The natural minor, like the major scale, does not require any accidentals (sharps or flats outside the key signature.) The m3, being a defining quality of the minor scale, plays an important role. It helps to give the minor scale its signature sound, which is often one that is less cheery than that of the major scale. Below you will find every Natural Minor Scale listed for reference.

A minor: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, A.
Bb minor: C, Db, Eb, F, Gb, Ab, Bb.
B minor: B, C#, D, E, F#, G, A, B.
C minor: C, D, Eb, F, G, Ab, Bb, C.
C# minor: C#, D#, E#, F#, G#, A, B#, C#.
D minor: D, E, F, G, A, Bb, C, D.
Eb minor: Eb, F, Gb, Ab, Bb, Cb, Db, Eb.
E minor: E, F#, G, A, B, C, D, E.
F minor: F, G, Ab, Bb, C, Db, Eb, F.
F# minor: F#. G#, A, B, C#, D, E, F#.
G minor: G, A, Bb, C, D, Eb, F, G.
Ab minor: Ab, Bb, Cb, Db, Eb, Fb, Gb, Ab.

Before continuing, I wanted to draw attention to how these could be written differently using enharmonic notes. Enharmonic notes are two notes that have different names, but sound the same. (ex. C# and Db.)
The C# minor scale above therefor may be written as the Db minor scale, and although it looks different, it musically sounds the same. Written as the Db minor scale, it would look like this: Db, Eb, Fb, Gb, Ab, Bbb, Cb, Db. Now some of you may see why I opted to write it as C# instead. Take a look at the B note, no it’s not a typo, that is a double flat B (Bbb) which would enharmonically be equivalent to an A. Although this is something important to learn, I felt that the C# scale would be simpler to understand for those new to music theory.

The Harmonic Minor Scale (The Mohammedan Scale)

The Harmonic Minor Scale can be formed by taking the natural minor scale, and raising the seventh note by one semitone. This creates a semitone pattern of 2:1:2:2:1:3:1. By raising the seventh note in the scale, it creates a leading tone, a tone that leads to a semitone above it. This creates a stronger pull to the next note, which in this case is the tonic.

A harmonic minor: A, B, C, D, E, F, G#, A.
Bb harmonic minor: C, Db, Eb, F, Gb, A, Bb.
B harmonic minor: B, C#, D, E, F#, G, A#, B.
C harmonic minor: C, D, Eb, F, G, Ab, B, C.
C# harmonic minor: C#, D#, E#, F#, G#, A, B##, C#.
D harmonic minor: D, E, F, G, A, Bb, C#, D.
Eb harmonic minor: Eb, F, Gb, Ab, Bb, Cb, D, Eb.
E harmonic minor: E, F#, G, A, B, C, D#, E.
F harmonic minor: F, G, Ab, Bb, C, Db, E, F.
F# harmonic minor: F#. G#, A, B, C#, D, E#, F#.
G harmonic minor: G, A, Bb, C, D, Eb, F#, G.
Ab harmonic minor: Ab, Bb, Cb, Db, Eb, Fb, G, Ab.

On a final note, another history lesson. As one may see above in the parenthesis on the subtitle, this is also know as the Mohammedan Scale because of its use of Hijaz ajna, a tetrachord commonly found in Middle Eastern music. A Tetrachord by the way, is a four note chord that occupies the interval of a perfect fourth. So from the A harmonic minor scale, this would be E, F, G# A. The Harmonic minor scale is often used in Middle Eastern Music, and is known as Nahawand-Hijaz in Arabic.

So since this post has grown to be rather long, I will finish my lesson on the minor scales in a follow up post that will cover the Melodic Minor Scale and the circle of fifths that relate the Major and Minor scales together, but until then enjoy!, and please feel free to comment.

Learning the Intervals

jnacc — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 19:21:28 +0000

I know I said my next lesson would be the minor scale, but I’ve concluded that the understanding of intervals is something that will help understand these scales better. These intervals are described by the number of semitones apart, which was touched on in the previous lesson.

(S-t = Semitones)

# of S-t     Name                                  Example
0                  Perfect Unison (P1)         Happy Birthday
1                   Minor Second (m2)         Jaws Theme
2                   Major Second (M2)         ”Do-Re”
3                   Minor Third (m3)             Smoke on the Water
4                   Major Third (M3)             When the Saints go…
5                   Perfect Fourth (P4)         Amazing Grace
6                   Tritone (aug4/dim5)      The Simpsons’ Theme
7                   Perfect Fifth (P5)             Twinkle, Twinkle…
8                   Minor Sixth (m6)             Across the Stars
9                   Major Sixth (M6)             NBC Theme
10                Minor Seventh (m7)       Star Trek Theme
11                 Major Seventh (M7)       Pure Imagination
12                 Perfect Octave (P8)        Over the Rainbow

So there are the intervals, listed with their number of semitones and an example (some of which are rather poor.) These are the examples provided by one of my teachers, so if you have any you would like to add, or need better ones, leave some comments.

On a side note, a brief history of the tritone (since history is one of my other passions.) It is seen as dissonance in Western Music. (Latin dis-, “apart” + sonare, “to sound”, or something considered unstable and used mainly for transition.) Because of this, it was rarely used throughout most of the middle ages. Up until the end of the Renaissance it was nicknamed diabolus in musica, or “the devil in music.” The dissonance (along with association with the devil) led to the Western world to associate this interval with evil. To this day it still conjures an evil feeling, and can be found in many metal songs such as Black Sabbath’s self titled song, YYZ by Rush, and many songs by Slayer.

Ionian: The Major Scale

jnacc — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 05:59:02 +0000

This is one thing in music that most of us have been exposed to although we may not all know it. If you remember having to sing “Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Ti, Do,” you’ve been exposed to it. If one was to look at a piano and play every white key starting on a C and ending on the next C, they would be playing the C Major scale. This scale is widely used because of its harmonic nature and ease of remeberance. To understand it from a theory point of few one must understand what a semitone is. A semitone by deffinition is the smallest interval used in western music. An example would be a B and a C. To put this into the persective of an instrument; on a piano it is the next closest key (black or white.) On a guitar and bass, a semitone is the next fret.

Now that we know what a semitone is, the Major Scale follows the pattern of 2:2:1:2:2:2:1. This translates as the C Major Scale as being C D E F G A B C. (E-F and B-C being the only notes one semitone apart, while the rest are two.)

For reference, all of the Major Scales will be listed below, grouped wether they contain sharps(#) or flats(b).

C Maj: C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C.
G Maj: G, A, B, C, D, E, F#, G.
D Maj: D, E, F#, G, A, B, C#, D.
A Maj: A, B, C#, D, E, F#, G#, A.
E Maj: E, F#, G#, A, B, C#, D#, E.
B Maj: B, C#, D#, E, F#, G#, A#, B.
F# Maj: F#, G#, A#, B, C#, D#, E#, F#.
C# Maj: C#, D#, E#, F#, G#, A#, B#, C#.

F Maj: F, G, A, Bb, C, D, E, F.
Bb Maj: Bb, C, D, Eb, F, G, A, Bb.
Eb Maj: Eb, F, G, Ab, Bb, C, D, Eb.
Ab Maj: Ab, Bb, C, Db, Eb, F, G, Ab.
Db Maj: Db, Eb, F, Gb, Ab, Bb, C, Db.
Gb Maj: Gb, Ab, Bb, Cb, Db, Eb, F, Gb.
Cb Maj: Cb, Db, Eb, Fb, Gb, Ab, Bb, Cb.

These scales are an important part of theory, and at least the pattern should be memorized, if not each scale themself. Many of the simple songs learned by beginners on both piano and guitar will be in a Major scale.

The next posts will most likely be on the minor scale, and how the circle of fifths tie it together with the Major scales shown above. If you have anything to add, or any specific questions on Major scales, leave a comment.

Tips to Make Guitar Practice More Efficient

jnacc — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 23:37:54 +0000

When I first started playing guitar eight years ago, I dreaded practicing. I wanted to play songs, not chords and scales. It was even worse when I took one lesson in which during the one hour of the lesson, I learned three notes (E, F, and G on the high E) and listened to him play Stairway to Heaven and the Flight of the Bumblebee the rest of the time. It wasn’t until I joined my first band that I realized the importance of practice. I had been playing for a year, the other guitarist had three years under his belt (and the singer 5 years of guitar experience.) I had to struggle to keep up with them with even the simplest of things. It was then that I set myself to practicing, averaging six hours a day through that summer. Now that much time isn’t needed to become good at guitar, but I needed to catch up to my friend. While practicing over the summer, and with the help of my fellow band mates, I learned these important tips, in no particular order.

1. Set a time to practice. If you don’t, it’s too easy to blow it off. This leads to missing it a couple of days, which turns to weeks and etc.

2. Go in with a goal. If you don’t you’ll just mess around until you think of something. Certain goals will take longer. I myself had particular trouble with sweep picking, pinch harmonics and triplets among other things.

3. Focus on what needs improvement. If there is something you excel at, like chords for example, still practice it but do not make it your main focus. There are many things to learn about playing guitar, focus on learning new things and improving things that you have trouble with.

4. Practice slowly. Whenever trying to learn a song, play it slowly (preferably with a metronome) until you can play it fluidly. Then gradually speed it up to its original speed. Jumping right in to it at normal speed can lead to sloppy playing.

5. Don’t skip on the warm ups. You can find hundreds of them on the web, and they can help with coordination. Also, fingers stretches can be quite useful.

6. Make sure you’re in tune. Learning things out of tune will make things sound completely off. Plus it’s a good habit to get into.

7. Play along with a cd or the radio. Try to play along to the song if you can find the tabs, or better yet, try to learn it by ear since this is something many people overlook. If you can play along to it, try singing with it aswell, it’s a challenging but rewarding skill to gain.

8. Play with others. I can not stress enough how important it is to play with others. Surround yourself with other musicians and you will see yourself improving greatly. Other guitarists are the obvious ones most think of, but you would be surprised what you can learn from bassists, drummers, singers and everyone else as well.

So there are some of my tips on making practice more efficient, if you have any more you would like to add, or any questions or comments drop a line.