Music Theory For Dummies, 4th Edition by Michael Pilhofer -- Read -- Imperial Library of Trantor

Index

Cover Table of Contents Introduction

About This Book Foolish Assumptions Icons Used in This Book Beyond the Book Where to Go from Here

Part 1: Getting Started with Music Theory

Chapter 1: What Is Music Theory, Anyway?

Unearthing Music Theory’s Beginnings Putting the Spotlight on Music Theory Fundamentals Seeing How Theory Can Help Your Music

Chapter 2: Determining What Notes Are Worth

Meeting the Beat Recognizing Notes and Note Values Checking Out Whole (Semibreve) Notes Homing in on Half (Minim) Notes Considering Quarter (Crotchet) Notes Examining Eighth (Quaver) Notes and Beyond Extending Notes with Dots and Ties Mixing All the Note Values Together

Chapter 3: Giving It a Rest

Getting to Know the Rests Extending the Break with Dotted Rests Practicing Beats with Notes and Rests

Chapter 4: Introducing Time Signatures

Decoding Time Signatures and Measures Keeping Things Easy with Simple Time Signatures Working with Compound Time Signatures Feeling the Pulse of Asymmetrical Time Signatures A Short Discussion about Conducting

Chapter 5: Playing with Beat

Creating Stress Patterns and Syncopation Getting a Jump on Pick-Up Notes Exploring Irregular Rhythms: Triplets and Duplets

Part 2: Putting Notes Together

Chapter 6: Music Notes (and Where to Find Them)

Meeting the Staff, Clefs, and Notes Identifying Half Steps, Whole Steps, and Accidentals Finding the Notes on the Piano and the Guitar Using Mnemonics to Help Remember Notes

Chapter 7: Mastering the Major and Minor Scales

Following Major-Scale Patterns Discovering All That Minor Scale Patterns Have to Offer

Chapter 8: Key Signatures and the Circle of Fifths

Understanding the Circle of Fifths and Recognizing Major Key Signatures Finding Minor Key Signatures and Relative Minors Visualizing the Key Signatures

Chapter 9: Intervals: The Distance between Pitches

Breaking Down Harmonic and Melodic Intervals Looking at Unisons, Octaves, Fourths, and Fifths Recognizing Seconds, Thirds, Sixths, and Sevenths Building Intervals Showing Major and Perfect Intervals in the C Major Scale Checking Out Compound Intervals The Nashville Number System

Chapter 10: Chord Building

Creating Triads with Three Pitches Expanding to Seventh Chords Looking at All the Triads and Sevenths Manipulating Triads through Voicing and Inversion Exploring Extended Chords

Chapter 11: Chord Progressions

Reviewing Diatonic Chords, Chromatic Chords, and Minor Scale Modes Identifying and Naming Chord Progressions Adding a Seventh Chord to a Triad Seeing (and Hearing) Chord Progressions in Action Applying Chord Knowledge to Fake Books and Tabs Modulating to a New Key Reaching a Musical Cadence through Chord Progressions

Part 3: Musical Expression through Tempo and Dynamics

Chapter 12: Creating Varied Sound through Tempo and Dynamics

Taking the Tempo of Music Dealing with Dynamics: Loud and Soft

Chapter 13: Instrument Tone Color and Acoustics

Delving into Tone Color Building the Band: An Acoustics Lesson

Part 4: Musical Expression through Form

Chapter 14: The Building Blocks of Music: Rhythm, Melody, Harmony, and Song Form

Establishing Rhythm Shaping the Melody Complementing the Melody with Harmony Working with Musical Phrases and Periods Linking Musical Parts to Create Forms

Chapter 15: Relying on Classical Forms

Counterpoint as a Classical Revelation Sussing Out the Sonata Rounding Up the Rondo Figuring Out the Fugue Combining Forms into a Symphony Observing Other Classical Forms

Chapter 16: Tapping into Popular Genres and Forms

Feeling the Blues Having Fun with Rock and Pop Improvising with Jazz Twelve-Tone Compositions

Part 5: The Part of Tens

Chapter 17: Ten Frequently Asked Questions about Music Theory

Why Is Music Theory Important? If I Can Already Play Some Music, Why Bother Learning Music Theory? Why Is So Much Music Theory Centered on the Piano Keyboard? Is There a Quick and Easy Way to Learn to Read Music? How Do I Identify a Key Based on the Key Signature? Can I Transpose a Piece of Music into Another Key? Will Learning Music Theory Hinder My Ability to Improvise? Do I Need to Know Theory if I Just Play Drums? Where Do the 12 Musical Notes Come From? How Does Knowing Theory Help Me Memorize a Piece of Music?

Chapter 18: Ten Keys to Reading a Musical Score

The Basics Lead Sheets Full Scores Miniature Scores Study Scores Piano Scores Short Scores Vocal Scores Tablature Figured Bass Notion

Chapter 19: Ten Music Theorists You Should Know About

Pythagoras (582–507 BC) Boethius (480–524 AD) Gerbert d’Aurillac/Pope Sylvester II (950–1003) Guido D’Arezzo (990–1040) Nicola Vicentino (1511–1576) Christiaan Huygens (1629–1695) Arnold Schoenberg (1874–1951) Harry Partch (1901–1974) Karlheinz Stockhausen (1928–2007) Robert Moog (1934–2005)

Chapter 20: Ten Musical Movements That Changed History

800 AD — England, Gregorian Chant 1100 AD — Organum/European Polyphony 1649 — England, the Diggers 17th Century: Italy, Opera 1789-1799: The French Revolution 1913 — Atonal Music and Igor Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring” 1950-1990: Latin America and the Iberian Peninsula, “Nueva Canción” (the New Song Movement) 1960s: U.S. Civil Rights Movement 1980s: Estonia Singing Revolution 2010-2012: Arab Spring

Part 6: Appendixes

Appendix A: Audio Tracks Appendix B: Chord Chart Appendix C: Glossary

Index About the Authors Connect with Dummies End User License Agreement

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