You've studied triads, seventh chords.  But what of beyond seventh chords?  That territory is of 9th, 11th and 13th chords.  These are called extensions, as they go beyond an octave...

Accidentals are used to change the pitch of a note.  This change is present for the rest of the existing measure.  The modern accidentals have been used since 1700. Sharp (#)...

Tension is a very powerful tool in music.  It can bring identity to a piece if used correctly.  And thank God for it because music would be boring without it. ...

In simple terms, articulation is a special way of playing a note.  Articulations are made by changing the speed, dynamic, or length of the note.  There are numerous articulations in...

Augmented sixth chords are used to precede the V chord.  They are built like this: The root is a flatted 6th scale degree. An augmented sixth is then added above the root.  Hence...

Borrowed chords are another rule breaker, on the surface.  Borrowed chords refers to substituting one chord for another chord borrowed from another scale.  This is deeply rooted in jazz theory. ...

A cadence is the ending to a musical phrase, the period to a sentence.  Cadences are usually comprised of two chords, sometimes more, and they appear after major points in...

Clefs are used to identify what notes go where on the staff.  There are three main types of clefs in basic notation. The Treble Clef  The treble clef is also known as...

You've already seen a diminished 7th chord be used as a viio7 chord in the harmonic minor scale.  But it also has its uses outside the diatonic "rulebook." Remember that a...

Dominant - simple, yet sophisticated. Dominants have been the staple of music for hundreds of years.  Every time you listen to a song, by the end you've heard the dominant do...

Dynamics in music refer to the loudness and softness in music.  A musical approach to this definition is that dynamics really refer to the intensity or strength of sound. Dynamics were...

In music, enharmonics are two notes that have the same pitch but are spelled differently, such as G# and Ab.  This goes for scales as well, the B major scale...

We described earlier the definition of half and whole steps. These “steps,” in their technical term, are intervals. An interval is the distance between any two musical tones. There are...

Inversion involves the changing of the note order in a chord.  For example, instead of having the root on the bottom, you have the third be the most bottom note. One...

Key signatures define the key of the piece.  More specifically what notes are to be used, and depending on how the notes are used, what scale.  Key signatures are made by...

You've no doubt heard a modulation in a song before.  Whether it be in a cheesy Broadway show tune or a Beethoven symphonic masterpiece.  Composers use modulation when they want...

The Neapolitan Sixth Chord is a substution chord, that is a chord that sounds similar enough to another that it can be substituted and not lose the key center. The neapolitan...

Non-harmonic tones are tones that are not within the chord.  For example, in a G Major chord, you have the notes G B D.  Any other note is considered a...

The following are need-to-know.  Plain and simple. The Staff The staff comprises of five lines and four spaces, each representing a different pitch.  Clefs Clefs are used to describe the pitch orientation on the...

Pitch is what musicians use to describe the highness and lowness of sound. It is what makes a woman’s voice sound different than a man’s voice. In technical terms the...

History Rhythm in music is one of the tools used by musicians to organize sound. Rhythm is really an organization of time, the balance or imbalance of the intervals between pulses....

So you have song.  It can be anything, a pop song, a piano concerto, anything.  You have the score, but what do all of those notes mean.  How do the...

You've already learned the basics of Roman Numeral Analysis, but how do you show what you've learned in Music Theory II.  Seventh Chords Seventh chords are shown by adding a 7...

As you now understand the use and power of dominants, you can relax, you've learned the hard part.  Now I want you to forget all you learned about "rules."  Because...

Seventh chord inversion are very similar to triad inversions.  They work the same way, but have different symbols.  Root Position - Nothing First Inversion - 6/5 Second Inversion - 4/3 Third Inversion -...

We've learned about triads and how they are built.  Now we can learn how to make them sound a little more interesting.  Seventh chords are very similar to triads, in...

Major Scale IM7, ii7, iii7, IVM7, V7, vi7, vii*7 Natural Minor Scale i7, ii*7, IIIM7, iv7, v7, VIM7, VII7 Harmonic Minor Scale imM7, ii*7, III+M7, iv7, V7, VIM7, vii*7 Melodic Minor Scale imM7, ii7, III+M7, IV7, V7,...

Tempo refers to the speed at which a piece of music is played.  Tempo is measured in beats per minute (BPM).  If you have ever wondered what it means when you...

First off... What is a scale anyway? A scale is defined as a series of pitches that reach from a note and up one octave.  The more common scales, the major and...

The minor scale is actually three scales.  So really there are three minor scales.  In order to understand minor keys you must understand the following terminology: Scale Degree This refers to which number...