Jonathan Shaw
  • Music Appreciation Spring 2020 (Blackwood)
    • Homework
    • Syllabus & Defining Music Appreciation >
      • Activity : Judging Music
    • 1/30 Instrumentation Class 1 >
      • Instrumentation Follow-Up
    • 2/11 >
      • Texture
    • 2/13
    • 2/18
    • Melody >
      • Evolution of a Genre : Example Assignment >
        • Week 5 Assignment : Evolution of a Genre Assignment
    • 2/25
    • Quiz
    • Rhythm
    • 3/10
    • Virtual Week 1: Harmony >
      • Extra Harmony Material
    • Film Music
    • Sampling
    • Sampling Follow Up
    • The Blues
  • ONLINE Music Appreciation Fall 2020
    • Week 1
    • Week 2
    • Week 3
    • Week 4
    • Week 5 >
      • Evolution of a Genre : Example Assignment
      • Week 5 Assignment : Evolution of a Genre Assignment
    • Week 6 >
      • Film Music
      • Sampling
    • Week 7 >
      • Sampling Follow Up
      • Survey
  • Brass Methods
    • Fingering/Position Test
  • Fall 2019 Honors Appreciation
    • Day 1 >
      • Syllabus & Defining Music Appreciation >
        • Activity : Judging Music
    • Day 2
    • Characteristics of Music - Part 1
    • Instrumentation
    • Texture
    • Melody >
      • Isn't She Lovely
    • Harmony
    • Rhythm
    • Song Meaning / Analysis
    • Artistic Intention
    • Evolution of a Genre : Example Assignment >
      • Assignment : Evolution of a Genre Assignment
    • Song Form
    • Genre Thoughts
    • Sampling
    • Film Music
    • Movie Projects (Examples)
    • Early Blues
    • New Page
  • Biography
    • Resume/C.V.
  • Aural Theory II
    • Page 2
    • Practice Test
    • Final Days
  • Aural Theory I
    • Reading Material
    • Tuesday 9/4
    • Class 2 : 9/11
    • Class 3 : 9/13
    • 9/18
    • 9/20 >
      • Matching the Pitch Homework
    • Quiz Listening
    • Class 10/2 & 10/4
    • 10/9
    • 10/11
    • 10/18
    • Dictation Practice
    • 6/8 Piece
    • BassLine Singing
    • FINAL MATERIALS
  • Music Fundamentals
    • Homework
    • Class 2 : 9/11 >
      • Melody
      • Harmony
      • Intro to Rhythm
      • Instrumentation
      • Instrumentation Chart / Song Map
    • Class 3 : 9/18 >
      • Quiz
      • Matching Pitches
      • Matching the Pitch Homework
    • Class #4 : 9/25 >
      • Rhythm
      • More Rhythm....
      • Song Form
    • Class #5 : 10/2
    • Class #6 : 10/9
    • Class #7 : 10/17
    • Class #8 : 10/23 >
      • ID'ing Basslines
    • Class 9 : 10/30
    • Class #10 11/6
    • Mid Term Project
    • Mid Term Project Due Dates
    • Class 12 : 11/13
    • Class #13 : 11/20
    • Class 14 - 11/26
    • Class 15 : 12/4
    • Class 16 : FINAL
  • Music Fundamentals for Sound Engineers
    • Week 1
    • Week 2
    • Week 3
    • Week 4
    • Week 5
    • Week 6
    • Week 7
    • Week 8 >
      • Notation Practice - Test
    • Week 9
    • Week 10
    • Week 12
    • Week 13
    • Week 14
    • Week 15
  • Materials
  • Recordings/Links
  • Education
  • Contact

TUESDAY 1/19

Objectives:
1. Collect Syllabus
2. Defining Aural Theory
3.  Pentatonic Scale



Assignments:
Due Today:  
-Signed Syllabus 
-ORDER TEXTBOOK

DUE Next Class:
​
TERMS QUIZ on todays terms

Collect Syllabus

aural theory spring 2017
File Size: 141 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Aural Theory   /   Ear Training

Ear Training / Aural Theory: is a skill where we identify, solely by hearing: Pitches, Intervals, Melody, Chords, Rhythm


Essentially we are talking about a two part process:

Knowing the Sounds      &       Knowing what to call them (how to write them)


In an academic setting, these could be things like (but not limited to) :  
  
I Play a note, you name it
I play a Chord, You name it
I play a Rhythm, write down the notation

In a practical setting, these could be things like : 

Hearing a melody in your head and knowing the notes 
Hearing a part of a song/solo and being able to re create it on your instrument


ALL WITHOUT SEEING ANY NOTATION OR WITHOUT AN INSTRUMENT FOR A REFERENCE

so we have Nothing to help us find it, Just our ears

Example Practical Setting : 

-There is a recording session. You show up and there is no written music. You get there and the musical director has an idea of what he wants you to play and demonstrates on piano or with his voice. He sings/plays is for you a couple times then you have to be able to play it on your instrument.  
(Time=$ in the studio - so you are expected to do it without rehearsal!)


VARYING RANGE OF SKILLS
TONE DEAF :
unable to perceive differences of musical pitch accurately. 


<---------------------------------->
PERFECT PITCH:
the ability to recognize the pitch of a note or to produce any given note; a sense of absolute pitch.

IMPORTANT:  
NO MATTER WHERE YOU FALL ON THE SPECTRUM OF    
TONE DEAF ------PERFECT PITCH,  

AURAL SKILLS CAN BE DEVELOPED THROUGH PRACTICE 

For Dylan, Hearing sounds is like seeing colors for us  - 

EX. When we see something  blue, we just KNOW that it is blue -
we don't need to think and analyze and look at another color for reference

GOD GIVEN / GENETIC ABILITY?     OR    LEARNED SKILL?

CAN WE LEARN/DEVELOP PERFECT PITCH AS AN ADULT?

SURELY EXPOSURE / PRACTICE plays a part ...

********if we go back to our color metaphor,  we are exposed to many different colors from a young age - that's why infant's toys and shows always have BRIGHT COLORS*********


OF COURSE IT IS A VERY SMALL PERCENTAGE OF MUSICIANS WHO HAVE PERFECT PITCH

ALTHOUGH


MOST MUSICIANS USUALLY HAVE DEVELOPED RELATIVE PITCH TO VARYING DEGREES

Relative pitch is the ability of a person to identify or re-create a given musical note by comparing it to a reference note and identifying the interval between those two notes.

This means that if you have VERY GOOD relative pitch , you could do what Dylan does IF you had a reference pitch, say a G

Keep in mind that what Dylan is doing in these videos is very Academic - 
We would ever have a practical situation where someone lays down their arm on the piano and we have to know the notes, 

BUT

Dylan is is skilled that you could play him 30 seconds of a pop song (maybe even the entire song) and Dylan could tell you every chord, note in the melody and rhythm, AND be able to write them down on manuscript

​He can literally hear ANY melody in his head (no mater how complex the melody/harmony) and notate it / play it 



OUR GOAL IS TO GET A LITTLE CLOSER TO DYLAN'S LEVEL

WE MAY NEVER FULLY GET TO WHERE HE IS

BUT WE WANT TO GET AS CLOSE AS POSSIBLE TO BEING ABLE TO IDENTIFY ANY MELODY EITHER IN OUR HEAD OR THAT WE HEAR OUTSIDE

IDENTIFY = TELL ME THE NOTES/PLAY ME THE NOTES

UNIT ONE  :

THE PENTATONIC SCALE
AND
QUARTER NOTE SUBDIVISION

Important Terms:   Melody  , Rhythm,  Note/Pitch,  Rhythm

For the time being , we will discuss music in terms of 2 of it's qualities:


​1.  Its
Harmonic / Melodic qualities are dealing specifically with notes/pitches (high vs. low) involved in a song 

2.   It's Rhythmic qualities dealing with specifically the Rhythm (long vs. short) , disregarding the pitch
Picture
Melodic
We can see/hear that NOTES/PITCHES are usually changing , or going up and down in RANGE


Rhythmic 
We can see/hear that some of the notes are SHORTER/LONGER than others 

PENTATONIC SCALE
=
MELODIC/HARMONIC   
QUARTER NOTE SUBDIVISION
=
​RHYTHMIC

The Pentatonic Scale 

Important Terms:   Musical Scale, Scale Degree, Tonic, Dominant, Mode, Pentatonic Scale

Scale

Musical Scale: In music theory, a scale is any set of musical notes ordered by fundamental frequency or pitch. A scale ordered by increasing pitch is an ascending scale, and a scale ordered by decreasing pitch is a descending scale. Some scales contain different pitches when ascending than when descending

Important Parts of this Definition for Scale:  A set of musical notes ordered by frequency / pitch
Characteristics of a scale
- Specific set of pitches (not random notes)
-Specific Order (not random order)
Types of Scales
- Common Scales such as Major / Minor Scales
-Chromatic Scale
-Major / Minor Pentatonic Scales
-Diminished / Half Diminished
There are TONS OF SCALES

Scale Degree

Picture
Above is a C Major Scale Ascending and Descending

​When dealing with a scale, order is very important and specific

Since a scale is always in the same order, we can refer to each note in regards to where it falls in the specific order of the scale
Picture
These will be important when it comes to Identifying a note we hear
i.e. if we can hear a note, and relate it to it's major scale, this will help us figure out what note it is
Tonic
  • The first scale degree / note of a scale is always called the TONIC
  • This is also always the name of the respective scale (i.e. C Maj tonic is C, G maj. Tonic is G etc)
  • This will eventually become one of (if not the) most distinct scale degrees to recognize
Dominant 
  • The Dominant is always the gift scale the Degree 
  • This is maybe the second most important note in the major scale (next to the Tonic) 
  • Dominant = 5th  (interchangeable)

Mode

???
  • Where do we get Scales?  
  • Who decided Which notes go with which? 
  • Why does a major scale sound 'right' ?

Simple Answer : The Ancient Greeks!!
Greek Modes
  • The Greeks had Specific sets of notes (like scales) that they believed inspired certain emotions when heard by a human
  • Doctrine of Ethos
  • SO they had a group of notes for : happiness, sadness, celebrations
  • FURTHER :  a song was defined by the emotional manifestation it was going for, and would only be composed in the proper mode
  • WE STILL HAVE REMNANTS OF THESE TODAY  
​MAJOR = HAPPY 
MINOR = SAD

Pentatonic Scale

With the terms we have already learned we can make some conclusions about the pentatonic Scale just by looking at the Name
 
​We know it will be :
Scale - specific group of pitches
Tonic - Will include the Tonic
Penta - greek word meaning '5'

Specific group of notes containing 5 pitches that will include the tonic
Picture
Picture
 If we think in terms of Scale degrees, Which degrees does the Major Pentatonic Scale  Contain? 
Picture

Composing  /   Sight Singing   /   Transposing 

For the purposes of todays class, let us identify the notes in the scale by their Scale Degree, not the note name

So for this unit, we will be dealing with the:
1     2    3      5     6  

Proudly powered by Weebly