Music Theory

    Lesson 24 October 28th, 2021 Lesson 24 Lecture notes: Chords that act as a dominant and resolve to a scale degree other than the tonic are called secondary dominants . Secondary dominants are sometimes called " applied dominants " because they are applied to a chord other than the tonic . Secondary dominants in major keys can be thought of as an altered ii ( predominant ) chord . You would raise the third by a half step to give the chord a major or dominant function in this particular chord, creating a secondary dominant chord . This chord would ultimately be labeled as V/V or V7/V and not II or II7 . Secondary dominant chords temporarily change the key of a piece of music very briefly by creating a temporary tonic chord that was not the original tonic chord of the original key . An example of a V7/ V - I chord in the key of F major would be ( G , B , D , F / C , E , G , C - F , A , C , F .) The highlighted B in the sequence of letters for

   Lesson 23 October 19th, 2021 Lesson 23 Lecture notes: A sequence is made when a musical idea is expressed , then repeated one or more times . Each repetition of the original idea is transposed up or down from the previous iteration by a consistent interval . A basic musical idea usually comes in either  half , full , or t wo measures . This is what ultimately becomes the sequence pattern when expressed in successive repetition . There are two main types of sequences in music which include the ascending sequences and the descending sequences . The ascending sequences include the ascending-fifth sequence and the parallel 6/3 chords sequence . The descending sequences include the descending-fifth sequence , the Pachelbel sequence , and the descending parallel 6/3 chords sequence . The various sequences follow a specific chord progression pattern . For example, the descending-fifth sequence progression would be I - IV - viio - iii - vi - ii - V - I . The Pachelbel

  Lesson 22 October 6th, 2021 Lesson 22 Lecture notes: A phrase is a musical thought or idea that ends with a cadence . They are usually two , four , or eight measures in length. Phrases can be compared to sentences that have punctuation marks to help show a complete thought or idea . A motive is the smallest recognizable idea in music. Musical segments have to be repeated exactly or be in a varied form to qualify as a motive. Motives usually appear in five common variations : transposed , inverted , extended , truncated , and fragmented . Transposed motives reoccur , but they appear on another scale degree from the one that proceeded it. Inverted motives move in the opposite direction of their diatonic counterpart note. Extended motives repeat portions of the motive to make it longer . Truncated motives cut off portions of the end and become shorter . Fragmented motives are small recognizable pieces of an original motive that are repeated in a variation