Music Theory

Lesson 35 March 25th, 2022 Lesson 35 Lecture notes: The quaternary form is a song with four phrases . Each phrase is usually either four or eight measures long . If the phrases are eight measures each , the form would also be called the thirty-two-bar form . In this form, the first two phrases mostly always begin the same , differing only with an altered cadence when they're not entirely identical . The two phrases are followed by a contrasting section and then returned to the opening section . A visual example of the quaternary form is ( a a b a ). The ( b ) section is the contrasting section formally known as the bridge in this form. Quaternary songs can also be written in other designs such as ( a b a c ), which doesn't have a bridge , or ( a b c b ) and ( a b c a ), which utilizes ( c ) as the bridge . A refrain is a line or pair of lines that usually appear at the end of each verse with the same music and words . A refrain also inclu

  Lesson 34 March 16th, 2022 Lesson 34 Lecture notes: There are three types of augmented-sixth chords , inclusive of the Italian augmented-sixth , French augmented-sixth , and German augmented-sixth . To construct the augmented-sixth chord , go to the fifth degree of the intended predominant chord to identify your tendency notes , the b6 and #4 . After identifying those notes, place the b6 note in the bass and stack the root note and #4 above the b6 note. So, for example, if we use the chord C , E , G , you would go to the fifth degree of that chord, which is G , and identify the notes that are a half step above and below the G , which are Ab ( above [ b6 ]), and F# ( below [ #4 ]). Those two notes would be your tendency notes . After identifying those notes, you would put the b6 note ( Ab ) in the bass topped off with the ( C [ root ]) and ( F# [ #4 ]). All three augmented-sixth chords would have these three notes ( Ab [ b6 ], C [ root ], and F# [

   Lesson 33 March 11th, 2022 Lesson 33 Lecture notes: The composition I made was constructed over the twelve-bar blues progression. The key signature I put the song in was Eb major. I wrote a lot of syncopation in the melody line and the accompanying harmonic licks. The time signature of the piece is in 4/4 with a swing grove at 110 bpm. The instruments that make up the piece are the piano, trombone (melodic line), trumpet, saxophone, tuba, upright bass, and set drum. The process I used to compose the song was simply writing whatever I heard in my mind and building the structure of the music one bar at a time. Sometimes I jump from one instrument to the other due to hearing an idea I like in my mind that could either be for the melody or harmony. So I don't necessarily have a structured process of creating music. I can complete the end of the song first, the middle, or the beginning, depending on what I envision. It's literally off of whatever I feel and hear in my mind. Howev