Although music may seem intuitive, it actually has a great logic behind it. We call the
theories that form the building blocks of this music music theory. Music theory ensures
that music is organized around certain rules and provides great convenience to composers.
Music theory is a part of music, like mathematics for physicists and anatomy for
doctors. Basic note knowledge is necessary to perceive music theory. Therefore, let’s talk
about notes simply. As everyone knows, there are 7 “main” or natural notes, which are do,
re, mi, fa, sol, la and ti, respectively. You can also see the notes do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti in
theory and in different languages as C, D, E, F, G, A, B, respectively. After these notes, the
order goes back to the beginning. It continues as do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti, do, re, mi, fa…
We call the first 8 notes 1 octave. Octa means 8 in Latin, and any 8 notes in sequence make
up an octave. Of course, not all music consists of just 7 notes. While these 7 notes make
up the white keys you see on the piano, there is also a black key between all the
notes except for the notes mi-fa and ti-do. These black keys are the sharp (#) of the white
key before them, and the flat (♭) of the white key after them.
We can draw the following conclusions from here: Do = re double flat, do sharp = re flat, mi
sharp = fa, do flat = ti, la sharp = ti flat, fa double sharp = sol, sol sharp = la flat… Now let’s
go into a little more detail…
Puikstekend, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
In music theory, the distances between notes are named in certain ways. These are minor
second (K2), major second (B2), minor third (K3), major third (B3), residual fourth (+4)…
and so on. For now, let’s just touch on the most basic ones.
K2: Small second interval, K2 for short, means a half-pitched interval. Since situations
such as do- do sharp, re flat- re, re sharp- mi, mi-fa, fa-sol flat, sol flat-sol, sol-la
flat, la flat-la, la sharp-ti, and ti-do are half-pitched intervals, they are minor
second intervals. In fact, there is a minor second interval between each black key and
the nearby white key, except for the mi-fa and ti-do intervals.
B2: Major second interval, B2 for short, means a full-pitched interval. Do-re, re-mi, mi- fa sharp,
fa sharp- sol sharp, la flat-ti flat, ti-do sharp are a few examples of full-pitched
intervals. There is a full-pitched, that is, a major second interval, between all
consecutive natural notes other than the si-do and mi-fa intervals throughout an
octave.
K3: Minor third interval, K3 for short, consists of a full and a half-pitched interval.
We can also call this a 1.5 fret interval. Do-re sharp, re-fa, mi-sol, sol-la sharp, la sharp- do sharp are a few examples of the K3 interval.
B3: Major third interval, B3 for short, means two full tone intervals. Do-mi, re-fa sharp,
mi-sol sharp, fa-la, sol-si, sim-mi flat are a few examples of the B3 interval.
+4: Residual fourth interval, in other words, “devil’s fourth”, means three full tone intervals.
The most popular being fa-ti, do-fa sharp, re-sol sharp are also a few examples
of residual fourth intervals.
In each major octave, there are 5 full tones, namely major second, and 2 half tones, namely
minor second intervals. If we prove this with the C major scale, it is do-re full, re-mi full, mi-fa
half, fa-sol full, sol-la full, la-ti full, ti-do half. Each natural minor in the octave, is in the form of full-half-full-full-half-full-full, that is, there are 5 full intervals and 2 half intervals.
There are many scales in music. Scales are note sequences consisting of octaves. Scales are divided into two as major and minor scales. While major scales make you feel a happier, livelier feeling, minor scales are more sad and depressive. Major scales are expressed with “M” and minor scales with “m”. The major scale that has no faults and is therefore the first to be learned is the C major scale. The C major scale is shown as do-re-mi-fa-sol-la-ti-do. Every major scale has a minor counterpart. The minor
of the C major scale is the A minor scale. There are no faults in the A minor scale either. The A minor
scale is expressed as la-ti-do-re-mi-fa-sol-la. When moving to the relevant minor of a major
scale, you go 4.5 frets up or 1.5 frets down. The faults of major scales are the same as the faults of
their relevant minors. For example, the faults of the D major scale are F sharp and C sharp. If we want to
think about the relevant minor of the D major scale, we have to go 4.5 frets up or 1.5 frets down from
D. Therefore, the relevant minor of the D major scale is the B minor scale. The faults of B minor are F
sharp and C sharp. Here are a few scales and their relevant minors:
1) C Major Scale = A Minor Scale
DO- RE-MI – FA – SOL- LA- TI- DO = LA – TI – DO – RE – MI – FA -SOL- LA
2) G Major Scale = E Minor Scale
SOL- LA- TI – DO- RE – MI – FA#- SOL = MI – FA#- SOL- LA -TI- DO- RE – MI
3) D Major Scale = B Minor Scale
RE- MI – FA#- SOL- LA – TI -DO#- RE = TI- DO#- RE- MI – FA# – SOL- LA – TI
4) F Major Scale = D Minor Scale
FA- SOL- LA- TI♭- DO- RE-MI -FA = RE- MI- FA- SOL- LA- TI♭- DO- RE
5) A Major Scale = F# Minor Scale
LA- TI- DO#- RE- MI- FA#- SOL#- LA = FA#- SOL#- LA- TI- DO#- RE- MI-FA#
6) E Major Scale = C# Minor Scale
MI-FA#-SOL#-LA-TI-DO#-RE#-MI = DO#-RE#-MI-FA#-SOL#-LA-TI-DO#
7) TI♭ Major Scale = G Minor Scale
TI♭-DO-RE-MI♭-FA-SOL-LA-TI♭= SOL-LA-TI♭-DO-RE-MI♭-FA-SOL
Additionally, minor scales are divided into three groups: natural, harmonic and melodic
minor scales.
Natural Minor Scales:
Natural minor scales are arranged to fit the pitch range FHFFHFF. They have the same
accidentals as their corresponding major scales.
For example: Mi Natural Minor Scale = Mi- Fa#- Sol- La -Ti -Do- Re- Mi
Harmonic Minor Scales:
Harmonic minor scales are scales formed by raising the 7th degree of the natural minor
scale by a half pitch.
For example: Mi Harmonic Minor Scale = Mi- Fa#- Sol- La -Ti -Do- Re#- Mi
Melodic Minor Scales:
Melodic minor scales have a semitone higher pitch on the 6th and 7th degrees as they go up. However,
these scales descend in the same way as natural minor scales when they go down.
For example: Mi Melodic Minor Scale = Mi- Fa#- Sol- La -Ti -Do#- Re#- Mi (ascent)
Mi – Re – Do – Ti – La – Sol – Fa# – Mi (descent)
Palace Museum in Wilanów , Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
So, how do we determine the accidentals of these scales? The flat and sharp rows help us in this regard.
Flat (♭) Order: Si♭- Mi♭- La♭- Re♭- Sol♭- Do♭ – Fa♭
Sharp (#) Order: Fa#-Do#- Sol#- Re#- La#- Mi# – Ti#
If you’ve noticed, the flat and sharp orders are the exact opposite of each other. The flat order is examined for flat accidentals, and the sharp order is examined for sharp accidentals.
If we try to find the faults of a scale by looking at the flat row, the path we will follow is as follows:
– Let’s examine the tone of B♭ Major, its faults are B♭ and E ♭ . The faults in the flat row determine the tone before the last one, as can be seen here, since B♭ comes before E ♭, the tone is B ♭major.
-In short, in a scale with given flats, the penultimate note is used to determine the tone.
If we try to find the faults of a scale by looking at the sharp row, the path we will follow is as follows:
– Let’s examine the G Major tone, its fault is F#. In the sharp row, there is a left half a fret above F#, which means that G Major has only one fault.
-Let’s examine the D Major tone, its faults are F# and C#. When we look at F# and C# in the sharp,
C# comes later, and its half a tone above is D. This means that the faults of D major are F#
and C#.
-Let’s examine the tone of A Major, when we look at its faults Fa#, C# and G#, G# comes last, and a half tone above it is A. This means that the faults of A Major are Fa#, C# and G#.
-If we need to derive a pattern from this, when we go up a half fret from each of the notes in the Sharp
row, the scale accidentals of the note we obtain include all the sharps before it, including the
sharp we went up a half fret.
-That is, to determine the scale of a tone whose sharps are given, take a half-sharp from the last sharp.
Finally, let’s talk about beats. As musicians, we like to keep rhythm. We tap our feet on the ground
or our hands on the table to keep rhythm. This is where beats come from. The notes working together as a whole and having equal beats on each line add melodic aesthetics to the pieces. Although this list can be extended a lot, we basically use notes with 5 different types of beats. These can be listed as follows:
Whole note: It is empty inside and does not extend up/down. It looks like an empty note. It can be said to resemble a circle. The duration of whole notes are 4 beats, that is, it takes as long as we hit our hand on the table 4 times.
Half note: It is hollow and extends upwards/downwards like a stick. It can be compared to a hollow golf bat in appearance. The duration of half notes is 2 beats, that is, it takes as long as we hit our hand on the table 2 times.
Quarter note: It is the visually solid version of the half note. The duration of quarter notes is 1 hit.
Eighth note: A notch has been added to the end of the bar in the image of the quarter note. The duration of eighth notes is half a beat.
Sixteenth note: Another notch on the end of the bar in the image of the eighth note. The duration of sixteenth notes are a quarter beat.
Pearson Scott Foresman, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
“Rest” are the intervals in the piece during which no notes are played. Although there are basically 5 different types of rests, their number can be increased considerably.
Music is a whole with its theory and practice. It cannot be completed without solfege. In fact, solfege
speeds up music and describes the logic of music. Music provides many benefits to people physically and spiritually. It is very useful in developing intelligence, managing stress, and being disciplined. Make music a part of your life, I am sure you will not regret it.
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