LESSON 1.

THE CONCEPT OF TONALITY & THE SOUND OF THE HOME BASE.

This course is not instrument specific so we are assuming that you know, for your chosen
instrument, both the sound production technique and the fingerings for the notes on the treble
clef.
We shall begin as we intend to continue by studying SOUNS.
1.1 Tonality. The Major Scale.
The smallest formal !NT"#$%& in Western music is a S"'!TON", and the succession of
semitones between any note and its O(T%$" is a ()#O'%T!( S(%&". The chromatic scale
di*ides the octa*e into +, "-U%& S"'!TON"S. See ".ample +. /lay this o*er on your
instrument and listen to the sound. This scale contains %&& the notes in the octa*e0 there are no
other notes in the sound system that we will be studying. The octa*e note is repeated as a +1th
note to 2complete3 the sound.
!nspection of this scale re*eals that the inter*al between " 4 5 and 6 4 ( is only a semitone,
but all the other consecuti*e letter inter*als are a full tone apart with the inter*ening semitones
being produced by introducing a sharp or a flat. Note that the pairings (7 4 b, 7 4 "b, 57 4
8b, 87 4 %b, and %7 4 6b ha*e identical sounds and fingerings.
The /!%NO 9":6O%# is an in*aluable way of *isualising these relationships0 the black notes
on the piano are the sharps and flats and the " 4 5 and the 6 4 ( are the only consecuti*e
white notes. Throughout this course the keyboard will be an almost essential aid for generating
the sounds we will be discussing, particularly the multi;note sounds. So if you are a single note
instrumentalist try to find a piano or a small electronic keyboard so that you can hear the
sounds. Small electronic keyboards are *ery cheap and readily a*ailable.
When we listen to music we are usually aware when it sounds 2out of tune3 or unpleasant. Our
mind has been (ON!T!ON" o*er the years to this sense of 9": or TON%&!T: by frequently
hearing the sound of the '%<O# S(%&", and by the ()O#S that can be built from it.
5irst let=s look al the ma>or scale and then we will look at the associated chords in +.1.
% scale is produced when notes are sounded in their alphabetical order. The ( to ( =white note=
scale on the piano is ( ma>or ;; (,,",5,8,%,6,(. See "..,.
The ma>or scale is by far the most important scale for the >a??man to master. %nalysis shows
that it can be split into , parts each with the same construction. The smaller part is described as
a T"T#%()O# ;;
Tone Tone Semitone Tone Tone Semitone
( " 5 8 % 6 (
; T"T#%()O# ; &!N9 TON" ; T"T#%()O# ;
The , tetrachords combine to produce the scale of ( ma>or as in "..,. The sound will be *ery
familiar, it is the starting point for all modern Western music, it is the @
O #" '! 5% SO& &% T! O
that all children sing.
% ma>or scale can start on any of the +, notes in the octa*e and contains A notes and a
repeated octa*e. Thus, there are +, ma>or scales and the others are shown in "..1. #emember
that 8b 4 57 ha*e an identical sound and fingering. Note that all the ma>or scales apart from (
must contain black notes, i.e. sharps or flats, if the ()%#%(T"#!ST!( SOUN is to be
maintained. The tetrachord analysis should make it clear why these sharps or flats must be
introduced but you should play carefully all the scales starting on any note and )"%# that the
characteristic sound only emerges by playing the sharps and flats. :our ear should tell you, the
analysis is a confirmatory e.planation.
+
White note scales, without sharps or flats, starting on notes other than ( are called 'O"S and
because they ha*e the semitone steps !n !55"#"NT /&%("S their characteristic sound is
different. These modes all ha*e 8reek names and were used e.tensi*ely in early period music
to create a *ariety of different 2moods3. The ma>or scale is >ust one of these modes, the =!onian=
mode. The only other mode of any interest to us in this course is the minor scale, or =%eolian=
mode. The characteristic sound of this scale can he heard by playing the white note scale % to
%. See "..B. !n its modern usage this scale has been modified by sharpening the leading note
to a create a familiar semitone step to the tonic, furthermore, in its =melodic= form, when
ascending, the Cth !s also sharpened to a*oid an awkward one and a half tone step. See "..D.
for interest. 6ut don3t worry about these historical de*elopments, the important point is that they
are simply part of a search for /&"%S!N8 and !NT"#"ST!N8 SOUNS and the sound we wish
to focus on is the sound of the ma>or scale.
The ma>or scale should be learnt in se*eral ways0 you should ;;
be able to play it on your instrument and T#%NS/OS" it to any starting note as in "..1.
become familiar with the SOUN of the scale
understand the scale from an intellectual point of *iew, which means that you should
9NOW the actual notes which go to make up any of the scales and the particular degree
of the scale which the note occupies.
5or e.ample ; the note ( is the first note of the ( scale, the second note of the 6b scale
and the third note of the %b scale, and so on.
"ach note of the scale has a generic name. See "..C. The scale notes are also often
distinguished by #O'%N NU'"#%&S @ ! !! !!! !$ $ $! $!! !.
%t this stage use the piano keyboard in addition to your own instrument, it is by far the best way
to see and learn the relationships between notes and scales. !t is e*en more useful when
studying notes and chords which we come to ne.t @
5!N % 9":6O%# 4 /&%: T)" S(%&"SE
1.2 Ha!ony Thirds & chords.
The ma>or scale is, perhaps the most familiar sound in Western music but another agreeable
sound is two notes, played together which are a T)!# apart. The sound is interestingly
pleasant, it is not one of those dissonant 2grating3 sounds.
Thirds are *ery important because the harmonic structures we will be studying are ()O#S
which are constructed by adding thirds on to a #OOT, or base note.
%ny two notes which are B semitones apart produce a '%<O# third, and any two notes 1
semitones apart produce a '!NO# third.
"..A. shows the ma>or third, ( to ", and then the complete set.
"..F. shows a minor third, ( to "b, and then the complete set.
5or all the e.amples in these lessons we recommend that you @
play the notes on your instrument, in the case of single note instruments they will
ob*iously ha*e to be played sequentially
listen to the sound
try to start memorising the fingerings and the sounds.
We don3t e.pect you to memorise all of these inter*als at this stage. )owe*er, thirds are met
frequently during impro*isation so you should start to learn the fingerings for thirds up and down
from any starting note.
Try to #"(O8N!S" and #"'"'6"# the sound of these ma>or and minor thirds, they are quite
distinct. Whate*er note you start on the characteristic sounds of all the ma>or thirds are the
same, and the sounds of all the minor thirds are the same.
#ecognising, remembering and playing all the sounds that we discuss in this course will be
helped enormously if you can S!N8 the notes. )owe*er 2bad3 your *oice is try and get into the
,
habit of singing the sounds. Singing will 2test3 your memory and recognition but, the most
important point is that when you e*entually start to impro*ise you will be @
S!N8!N8 ON :OU# !NST#U'"NT T)" SOUNS T)%T :OU )"%# !N :OU# )"% E
The sound of the ma>or scale is, perhaps the easiest sound for most of you to recognise and
sing but your ne.t target should be the recognition and singing of thirds.
!t is important for the impro*iser to learn and memorise thirds because you will be thinking and
playing chord notes much more often than the ma>or scale.
!f we start with a ma>or third and add a minor third abo*e it, we produce a '%<O# ()O# or a
ma>or triad. The chord takes its name from the note on which it is built, therefore the chord in
"..G. shows the ( ma>or chord. The word 2ma>or3 is omitted in the ()O# S:'6O& S:ST"'
we will be using, so the symbol in this case is simply (.
The sound of the ma>or chord will probably be familiar to you0 it is the ubiquitous sound of the
2bugle call3. !t is a 2harmonious3 sound, in addition to the pleasant sound of the third it includes
the octa*e and its 5!5T) which is *ery agreeable to the ear.
5or all the chords you meet in this course you should know the @
notes that make up the chord, and be able to 2S/"&&3 the chord on your instrument
sound of the notes, so you can recognise the chord aurally and sing it
chord symbol, so you can communicate with your fellow musicians
!f we start with a minor third and add a ma>or third abo*e it we produce a '!NO# ()O# or
minor triad. See "..+H. The chord symbol is (m0 the small 2m3 indicating minor. The minor
chords will be co*ered fully in &esson ,.
The minor chord has a !55"#"NT SOUN0 it is often described in terms of emotion as 2sad3.
:ou should start to try and *isualise Ior emotionaliseJ these sounds for yourself. The image you
use will be specific to you, but 2imagery3 is *ery useful to embed the sound in your memory for
future recall.
Thus, we ha*e an important principle @
TO )"&/ #"(O8N!T!ON 4 '"'O#:, %N !'%8" S)OU& 6" %SSO(!%T" !N :OU# '!N
W!T) T)" ()%#%(T"#!ST!( SOUN T)%T :OU )"%#.
!f 2bugle calls3 and 2sadness3 are not meaningful for you, then think up some ones that areE %
trick many people use is to associate sounds with familiar songs. Thus, the ma>or chord is the
first 1 notes of the old blues 25rankie 4 <ohnny3E The minor chord is heard at the start of 2St.
<ames3 !nfirmary 6lues3.
These chord sounds retain their essential characteristics of 2statement3 or 2sadness3 e*en though
the chords notes do not always appear in their original form. The notes, once defined, can be
S/%(" out and #"%##%N8" in any order. This is called $O!(!N8.
(hord notes can also be OU6&", or be present more than once in the structure. %ny chord
can ha*e 1 (&OS" position spacings @
".ample on ( @ +st position ( " 8 ,nd position " 8 ( 1rd position 8 ( ".
The simplest method of doubling is to repeat the bottom note at the top of the chord ;;
".ample on ( @ ( " 8 (
" 8 ( "
8 ( " 8
"..++. shows all the ma>or chords in the 1 close positions with a doubled note.
(hord *oicings and *oice 2leading3 become important when constructing a S'OOT)
progression from one chord to another. See +.D below.
The way notes of a chord are spaced out across the octa*es, or between the hands on a piano,
adds (O&OU#, $%#!"T: and ST:&" to the sound. !n fact, during performance, the closely
bunched notes illustrated here are in*ariably freed from the tight bundle and allowed to spread
themsel*es into more interestingly spaced chords. This is one of the ways 2mechanically correct3
1
sounds are turned into e.citing musicE 'ore of this later. 6ut remember, where*er the notes are
positioned, the characteristic SOUN of the chord remains the same because the S%'"
NOT"S are played although they are in different positions in the octa*es.
!n these first ++ e.amples we ha*e co*ered %&& the notes, %&& the ma>or scales, %&& the ma>or
thirds, %&& the minor thirds and %&& the ma>or chords and their in*ersions, a massi*e amount of
material. We can hardly e.pect you to become familiar with all of this easily or quickly but at
least you now know there is a finite amount to learnE
1." C#o$ Po%&''ion' The essence of 'tonal' music.
We all ha*e difficulty recognising or understanding anything unless it can be related to some
sort of reference or standard. Our sense of 9": or TON%&!T: starts with the 2standard3 of the
ma>or scale discussed abo*e, but it de*elops with the sounds of the chords that can be built on
it.
Our musical sense does not wander indiscriminately o*er the scale and we soon begin to
realise that chords =seem= to group themsel*es in relation to the chord on the first degree of the
scale. The ma>or chord on the tonic, is =felt= to be the ("NT#" or NU(&"US of the sound
around which the other chords fluctuate. Our sense of key or tonality establishes this sound
centre which we recognise as a =)O'" 6%S"=.
'usic is also :N%'!( and in addition to this sense of 2home base3 we also ha*e a sense of
'O$"'"NT. !n the system of harmony we shall be studying, there is a T"N"N(: of a chord,
to be attracted towards another chord which is a Bth )!8)"# Ior a Dth &OW"#, which is the
same soundEJ.
This natural feeling of attraction can be heard Ior feltJ, in many familiar sounds ; old folk songs
or the chiming of church bells, for e.ample. 6ut perhaps the first time we heard this sound was
when mothers call their childrenK
/lay the notes in "..+,. to the familiar =where are youK=, =!=m hereE= e.change.
The relationship between these sounds a Bth apart is usually described in terms of the dominant
tonic attraction. The tonic to dominant statement in "..+,. urges a dominant to tonic reply.
&isten to 6ig 6en in "..+1. The sound oscillates between tonic and dominant before homing in
on the tonic, the sound of =home base=.
"..+B. is the old song =Skip 'y &ou= which contains the ubiquitous dominant tonic mo*ement.
This 2magnetic3 attraction of mo*ing up a fourth is more emphatic when chords are played on
the notes concerned.
Thus, the ma>or chord on 8 of the scale of ( Ithe O'!N%NTJ will tend, to want, to mo*e to the
( chord Ithe TON!(J.The ( chord itself will =be inclined= to go to the 5 chord. These two
mechanisms can be used to produce two harmonic cells or ()O# S"-U"N("S, which
SOUN =#!8)T= @
Symbol ( 5 ( ( 8 (
Scale ! !$ ! ! $ !
egree Tonic SLdom Tonic Tonic om Tonic
See "..+D.
We can use these tonal cells, harmonic bo.es, or chord sequences, to de*elop many
e.tensions and *ariations which will still sound O9, for e.ample @
( 8 ( 5 ( 4 ( 5 8 ( I(entre ( omittedJ
! $ ! !$ ! ! !$ $ !
See "..+C.
5rom these simple progressions a *ast quantity of music has been written and will continue to
be written, because they represent ;;
T)" 8"#' 5#O' W)!() %&& W"ST"#N TON%& 'US!( )%S 6""N "$"&O/".
B
These basic sequences are *itally important for impro*isers0 listen to them and try to memorise
them0 try to =feel= how they goE These chords on the tonic, dominant and subdominant form the
foundation for countless songs, hymns and tunes of all sorts and si?es.
When the progression ( ; 5 ; ( ; 8 ; ( is co;ordinated with a particular +, bar rhythmic pattern
we get the +, 6%# 6&U"S @
(hord ( 5 ( 8 (
6ars B , , , ,
See "..+A.
!f played as written here this progression O"SN=T SOUN &!9" <%MM0 this is because ;;
chord *oicing are all +st close positions and not spaced out or rearranged to add spice
and $%#!"T: as discussed abo*e in +.1.
chord in*ersions or doubled notes are not used to get a S'OOT)"# flow. See below
+.D.
idiomatic #):T)' !s absent, see below +.B.
there are no &"%!N8 Ath chords, see lesson B.
Ne*ertheless it is important to start to get a good feel for the sound of these four important
chord changes as soon as impossible0 the >a?? interpretation will come later.
Whate*er instrument you play you must find a piano or guitar and play these chord
progressions. Try to hear and feel the natural tendency of the ( chord to mo*e to 5 and the 8
chord to mo*e to (. The sound of this change is *ital for the impro*iser to assimilate0 as we
ha*e said, it is the germ from which all music has grown.
The chord progressions abo*e should be transposed into se*eral selected keys. Start with
some easy keys but listen to how the sound mo*es in the same way regardless of the
designated key.
We ha*e now outlined the principle which !s responsible for %&& harmonic de*elopment @
"ST%6&!S) T)" SOUN ("NT#"
'O$" %W%: 5#O' T)" ("NT#"
#"SO&$" 6%(9 TO T)" ("NT#"
and we will see as the course continues that this principle is
constantly being e.tended, de*eloped and applied in an endless *ariety of ways but the same
germ always remains.
1.( M&lo$y The jazz sound & idiom.
%ll musical styles ha*e characteristic identifying sounds.
The >a?? sound is consistent with the Western concept of tonality but with some important
de*elopments which we will discuss when we come to the blues in &esson G. )owe*er, within
that tonality the main distinguishing characteristic of >a?? is its rhythm, remember @
T)" <%MM SOUN !S #):T)' EE
We will be discussing this at length throughout the course and we start to discuss rhythm
specifically in +.C below. )owe*er, the >a??man plays melody and it is the rhythm of the melody
line that gi*es >a?? its distincti*e sound.
The first purpose of the melody e.ercises in this section is to familiarise you with the indi*idual
and collecti*e SOUN of notes from the chords studied in this lesson.
"..+F to ,+ are e.amples of melodic work 2co;ordinated3 with chord progressions.
/lay the e.ercises o*er on your instrument. :ou should also try singing them to 2&a= or any other
form of articulation.
#emember that S!N8!N8, howe*er badly, is a great way to get the =feel3 of music. When singing
you can really concentrate on the sound and rhythm because you are not preoccupied with the
2technicalities3 of your instrument. Notice, by the way, how these e.ercises are full of thirdsE
D
The second purpose of these e.ercises is to introduce you to <%MM #):T)'. #ight from the
start the melodic material in these lessons is presented in the >a?? idiom.
!ne*itably this means that rhythm will dominate and S:N(O/%T!ON and off beat timings will be
the rule. This makes the written notes more complicated and you may find that sight reading
these e.ercises is difficult, but remember we are only interested in the SOUN. Stick with the
e.ercises to get the rhythm right, remember they are designed as %U#%& e.amples NOT TO
T"ST :OU# S!8)T #"%!N8 %6!&!T:E
We don=t start to co*er these syncopated rhythms in detail until lesson 1, so you may need to
get some help to getN the =feel= of them. 8et an e.perienced >a??man to play the sounds and
T%/ the out rhythms first before you attempt to put the melody to the rhythm. %bo*e all try and
make the e.ercises SOUN &!9" <%MM. Once you are familiar with the fingerings, play the B
bar e.ercises from memory and try to accent and interpret them so they sound like bits from
your fa*ourite records.
No doubt to start with you will be mentally counting the beats as you read the e.ercises and as
your counting foot hits the floor. !t may help if you analyse the e.ercises first indicating which
notes fall on the 2downbeat3 as your foot hits the floor and which occur on the off beat as your
foot is in the air. 'ark the downbeats with arrows in these e.ercises and see how few of the
notes start as your foot hits the floorE
Start listening for the way the sound changes as the chord changes. :ou may not be sensiti*e
to the change of sound initially but, ne*ertheless, you must get into the habit of &!ST"N!N8 to
the notes you play.
When you listen to >a?? bands or records these are the types of rhythms you will hear all the
time. 6ecause the >a?? sound is idiomatic it is *ery important to concentrate when you listen to
>a?? and try to memorise and 2feel3 the sounds you hear This is particularly true for those of you
who en>oy classical music or ha*e been classically trained. The rhythmic 2feel3 of >a?? is -U!T"
!55"#"NT.
We should stress at this early stage that the e.ercises in this course should be treated as
%!T!ON%& material for study, they are intended to illustrate specific parts of the T)"O#: we
are presenting. )owe*er, we recommend that your /#!O#!T: should be playing <%MM SON8S
and making them sound like >a??. Trying to play >a?? is far more important than playing scales,
chords or e.ercise and it is much more 5UN.
1.) Co*o$ination. Sound & smooth chord motion.
The chord sounds and the >a?? rhythms ha*e to be co;ordinated into a (O)"#"NT W)O&".
When the song progression changes from chord to chord the motion should be S'OOT) and
&O8!(%&. )apha?ard >umping about should be a*oided until such times as you know why you
are doing it.
% form of $O!(" &"%!N8 between each set of chords has been established by e.perience
which produces the smoothest and most logical connection, and therefore, which sounds 2right3
and best @
when chord ! I( chord in the key of (J mo*es to !$ I5 in the key of (J the smoothest
motions are ; the ( in the ( chord remains in the same *oice while the " and 8 mo*e up
to 5 4 %. This is re*ersed when the 5 chord mo*es to the ( chord
when the ( chord mo*es to the 8 chord the smoothest motion occurs when the
8 remains while the " and the ( mo*e down to 4 6.
See "..,,. and note the smoother sound produced here when compared to the earlier
progressions in "..+D.
This leads us to important principles @
any progression of chords sounds best when a minimum number of notes change as we
mo*e from one chord to the ne.t
C
for the notes that do change, the *oicing, should be such that the change is smooth and
does not in*ol*e hapha?ard >umps.
1.+ ,#yt#! Patterns & the rhythmic framework.
#hythm is the key to >a??0 rhythm is how we arrange sound in time, rhythm structures time.
The framework within which rhythm is e.ecuted is defined by the beat, the bars, the meter, the
tempo and the o*erall bar structure of the song.
6"%TS are produced by recurring patterns of sound which result in a feeling of motion. The beat
may be e.plicitly stated as in most popular music but it is present in all music. The musical
notes are subdi*isions of the beat. <a?? grew and established itself as %N(" music and
always has an underlying beat or pulse which co;ordinates the dance mo*ements. !t is the beat
that we tap our feet to when we listen to >a??. %ll good >a?? is compulsi*e 6O: mo*ing music.
6%#S regulate beats in larger repeating units. 6ars are delineated by %(("NTS. The first beat
of the bar is con*entionally a strong beat, the downbeat.
'"T"# defines this regular accentuation in terms of the number and duration of the beats per
bar0 the T!'" S!8N%TU#". 'eter is the grouping of the beats in the bar and must be
distinguished from the beat. %lmost in*ariably >a?? is played with four beats to the bar. That is
with a time signature of BLB.
T"'/O is the =speed= of the music, and should also be distinguished from the beat. 'edium
tempo is around +,H beats per minute.
<ust as beats are grouped into bars, bars are grouped into larger musical =sentences= or
/)#%S"S which are characterised by a musical idea or motif with a definite sense of ending.
The understanding of rhythm is closely connected with these phrases or 8#OU/S of SOUNS
which are percei*ed as /%TT"#NS. !nitially the length of the phrases will be concei*ed in terms
of the number of bars they occupy.
These bars groups will recei*e an e.hausti*e analysis as the course continues until practically
e*ery situation that can possibly occur in BLB time has been co*ered. See "..,1. for a
preliminary set of patterns. These should be tapped out and memorised. Simple as they seem,
they are the only ones possible in BLB time without the use of eighth notes.
/hrases coalesce to form S"(T!ONS. ominating the course will be the construction of B bar
rhythmic song sections. See the ne.t lesson.
5inally song sections combine to produce 'US!(%& 5O#'. <a?? songs are usually either F, +,,
+C or 1, bars in length and constructed from B bar sections.
!n this way the rhythmic framework creates a coherence which defines the o*erall architecture
of the music.
We stress that >a?? is essentially a rhythmic music, the melodies and harmonies you will learn
will ne*er SOUN like >a?? unless you get the rhythm right.
The subtlety of >a?? rhythm (%NNOT 6" T%U8)T !#"(T&:, we can=t e*en notate it properly.
6ut if we accumulate the basic musical and instrumental skills, and if we then &!ST"N to
e.perienced >a?? players, the >a?? rhythm will emerge because @
<%MM #):T)' (%N 6" !'!T%T".
!f you stick with this course you will acquire the necessary musical and instrumental skills and
you will also understand what to listen for as you de*elop <%MM SW!N8.
Swing emerges from the subtle placement of the notes within the framework @
T)" T!'!N8 O5 T)" NOT"S !N #"&%T!ON TO T)" UN"#&:!N8 6"%T.
We can define swing as the idiomatic rhythmic interpretation of >a?? melody.
!t is the &!&T which is felt as melodic tra>ectories become 6UO:%NT, detached and 5&O%T
away from the ground;beat. No description is adequate but the aural e.perience is
%STON!S)!N8.
A
1.- .itt&n /o0.
Write out the following progression in the key of "b ma>or @
)armony @ ! !$ ! $ $oice as in "..,H. and add chord symbols.
'elody @ Using the abo*e chord progression write in some melodic material as
follows @
(hords ! !$ ! $ !
6ars , , + + ,
#hythm @ The rhythm can be freely chosen.
N6. :ou will be pleased to know that the remaining lessons are largely e.tensions and
de*elopments of these principles co*ered hereE So study them thoroughlyE
<ohn p birchall
website O httpLLNwww.themeister.co.uk
F