Music, the most abstract art form, explained
Music, like storytelling, is a series of setups, motion, conflict, & resolutions
Story is told in the motion of melody & chords mostly within a “key” (a focus on 1 note that feels like home, among 7 that belong together as constructed by the Circle of 5ths (Co5)
Series of melodic patterns are woven into arpeggios, sequences, chords, voices
At the core of all these, when analyzed, are harmonic math structure
The simplest harmonic ratios like 3:2 (perfect 5th) sound the least dissonant/conflicted, & most consonant/stable
Keys & Scales
==
The Major (main) scale or mode means a series of 7 notes,
with intervals like this, where
1 is a “half-step”,
2 is a “whole-step”:
2 2 1 2 2 2 1
Note 8 is the same as note 1, but 1 octave higher
In letter notation, it’s A1-G1, A2-G2 for octaves 1 and 2
The “key” of C is 7 notes starting on C and progressing in 2212221 half-steps
C contains these notes
C D E F G A B
C is the simplest key as it has no sharp of flats
On the piano, C is only the white keys, with no black keys
Black keys are between all but E-F and B-C (where C key’s 2 half-steps are)
Sharps raise a note by 1 half-step. Flats lower them
Key A has these Sharps, to maintain the above major scale interval pattern starting from A:
A B C# D E F# G#
F# is the same note as Gb (G flat), but flats are used when discussing keys on the “left side” of the circle of 5ths
Chords
==
Chords are typically triads of 3 notes, but can be extended to more notes.
Chord 1 in a key uses the key’s 1 3 5 notes
Chord A is made of A C# E, as its 1 3 5 notes (count the letters)
Chords can be extended with 7 9 11 or 13
If you count the intervals, any X chord’s 1 & 3 notes have 4 or 5 half-steps between them, forming a major 3rd (M3), or minor 3rd (m3)
Chords 1 & 4 are M3,
Chords 2 & 4 are m3
Eg
A & E are Major in key A
Bm & Dm are minor in key A
Chord X is major unless written as Xm
Subjective:
M3 is cheery
m3 is sullen
Adding a 4th note to triad chords gives a major 7, minor 7, or just 7
maj7 is airy
m7 is dark
M7 is dominant
Chords 1M & 4M have a maj7 (written Amaj7)
2m & 6m have m7
Eg, in key A:
2 is Bm7 & 6 is F#m7
The 5 Chord:
5⁷ (a 5 chord triad + its 7 as a 4th note)
5⁷ chord has M3 & m7 intervals
E7 is the 5 in key A
G7 is the 5 in key C
1M or 6m // home “tonic”
4M or 2m // motion “sub-dominant”
5M 3m 3M 3⁷ or 7dm // conflict, “dominant”
Sometimes instead of the typical 1 4 5, we move 5 to 4, even over & over, counter to normal motion. Eg “Jane’s addiction” “Jane says”
There are many possible “chord progressions”
We’ll highlight some others in the “key changes” sections
Chord or keys that are 2 letters down from a Major are that chord or key’s relative minor
The definition of a minor scale is the 6th mode of the Major scale. It’s like
2 2 1 2 2 2 1, but starts 2 below note 8, on note 6. Ergo, it’s the 6th mode:
2 1 2 2 1 2 2, but to make a “harmonic minor scale”, we raise its note 7 to be just 1 half-step below resolving back up to the 1st note in its key/scale. So:
2 1 2 2 1 3 1
Example: Notes in key C
C D E F G A B C2…
// key A minor start on A, the 6th note above
A B C D E F G A2
// harmonic Am scale
A B C D E F G# A2 // also considered in key A minor, but G# is raised on the way *up* the scale, & when playing the 5th dominant chord E or 7:
E G# B now has a M3 interval, & its G# can resolve up a half-step to note A
Chord 7 (7dim) is unique. It has a diminished interval between its 1 and 5 notes. This frequency dissonance seeks to resolve down to M3, or up to a perfect 5th, in the 1 or 6 neighboring chords
Chord 5 seek resolution to chord 1
Only chord 5 has both M3 and m7 intervals to form a 5⁷ chord
These chords help change keys or *modes*, as in typical jazz:
Mode Change
==
2m7 (Bm7 in key A) builds to
5⁷ (E7)
1m7 (Am)
// E7 is 5 to A, not B
// E7 reveals were not in Bm key, but in mode 2 of Am
These chords all exist in Am key, so this wasn’t a key change.
But, if we play 4⁷ (D7) now, it’d be a key change, bc no key has a 4⁷ chord
So, this “4⁷” must be a 5⁷, in a new key 1 whole-step down
We can keep repeating this jazzy key change pattern along the Co5
Relative key change (eg, key C to key A minor)
==
Key C’s 3rd chord (Em) has m3 interval, but it can be augmented to M3 (E)
This 3 chord (E) is then a dominant 5th & can resolve to 6m (Am)
We’re now in key Am
Parallel key change (key C/Am to key A)
==
Chord Em is the 3m chord in key C, and the chord 5 of Am
Am is like mode 6 of C
Am uses note G# to help resolve to note A
Using 3M or 3⁷ as the 5⁷ of Am can resolve to Am
But if we resolve to A, it’ll be a “parallel” key change (from Am to A)
Voices
==
Voice “rules” to form & to move between series, melodies, & chords:
Post ~Bach, classic music avoided crossing eg the ~4 voices of a piece (eg bass tenor alto soprano) & avoided moving them in parallel 5th or octaves
Vibes
==
You can literally feel these play out in vibrations that shake instruments, air, & ear drums to build change, conflict & resolution throughout music movements & harmony
This is some of what one may need a bit of study to feel & more fully appreciate music
Music ramps up to climax in dissonant conflicts, & moves back to resolution, over & over again, from small scale of seconds to entire movements, sometimes made from efficient short 4–8 note phrases they’re modified & combined to weave grand tapestries
Music need not have words or serve any purpose like architecture, or represent anything recognizable, like art, or even colors we see in the real world, as in modern abstact art. It also has highly mathematical underpinnings.
Music is the most abstract art form.
Watch Leonard Bernstein’s Music Theory in 5 minutes https://youtu.be/U3HLqCHO08s
You really need to hear it though.
Here’s a 15 minute short music theory video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eKTOMhpy2w
Here’s a 3h very comprehensive one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VvKeiwddPI
Read my blog on how the keys and scales were constructed using the Circle of 5ths: https://gary-bernstein.medium.com/music-theory-harmonics-the-circle-of-fifth-equal-temperament-5357864e314d
