XMind

Music Theory Curriculum

1. 1. Staves, Clefs & Pitch Notation

   1. The Grand Staff

      1. Naming the Notes

         1. note sign

         2. note

         3. notation

         4. solfa

         5. B & H

            1. In almost all European countries, except those whose main language is English or a Romance language, the 'German' system is used. This also uses the letters A to G of the Roman alphabet, but reserves B for the note called B flat in the 'English' system, and uses H for the note that is B natural (or just B) in the 'English' system.

         6. pitch class

         7. octave equivalency

      2. Staff or Stave

         1. staff or stave

         2. numbering of lines/spaces

         3. systemic barline

         4. diastematic

            1. Describing a musical notation in which the pitch of a note is represented by its vertical position on the page

         5. ledger lines

   2. The Clef Sign

      1. clef, clef sign, clef signature

      2. Great Staff, Grand Staff, Great Stave or Grand Stave

      3. treble clef

      4. bass clef

      5. alto clef

      6. middle C

   3. The Treble Clef

      1. treble clef

      2. G clef

      3. violin clef

      4. E G B D F

      5. F A C E

   4. The Bass Clef

      1. bass clef

      2. F clef

      3. G B D F A

      4. A C E G

   5. The Alto Clef

      1. alto clef

      2. viola clef

      3. counter-tenor clef

   6. Other Clefs

      1. soprano clef

      2. mezzo-soprano clef

      3. tenor clef

      4. baritone clef

      5. subbass clef

      6. French violin clef

         1. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, a special clef was used for violin music, particularly that published in France. For this reason it is known as the French violin clef, French clef or G1 clef, although it was more commonly used for flute music. Being a G clef rather than a C clef, it sets the position of the G above middle C - in this case, on the bottom line of the five line stave.

      7. indefinite pitch clef

   7. The Score

   8. Why Middle C?

      1. The naming of the notes and position of middle C arise from the way we set out our great staff. Guido d'Arezzo (c.995-1050) called the first line on the lower staff by the Greek letter gamma. The lowest note in the scale was called ut and was placed on gamma. This first note was soon called gamma ut, which contracted to gamut. At some point, French musicians began referring to the whole scale (by then an octave) as the gamut, a typical example of metonymy, the rhetorical or metaphorical substitution of a one thing for another based on their association or proximity. The term was next extended to refer to the musical range of an instrument or voice. By the seventeenth century gamut was further generalized to mean an entire range of any kind.

      2. Guido d'Arezzo

      3. gamut

      4. solmization

      5. Ut Queant Laxis

      6. ut re mi fa sol la

      7. hexachord

   9. Scientific Pitch Notation

      1. distinguishing octaves

2. 2. Notes and Rests

   1. Duration

      1. duration

      2. time value

      3. proportional or mensural notation

   2. The Anatomy of a Note Sign

      1. notehead

      2. flag

      3. stem

      4. placement of stem and flag

   3. Chart of Note and Rest Signs

   4. Dotting and Double Dotting

      1. augmentation dot

      2. dot

      3. double-dotting

      4. triple-dotting

   5. Beams and Beaming

   6. Ties

   7. Origin of Music Notation

   8. Measures and Bars

      1. Measure and Bar Lines

         1. bar

         2. measure

         3. time signature

         4. bar line

         5. double bar line

         6. final bar line

         7. bar number

         8. rehearsal letter

3. 3. Time Signatures and Meters

   1. Time Signature and Meter

      1. Time Signature

      2. meter

      3. beat

      4. pulse

      5. simple time

      6. compound time

      7. compound meter

      8. divisive rhythm

   2. Unusual Time Signatures and Hypermeasure

      1. odd meter

      2. hypermeasure

         1. A hypermeasure, large-scale or high-level measure, or measure-group is a metric unit in which, generally, each regular measure is one beat (actually hyperbeat) of a larger meter. Thus a beat is to a measure as a measure/hyperbeat is to a hypermeasure. Hypermeasures must be larger than a notated bar, perceived as a unit, consist of a pattern of strong and weak beats, and along with adjacent hypermeasures, which must be of the same length, create a sense of hypermeter. The term was coined by Edward T. Cone in Musical Form and Musical Performance (New York: Norton, 1968).

   3. Mensuration

      1. mensuration

      2. modus

      3. tempus

      4. prolatio

      5. major

      6. minor

   4. Common Time & Alla Breve/Cut Time

      1. common time

      2. modus

      3. tempus perfectum

      4. tempus imperfectum

      5. alla breve

      6. alla capella time

      7. cut time

   5. Changing Time Signatures

   6. The Whole Bar Rest

      1. whole bar rest

      2. multiple bar rest

   7. Incomplete Bars

      1. imcomplete bar

      2. incomplete measure

      3. anacrusis

   8. Ametric Music

      1. augmented rhythms

      2. diminished rhythms

      3. retrograde rhythms

      4. polyrhythm/cross-rhythm

4. 4. Tempo

   1. Tempo Markings

      1. metronome

      2. tempo markings

         1. grave

         2. larghissimo

         3. adagissimo

         4. largo

         5. larghetto

         6. largamente

         7. adagio

         8. adagietto

         9. lento

         10. lentamente

         11. andantino

         12. andante

         13. con moto

         14. moderato

         15. vivace

         16. allegro

         17. allegramente

         18. allegrissimo

         19. vivacissimo

         20. prestissimo

         21. veloce

      3. BPM

      4. changing the tempo

         1. doppio movimento

         2. accelerando, accel.

         3. stringendo

         4. affrettndo

         5. incalzando

         6. meno mosso

         7. ritardando, rit., ritard.

         8. rallentando, rall.

         9. strascinando

         10. allargando, allarg.

         11. calando

         12. mancando

         13. morendo

         14. smorzando

         15. ritenuto, rit., riten.

         16. piu mosso

         17. piu moto

         18. ritenuto

         19. meno moto

         20. a tempo

         21. lunga pausa

         22. rubato

      5. fermata, fetura, caesura

         1. fermata

         2. hold

         3. bird's eye

         4. fetura

         5. caesura

         6. railroad tracks

         7. cut-off

      6. Dance Tempi

         1. Aleman

         2. Bouree

         3. Bransle

         4. Chaconne

         5. Coranto/Courante

         6. Galliard

         7. Gavotte

         8. Gigue

         9. Giga

         10. Ground

         11. Menuet

         12. Passacaglia

         13. Pavanne

         14. Rigaudon

         15. Sarabande

   2. Metronome Marks

5. 5. The Keyboard

   1. keyboard

   2. scale

   3. chromatic scale

   4. flat

   5. sharp

6. 6. Small Intervals

   1. The Tone and Semitone

      1. keyboard

      2. tone

      3. semitone

      4. whole step

      5. half step

   2. The Octave

      1. octave

      2. natural

      3. double flat

      4. flat

      5. sharp

      6. double sharp

   3. The Chromatic Scale

   4. Microtones

      1. microtone

      2. microtonal

      3. quarter tone

      4. eighth tone

      5. comma

      6. cent

7. 7. Major Scales

   1. The Major Scale

      1. major scale

      2. chromatic scale

      3. key note

      4. degree

      5. Roman Numerals

      6. W W H W W W H

   2. The Tetrachord

      1. tetrachord

      2. combined by disjunction

   3. The Twelve Major Scales

      1. major scales

      2. sharp key

      3. flat key

      4. natural key

   4. Deriving Major Scales

      1. building major scales

      2. key signature

8. 8. Key Signatures and Accidentals

   1. The Key Signature

      1. key signature

      2. music ficta

   2. The Circle of Fifths

      1. circle of fifths

      2. key signature

      3. tetrachord

   3. The Order of Sharps and Flats

      1. relative major

      2. relative minor

   4. Enharmonics

   5. Using Accidentals

      1. accidental

      2. precautionary mark

      3. courtesy accidental

      4. accidentals and ornamentation

   6. Changing Key

      1. key change

      2. cautionary sign

      3. inflection

      4. compound signs

9. 9. Minor Scales

   1. The Natural Minor Scale

      1. ancient minor scale

      2. natural minor scale

   2. Double Sharps and Flats

   3. Harmonic Minor

      1. haronic minor

      2. seventh degree

      3. leading tone

      4. tonic

      5. dominant chord

      6. dominant 7th chord

      7. tritone

   4. Melodic Minor

      1. melodic minor scale

   5. Relative & Parallel Major & Minor

      1. key note

      2. key signature

      3. relative major

      4. parallel major

      5. relative minor

      6. parallel minor

      7. rule of 7

      8. rule of 12

      9. key name

      10. tonic major

      11. tonic minor

10. 10. Chromatic Scales

    1. The Diatonic Scale

       1. diatonic

       2. chromatic

    2. The Chromatic Scale

    3. The Harmonic Chromatic Scale

       1. naming rules

    4. The Melodic Chromatic Scale

       1. naming rules

11. 11. Intervals

    1. Degrees of the Scale

       1. tonic

       2. supertonic

       3. mediant

       4. subdominant

       5. dominant

       6. submediant

       7. subtonic

       8. leading tone

       9. degree

    2. Melodic & Harmonic Intervals

       1. melodic interval

       2. harmonic interval

    3. Unisons and Octave

       1. dyad

       2. unison

       3. octave

       4. perfect unison

       5. perfect prime

       6. augmented unison

       7. augmented prime

       8. diminished unison

          1. Some theorists do not allow the diminished unison because the C flat lies below the C natural and this breaks the rule that all dyadic intervals are named from the lower note.

    4. Diatonic Intervals

       1. perfect intervals

       2. major intervals

       3. minor intervals

    5. Chromatic Intervals

       1. doubly diminished

       2. diminished

       3. augmented doubly

       4. augmented

       5. quality of intervals

    6. The Tritone

       1. tritone

       2. diabolus in musica

       3. consonance by circumstance

    7. Compound Intervals

    8. Inversion of Intervals

       1. inversion

       2. rule of 9

12. 12. Note Groupings

    1. Simple & Compound Time/Meter

       1. simple time

       2. simple meter

       3. compound time

       4. compound meter

    2. Uneven/Asymmetrical Time/Meter

    3. Triplets

       1. irrational rhythm

       2. triplet

    4. Duplets

    5. Other-lets

       1. irregular divisions

    6. Grouping Notes and Rests

       1. beaming

13. 13. Triads & Chords

    1. Concord and Discord

       1. music

       2. noise

       3. concordant

       4. discordant

       5. consonance

       6. dissonance

       7. form

       8. function

       9. perfect consonances

          1. unison

          2. P5

          3. octave

       10. imperfect consonances

           1. M3

           2. m3

           3. m6

           4. M6

       11. dissonances

           1. 2nds

           2. 7ths

    2. Triads

       1. triad

       2. Roman Numerals

       3. primary triad

       4. secondary triad

       5. major triad

       6. minor triad

       7. augmented triad

       8. diminished triad

       9. close position

       10. open position

    3. Diatonic Triads

    4. Chords

       1. chords

       2. seventh chord

       3. dominant chord

    5. Chords in Jazz

    6. Broken & Spread Chords

       1. broken chord

       2. spread chord

       3. arpeggio

14. 14. Chords in Detail

    1. Chords: Structure vs. Function

       1. structural

       2. functional

       3. naming seventh chords

    2. Seventh Chords

       1. major seventh chords

       2. minor seventh chords

       3. dominant seventh chords

       4. minor seventh flat five chord

       5. fully diminished seventh

       6. half diminished seventh

       7. augmented major seventh

       8. augmented minor seventh

       9. minor major seventh

    3. Dominant Seventh Chord

    4. Naming Seventh Chords

    5. Inverted Chords

    6. Slash Chords

    7. Extended Chords (9th, 11th, 13th)

    8. Special Chords

       1. power chords

       2. sus2 chords

       3. sus4 chords

       4. add2 chords

       5. add9 chords

       6. aug 5th & dim 5th chords

       7. augmented sixth chords

       8. Italian 'augmented' sixth chord

       9. French 'augmented' sixth chord

       10. German 'augmented' sixth chord

       11. six/nine chords

       12. polychords

15. 15. Figured Bass

    1. Figured Bass

       1. thorough bass

       2. realization

       3. basso continuo

    2. Figured Bass Notation

       1. 5 3

       2. 6 3 or 6

       3. 6 4

       4. accidental under note

       5. line through number

       6. accidental under number

       7. accidental beside single 6

       8. accidental beside number

       9. horizontal line after number

       10. 7 or 8 or 9

       11. 6 5

       12. 4 3

       13. 4 2

    3. Naming Chords With Roman Numerals

       1. Roman numeral figuring

16. 16. Transposition

    1. Transposition at the Octave

    2. Transposition into another Key

    3. What key Is My Instrument In?

       1. key of

       2. instrument

       3. concert pitch

    4. Transposing Instruments

       1. transposing instrument

       2. concert pitch

       3. written pitch

       4. sounding pitch

17. 17. Rhythmic Variety

    1. Rhyrhmic Modes

       1. iamb

       2. anapest

       3. trochee

       4. dactyl

       5. amphibrach

       6. pyrrh

       7. tribrach

       8. spondee

    2. Anacrusis

       1. anacrusis

       2. pick-up

       3. up-beat

    3. Syncopation

       1. syncopation

       2. off the beat

    4. Dotting & Double Dotting

    5. Hemiola

       1. hemiola

       2. cross-rhythm

    6. Swing

    7. Rhythmic Syllables

18. 18. Phrasing & Articulation

    1. Slur & Phrase

       1. rhythmic structure

       2. strong beat

       3. medium beat

       4. weak beat

       5. phrase

       6. slur

    2. Tenuto & Staccato

       1. tenuto

       2. staccato

       3. mezzo-staccato

       4. staccatissimo

    3. Slurs & Staccato

       1. slurred staccato

       2. portato

       3. articulated legato

    4. Variety of Accents

       1. staccato accents

       2. staccatissimo accents

       3. normal accents

       4. strong accents

       5. legato accents

    5. Articulation on Wind Instruments

    6. Articulation on Stringed Instruments

       1. bowing terms

    7. Articulation & Phrasing on Percussion Instruments

    8. Piano Pedalling

    9. Dynamic Markings

       1. fortissimo

       2. forte

       3. mezzo forte

       4. mezzo piano

       5. piano

       6. pianissimo

       7. ffff, fff, ppp, pppp

       8. forte piano

       9. crescendo

       10. decrescendo

       11. diminuendo

       12. marcato

       13. sforzando

       14. sforzandano piano

       15. forzando

       16. rinforzando

       17. calando

       18. incalzando

       19. con sordino

       20. dolcissimo

       21. leggiero

       22. pacato

       23. mancando, morendo

       24. martellato

       25. mezza voce, sotto voce

       26. senza sordino

       27. tacet

       28. tutta forza

       29. una corda

    10. General Musical Markings

        1. a

        2. a capella

        3. a capriccio

        4. accelerando

        5. ad libitum

        6. affettuoso

        7. agitato

        8. alla

        9. alla breve

        10. allargando

        11. amabile

        12. amoroso

        13. ancora

        14. animato

        15. a piacere

        16. appassionato

        17. arioso

        18. arpeggio

        19. assai

        20. ben, bene

        21. brillante

        22. cadenza

        23. calando

        24. cambiare

        25. cantabile

        26. chiuso

        27. col, colla

        28. come

        29. comodo

        30. con

        31. con brio

        32. con dolore

        33. con forza

        34. con fuoco

        35. con giusto

        36. con passione

        37. con spirito

        38. crescendo

        39. dal

        40. decrescendo

        41. decisivo

        42. delicato

        43. diminuendo

        44. dolce

        45. dolente

        46. doppio movimento

        47. e, ed

        48. e poi

        49. espressivo

        50. facilmente

        51. feroce

        52. fine

        53. furioso

        54. giocoso

        55. grandioso

        56. grazioso

        57. il, la

        58. impetuoso

        59. lacrimoso

        60. lamentoso

        61. largamente

        62. legato

        63. leggiero

        64. lusingando

        65. ma

        66. maestoso

        67. mancando

        68. marcato

        69. mertellato

        70. marziale

        71. meno

        72. meno mosso

        73. mesto

        74. mezzo

        75. misterioso

        76. molto

        77. morendo

        78. nobilmente

        79. non

        80. ossia

        81. parlando

        82. parlante

        83. pateticamente

        84. perdendosi

        85. pesante

        86. piacevole

        87. piangevole

        88. piu

        89. pizzicato

        90. placidamente

        91. pochetto

        92. poco

        93. poco a poco

        94. poi

        95. pomposo

        96. quasi

        97. rallentando

        98. religioso

        99. replica

        100. risoluto

        101. ritmico

        102. rubato

        103. scherzando

        104. secco

        105. sempre

        106. semplice

        107. senza

        108. serioso

        109. simili

        110. sino al

        111. slargando

        112. slentando

        113. smorzando

        114. soave

        115. solennemente

        116. sonore

        117. sordino

        118. sostenuto

        119. sotto voce

        120. spiccato

        121. spiritoso

        122. stentando

        123. strepitoso

        124. stringendo

        125. subito

        126. sul

        127. suono

        128. tanto

        129. tempo primo

        130. tempo rubato

        131. teneramente

        132. tenuto

        133. tessitura

        134. tosto

        135. tranquillo

        136. tremolo

        137. troppo

        138. tutti

        139. un poco

        140. vibrato

        141. vigoroso

        142. vivo

19. 19. Chords & Cadences

    1. cadences

       1. harmonic cadence

       2. turnaround

       3. melodic cadence

       4. rhythmic cadence

       5. textural cadence

       6. form & cadence

    2. Perfect Cadence

    3. Plagal Cadence

    4. Imperfect Cadence

    5. Interrupted/Deceptive Cadence

    6. The 'Six-Four' Cadence

    7. Feminine Endings

    8. Antecedent & Consequence

20. 20. Ornamentation

    1. Ornamentation

    2. Interpretation

    3. Grace Notes

       1. grace note

       2. appoggiatura

       3. acciaccatura

    4. Turns

    5. Trills

       1. trill

       2. preparation

       3. prefix

       4. shake

       5. termination

       6. unprepared

       7. prepared

       8. vocal trill

    6. Mordents

       1. mordent

       2. inverted mordent

       3. upper modent

       4. lower mordent

       5. long mordent

       6. double mordent

    7. Vibrato

    8. Arpeggiation

21. 21. Repeats

    1. Repeated Notes

    2. Repeated Groups

    3. Repeated Bars

    4. Repeated Whole Bar Rests

    5. Repeated Sections

    6. Da Capo

    7. Minuet & Trio

22. 22. Notes, Harmonies & Scales

    1. Origin of Diatonic and Chromatic Scales

       1. monochord

       2. Pythagoras

       3. interval

       4. lyre

    2. Modes

       1. Dorian

       2. Phyrgian

       3. Lydian

       4. Mixolydian

       5. Aeolian

       6. Locrian

       7. Ionian

          1. our major scale

    3. Jazz Scale

    4. Blues

    5. Bebop Scales

    6. Pentatonic Scales

    7. The 'Minor Key' Problem

    8. Altered Chords

    9. Neapolitan Sixth

    10. Symmetrical Scales

        1. whole tone scale

        2. diminished scale

        3. dominant diminished scale

    11. Non-Harmonic Tones

        1. passing tones

        2. neighboring tones

        3. appoggiatura

        4. escape note

        5. suspension

        6. retardation

        7. anticipation

        8. pedal note

        9. auxiliary note

        10. neighbor group

23. 23. Harmonic Functions

    1. What are Harmonic Functions?

       1. The Tonic

       2. The Dominant and Subdominant

       3. The II and VII Degrees

       4. The III and VI Degrees

       5. Harmonic Functions in Minor Keys

       6. Harmonic Analysis

    2. Nonharmonic Tones

       1. Passing Tone

       2. Neighbor Note

       3. Suspension

       4. Anticipation

       5. Appoggiatura

    3. Secondary Dominants

    4. Modulation

       1. The Dominant Chord

       2. The Pivot Chord

       3. Modulation to Distantly Related Keys

    5. Augmented Sixths

    6. Neapolitan Sixth

24. 24. Score Formats

    1. Instrumental Ensembles

       1. orchestral layout

       2. brass quintet layout

       3. band layout

       4. woodwind quintet layout

    2. Solos & Parts

    3. Keyboards

    4. Percussion

    5. How to Write Parts for Transposing Instruments

    6. Sounding Range & Clefs of Orchestral Instruments

25. 25. Pitch, Temperament & Timbre

    1. Pitch

       1. History of Musical Pitch

       2. A Brief History of Musical Tuning

       3. Physics of Musical Instruments - A Brief History

    2. Harmonic or Overtone Series

       1. harmonics

       2. fundamental

       3. overtones

    3. Inharmonicity

       1. inharmonicity

          1. The degree to which the frequencies of overtones (known as partial tones or harmonics) depart from whole multiples of the fundamental frequency.

       2. harmonic overtones

       3. inharmonic overtones

    4. Pythagorean Series

       1. tuning

       2. temperament

       3. Pythagoras

    5. Meantone Scale

    6. Equal Temperament

    7. Just Intonation

    8. Anatomy of An Octave

    9. Naming Intervals

    10. Beats and Tuning

    11. Timbre/Tone Color

26. 26. Key Centers

    1. The Nature of Tonality

       1. tonality

       2. What makes music tonal?

    2. Major Keys

    3. Minor Keys

    4. Triad Progressions

    5. Combining Major and Minor Keys

    6. Using Dominants

    7. Diminished Seventh Chords

    8. Reharmonization

       1. melodic substitution

    9. Modulation

       1. parallel key modulation

       2. relative key modulation

       3. enharmonic modulation

       4. direct modulation

       5. pivot chord modulation

       6. transient modulation

27. 27. Musical Forms

    1. Binary

       1. The Minuet

    2. Ternary

    3. Compound Ternary

       1. The Minuets

    4. Rondo

    5. Sonata

    6. Phrases, Periods and Motives

       1. What is a phrase?

       2. What is a period?

       3. Parallel Period

       4. Contrasting Period

       5. Double Period

       6. Other Periods

       7. What is a motive?

28. 28. Counterpoint

    1. opening and closing patterns

    2. Analysis of note-against-note counterpoint

    3. 1:1

    4. 2:1

    5. 4:1

29. Voice Leading

30. Aural Skills/Sight Singing

    1. Meter Recognition

    2. Interval Comparison

    3. Rhythm Dictation

    4. Scale Identification

    5. Melodic Dictation

    6. Interval Recognition

    7. Chord Comparison

    8. Chord Recognition

    9. Form/Structure

31. Composition

    1. Original Rhythmic Composition

    2. Transpose Clefs

    3. Original Melodies

    4. Species 1 Counterpoint

    5. Root Position 4-Part Chorale