Teaching Music Theory

Music Theory = The concepts, principles and techniques used to describe the causality of music.

Music theory starts with major scales.

Musical alphabet = ABCDEFG ... ABCDEFG ... Etc.

Scale = Sequence of the musical alphabet.

Major Scale = Eight-letter sequence of the musical alphabet with the following intervals between scale tones:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 W W H W W W H

C Major Scale:	C	D	E	F	G	A	B	C
Scale Degrees:	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8

Half-Step and
Whole-Step Intervals
in Major Scales:

Sharp Sign: # = The adjacent note or key to the right of the original note or key.
Ex: C# = The note/key to the right of a C note/key (the black key between a C and a D).

Flat Sign: b = The adjacent note/key to the left of the original note/key.
Ex: Cb = The note/key to the left of a C note/key (the white key to the left of a C key; the same white key as the B key).

Interval = Musical distance between two notes or two keyboard keys.

H = Half-Step Interval = Two Adjacent Notes.

Ex: C - C#/Db = Half-Step Interval (H)

Notes C C#/Db

Keys
White Key Black Key

Ex: B/Cb - C = Half-Step Interval (H)

Tones B/Cb C

Keys
White Key White Key

W = Whole-Step Interval = Two Half-Steps = Three Adjacent Tones

Ex: F - G = Whole-Step Interval (W) = F - F#/Gb - G

Notes	F	F#/Gb	G
Keys	White Key	Black Key	White Key

Scale degrees are the numbers of the tones of any major scale.

C Major Scale	C	D	E	F	G	A	B	C
Scale Degrees	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
	Root (R)							Octave

Minor scales are related to major scales as variations of the major scales.

C Natural Minor Scale	C	D	Eb	F	G	Ab	Bb	C
Scale Degrees	1	2	b3	4	5	b6	b7	8
	Root (R)							Octave

C Harmonic Minor Scale	C	D	Eb	F	G	Ab	B	C
Scale Degrees	1	2	b3	4	5	b6	7	8
	Root (R)							Octave

Thus, when a student is learning his minor scales, it is easier for him to learn minor scales as variations of the major scales than as separate additional scales.

A key is the scale upon which a song is centered.
Ex: Key of C Major = Song is centered upon the C major scale.
Ex: Key of F Minor = Song is centered upon the F Natural or the F Harmonic Minor Scale.

A song is centered upon a scale when most of its melodic tones and chords are found upon the scale, and, in particular, if there are no modulations into other keys, and if the final chord is the chord built upon the root of the scale of the key.

A key-scale is the scale built upon the root of the key.
Ex: Key of C Major: Key-Scale = C Major Scale.
Ex: Key of F Minor: Key-Scale = F Minor Scale.

A chord-scale is the major scale of the root of any chord.
Ex: C Major Triad: Chord-Scale = C Major.
Ex: F Minor Triad: Chord-Scale = F major.
Ex: G Seventh Tetrad: Chord-Scale = G major.

NOTE: Since there are no clear and obvious designations of four-note chords, five-note chords, six-note chords, and seven-note chords, the following schema is offered:

Regardless of the key of a song, a chord-scale is always built upon the root of the chord (not the key-scale) and is always a major scale regardless of the chord type (chord type = major, minor, seventh, minor seventh, sixth, minor sixth, etc.) <>Chords (chord types) are defined by chord formulas derived from the chord-scale (remember that the chord-scale is always the major scale built upon the root of the chord and not the key-scale):

Ex: Chord Formula: Major Triad = R-3-5

C Major Chord-Scale	C	D	E	F	G	A	B	C
Chord-Scale Degrees	R	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
Major Triad Chord Formula	R		3		5
C Major Triad	C		E		G

Ex: Chord Formula: Minor Triad = R-b3-5

Chord-Scale	C	D	E	F	G	A	B	C
Chord-Scale Degrees	R	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
Minor Triad Chord Formula	R		b3		5
C Minor Triad	C		Eb		G

Ex: Chord Formula: Dominant Seventh Tetrad = R-3-5-b7

Chord-Scale	C	D	E	F	G	A	B	C
Chord-Scale Degrees	R	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
Dominant Seventh Chord Formula	R		3		5		b7
C Seventh Tetrad	C		E		G		Bb

Ex: Chord Formula: Minor Seventh Tetrad = R-b3-5-b7

Chord-Scale	C	D	E	F	G	A	B	C
Chord-Scale Degrees	R	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
Minor Seventh Tetrad Formula	R		b3		5		bb7
C Minor Seventh Tetrad	C		Eb		G		Bbb

Chord Numbers: Chords can be numbered inre the position of their roots upon the scale degrees of a scale.

Ex: Key of C Major:

C Major Scale C D E F G Ab Bb C

Scale Degrees 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Chords C Dm Dm F G(7) Am Bdim C

Chord Numbers I IIm IIIm IV V(7) VIm VIIdim I

From this philosophy of music theory all other music concepts, principles and techniques are derived.

To me, there is something goofy about teaching chords as stacked thirds.
Ex: C Major Triad = Major Third + Minor Third.
C Major Triad = Major Third: C - E + Minor Third: E - G.

Ex: C Minor Triad = Minor Third + Major Third.
C Minor Triad = Minor Third: C - Eb + Major Third: Eb - G.

A sixth chord (R-3-5-6) can be labeled by traditionalists as a seventh chord with a diminished seventh (R-3-5-bb7) which in theory has stacked thirds: Major Third: C - E + Minor Third: E - G + ___ (?) Third: G - Bbb.

The R-3-5-6 chord formula shows clearly that the 6th chord-scale degree (A) is an interval of a second from the 5th chord-scale degree (G) and is not an interval of a third of any kind from the 5th chord-scale degree.

While it is true that all chord-tones can be thought of as stacked thirds, nevertheless music theory works better/best when chords are conceptualized and described in terms of scale degrees—particularly chord-scale degrees.

Ex: C Thirteenth Chord: R-3-5-b7-9-11-13

C Chord-Scale

Chord-Scale Degrees

C 13 Chord Formula

C Thirteenth Chord

For example, chords are best defined by chord formulas using chord-scale degrees: Major Triad = R-3-5; Minor Triad = R-b3-5; Dominant Seventh = R-3-5-b7, etc.

Ex: When we talk of chord-tones we talk in terms of roots, third, fifths, etc., which are relevant to a chord-scale (and sometimes to a key-scale) and not “first stacked third,” “second stacked third,” etc.

Ex: When we talk of sixth chords we are talking about triads with the added sixth scale degree and not the added thirteenth scale degree or the “sixth stacked third.”
Ex: C Sixth Chord = R-3-5-6.

Thus, from my 35 years experience teaching music and music theory, teaching music theory by means of scale degrees is the best method.

C Major Scale	C	D	E	F	G	Ab	Bb	C
Scale Degrees	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
Chords	C	Dm	Dm	F	G(7)	Am	Bdim	C
Chord Numbers	I	IIm	IIIm	IV	V(7)	VIm	VIIdim	I