Music theory: the path

The path

1. 1How to read sheet musicThe five lines, the clef, the names of the notes — the start in six steps.
2. 2Note valuesHow long a note lasts, how to count, what dot, tie and triplet do.
3. 3Time signatures4/4, 3/4, 6/8 and the others — with stress, sound and metronome.
4. 4ClefsTreble, bass, alto and tenor clef: which note on which line.
5. 5ScalesMajor, minor and the other scales, in every key with fingerings.
6. 6ModesDorian, Lydian, Mixolydian: the same notes, seven starting points — with sound.
7. 7Solfège, do re miDo re mi: singing the degrees instead of spelling them.
8. 8IntervalsThe distance between two notes — with sound, keyboard and a song to remember it by.
9. 9KeysKey signature, relative key and the seven chords of every key.
10. 10TransposingMoving a piece into another key — the chart for chords, notes, capo and wind instruments.
11. 11Circle of fifthsAll 24 keys as a wheel — tap, listen, find the neighbours.
12. 12ChordsTriads and seventh chords: notes, notation, piano and guitar shapes.
13. 13Chord progressionsThe progressions songs are built from, written out in every key.
14. 14CadencesAuthentic, plagal, half, deceptive — how a phrase ends, in four parts with sound.
15. 15Music notation glossaryEvery symbol and every Italian word in the score, explained.
16. 16Ear trainingHear intervals and chords and guess them — the practice ground for the reference.

Starting from scratch, read from top to bottom. Already playing? Go to the stop where it gets stuck — each one stands on its own.

How these pages are made

Not one notation image on these pages is typed in, not one chord shape copied. Everything is computed — from the notes, the rules of notation and the tuning of the instruments — and every page has a check that reads the result back from the image and the sound. Where a song is named as an example, the check has looked the piece up itself.