‘Music Theory’ is a term that unnecessarily scares a lot of people; especially self-taught musicians. In the ‘Playing Music’ part of this blog, I will be blowing the cobwebs off some music theory and helping make it practical for everyday use. This basic understanding of music theory will enhance your skill as a musician and enable you to flow better in moments of spontaneous worship.
Notes
In popular western music all the many available pitches have been narrowed down to twelve basic notes. These are divided into what we call natural notes and sharp or flat notes. On a piano the natural notes are normally the ivory (white) notes, and the sharps and flat are the ebony (black) notes.
The natural notes have been named A through G. The note immediately above a natural note is called sharp (#) and the note immediately below, ‘flat’ (b). A note will either be sharp or flat depending on which natural note it is replacing.
Each note can be played at different intervals up and down the pitch range, but will always sound the same note.
To demonstrate this let’s look at a piano. If you go to a piano you will see the ebony notes are grouped into twos and threes.
Find the two ebony notes nearest the middle of the piano and the ivory note immediately to the left of them will be ‘middle C’. Play this note and you have played C. Now find another group of two ebony notes. Again play the ivory note to the left and you are playing ‘C’. Up and down a piano, every ivory note to the left of the two ebony notes is ‘C’. They are Cs of difference pitch, but they are all the note C.
Intervals
The distance between two notes is called an interval and is measured in tones and semi-tones. On the piano a tone is a note two keys away. On the guitar, two frets. A tone is the note immediately next door, or the next fret. An example of a one tone interval would be the difference between ‘A’ and ‘B’. An example of a semi-tone interval is the difference between ‘A’ and ‘Bb’.
Major or Minor
Not every combination of notes sounds ‘right’. And so in popular western music, songs are usually written in what we call a key. Keys are a system to limit the notes used in a song, so that the music makes sense to our ears. When the notes of the key are arranged in ascending or descending order they are called a scale.
There are many different scales and keys, but in popular western music, and more specifically in church music, all the common keys we use fall into two groups: the major and minor keys.
The Major Key
The major key comprises of seven notes.
In ascending order the intervals are: tone, tone, semitone, tone, tone, tone, semitone. This means the C major scale is C, D, E, F, G, A, B and the octave (eighth note) C, which is the same as the note we started on. The A Major scale is A B C# D E F# G# A.
The major scale is the same on the way up as it is on the way down. And because these intervals are always the same no matter where you start, the pattern will always sound the same in any major key.
It is useful to start thinking of the notes of the scale as numbers, 1 through 7 (or 8 for the octave), as this means anything you learn in one key can be transferred easily to another key. e.g. In the key of C: 1 = C, 2 = D, 3 = E, 4 = F, 5 = G, 6 = A, 7 = B. The octave, ‘8’ is of course C, ‘1’ again.
In written music each key is represented by a key signature, which simply lists how many sharps or flats are found in that key. For musicians and composers, Keys and Key signatures are a useful short hand for getting everyone on the same page.
[When we speak about keys, if we are speaking about the major keys, we will often call it simply by the letter of its name. G major is often just called ‘G’, E major is often called ‘E’.]
The Minor Key
Every major key has a relative minor key that shares its key signature. The relative minor key is always the key of the 6th note of the major scale. e.g. the relative minor key for C major is A minor.
The scale for the minor key appears in two forms harmonic or melodic. For now we are going to use the melodic scale as this most accurately represents the key signature.
The intervals for a descending minor melodic scale are: tone, tone, semitone, tone, tone, semitone, tone. When descending, this scale only uses the notes in the key signature. e.g. The Am melodic minor descending scale is A, G, F, E, D, C, B and A.
Every ascending minor melodic scale uses two extra notes not found in the key signature. The two extra notes are always the same in every melodic minor; they are the raised 6th and raised 7th.
The intervals for an ascending minor melodic scale are: tone, semitone, tone, tone, tone, tone, semitone. e.g. in Am minor melodic the ascending scale is A, B, C, D, E, F#, G# and A
The reason for these extra notes becomes clear as soon as you start playing in a minor key. It just sounds right, that in the minor key you have the option to play the 6th and 7th as either normal (on the way down) or raised (on the way up).
Play Skilfully
It is possible to play music without really knowing what’s going on. However, when you understand the music, the theory behind it and why it works, then you are able to go much further in creating unique moments in worship. Practicing scales and getting to know your keys will help you not just play the songs better, but will also equip you to move beyond the songs into spontaneous playing.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Adam is an Englishman living in South Africa, who knows this earth is not his home. He is married with two children, and a leader in his local church where he pastors and teaches the Bible.
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To demonstrate this let’s look at a piano. If you go to a piano you will see the ebony notes are grouped into twos and threes.
Find the two ebony notes nearest the middle of the piano and the ivory note immediately to the left of them will be ‘middle C’. Play this note and you have played C. Now find another group of two ebony notes. Again play the ivory note to the left and you are playing ‘C’. Up and down a piano, every ivory note to the left of the two ebony notes is ‘C’. They are Cs of difference pitch, but they are all the note C.
The major scale is the same on the way up as it is on the way down. And because these intervals are always the same no matter where you start, the pattern will always sound the same in any major key.
It is useful to start thinking of the notes of the scale as numbers, 1 through 7 (or 8 for the octave), as this means anything you learn in one key can be transferred easily to another key. e.g. In the key of C: 1 = C, 2 = D, 3 = E, 4 = F, 5 = G, 6 = A, 7 = B. The octave, ‘8’ is of course C, ‘1’ again.
In written music each key is represented by a key signature, which simply lists how many sharps or flats are found in that key. For musicians and composers, Keys and Key signatures are a useful short hand for getting everyone on the same page.
[When we speak about keys, if we are speaking about the major keys, we will often call it simply by the letter of its name. G major is often just called ‘G’, E major is often called ‘E’.]
The intervals for a descending minor melodic scale are: tone, tone, semitone, tone, tone, semitone, tone. When descending, this scale only uses the notes in the key signature. e.g. The Am melodic minor descending scale is A, G, F, E, D, C, B and A.
Every ascending minor melodic scale uses two extra notes not found in the key signature. The two extra notes are always the same in every melodic minor; they are the raised 6th and raised 7th.
The intervals for an ascending minor melodic scale are: tone, semitone, tone, tone, tone, tone, semitone. e.g. in Am minor melodic the ascending scale is A, B, C, D, E, F#, G# and A
The reason for these extra notes becomes clear as soon as you start playing in a minor key. It just sounds right, that in the minor key you have the option to play the 6th and 7th as either normal (on the way down) or raised (on the way up).
I Mean No Disrespect 
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