Online Theory Tool

Unit 1: Pitch and Notation
Ledger lines and enharmonic equivalents

• Ledger lines
• Enharmonic equivalents
• Transposition
• Transposing a melody
• Rewriting a melody 

• Note and rest values review
• Breves and semibreves
• Time Signatures and Meter

• E major and A flat major
• Major scale pattern
• C sharp minor and A flat minor
• Minor scale patterns
• Relative keys
• Finding the relative minor key of a major key
• Parallel Keys
• Scale degree names – tonic, subdominant, dominant, subtonic, leading tone

• Chromatic and diatonic half steps
• Major, minor and perfect intervals

• Triads
• Quality of primary triads in major and minor scales
• Dominant 7th chords
• Functional chord symbols
• Root/quality chord symbols

• Identifying a key as major or minor
• Steps for identifying the key of a melody
• Parallel periods
• Musical ideas
• Analyzing phrases
• Composing an answer phrase

• Oratorios, choruses and word painting
• Operas and arias

• Andantino
• Cut time, 2/2
• espressivo, espress., larghetto, largo, leggiero, pedale, ped., rubato, spiritoso, tranquillo

• Changing the key of a melody
• Transposing up to a key
• Handling chromatic notes when transposing
• Transposing up to an interval

• Thirty-second notes and rests
• Dotted sixteenth notes and rests
• Compound meters: 6/8
• Compound duple, triple and quadruple meter
• Completing measures with rests in compound time

• C flat/B major and A flat/G sharp minor
• Review of all major scales
• Scale degree names

• Double sharps and double flats
• Augmented and diminished intervals
• Importance of letter name in augmented and diminished intervals
• Writing a chromatically altered interval
• Identifying intervals when the bottom note is not the tonic of a major key
• Different ways of altering intervals
• Writing a chromatically altered interval when the bottom note is not the tonic of a major key

• Supertonic, median, and sub-mediant triads
• Triad inversion review
• Triads in open or closed position
• Dominant 7th chords in open or closed position
• Cadences
• Authentic cadence (V-I or V-i)
• Half cadence (I-V, i-V, IV-V, iv-V)
• Cadences and harmony
• Keyboard style cadences
• Identifying cadences

• Identifying the key of a melody with a key signature
• Identifying the key of a melody without a key signature
• Composing phrases

• Johann Sebastian Bach
• Invention in C major
• “Brandenburg Concertos”
• Brandenburg Concerto No. 5, first movement
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Eine kleine Nachtmusic
• Sonata form

• ad libitum, ad lib., alla, all’, ben, bene, col, coll’, colla, colle, con, con brio, con espressione, con fuoco, con grazia, con moto, e, ed, fortepiano, grave, loco, ma, meno ,meno mosso, non, più, più mosso, poco a poco, primo, prima, quasi, secondo, seconda, sempre, senza, sforzando, simile, subito, tre corde, troppo, una corda

• Transposing down to another key
• Transposing down by interval

• Double-dotted notes
• Double-dotted rests
• Irregular groupings

• Chromatic scales starting on C, F sharp and G flat
• Whole-tone scales
• Octatonic scales
• Pentatonic scales
• Blues scales

• Diatonic and chromatic intervals
• Writing intervals below a note
• Inverting intervals

• Augmented and diminished triads
• Functional chord symbols and root quality symbols
• Leading tone diminished 7th
• Identifying seventh chords in open position
• Inversions of augmented and diminished triads
• Functional chord symbols and inversions
• Dominant 7th chords and inversions
• Cadences
• Authentic cadence 
• Half cadence (I-V, i-V)

• Writing a contrasting periods

• Felix Mendelssohn
• Overture to a Midsummer Night’s Dream and Sonata form
• Frédéric Chopin
• Etude in C Minor (“Revolutionary”)
• Igor Stravinsky
• Petrushka and Rondo form
• Hugh LeCaine
• Dripsody
• Duke Ellington
• Ko-Ko

• agitato, dolente, giocoso, grandioso, martellato, mesto, morendo, pesante, quindicesima alta, 15ma, risoluto, scherzando, semplice, sonore, sopra, sostenuto, sotto voce, tacet, tutti, vivo, volta, volti subito, v.s.

• C clef
• Moveable C clef
• Alto clef
• Tenor clef
• Arranging key signatures
• Transposition between clefs
• Transposing instruments
• Vocal scores
• String quartets

• 5/8 example
• 5/4 example
• Examples of mixed meters
• Hybrid duple, triple, and quadruple meter
• completing measures with rests in hybrid meters

Unit 3: Scales and Key Signatures
Scales in context and diatonic modes

• Examples of scale passages
• Modes
• Writing modes

• Compound intervals
• Inverting intervals

• Root/quality chord symbols and inversions
• Plagal cadences in keyboard style
• Cadences in chorale style

• Review of contrasting periods in a major key
• Contrasting periods in a minor key
• Melodic motion
• Expanding harmonic vocabulary

• Hildegard von Bingen
• Ordo Virtutum, Scene 4
• Sumer is Icumen In
• Josquin des Prez
• El grillo
• Javanese Gamelan
• Raga in Indian Music

• French Terms: cédez, léger, lentement, modéré, movement, vite 
• German Terms: bewegt, langsam, mässig, mit Ausdruck, schnell, sehr 
• Italian Terms: allargando, allarg., arco, attacca, calando, comodo, con sordino, largamente, l’istesso tempo, pizzicato, ritenuto, riten., stringendo