ap summer review

8/12/2019 AP Summer Review

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AP Theory Review Sheet

The following is a study guide to prepare you for AP Music Theory. Pleasereview all of the information so we can start our year ahead of the game.

Basics of Notation

Whole note Whole rest

Half note Half rest

Quarter note Quarter rest

Eight note Eight rest

Sixteenth note Sixteenth rest

It is important to understand that the values of these notes are not a constant.They change based on the time signature. The one thing that is a constant is thefollowing diagram that shows how each note relates to another

Note Relationships


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Counting in Time

These notes are based on time for example purposes only. Refer to the time signaturechart below for exact counting in other time signatures. Notice how each beat is counted, nomatter how small the division there are always whole numbers starting each set of beats.

Note Value Counting Style

4 beats1234

2 beats12 34

1 beat1 2 3 4 etc

beat1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +

beat 1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a

Triplet

1 la le 2 la le 3 la le 4 la le

Dotted Rhythm=

1(2) + = 1 (2) + 1(e+) a = 1 (e +) a

Below is just a sample of how the note values can change based on the timesignature the composer uses:

1 2 N/A 4 N/A 8 N/A

1 2 2 4 4 8

1/2 1 1 2 2 41/8 1/4 1/2 1/2 1 1 2

1/16 1/8 1/4 1/4 1/2 1/2 1


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It is a very common misconception that the quarter note always equals one beatand that anything smaller than a quarter note is just played fast. What is importantto remember is that the smaller the notesvalue the more divided the beat is and notthe faster the tempo.

The above image demonstrates the concept of division. Notice that the circle hasmany divisions, but the overall size of the circle has not changed. This pizza pieconcept is what happens with smaller note values. The tempo does not increasebecause the note values are smaller; we only divide the beat into more parts. Beloware two different rhythms in the same time. Notice that even though the rhythms arevery different you can see that the beat duration is the same.


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Pitch RelationshipsThere are two main types of clefs in which music is written, the first being the

treble or G clef and the second being the bass or F clef. Each clef has its own distinctset of note arrangements. Please refer to the following example:

Every single line and space has a note name attached to it. The notes names weuse in music are A,B,C,D,E,F,G. There are ways to memorize the order of notes in bothclefs.

The treble clef lines create the following statement:

Every Good BoyDeservesFudgeThe treble spaces spell out:

FACE.The bass clef lines create the following statement:

Good BoysDeserveFudgeAlwaysThe bass clef spaces create the following statement:

All CowsEat Grass.

Movable C ClefWe use this clef when too many ledger lines are involved in the music. Earlier

composers would use these clefs for instruments like the trombone and bassoon. Bothinstruments have a wide range and the use of the C Clef made it easier to read higher

notes above the staff.The line that is in the center of the clef is

always C, hence the name,MOVABLE C CLEF , , ,


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Let us look at the pianoBelow we have labeled the notes of all of the keys on the piano. We distinguish

between the different clefs by recognizing Middle C. This is the pitch that is sharedby both the treble and the bass staves. The keys that have two possible note names arecalled enharmonic, this means that they sound the same but are spelled differently.

C# D# F# G# A# C# D# F# G# A# C#Db Eb Gb Ab Bb Db Eb Gb Ab Bb Db

C D E F G A B ^ D E F G A B CMiddle C

Middle C is also know as C4, which is a description of the octave in which it belongs.

Please refer to the example below:

C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8

From C1 to C2 every note has the number 1 following it, from C2 to C3 every note hasa 2 after it and so on. This is the easiest way to distinguish where every note should beon the staff.

Then there were scales...


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Every scale consists of a series of whole and half steps. The arrangement of the wholeand have steps determines the name and quality of the scale.

W=whole Step H= Half StepC Major Scale

W W H W W W HA Natural Minor Scale

W H W W H W WA Harmonic Minor

W H W W H W&H HA Melodic Minor

W H W W W W H W W H W W H W

Aside from letter name, the notes of the scale also go by: Tonic, supertonic, mediant,subdominant, dominant, submediant and leading tone. That would be scale degree1,2,3,4,5,6,7 respectively.


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The Key Master....Each scale whether major or minor has its own key signature attached. The keysignature is a series of sharps and flats set at the beginning of the piece that gives thepiece its overall tonality. Below is the Circle of Fifthsfor all major keys:

There is a pattern here with the order of flats and with the order of sharps. Withflats we have the following order BEADGCFan easy way to remember that is BEADGreatest Common Factor (for all of you math brains out there). BEADGCFis used tofind the order in which flats appear in a key. For example if you have BbEbyou gobackwards one flat from the last flat added and you now know the key you areworking in Bb. The next question might be, Where does F come from when I onlyhave Bb? Well the answer to that is simple, the order is circular,BEADGCFBEAGCFBEADGCF. It is very similar to the names of the notes, you never

go past G, now you never go past F you just keep repeating the pattern. The order ofsharps is very similar the only difference is that it is backwards. We start on F and endon B. The easy way to determine the name of the key in sharps is to go up a half stepfrom the last sharp. Therefore, if we haveF#as our last sharp we go up a half step andwe get the key of G


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Using the key to unlock intervals...Once you have an understanding of key it is easy to determine the relationship of

two notes played together or one after another. On the AP Theory exam, you will beexpected to use this knowledge both aurally and visually.The types of intervals are as follows Unison, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth,Seventh and Octave. After you determine the distance between two notes you need to

decide whether they are Perfect, Major, Minor, Diminished or Augmented.

If the notes that are played together or in sequence are in the given key then theywill be Perfect or Major. Once we involve accidents we will delve into the minordiminished and augmented intervals.

P=perfect M=major m=minor o =diminished +=augmented

PP +P m2 M2 +2

m3 M3 +3 o4 M4

+4 o5 P5 +5 m6

M6+

6 m7 M7o

8

P8


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The minor circle...Now that we have a better understanding of intervals we can take into consideration the

minor forms of all scales. Each major key is shared by a minor key. A key that shares the same keybut is a different name is called Relative Minorfor example C Major is the same key signature forA minor. A key that shares the same name but different key is called a Parallel Minor, for exampleC major and C minor(major key of Eb). If we want to find the relative minor we go up a major 6thand that gives us the new minor key. If we want to find out the parallel minor key signature we go

up a minor 3rdand we arrive at the key signature. For example if we go up a minor 3rdfrom C weend up at Eb, which gives us our key signature for C minor. See below for further clarification.

Here is our major key, if we go up a major 6thwefind the relative minor scale that shares the samekey signature. In the case of C the M6 is A

A minor shares the same key signature with Cmajor therefore we consider them relative keys

Here is our major key, if we go up a minor 3rdwefind the parallel minor that shares the same Tonic(C). In this case of C the m3 is Eb

C minor shares the key signature with Eb majorbut it starts on C so we call it C minor. Since bothscales start on C we call them parallel.


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And then there were three...Once you have developed an understanding of interval relationship the next step is understandingchords. A chord is made up of three notes played at the same time. Chords share the samedescriptions as intervals: major, minor, augmented or diminished. When we refer to a chord withone of the previous descriptions, we refer to its Quality.

C Major C minor C diminished C augmented(M3, P5) (m3, P5) (m3, o5) (M3, +5)

An easy way to think about intervals and chords is to take a look at a piano key board. The C scale aswe know consists of all the white keys: CDEFGABC. If we look back at the interval sheet and thechord chart we notice that a major/perfect interval or the major chord consists of notes that are nativeto the scale. Any variation on the scale and we deal with flats and sharps

Aural Perception....Now that you understand the makeup of major and minor scales, intervals and triads you need todevelop an aural understanding of their Quality. On the AP Music Theory exam, you must listento scales, intervals, chords and melodic lines and transcribe them for credit. With this in mind, I

recommend that you visit www.MusicTheory.net. This website has trainers that will help youdevelop an ear for interval, scale and chord quality. MusicTheory.net also offers a note, key, intervaland triad trainers so that you can visually identify them as well as aurally. I highly recommend theuse of this website throughout the course. The website is also available to download if you do nothave a high-speed internet connection. The earlier you start to practice your aural skills the betteroff you will be!!!

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