Tonality: Scales & Chords

This lesson is part of the Fundamentals of Sound & Music module.

Objectives

• Students will understand the fundamental concepts of tonality and scales, including terminology like “pentatonic” and “heptatonic.”
• Student will learn the distinction between different scale types (number of notes, steps/semitones)
• Students will be familiar with concepts of dissonance and consonance in regards to harmony, and with common harmonic terminology such as tertial, quartal, triad and tetrad.
• Student will be able to identify scale notes for any melody
• Student will be able to surmise a tonic for simple tonal melodies
• Student will comprehend the difference between tonal and non-tonal (or atonal) music

Resources

Readings

• "What is tonality?" (The Tonal Centre).
• "Collections and Scales." (Open Music Theory).
• M. McFerron. "Tonal Music." (Big Composer).
• "Five Notes Will Change Your Life: The Pentatonic Scale." (Musical U).
• Piano Scales.Org:
  • Piano Pentatonic Scales
  • Piano Blues Scales
  • "Exotic" Scales

Videos & Listening

• "B. McFerrin demonstrates the power of the pentatonic scale." (World Science Festival Youtube).

Tools

The Tonal Centre

Class Activities

• Discussion and demonstration of the concepts of tonality and tonal centers
• Discussion and demonstration of scale subsets within a particular tuning system
• Discussion and demonstration of different sizes and types of chords
• Scalar analysis of different melodies

Assignments

• Analysis of a piece of music for tonic, scale
• Analysis of chords (presented aurally or in protonotation)