Music Theory Quiz - 1 - Goldsmth's Blog

Hey, dude! You read every time only some particular concepts, this time for a change, you get info in the form of a quiz. This quiz is about music theory. But before that, let me explain to you what music theory is all about.

The study of the practices and possibilities of music is Music Theory. The term "music theory" interrelates three uses:

The Rudiments - to understand music notation
Learning scholars' views on music from antiquity to the present
A sub-topic of musicology that "seeks to define processes and general principles in music"

Will update 5 music theory questions and answers for quizzes with detailed explanation. Let me begin the quiz!

What is major and minor in music?

Answer: Major and minor are the greater and lesser versions of certain intervals used to describe the difference between music in a major key (music whose scale contains a major third upward from its "tonic," the starting note, so that the basic tonic chord is major) and music in a minor key (whose tonic chord is minor, since the scale on a minor third from the starting note). The larger third that defines the major triad has a different emotional quality, it seems, from that of the smaller minor third that distinguishes the minor triad.

There are other differences between the major and minor scales, but the key is that tonic chord to which the music returns home so often. "Home" in the first case is an optimistic, lighthearted major triad, and in the other case is a tragic ominous forlorn minor.

Which beat gets stressed when playing a 5/4 time signature?

Answer: The first note of the measure is prominent in every meter. 5/4 is 5/4 because it gives the impression that the grouped music is in fives, so the emphasized first note will be harmonically or melodically.

But there are secondary accents, too. Just as in 4/4 time, the primary emphasis is on the 1 but a secondary accent is on the 3, so in 5/4 there's a secondary accent. But just where it ends up can vary, which is one of the neat things about 5/4.

Let's take the most famous of five-four pieces, Paul Desmond's "Take Five:" I'll simplify the tune here so that the organization is easier to see (leaving out grace notes). A metric accent doesn't mean there's a big bump on that beat, but that it's set off: a change of harmony, a melodic shift, a phrase break. The 16th-note figures below make an accent, as does the beginning of the slurred pair of quarter notes in the first full measure. But notice that the 5th beat is with an accent in one measure, which adds a little ambiguity:

This theme is to group together as 3 + 2, giving some emphasis to the 4th beat and the 1st.

5/4 music can also group together as 2 + 3, or in varying groups, so the secondary accent will depend on the piece.

5/4 is fun partly because it goes against our natural tendency to think in strictly duplex or triple; it mixes the two and makes it hard to keep in your mind at first. I used to live in a place where a neighbour came out on his balcony many summer evenings to play "Take Five" on his saxophone. In 4/4 time. He did it something like this:

My theory was that he played it so often because he was thinking: this still isn't right, somehow, can't put my finger on why. It takes some time to get the more quirky meter in your head.

What do you mean by “sixth chord”?

Answer: A "sixth chord," also called the "added sixth chord," in modern terms is a major triad with the interval of a sixth added (as measured from the root of the chord). You've got your root tone, then the third, then a fifth, and finally that extra topping of the sixth. This chord has a jazzy sound, and you often hear it as the final chord of a jazz number. The major sixth is the most common one: a major triad with a major sixth:

There's always some confusion of terminology here regarding traditional music theory. I regard Wikipedia as mistaken in its description of the "Sixth Chord." The author of the Wikipedia article says a sixth chord is "any chord or meaningful combination of notes that contain the interval of a sixth." But an ordinary triad in the first inversion contains the interval of a sixth, and it is not a "sixth chord:"

In traditional music theory that could be a "six" chord, but only in the sense that the figured bass for a first inversion triad is "6." There are still only three pitch classes: the root, third, and fifth. Since the third is in the bass, the interval of a sixth is between the bass and the root. But a genuine guaranteed "sixth chord" is one that contains the interval of a sixth above its root.

Perhaps more confusingly, a minor seventh chord uses the same tones as the major sixth chord, and if it's in the first inversion, it is identical with the modern sixth chord. But in classical theory, there is really no such thing as a sixth chord, so if that combination of notes appears it's a minor seventh.

So, if you're analyzing a classical piece you won't identify any chord as a sixth chord, though you found some "six" chords, i.e. first inversion triads, and some minor seventh chords. But if you're writing a modern song, you might use a sixth chord, even as a final. Does it matter? It does, everything makes a difference.

Your purpose in analyzing the classical piece was to understand the composer's intention, and in those days the composer's intention would have been to add a seventh to a minor chord, and the seventh is probably going to "resolve" as sevenths do.

In the modern era in pop or jazz, the composer was probably thinking of a sixth chord, often with the fourth degree or the tonic as root, and in that case, there is no seventh and nothing to resolve; this is decoration.

What is the difference between a major and minor interval?

Answer: The major intervals are the larger ones - the words basically just mean "large" and "small."

There are 4 interval types that can be major or minor:

3rds (major and minor thirds, like C upward to E or D upward to F)

6ths (upside-down thirds, like E upward to C or F upward to D).

2nds (like C up to D or E up to F)

7ths (upside-down seconds, like D up to C or F up to E)

There's an emotional implication too, especially with thirds and sixths. The major thirds and sixths are traditional as being positive or "happy" while the minor thirds and sixths are with darker moods, perhaps because the ear can tell the minor intervals are just a tad short of being what they could be: the major intervals are acoustically stronger. This acoustic characteristic is the most pronounced in the thirds, then the sixths and seconds. The minor and major 7ths don't have quite the same associations.

So, how can you tell? If you're telling by looking, you'll begin by being aware of the size of each interval as measured in half steps (the smallest step on the piano). A minor third like D-F covers three half steps. A major one like C-E covers four half steps. Minor sixths are a fourth plus a minor third, major sixths are a fourth plus a major third; a minor second is the smallest step you can make on a piano, while a major second covers two such steps.

And after a while, you just know those without counting.

(The terms "second" and "third" refer to the number of letter names included in the interval. A second is two names, C-D, or E-F... a third covers three: C (D) E, or D (E) F... but C-D is bigger than E-F and C-E are bigger than D-F).

To tell by ear, you begin by learning the difference in sound between a major triad and a minor one. The major triad (such as C-E-G) begins with a major third; after a bit, it will be plain to you whenever you hear a major third that this could be the start of a major triad. Same for a minor third as part of a minor triad (like D-F-A). It also helps to step to the interval as part of a scale or tune: Are you Sleeping, Brother John - if you remember that - outlines a major third: C, D, E, C, C, D, E, C... The old movie and even older TV Series theme "Dragnet" is very similar for the minor third: C, D, Eb, C...

What does a cadence mean?

Answer: A cadence is a melodic or harmonic formula that occurs at the end of a composition, a section, or a phrase, conveying the impression of a momentary or permanent conclusion. Any piece of tonal music will have lots of places where the real or implied harmony would be a dominant chord (V) followed by a tonic chord (I or i) but that harmonic change is a cadence if it's at the end of a musical phrase.

We'll need a few examples.

A very final sort of cadence is one that presents or at least implies in its melody the movement V-I or V-i (the chord built on the 5th or dominant degree of the scale, followed by the tonic chord). That's the authentic cadence.

There's also the half cadence, which ends on the V chord and feels "unfinished." And there's the plagal cadence, also called the "amen" cadence, of IV - I. You could distinguish further subtypes of these, but mainly you need to be aware of the authentic, the half, and the plagal cadences. The following tune ought to be familiar (if not, it's in the traditional songs section of our Music Library). The first phrase ends with a half cadence:

And the next phrase has a more conclusive-sounding authentic cadence:

As for the plagal cadence, just think of "amen" - if you've ever been in a church you'll know that one. In the key of C you'd play the chord F (IV) and then I (C). The melody will usually move from F to E, the middle note of the C chord.

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