Tetrachords all scales pdf

Understanding and mastering the tetrachord guitar tricks. All above five tetrachords may be com bined b y all f our ways of co m binat ion. The four tetrachords that we explored in chapter 7 were all examples of added note tetrachords. Lydian scalewhole tone tetrachord, major tetrachord on 5th. C, d, e, f, g, a, b, and then c again divide into two four note scale segments called tetrachords. Later, the same teacher played the 1936 havana recording ofjulian carrillospreludio a colon to our class, ostensibly to demonstrate the sorry condition of modern music, but i found the piece to be one of almost supernatural beauty, and virtually the only interesting music pre sented the entire semester. Guide to playing twelve major scales with three fournote patterns on the diminished layout chromatic harmonica fig. Tetrachord application ex 1a1d if you look at these examples you will see the four main patterns major, minor, phrygian and lydian of tetrachords. These piano scales will later help us to understand the structure and logic of a melody and the logic and function of each chord, deriving from a certain scale. Yesterday i discussed the byzantine scales and their construction from two equal tetrachords.

Again, flip back and visualize this pattern on the piano keyboard. This is called the ascending form of the melodic minor scale. Therefore this weeks article will go over tetrachords in the melodic minor and how those also apply to the harmonic minor. Synthetic scales from tetrachords of altered modes part. In the previous article you learned that lydian tetrachords were absent from the modes of the melodic minor scale. Importance of mode tetrachords in the tonal and modal music. Play the 12 tetrachords 48 notes slowly at each quarter note equal to one beat per second mm60. Well, if we only allow whole tones and semitones, and. Some definitions of tetrachords require that the four notes of a tetrachord have to be within the range of a perfect fourth 5 halfsteps.

Pdf importance of mode tetrachords in the tonal and modal. Scales and scale studies for the violin edition peters. There is a whole step between the two tetrachords in a major scale. The above example shows the a major scale as played all on the gstring. How knowing about tetrachords and major scales can help you. Here is the pattern of whole steps and half steps for a major scale. A major scale is nothing more than 2 tetrachords joined together by a whole step. Tetrachord, musical scale of four notes, bounded by the interval of a perfect fourth an interval the size of two and onehalf steps, e. There are a total of 66 seven tone heptatonic scale formulas for equitempered systems out of which we. The formation of heptatonic scales from tetrachords was mentioned. In case, tetrachords systems which constitute the basis of modes also constitute the major stones of tonality. The basic tetrachords, and other melodic patterns modules 1 and 2 are about jazz basics. The simplest minor scale is the same as the major scale but with a minor third instead of a major third. Here is a pdf of the 17 important jazz scales in tetrachords.

Therefore an eight note scale would be made of two fournote tetrachords. Our site includes quizzes, games, lessons, worksheets and other resources for teachers and students. The scales and melodic patterns in the thesaurus are systematized in a manner convenient to. The modes of the major scale are made up of two tetrachords, and there are four main patterns, which i list below. A command of the major scales is where it all begins. In this work we provide an original approach to the classification of seven tone scales from the view point of composition and improvization.

I have students work on tetrachords so they have the basic intervals under their fingersand then combine the tetrachords for the full scales. I have students work on tetrachords so they have the basic intervals under their fingersand then combine the tetrachords for the full scales, as you describe here. Of scales and tetrachords spin, strangeness, and charm. Understanding tetrachord shapes and the tetrachord cycle provides an efficient way to master scale arpeggio patterns. The key of a minor plus the sharp keys in key signature sequence. If you start the major scale on g, you need an accidental a sharp to keep the same pattern. All of the scales jazz musicians typically use are made up of two tetrachords. Identify the major scales to which the following pitch collections would belong. Melodic minor tetrachord method mikes master classes. The work explores the use of tetrachords to practice scale work over a standard ii, v, i, vi progression with several different chord qualities substituted for v chords. They strengthen your pinky finger and get you used to playing the kind of patterns and intervals that youll frequently encounter when you start learning basic scales like pentatonic and blues. In other words, which scale or scales would include all of the notes in each collection. All major scales have a total of 8 notes that begin and end on the same note. The only 2 other tetrachord shapes are used for chromatic scales all halfsteps and the upper half of the melodic form of a minor scale.

Tetrachords are chords of four notes that are bound within an interval of a perfect fourth. Major scales are the yardstick by which all music is analyzed. This material initially consists of learning the tetrachords for anyone who cant play all 12 scales with legitimate understanding and beyond motor memory. Tetrachords are physically easier to grab on the bass than full, 7note scales. Guide to playing twelve major scales with three fournote. Here is a pdf of the 16 most important scales in jazz and their corresponding. A tetrachord a group of four notes arranged whole step, whole step, half step and written on four adjacent lines and spaces on the staff is a four note pattern consisting of whole step an interval of two half steps, a tone whole step half step a semitone, the octave is divided into twelve half steps. What happens if we do construct tetrachords that span a perfect fourth, but only allow whole tones and semitones, and we allow two different tetrachords in the scale.

This is also valuable to do for double bass players. The pdf version is one of several exercises that are part of the work in vcm. While the major scales are important, they are only the beginning. Major scales consist of two tetrachords, an upper and a lower one, separated by a tone. How to build the sharp scales music reading savant. As with all of randys classes, there is no filler material here, just all pure instruction straight from randy to you. In the last tetrachord lesson we went over the concept of tetrachords and how they change the way we think about scale patterns. Classically, the characteristic interval is a ditone or a major third, and the two smaller intervals are quarter tones, e. There are two tetrachords in the major scale, each with the same order half and wholesteps. This pattern ensures that, in a diatonic scale spanning more than one octave, all.

Opposing to hard and strict rules of western music, makam tetrachords in eastern music do not remain in the same place, and further show differences as descending and ascending scales. Ag f e whatever the tuning of the tetrachord, its four degrees are named, in ascending order, hypate, parhypate, lichanos or hypermese. Later, the same teacher played the 1936 havana recording ofjulian carrillospreludio a colon to our class, ostensibly to demonstrate the sorry condition of modern music, but i found the piece to be one of almost supernatural beauty, and virtually. Those arrangements of whole tones and half tones, of course, also generate different tetrachords. Make your way through the quiz and worksheet, seeing how familiar you are with tetrachords in music.

An enharmonic tetrachord has a characteristic interval that is greater than about fourfifths the total tetrachord interval. C, d, e, f, g, a, b, and then c again divide into two fournote scale segments called tetrachords. In this 27minute masterclass, discover how you can use specific 4 note patterns to create all the modes of the major scale. You may be in a situation where you dont have a scale sheet listing all of the major scales for you and. Music tech teacher, music technology lessons, lessons 07. Tetrachords can be used to remember the number of sharps or flats within a major key signature. This new perspective is based in my experience as a practitioner. We can describe all seven major modes as the combinations of four. This means they must all be within five semitones, or half steps, of the base note. Mastering scales with tetrachords, part 1 learn jazz.

Working with tetrachords over ii, v, i, vi progression on. You will pay close attention as randy explains step by step how to. That is, each tetrachord could be described as being constructed from a triad based upon different notes that belonged to a scale, with an fourth note added on top of this triad see figure 715. Tetrachords are a group of four notes that make up a mini scale. Scale patterns from tetrachord combinations no treble. Therefore, all compared scales on the base of these important pitches are handled music differently in every culture.

The key of c plus the sharp keys in key signature sequence. Construct major scales on each given pitch using accidentals, not key signatures. Major scales always include two fournote groups of wwh called tetrachords. In music theory, a diatonic scale is a heptatonic scale that includes five whole steps whole tones and two half steps in each octave, in which the two half steps are separated from each other by either two or three whole steps, depending on their position in the scale. Importance of mode tetrachords in the tonal and modal. Mastering scales with tetrachords, part 2 learn jazz standards.

The lower tetrachord is the first four notes of a scale, and the upper tetrachord is the last four notes of a scale. Tetrachords can actually be thought of as half of a scale. For now, that is all we need to know, but you will find a chart of all the intervals on the accompanying pdf file. In this 43 minute video rich explains the importance of memorizing the major scales and demonstrates the formula to construct them through several keys. How i finally learned, really learned, my diminished scales. In ancient greek music the descending tetrachord was the basic unit of analysis, and scale systems called the greater perfect system and the lesser perfect system were formed by joining successive tetrachords. The chords could have come first, and often do, but chords and scales or modes are always linked in the jazz world. Pdf importance of mode tetrachords in the tonal and. A tetrachord is a series of four notes having a pattern of. Music theory video 203 explaining tetrachords and major scales. This one is accompanied by several audio tracks, all with trio played with two different grooves. Scales tetrachords are a fantastic prerequisite for learning scales. Its important to know about tetrachords and how they create our major scales so that you have the skills to figure out any major scale you want to play.

This file is licensed under the creative commons attributionshare alike 4. It is easy to hear how the character of the scale comes from the. In that lesson the focus was the major modes and a question was posted asking about the melodic minor and harmonic minor modes. The major scale is constructed using a series of whole steps and half steps.