Spring Lesson 1: Acadiana Conservatory

This was the material covered in my first lesson of the spring. An explanation of the terms & ideas presented in this first part will follow below. The lesson was for jazz piano & it should be noted that is what this lesson contains; there are differences between jazz piano & classical piano terms.

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Three Main Parts of Music:

• Melody - succession of tones
• Harmony - stacking of tones
• Rhythm - succession of pulses in metered time

Tone/Pitch - Vibrations per second

Tertian Chord Structure - every other note or pitch; 3rds

Major Scale - 1(w) 2(w) 3(h) 4(w) 5(w) 6(w) 7(h) 8/1 - w - whole step - h - half step

Key Chords:

• I - major - 1 3 5
• II - minor - 2 4 6
• III - minor - 3 5 7
• IV - major - 4 6 8/1
• V - major - 5 7 9/2
• VI - minor - 6 8 10/3
• VII - diminished - 7 9/2 11/4

Jazz Chords:

• X - major triad - 1 3 5
• Xm - minor triad - 1 b3 5
• Xsus - suspended - 1 4 5
• Xres - resolution - 1 3 5
• X7 - seventh/dominant seventh - 1 3 5 b7
• Xmaj.7 - major seventh - 1 3 5 7
• Xm7 - minor seventh - 1 b3 5 b7
• X6 - sixth - 1 3 5 6 (exception to tertian system)
• Xm6 - minor sixth - 1 b3 5 6
• Xdim - X° - diminished seventh - 1 b3 5 bb7 (7th same as 6th; noted in tertian)

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The lesson began with an assessment of what I knew about piano and music. The teacher was put in somewhat of a difficult position as he had to generate a lesson out of thin air; I was neither a beginner nor an advanced student & had a very specific set of needs for our time together. That being said, he did an excellent job of going through an augmented beginning lesson and getting me straight into some material that I could use and understand immediately.

He covered the three main parts of music emphasizing that rhythm was the most important aspect to be able to grasp. Rhythm, as he explains, is a series of pulses in metered time. This is similar to a heartbeat. If you listen, you will notice that one beat is stronger than the other. This creates a rhythm. Without this pulse, something is lost; a series of pitches can be in metered time but without some variation on thier intensity - without creating a "pulse" - your music will be lifeless and bland.

The term note or pitch is important to understand. In fact there can be some ambiguity about the exact definition of note or pitch. Pitch is measured in vibrations per second; you can hear a pitch. A note is a written symbol on a page; you cannot hear a note. These terms are interchangeable and anyone would understand what you meant that had a basic knowledge of music theory, but there seems to be some importance of making the distinction - there is a connection that is made once you take the time to consciously realise that what you hear is vibrations per second, not paper, in your ear.

The tertian chord structure simply tells us that our chords will be made up of every other note or thirds. In the jazz chords that I listed below the tertian definition, you'll notice the 6th chord does not follow this structure; it is an exception to the rule. You should also note that in the diminished chord the double flatted seventh is the same as the sixth, however it has been noted in tertian form.

The major scale form shows us the basic formula for any major scale - progressing up by whole steps except between 3 & 4 and 7 & 8 where there are half steps.

The key chords show us how the triad can be moved up through the range of a scale.

The jazz chords are all the standard jazz chord forms.

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The lesson will be revised - please leave comments/suggestions/insight