I love the reddit community. This sub has helped me immensely has I navigate my way through EDM production, so I'm giving back to the community in my own way. I'm pretty new to the specifics of production but I know music theory like the back of my hand, so without further delay, I give you my guide to music theory.
{Notes and Scales}
In western music, there are twelve tones or notes that make up pretty much all the music we hear on a regular basis. These are the twelve tones: (C)(C#/Cb)(D)(D#/Eb)(E)(F)(F#/Gb)(G)(G#/Ab)(A)(A#/Bb)(B), then back to (C)
The way we know which of these notes to use in our music is in reference to two main scales, which are sequences of 7 tones. These scales are known as Major and Minor. The intervals between the individual notes of a scale are called half steps (H) and whole steps (W). Half steps are also known as semitones and whole steps are also known as whole tones. A half step is the interval between one note and its closest adjacent notes; for example, a half step up from (D) is (D#/Eb) and a half step down from (D) is (C#/Db). To say that a note is sharp (#) or flat (b) means that it is a half step up or down. A whole step is made of two half steps; for example, a whole step up from (D) is (E) and a whole step down from (D) is (C).
To make a major scale, pick a starting note and apply this series of intervals: WWHWWWH ex. C Major=(C)(D)(E)(F)(G)(A)(B)
To make a minor scale, pick a starting note and apply this series of intervals: WHWWHWW ex. C Minor=(C)(D)(Eb)(F)(G)(Ab)(Bb)
The individual notes of a scales are known as scale degrees and are denoted by number. ex. in C Major, (C)=scale degree 1, (D)=2, (E)=3, etc. This is important to know when we move onto chords.
Scales are also known as keys, so saying that we're using, for example, the A Major scale is the same as saying we're in the key of A Major. Parallel keys have the same starting note (or the same tonic) but use a different collection of notes; for example, C Major is the parallel major key of C Minor. Relative keys have a different starting note (or different tonic) but use the same collection of notes; for example A Minor is the relative minor of C Major. If we apply the series of intervals in the minor scale with (A) as our starting point, we get (A)(B)(C)(D)(E)(F)(G), which are the same notes used in C Major.
Using the term key as opposed to scale helps us immediately denote which scale degrees are sharp or flat in any given scale. A key signature tells us how many sharps or flats are in a key; if we have 3 flats, then we know that we are in Eb Major or C Minor. We know this because a chart known as the circle of fifths helps us correlate the number of sharps or flats we have to major and minor keys.
The Circle of Fifths (with relative Major and minor keys) C#M/A#m=7 sharps (F#, C#, G#, D#, A#, E#, B#) F#M/D#m=6 sharps (F#, C#, G#, D#, A#, E#) BM/G#m=5 sharps (F#, C#, G#, D#, A#) EM/C#m=4 sharps (F#, C#, G#, D#) AM/F#m=3 sharps (F#, C#, G#) DM/Bm=2 sharps (F#, C#) GM/Em=1 sharp (F#) CM/Am=0 sharps and flats FM/Dm=1 flat (Bb) BbM/Gm=2 flats (Bb, Eb) EbM/Cm=3 flats (Bb, Eb, Ab) AbM/Fm=4 flats (Bb, Eb, Ab, Db) DbM/Bbm=5 flats (Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb) GbM/Ebm=6 flats (Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Cb) CbM/Abm=7 flats (Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Cb, Fb)
Every scale has to some sort of (C), some sort of (D), some sort of (E), etc. There cannot be, for example, both an (G) and an (Gb) in a scale. Instead we would call that (Gb) an (F#) because they sound the same (notes that sound the same but can go by different names are called enharmonic equivalents). Knowing this we can use the circle of fifths to create any Major or minor scale. Let's take D Major. We start with all our notes unaltered without repeating a letter: (D)(E)(F)(G)(A)(B)(C). Then we apply the key signature for D Major that the circle of fifths dictates, which is (F#) and (C#): (D)(E)(F#)(G)(A)(B)(C#). If we check this against our series of intervals for a major scale, we get the same collection of 7 notes.
Nerdy music joke btw: what do you get when you drop a piano down a mine shaft? Abm (A flat minor)
{Intervals}
This section might be of particular interest to EDM producers.
We've already gone over the basics of intervals, namely half steps (commonly known as semitones in production terms) and whole steps. All intervals are best understood in terms of half steps/semitones because they are the most germinal cells of tonality (in western music theory). Intervals can be Major, minor, Perfect, Augmented or diminished. Augmented is essentially a semitone higher than Major and diminished is essentially a semitone lower than minor.
These are all the simple intervals:
Unison (1) Second (2) Third (3) Fourth (4) Fifth (5) Sixth (6) Seventh (7) Octave (8)
There are intervals larger than octaves known as compound intervals, but they are essentially an octave plus another simple interval. We'll just stick to the simple intervals.
Unisons, Fourths, Fifths and Octaves are known as Perfect intervals and are notated as P1, P4, P5 and P8. A Perfect Unison is essentially only one note; technically, its the same note being played by two or more things at the same time. A Perfect Octave is the same note played either higher or lower than the original note. For example, if you play an (E) and then play an (E) an octave higher, they will both sound an (E) but the second (E) will be higher in pitch.
Seconds, Thirds, Sixths and Sevenths can be Major or minor intervals. A Second is either a half step [m2] or a whole step [M2]. The Third, Sixth, and Seventh are the difference between a Major and minor scale. Let's look previously to when we made C Major and C Minor using the series of intervals in the Major and minor scales. The differences between them are in scale degrees 3, 6 and 7. (C) to (E) is a Major third [M3], (C) to (A) is a Major sixth [M6], and (C) to (B) is a Major [M7]. Likewise, (C) to (Eb) is a minor third [m3], (C) to (Ab) is a minor sixth [m6] and (C) to (Bb) is a minor seventh [m7].
Here's a list of all the simple intervals in terms of semitones:
P1: 0 semitones, m2: 1 semitone, M2: 2 semitones, m3: 3 semitones, M3: 4 semitones, P4: 5 semitones, tritone: 6 semitones, P5: 7 semitones, m6: 8 semitones, M6: 9 semitones, m7: 10 semitones, M7: 11 semitones, P8: 12 semitones,
Since there are only 12 tones possible, it makes sense that when you go up 12 semitones from a starting note (not counting the starting note) you run out of different possible notes and return to one you start with but up an octave.
The tritone is interesting. As known as an Augmented 4th [A4] or a diminished 5th [d5], it comes exactly between a P1 and P8 and is the most dissonant interval to our western ears. It naturally occurs between scale degrees 7 and 4 in Major (2 and 6 in minor) and it typically resolves by moving its two scale degrees inward or outward by half step. Using parallel tritones creates a truly hellish sound.
{Chords}
Generally, chords are made by stacking 3rds and have three main parts: the root (R), the third (3rd) and the fifth (5th). The root is the lowest note and names the chord; for instance, a chord whose lowest note is (F) is some kind of F chord. The 3rd is either a m3 or an M3 above the root, and the 5th is almost always a P5 (sometimes a d5 or A5) above the root and is always a m3 or M3 above the 3rd.
There are four main times of chords: Major, minor, diminished and Augmented
Major: R+M3+P5 (common) minor: R+m3+P5 (common) diminished: R+m3+d5 (rare, the fifth is a tritone) Augmented: R+M3+A5 (completely theoretical)
You can also stack another third on top of the fifth to create a 7th chord, named so because it creates an interval of a 7th against the root. Major chords can have a M7 or m7 on top, but minor chords can only have an m7. Diminished chords have a m7 or d7. 7th chords can really add a lot of depth to your sound so I encourage you to experiment with these chords.
Let's put this into practical application. Let's take Bb Major and look it in two octaves for reference: (Bb)(C)(D)(Eb)(F)(G)(A)(Bb)(C)(D)(Eb)(F)(G)(A). If we want to build a chord on scale degree 1 (Bb), then we start with (Bb) as our root, add scale degree 3 (D) because that's a third above the root, and then add scale degree 5 (F) because that's a fifth above scale degree 1 and a third above scale degree 3. This is a Bb Major chord. If we want to build a chord on scale degree 5 (F), then (F) is the root, scale degree 7 (A) is the third, and scale degree 2 (C) is the fifth. This is a F Major chord
Now we will learn the general functions of chords.
In both Major and minor keys, there are a total of seven diatonic chords, meaning we have seven naturally occurring chords. I say this because we could alter our scale degrees temporarily to get different chords, but that's for a more advanced installment. Anyway, these seven chords are three Major, three minor, and one diminished chord.
Chords are notated with Roman numerals. Capital numerals denote major chords (ex. VII), lowercase denotes minor chords (vii) and lowercase with a little circle denotes diminished chords (viio). The number tells us which scale degree is the root of the chord. In our recent example involving the key of Bb Major, the F Major chord we built on scale degree 5 on would look like V.
Here's the list of chords in Major keys: I, ii, iii, IV, V, vi, viio
and likewise in minor keys: i, iio, III, iv, v, VI, VII
Now here's the part I feel is most useful to new EDM producers
These chords can be categorized into three different functions: tonic, subdominant and dominant. Tonic chords embody a sense of home and act as the focal point of the music (I or i are the quintessential tonic chords). Subdominant chords build preliminary tension and lead the music away from the tonic. Dominant chords contain the most amount of harmonic tension and create a drive or longing for the tonic (V is the quintessential dominant chord).
I can't stress this enough: the relationship between these three different types of chords is at the heart of western music. Music is essentially a road map of how we leave our tonal home plate and come back around to it.
Here's how the different chords fit into these three different functions (for both Major and minor)
Major Tonic: I, vi; Major Subdominant: IV, ii, vi; Major Dominant: V, viio
(iii is a weird chord. It generally goes to vi or IV but can also go to ii or V)
minor Tonic: i, III; minor Subdominant: iv, VI, iio; minor Dominant: v, VII, iio
(try raising the third of v to V, it creates a stronger pull to i)
There you have it. These are the basics of music theory I think every music producer should know. There's a lot of more advanced stuff in music theory but that's best left for another installment, if there is to be another one. Feel free to ask any questions!
Submitted September 19, 2017 at 11:04PM by ShitBirdMusic https://www.reddit.com/r/edmproduction/comments/717you/a_comprehensive_guide_to_basic_music_theory_for/?utm_source=ifttt