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The best keys are: Eb, Bb and F concert. Secondary keys are: G, C and D concert. Notably bad keys are: A and E concert.
A and E concert are strange keys to the orchestra. Colourful pedal notes allude you when you use these keys. The keys are also out of favour with transposing instruments. E concert transposes Eb instruments to six sharps and Bb instruments to seven sharps. Just a semitone higher than E, Eb concert is a wonderful key for colour, transposes Eb instruments to C and Bb instruments to F. Avoid keys that put instruments playing sharps alongside instruments playing flats. In this syllabus we talk of F# and Gb as the same note. This is true for tempered instruments like the piano. For instruments in the violin and brass families where the note is felt for, F# and Gb are subtly different. Concert Key Transposing instruments Bb Eb F G C D A G F G A E D C D E B A G A B F# E D E F# C# B A B C# Ab F# E F# Ab Eb C# B C# Eb Bb Ab F#
Good or Bad ?
Concert Key
Bb
Eb
Ab
Db
Gb
Cb
Transposing instruments
Bb Eb F G
D A G F
G D C Bb
C G F Eb
F C Bb Ab
Bb F Eb Db
Eb Bb Ab Gb
Ab Eb Db Cb
Db Ab Gb E
Good or Bad ?
Music Theory
"Become an arranger first, then an orchestrator, and then a composer." - Joe Paparone
Joe Paparone is an Australian music arranger of the highest international calibre. Allow him to share 35 years of real world experiences with you.
Baby stuff
Preliminaries The Grand Stave Scaling the heights Tones and semitones Enharmony and accidentals
Scales
Diatonic Scales How to make a diatonic scale The 15 diatonic scales The magic number 7 Diatonic 4ths and 5ths Tetrachords More in the positions
Keys
Key signatures and accidentals 15 key signatures to 15 diatonic scales The diatonic scale on the stave Accidentals, the principal name The best accidental
Colour
Key, colour and orchestration The score Transposition Good keys / Bad keys
MusicArrangers.com
Transposition
These instruments play in a different key to the piano. They are transposing instruments.
Bb trumpet French horn (F) Alto saxophone (Eb) Tenor saxophone (Bb) Cor anglais (F) Bb clarinet
Before you can write for a transposing instrument you need to know
its key any octave shifts in the transposition the clef the player is expected to read.
You can look this information up in the Musical Instruments Reference. You can read more about transposition underneath.
Bb trumpet transposes a tone above concert. 1. Transpose the key signature a tone above concert. Eb concert transposes up to F. 2. Transpose each note up a tone. C concert transposes up to D. D concert transposes up to E. Eb concert transposes up to F. As an aid, write the diatonic scale of the concert key above the diatonic scale of the transposed key. The top row of notes transposes to the bottom row. Concert key Transposes up to Eb F G A Bb C D Eb F G A Bb C D E F
Write the diatonic scale of the concert key above the diatonic scale of the transposed key. Concert key Transposes up to Eb F G A Bb C D Eb F G A Bb C D E F
Each note transposes up a tone. B natural is not in the diatonic scale of the concert key. B natural transposes up a tone to C#. Tip: If a note is altered from the key signature in the concert key it will also be altered from the key signature in the transposed key. Bb trumpet part transposed
Music Theory
"Become an arranger first, then an orchestrator, and then a composer." - Joe Paparone
Joe Paparone is an Australian music arranger of the highest international calibre. Allow him to share 35 years of real world experiences with you.
Baby stuff
Preliminaries The Grand Stave Scaling the heights Tones and semitones Enharmony and accidentals
Scales
Diatonic Scales How to make a diatonic scale The 15 diatonic scales The magic number 7
Keys
Key signatures and accidentals 15 key signatures to 15 diatonic scales The diatonic scale on the stave Accidentals, the principal name The best accidental
Colour
Key, colour and orchestration The score Transposition Good keys / Bad keys
MusicArrangers.com
So how do we define C? C is the easiest key for any instrument to play in. C# and Cb are the most difficult. The more sharps or flats in the key signature the more difficult the piece is to play. NB: When the piano is in the key of E (4 sharps) alto saxophone is in the key of C# (seven sharps) so E is not a good key for a piano and alto saxophone duet. Let's hear this melody played by a variety of instruments.
An absolute identifier of pitch is Concert Pitch. At the instruction to play Concert C all instruments play the same sound.
Music Theory
"Become an arranger first, then an orchestrator, and then a composer." - Joe Paparone
Joe Paparone is an Australian music arranger of the highest international calibre. Allow him to share 35 years of real world experiences with you.
Baby stuff
Scales
Diatonic Scales How to make a diatonic scale The 15 diatonic scales The magic number 7 Diatonic 4ths and 5ths Tetrachords More in the positions
Keys
Key signatures and accidentals 15 key signatures to 15 diatonic scales The diatonic scale on the stave Accidentals, the principal name The best accidental
Colour
Key, colour and orchestration The score Transposition Good keys / Bad keys
MusicArrangers.com
Why? The piano is pitched to C. The alto saxophone is pitched to Eb. Why? An orchestra with instruments pitched in different keys provides more opportunities for colour in the orchestration. So how do we define C? C is the easiest key for any instrument to play in. C# and Cb are the most difficult. The more sharps or flats in the key signature the more difficult the piece is to play. NB: When the piano is in the key of E (4 sharps) alto saxophone is in the key of C# (seven sharps) so E is not a good key for a piano and alto saxophone duet. Let's hear this melody played by a variety of instruments.
An absolute identifier of pitch is Concert Pitch. At the instruction to play Concert C all instruments play the same sound.
Music Theory
"Become an arranger first, then an orchestrator, and then a composer." - Joe Paparone
Joe Paparone is an Australian music arranger of the highest international calibre. Allow him to share 35 years of real world experiences with you.
Baby stuff
Preliminaries The Grand Stave Scaling the heights Tones and semitones Enharmony and accidentals
Scales
Diatonic Scales How to make a diatonic scale The 15 diatonic scales The magic number 7 Diatonic 4ths and 5ths Tetrachords More in the positions
Keys
Key signatures and accidentals 15 key signatures to 15 diatonic scales The diatonic scale on the stave Accidentals, the principal name The best accidental
Colour
Key, colour and orchestration The score Transposition Good keys / Bad keys
MusicArrangers.com
stick to the key signature where you can. Accidentals should deviate no more than a semitone from the key signature. If F# is in the key signature you can write Fx (double sharp) or F (natural) but not Fb. Have a good excuse ready before you write a double flat or double sharp. G is almost always preferable to Fx. Use Fx in preference to G only when G# is prevalent in the melody, or you have some other good excuse. Lean towards principal note names. Rare names like B# and Fb should be used only when there are four or more sharps (for B#) or four or more flats (for Fb) in the key signature.
In a chromatic run
write the chord so the player will recognise it. Give chords to players that use chords (guitarists, pianists and soloists). Don't worry instrumentalists with chords if they won't be needing them. Guitarists and pianists map their physical position to the chord. When they recognise the chord they relax to it. Give them the chord and you give them the freedom to improvise (unless Strict is written or implied).
Music Theory
"Become an arranger first, then an orchestrator, and then a composer." - Joe Paparone
Joe Paparone is an Australian music arranger of the highest international calibre. Allow him to share 35 years of real world experiences with you.
Baby stuff
Preliminaries The Grand Stave Scaling the heights Tones and semitones Enharmony and accidentals
Scales
Diatonic Scales How to make a diatonic scale The 15 diatonic scales The magic number 7 Diatonic 4ths and 5ths Tetrachords More in the positions
Keys
Key signatures and accidentals 15 key signatures to 15 diatonic scales The diatonic scale on the stave Accidentals, the principal name The best accidental
Colour
Key, colour and orchestration The score Transposition Good keys / Bad keys
MusicArrangers.com
Well let us do some detective work. How many key signatures is F# in? 7. How many key signatures is Gb in? 3. F# is the principal name of the F# / Gb enharmonic pair. Enharmonic names B# C C# Db D D# Eb E Fb F E# F# Gb G G# Ab A G# is in 5 key signatures Ab is in 5 key signatures D# is in 4 key signatures E is in 7 key signatures F is in 7 key signatures F# is in 7 key signatures Eb is in 6 key signatures Fb is in 1 key signature E# is in 2 key signatures Gb is in 3 key signatures The enharmonic name that appears in the greater number of key signatures is the principal name B# is in 1 key signature C# is in 6 key signatures C is in 7 key signatures Db is in 4 key signatures C C# D Eb E F F# G Ab A Principal name
A# Bb B Cb
Bb B
C# C D
Eb E F
F# G
Ab A
Bb B
Music Theory
"Become an arranger first, then an orchestrator, and then a composer." - Joe Paparone
Joe Paparone is an Australian music arranger of the highest international calibre. Allow him to share 35 years of real world experiences with you.
Baby stuff
Preliminaries The Grand Stave Scaling the heights Tones and semitones Enharmony and accidentals
Scales
The magic number 7 Diatonic 4ths and 5ths Tetrachords More in the positions
Keys
Key signatures and accidentals 15 key signatures to 15 diatonic scales The diatonic scale on the stave Accidentals, the principal name The best accidental
Colour
Key, colour and orchestration The score Transposition Good keys / Bad keys
MusicArrangers.com
With a key signature you establish the accidentals at the start of the stave. Without a key signature you define each accidental as it is played.
The key
In the key of G, F# is normal. The key signature of G is appropriate.
To write a melody without a key signature you define each accidental as it is played. Scroll down to the next illustration. Press the midi buttons to hear each illustration. Can you hear the difference? No. Can you see the difference? Yes. The melody with a key signature looks cleaner and more informative. The key signature tells the musician to expect F# and it tells the musician which key the music is in.
We can distort the look of the melody by changing the key signature. This melody sounds the same as the two above but it looks awful. It is still in the key of G. The key signature has changed to Ab.
Now shift each note up a semitone. What have we done? We have changed the key. We have changed the sound. The melody is now in the key of Ab A melody in the key of Ab looks right in the Ab key signature.
In the key of D, F# and C# are expected. When the key signature is D each unaltered F is F# and each unaltered C is C#.
for the line or space it is on until the next barline or until it is changed by another accidental
Take a close look at this example. The barline is the vertical line cutting through the stave at regular intervals. The barline measures the pulse. The music starts on AB The second note is A natural. Remember the rule: For the line or space it is on. The higher A is natural until we make it flat. The 4th and 8th notes are F#. We must repeat the sharp accidental to repeat F# because high F# is on a different part of the stave to low F#. The last note before the first barline is AB We do not put a flat in front of the note head. Trace the AB space from the first note on the stave to this note. Remember the rule: For the line or space it is on until the next barline. We had F# in the first bar. We want F natural in the second bar. This is easy to achieve. We do nothing. F# in the first bar lost its power at the barline.
Clarity
How do we define success? When a professional musician can play your music comfortably at first sight. How to we achieve success? We clarify ambiguous accidentals. A correctly written note may have no accidental at the note-head but still cause confusion. You don't want rehearsal time wasted on such questions as Is that natural or sharp? Arguments may spark along the lines of ... "Musically it could be ..." and "Yes, but I think that's a printer's error." If half the musicians play C natural and half play C# together you are in trouble. Study this example. Is the first note of bar 4 C natural or C#?
If you mean C natural put a natural accidental in brackets in front of the note head. By putting the accidental in brackets you are confirming the key signature.
tells the musician which key the music is written in and which accidentals (flat, natural, sharp) are normal to the stave.
Standard accidentals at the note head
tell the musician that this note is altered from the key signature or altered again in the bar. Do not go mad putting accidentals in front of every note head. Learn the rules. A well-written melody is one a professional can sight read perfectly at first glance. Aim to please the professional musician.
confirm the key signature where ambiguity may otherwise arise. Don't bracket accidentals which shouldn't have brackets. The accidental in brackets is always true to the key signature. It is a reminder of the key signature, never contrary to it.
Music Theory
"Become an arranger first, then an orchestrator, and then a composer." - Joe Paparone
Joe Paparone is an Australian music arranger of the highest international calibre. Allow him to share 35 years of real world experiences with you.
Baby stuff
Preliminaries The Grand Stave Scaling the heights Tones and semitones Enharmony and accidentals
Scales
Diatonic Scales How to make a diatonic scale The 15 diatonic scales The magic number 7 Diatonic 4ths and 5ths Tetrachords More in the positions
Keys
Key signatures and accidentals 15 key signatures to 15 diatonic scales The diatonic scale on the stave Accidentals, the principal name The best accidental
Colour
Key, colour and orchestration The score Transposition Good keys / Bad keys
Sharp notes enter in order F#, C#, G#, D#, A#, E#, B#. You remember this sequence from the diatonic scales. Flats enter in mirror order Bb Eb Ab Db Gb Cb Fb.
Know the C# and Cb key signatures and you know all key signatures.
C# is the key signature of 7 sharps. Cover the right most sharp. You now have the key signature of F# (6 sharps). Cover two sharps to the right. You now have the key signature of B (5 sharps). Now start with a clean stave (no key signature). A sharp on F# is the key signature of G. Another sharp over C# changes the key signature to D. Keep adding sharps in this sequence to change the key signature. Key signatures are building blocks to each other.
You must be able to recognise and write every key signature in every clef.
Flat key signatures change height but otherwise stay constant through all clefs. They change height to match the names of the notes. Bb is middle line of the treble clef and second space up on the alto clef. Sharp key signatures similarly change height through the treble, bass and alto clefs. On the tenor clef the standard pattern won't fit. The pattern is mirrored so all sharps in the pattern can fit on the clef.
Music Theory
"Become an arranger first, then an orchestrator, and then a composer." - Joe Paparone
Joe Paparone is an Australian music arranger of the highest international calibre. Allow him to share 35 years of real world experiences with you.
Baby stuff
Preliminaries The Grand Stave Scaling the heights Tones and semitones Enharmony and accidentals
Scales
Diatonic Scales How to make a diatonic scale The 15 diatonic scales The magic number 7 Diatonic 4ths and 5ths Tetrachords More in the positions
Keys
Key signatures and accidentals 15 key signatures to 15 diatonic scales The diatonic scale on the stave Accidentals, the principal name The best accidental
Colour
Key, colour and orchestration The score Transposition Good keys / Bad keys
MusicArrangers.com
Music Theory
"Become an arranger first, then an orchestrator, and then a composer." - Joe Paparone
Joe Paparone is an Australian music arranger of the highest international calibre. Allow him to share 35 years of real world experiences with you.
Baby stuff
Scales
Diatonic Scales How to make a diatonic scale The 15 diatonic scales The magic number 7 Diatonic 4ths and 5ths Tetrachords More in the positions
Keys
Key signatures and accidentals 15 key signatures to 15 diatonic scales The diatonic scale on the stave Accidentals, the principal name The best accidental
Colour
Key, colour and orchestration The score Transposition Good keys / Bad keys
MusicArrangers.com
Take for example G A B C D E F# G D E F# G A B C# D When there are two or more sharps the third is sharp. Take for example D E F# G A B C# D A B C# D E F# G# A When there are three or more sharps the sixth is sharp. Take for example A B C# D E F# G# A E F# G# A B C# D# E Only when there are seven sharps is the fourth sharp. That is the scale of C# where every note is sharp. There is an order of entry of sharps through the positions. 1 G D A E B F# C# 2 3 # # # # # # 4 5 6 7 # # # # # # # 8ve
# #
# # # #
# # #
# # # # #
# #
F# leads the way through the positions. It is the first note to be sharp in the seventh, third, sixth, second, fifth, first and fourth positions. The other sharp notes follow suit. 1 G D A E B F# C# 2 3 F# # # # # # 4 5 6 7 F# # # # # # # 8ve
F# #
F# # # #
F#
F# # #
F# # # # #
F# #
If the sharp notes enter through the 7-3-6-2-5-1-4 positions then you guessed it, the flat notes enter through the 4-1-5-2-6-3-7 positions. The flat notes are lead by Bb. 1 F Bb Eb Ab Db Gb Cb b b b b b b 2 3 4 b b b b b b b 5 6 7 8ve b b b b b b
b b b b
b b
b b b b b
b b b
1 F Bb Eb Ab Db Gb Cb Bb b b b b b
Bb b b b
Bb b
4 Bb b b b b b b
8ve Bb b b b b b
Bb b b b b
Bb b b
Bb
Music Theory
"Become an arranger first, then an orchestrator, and then a composer." - Joe Paparone
Joe Paparone is an Australian music arranger of the highest international calibre. Allow him to share 35 years of real world experiences with you.
Baby stuff
Preliminaries The Grand Stave Scaling the heights Tones and semitones Enharmony and accidentals
Scales
Diatonic Scales How to make a diatonic scale The 15 diatonic scales The magic number 7 Diatonic 4ths and 5ths Tetrachords More in the positions
Keys
Key signatures and accidentals 15 key signatures to 15 diatonic scales The diatonic scale on the stave Accidentals, the principal name The best accidental
Colour
Key, colour and orchestration The score Transposition Good keys / Bad keys
MusicArrangers.com
Tetrachords
Recall the diatonic scale formula of TTSTTTS. A tetrachord is TTS. A diatonic scale is two tetrachords separated by a tone. C D E F G A B C
T T T S Lower TetrachordXX
T T S Upper TetrachordXX
The same tetrachord will do for two diatonic scales. The lower tetrachord of C is the upper tetrachord of F. The diatonic scale of F concludes in the same way the diatonic scale of C begins, CDEF. The upper tetrachord of C is the lower tetrachord of G. The diatonic scale of G begins in the same way the diatonic scale of C ends, GABC.
MIDI tetrachords
Music Theory
"Become an arranger first, then an orchestrator, and then a composer." - Joe Paparone
Joe Paparone is an Australian music arranger of the highest international calibre. Allow him to share 35 years of real world experiences with you.
Baby stuff
Preliminaries
The Grand Stave Scaling the heights Tones and semitones Enharmony and accidentals
Scales
Diatonic Scales How to make a diatonic scale The 15 diatonic scales The magic number 7 Diatonic 4ths and 5ths Tetrachords More in the positions
Keys
Key signatures and accidentals 15 key signatures to 15 diatonic scales The diatonic scale on the stave Accidentals, the principal name The best accidental
Colour
Key, colour and orchestration The score Transposition Good keys / Bad keys
MusicArrangers.com
Diatonic intervals
Assign a number to each note of the diatonic scale. Begin on 1. End on 8. CDEFGABC 12345678
1 F# Fb 7
7 B# Bb 1
The diatonic 5th of C is G. One note in the diatonic scale of G is a semitone higher than what it is in C. C C D D E E F F# G G A B C
Step through the diatonic scales. The diatonic 4ths and 5ths are very close. G A B C D E F# C D E F F G G A B G A Bb
C C D E F
# G A B C D E F G #
C D E F G AB C
C D E F G A B C F G A B C D E F b B E B C D F G A b b b E A B E F G C D b b b b A B D E A C F G b b b b D E G A B D F C b b b b b b G A B C D E G F b b b b b b b C D E F G A B C b b b b b b b b
Music Theory
"Become an arranger first, then an orchestrator, and then a composer." - Joe Paparone
Joe Paparone is an Australian music arranger of the highest international calibre. Allow him to share 35 years of real world experiences with you.
Baby stuff
Preliminaries The Grand Stave Scaling the heights Tones and semitones Enharmony and accidentals
Scales
Diatonic Scales How to make a diatonic scale The 15 diatonic scales The magic number 7 Diatonic 4ths and 5ths Tetrachords More in the positions
Keys
Key signatures and accidentals 15 key signatures to 15 diatonic scales The diatonic scale on the stave Accidentals, the principal name The best accidental
Colour
Key, colour and orchestration The score Transposition Good keys / Bad keys
MusicArrangers.com
This makes sense. Deduce Gb by lowering the notes in G a semitone. Now raise the notes in G a semitone. Natural notes change to sharp, sharp notes change to double sharp. That is why G# does not exist as a diatonic scale. G#: G# A# B# C# D# E# Fx G#
C, C# and Cb all exist as diatonic scales. C is made of all natural notes. Natural notes can be raised a semitone without resorting to double sharps and lowered a semitone without resorting to double flats.
#s F# F# F# F# F# F# F#
C# C# C# C# C# C#
G# G# G# G# G#
D# D# D# D#
A# A# A#
E# E#
B#
Sharp notes enter in order through the diatonic scales. The note F# is in every diatonic scale with a sharp note. C# is in every diatonic scale with two or more sharps. G# is in every diatonic scale with three or more sharps. D# is in every diatonic scale with four or more sharps. A# is in every diatonic scale with five or more sharps. E# is in every diatonic scale with six or more sharps. B# is in only one diatonic scale, the diatonic scale of seven sharps.
Fb
Cb Cb
Gb Gb Gb
Db Db Db Db
Ab Ab Ab Ab Ab
Remember
>>> Enter sharp notes FCGDAEB Enter flat notes <<
Music Theory
"Become an arranger first, then an orchestrator, and then a composer." - Joe Paparone
Joe Paparone is an Australian music arranger of the highest international calibre. Allow him to share 35 years of real world experiences with you.
Baby stuff
Preliminaries The Grand Stave Scaling the heights Tones and semitones Enharmony and accidentals
Scales
Diatonic Scales How to make a diatonic scale The 15 diatonic scales The magic number 7 Diatonic 4ths and 5ths Tetrachords More in the positions
Keys
Key signatures and accidentals 15 key signatures to 15 diatonic scales The diatonic scale on the stave Accidentals, the principal name The best accidental
Colour
Key, colour and orchestration The score Transposition Good keys / Bad keys
MusicArrangers.com
All three variations of C (C natural, C flat and C sharp) can be written to a diatonic scale. For every other letter, two variations can be written. Browse the diatonic scales. Some have sharps. Some have flats. None have both sharps and flats.
C D E F G A B D E F# G A B C# E F# G# A B C# D# F G A Bb C D E G A B C D E F# A B C# D E F# G# B C# D# E F# G# A# C D E F G A B C# Db Eb F# Gb Ab Bb Cb D# Eb F G# Ab Bb C Db E# F G A# Bb C D Eb F# Gb Ab B Cb Db Eb Fb G# Ab Bb C# Db Eb F Gb A# Bb C D# Eb F G Ab B# C D E# F G A Bb C# Db Eb F# Gb Ab Bb Cb
G: D: A: E: B: F#: C#:
B F# C# G# D# A# E#
C G D A E B F#
D A E B F# C# G#
E B F# C# G# D# A#
F# C# G# D# A# E# B#
G D A E B F# C#
Dscale #s
G 1
D 2
A 3
E 4
B 5
F# 6
C# 7
A D G C F Bb Eb
Bb Eb Ab Db Gb Cb Fb
C F Bb Eb Ab Db Gb
D G C F Bb Eb Ab
E A D G C F Bb
F Bb Eb Ab Db Gb Cb
Music Theory
"Become an arranger first, then an orchestrator, and then a composer." - Joe Paparone
Joe Paparone is an Australian music arranger of the highest international calibre. Allow him to share 35 years of real world experiences with you.
Baby stuff
Preliminaries
The Grand Stave Scaling the heights Tones and semitones Enharmony and accidentals
Scales
Diatonic Scales How to make a diatonic scale The 15 diatonic scales The magic number 7 Diatonic 4ths and 5ths Tetrachords More in the positions
Keys
Key signatures and accidentals 15 key signatures to 15 diatonic scales The diatonic scale on the stave Accidentals, the principal name The best accidental
Colour
Key, colour and orchestration The score Transposition Good keys / Bad keys
MusicArrangers.com
Pick a letter from A to G, accidental natural, sharp or flat. Follow through with the natural letters of the alphabet. A T B S C T D T E S F T G T A
The pattern of tones and semitones from A to A is TSTTSTT. This is not TTSTTTS. It is not a diatonic scale. We use accidentals to make a diatonic scale. 1. The first interval of the diatonic scale is T. o Start with the first note (A). o A to B is T. o B is the second note of the diatonic scale. 2. The second interval of the diatonic scale is T. o Start with the second note (B). o B to C is S. o B to C# is T. o The third note of the diatonic scale is C#. 3. The third interval of the diatonic scale is S. o Start with the third note (C#). o C# to D is S. o The fourth note is D. 4. The fourth interval of the diatonic scale is T. o Start with the fourth note (D). o D to E is T. o The fifth note is E. 5. The fifth interval of the diatonic scale is T. o Start with the fifth note (E). o E to F is S. o E to F# is T. o The sixth note is F#. 6. The sixth interval of the diatonic scale is T. o Start with the sixth note (F#). o F# to G is S. o F# to G# is T. o The seventh note is G#. 7. The seventh interval of the diatonic scale is S. o Start with the seventh note (G#). o G# to A is S.
dB C B# D
Eb E Fb
GB F E# G
AB A
Bb B CB
Music Theory
"Become an arranger first, then an orchestrator, and then a composer." - Joe Paparone
Joe Paparone is an Australian music arranger of the highest international calibre. Allow him to share 35 years of real world experiences with you.
Baby stuff
Preliminaries The Grand Stave Scaling the heights Tones and semitones Enharmony and accidentals
Scales
Diatonic Scales How to make a diatonic scale The 15 diatonic scales The magic number 7 Diatonic 4ths and 5ths Tetrachords More in the positions
Keys
Key signatures and accidentals 15 key signatures to 15 diatonic scales The diatonic scale on the stave Accidentals, the principal name The best accidental
Colour
Key, colour and orchestration The score Transposition Good keys / Bad keys
MusicArrangers.com
Diatonic scales
The diatonic scale is a formula. tone tone semitone tone tone tone semitone (T T S T T T S)
We write it with the letters of the alphabet and sharps and flats. The diatonic scale of D is D E F# G A B C# D. D D# E F F# G G# A A# B C C# D
Eb D T
Fb E
E# T
Gb F# S
Ab G T A
Bb T
Cb B
B# T
Db C# S
Music Theory
"Become an arranger first, then an orchestrator, and then a composer." - Joe Paparone
Joe Paparone is an Australian music arranger of the highest international calibre. Allow him to share 35 years of real world experiences with you.
Baby stuff
Preliminaries The Grand Stave Scaling the heights Tones and semitones Enharmony and accidentals
Scales
Diatonic Scales How to make a diatonic scale The 15 diatonic scales The magic number 7 Diatonic 4ths and 5ths Tetrachords More in the positions
Keys
15 key signatures to 15 diatonic scales The diatonic scale on the stave Accidentals, the principal name The best accidental
Colour
Key, colour and orchestration The score Transposition Good keys / Bad keys
MusicArrangers.com
Enharmony
The ability to write the same pitch in many ways is called enharmony. F# and Gb are enharmonic.
Accidentals
A letter is natural, sharp or flat. The letter is natural unless otherwise indicated. Ab (flat) is a semitone lower than A natural. A# (sharp) is a semitone higher than A natural.
Flat Ab
Natural A
Sharp A#
A word of caution. In text the accidental follows the letter, as in Ab and A#. On the stave the accidental precedes the note head.
double flat
flat natural
sharp
double sharp
Db B# C Dbb
Fbb Cx Dx D E Ebb Fb
Gb E# F Gbb Fx G Abb
Cbb Gx Ax A B Bbb Cb
Music Theory
"Become an arranger first, then an orchestrator, and then a composer." - Joe Paparone
Joe Paparone is an Australian music arranger of the highest international calibre. Allow him to share 35 years of real world experiences with you.
Baby stuff
Preliminaries The Grand Stave Scaling the heights Tones and semitones Enharmony and accidentals
Scales
Diatonic Scales How to make a diatonic scale The 15 diatonic scales The magic number 7 Diatonic 4ths and 5ths Tetrachords More in the positions
Keys
15 key signatures to 15 diatonic scales The diatonic scale on the stave Accidentals, the principal name The best accidental
Colour
Key, colour and orchestration The score Transposition Good keys / Bad keys
MusicArrangers.com
How do we write the interval between F and G? We introduce new notation. A semitone higher than F is F#. A semitone lower than G is Gb. F# and Gb are the same pitch. They represent the semitone between F and G. The step-like alphabetic ascension of tones and semitones is familiar to all who play the piano keyboard. The Ruler of Pitch C C# D D# E F F# G G# A A# B C C# D D# E Db Eb Gb Ab Bb Db Eb
Music Theory
"Become an arranger first, then an orchestrator, and then a composer." - Joe Paparone
Joe Paparone is an Australian music arranger of the highest international calibre. Allow him to share 35 years of real world experiences with you.
Baby stuff
Preliminaries The Grand Stave Scaling the heights Tones and semitones Enharmony and accidentals
Scales
Diatonic Scales How to make a diatonic scale The 15 diatonic scales The magic number 7 Diatonic 4ths and 5ths Tetrachords More in the positions
Keys
Key signatures and accidentals 15 key signatures to 15 diatonic scales The diatonic scale on the stave Accidentals, the principal name The best accidental
Colour
Key, colour and orchestration The score Transposition Good keys / Bad keys
MusicArrangers.com
To study bass we must be able to talk about it in quantifiable terms. Bass C is an octave under Middle C. Pedal C is an octave under Bass C. Bass notes are between Bass C and Pedal C. Pedal notes are all notes under Pedal C. We must also talk about very high notes in quantifiable terms. The higher the note the thinner it is. Above the treble clef notes noticeably thin out. Very thin notes are used for colour and effect, rarely melody. Some instruments play as high as C above the treble clef (Top C). Very few instruments play as high as C above Top C (double top C). Notes between top C and double top C are top notes. Notes above double top C are double top notes. >>> rising pitch
below above double pedal notes bass notes Middle C Middle C Middle C top notes top notes DEFGABC DEFGABC DEFGAB C DEFGAB CDEFGAB CDEFGAB CDEFGAB ---XXXX XXXXX-XXXXX XXXX--Bass Clef Treble Clef
Music Theory
"Become an arranger first, then an orchestrator, and then a composer." - Joe Paparone
Joe Paparone is an Australian music arranger of the highest international calibre. Allow him to share 35 years of real world experiences with you.
Baby stuff
Preliminaries The Grand Stave Scaling the heights Tones and semitones Enharmony and accidentals
Scales
Diatonic Scales How to make a diatonic scale The 15 diatonic scales The magic number 7 Diatonic 4ths and 5ths Tetrachords More in the positions
Keys
Key signatures and accidentals 15 key signatures to 15 diatonic scales The diatonic scale on the stave Accidentals, the principal name The best accidental
Colour
Key, colour and orchestration The score Transposition Good keys / Bad keys
MusicArrangers.com
Our five line stave is easier to read than the grand stave. But to reduce our stave to five lines we need to know which five lines we are referring to. For that we use a clef.
The top five lines = the treble. The bottom five lines = the bass clef. The middle five lines = the alto clef. The tenor clef stave is one line down from the alto clef stave.
ABCDEFG
We name the ascensions of pitch with the first 7 letters of the alphabet, A B C D E F G. The alphabet ascends smoothly through the lines and spaces of the grand stave. We repeat the names at each eighth ascension. ABCDEFGA 12345678
The easy ascension on the grand stave doesn't look so easy on the 5 line staves. The middle line is B on the treble clef, D on the bass clef, C on the alto clef and A on the tenor clef.
I often find it helpful to think of the grand stave. The top two lines of the alto clef are the bottom two lines of the treble clef. The bottom two lines of the alto clef are the top two lines of the bass clef. The tenor clef is a line under the alto clef. The top of the tenor clef is the bottom of the treble clef. The middle of the tenor clef is the top of the bass clef. The bottom of the tenor clef is the middle of the bass clef.
The treble clef is a G clef. The bass clef is an F clef. The alto and tenor clefs are C clefs.
Music Theory
"Become an arranger first, then an orchestrator, and then a composer." - Joe Paparone
Joe Paparone is an Australian music arranger of the highest international calibre. Allow him to share 35 years of real world experiences with you.
Baby stuff
Preliminaries The Grand Stave Scaling the heights Tones and semitones Enharmony and accidentals
Scales
Diatonic Scales How to make a diatonic scale The 15 diatonic scales The magic number 7 Diatonic 4ths and 5ths Tetrachords More in the positions
Keys
Key signatures and accidentals 15 key signatures to 15 diatonic scales The diatonic scale on the stave Accidentals, the principal name The best accidental
Colour
Key, colour and orchestration The score Transposition Good keys / Bad keys
MusicArrangers.com
MusicArrangers.com
C D E F G A B C# Cb Db Eb F# Gb Ab Bb D# E# Fb G# A# B#
All three variations of C (C natural, C flat and C sharp) can be written to a diatonic scale. For every other letter, two variations can be written. Browse the diatonic scales. Some have sharps. Some have flats. None have both sharps and flats.
C D E F G A B D E F# G A B C# E F# G# A B C# D# F G A Bb C D E G A B C D E F# A B C# D E F# G# B C# D# E F# G# A# C D E F G A B C# Db Eb F# Gb Ab Bb Cb D# Eb F G# Ab Bb C Db E# F G A# Bb C D Eb F# Gb Ab B Cb Db Eb Fb G# Ab Bb C# Db Eb F Gb A# Bb C D# Eb F G Ab B# C D E# F G A Bb C# Db Eb F# Gb Ab Bb Cb
G: D: A: E: B: F#: C#:
B F# C# G# D# A# E#
C G D A E B F#
D A E B F# C# G#
E B F# C# G# D# A#
F# C# G# D# A# E# B#
G D A E B F# C#
F: Bb: Eb:
A D G
Bb Eb Ab
C F Bb
D G C
E A D
F Bb Eb
Ab Db Gb Cb
Bb Eb Ab Db
C F Bb Eb
Db Gb Cb Fb
Eb Ab Db Gb
F Bb Eb Ab
G C F Bb
Ab Db Gb Cb
Music Theory
"Become an arranger first, then an orchestrator, and then a composer." - Joe Paparone
Joe Paparone is an Australian music arranger of the highest international calibre. Allow him to share 35 years of real world experiences with you.
Baby stuff
Preliminaries The Grand Stave Scaling the heights Tones and semitones Enharmony and accidentals
Scales
Diatonic Scales How to make a diatonic scale The 15 diatonic scales The magic number 7 Diatonic 4ths and 5ths
Keys
Key signatures and accidentals 15 key signatures to 15 diatonic scales The diatonic scale on the stave Accidentals, the principal name The best accidental
Colour
Key, colour and orchestration The score Transposition Good keys / Bad keys
Preliminaries
Draw five horizontal lines equally spaced. You have a stave.
Draw ellipses over the lines and in the spaces. The higher the ellipse the higher the pitch. Music rises and falls on the page as it does in your ear.
Clef
Which instrument would you choose to play these notes? High pitched instruments and voices use treble clef. Low pitched instruments and voices use bass clef. The clef is an ornamental symbol drawn far left of the stave.
Treble Clef
Bass Clef You may meet many clefs in your travels. Let us introduce two more. When you write for viola and alto voices you use alto clef. In classical music the alto clef is also used by trombone.
Alto Clef When you write for tenor voices you use tenor clef. Cello, bassoon and trombone use tenor clef occasionally.
Tenor clef Have a listen to the range of notes in each clef. Press the MIDI button.
Music Theory
"Become an arranger first, then an orchestrator, and then a composer." - Joe Paparone
Joe Paparone is an Australian music arranger of the highest international calibre. Allow him to share 35 years of real world experiences with you.
Baby stuff
Preliminaries The Grand Stave Scaling the heights Tones and semitones Enharmony and accidentals
Scales
Diatonic Scales How to make a diatonic scale The 15 diatonic scales The magic number 7 Diatonic 4ths and 5ths Tetrachords More in the positions
Keys
Key signatures and accidentals 15 key signatures to 15 diatonic scales The diatonic scale on the stave Accidentals, the principal name The best accidental
Colour
Key, colour and orchestration The score Transposition Good keys / Bad keys
MusicArrangers.com
Our five line stave is easier to read than the grand stave. But to reduce our stave to five lines we need to know which five lines we are referring to. For that we use a clef.
The top five lines = the treble. The bottom five lines = the bass clef. The middle five lines = the alto clef. The tenor clef stave is one line down from the alto clef stave.
ABCDEFG
We name the ascensions of pitch with the first 7 letters of the alphabet, A B C D E F G. The alphabet ascends smoothly through the lines and spaces of the grand stave. We repeat the names at each eighth ascension.
ABCDEFGA 12345678 The easy ascension on the grand stave doesn't look so easy on the 5 line staves. The middle line is B on the treble clef, D on the bass clef, C on the alto clef and A on the tenor clef.
I often find it helpful to think of the grand stave. The top two lines of the alto clef are the bottom two lines of the treble clef. The bottom two lines of the alto clef are the top two lines of the bass clef. The tenor clef is a line under the alto clef. The top of the tenor clef is the bottom of the treble clef. The middle of the tenor clef is the top of the bass clef. The bottom of the tenor clef is the middle of the bass clef.
The treble clef is a G clef. The bass clef is an F clef. The alto and tenor clefs are C clefs.
Music Theory
"Become an arranger first, then an orchestrator, and then a composer." - Joe Paparone
Joe Paparone is an Australian music arranger of the highest international calibre. Allow him to share 35 years of real world experiences with you.
Baby stuff
Preliminaries The Grand Stave Scaling the heights Tones and semitones Enharmony and accidentals
Scales
Diatonic Scales How to make a diatonic scale The 15 diatonic scales The magic number 7 Diatonic 4ths and 5ths Tetrachords More in the positions
Keys
Key signatures and accidentals 15 key signatures to 15 diatonic scales The diatonic scale on the stave Accidentals, the principal name The best accidental
Colour
Key, colour and orchestration The score Transposition Good keys / Bad keys