A triple metre is unique because it has only 3 sections of primary beats. Some of the time signatures related to the triple metre include 3/4, 9/8, 3/2 and a lot of others. When counting these rhythms it’s a good idea to remember that in these time signatures, there are only 3 primary beats. This means that you can stay in count by counting 1, 2, 3.
Swing is a rhythm technique commonly used in jazz music. It is formed by shortening and extending certain beats in a piece. A note with swing rhythm is really just a dotted eighth note and a sixteenth note. For example let’s use a paired 8th note as an example, the first eighth note will be turned into a dotted eighth note to extend the beat while the second eighth note will be shortened into a sixteenth note. This is the basic rule of thumb to understand swing rhythm: extend the first note, shorten the second note.
Half-time is a tempo/meter change where the time signature doubles in tempo. If a piece is 4/4, the half time for that is turned to 8/8. Although it’s called “half-time” the piece doesn’t accelerate in speed, there’s just more notes in each measure. Half time is very prominent in the climax of a classical piece and jazz music, specifically jazz solos.
In music, counting is very important. Counting reflects your performance as a musician. In a quartet, orchestra, band, jazz solo or chamber music group counting music is very important. In music, musicians always count the downbeat ( 1-e-and-a-2-e etc.). Time signatures like 3/4 are usually counted as 1,2,3 (repeat). For compound meter signatures like 6/8 are counted as “1 and a 2 and a”. The counting style depends purely on the time signature.
This page discusses ragtime in general. Ragtime is usually played in a 3/4 beat just like all waltz-eque music. Ragtime is known for having a syncopated rhythm or “ragged” rhythm. Now what is syncopation? Syncopation is when notes that are “unimportant” are emphasized with volume. For example in a 4/4 time signature, the important notes would be the 1st and 3rd notes. If the 1st and 3rd notes were emphasized or stressed in an important ragtime measure, the piece would be bland. To add more exciting taste to the piece composers have syncopated the important measures by emphasizing on the 2nd and 4th notes. This is what ragtime and syncopated music is all about.
A chromatic scale has twelve different pitches with semitones in between. C Major goes like this: C,D,E,F,G,A,B and then C. But C Major Chromatic scale goes like this: C,C#,D,D#,E,F,F#,G,G#,A,A#,B and C. A normal scale has 7 different notes while the chromatic scale has 12 different notes. I will use this page to memorize the chromatic scale
The augmented fifth is the fifth interval of a scale. There are 3 types of fifths. Let’s use C major as an example, the fifth note or dominant in the C major scale is G. A perfect fifth for C major is G, diminished fifth for C major is G flat and finally the augmented fifth is G#. An augmented fifth is an interval that has been widened from the perfect fifth. (A turns to A#, B turns to B# etc.) I will use this page to go more in depth to fifths.
A triad chord has three notes: a root, a third and a fifth. The root depends on the scale name. Lets use C major as an example, the root would be C. The third can be either a minor third or a major third, if it was a minor third I would use E flat. I will use E as the third. Next is the fifth. There are many types such as a diminished fifth, augmented fifth, and perfect fifth. For simplicity’s sake I will use the perfect fifth of C major: G. If I put all these notes together, C,E and G, this will make a major triad. If the notes were C, E flat and G, it would be a minor triad. I will use this page to gain more knowledge on triads.
In music there are degrees, just like in math there are numbers. In total there are 7 degrees: the tonic, the supertonic, the mediant, the subdominant, the dominant, the submediant and the leading tone. All of these make up a normal scale. Lets use the C Major scale as an example. The tonic is C, the supertonic is D, the mediant is E, the subdominant is F, the dominant is G, the submediant is A, the leading tone is B and the scale ends on the tonic, C. These combinations of notes make up the C major scale. I will use this page to memorize the scale degrees.
The diatonic scale has 7 different “modes”. Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian and Locrian. Ionian scales start on the tonic note (C major Ionian scale starts from C to C), Dorian scales start on the super tonic (C major Dorian starts from D to D), Phyrgian scales start from the mediant (C major Phyrgian starts from E to E), Lydian starts from the subdominant ( C major Lydian starts from F to F), Mixolydian starts from the dominant ( C major Mixolydian starts from G to G), Aeolian starts from the submediant ( C major Aeolian starts from A to A) and Locrian starts from the leading tone (C major Locrian starts from B to B). This is sort of like how math has numbers. I will use this page to memorize all the diatonic modes.