PIANOS/KEYBOAR DS Notes, Scales and Intervals

NOTES/PITCH  A-B-C-D-E-F-G

KEYS ON THE PIANO  On the keyboard you will notice white keys and black keys  The black keys have a pattern of 2s and 3s  All “C”s are to the immediate left of the set of 2 black keys  Middle C (which lies between the treble clef and bass clef in the grand staff) can be found in the middle of the keyboard, directly to the left of the middle set of two black keys

SHARPS AND FLATS  Sharps and flats are generally going to be found on the black keys, except in those spots where there is no black key between two white keys.  Sharps raise the pitch  Flats lower the pitch

INTERVALS  Intervals are simply defined as the distance between two notes  Half steps  Jaws theme  Whole Steps  Happy Birthday

MAJOR INTERVALS  Intervals are all about addition!  Think in half steps  Major 2 nd = 2 half steps (or 1 whole step)  Major 3 rd = 4 half steps (or 2 whole steps)  Perfect 4 th = 6 half steps (or 3 whole steps)  Perfect 5 th = 8 half steps (or 4 whole steps)  Major 6 th = 10 half steps (or 5 whole steps)  Major 7 th = 12 half steps (or 6 whole steps)

MINOR INTERVALS  Even more addition!  Minor 2 nd = 1 half step  Minor 3 rd = 3 half steps (or 1&1/2 whole steps)  Tritone = 5 half steps (center of the octave) (or 2&1/2 whole steps)  Minor 6 th = 7 half steps (or 3&1/2 whole steps)  Minor 7 th = 9 half steps (or 4&1/2 whole steps)

MAJOR SCALES  Scales are comprised of a particular series of whole and half steps  A major scale is developed from this formula:  W-W-H-W-W-W-H  If you start on C, your notes for the major scale are CDEFGABC  You can figure out a major scale from any note using the major scale formula listed above. (WWHWWWH)  If you start on “A”, you would have a major scale that looks like this: A-B-C#-D-E-F#-G#-A

GROUP WORK  In each group, you will be given two notes  Take each note and build a major scale off of it using the formula we just talked about.  Choose two leaders from each group. These two people will play the scales your group just constructed.  *Remember, a large portion of your grade in this class is participation, so make sure you contribute!

WORKSHEETS  Pick a Partner  Interval Identification worksheets will be given out. You may work with a partner on these worksheets.  If time allows, we will go over these worksheets in class.

WORKSHEETS CONT.  Once the worksheets are corrected you may keep them to study for your next test.