LO1 Know about different Intervals and Pitches

Intervals:

• Major
• Minor
• Perfect
• Augmented
• Diminished
• Simple
• Compound

Pitches:

• Tones
• Semi-tones
• Degrees of the Scale

20th September 2012
Today I accessed the programme 'Auralia' for a demonstration of how it worked. I practiced on many sections including advanced notation, beaming, ornaments, recognising sounds of instruments, aswell as identifying intervals. Next lesson in Aural Perception I hope to start a course to measure my progress concerning theory and aural.

21st September 2012

I practiced some more on Auralia today. I practiced level 10 interval recognition drill, covering major and minor and scored 8/ 13 questions.

27th September 2012

Today I practiced some more interval drill on level 12, Auralia. I successfully recognised 9/10 major 10th, perfect 11ths, and perfect 12ths.
I also practiced pitch recognition on Level 10, Auralia. I had to listen to a piece 8 bars long and answer whether the pitch of the last note in bar 8 was the same, higher or lower pitch than the first note in bar 1. I gained 9/10 questions right.


Interval Recognition


 






Pitch Recognition/Comparison

 

 

Tones and Semi-Tones

 

Today in class we discussed tones and semio-tones, the difference between them, and how many tones and semitones make up a major and minor scale.

Key: T= Tone

         ST= Semitone

Major scale sequence: T,T,ST,T,T,T,ST

 

Minor scale sequence: T,ST,T,T, ST,T,ST

 

 

19th October 2012

Today I wrote out some diminished 7th on all degrees of the C major scale.

 

 

I also went on to 'Musition' to practice scale degrees in the section 'Pitch'.


 

I scored 9/10 on level 10 on scale degrees drill on 'Musition'.

 



 Intervals

29th November 2012  

 

I learnt the 2nd, 3rd, 6th and 7th intervals of major and minor keys. Intervals of a 4th and 5th are either perfect or a 5th can be diminished and a fourth can be augmented.

 

Major intervals

 

Major 2nd, 3rd, 6th and 7th Intervals

 

Minor Intervals

 

Minor 2nd, 3rd 6th, and 7th Intervals 

 

 

 

Diminished Intervals 

Diminshed intervals are when a minor or perfect interval has a lowered note of a semitone. For example an interval of a perfect 5th in C becomes a diminished 5th when the G is lowered to a Gb. Another example of this is a minor 6th in C. The Ab when lowered to Abb (double flat) becomes a diminished 6th. Of course when looking at the diminished 6th we know it is because the distance between C and Abb is a diminished 6th, but when listening to it, it would be harder to distingish whether it was a diminished 6th or a perfect 5th.

 

Augmented Intervals 

Augmented intervals are when a major or perfect interval has a raised note of a semitone. For example an interval of a perfect 5th in C becomes an augmented 5th when the G is raised a semitone to G#.

 

Compound Intervals
Compound intervals are based on simple intervals. Instead of having intervals within an octave (seen in simple intervals e.g C and A are within a sixth of each other) compound intervals are outside of an ocatve (e.g C and A are now a 13th apart, but they keep their same notes, they just change their  distance in relation to each other.)

 

20th December 2012

'The Man I Love'- by George and Ira Gershwin:
https://soundcloud.com/odance/gershwin-the-man-i-love-041112- performed by Olivia Dance.

George Gershwin, an American-born pianist and composer, is famous for  works such as 'An American in Paris' (featured in the 1951 film), 'Rhapsody in Blue', and his famous opera- 'Porgy and Bess'. I play one of Gershwin's lyrical pieces 'The Man I Love' published in 1927 after originally being named 'The Girl I Love' in 1924. Numerous singers have made covers of this piece, singers such as Billie Holiday, Etta Fitzgerald, Babara Steisand and Diana Ross.





The first 3 bars of Gershwin- 'The Man I Love'



 

There are perfect 5ths in the left hand during the 2 opening bars based on the key of Eb major. The bottom is the tonic, whilst the top is the dominant, making it a perfect 5th. The first bar is in the major tonic (Eb major) whilst Gershwin moves to the minor tonic in the next bar (Eb minor). Eb major is determined by the 3rd degree of the scale (in this case, G) being 5 semitones away, whereas Eb minor's 3rd degree is only 4 semitones away.
Gershwin alternates from the key of Eb major to C minor (Eb major's realtive minor) in the first bar in the right hand. He repeats this in the second bar yet there is little connection between Eb minor and C minor except the shared Eb and that they are both minor keys.

 In the third bar, Gershwin travels to the key of Bb minor (the added Db signals this). Yet again the right hand chords move back and forth, but this time from the tonic minor to the dominant major, F. To keep the presence of the C, seen in the two previous bars, Gershwin puts F major in 2nd inversion, highlighting the C(V) more than the F(I).

 

The left hand stave includes the notes G, which is joined by a slur, to F. Usually a 7th away, these notes have been separated by an octave and therefore are now a compound interval of a 14th. In the treble there is an appoggiatura linking F to Eb, this is an interval of a major second, it would be a minor second if the F was lowered a semitone to E natural.

 

'Sazz'- by Graham Fitkin:

 

Graham Fitkin 'Sazz' - 20th Century Piano music
 

This chord demonstrates a major 3rd interval (from C to E) which has been separated to form a compound interval of a 10th. Whilst the G in the treble is a major third apart from the E below. The whole chord froms the chord of C major, but with the combination of simple and compound intervals, it is more engaging than a triad.  

 

The top line in the treble shows a minor 2nd (B-C). There's 2 semitones creating a dissonance. Whereas, in the picture below there's an example of an augmented 2nd.

The top line in the treble shows an augmented 2nd (Bb-C) there are 3 semitones. The Bb could  suggest that we are in the key of F major and the C is the V, however this piece is atonal, making it harder to judge.