Chord (music)A chord is the simultaneous sound of two or more musical notes. The most common chord has three notes and is known as a triad. Added tone chords, extended chords, and tone clusters can have more than three notes and are common in contemporary classical music and jazz. An arpeggio is a chord where notes are sounded separately. A series of chords is sometimes called a chord progression.
Musical keyboardA musical keyboard is the set of adjacent depressible levers or keys on a musical instrument. Keyboards typically contain keys for playing the twelve notes of the Western musical scale, with a combination of larger, longer keys and smaller, shorter keys that repeat at the interval of an octave.
Scale (music)In music theory, a scale is "any consecutive series of notes that form a progression between one note and its octave", typically by order of pitch or fundamental frequency. The word scale originates from the Latin scala, which literally means "ladder". Therefore, any scale is distinguishable by its "step-pattern", or how its intervals interact with each other.
Diatonic scaleIn music theory, a diatonic scale is a heptatonic (seven-note) scale that includes five whole steps (whole tones) and two half steps (semitones) in each octave, in which the two half steps are separated from each other by either two or three whole steps. In other words, the half steps are maximally separated from each other. The seven pitches of any diatonic scale can also be obtained by using a chain of six perfect fifths.
SemitoneIn Western music theory, a semitone (also called a half step or half tone) is one of two parts into which a whole tone is divided. Semitones are the smallest intervals commonly harmonically and melodically used in Western music, and are among the most dissonant intervals when sounded harmonically. A progression of semitones forms a chromatic scale, which informs the layout of many fixed-pitch instruments.
Pentatonic scaleA pentatonic scale is a musical scale with five notes per octave, in contrast to heptatonic scales, which have seven notes per octave (such as the major scale and minor scale). Pentatonic scales were developed independently by many ancient civilizations and are still used in various musical styles to this day.
Chromatic scaleIn Western music, a chromatic scale (or twelve-tone scale) is a set of twelve pitches within an octave, where the interval between any two adjacent notes is a semitone. The chromatic scale is a common layout of pitches for fixed-pitch instruments such as the piano and guitar, which are called chromatic instruments. Other instruments capable of continuously variable pitch, such as the trombone and violin, can also produce microtones, or intervals smaller than a semitone.
RagtimeRagtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style noted for its syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. It originated in African American communities in the late 19th century and was propelled to popularity in the 1890s to 1910s by composers such as James Scott, Joseph Lamb, and particularly Scott Joplin. Known as the "King of Ragtime", Joplin gained fame through compositions like "Maple Leaf Rag" and "The Entertainer". The style is closely related to marches.
Scott JoplinScott Joplin (November 24, 1868 – April 1, 1917) was an American composer and pianist. Dubbed the "King of Ragtime", he composed more than 40 ragtime pieces, one ragtime ballet (original version of "The Ragtime Dance", 1899/1902), and two operas. One of his first and most popular pieces, the "Maple Leaf Rag", became the genre's first and most influential hit, later being recognized as the quintessential rag.
Musical toneTraditionally in Western music, a musical tone is a steady periodic sound. A musical tone is characterized by its duration, pitch, intensity (or loudness), and timbre (or quality). The notes used in music can be more complex than musical tones, as they may include aperiodic aspects, such as attack transients, vibrato, and envelope modulation. A simple tone, or pure tone, has a sinusoidal waveform.
Jelly Roll MortonFerdinand Joseph LaMothe (néLemott, later Morton; c. September 20, 1890 – July 10, 1941), known professionally as Jelly Roll Morton, was an American blues and jazz pianist, bandleader, and composer of Louisiana Creole descent. Morton was jazz's first arranger, proving that a genre rooted in improvisation could retain its essential characteristics when notated. His composition "Jelly Roll Blues", published in 1915, was one of the first published jazz compositions.
MicrotonalityUse in music of microtones (intervals smaller than a semitone)Composer Charles Ives chose the chord above as a good candidate for a "fundamental" chord in the quarter tone scale, akin not to the tonic but to the major chord of traditional tonalityTwo examples of an Ives fundamental chord with quarter tonesMicrotonality is the use in music of microtones — intervals smaller than a semitone, also called "microintervals".*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.