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I don't think I "have it" :-( (Music Theory)

Ummm... So I've studied what you have suggested....did you mean bar 5 when you said about changing the notes to G A B D Cnatural? Or did you mean bar 6?
Because if I put those notes in bar 5, nothing feels right, but of I put them in bar 6 that seems better ( effectively just swapping the C and D round and making the C natural)

Either that or I really have no idea what I am doing. :(
I'm terribly sorry, I did mean bar 6. I need to proofread what I write better. The point of what I wrote is that for the ear to hear a new key, one or more notes in the original key must change. In this case it is the C# changing to a C natural.
 
Below is a grade 5 past paper. I was told that to answer it I should:
1) copy verbatim bars 1 and 2 (given) into bars 5 and 6.
2) make an imperfect cadence at the end of bar 4 ( ie finish bar 4 on the dominant note of the scale, preferably moving from the tonic note in the previous beat(s); and make a perfect cadence at the end of the piece (dominant to tonic)
3) create a melody in bars 3 and 4 that reflects / answers / relates to the melody of bars 1 and 2
4) amend this new melody in some way and put it in bars 7 and 8.

For me this is sufficient guidance to hang a melody on and succeed in getting something more or less suitable.
View attachment 6471



Any help?

Think like a dialogue:

What i would do (out of my head) write a different rhythmic motif for bars 3/4 (Maybe just crotchets as a kind of musical answer to bars 1 & 2.

Then 5 & 6 would be the same rhythm as bars 1 & 2 but different melody (maybe inverted, i.e. falling rather than rising) and bar 7 to 8 back to the crotchets to create a nice final cadence.

They will love that. NB: I taught composition for a while and I believe they will like that. I have made a living as a composer for the last 20 years though and wouldn't always follow such a strict formula, but i would put money on that being the kind of thing they are looking for.
 
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Here are some notes I was given by the choir's accompanist (he's ARCO organist and he examines for the RSCM)
Harmonic vocab to include root, 1st and 2nd inversions on ANY degree of the major or minor (harmonic AND melodic) scale
· Recognition of dominant 7th chord in root position and first, second and third inversions in any major or minor key
· Recognition of supertonic 7th chord in root position and first inversions in any major or minor key
· The ‘figuring’ for all these chords (i.e. shorthand namely figured bass notation)
· Understanding of modulation principles
· Knowledge of cadences
· Knowledge of ornamentation
· Knowledge of melodic decoration (passing notes, auxiliary notes, appoggiaturas, changing notes & notes of anticipation)

Grade 6 questions will specifically cover: ALL OF THE ABOVE – PLUS+ (this lot below)

· Writing specified chords for voices in 4 parts OR for keyboard (at your choice) above a given bass part of about 4 bars
· The indication of suitable chords for the accompaniment of a diatonic melody of about 8 bars in ANY key, using any recognized notation method, OR (at your choice) the provision of a bass to a given melody, adding figures to indicate the intended harmonies.
· Composition of a melody for a specified instrument (a choice will be given), using a given opening. Modulation to the dominant, subdominant, relative major or relative minor may be required
· Questions on short extracts of music written for piano or in open score for voices or for any combination of instruments and/or voices, designed to test your knowledge of the elements and notation of music, including the realization of ornaments, the identification & notation of underlying harmonic structure, phrase structure, style, performance, and on the voices & instruments for which the works were written.

So, I think once happy with the Grade 5 revision (effectively) we need to have a look at this lot:

· REALISING FIGURED BASSES
· Figured bass notation and it’s realization
· Keyboard writing
· Writing for voices

· HARMONISING MELODIES
· The primary triads
· Deciding when to change chords
· Secondary triads
· Harmony in minor keys
· Chord symbols
· Melody and figured bass again

· MELODIC COMPOSITION
· Tonal melodic composition
· Melodic composition in more modern styles

· REVISION and PRACTICE EXERCISES and FAKE EXAMS!!

· ORCHESTRATION – what instruments use what clef and what actual notes they play – Clarinet in Bb, Horns in F etc. etc.
 
So...I have sat down this evening and worked on this a bit.
I decided to put the whole thing into Sibelius and add some underlying chords (mostly in root position, but...) mainly so I could hear the harmony that could go with my melody.
I have taken on board @jbtsax comments about needing the C natural to really drive home the modulation from D to G.
Here is my tune:
music theory 28-01-2016.jpg

and here is the audio that goes with it:
View: https://soundcloud.com/mandyh/28-01-2016a


this is as good as it will get before my lesson tomorrow.

It was interesting and useful to hear the melody with the underlying harmony.
I know the chords need working on, especially inversion etc, but this is a start, I hope.
 
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Good luck tomorrow Mandy - but most of all - Have Fun!!! :yess:
 
It's good but conventionally to drive home a modulation to G you would the V of G so the C in the melody would be on a D7. That as I said would be conventional.

But by using the C chord as IV of G, while still feeling in the key of D actually makes it interesting because it sounds modal rather than there being a typical perfect cadence.
 
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they will be looking for "typical" perfect cadence on the modulation as Pete mentions to show you understand functional harmony
 
It's good but conventionally to drive home a modulation to G you would the V of G so the C in the melody would be on a D7. That as I said would be conventional.

But by using the C chord as IV of G, while still feeling in the key of D actually makes it interesting because it sounds modal rather than there being a typical perfect cadence.

Do you mean the C in bar 6, and the chord where I've put a G:IV? Are you saying that the underlying chord there should be DF# ACnat? ie D7? Rather than the CEG that I have put?
Would that mean the final beat in bar 6 (which is the start of the new phrase) needs a different chord from the 3rd beat in bar 6?
 
Do you mean the C in bar 6, and the chord where I've put a G:IV? Are you saying that the underlying chord there should be DF# ACnat? ie D7? Rather than the CEG that I have put?
Would that mean the final beat in bar 6 (which is the start of the new phrase) needs a different chord from the 3rd beat in bar 6?

That would make most sense from a conventional (non modal) point of view. But the melody would need to fit the D7. At the moment, the next chord is a D so it would make sense to have that a G, so the perfect cadence is across the bar into beat 1 of bar 7.

Currently we still think we are in a D tonality all the way through to the final G, albeit a nice mixolydian mode (D and C chords in the key of D)

In grade 5, I'm sure they just want a perfect cadence D7 to G as jez said
 
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the first note on beat 4 is an implied V chord, so we hav V-I, a perfect cadence straight away, the I on first beat, its important that chord/harmony changes follow in a similar fashion with chords mainly being changed on beats 1 and 3. This is called harmonic rhythm, it needs to be even.
I would put the modulation on the last 2 bars, bar 7 would be II-V in G major, bar 8 would be G so we have a perfect cadence also into G major, its just a matter of then filling in the rest of the bars with simple chord changes.
I would suggest the following, excuse the typing! chords on beats 1 and 3

chord V (pickup on beat 4 ) , bar1 D and A, bar2 D and D first inversion, bar3 G and A, bar4 D and A ( but with A on beat 4 hinting at the begging of piece) bar5 D and A, bar6 D and G, bar7 would be the modulation using Am and D (being a perfect cadence into G) bar8 just G or maybe G,D,G on beats 1,2and 3 with a rest on beat 4

its just a matter then of making sure the melody fits the chords and has continuity with similarity such as repeating phrases like the first bar could be repeated at bar5 including the pickup from first note which would be last note beat4 of bar4 etc

hope this helps!!!
 
Well, I am still going to lessons....and still making slow progress, but some progress nonetheless.
Positive comments this week included how beautiful my modulation was (ooh err missus!) that it achieved the necessary with a good melody. And only one bar got rearranged (note: not scrapped completely, but two notes swapped places in the final cadence!)
So this weeks challenge it to improve my sight singing! I have realised that it is not good, and therefore I cannot write down the tune going on in my head because I cannot pitch it.
Until now, I have used the Sax or the piano to compose my melody, but I can't do that in the exam.
Qs 4&5 require general musical knowledge and history, which I have discovered I can do pretty well, and I can work on filling in my holes.
Since Qs 4&5 form 50% of the marks, I am feeling more positive than I was. :yess:
 
The figured bass is a decent chink of marks on G6 theory too
 
Have you tried using solfege to work on your sight singing? This is how I learned at the university and it helped me immensely to hear and write intervals.
 
I was watching a video this afternoon about Solfege - I had come across it a year or more ago when I did a MOOC which was based on ear training, but I have never really done anything with it.
While I was watching the video, I did think that doing some work on Solfege might be useful.
If you know of any online videos that would help, please let me know, otherwise, I will have a look around YouTube and the Internet for some useful videos. Thanks
 
Look also for Kodaly technique - it uses solfege. There's a Kodaly course in Telford over the Easter break. A friend of mine is trying to persuade me to attend (they're the organiser of it... ).
 
I have only been playing for 6 months and took my grade three this month practical. I keep telling myself to persevere as I have many examples in my learning where I found something impossible and now, through practice and relaxing, I find it comes second nature.

Keep going!
 
I have been singing all week, trying to pitch notes correctly, especially relative pitch. My 18 year old son is not impressed, :rofl: but I think I am improving.
I have been reading online lessons about Solfege and watching some videos.
Today, I can across a web-page that recommended this book: Amazon.co.uk: Buying Choices: Music Theory, Ear Training, Rhythm, Solfege and Dictation: A Comprehensive Course

Just check out the prices of those books! :eek: I have decided I don't need that book. For that money, I could take my grade 6 many times, or have several years worth of lessons and perfect the singing on my own!

Also, a lesson update:
Last week's homework was one melody line question (Q3a for those with a past paper) and one figured bass question (Q2)
Although I had prepared both answers, I didn't feel as though I had got my head around the questions while doing them, and so I wasn't feeling very confident.

So, I am thrilled (chuffed to bits, over the moon) to announce that Q2 survived completely in tact: "that is a suitable and good answer"
Q3a had one minor change - a D was changed to a B : " that A at the end of the first phrase (V chord) leads naturally to a B at the start of the next phrase (I chord)"

Then, the next question that my teacher asks me: "do you think you would like to take your exam at the next sitting?"

It is fair to say that when I started this thread, I believed that I would NEVER be ready to take my grade 6 music theory exam.

The exam entry deadline is May 6th, with the exam itself on June 18th.

Feeling just a little bit pleased with myself. :D
 
It used to drive me insane at school (grade 8 theory and a level music) that we had to do all this stuff away from an instrument. Now if I am transcribing, composing or arranging I always have an instrument.

I know that doesn't help in your exam and I have taught grade 5 theory (none of mine ever wanted to do the higher ones once they had the necessary).
 
At this rate, I'd better knuckle down and get my G7 theory moving...
 

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