The Complete Idiot''s Guide to Music Theory

Par t 1:Tones

Degrees of the Scale

Degree Name

First (Root) Tonic

Second Supertonic

Third Mediant

Fourth Subdominant

Fifth Dominant

Sixth Submediant

Seventh Leading Note

Eighth (Octave) Tonic

There are a few more terms you need to know before we proceed. When two

notes of the exact same pitch are played by two different instruments or voices,

they’re played in unison.Two identical notes with the same name, played eight

degrees apart, form an octave.(The word octave comes from the Latin word

octo,for “eight”—because an octave is eight notes above the beginning note.)

For example, if you go from middle C to the next C up the keyboard, that’s an

octave; F to F is another octave ... and so on.

These musical degrees come in handy when you’re describing intervals between

notes. Instead of counting half steps and whole steps, you can simply describe

an interval by using these relative numbers.

For example, let’s say you want to describe the interval between C and D. If you

count C as number one (the first degree), D is number two and the interval

between them is called a second.The interval between C and E (the first and

third degrees) is a third;the interval between C and F (the first and fourth

degrees) is a fourth ... and so on.

Pretty easy, once you get used to it!

The following figure shows the basic intervals, starting with a unison and end-

ing with an octave, with C as the root.

20

All this dominant and sub-

dominant stuff will become

more important when you

learn about chord progres-

sions in Chapter 10.

Note

The lowest note of

an interval, chord, or

scale, is called the root.

Definition

The basic intervals, starting on C.

Interestingly, when you examine the frequencies of two notes, as discussed in the

previous chapter, you find that the second note in an octave is an exact multiple

of the first note. For example, the A above middle C has a frequency of 440Hz;

the A an octave above that has a frequency twice that, 880Hz. For this reason

two notes with the same name have the same sound, even if they’re pitched an

octave or more higher or lower.

Note