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Grade 3 Music Theory: Complete CourseGrade Three Music TheoryComplete Coursebywww.mymusictheory.com www.mymusictheory.com 2010Page 1 of 38

Grade 3 Music Theory: Complete CourseContents:Lesson 1What’s new in Grade Three?p.3Lesson 2Notes, Symbols and Termsp.4Lesson 3Scalesp.7Lesson 4Key Signaturesp.11Lesson 5Degrees of the Scale & Tonic Triadsp.15Lesson 6Time Signaturesp.17Lesson 7Adding a Time Signature or Barlinesp.20Lesson 8Adding Rests & Grouping/Beaming Notesp.23Lesson 9Intervalsp.27Lesson 10Transpositionp.30Lesson 11Rewriting with Different Time Valuesp.32Lesson 12Completing a Rhythmp.34Lesson 13Questions about a Scorep.36Lesson 14Deliberate Mistakesp.38 www.mymusictheory.com 2010Page 2 of 38

Grade 3 Music Theory: Complete CourseLesson 1 – What’s New in Grade Three?Welcome to the Grade Three Music Theory Course!Grade three is a gentle step up from grade two – but you do need to know all thematerial on the syllabuses for grades 1 and 2 in order to begin grade 3.The things you need to know already are Notes and rests from the semibreve to the semiquaverBass clef and treble clefTime signatures 2/4, 3/4, 4/4, 2/2, 3/2, 4/2 and 3/8Major scales and key signatures in C, G, D, A, F, Bb and E Minor scales (harmonic and melodic) and key signatures in A, E and DThe degrees of the scaleTonic triads (e.g. the chord of C-E-G in C major)Interval numbers (e.g. 2nd, 3rd)In grade three you’ll extend your knowledge of the keys, to include all keys with up tofour sharps or flats. This means you’ll be learning 8 new keys: E majorA majorB minorG minorF minorC minorC minorF minorYou’ll also learn three new time signatures: 6/89/812/8You’ll learn some new foreign terms and symbols, as well as the demisemiquavernote.You’ll learn how to transpose music at the octave, using a new clef.You’ll learn how to describe intervals in more detail, using a type as well as a number.Are you ready? Let’s get started! www.mymusictheory.com 2010Page 3 of 38

Grade 3 Music Theory: Complete CourseLesson 2 – Notes, Symbols and TermsThe DemisemiquaverThe smallest note we’ve come across so far is the semiquaver.Remember that 4 semiquavers are worth 1 crotchet. A semiquaver has two little tailson the stem, which are always on the right hand side.The demisemiquaver is worth half a semiquaver. You need 8 demisemiquavers tomake up the value of 1 crotchet. A demisemiquaver has three little tails:Demisemiquavers are usually grouped and beamed in fours:But because we need eight of them to equal one crotchet, we often put two groupsof four together:To make it easier to see the division of beats, many people prefer to use one longbeam at the top, to join all the notes, and then two shorter beams on each group offour:One semibreve is worth 32 demisemiquavers.One minim is worth 16 demisemiquavers.One crotchet is worth 8 demisemiquavers.One quaver is worth 4 demisemiquavers.One semiquaver is worth 2 demisemiquavers.The demisemiquaver rest looks like this:It has three tails, and each tail sits within a space on the stave. www.mymusictheory.com 2010Page 4 of 38

Grade 3 Music Theory: Complete CourseMetronome Tempo DirectionsAlthough you can use an Italian term for tempo, e.g. allegro or andante, these termsare not very exact. If you want to set an exact tempo, you need to use a metronomemarking. This is a traditional metronome:The rod swings from left to right and makes a loud click each time. The clicks tell youwhat speed to play at. The square slider on the rod can be moved up and down. Ifyou slide it up, the clicks become slower. If you move it down, they become faster.There is a gauge on the body of the metronome which tells you what speed the rod isclicking at.You can play with a virtual metronome at the website www.metronomeonline.com.Click the “on” button, then choose a number – that is your tempo in beats per minute.If you choose 60, the clicks will be exactly one second apart, because there are 60seconds in a minute. Metronomes also show the Italian terms used for a certainrange of tempos – you can see that largo is from about 42-50 beats per minute.At the beginning of a piece you might see something like 60. This means youneed to play one crotchet every second, or 60 crotchets per minute. Set themetronome to 60, and play a crotchet with every click. What if you see 72? Thismeans the tempo is 72 minims per minute. Set the metronome to 72 and play aminim with each click.If you get a question in your exam paper which asks you “what doesthe answer will be “the tempo is 72 minims per minute”. 72 mean?”,SymbolsHere are some symbols which you might be tested on at grade 2.The slur. This curved line groups together notes which should be playedin a legato (smooth and without breaks between the notes) fashion.The tie. This curved line looks exactly like a slur, but it joins together two(or more) notes which are the same pitch. It means “add the two note valuestogether”. www.mymusictheory.com 2010Page 5 of 38

Grade 3 Music Theory: Complete CourseThe repeat barline. This barline has two lines - one thin and one thick, andtwo dots. It means “go back to the start/ the last repeat barline and play again”.Forzato. “Forced” or “sharply accented”.Foreign Termsad libitum, ad lib.adagiettoagitatoalla breveamoreamorosoanimaanimandoanimatobenbrioconcon marcato, marc.marzialemestopesanteprima, primoprima voltarisolutoritmicorubato, tempo rubatoscherzando, scherzososeconda, secondoseconda voltasemplicesemprestringendosubitotantotempo comodotranquillotriste, tristamente www.mymusictheory.com 2010at choice, i.e. a passage may be played freelyrather slow, but faster than adagioAgitatedwith a minim (2/2)LoveLovingsoul, spiritbecoming more livelyanimated, livelyWellvigourWithwith feelingwith determinationDelicateEnergeticForceBroadlylight or nimbleemphatic, accentedin a military styleSadHeavyFirstfirst timebold, strongRhythmicallywith some freedom of timeplayful, jokingSecondsecond timesimple, plainAlwaysgradually getting fasterSuddenlyso muchat a comfortable speedCalmsad, sorrowfulPage 6 of 38

Grade 3 Music Theory: Complete CourseLesson 3 – ScalesMajor ScalesAll major scales, you will remember, are built using this pattern of tones andsemitones:T-T-S-T-T-T-S.The first new scale in grade three is E major. E major has four sharps – F , C , G and D . What do you notice about the sequence of sharps? If you look closely you’lldiscover that each sharp is exactly one 5th higher than the previous one. Start at F(#)and count 5 notes:F, G, A, B, C. Then start at C and count up 5 notes:C, D, E, F, G. Start at G and count up 5 notes:G, A, B, C, D.This is an easy way to remember the order of sharps – it’s called the “Circle of 5ths”(because if you keep on going, you’ll eventually end up back at the beginning!)Here’s the scale or E major, ascending and descending in treble and bass clef:The other new major scale we’re going to learn is A major. A has got four flats –B , E , A , and D .An easy way to remember the order of flats is to count down five notes from the firstone. The first flat is Bb:B, A, G, F, E.E, D, C, B, A.A, G, F, E, D.The circle of 5ths works in both directions – if you count upwards, you get the orderof sharps. If you count downwards, you get the order of flats!Here is the scale of A major, ascending and descending in treble and bass clef: www.mymusictheory.com 2010Page 7 of 38

Grade 3 Music Theory: Complete CourseMinor ScalesIn grade two we learnt that there are two types of minor scales, the harmonic minorand the melodic minor.The harmonic minor has the pattern T-S-T-T-S-3S-S (3S 3 semitones).The melodic min

In the bass clef, it’s written on the 2 nd line from the bottom: Eb is written higher than Bb: Ab is written lower than Eb: Db is written higher than Ab: Relative Major and Relative Minor We say that G major is the “relative major” to E minor, and that E minor is the “relative minor