Musical theory

In the Western music, the musical theory (or musical formation ) is the study of the elements making it possible to read, write, to play or Chant er a partition. The ultimate goal of the musical theory is to be able to hear a musical work, its Orchestration and its interpretation, without another support that its Internal ear.

Practical musical theory and theoretical musical theory

Work solfegic can be analyzed in the following way: reading of the notes, reproduction of the height S, realization of the rates/rhythms, comprehension of the theory governing the writing.

In its practical direction , the word musical theory indicates a made method of classified exercises of musical reading in a progressive way and in front of being read or sung by articulating the name of the notes. Thus since the the Middle Ages, the training of the musical reading is called musical theory - coming from the Italian word solfeggio , itself derived from the names of notes ground and F . One generally allots the origin of the musical theory to Guido d' Arezzo, monk Italian of the 11th century, which would have invented this process with an aim of facilitating the teaching of the Chant to the other monks of its monastery.

In its theoretical direction - therefore, from an encyclopedic point of view -, the word musical theory indicates the “ theory of the musical Notation ”. Considered in its three principal dimensions, rhythmic, melody and harmonic, this theory must make it possible to clarify the writing, the analysis, the reading and the realization of the partitions of the Western music, since the Renaissance until the 21e century. It is this whole of rules of notation which this article claims to study.

Western music

One generally understands by Western music, the erudite music, or popular, written and practiced in the European countries or of European influence, since Charlemagne at our days.

It is appropriate however to exclude - on the plan solfegic, gets along - from this definition, certain creations of the 20th century escaping the rules from the metric and tonality, and having if necessary, their own marking system - such as Serial music, Concrete music, random Musique, etc

the principal singularity of the Western music is to be equipped with a marking system of a very high degree of accuracy, called musical theory. This system is so rich and so complex, that the study of the musical reading became a discipline with share, impossible to circumvent, as well as the study of the instrumental technique or vocal itself.

Partition

Medium between the Type-setter and the interprets, the partition is the writing on which are represented the musical symbols having to be carried out by the Musicien. It is read left towards the line and the top downwards, and contains different the left - instrumental or vocal - in front of being played or Chant ées.

Like very written, the partition is a form of Représentation: the representation of the musical sounds founded on a temporal cutting and frequential.

- the temporal cutting is represented by symbols indicating the relative duration of the sounds according to a horizontal axis.

- the frequential cutting is represented by the position of these symbols in the vertical axis, position indicating the relative height of these same sounds .

When the number of left becomes important - in orchestral music, for example -, one extracts from the partition supplements the separate partitions of the various parts, intended for the various musicians - or groups of musicians. The complete partition of a piece of music is called conducting; this one, intended in theory for only the Leader, includes/understands the totality of the parts.

Study plan

Traditionally, one defines the Note of music as a his which one appreciates the characteristics - in particular, his lasted and his height. Among the four characteristics of the sound, the two first, lasted and height , must be noted with the highhest degree of accuracy, this is why they constitute the two independent sources of difficulties of the training of the musical theory, as well in the practical field as in that of theoretical comprehension. These two sources of difficulties will be respectively studied in the following articles: Rate/rhythm (musical theory) and Musical theory and intonation. In a third article, it will be advisable to describe the operation of the ranges , the modes, the scales , in a word, Tonalité , and to give the means of carrying out the ultimate analysis of a partition - tonal Système.

''' Rate/rhythm '''

* Time (Metronome, Tempo, Not of organ, pulsation)

* Representation of the durations (white, eighth note, Double eighth note, Connection of prolongation, bond, black, Not of prolongation, round, silence, unit of time)

* Division of time (Duolet, Quartolet, Quintolet, Septolet, Sextolet, triplet)

* Measurement (Anacrouse, Bar of measurement, Figuring of measurement, Hitch, syncope)