Changes

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<span class="text">[[Guitar Parts and Functions|Parts]]</span>

<span class="text">[[Holding the Guitar and Pick|Playing]]</span>

== Rhythm ==

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<span class="text current">[[#Rhythm|Rhythm]]</span>

<span class="text">[[#Harmony|Harmony]]</span>

Consider a common drum pattern in 4/4 - boom ssss taah ssss boom ssss taah ssss. The musical idea repeats every 4 beats. Now 3/4 - boom ssss taah boom ssss taah. The musical idea repeats every 3 beats. We could play the first pattern in 3/4 or the 2nd in 4/4, but the pattern won't fit neatly inside each measure, appearing more complex than it actually is.

== Harmony ==

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<span class="text">[[#Rhythm|Rhythm]]</span>

<span class="text current">[[#Harmony|Harmony]]</span>

Another topic for the composer is ''arrangement''. Arrangement describes applying some musical idea into a selection of instruments. For example, if you were arranging a piece for flute, piano, and bass, you would likely have the flute play the melody, the piano playing chords, and the bass usually playing the root note of the chords. Naturally, melody is usually given a higher-pitch than the other instruments, and the root note of chords is usually played in the lowest-frequencies. We could come up with different arrangements that are harmonically equivalent; however, they would likely be less enjoyable to listen to.

== Melody ==

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<span class="text">[[#Rhythm|Rhythm]]</span>

<span class="text">[[#Harmony|Harmony]]</span>

Again, melody can get insanely complex...so what's our simple framework? Really, it's the same frameworks as harmony and rhythm. We take a subset of all possible frequencies and give them note names, and restrict them to 12 possibilities, with only 7 being "active" for a particular key or scale. Note duration is restricted to a common set, based around beats. The big divergence from harmony is that pitch between octaves has signfigance. So, for example, if we take a common A minor ascending scale starting at A2 (110 HZ) as our melody; our last note should be A3 (220 HZ). Here is the example melody: A2, B2, C3, D3, E3, F3, G3, A3. This makes sure each note has an ascending pitch compared to the prior note's pitch. Similarly, A2, B3, C4, D5, E6, F7, G8, A9 is not the same melody, despite having all the same note names. It will sound much different to the listener.

== Timbre ==

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<span class="text">[[#Rhythm|Rhythm]]</span>

<span class="text">[[#Harmony|Harmony]]</span>

Timbre factors mainly into arrangement choices more than fundamental composition; however, at some level, composition is determined by timbre, and timbre determines what we actually hear and how it is percieved. For example, a melody designed for flute cannot be played on drums, and a drum beat cannot be played on flute. It may technically be possible, but it will lose its meaning. Similarly, each instrument has a range. A composer desiring the use of a certain instrument for a certain part will compose that part within the range of the instrument.

== Applied to Guitar ==

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<span class="text">[[#Rhythm|Rhythm]]</span>

<span class="text">[[#Harmony|Harmony]]</span>

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Guitar is such a popular instrument because of its extreme versatility. It can be percussive and rhythmic (funk playing). It can play rich harmonies, with up to 6 simultaneous notes. It has a large range, able to play most melodies. There are a wide range of techniques to embellish traditional playing. The angle you hold the pick and where you pick the strings can affect the tone. The type of pick you use. Finger picking. And then there are loads of different effects, such as compression, volume pedals, wah pedals, distortion, delay, reverb, modulation, pitch shifting, and synth filters, that expand even further upon this. Guitar fits into band contexts as well as being sufficient for solo compositions. It can perform the work of many different instruments, reducing the size of bands, allowing such bands to play smaller and different shows.

== Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do ==

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<span class="text">[[#Rhythm|Rhythm]]</span>

<span class="text">[[#Harmony|Harmony]]</span>

In our scale, Do is ''unison'' or ''octave'', a 1:1 or 2:1 ratio with our root or tonic note. Fa and So are the 4th and 5th intervals with the tonic note - the most harmonic intervals other than the octave (4:3 and 3:2).

== The Chromatic Scale ==

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<span class="text">[[#Rhythm|Rhythm]]</span>

<span class="text">[[#Harmony|Harmony]]</span>

| || 5.946 || 5.946 || 5.946 || 5.946 || 5.946 || 5.946 || 5.946 || 5.946 || 5.946 || 5.946 || 5.946 || 5.946

|}

== Semi-tones and Whole-tones ==

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<span class="text">[[#Rhythm|Rhythm]]</span>

<span class="text">[[#Harmony|Harmony]]</span>

Sometimes whole-tones are called ''whole steps'' and semi-tones are called ''half steps''.

== Sharps and Flats ==

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<span class="text">[[#Rhythm|Rhythm]]</span>

<span class="text">[[#Harmony|Harmony]]</span>

| D{{flat}}{{flat}}{{flat}}{{flat}}{{flat}} || D{{flat}}{{flat}}{{flat}}{{flat}} || D{{flat}}{{flat}}{{flat}} || D{{flat}}{{flat}} || D{{flat}} ||D ||D{{sharp}} ||D{{sharp}}{{sharp}} ||D{{sharp}}{{sharp}}{{sharp}} ||D{{sharp}}{{sharp}}{{sharp}}{{sharp}} ||D{{sharp}}{{sharp}}{{sharp}}{{sharp}}{{sharp}} ||D{{sharp}}{{sharp}}{{sharp}}{{sharp}}{{sharp}}{{sharp}}

|}

== The Major Scale ==

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<span class="text">[[#Rhythm|Rhythm]]</span>

<span class="text">[[#Harmony|Harmony]]</span>

This explains why there is a half step between B/C and E/F unlike all the other notes which are separated by a whole step. Labeling them this way causes the key of C major to have no flats/sharps.

=== Analysis of the Major Scale ===

We will find the major scale creates some interesting methods of tension and resolution in chord progressions later on.

== Homework ==

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<span class="text">[[Guitar Parts and Functions|Parts]]</span>

<span class="text">[[Holding the Guitar and Pick|Playing]]</span>

[[Category:Beginner Lessons]]

[[Category:Theory]]