Western Music Piano

Notation: C Major refers to the key and Cmaj refers to the triad.

Practise scales and chords with both hands.
Practise time using metronome.
Learn all scales (major, natural minor and harmonic minor)
Learn all diatonic chords in a scale (major, minor, augmented, diminished, suspended)
Practice chord inversion
Learn chords progression
Memorize time intervals
Learn Sight Reading
Learn Sight Singing
Rhythm

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Staff
Stave lines represent the lines with the notes, clefs, key signatures, and time signatures of a song. The various types are Single Staff, Double Staves.

Clef
Clefs move the stave lines up or down the pitch ladder. The various types are Treble Clef (G Clef), Bass Clef (F Clef), C Clef (Alto Clef, Tenor Clef). The middle C is exactly between the Bass clef and the Treble clef.

Pro Tip:

Treble lines: Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge.
Bass lines: Green Birds Don’t Fly Away

Treble spaces: FACE,
Bass spaces: All Cows Eat Grass

Note that the Treble clef is called G clef because the clef sign wraps around the G line. Similarly, the Bass clef is called F clef because the dot are on either side of the F line.

Note
A pitch is a frequency of sound. A note is a named pitch. The pitch of piano key C4 is different from that of key C5. There are 12 notes in Western music. After twelve, the notes repeat in the next higher register or octave. The notes are C, C#(Db), D, D#(Eb), E, F, F#(Gb), G, F#(Ab), A, A#(Bb) and B.

Scale (Key)
Key signature denotes how many sharp and flat notes appear in a song. The sharp and flat notes raise a note by a half, or even a full, step. Not all notes in a scale are used in a song. Many songs work with just 7 notes creating a harmony. In every key, notes in same position work in the same way.

We play a scale. We cannot play a key. A song is in some scale or key.

A scale is a group of notes played in succession. Chords are built from scales.The various types of scales are major, minor(natural, harmonic, melodic), blues, jazz, pentatonic and so on. Pentatonic scales are based on major or minor scales. The various examples are C Major, C natural minor, C harmonic minor, C melodic minor, C major pentatonic, C minor pentatonic...

Every scale has a formula.

• The Major scale formula is W - W - H - W - W - W - H. It is a cool major scale.
• The Natural minor scale formula is W - H - W - W - H - W - W. It is a cool minor scale.
• The Harmonic minor scale formula is W - H - W - W - H - WH- H. The problem with natural minor is that the leading tone is absent.
• The Meladonic minor scale formula is W - H - W - W - W - W - W. The problem with harmonic minor is the large gap between 6th and 7th notes.

Relative scales share key. A relative minor scale is built from the sixth degree of the major scale. The relative scale of C major is A minor. In C major, the root note C is special. In A minor, the root note A is special. The same note plays a different role in each relative scale.

Time
Time signature denotes the number of notes in a measure and the note values that gets the beat. The various types are 4/4, 3/4, 5/4, 6/8, 3/8 and 2/2. In the 4/4 time, there are four beats in a measure and one quarter note gets the beat.

Interval
The smallest interval in Western music is a half step or semi tone. A major second will have the same feeling in any scale.

Perfect First (Unison): 00 half step
Minor Second: 01 half step (JAWS soundtrack)
Major Second: 02 half steps (Happy Birthday)
Minor Third: 03 half steps
Major Third: 04 half steps (Kumbaya my LORD)
Perfect Fourth: 05 half steps (Here comes the bride)
Tritone: 06 half steps
Perfect Fifth: 07 half steps (Mary had a little lamb)
Minor Sixth: 08 half steps
Major Sixth: 09 half steps (My Bonnie lies over the)
Minor Seventh: 10 half steps
Major Seventh: 11 half steps (Take on me)
Perfect Eighth (Octave): 12 half steps

In short, there are eight types of intervals classified into two:

1. Perfect: first, fourth, fifth, eighth
2. Major: second, third, sixth, seventh

Tritone is a dissonant interval.

In addition, an augmented interval is a half-step larger than a perfect or a major interval, and a diminished interval is a half-step smaller than a perfect or a minor interval.

There are multiple ways to call the same interval:

tritone = augmented perfect fourth = diminished perfect fifth
Major sixth = augmented minor sixth =diminished octave
Minor third = augmented major second = diminished major third

Intervals can also be inverted. Perfect intervals remain perfect upon inversion. Major intervals become minor (and vice-versa). Augmented intervals become diminished (and vice-versa).

Chord
A chord is a group of notes. The different types of chords are Cmaj, Cm, Csus, Caug, Cdim, Cmaj7, Cmin7, C7, Csus4, C7sus4, C6, Cmin6, C7-5, C7+5, Cm7-5 and A/C.

A triad is a chord constructed with 3 notes. The various types of triads are major (happy), minor (sad), augmented (mysterious) and diminished (dissonant). Every triad has a formula. A major chord is a chord that has a root, major third, and perfect fifth. A minor chord is a chord that has a root, minor third, and perfect fifth. An augmented triad is a chord, made up of two major thirds (augmented fifth). A diminished triad is a triad consisting of two minor thirds above the root. A suspended chord (or sus chord) is a musical chord in which the (major or minor) third is omitted, replaced usually with either a perfect fourth or a major second although the fourth is far more common.

Extended chords are extension to the triads. Various extended chords are 7 chords, 9 chords, 13 chords and so on. Types of 7 chords are Major 7 (maj7), Minor 7 (m7) and Dominant 7 (7).

Slash chords are another type of chords. An example is A/C.

Diatonic chords are chords that naturally belong to a key. The pattern of diatonic chords for a Major key follow a formula: 1(Major) - 2(Minor) - 3(Minor) - 4(Major) - 5(Major) - 6(Minor) - 7(Diminished). The pattern of diatonic chords for a Minor key follow a formula: 1(Minor) - 2(Diminished) - 3(Major) - 4(Minor) - 5(Minor) - 6(Major) - 7(Major). Each diatonic chord has a function - tonic, subdominant, dominant. For example, in the major scale, the function is shown in brackets: I(t) - ii(s) - iii(t) - IV(s) - V(d) - vi(t) - vii(d)

Chord inversion gives a nice flavor to the original chord. They are useful for making progressions on piano easier to play and smoother sounding. A triad has a root inversion (root is at the root position), a first inversion (root note is at the top position) and a second inversion (root note is at the middle position). A 7 chord has a root inversion, first inversion, second inversion and third inversion.

Chord Progression

A chord progression is a series of chords played in a pattern.
e.g. I-IV-V-I
e.g. I-VI-II-V-I

1 - any
2 - 5
3 - 6
4 - 1 or 5
5 - 1
6 - 2

Counting Notes
Everything written below is w.r.t. the common time.
A whole note spans the whole of a measure.
A half note spans a half of a measure.
A quarter note spans a quarter of a measure. There are one quarter note in each beat and four quarter notes in a measure. (One Two Three...)
An 8th note spans 1/8th of a measure. There are two 8th notes in each beat and eight 8th notes in a measure. (One and Two and Three and...)
A 16th note spans 1/16th of a measure. There are four 16th notes in each beat and sixteen 16th notes in a measure. (One ee and a Two ee and a Three ee and a...)
An 8th note triplet is three 8th notes in each beat. There are four triplets in a measure. (One and a Two and a Three and a...)
A 16th note triplet is six 16th notes in each beat. There are four triplets in a measure.