Andrew Wasson of Creative Guitar Studio answers a viewers question:

Q: I have subscribed to your channel and watched a lot of your videos. My background is limited in theory, but Ive learnt enough theory to have questions. I will limit them to the following it would be great if you could answer them. They are

#1). Are there different rules for Harmonic Analysis? I have noticed that you always write all of the roman numerals as upper case. I see other teachers write minor chords as lowercase and major chords as upper-case. Can you please clarify this.

#2). I can hear major keys just fine in music, but I have difficulty understanding how to hear and know if a song is in a minor key. Are there any basic rules for understanding when songs are in minor keys?
- Thanks, Wayne Calgary, AB.

A: Thanks for writing in! The harmonic analysis may vary depending upon where you went to school. Berklee, Musicians Institute and University Programs, Departments and Professors/Instructors can and will teach differently. In the video lesson I cover the most popular types.

When it comes to Minor Key Theory, it is important to know what establishes a tonality of minor. A large part of this theory in Minor has to do with the Harmonic Minor Scale. In the video lesson I cover important principles of Minor Key resolve.

The complete lesson article for this video, is available on the Creative Guitar Studio website.

Chords may be grouped into families based upon the principle chords found in harmony. These principle chords include the Root, Fourth and Fifth. (Notated as: I, IV, V).

In the key of C Major, we have the Root, (or the I chord), occurring as the C Major chord. The fourth step chord, (or the IV chord) occurs as the F Major. And, the fifth step chord, (or the V chord), presents as G Major.

These families are named as the; Tonic, (I), Sub-Dominant (IV), and the Dominant (V). The notes of each family combined spell out every tone of the major scale. The movement from one chord to another creates the basic harmonic effects of all tonal music.

It is important to memorize the function of each chord as well as the other chords which relate to each chord family.

FUNCTIONS:
- Tonic Family
The function of the Tonic family is to temporarily, or permanently begin, or end a piece, or section of music.

- Sub Dominant Family
The function of the Sub-dominat family is to move-away from the tonic family and move toward the Dominant family.

- Dominant Family
The Dominant family wants to resolve back toward Tonic. The pull of the 3rd chord tone (the leading tone of the key - in the case of C Major it is a B note) combined with the root of this chord (in Cmajor it is a G note) being out by a fifth. And, the major second interval of the chords 5th chord tone, (in C major it is a D note) all work together by surrounding the arrival of the movement toward notes of the Tonic chord. In the end the result is a very strong resolution. In Classical theory it is referred to as an Authentic Cadence.

To Read the complete article and listen to audio examples of this theoretical concept in use, please visit CreativeGuitarStudio.com

Andrew Wasson of Creative Guitar Studio explains the use of Modulation in a piece of Music. He explains the two most popular types of modulating from one key to another in a song. Direct Modulation, which occurs when a key appears suddenly. And, Pivot Chord Modulation, which will use a chord shared by both keys to allow for a seamless transition between the old to the new.

Follow the link below to buy a copy of Andrew's eBook,
"Using the Major Scale Modes"

There are five important concepts involving the proper learning of chord inversions, they are;
1). VOICING: The arrangement of the notes of a chord in vertical order above the bass note.
2). CHORD INVERSION: Voicing a chord tone other than the root in the bass.
3). INVERSION POSITION:
   a). ROOT POSITION: The voicing of a chord with the ROOT as the lowest tone (in the bass).
   b). FIRST INVERSION: A chord with the THIRD in the bass.
   c). SECOND INVERSION: A chord with the FIFTH in the bass.
4). HOW TO FIND ROOT POSITION OF AN INVERTED CHORD: To nd the root of an inverted chord when written on the staff you must rearrange the notes until they are stacked in 3rd intervals. The lowest note will be the root.
5). SLASH CHORDS: In modern musical notation, inverted chords are represented by the symbol, known as a slash chord.

UNDERSTANDING KEY SIGNATURES:
When musicians talk of scales, or even a piece of music as being in a certain key; i.e., this song is in the key of, F Major... they are defining the key signature and tonality off of the tonic note, (the, tonic, is the key note of a scale), and the specific notes (and to a lesser extent the chords), found within the piece. The altered tones found in the scale are the signature, the tonality is the key's center, (or Key Center).

For example:
If we say a certain melody is in the key of
G Major, then the melody is made up
of notes from the, G Major, scale;
G, A, B, C, D, E, F#.

The tonic note, (or first note - key note), of the scale is; G, but the key center is G Major.

Key signatures are given at the beginning of a piece of music. They are shown as the appropriate sharps or flats on the staff for the prescribed key. The sharps and flats are indicated between the clef and time signature. When placed on the staff in this manner we call this the, Key Signature.

For more details on this post (including a FREE handout) follow the link below and visit the Creative Guitar Studio website for this lesson plan:
http://www.creativeguitarstudio.com/lessons/music_theory/key_signatures.php