Unit 2: Tuning and the Circle of 4ths

Today (after the anatomy quiz) I introduce the circle of 4ths and we spell all of the major scales out on the board. Quiz soon.

Within the scale or key, the 1st, 3rd, and 5th scale degrees sounding together make a chord. It's important to realize what notes and what scale degrees are in the chords we play so that we can make alterations to the basic chord shapes later. You can't exactly "lower the third" of a chord that you know if you don't know where the third is.

Switching from chord to chord creates a chord progression- the basis of a song. These chord progressions are notated using roman numerals for example, the I, IV, V progression is very common in popular music.

We spell out a I, IV, V progression in various keys. in the key of A, the I, IV, V will be I=A, IV=D, V=B.

After all of this brain-melting theory, I demonstrate how to use an electronic tuner, and how to tune by ear. Most students get the gist of the electronic tuner right away, and I encourage their use. Tuning by ear takes some practice. Listen to this audio file for my lecture on tuning.