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Musical Grammar 1

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Alan Coady

Thursday 14 September 2006

"Like everything metaphysical the harmony between thought and reality is to be found in the grammar of the language."

Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889 - 1951)

At its most basic, pupils need to know which notes from a scale can be selected to form a chord. The short answer is – the bold ones:

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

B

C

D

E

F

G

A

C

D

E

F

G

A

B

D

E

F

G

A

B

C

E

F

G

A

B

C

D

F

G

A

B

C

D

E

G

A

B

C

D

E

F

and that’s it. Majors/minors, sharps/flats may come and go, but these relationships must remain. These triads have formed the basis of Western European harmony for hundreds of years and the left-over notes constitute optional extras which can be included to alter the function of the chord or simply the colour - more of which another day.

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