Music/Theory Resources

• Music Theory for Musicians and Normal People
• OnMusic Dictionary
• G Major Music Theory
• musictheory.net - Exercises
• Polyphonic.org: Music Librarian
• Symphony Orchestra Stereotypes

Musical Intervals

• Interval Ear Training (customized, major intervals)
• Ear Training Software
• Interval Song Examples Chart
  • Minor 2nd - Jaws
  • Major 2nd - Frere Jacques, Happy Birthday
  • Minor 3rd - Greensleeves, This Old Man (slowed down, that's the Barney Song)
  • Major 3rd - When the Saints Go Marching In
  • Perfect 4th - Amazing Grace, Here Comes the Bride
  • Augmented 4th (Tritone) - Maria, The Simpsons
  • Perfect 5th - Scarborough Fair, Twinkle Twinkle
  • Minor 6th - Love Story
  • Major 6th - My Bonny Lies Over The Ocean, It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
  • Minor 7th - Somewhere (West Side Story)
  • Major 7th - Bali Hai (first and third note of the tune)
  • Octave - Somewhere Over The Rainbow

Classical Music Genres

BAROQUE (1600-1750)

• Definitive Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach
• Other Baroque Composers: Antonio Vivaldi, Arcangelo Corelli, George Frederic Handel, Henry Purcell
• Defining Characteristics: Continuous bass line (basso continuo), use of harpsichord and pipe organ, introduction of written works such as cantatas and oratorios, smaller ensembles with limited or no wind and percussion parts
• Performance Style: added embellishments and tremolos, little or no vibrato, trills starting on the higher note

CLASSICAL (1750-1820)

• Definitive Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
• Other Classical Composers: Christoph Willibald Gluck, Carl Philipp Emanuel (C.P.E.) Bach, Joseph Haydn, Ludwig van Beethoven (early works)
• Defining Characteristics: short melodies and phrases, obvious cadences, larger orchestra than Baroque, music in sonata form, eventual disuse of harpsichord and introduction of piano, quartet music
• Performance Style: light and clear articulation, trills starting on the lower note, modest use of vibrato, more dynamic contrast

ROMANTIC (1820-1910)

• Definitive Composers: Ludwig Van Beethoven (transitional later works), Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Johannes Brahms
• Other Romantic Composers: Franz Schubert, Felix Mendelssohn, Frederic Chopin, Robert Schumann, Richard Wagner, Antonin Dvorak, Edward Elgar, Gustav Mahler, Richard Strauss, Sergei Rachmaninoff
• Defining Characteristics: reflective of human emotion and expression; a response to social and political movements; rich and song-like melodies; more modulation and key changes; larger orchestra with more winds, brass, and percussion; programme music and symphonic poems
• Performance Style: dramatic, expressive, wide vibrato, dramatic and high-contrast articulation and dynamics, rich texture, virtuosic playing, lyrical and song-like phrasing