MUSIC THEORY APPLIED 6 in 1: Comprehensive synthesis of key techniques and concepts for musicians and composers: MUSIC THEORY APPLIED 6 in 1, #1

MUSIC THEORY APPLIED 6 in 1

Comprehensive synthesis of key techniques and concepts for musicians and composers

Published by (BRYNNER VALLECILLA)

Copyright © 2025 (BRYNNER VALLECILLA)

All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright holders. Infringement of these rights may constitute a copyright offence.

DEDICATION

To all passionate musicians

who constantly seek to perfect their craft and expand their understanding of music. This book is for those who find a story in every note and an emotion in every chord. Let this compendium be a guide on your journey toward musicianship.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I want to express my deepest gratitude to my family for their constant support and understanding throughout the entire process of creating this book. To my teachers and colleagues, whose wisdom and dedication have been an invaluable source of inspiration. To all the musicians and composers with whom I have had the honor of collaborating; Their ideas and creativity have greatly enriched this work. And finally, to God, for granting me the patience and passion necessary to complete this work. May this book serve to illuminate the path of others, just as you have illuminated mine.​

BOOK I: SCALES, CHORDS AND HARMONIC CIRCLES

THE MUSICAL SCALE

A scale is defined as a sequence of notes that follow the natural order of sounds. A scale is comprised of seven notes, in addition to the repetition of the first note, which is referred to as the octave. In the construction of a scale, it is imperative that all notes be present; each position of the note on the scale is assigned a degree, and each degree of the scale is assigned a specific name.

The first degree of the scale is designated as C, which is referred to as the tonic. The second degree of the scale is designated as D, which is referred to as the supertonic. The third degree of the scale is designated as E, which is referred to as the mediant, degree IV corresponds to F, the subdominant; degree V corresponds to G, the dominant; degree VI corresponds to A, the submediant; and degree VII corresponds to B, the leading tone. when the degree of the minor seventh (B♭) is used, the term subtonic is used.

TONALITY

Talking about tonality is similar to talking about scale. The key takes the notes of the major or minor scale to which it belongs; that is, tonality uses the same notes of the scale without following any order, obtaining all the melodies that come to mind, with the combinations that each one makes. There are different scales, but there are 2 that are the most important: the major scale and the minor scale. Before we begin to make each of the major or minor scales, it is necessary that we see the chromatic scale, which is the foundation that helps us develop each of these scales.

THE CHROMATIC SCALE

It is a scale consisting of a range of 12 different whole steps, pitches or notes within one octave. The chromatic scale contains the 12 half steps of the western seasonal scale: C - C♯/D♭ - D - D♯/E♭ - E - F - F♯/G♭ - G - G♯/A♭ - A - A♯/B♭ - B.

From the chromatic scale we deduce that:

There are 7 natural whole steps: (C, D, E, F, G, A, B).

There are 5 accidentals: (C♯ or D♭) (D♯ or E♭) (F♯ or G♭) (G♯ or A♭) (A♯ or B♭).

The 5 key signatures are enharmonic notes. This means that they are called differently, but they have the same sound.

The twelve full steps are separated by half steps, the half-step being the shortest distance. One whole step is equal to two half steps.

Now that we have the chromatic scale, we can continue to develop the major and minor scales.

CHORD SYMBOLS

The chord symbols are a system in which each of the 7 musical notes is encoded with a capital letter; this allows us to know what harmonies the songs are written about, just by reading the lyrics, regardless of the instrument for which it was written.

The chord symbols are a universal system. (A), (B), (C), (D), (E), (F), (G). If the note of a chord has an alteration, it is added next to the letter: (G sharp = G♯), (A flat = A♭).

When the letters appear by themselves, 2 American notation concepts are used, depending on the subject being considered. If you are studying the major, minor natural, harmonic and melodic minor scales, the chord symbol is limited to the name of the note, whatever it may be. Example: scale of C major = C, scale of F minor natural = F, harmonic D flat minor scale = D♭, G sharp minor melodic scale = G♯.

If you immerse yourself in the theme of chords, when the lyrics appear alone, the triad is larger. Example: C = C major, F = F major, D♭ = D flat major, G♯ = G sharp major.

In minor triads, it is most common to see the lowercase (m) after the letter. But you can also use another character. For example: C♯m = C sharp minor, Amin = A minor, Gm = G minor, D♭m = D flat minor.

Various signs or abbreviations can appear in the augmented triad. For example: D+ = D augmented, A(♯5) = A augmented, C5+ = C augmented, B♭aug = B flat augmented, G♯aum = G sharp augmented.

In the diminished triad the symbols and abbreviations are C° = C diminished, Adis = A diminished, Fdim = F diminished.

In added notes such as sevenths, sixths, suspended fourths, ninths, elevenths and thirteenths, they appear with numbers next to the chord. For example: C7 = C major with minor seventh, F♯m7 = F sharp minor with minor seventh, G6 = G major with sixth, D♭sus4 = D flat major with suspended fourth, Am9 = A minor with ninth.

In the course of the development of each topic in this first book, we will mention the American chord symbol for each note and chord.

THE MAJOR SCALES

Major scales generally have the following natural order of sounds: whole step - whole step - half step - whole step - whole step - whole step - half step. For example: The distance between C and D is one whole step, the distance between D and E is one whole step, the distance between E and F is a half-step, the distance between F and G is one whole step, the distance between G and A is one whole step, the distance between A and B is one whole step, the distance between B and C is a half-step.

The C major scale is: C - D - E - F - G - A - B - C.

The G major scale is: G - A - B - C - D - E - F♯ - G.

The D major scale is: D - E - F♯ - G - A - B - C♯ - D.

The A major scale is: A - B - C♯ - D - E - F♯ - G♯ - A.

The scale of E major is: E - F♯ - G♯ - A - B - C♯ - D♯ - E.

The scale of B major is: B - C♯ - D♯ - E - F♯ - G♯ - A♯ - B.

The F-sharp major scale is: F♯ - G♯ - A♯ - B - C♯ - D♯ - E♯ - F♯.

The scale of D flat major is: D♭ - E♭ - F - G♭ - A♭ - B♭ - C - D♭.

The scale of A flat major is: A♭ - B♭ - C - D♭ - E♭ - F - G - A♭.

The scale of E flat major is: E♭ - F - G - A♭ - B♭ - C - D - E♭.

The scale of B flat major is: B♭ - C - D - E♭ - F - G - A - B♭.

The scale of F major is: F - G - A - B♭ - C - D - E - F.

THE MINOR SCALES

The construction of minor scales uses the same basic principle as that of major scales, and the results are the notes that are part of that tonality; that is, when we play or sing a song in A minor, we will use the notes that are part of that scale, with different combinations depending on the melody we are playing.

There are three kinds of minor scales: Natural or old minor scale. Harmonic minor scale. Melodic minor scale.

There is only one type of major scale, but there are three types of minor scales because there is no tonal or harmonic balance in just one. When trying to build the minor scales, we will also need the chromatic scale, which is the scale made up of the 12 sounds or musical notes that exist on this planet.

THE NATURAL MINOR SCALE

Every minor scale has a relative major, and every major scale has its relative minor: this means that the natural minor scales have the same changes as their relative majors. For example:

The C major scale is: C - D - E - F - G - A - B - C.

The A minor scale is: A - B - C - D - E - F - G - A.

Notice that the C major scale has the same notes as the A minor scale; what changes is the order in which the notes are placed. The natural minor scale usually has the following order: Whole step – half step - whole step - whole step - half step - whole step - whole step.

We will use the A minor scale as an example for better compression, since it has no alteration: The distance between A and B is one whole step, the distance between B and C is half step, the distance between C and D is one whole step, the distance between D and E is one whole step, the distance between E and F is half step, the distance between F and G is one whole step, the distance between G and A is one whole step.

The A minor scale is: A - B - C - D - E - F - G - A.

The D minor scale is: D - E - F - G - A - B♭ - C - D.

The G minor scale is: G - A - B♭ - C - D - E♭ - F - G.

The C minor scale is: C - D - E♭ - F - G - A♭ - B♭ - C.

The scale of F minor is: F - G - A♭ - B♭ - C - D - E♭ - F.

The scale of B flat minor is: B♭ - C - D♭ - E♭ - F - G♭ - A♭ - B♭.

The scale of E flat minor is: E♭ - F - G♭ - A♭ - B♭ - C♭ - D♭ - E♭.

The scale of A flat minor is: A♭ - B♭ - C♭ - D♭ - E♭ - E - G♭ - A♭.

The C-sharp minor scale is: C♯ - D♯ - E - F♯ - G♯ - A - B - C♯.

The F-sharp minor scale is: F♯ - G♯ - A - B - C♯ - D - E - F♯.

The B minor scale is: B - C♯ - D - E - F♯ - G - A - B.

The scale of E minor is: E - F♯ - G - A - B - C - D - E.

THE HARMONIC MINOR SCALE

This is an artificial scale. It differs from the natural minor scale in that the seventh degree is raised half a step, resulting in a distance of one and a half steps from the sixth degree to the seventh. Example: A - B - C - D - E - F - G♯ - A.

The pattern or rule that the harmonic minor scale uses is as follows: Whole step, half step, whole step, whole step, half step, whole and half-step, half step. Now that we know the pattern of whole steps and half steps of the harmonic minor scale, we will develop each of the scales step by step.

The harmonic minor Scale A is: A - B - C - D - E - F - G♯ - A.

The D harmonic minor scale is: D - E - F - G - A - B♭ - C♯ - D.

The G harmonic minor scale is G - A - B♭ - C - D - E♭ - F♯ - G.

The C harmonic minor scale is: C - D - E♭ - F - G - A♭ - B - C.

The F harmonic minor scale is: F - G - A♭ - B♭ - C - D♭ - E - F.

The harmonic scale of B flat minor is: B♭ - C - D♭ - E♭ - F - G♭ - A - B♭.

The harmonic scale of E flat minor is: E♭ - F - G♭ - A♭ - B♭ - C♭ - D - E♭.

The harmonic scale of A flat minor is: A♭ - B♭ - C♭ - D♭ - E♭ - F♭ - G - A♭.

The scale of the harmonic minor of C sharp is: C♯ - D♯ - E - F♯ - G♯ - A - B♯ - C♯.

The scale of F-sharp harmonic minor: F♯ - G♯ - A - B - C♯ - D - E♯ - F♯.

The B harmonic minor scale is: B - C♯ - D - E - F♯ - G - A♯ - B.

The E harmonic minor is: E - F♯ - G - A - B - C - D♯ - E.

THE MELODIC MINOR SCALE

It's another artificial scale. It has the property of ascending with one structure and descending with another. In this scale, the sixth and seventh degrees go up, but when it goes down, it does so like a natural minor scale.

The rule that uses the ascending melodic minor scale is: Whole step - half step - whole step - whole step - whole step - whole step - half step. And the pattern using the descending melodic minor scale is: whole step - whole step - half step - whole step - whole step - half step - whole step. Let's develop the pattern of whole and half steps with the A melodic minor scale.

Ascending: The distance between A and B is one whole step, the distance between B and C is half step, the distance between C and D is one whole step. the distance between D and E is one whole step, the distance between E and F♯ is one whole step, the distance between F♯ and G♯ is one whole step, the distance between G♯ and A is half step.

Descending: The distance between A and G is one whole step, the distance between G and F is one whole step, the distance between F and E is half step, the distance between E and D is one whole step, the distance between D and C is one whole step, the distance between C and B is half step, the distance between B and A is one whole step. Let's start to develop the melodic minor scale, taking into account the chromatic scale.

The scale of A melodic minor is: Ascending: A – B – C – D – E – F♯ – G♯ - A. Descending: A – G – F – E – D – C – B - A.

The scale of melodic minor D is: Ascending: D – E – F – G – A – B – C♯ - D. Descending: D – C – B♭ – A – G – F – E – D.

The G minor melodic scale is: Ascending: G – A – B♭ – C – D – E – G♭ – G. Descending: G – F – E♭ – D – C – B♭ – A – G.

The scale of melodic minor C is: Ascending: C – D – E♭ – F – G – A – B – C. Descending: C – B♭ - A♭ – G – F – E♭ – D – C.

The F-Minor scale melodic is: Ascending: F – G – A♭ – B♭ – C – D – E – F. Descending: F – E♭ - D♭ – C – B♭ – A♭ – G – F.

The melodic scale of B flat minor is: Ascending: B♭ – C – D♭ – E♭ – F – G – A – B♭. Descending: B♭ – A♭ - G♭ – F – E♭ – D♭ – C – B♭.

The melodic scale of E flat minor is: Ascending: E♭ – F – G♭ – A♭ – B♭ – C – D – E♭. Descending: E♭ – D♭ - C♭ – B♭ – A♭ – G♭ – F – E♭.

The scale of the melodic A flat minor is: Ascending: A♭ – B♭ – C♭ – D♭ – E♭ – F – G – A♭. Descending: A♭ – G♭ - F♭ – E♭ – D♭ – C♭ – B♭ – A♭.

The scale of C sharp minor melodic is: Ascending: C♯ – D♯ - E – F♯ – G♯ – A♯ - B♯ – C♯. Descending: C♯ – B - A – G♯ – F♯ – E – D♯ – C♯.

The scale of F-sharp minor melodic is: Ascending: F♯ – G♯ - A – B – C♯ – D♯ - E♯ – F♯. Descending: F♯ – E – D – C♯ – B – A – G♯ – F♯.

The B minor melodic scale is: Ascending: B – C♯ - D – E – F♯ – G♯ - A♯ – B. Descending: B – A – G – F♯ – E – D – C♯ – B.

The scale of E-Melodic minor is: Ascending: E – F♯ - G – A – B – C♯ - D♯ - E. Descending: E – D – C – B – A – G – F♯ – E.

THE BASIC CHORDS

A chord is a group of notes played together. There are different types of chords, made up of three, four or more notes. Chords are the basis of harmony in any genre of music, be it rock, pop, Latin, etc. Example: By studying chords, we can use them in song arrangements; therefore, it is necessary to identify them, know how they work, know the different ways to play them and also know how to combine them. There are musical instruments on which we cannot play a chord at the same time, but we have to arpeggiate, that is, play them one after the other, more or less quickly.

Some of the musical instruments on which you can play a chord at the same time are the piano, guitar, etc. and others on which you can arpeggiate are the saxophone, clarinet, violin, etc. Chords are very useful for creating songs, because we can use them to create many different melodies that can be sung or played in an orchestra.

THE TRIADS

These are chords made up of 3 notes. Triads are made up of a root, a 3rd and a 5th; since there are different types of 3rds and 5ths, there are also different types of triads. There are 4 types of triads: Major triad, minor triad, augmented triad, diminished triad.

The major triad is made up of the major 3rd and the perfect 5th.

The minor triad is made up of the minor 3rd and the perfect 5th.

The augmented triad is made up of the major 3rd and the  augmented 5th.

The diminished triad is made up of the minor 3rd and the 5th  diminished.

THE MAJOR TRIAD

The major triad is made up of the keynote, a major 3rd and a perfect 5th: C, E and G. This combination of notes is called C major. The root is the note we choose to form our chord, in this case it would be C. The 3rd is the note that makes the difference between the major triad and the minor triad; the 5th is simply called that because it has no variation between the major and minor chords.

We can describe major triads as bright, happy chords. They are combined with minor triads, augmented triads, and diminished triads to make songs; but we can also make songs with only major triads. The chord symbols for major chords are as follows. Example: A (A major), D (D major), G♭ (G flat major), C♯ (C sharp major).

CHORD INVERSION

There are 2 different ways to form a major triad, apart from the root position. Where each note that forms the chord happens to occupy a different position, but when fingered it gives us the same sound: The root position (C - E - G), the first inversion (E - G - C), the second inversion (G - C - E). Each of these three forms is C major.

There are several ways to find a major triad, but the easiest is to use the major scale of the chord you are trying to find. Once the major triad is found, we can proceed with the first and second inversion. Let's build the major triads step by step, taking into account the following elements: The major scale of the root we are going to make. Apply the general rule of major triads. Make the first inversion. Make the second inversion.

The C major chord is: C - E - G. First inversion: E – G – C. Second inversion: G – C – E.

The G major chord is: G – B – D. First inversion: B – D – G. Second inversion: D – G – B.

The D major chord is: D – F♯ – A. First inversion: F♯ – A – D. Second inversion: A – D – F♯.

The A major chord is: A – C♯ – E. First inversion: C♯ – E – A. Second inversion: E – A – C♯.

The E major chord is: E – G♯ – B. First inversion: G♯ – B – E. Second inversion: B – E – G♯.

The B major chord is: B – D♯ – F♯. First inversion: D♯ – F♯ - B. Second inversion: F♯ – B – D♯.

The F-sharp major chord is: F♯ – A♯ – C♯. First inversion: A♯ – C♯ – F♯. Second inversion: C♯ – F♯ – A♯.

The D flat major chord is: D♭ – F – A♭. First inversion: F – A♭ - D♭. Second inversion: A♭ – D♭ – F.

The A flat major chord is: A♭ – C – E♭. First inversion: C – E♭ – A♭. Second inversion: E♭ - A♭ – C.

The E flat major chord is: E♭ – G – B♭. First inversion: G – B♭ - E♭. Second inversion: B♭ - E♭ – G.

The B flat major chord is: B♭ – D – F. First inversion: D – F – B♭. Second inversion: F - B♭ – D.

The F major chord is: F – A – C. First inversion: A – C – F. Second inversion: C - F – A.

THE MINOR TRIAD

The minor triad is made up of the root, a minor 3rd and a 5th. It differs from the major triad in that the 3rd is a half tone lower. This combination of notes is called C minor. Minor chords sound much sadder and darker. They are combined with major chords to create different moods, but we can also find songs with only minor chords, although this is more difficult.

The minor triad, unlike the major triad, is symbolized by a small letter (m) next to the name of the note, although it is also represented by other abbreviations, for example F♯m (F sharp minor), Bmin (B minor), D- (D minor), A♭m (A flat minor).

As with major triads, there are several ways to find a minor triad. We will use the same system as for the major triad to build the minor triad, except that this time we will use the minor scale and rule to find a minor triad. Let's start by finding the A minor triad, since it has no sharps or flats. And then we use the chord inversion.

The A minor chord is: A – C – E. First inversion: C – E – A. Second inversion: E – A – C.

The D minor chord is: D – F – A. First inversion: F – A – D. Second inversion: A – D – F.

The G minor chord is: G – B♭ – D. First inversion: B♭ – D – G. Second inversion: D – G – B♭.

The C minor chord is: C - E♭ - G. First inversion: E♭ – G – C. Second inversion: G – C – E♭.

The F minor chord is: F – A♭ – C. First inversion: A♭ – C – F. Second inversion: C - F – A♭.

The B flat minor chord is: B♭ – D♭ – F. First inversion: D♭ – F – B♭. Second inversion: F - B♭ – D♭.

The E flat minor chord is: E♭ – G♭ – B♭. First inversion: G♭ – B♭ - E♭. Second inversion: B♭ - E♭ – G♭.

The A flat minor chord is: A♭ – C♭ – E♭. First inversion: C♭ – E♭ – A♭. Second inversion: E♭ - A♭ – C♭.

The C sharp minor chord is: C♯ – E – G♯. First inversion: E – G♯ - C♯. Second inversion: G♯ - C♯ – E.

The F sharp minor chord is: F♯ – A – C♯. First inversion: A – C♯ – F♯. Second inversion: C♯ – F♯ – A.

The B minor chord is: B – D – F♯. First inversion: D – F♯ - B. Second inversion: F♯ – B – D.

The E minor chord is: E – G – B. First inversion: G – B – E. Second inversion: B – E – G.

THE AUGMENTED TRIAD

The augmented triad consists of the root, the major 3rd and the augmented 5th. This chord differs from the major triad in that the 5th is raised a half step. Augmented chords create a lot of tension when you hear them, so they are used in quick passages from one chord to another. It is very rare to hear them at the beginning or end of a song.

The augmented triad is often symbolized by the plus sign (+) next to the note name, although there are other signs. For example: F+ (F augmented), E(♯5) (E augmented), B5+ (B augmented), A♭aug (A augmented), C♯aum (C augmented). As I said, there are several ways to find an augmented triad, but we will use the following:

We will find the augmented triad from the chromatic scale. We use the formula: Root + 4 half steps + 4 half steps. We do the calculations.

The augmented C chord is: C - E - G♯. First inversion: E – G♯ – C. Second inversion: