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Free Online Piano Lesson 7: Bending the Rules

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Congratulations, you've made it through six valuable lessons covering important piano information and theory.  At this point the lessons will progress to more advanced theory.  But don't worry!  If you've read the previous lessons this should be a piece of cake.  This lesson will cover non-harmonic tones, modes and the circle of fifths.  These are important aspects of theory as well as composing. 
First, let's take a look at a very useful tool in music theory, the circle of fifths .  This is very helpful when dealing with key signatures and modes.  As you can see at the top of this page, the circle of fifths outlines all the major keys.  Starting at the top with "C," as you progress around the circle clockwise each note is a fifth higher. Imagine that each one of these notes is a key signature.  As you go clockwise each key adds a sharp to its key signature.  As you go counterclockwise each key adds a flat.  They meet at the bottom as enharmonics (two different spellings of the same pitch.)  Mnemonic devices can help you remember the order of sharps and flats, but the circle of fifths also works to find their order.
The next part of this lesson will cover non-harmonic tones, which are all notes that are played along with a chord, but aren't a traditional note of the chord.  Some of these notes link one note to another in a melody.  Others provide dissonance in the music.  Dissonance is unresolved or even unpleasant sound in music. These chords or notes are often resolved into consonance , resolved and relaxed sound.  The chart below lists some of the most common non-harmonic tones.
Non-Harmonic Tone  Function of Tone
 Passing tone non-chord tone in between 2 ascending or descending chord tones

 Neighbor tone

  step to this non-chord tone followed by a step back to the same chord tone
 Escape tone  step to this non-chord tone followed by a skip down to another chord tone
 Appoggiatura  skip up to this non-chord tone followed by a step down to a chord tone
 Suspension  staying on a chord tone while the chord changes to make it disonant and then resolving downward
 Retardation  staying on a chord tone while the chord changes to make it disonant and then resolving upward
 Anticipation  step to a dissonant non-chord tone and the the chord changes to include that tone.

Modes also provide a way out of traditional major and minor compositions.  Modes originated along with Gregorian Chant and lack a firm tonal center.  The chart below lists the modes if you were to start on "C."  If you were to start a note on the supertonic, "D" in the key of "C" and play the same key signature as C (no sharps or flats) you would be playing in Dorian mode.  You would be in Dorian mode if you started on any 2nd scale degree and played according to the key signature of the tonic note.  Starting on the mediant, or third scale degree, and playing in the same key signature as the tonic would land you in Phrygian mode.  Even the traditional major and minor scales that we have already covered are, in theory, modes.  Major is considered Ionian mode and Minor is known to be Aeolian mode.  You can test this by starting on each key of the "C" major scale and playing as though each note were the tonic.

Mode Number 

 Ionian

  1
 Dorian  2
 Phrygian  3
 Lydian  4
 Mixolydian  5
 Aeolian  6
 Locrian  7



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