MUSIC THEORY 101 – The Building Blocks of Music

I. The distance between two notes can be measured by what we call ________________.
Initially, there are two kinds:
a. the _______________ or half step – example: E to F, B to C, F to _______
b. the _______________ or whole step – example: C to D, E to F#, Bb to ______

*In the violin, these steps are easily determined. If two fingers are close together, the distance is a
_________ step. If two fingers are somehow 1 inch apart, the distance is a _________ step.

* ACCIDENTALS alter the sound of a note. These are the sharp , double sharp , Flat ,

Double Flat , and the Natural Sign .

***__________________ raises the note a half step.
***__________________ raises the note a whole step.
***__________________ lowers the note a half step.
***__________________ lowers the note a whole step.
***__________________ cancels the sharps and the flats.

So remember: Don’t be , Always stay , but most of all, be !

II. _____________ came from the Latin word, “scala” which means stairs or ladder. Thus, a music
scale is an organized sequence of notes that goes up (______________) and goes down
(______________). For now you need to know that there are many kinds of scales, but the starting
point is always on the ______________scale. The most commonly known is the ______ Major scale
that sounds like do- re-mi- fa- sol- la- ti- do! There are _______ notes in a scale, the 8th is just a
repetition of the ______ (just an octave higher).

MAJOR scales follow a constant pattern. That is the whole-whole-half-whole-whole-whole-half (2

_________,1 _________, 3 __________, 1 __________)

Let us analyze the C major scale and the interval between its notes:

Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Ti Do
C D E F G A B C
W W H W W W H

III. _______________ comes from the Italian word “arpeggiare”, which means to play on a harp.
Arpeggio is a chord in which the notes are played in a ___________, instead of playing them all
simultaneously. In a major scale, they are the _______, _______, _______ and _______ notes.
Example:
Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Ti Do
C D E F G A B C
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

So, a C major Arpeggio consist of _____, ______, ______, _______.

*Why do we play arpeggiated/broken chords in the violin? __________________.
NAME: ____________________________________________________

SCALE AND ARPEGGIO LEVEL 1:

 A Major scale ( 1 octave, starting on open string A): ______________________

 D Major scale ( 1 octave, starting on open string D): ______________________
 G Major scale ( 2 octaves, starting on open string G): ______________________

Requirements for scales:

_____ Long tones: 4 counts, 2 counts, 1 count (full bow)
_____ Bowing variations: slurred by 2, 4, & 8
_____ Long tonic (tonic is the first and last note of a scale)
_____ Rhythmic variations
_____ Scalar Patterns

Requirements for arpeggios:

_____ Long tones: 3 counts, 2 counts (full bow)
_____ Bowing Variations: slurred by 3 & 6
_____ Rhythmic Variations
_____ Patterns

A major scale A major arp. D major scale D major arp. G major scale G major arp.

Long
tones

Bowing
variations
 Long
tonic

Rhythmic
variations

Scalar
Patterns

NAME: ____________________________________________________

SCALE AND ARPEGGIO LEVEL 2:

 F Major scale ( 1 octave): _____________________________________________________

 Bb Major scale ( 1 octave, starting on the Bb of G string): ___________________________
 E Major scale ( 1 octave): _____________________________________________________
 A major scale (2 octaves, starting on A of G string) : ________________________________
 B Major scale (1 octave, starting on B of A string): _________________________________

Requirements for scales:

_____ Long tones: 4 counts, 2 counts, 1 count (full bow)
_____ Bowing variations: slurred by 2, 4, & 8
_____ Long tonic (tonic is the first and last note of a scale)
_____ Rhythmic variations
_____ Scalar Patterns

Requirements for arpeggios:

_____ Long tones: 3 counts, 2 counts (full bow)
_____ Bowing Variations: slurred by 3 & 6
_____ Rhythmic Variations
_____ Patterns

F major scale & Bb major scale & E major scale & A major scale & B major scale &
arp. arp. arp. arp. arp.

Long tones
Bowing
variations
Long tonic
Rhythmic
variations

Scalar Patterns

NAME: ____________________________________________________

SCALE AND ARPEGGIO LEVEL 3A:

 Eb Major scale ( 1 octave): ______________________________________________________
 Ab Major scale ( 2 octaves): _____________________________________________________
 Bb Major scale ( 2 octaves): _____________________________________________________
 B major scale (2 octaves) : ______________________________________________________
Requirements for scales:
_____ Long tones: 4 counts, 2 counts, 1 count (full bow)
_____ Bowing variations: slurred by 2, 4, & 8
_____ Long tonic (tonic is the first and last note of a scale)
_____ Rhythmic variations
_____ Scalar Patterns

Requirements for arpeggios:

_____ Long tones: 3 counts, 2 counts (full bow)
_____ Bowing Variations: slurred by 3 & 6
_____ Rhythmic Variations
_____ Patterns

Eb major scale & Ab major scale & Bb major scale & B major scale &
arp. arp. arp. arp.

Long tones

Bowing variations

Long tonic
Rhythmic
variations

Scalar Patterns

NAME: ____________________________________________________

SCALE AND ARPEGGIO LEVEL 3B:

 F# Major scale (1 octave): ______________________________________________________

 C# Major scale (1 octave, starting on C# of G string): _________________________________
 Db Major (1 octave) : __________________________________________________________
 Gb Major (1 octave): ___________________________________________________________

Requirements for scales:

_____ Long tones: 4 counts, 2 counts, 1 count (full bow)
_____ Bowing variations: slurred by 2, 4, & 8
_____ Long tonic (tonic is the first and last note of a scale)
_____ Rhythmic variations
_____ Scalar Patterns

Requirements for arpeggios:

_____ Long tones: 3 counts, 2 counts (full bow)
_____ Bowing Variations: slurred by 3 & 6
_____ Rhythmic Variations
_____ Patterns

F# major scale & C# major scale & Db major scale & Gb major scale &
arp. arp. arp. arp.

Long tones

Bowing variations
Long tonic
Rhythmic
variations

Scalar Patterns