Musiknows

Of all the strands in these materials, this is the one with the content you can find most easily find in lots of places. It's all the theoretical knowledge about music – the names of the notes, time signatures, keys, bars, slurs, ties, first time bars sort of stuff. 

To avoid cluttering up the other projects and repeating key bits of knowledge, you'll find you are referred to the relevant Musiknow.

Musiknows to download

Musiknows that are part of Learning Collection 1: Getting Started with Frère Jacques and Friends

(click on the links to download a PDF to your computer)

101 Octaves

102 Learn the keyboard pattern and play octaves

The Musiknows that are part of Learning Collection 2: Learning lots with Monteverdi's Gloria

(click on the links to download a PDF to your computer)

M1 Learn there are pitches between the notes of a major scale, find them on a keyboard, and learn what a semitone and tone are

M2 Learn how to name the black notes and what “enharmonic” means

M3 Learn that the sharps, flats and naturals that turn up as you go through the music are called accidentals, and what the rules are so you read accidentals confidently

M4 Check you are clear about tones, semitones and accidentals

M7 Major scale structure

M8 Difference between major and minor scales – first 5 notes

M9 Lay the foundations for learning about minor scales by finding out about modes

M11 Start to understand the Dorian and Aeolian modes as ancestors of the minor scale, and find out how the 7th note of the minor scale was modified

M12 Learn to recognise music in A minor – spot the G#s

M13 Solving the dilemma of the 13th note of the minor scale – why you have to be ready for anything

M14 Check out your knowledge about key signatures

M15.1 Study how the keys in the Gloria relate to each other: reference chart

M15.2 Study how the keys in the Gloria relate to each other: guide to the reference chart

M16 Look at the key signatures for the keys used in the Gloria

M17 Learn how to work out a key signature – as far as 4 sharps and flats, and why major and minor keys share their key signatures

M19 Learn 3 basic facts about chords: what a chord is and how chords get their letter names

M20 Learn that there are major and minor chords and how to hear and work out the difference

M21 Identify chords in the Gloria

M22 Learn that you can build chords on any note of the scale but you don't usually use all of them and find out how the tonic and dominant chords can harmonise a simple tune

M23 Get to know some useful terminology that helps you think and talk about chords and learn 2 more chord facts

M28 Learn about cadences – musical punctuation

M29 Learn about suspensions

M30 Unpick the final cadence learning about the Tierce de Picardie on the way