Music Theory & Philosophy Reference Sheet

W-W-H-W-W-W-H step pattern

W-H-W-W-H-W-W step pattern

All twelve half steps in an octave

A five-note scale (degrees 1, 2, 3, 5, 6)

One sharp (F#)

Sharps or flats at the start of a staff indicating the key

Minor key sharing the same key signature, starting on the 6th degree

Natural minor with raised 7th degree

Creates an augmented second between the 6th and 7th

Major scale

The whole/half pattern is W-W-H-W-W-W-H.

Relative minor

The two keys share no sharps or flats.

The distance in pitch between two notes

12

Major third (4 half steps)

Perfect fifth (7 half steps)

Three whole steps (augmented 4th / diminished 5th)

Medieval musicians called it 'diabolus in musica'

Unison, fourth, fifth, and octave

A perfect fourth (5 half steps)

Count C-D-E-F as four letter names.

A minor third (3 half steps)

Lowering the upper note by a half step makes the third minor.

A three-note chord built by stacking thirds

C, E, G

The third is lowered by a half step (minor third on bottom, major third on top)

Minor third plus diminished fifth

Tonic-subdominant-dominant-tonic

Major triad with an added minor seventh

In C: C-E-G-Bb

A chord with a non-root note as the lowest note

V (the chord built on the fifth scale degree)

Minor triad

The third has been lowered by a half step.

Two-part structure (AB) with contrasting sections

ABA — first section returns after contrast

Exposition, development, recapitulation

Common in first movements of symphonies

Imitative counterpoint with a subject in multiple voices

Bach was the supreme master of this form

A harmonic progression creating resolution or pause

PAC resolves V-I; half cadence ends on V

ABACA form with a returning main theme

The main theme keeps returning.

The main theme

The tune is transformed but still recognizable.

Themes are transformed and moved through keys

Development explores earlier material.

Main themes return in the home key

Re- means return.

Rondo

The A section keeps coming back.

A pattern repeated higher or lower

The same idea is moved.

Asking probing questions (Socratic method)

Perfect abstract Forms exist; physical things are imperfect copies

Prisoners mistake shadows for reality; philosophy leads to true knowledge

Prudence, justice, fortitude, temperance

Flourishing through virtuous, rational living

Virtue is the mean between excess and deficiency

Courage is the mean between cowardice and recklessness

Material, formal, efficient, final

Plato — asking 'What is justice?' with philosopher-kings ruling

Questioning as if ignorant to expose confusion

He often begins by professing not to know.

Courage

Aristotle uses this example for the Golden Mean.

The purpose or end of a thing

Final asks what it is for.

Appearances mistaken for reality

The prisoners think the shadows are all there is.

Evil is a privation (absence) of good, not a substance

Argument from motion to an Unmoved Mover

Moral law discernible by reason, rooted in eternal law

Complementary — both from God, cannot contradict

Confessions

Contrasting the earthly city with the City of God

A method using questions, objections, and replies to seek truth

Aquinas' Summa is a classic scholastic work.

Thomas Aquinas

He is closely associated with scholastic theology.

Providence, fortune, suffering, and happiness

He writes while awaiting execution.

An opposing point answered before the conclusion

Scholastic texts often raise objections first.

Both are gifts from God ordered toward truth

Aquinas treats truth as unified.

Speaking truly but not identically about God and creatures

Goodness in God and humans is related, not identical.

Developing good character traits (virtues)

Deontology: rules/duties; Consequentialism: outcomes

Faith, hope, and charity (love)

From 1 Corinthians 13

Happiness through virtue and contemplation

Moral principles grounded in nature and discoverable by reason

Virtue ethics

It focuses on character and habits.

Prudence

It governs wise judgment in action.

Reductionism

It reduces the good to one smaller part.

Temperance

It moderates desires.

Justice

It is concerned with right order in relation to others.

A stable disposition formed by repeated choices

Virtues grow through practice.

What goods belong to human nature and reason?

Natural law asks about nature, reason, and goods.

The study of knowledge — its nature, sources, and limits

Justified true belief

A priori: independent of experience; a posteriori: from experience

Wisdom begins with recognizing the limits of one's knowledge

The study of the fundamental nature of reality and being

Certain knowledge is difficult or impossible to attain

It questions whether we can know with certainty.

Knowledge comes primarily through sense experience

The word is connected with experience and observation.

Reason is a primary source of knowledge

It emphasizes the mind's reasoning powers.

Learning from another person's truthful report

Much ordinary learning depends on trusted witnesses.

A truth understood once its terms are grasped

The predicate is understood from the terms.

Justified true belief that still seems not to be knowledge

It challenges the simple definition of knowledge.

Knowing triangles have three sides from the concept

A priori means not dependent on sensory experience.