Music Theory Primitives¶

This tutorial covers the music theory primitives available in the coremusic.music module for working with notes, intervals, scales, and chords.

Overview¶

The music module provides:

Note: Musical note with MIDI number, name, octave, and frequency
Interval: Distance between two notes with quality (major, minor, perfect)
Scale: 25+ scale types including modes and exotic scales
Chord: 35+ chord types from triads to extended/altered chords

Music Theory Basics¶

Notes¶

The Note class represents a musical note:

from coremusic.music.theory import Note

# Create notes from name and octave
c4 = Note('C', 4)  # Middle C
fs3 = Note('F#', 3)
bb5 = Note('Bb', 5)

# Note properties
print(f"MIDI: {c4.midi}")           # 60
print(f"Name: {c4.name}")           # C
print(f"Octave: {c4.octave}")       # 4
print(f"Frequency: {c4.frequency:.2f} Hz")  # 261.63 Hz

# Create from MIDI number
a4 = Note.from_midi(69)  # A440

# Transposition
e4 = c4.transpose(4)   # Up 4 semitones -> E4
g3 = c4.transpose(-5)  # Down 5 semitones -> G3

Intervals¶

The Interval class represents the distance between two notes:

from coremusic.music.theory import Interval

# Standard intervals (semitone values)
print(Interval.UNISON)         # 0 semitones
print(Interval.MINOR_SECOND)   # 1 semitone
print(Interval.MAJOR_SECOND)   # 2 semitones
print(Interval.MINOR_THIRD)    # 3 semitones
print(Interval.MAJOR_THIRD)    # 4 semitones
print(Interval.PERFECT_FOURTH) # 5 semitones
print(Interval.TRITONE)        # 6 semitones
print(Interval.PERFECT_FIFTH)  # 7 semitones
print(Interval.OCTAVE)         # 12 semitones

Scales¶

The Scale class provides 25+ scale types:

from coremusic.music.theory import Note, Scale, ScaleType

root = Note('C', 4)

# Diatonic scales
major = Scale(root, ScaleType.MAJOR)
natural_minor = Scale(root, ScaleType.NATURAL_MINOR)
harmonic_minor = Scale(root, ScaleType.HARMONIC_MINOR)
melodic_minor = Scale(root, ScaleType.MELODIC_MINOR)

# Modes
dorian = Scale(Note('D', 4), ScaleType.DORIAN)
phrygian = Scale(Note('E', 4), ScaleType.PHRYGIAN)
lydian = Scale(Note('F', 4), ScaleType.LYDIAN)
mixolydian = Scale(Note('G', 4), ScaleType.MIXOLYDIAN)
locrian = Scale(Note('B', 4), ScaleType.LOCRIAN)

# Pentatonic and blues
major_pent = Scale(root, ScaleType.MAJOR_PENTATONIC)
minor_pent = Scale(root, ScaleType.MINOR_PENTATONIC)
blues = Scale(root, ScaleType.BLUES)
major_blues = Scale(root, ScaleType.MAJOR_BLUES)

# Symmetric scales
whole_tone = Scale(root, ScaleType.WHOLE_TONE)
diminished = Scale(root, ScaleType.DIMINISHED)
chromatic = Scale(root, ScaleType.CHROMATIC)

# World scales
double_harmonic = Scale(root, ScaleType.DOUBLE_HARMONIC)
hungarian_minor = Scale(root, ScaleType.HUNGARIAN_MINOR)
persian = Scale(root, ScaleType.PERSIAN)
arabian = Scale(root, ScaleType.ARABIAN)

# Exotic scales
hirajoshi = Scale(root, ScaleType.HIRAJOSHI)
in_sen = Scale(root, ScaleType.IN_SEN)
iwato = Scale(root, ScaleType.IWATO)
balinese = Scale(root, ScaleType.BALINESE)

# Get scale notes
notes = major.get_notes()
print([n.name for n in notes])
# ['C', 'D', 'E', 'F', 'G', 'A', 'B']

# Get MIDI note numbers
midi_notes = major.get_midi_notes()
print(midi_notes)  # [60, 62, 64, 65, 67, 69, 71]

Chords¶

The Chord class provides 35+ chord types:

from coremusic.music.theory import Chord, ChordType, Note

root = Note('C', 4)

# Triads
major = Chord(root, ChordType.MAJOR)           # C, E, G
minor = Chord(root, ChordType.MINOR)           # C, Eb, G
diminished = Chord(root, ChordType.DIMINISHED) # C, Eb, Gb
augmented = Chord(root, ChordType.AUGMENTED)   # C, E, G#
sus2 = Chord(root, ChordType.SUS2)             # C, D, G
sus4 = Chord(root, ChordType.SUS4)             # C, F, G

# Seventh chords
dom7 = Chord(root, ChordType.DOMINANT_7)       # C, E, G, Bb
maj7 = Chord(root, ChordType.MAJOR_7)          # C, E, G, B
min7 = Chord(root, ChordType.MINOR_7)          # C, Eb, G, Bb
dim7 = Chord(root, ChordType.DIMINISHED_7)     # C, Eb, Gb, Bbb
half_dim7 = Chord(root, ChordType.HALF_DIMINISHED_7)  # C, Eb, Gb, Bb
min_maj7 = Chord(root, ChordType.MINOR_MAJOR_7)       # C, Eb, G, B

# Extended chords
dom9 = Chord(root, ChordType.DOMINANT_9)       # C, E, G, Bb, D
maj9 = Chord(root, ChordType.MAJOR_9)          # C, E, G, B, D
dom11 = Chord(root, ChordType.DOMINANT_11)     # C, E, G, Bb, D, F
dom13 = Chord(root, ChordType.DOMINANT_13)     # C, E, G, Bb, D, F, A

# Altered chords
dom7b5 = Chord(root, ChordType.DOMINANT_7_FLAT_5)
dom7b9 = Chord(root, ChordType.DOMINANT_7_FLAT_9)
dom7s9 = Chord(root, ChordType.DOMINANT_7_SHARP_9)

# Added tone chords
add9 = Chord(root, ChordType.ADD9)             # C, E, G, D
six = Chord(root, ChordType.MAJOR_6)           # C, E, G, A

# Get chord notes
notes = maj7.get_notes()
print([n.name for n in notes])
# ['C', 'E', 'G', 'B']

# Get MIDI note numbers
midi_notes = maj7.get_midi_notes()
print(midi_notes)  # [60, 64, 67, 71]

Key Signatures¶

Work with key signatures and the circle of fifths:

from coremusic.music.theory import CIRCLE_OF_FIFTHS, KEY_SIGNATURES

# Key signatures show sharps/flats, and whether the key is minor
print(KEY_SIGNATURES['G'])   # (['F#'], False) - 1 sharp, major
print(KEY_SIGNATURES['Bb'])  # (['Bb', 'Eb'], False) - 2 flats, major
print(KEY_SIGNATURES['Am'])  # ([], True) - no accidentals, minor

# Circle of fifths
print(CIRCLE_OF_FIFTHS)
# ['C', 'G', 'D', 'A', 'E', 'B', 'F#', 'Db', 'Ab', 'Eb', 'Bb', 'F']

Utility Functions¶

Convert between note names and MIDI numbers:

from coremusic.music.theory import midi_to_note_name, note_name_to_midi

# Name to MIDI
midi = note_name_to_midi('C', 4)  # 60
midi = note_name_to_midi('A', 4)  # 69

# MIDI to name, as a single string with the octave
name = midi_to_note_name(60)  # 'C4'
name = midi_to_note_name(69)  # 'A4'

# Note carries the two apart
from coremusic.music.theory import Note

note = Note.from_midi(60)
print(note.name, note.octave)  # C 4