= = = A Theory Test = = =

It's 20 mins from now...

1. What is a music interval?

a. A rest

b. A distance between notes, in semitones

c. The drummer solo break

d. A scale fragment

2. What is a triad?

a. A three-note structure, built by stacking third intervals

b. A three-note chord

c. A three-note arpeggio

d. A scale

e. Three chords

3. Which chord contains an augmented fourth interval?

a. C major

b. D major seventh

c. B 7

d. Any dominant 7 chord

e. Any minor 7 chord

4. Which mode contains an augmented fourth interval (measured from the tonic)?

a. Lydian! (easy!)

b. Mixolydian! (easy!)

c. Locrian! (easy!)

d. Phrygian! (easy!)

e. Dorian! (easy!)

5. Which pentatonic scale does not contain a semitone interval?

a. Minor

b. Major

c. Both, I know 'cos I'm a bluesman

6. Which 9 chord is built from the third degree of a major scale?

a. Minor 9

b. Major 9

c. 9

d. Minor seventh, flat nine

e. Half-diminished, flat 9

7. If my bass player plays a C note and I (guitarist) play a C, which interval is created?

a. Unison

b. Octave

c. Diminished fifth

d. Augmented third

e. It depends on how high he is playing and how low I am playing, it could be a unison or not, maybe there's at least an octave interval. Can I ask him?

8. What is an inversion?

a. A chord where the tonic note is not in the bass

b. A chord where the tonic note is in the bass

c. A chord where the seventh is in the bass

d. A chord

e. A mode

9. What is the tonic note?

a. The first note of a mode

b. The first note of a major scale

c. The lowest note in a chord

d. The note by which a scale or chord is named

e. The sixth note of a major scale, from which I form a scale having the same number of flats or sharps and therefore the same notes; I call it relative minor scale, much used in rock and metal because it is sad

10. What are symmetrical chords?

a. Chords that are always the same

b. Chords built using the same intervals

c. Chords having few inversions

d. Nice and passionate chords

e. Odd chords

f. Chords I can't build on a major scale

g. Augmented triads and diminished chords, Frank Gambale told me at a clinic

11. Which modes contain a minor seventh (from the root)?

a. Every one

b. No one

c. Mixolydian, Lydian and Dorian (easy!)

d. Mixolydian, Dorian, Phrygian, Aeolian and Locrian (easy!)

e.Phrygian and Locrian (easy!)

12. Which interval is most consonant?

a. Major Third

b. Major Sixth

c. Major Second

d. Major Fifth

e. Perfect Fifth

f. Major Seventh

13. How many sharps/flats are in a B major scale?

a. Three #'s

b. Seven sharps

c. Eight #'s

d. Four flats

e. Five flats

f. Five #'s

g. Six #'s

h. Six flats

14. If I build triads on every major scale degree, I get:

a. Three major triads, three minors and a diminished one

b. Three major triads and four minors

c. Three minor triads and four majors

d. Seven three-note structures with stacked thirds

e. Seven different chords

15. If I build four-note chords on a major scale, I get:

a. Many chords

b. Seven chords

c. Two major sevenths, two minor sevenths, a half-diminished and a dominant

d. Two major sevenths, three minor sevenths, a half-diminished and a dominant

e. These chords are not played in rock guitar, so I don't mind

16. How is a minor 13 chord made up?

a. Root, minor third, perfect fifth, minor seventh, minor ninth, perfect eleventh, minor thirteenth

b. Root, minor third, perfect fifth, minor seventh, major ninth, perfect eleventh, major thirteenth

c. Root, min 3, flat 5, flat 7, flat 9, flat 11, flat 13

d. Root, min 3, perfect 5, flat 7, maj 9, # 11, minor 13

e.It is like the chord built on the sixth degree of any major scale, but the 13 is major

f. These chords are not played in rock guitar, so I don't mind

17. A sus chord is…

a. A major chord

b. A suspended chord

c. A minor chord

d. A chord that is neither major nor minor, because of the lack of a third interval. The chord name is usually completed by the note replacing the third, "sus4" or "sus 2" for example. "Sus 5" wouldn't make sense as the fifth is already a part of the chord itself. I could build some very interesting sus#4 or major 7 sus2 chords, but they are not played in rock guitar, so I don't mind.

e. Diminished

f. Augmented

18. B7 is built on:

a. B major scale

b. E major scale

c. A major scale

d. D major scale

e. All four aforementioned scales

f. None of the aforementioned

g. C # minor

19. In a minor scale, semitones are between:

a. Fifth and sixth note

b. Second and third note

c. Fourth and fifth note

d. Third and seventh note

e. Sixth and seventh

f. First and third

20. Which scale can I play on: | Am7| D7 |?

a. A minor

b. A major

c. D major

d. G major

e. A dorian

f. D mixolydian

g. G phrygian

h. A minor pentatonic adding a major sixth, the way Santana does (cool!)

OK! Done! It was hard, wasn't it? If you need any clarification on some of the questions just drop me an email.