VOCALIST AS COMPLETE MUSICIAN - Chris McNulty

Before we dig in!
Let’s start by defining what a “Tetrachord" is and what it isn’t. A tetrachord is a
4 note scalar fragment. It is NOT a scale. Throughout this book we’ll be using
SIX Tetrachords only [see Chapter One, Ex 1 - “Basic Tetrachord Template”].
• Major
• Minor I (dorian)
• Minor II (phrygian)
• Diminished
• Whole tone (lydian)
• Harmonic
All six tetrachords above are found inside the following scales we’ll be working
(with exception of the Pentatonic scale):
• Major
• Melodic Minor
• Harmonic Minor
• Diminished (1/2-whole)
• Diminished (Whole-1/2)
• Whole tone
You will learn to recognize all six “tetrachords” in just about everything that's
written and heard throughout this book.
You may have noticed that each tetrachord’s name mirrors a scale name. In all
cases it’s because the quality of that particular tetrachord appears in the first 4
notes of any one of the scales listed above. With the exception of the Pentatonic
scale all the scales we’ll be working with are “bookended” by two tetrachords.
They are either duplicates (e.g., Major, Major) OR a combination of two different
tetrachords. The focus throughout this book will be on learning how to hear and
use a combination of these six tetrachords to sing a myriad of scales. These
source to the majority of chords we’ll be using and more importantly, help you
identify and hear across a myriad of simple to more complex harmonic passages.
It will also help explain much of the theory behind the scales and chords we’ll
be investigating.
© Chris McNulty 2017 !3