Moving on from Level 6 (guide), we have a bit more theory to cover. This guide will be independent of the previous unless otherwise specified.

Transposition down to another key or by an interval

There are two questions in this section:

• name the original and transposed keys when the interval is given
• name the interval when keys are given

Name the keys

You need to know your circle of fifth and be able to name the original key of the melody. A major can be transposed to a major key and minor to minor, so part of the answer is already given.

In this question, you're dealing with tonic of the respective scales. All you need to do is identify the original key, go down by the number of notes required, and see what key starts on the new note.

For example, if you are given a melody in the key of A major, transposed down by major 2, then you count down from A: A, G, and voila, the major 2 down is G. Now, what key starts on G that is also major? It's G major key.

Name the interval

To name the interval, you find the key of the original melody and the key of the original transposed key and you count the number of notes between them. The trick to make it quick is to only deal with the note value, not the accidental.

For example, given a melody with two flats and no accidentals which also starts on a B, it's likely to be in the key of B flat major. You look at the transposed melody and see that it has 5 flats. We already know it must be a major key because our original melody is in a major key. Therefore the transposed melody is in the key of D flat major. Now we count the distance between B and D (we ignored the flats to make counting faster) and we see there are a 6th apart, making the interval a major 6.

Consider the accidentals in the melodies if there are any. If the accidentals change, you should take note of how they change. If the transposed melody reflects what the accidentals do in the original melody (raise or lower by half-note), then you need not worry about them. If they sharpen the transposed melody by half-note, you're dealing an augmented interval, and they flatten by half-note, you're dealing with a diminished interval.

Speed Trick: On the exam questions, I've found it's easier and faster to just count the distance between the first notes of the melodies. Grade 7 only deals with going down keys, so you already know the first part of the answer. If the original melody starts on A and the transposed melody starts on D, those notes are a 6 apart. If there are no accidentals, then it's a major 6. If there are accidentals involved, adjust your major, minor, aug, and dim notation accordingly based on whether the accidental raises or lowers the notes of the melody. Essentially, the question can be reduced to a counting exercise.

Identifying scales

There are a few scales introduced in this grade which can be distinguished by patterns. W is whole, H is half step.

• Chromatic scales: There is a bar line in the middle.
• Pentatonic major: It has 6 notes from tonic to tonic. The first two notes are a whole step apart (as is the case with major scales).
• Pentatonic minor: It has 6 notes from tonic to tonic. The first two notes are whole-and-a-half step apart (minor scale start skipping the second note).
• Whole-tone: It has 7 notes from tonic to tonic (major and minor have 8), and the first two notes are whole step apart.
• Blues: It has 7 notes from tonic to tonic, first two notes are whole-and-a-half step apart.
• Octatonic: It has 9 notes and you'll see one chromatic half-step.

So, the decision-making tree boils down to counting the number of notes in the scale and how far the first two notes are apart. Here's the summary.

Intervals

To name the interval, I use a Pop-up piano from musictheory.net to help me visualize the major scale. I immediately mark the major scale built on the lower note, and see where the top note fits. If the top note is on the major scale, then it's a major interval, if it's a half-step lower, it's minor, if it's two half-steps lower, it's diminished. Likewise if it's higher, then it'll be augmented. See grade 6 guide.

To build an interval, I count note names down until I get to the desired size of the interval (count 6 note names down from E will be G), then build a major scale on G and see where the given note fits. Depending on what the question is asking, I can fiddle with half-steps until I get it right. So, if I want an augmented 6 with a given note of E, I go down to G and notice that E falls on the major scale of G. But I want augmented, which is half-step wider or larger than major, so I drop the G down to Gb to accommodate.

To name the inversions, just name the interval and calculate: inversions always add up to 9 (Except Aug 8 which turns into Dim 8). They swap like so: Per <-> Per. Major <-> Minor. Aug <-> Dim.

Chords and Harmony

Identify root and chord type

Triads

Three notes.

To identify the root note in a triad: if the notes are all stacked, the bottom note is the root. A lone note at the top is the root, or if there is a lone note at the bottom, the middle note is the root.

Identify the root, then mark a major scale on the pop up piano, leaving only the 1st, third, and fifth note. If the question notes fall into the major chord you marked, it's a major triad. If the middle note is half-step lower and the top note falls into place, it's a minor triad. If the middle and top note both are half-step lower, it's diminished. If the top note is half-step wider, it's dominant.

Seventh

Four notes.

If it falls in the major scale of the root note, it's dominant. Otherwise it's diminished.

Choose the better cadence

• from open to closed
• keep common tones in the same voice
• if no common tone, contrary motion (right hand go down and left hand go up)

Functional chord symbols

Identify the root as before, mark major triad from the root, identify the quality of the root. The last step is count from root down to the key signature's tonic to get the distance (1st, 3rd, etc).

To identify chords further, mark the tonic of the given key, then mark the root note of the chord. Then count and you'll have the distance (I, II, III, IV, etc). Build a major triad from the root note and compare it against the 3rd and 5th of the given chord and use the chart above (identifying triads) to get the full name.

Once you identify the distance, the rest can be identified by either the number of notes, or the position of the 3rd or 5th note.

Figured bass

They're all dominant. Count from the highest note to lowest in closed position.