Canary PAU Music & Dance cheat sheet

Key signatures: order of sharps F-C-G-D-A-E-B; order of flats B-E-A-D-G-C-F. The last sharp is the leading tone (a semitone below the major tonic); the second-to-last flat names the major key.

Relative keys share a key signature; the minor tonic is a minor 3rd (3 semitones) below the major tonic. Parallel keys share the tonic but differ by 3 accidentals.

Interval quality rules: perfect intervals (1, 4, 5, 8) invert to perfect; major inverts to minor; augmented inverts to diminished. Compound interval = simple interval + 7.

Triad construction from the major scale: I ii iii IV V vi vii° (major, minor, minor, major, major, minor, diminished). Natural minor: i ii° III iv v VI VII.

Harmonic function: tonic (I, vi, iii), subdominant (IV, ii), dominant (V, vii°). Standard cadences: perfect authentic (V–I, both in root position, soprano on tonic), imperfect authentic, plagal (IV–I), half (ends on V), deceptive (V–vi).

Secondary dominants: V/V = II (major triad on degree 2), V/vi = III, V/ii = VI, V/IV = I with raised 4th. They resolve down a 5th to their target chord.

Chord inversion is shown by figured bass: root position 5/3, first inversion 6, second inversion 6/4. Seventh chords: 7, 6/5, 4/3, 4/2 (root, 1st, 2nd, 3rd inversion).

Binary form (AB or AABB) contrasts two sections; ternary (ABA) restores the opening. Rondo is ABACA. Sonata form = exposition (theme 1 in tonic, theme 2 in dominant or relative major), development, recapitulation, optional coda.

Phrase structure: period = antecedent (ends on half cadence) + consequent (ends on perfect authentic cadence). Motive is the smallest identifiable melodic unit; sequence repeats a motive at a different pitch level.

Medieval: Gregorian chant is monophonic, modal, and anonymous; organum (9th–13th c.) adds voices. Ars nova (14th c.) introduces mensural notation and the isorhythmic motet (Machaut).

Renaissance (c. 1450–1600): imitative polyphony, Josquin, Palestrina (stile antico, Masses), Victoria in Spain. Secular forms: chanson, madrigal, villancico in the Iberian world.

Baroque (c. 1600–1750): basso continuo, functional tonality, ritornello (Vivaldi), fugue and chorale (J. S. Bach), oratorio and opera seria (Handel). Dance suites group allemande–courante–sarabande–gigue.

Classical (c. 1750–1820): sonata form, balanced phrases, Mannheim orchestra; Haydn (symphony, string quartet), Mozart (opera buffa, concerto), early Beethoven bridging to Romanticism.

Romantic (19th c.): expanded harmony and orchestra, program music and symphonic poem (Liszt, Berlioz), lieder (Schubert, Schumann, Brahms), national schools (Chopin, Smetana, Dvořák, Albéniz, Granados).

20th century: Debussy and Ravel (impressionism, whole-tone and modal colour), Stravinsky (polyrhythm, Rite of Spring 1913), Schoenberg (twelve-tone method), Bartók (folk modality), Messiaen, Ligeti.

Spanish zarzuela develops from the 17th c.; the género chico one-act zarzuela flourishes in late 19th-century Madrid. Falla (Noches en los jardines de España, El amor brujo) and Turina define twentieth-century Spanish nationalism.

Canarian context: the isa, folía and seguidilla are the core of Canarian folklore, often with guitar, timple and chácaras; the timple is a five-string small instrument central to Canarian identity.

Twentieth-century Canarian composers include Teobaldo Power (composer of the Cantos Canarios, born in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, 1848–1884) and later figures such as Agustín Millares and Blas Sánchez. The Festival de Música de Canarias (founded 1985) is a major international event.

Interval reference anchors: ascending perfect 4th = first two notes of a major scale; ascending perfect 5th = opening of Twinkle Twinkle; ascending major 6th = opening of the NBC chime or My Bonnie; tritone = Maria (West Side Story).

Scale-degree solfège (movable do): do re mi fa sol la ti. Chromatic syllables use raised (di, ri, fi, si, li) and lowered (ra, me, se, le, te) forms.

Melodic dictation strategy: identify the tonic by singing the final note against a reference chord, notate the rhythm first, then fit scale degrees.

Rhythmic dictation: notate the beat grid before pitches. In compound metre (6/8, 9/8, 12/8) the beat divides into 3; in simple metre (2/4, 3/4, 4/4) into 2.

Error detection in two-part dictation: check outer voices first (soprano and bass), then inner voices. Parallel fifths or octaves between outer voices are the most common intentional errors.

Harmonic dictation: identify the bass line, then label chords by root. Cadences give the key: a V–I at the end confirms the tonic; a final V suggests a half cadence.

Tuning and intonation: equal temperament divides the octave into 12 equal semitones (100 cents each); just intonation favours pure 3:2 fifths and 5:4 thirds but drifts across keys.

Aural identification of form: listen for the return of the opening theme (ternary, rondo) versus continuous development (through-composed). Cadence placement marks phrase boundaries.

Classical ballet vocabulary: plié, tendu, dégagé, rond de jambe, battement, arabesque, attitude, pirouette, jeté, assemblé. Positions of the feet: five, with the first two turned out from the hip.

Ballet history: court ballet in Renaissance France, Louis XIV and the Académie Royale de Danse (1661), Romantic ballet (La Sylphide 1832, Giselle 1841, pointe work, tutu), Petipa and Tchaikovsky in Russia (Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Nutcracker).

Twentieth-century developments: Diaghilev's Ballets Russes (1909–1929) with Fokine, Nijinsky, Massine, Balanchine; Martha Graham and Doris Humphrey create modern dance in the US; Pina Bausch's Tanztheater in Germany.

Spanish dance: the escuela bolera (18th c., with castanets and bolero), flamenco (cante, toque, baile; palos include soleá, seguiriya, alegrías, bulerías), and classical Spanish dance (Antonio, Mariemma).

Canarian dance: the isa, folía and seguidilla are danced in traditional costume; the Danza de los Enanos (Danza de los Enanos in La Palma, part of the Bajada de la Virgen) and the Danza del Corpus in La Orotava are notable Canarian ritual dances.

Notation systems: Benesh Movement Notation (Rudolf and Joan Benesh, 1940s, used by the Royal Ballet) and Labanotation (Rudolf Laban, 1928). Both record body parts, direction, level and timing.

Laban movement analysis: Body, Effort (weight, time, space, flow), Shape, Space (kinesphere, levels, directions). Effort qualities describe how movement is performed, not what is performed.

Choreographic structure: unison, canon, accumulation, mirroring, retrograde. Form terms: AB, ABA, theme and variations, rondo. Spatial terms: stage directions (downstage toward the audience, upstage away), centre, wings.

Practice design: slow practice at a tempo where no error occurs, then gradual tempo increase. Distributed practice (short daily sessions) outperforms massed practice for motor memory.

Breathing for singers and wind players: diaphragmatic (abdominal) support; appoggio maintains subglottic pressure without throat tension. Phrase planning aligns breaths with musical syntax.

Warm-up order: general body warm-up, then instrument-specific (long tones for winds, lip slurs for brass, scales and arpeggios for strings and piano, vocalises for singers).

Intonation adjustments: strings tune pure fifths; brass players lip notes toward just intonation in chords (lower major thirds, raise minor thirds). Piano is fixed to equal temperament.

Stage performance: performance anxiety is managed by pre-performance routine, slow breathing (e.g. 4-4-6 pattern), and simulated performance in practice. Memorisation uses multiple channels (aural, visual, kinaesthetic, analytical).

Dance technique: alignment (head over pelvis over supporting foot), turnout from the hip, use of plié for landing to absorb impact, spotting during turns to prevent dizziness and maintain orientation.

Repertoire preparation: analyse form and harmonic plan before learning notes; mark breaths, bowings and fingerings in the score; practise transitions and entrances separately.

Accompaniment and ensemble: follow the conductor's beat pattern (2, 3, 4, 6 with subdivided patterns), listen for balance, and match articulation and vibrato within the section.

Sight-reading strategy: scan key signature, time signature, tempo, and accidentals before playing; keep going through errors; maintain pulse over accuracy in first reading.