Remixing & Mashups Music Theory for Remixers 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: If a track is in the key of C major, which relative minor key shares its notes?
- A minor (Correct answer)
- E minor
- D minor
- G minor
Correct answer: A minor
A minor is the relative minor of C major; both scales share the same seven notes but start on different root notes.
Question 2: What does 'BPM' stand for in music production?
- Beats Per Minute (Correct answer)
- Bass Per Measure
- Bars Per Mix
- Beats Per Measure
Correct answer: Beats Per Minute
BPM (Beats Per Minute) is the standard unit for measuring the tempo of a piece of music.
Question 3: What is a 'tritone' and why is it relevant in mashup harmony?
- An interval of 6 semitones that creates maximum harmonic tension, often causing clashes in mashups (Correct answer)
- A chord made of three identical notes
- A scale with three repeated patterns
- A filter that splits audio into three frequency bands
Correct answer: An interval of 6 semitones that creates maximum harmonic tension, often causing clashes in mashups
The tritone (augmented 4th/diminished 5th) is the most dissonant interval in Western music, and mashups combining tritone-related keys will sound harsh.
Question 4: In 4/4 time signature, which beat is traditionally called the 'backbeat'?
- Beats 2 and 4 (Correct answer)
- Beats 1 and 3
- Only beat 4
- Only beat 2
Correct answer: Beats 2 and 4
The backbeat falls on beats 2 and 4 in 4/4 time, typically where the snare or clap hits in pop, rock, and hip-hop.
Question 5: What is a 'diatonic chord' in music theory?
- A chord built using only notes from the current key's scale (Correct answer)
- A chord with notes spanning more than one octave
- A chord played simultaneously with its inversion
- A chord that resolves by moving a half step
Correct answer: A chord built using only notes from the current key's scale
Diatonic chords are built exclusively from the notes of a given key's scale without any accidentals (sharps or flats outside the scale).
Question 6: What does 'transposing' a sample mean?
- Shifting the pitch of a sample up or down by a set number of semitones (Correct answer)
- Moving a sample to a different track in the DAW
- Changing the start point of a sample loop
- Reversing the order of notes in a MIDI sequence
Correct answer: Shifting the pitch of a sample up or down by a set number of semitones
Transposing shifts the pitch of an audio or MIDI sample by a specified interval without altering its rhythm or duration.
Remixing & Mashups Music Theory for Remixers 1
If a track is in the key of C major, which relative minor key shares its notes?