SCALES AND KEYS. major scale, 2, 3, 5 minor scale, 2, 3, 7 mode, 20 parallel, 7. Major and minor scales

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Ira Ramsey
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1 Terms defined: chromatic alteration, 8 degree, 2 key, 11 key signature, 12 leading tone, 9 SCALES AND KEYS major scale, 2, 3, 5 minor scale, 2, 3, 7 mode, 20 parallel, 7 Major and minor scales relative major, 13 relative minor, 13 scale, 1 tonic, 2 1. A scale is a series of pitches arranged in ascending or descending order. 2. We ll deal chiefly with two kinds of scales: major and minor. These scales have seven different pitches, or degrees, numbered in ascending order; the letter names of the successive pitches are consecutive; the first degree the tonic is home. 3. Major and minor scales take their names from their tonics. The G major scale, for example, is the major scale whose tonic is G; the F# minor scale is the minor scale whose tonic is F#. 4. Scale degrees are sometimes notated as numerals with carets on top, as on Example 1. G major: ascending descending 1^ 2^ 3^ 4^ 5^ 6^ 7^ 1^ 1^ 7^ 6^ 5^ 4^ 3^ 2^ 1^ Eb major: Example 1. G major and Eb major scales. Major scales 5. As Example 1 shows, major scales create a special pattern of half and whole steps among their seven degrees: half steps lie between 3^- 4^, and between 7^- 1^; between all other adjacent degrees lie whole steps. Scales and Keys, -1-

2 The half steps are marked on the example, which shows G major scales and Eb major scales, ascending and descending. 6. Example 2 spells out all standard major scales. The scales are arranged so that each scale after C includes all the accidentals from the preceding scale, and adds one. C major G major D major A major E major B major F# major C# major C major Bb major F major Eb major Ab major Gb major Db major Cb major Example 2. Major scales. Scales and Keys, -2-

3 Minor scales 7. Minor scales, in turn, create a similar pattern: half steps lie between 2^- 3^, and between 5^- 6^; between all other adjacent degrees lie whole steps. The half steps are marked on Example 3, which shows G minor and Eb minor scales. The major scales on the same tonics are also shown so that you may compare them with their minor counterparts. Major and minor scales that share the same tonic are parallel. G minor: G major: ascending 1^ 2^ 3^ 4^ 5^ 6^ 7^ 1^ descending Eb minor: Eb major: Example 3. G minor and Eb minor scales, with their parallel major scales. 8. In many pieces based on minor scales, 6^ and 7^ are altered slightly so that they do not conform strictly to the pattern shown above, the so-called natural form of the scale. These degrees are chromatically raised to be half step higher than in that pattern. Example 4 illustrates. To raise or lower a scale degree chromatically, apply an accidental either a sharp or a natural, as appropriate. Scales and Keys, -3-

4 a) natural form: b) with 7^ raised: c) with 6^ and 7^ raised: Example 4. G minor scales, in natural form, and with 6^ and/or 7^ raised. In general, raising a scale degree chromatically gives it an ascending tendency; it wants to go up. Likewise, lowering a degree chromatically makes it want to go down. 9. In a minor scale, when 7^ is raised chromatically to lie a half step below the tonic instead of a whole step, as in Examples 4b and 4c, it leads more powerfully up to the tonic. When 7^ lies a half step below the tonic, as it does in the major scale, it s called the leading tone. 10. The leading tone the raised 7th degree of the minor scale lies three half steps above the 6th degree. This interval of three half steps, marked with a square bracket on Example 4b (and here called an augmented second), can be an angular interval in a melody. To soften this angular interval, the 6th degree of the scale is also sometimes chromatically raised, so that the interval between 6^ and 7^ becomes a whole step, as in Example 4c. The chromatically raised 6th degree leads more powerfully up to the raised 7th, which in turn points up to the tonic. Keys 11. A key is a system of pitch relationships based on a particular major or minor scale. A piece in a certain key draws most of its pitches from the scale of the same name, and the tonic of that scale is the musical goal of the piece. A piece in E major, for example, will draw most of its pitches from the E major scale, and the pitch E will be the musical home, on which the piece ultimately comes to a conclusive end. Scales and Keys, -4-

5 Key signatures Key relation 12. The key signature indicates which notes are to be sharped or flatted in the following music; accordingly, it signifies which scale is to be used, hence the key of the music. Key signatures are given in Example 5. C major G major D major A major E major B major F# major C# major A minor E minor B minor F# major C# major G# major D# major A# major C major F major Bb major Eb major Ab major Db major Gb major Cb major A minor D minor G minor C minor F minor Bb minor Eb minor Ab minor Example 5. Signatures for major and minor keys. 13. To each key signature belong two scales (and keys), one major and one minor. These two scales (and the corresponding keys), which use the same pitches, are related. The one is the relative major or relative minor of the other: they share the same pitches. Here s a diagram of this relationship: Scales and Keys, -5-

6 degrees of relative major scale:... 6^ 7^ 1^ 2^ 3^ 4^ 5^ 6^ 7^ 1^... degrees of relative minor scale:... 1^ 2^ 3^ 4^ 5^ 6^ 7^ 1^ 2^ 3^... Figure 1. Scale relationship. The tonic of a minor scale is always the 6th degree of its relative major. In turn, the tonic of a major scale is always the 3d degree of its relative minor. 14. In a major scale, how do I find the tonic of its relative minor? Start on the tonic of the major scale, boxed on the upper left of the diagram, follow the arrows, counting down to its 6th degree: that s the tonic of the relative minor, circled on the lower left. 15. In a minor scale, how do I find the tonic of its relative major? Start on the tonic of the minor scale, circled on the lower right of the diagram, follow the arrows, counting up to its 3d degree: that s the tonic of the relative major, boxed on the upper right. 16. Key signatures do not mix sharps and flats. When the 6th and 7th degrees are altered in minor scales, the accidentals are applied to the notes themselves. They are not included in the key signature. 17. The key signatures of parallel major and minor keys are different. Writing key signatures 18. As Example 5 shows, keys are arranged so that once a sharp or flat appears in the signature, it appears in the same position in all the following signatures. Compare Examples 5 and 2. The logic according to which the sharps and flats are added is shown in Figure 2. Scales and Keys, -6-

7 APPLY FLATS (1st) (2d) (3d) (4th) (5th) (6th) (7th) B C D E F G A B C D E F G A B C D E F (7th) (6th) (5th) (4th) (3d) (2d) (1st) APPLY SHARPS Figure 2. Building key signatures. The series runs alphabetically from B to F. Every fourth letter is bolded. Apply flats: the key signature with one flat has Bb, the key signature with two flats has Bb and Eb, and so on. Apply sharps: the key signature with one sharp has F#, the key signature with two sharps has F# and C#, and so on. Recognizing key signatures 19. Figure 3 gives the number of sharps or flats in each major key. Keys with SHARPS C major has 0 sharps/flats. Keys with FLATS G major [1] F major D major [2] Bb major A major [3] Eb major E major [4] Ab major B major [5] Db major F# major [6] Gb major C# major. [7] Cb major Figure 3. Number of sharps or flats in major key signatures. Scales and Keys, -7-

8 Modes 20. Mode refers to the particular sequence of half steps and whole steps within a scale of 7 degrees. Major mode, for example, refers to the pattern of the major scale, and minor mode refers to the pattern of the minor scale. There are other modes (Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, for example) that are characterized by unique patterns of whole and half steps. They are shown on Example 6. Dorian Lydian Phrygian Mixolydian Example 6. Various modes. Home Scales and Keys, -8-

Chapter 5. Parallel Keys: Shared Tonic. Compare the two examples below and their pentachords (first five notes of the scale).

Chapter 5. Parallel Keys: Shared Tonic. Compare the two examples below and their pentachords (first five notes of the scale). Chapter 5 Minor Keys and the Diatonic Modes Parallel Keys: Shared Tonic Compare the two examples below and their pentachords (first five notes of the scale). The two passages are written in parallel keys