Major / Minor Scales

Music Theory AP – Fast Facts for Major and Minor Scales

•   Always remember that we are dealing with the process of organizing pitches into patterns that we can use to create and describe music as we know it.
•   When we classify pitches we use a system of half and whole steps.
•   We organize them into patterns called scales (most scales are made up of seven notes with the eighth note being a repeat of the first note, an octave higher).
•   Scales can start on any note. Regardless of what note they start on, the pattern must remain the same in order for the scale to retain its sound quality (in order for it to sound like that type of scale).
o   This need to stay true to a pattern causes our keys to come about. You need to add sharps and flats to scales in order to keep the patterns correct.
•   Question for you… Which came first, the scale or the key? Hmmmmm ☺
•   The main scale type in our musical language is the Major Scale
•   The other main scale type in our music language is the Minor Scale
•   These scales are the reason for the 15 major keys and the 15 minor keys
o   These 15 major and minor scales all share the same set of key signatures. So… when we look a key signature (such as 2 flats) you must remember that is can be the key of Bb Major or g minor – they both share the same key signature. What makes the two keys different is the fact that the starting note is different and the pattern of notes is thus different.
•   Major scales and minor scales have a lot in common (like the fact that they use the same set of key signatures). So, people like to talk a lot about how to compare them. We use two comparison types when comparing minor keys to Major keys.
o   Lets take G major…. It has one minor key that shares the same name as it… g minor. It also has one key that shares the same key signature… e minor.
o   When a minor scale shares the same key with a major scale, we call that scale its “Relative Minor Scale.”
o   When a minor scales shares the same starting note with a major scale, we call that scales its “Parallel Minor Scale.”
o   So… the key of G major has a parallel minor scale called g minor and a relative minor scale of e minor.

That’s all for now. See me if you have questions.

| | Share