SCALES

Rule

Diatonic half steps involve different letter names and staff locations. Chromatic half steps involve the same letter names and staff location.

Rule

The Major Scale Rule

Rule

In a Major scale half steps (H) always fall between scale degrees 3 and 4, and 7 and 8. The distance between all other scale degrees is a whole step(W). Any scale that follows this pattern of whole and half steps (WWH WWWH) is called a Major scale.

The green W represents the whole step that separates the scale into two equal patterns.

Degrees Tonic: Center of Gravity ^1 Supertonic: Step above Tonic ^2 Mediant: Halfway between tonic and dominant ^3 Subdominant: Fifth below the tonic, lower dominant ^4 Dominant: Fifth above the tonic. ^5 Submediant: Halfway between subdominant and tonic. ^6 Leading Tone: Leads into the Tonic. ^7

Tonic: Octave above ^1. ^8

Pitch C D E F G A B C

Scale Degree 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 (same as 1 an octave above)

Name Tonic Supertonic Mediant Subdominant Dominant Submediant Leading tone Tonic

Rule

When a new Major scale is built by adding a tetrachord to the second half of an existing Major scale, the 7th scale degree of the new scale must be raised by half a step.

Building a Sharp Key Signature

To build a key signature with sharps follow these three simple steps:

1. Identify the name of the key for which you want to build a key signature with sharps, and go to the sharp that is a half step below that note. 2. In the order of sharps (F C G D A E B), add all the sharps up to the sharp you identified in the previous step. 3. Build a key signature that includes those sharps, and follows the correct order and placement of sharps.

Rule

The new flat in a Major scale with flats is always the 4th scale degree (subdominant).

INTERVALS

Perfect Interval Rule 1

Only Unisons, Fourths, Fifths, and Octaves are perfect intervals. Perfect intervals never become Major or minor.

Perfect Interval Rule 2

When a perfect interval is enlarged by a half-step, it becomes augmented. When it is reduced by a half-step, it

becomes diminished. You'll notice that in both cases, the interval loses its stable (hence perfect) quality.

Minor Scales

Rule

To build the relative minor of a Major scale, start on the submediant (scale degree six) of the Major scale, and complete an octave using the same letter names and accidentals of the original Major scale.

Rule

In minor scales, half steps (H) always fall between scale degrees 2 and 3, and 5 and 6. The distance between all other scale degrees is a whole step(W). Any scale that follows this pattern of whole and half steps (WHW WHWW) is called a minor scale. The green whole step (W) separates the two tetrachords of the scale.

Sharps: 0-A c 5-G# 1-E 2-B 3-F# 4-C# 6-D# 7-A#

Flats: 0-A 1-D 2-G 3-C 4-F Relations: A(#) D(#) G(#) C(#) F B(b) E(b) Ab C F B E A D G Cb 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Sharps Go Up Flats Go Down 5-Bb 6-Eb 7-Ab

Rule

The key signature of minor scale will always have three flats more or three sharps less than its corresponding parallel Major key.

Triads:

Rule

To find out the root of an inverted triad, juggle the notes of the triad until they are in two superimposed thirds, i.e. in three consecutive lines or three consecutive spaces on the staff. In that position, the bottom note of the triad is the root.

Dominant 7th Chords:

Rule

The dominant seventh chord always consists of a Major triad built on the dominant of the scale, with an added minor seventh above the root.