{"id":76,"date":"2015-03-22T02:25:09","date_gmt":"2015-03-22T02:25:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.candelalearning.com\/musicappreciation\/?post_type=chapter&#038;p=76"},"modified":"2015-08-26T21:32:52","modified_gmt":"2015-08-26T21:32:52","slug":"major-keys-and-scales","status":"web-only","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-musicappreciationtheory\/chapter\/major-keys-and-scales\/","title":{"raw":"Keys and Scales","rendered":"Keys and Scales"},"content":{"raw":"<div>\r\n<div class=\"media-header\">\r\n<div class=\"summary\">\r\n<div class=\"abstract\">\r\n<h2>Introduction<\/h2>\r\nScales\u00a0are orderly arranged\u00a0combinations of pitches\u00a0from low to high or from high to low.\r\n<div class=\"textbox shaded\">\r\n<h3>Listen: Scales<\/h3>\r\nClick on the link to hear some examples of these different types of ascending scales:\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/schools\/gcsebitesize\/music\/elements_of_music\/melody2.shtml\" target=\"_blank\">Scales<\/a>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>Major scale\u2014a type of diatomic scale<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Minor scale\u2014a type of diatomic scale<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Pentatonic scale<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Chromatic scale<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Whole tone scale<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nThe different scales are described below and have additional examples.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<h2><strong>Diatomic Scales \u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\r\nMajor and minor scales are diatomic.\u00a0The major scale sounds happy. The following is an example of a composition based on a major scale.\r\n\r\nhttps:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=4pyqLbi2wLU\r\n\r\nMinor sounds sad. Here's an example of a composition based on a minor scale.\r\n\r\nhttps:\/\/youtu.be\/wXQCPAR0EHo?t=1s\r\n<h2>Pentatonic Scale<\/h2>\r\nThe pentatonic scale is used widely in music around the world, especially in folk music.\u00a0Please watch the first 3:30 minutes of the following video.\r\n\r\nhttps:\/\/youtu.be\/PnbOWi6f_IM?t=3m\r\n\r\nGang and Zhanhao, \"Butterfly Lovers\" Violin Concerto, below, is based on the pentatonic scale.\r\n\r\nhttps:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=K_qd-9wD6qA\r\n\r\nBelow, you can listen to traditional music from Uganda that's based on the pentatonic scale.\r\n\r\nhttps:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=363Nv-5oYBA\r\n<h2>Chromatic Scale<\/h2>\r\nhttp:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=sr2rXc9Qu4A\r\n\r\nThe Schoenberg piano concerto, below, is based on a series of chromatic tones.\r\n\r\nhttps:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ct47T9_liOU\r\n\r\nIn Rimsky-Korsakoff's \"Flight of the Bumblebee\" the melody is based on a chromatic scale.\r\n\r\nhttps:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=-yZPrrboTkY\r\n\r\nThe following video shows the keyboard and notes played during the \"Flight of the Bumblebee.\"\r\n\r\nhttps:\/\/youtu.be\/MK0z3LS45xU?t=1\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div>\r\n<div id=\"exer0a\"><section>\r\n<div id=\"id1167962581572\">\r\n<div class=\"textbox shaded\">\r\n<h3>Listen: Major and Minor Keys<\/h3>\r\n<p id=\"prob0a\">Listen to the following\u00a0excerpts. Three are in a major key and two in a minor key. Can you tell which is which simply by listening?<\/p>\r\n<strong>Guitar 1:<\/strong>\r\n\r\n[audio mp3=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images-archive-read-only\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/950\/2016\/02\/26002526\/Guitar1.mp3\"][\/audio]\r\n\r\n<strong>Guitar 2:<\/strong>\r\n\r\n[audio mp3=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images-archive-read-only\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/950\/2016\/02\/26002526\/Guitar2.mp3\"][\/audio]\r\n\r\n<strong>Guitar 3:<\/strong>\r\n\r\n[audio mp3=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images-archive-read-only\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/950\/2016\/02\/26002526\/Guitar3.mp3\"][\/audio]\r\n\r\n<strong>Tanz:<\/strong>\r\n\r\n[audio mp3=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images-archive-read-only\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/950\/2016\/02\/26002526\/Tanz.mp3\"][\/audio]\r\n\r\n<strong>Greensleeves:<\/strong>\r\n\r\n[audio mp3=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images-archive-read-only\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/950\/2016\/02\/26002527\/Greensleeves.mp3\"][\/audio]\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\nIf you must determine whether a piece of music is major or minor, and cannot tell just by listening, you may have to do some simple harmonic analysis in order to decide.\r\n<h2>Tonal Center<\/h2>\r\nA scale starts with the note that names the key. This note is the tonal center of that key, the note where music in that key feels \"at rest.\" It is also called the tonic, and it's the \"do\" in the solfeggi system.\r\n<div class=\"textbox shaded\">\r\n<h3>Listen: Tonic<\/h3>\r\nListen to these examples. Can you hear that they do not sound\u00a0\"finished\" until the final tonic is played?\r\n<ul id=\"lexam1\">\r\n\t<li><a href=\"http:\/\/cnx.org\/resources\/6f046f42205ae0155bfd93a7899cd8ce\/Tonal1.MID\">Example A<\/a><\/li>\r\n\t<li><a href=\"http:\/\/cnx.org\/resources\/cee966a37f71b5ecd2ab78a3634e264e\/tonic2.MID\">Example B<\/a><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<h2>Major Scales<\/h2>\r\n<p id=\"p2a\">To find the rest of the notes in a major key, start at the tonic and go up following this pattern: whole step, whole step, half step, whole step, whole step, whole step, half step. This will take you to the tonic one octave higher than where you began, and includes all the notes in the key in that octave.<\/p>\r\nPlay scales on either real or virtual piano. Remember, the closest distance between two keys is a half step.\r\n<h3>Example<\/h3>\r\n<p id=\"p2b\">These major scales all follow the same pattern of whole steps and half steps. They have different sets of notes because the pattern starts on different notes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<figure id=\"fig2aa\" class=\"ui-has-child-figcaption\">\r\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\">Three Major Scales<\/div>\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"414\"]<img src=\"http:\/\/cnx.org\/resources\/bf01ad9848a8c73c45ec27542f9da95a\/Major1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"414\" height=\"227\" \/> All major scales have the same pattern of half steps and whole steps, beginning on the note that names the scale\u2014the tonic.[\/caption]\r\n\r\n<\/figure>\r\n<div class=\"textbox shaded\">\r\n<h3>Listen:\u00a0Major Scales<\/h3>\r\n<p id=\"p2ba\">Listen to the difference between the following scales:<\/p>\r\n<strong>C major\u00a0scale:<\/strong>\r\n\r\n[audio mp3=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images-archive-read-only\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/950\/2016\/02\/26002528\/tonmjC.mp3\"][\/audio]\r\n\r\n<strong>D major scale:<\/strong>\r\n\r\n[audio mp3=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images-archive-read-only\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/950\/2016\/02\/26002528\/tonmjD.mp3\"][\/audio]\r\n\r\n<strong>B flat major scale:<\/strong>\r\n\r\n[audio mp3=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images-archive-read-only\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/950\/2016\/02\/26002528\/tonmjBflat.mp3\"][\/audio]\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div id=\"ex2a\"><section>\r\n<h3>Exercise<\/h3>\r\n<p id=\"prob2a\">For each note below, write a major scale, one octave, ascending (going up), beginning on that note. If you're not sure whether a note should be written as a flat, sharp, or natural, remember that you won't ever skip a line or space, or write two notes of the scale on the same line or space. If you need help keeping track of half steps, use any piano keyboard, a picture of a keyboard, a written chromatic scale, or the chromatic scale fingerings for your instrument.<\/p>\r\n<p id=\"prob2b\">If you need staff paper for this exercise, you can print out <a href=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images-archive-read-only\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/950\/2016\/02\/26002528\/staffpaper1.pdf\">this PDF file<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<figure id=\"fig2k\"><span id=\"id1167970692005\"><img class=\" aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/cnx.org\/resources\/34f55eb74d7ae2ee14059e06c98c8262\/majorprob.png\" alt=\"\" \/><\/span><\/figure>\r\n<h2 id=\"id6522328\">Music in Different Major Keys<\/h2>\r\n<\/section><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/section><section id=\"s3\">\r\n<p id=\"p4a\">What difference does key make? Since the major scales all follow the same pattern, they all sound very much alike. Here is the tune \"Row, Row, Row Your Boat\" written in G major and also in D major.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<figure id=\"fig2ef\" class=\"ui-has-child-figcaption\"><figure id=\"fig2e\" class=\"ui-has-child-figcaption\">\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"500\"]<img src=\"http:\/\/cnx.org\/resources\/2d5dad3acbaa246634b48d5a85b1d929\/RowBoatG.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"155\" \/> In G Major[\/caption]\r\n\r\n<\/figure><\/figure><\/section><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<figure id=\"fig2f\" class=\"ui-has-child-figcaption\">\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"499\"]<img src=\"http:\/\/cnx.org\/resources\/3adc6f61898797d660221127678308d4\/RowBoatD.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"499\" height=\"153\" \/> In D Major[\/caption]\r\n\r\n<\/figure>The same tune looks very different when written in two different major keys.\r\n<div class=\"textbox shaded\">\r\n<h3>Listen: Compare Major Keys<\/h3>\r\n<p id=\"p4b\">Listen to this tune\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/cnx.org\/resources\/77c1f921ffc3d4c0ec364978e9cea0ac\/RowBoatG.mid\">in G major<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/cnx.org\/resources\/8a1f97b059ccfb098f77d51f4d8637b6\/RowBoatD.mid\">in D major<\/a>. The music may look quite different, but the only difference when you listen is that one sounds higher than the other.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\nSo why bother with different keys at all? Before equal temperament became the standard tuning system, major keys sounded more different from each other than they do now. Even now, there are subtle differences between the sound of a piece in one key or another, mostly because of differences in the timbre of various notes on the instruments or voices involved. But today the most common reason to choose a particular key is simply that the music is easiest to sing or play in that key.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<div id=\"ex2a\"><\/div>","rendered":"<div>\n<div class=\"media-header\">\n<div class=\"summary\">\n<div class=\"abstract\">\n<h2>Introduction<\/h2>\n<p>Scales\u00a0are orderly arranged\u00a0combinations of pitches\u00a0from low to high or from high to low.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox shaded\">\n<h3>Listen: Scales<\/h3>\n<p>Click on the link to hear some examples of these different types of ascending scales:\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/schools\/gcsebitesize\/music\/elements_of_music\/melody2.shtml\" target=\"_blank\">Scales<\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Major scale\u2014a type of diatomic scale<\/li>\n<li>Minor scale\u2014a type of diatomic scale<\/li>\n<li>Pentatonic scale<\/li>\n<li>Chromatic scale<\/li>\n<li>Whole tone scale<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The different scales are described below and have additional examples.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2><strong>Diatomic Scales \u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Major and minor scales are diatomic.\u00a0The major scale sounds happy. The following is an example of a composition based on a major scale.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"oembed-1\" title=\"Chopin Etude Op 10 No.5 Valentina Lisitsa\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/4pyqLbi2wLU?feature=oembed&#38;rel=0\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Minor sounds sad. Here&#8217;s an example of a composition based on a minor scale.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"oembed-2\" title=\"Rachmaninov - Prelude in C Sharp Minor\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/wXQCPAR0EHo?start=1&#38;feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>Pentatonic Scale<\/h2>\n<p>The pentatonic scale is used widely in music around the world, especially in folk music.\u00a0Please watch the first 3:30 minutes of the following video.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"oembed-3\" title=\"How Music Works 1 - Melody - Part 1\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/PnbOWi6f_IM?start=180&#38;feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Gang and Zhanhao, &#8220;Butterfly Lovers&#8221; Violin Concerto, below, is based on the pentatonic scale.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"oembed-4\" title=\"\u8acf\u8a2a\u5167\u6676\u5b50 -\u300a\u6881\u795d\u5c0f\u63d0\u7434\u5354\u594f\u66f2\u300b   Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto by Akiko Suwanai\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/K_qd-9wD6qA?feature=oembed&#38;rel=0\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Below, you can listen to traditional music from Uganda that&#8217;s based on the pentatonic scale.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"oembed-5\" title=\"Traditional music II - Uganda\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/363Nv-5oYBA?feature=oembed&#38;rel=0\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>Chromatic Scale<\/h2>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"oembed-6\" title=\"Chromatic Scale\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/sr2rXc9Qu4A?feature=oembed&#38;rel=0\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The Schoenberg piano concerto, below, is based on a series of chromatic tones.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"oembed-7\" title=\"Arnold Sch\u00f6nberg, Pianoconcerto (1\/2)\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ct47T9_liOU?feature=oembed&#38;rel=0\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>In Rimsky-Korsakoff&#8217;s &#8220;Flight of the Bumblebee&#8221; the melody is based on a chromatic scale.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"oembed-8\" title=\"Yuja Wang plays the Flight of the Bumble-Bee from Rimsky-Kor.mp4\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-yZPrrboTkY?feature=oembed&#38;rel=0\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The following video shows the keyboard and notes played during the &#8220;Flight of the Bumblebee.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"oembed-9\" title=\"Flight of the Bumblebee - Piano - Synthesia\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/MK0z3LS45xU?start=1&#38;feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div id=\"exer0a\">\n<section>\n<div id=\"id1167962581572\">\n<div class=\"textbox shaded\">\n<h3>Listen: Major and Minor Keys<\/h3>\n<p id=\"prob0a\">Listen to the following\u00a0excerpts. Three are in a major key and two in a minor key. Can you tell which is which simply by listening?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Guitar 1:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><!--[if lt IE 9]><script>document.createElement('audio');<\/script><![endif]--><br \/>\n<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-76-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images-archive-read-only\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/950\/2016\/02\/26002526\/Guitar1.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images-archive-read-only\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/950\/2016\/02\/26002526\/Guitar1.mp3\">https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images-archive-read-only\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/950\/2016\/02\/26002526\/Guitar1.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/p>\n<p><strong>Guitar 2:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-76-2\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images-archive-read-only\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/950\/2016\/02\/26002526\/Guitar2.mp3?_=2\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images-archive-read-only\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/950\/2016\/02\/26002526\/Guitar2.mp3\">https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images-archive-read-only\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/950\/2016\/02\/26002526\/Guitar2.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/p>\n<p><strong>Guitar 3:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-76-3\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images-archive-read-only\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/950\/2016\/02\/26002526\/Guitar3.mp3?_=3\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images-archive-read-only\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/950\/2016\/02\/26002526\/Guitar3.mp3\">https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images-archive-read-only\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/950\/2016\/02\/26002526\/Guitar3.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/p>\n<p><strong>Tanz:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-76-4\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images-archive-read-only\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/950\/2016\/02\/26002526\/Tanz.mp3?_=4\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images-archive-read-only\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/950\/2016\/02\/26002526\/Tanz.mp3\">https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images-archive-read-only\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/950\/2016\/02\/26002526\/Tanz.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/p>\n<p><strong>Greensleeves:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-76-5\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images-archive-read-only\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/950\/2016\/02\/26002527\/Greensleeves.mp3?_=5\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images-archive-read-only\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/950\/2016\/02\/26002527\/Greensleeves.mp3\">https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images-archive-read-only\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/950\/2016\/02\/26002527\/Greensleeves.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>If you must determine whether a piece of music is major or minor, and cannot tell just by listening, you may have to do some simple harmonic analysis in order to decide.<\/p>\n<h2>Tonal Center<\/h2>\n<p>A scale starts with the note that names the key. This note is the tonal center of that key, the note where music in that key feels &#8220;at rest.&#8221; It is also called the tonic, and it&#8217;s the &#8220;do&#8221; in the solfeggi system.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox shaded\">\n<h3>Listen: Tonic<\/h3>\n<p>Listen to these examples. Can you hear that they do not sound\u00a0&#8220;finished&#8221; until the final tonic is played?<\/p>\n<ul id=\"lexam1\">\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/cnx.org\/resources\/6f046f42205ae0155bfd93a7899cd8ce\/Tonal1.MID\">Example A<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/cnx.org\/resources\/cee966a37f71b5ecd2ab78a3634e264e\/tonic2.MID\">Example B<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Major Scales<\/h2>\n<p id=\"p2a\">To find the rest of the notes in a major key, start at the tonic and go up following this pattern: whole step, whole step, half step, whole step, whole step, whole step, half step. This will take you to the tonic one octave higher than where you began, and includes all the notes in the key in that octave.<\/p>\n<p>Play scales on either real or virtual piano. Remember, the closest distance between two keys is a half step.<\/p>\n<h3>Example<\/h3>\n<p id=\"p2b\">These major scales all follow the same pattern of whole steps and half steps. They have different sets of notes because the pattern starts on different notes.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"fig2aa\" class=\"ui-has-child-figcaption\">\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\">Three Major Scales<\/div>\n<div style=\"width: 424px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/cnx.org\/resources\/bf01ad9848a8c73c45ec27542f9da95a\/Major1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"414\" height=\"227\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">All major scales have the same pattern of half steps and whole steps, beginning on the note that names the scale\u2014the tonic.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<div class=\"textbox shaded\">\n<h3>Listen:\u00a0Major Scales<\/h3>\n<p id=\"p2ba\">Listen to the difference between the following scales:<\/p>\n<p><strong>C major\u00a0scale:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-76-6\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images-archive-read-only\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/950\/2016\/02\/26002528\/tonmjC.mp3?_=6\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images-archive-read-only\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/950\/2016\/02\/26002528\/tonmjC.mp3\">https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images-archive-read-only\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/950\/2016\/02\/26002528\/tonmjC.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/p>\n<p><strong>D major scale:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-76-7\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images-archive-read-only\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/950\/2016\/02\/26002528\/tonmjD.mp3?_=7\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images-archive-read-only\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/950\/2016\/02\/26002528\/tonmjD.mp3\">https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images-archive-read-only\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/950\/2016\/02\/26002528\/tonmjD.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/p>\n<p><strong>B flat major scale:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-76-8\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images-archive-read-only\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/950\/2016\/02\/26002528\/tonmjBflat.mp3?_=8\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images-archive-read-only\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/950\/2016\/02\/26002528\/tonmjBflat.mp3\">https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images-archive-read-only\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/950\/2016\/02\/26002528\/tonmjBflat.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"ex2a\">\n<section>\n<h3>Exercise<\/h3>\n<p id=\"prob2a\">For each note below, write a major scale, one octave, ascending (going up), beginning on that note. If you&#8217;re not sure whether a note should be written as a flat, sharp, or natural, remember that you won&#8217;t ever skip a line or space, or write two notes of the scale on the same line or space. If you need help keeping track of half steps, use any piano keyboard, a picture of a keyboard, a written chromatic scale, or the chromatic scale fingerings for your instrument.<\/p>\n<p id=\"prob2b\">If you need staff paper for this exercise, you can print out <a href=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images-archive-read-only\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/950\/2016\/02\/26002528\/staffpaper1.pdf\">this PDF file<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"fig2k\"><span id=\"id1167970692005\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/cnx.org\/resources\/34f55eb74d7ae2ee14059e06c98c8262\/majorprob.png\" alt=\"\" \/><\/span><\/figure>\n<h2 id=\"id6522328\">Music in Different Major Keys<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"s3\">\n<p id=\"p4a\">What difference does key make? Since the major scales all follow the same pattern, they all sound very much alike. Here is the tune &#8220;Row, Row, Row Your Boat&#8221; written in G major and also in D major.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"fig2ef\" class=\"ui-has-child-figcaption\">\n<figure id=\"fig2e\" class=\"ui-has-child-figcaption\">\n<div style=\"width: 510px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/cnx.org\/resources\/2d5dad3acbaa246634b48d5a85b1d929\/RowBoatG.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"155\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">In G Major<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<figure id=\"fig2f\" class=\"ui-has-child-figcaption\">\n<div style=\"width: 509px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/cnx.org\/resources\/3adc6f61898797d660221127678308d4\/RowBoatD.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"499\" height=\"153\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">In D Major<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>The same tune looks very different when written in two different major keys.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox shaded\">\n<h3>Listen: Compare Major Keys<\/h3>\n<p id=\"p4b\">Listen to this tune\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/cnx.org\/resources\/77c1f921ffc3d4c0ec364978e9cea0ac\/RowBoatG.mid\">in G major<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/cnx.org\/resources\/8a1f97b059ccfb098f77d51f4d8637b6\/RowBoatD.mid\">in D major<\/a>. The music may look quite different, but the only difference when you listen is that one sounds higher than the other.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>So why bother with different keys at all? Before equal temperament became the standard tuning system, major keys sounded more different from each other than they do now. Even now, there are subtle differences between the sound of a piece in one key or another, mostly because of differences in the timbre of various notes on the instruments or voices involved. But today the most common reason to choose a particular key is simply that the music is easiest to sing or play in that key.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id=\"ex2a\"><\/div>\n\n\t\t\t <section class=\"citations-section\" role=\"contentinfo\">\n\t\t\t <h3>Candela Citations<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t <div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <div id=\"citation-list-76\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <div class=\"licensing\"><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">CC licensed content, Shared previously<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li><strong>Authored by<\/strong>:  Catherine Schmidt-Jones. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: OpenStax. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/cnx.org\/contents\/86cbf322-1fc8-4c9d-aa3d-7b732e2019af@28\/Major_Keys_and_Scales\">http:\/\/cnx.org\/contents\/86cbf322-1fc8-4c9d-aa3d-7b732e2019af@28\/Major_Keys_and_Scales<\/a>. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\">CC BY: Attribution<\/a><\/em><\/li><\/ul><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">All rights reserved content<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>Chopin Etude Op 10 No.5 Valentina Lisitsa. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: ValentinaLisitsa. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=4pyqLbi2wLU\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=4pyqLbi2wLU<\/a>. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em>All Rights Reserved<\/em>. <strong>License Terms<\/strong>: Standard YouTube License<\/li><li>Rachmaninov - Prelude in C Sharp Minor. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: Your Favorite Classical Pieces. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=wXQCPAR0EHo\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=wXQCPAR0EHo<\/a>. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em>All Rights Reserved<\/em>. <strong>License Terms<\/strong>: Standard YouTube License<\/li><li>How Music Works 1 - Melody - Part 1. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: Timegrinder. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?t=180&#038;v=PnbOWi6f_IM\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?t=180&#038;v=PnbOWi6f_IM<\/a>. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em>All Rights Reserved<\/em>. <strong>License Terms<\/strong>: Standard YouTube License<\/li><li>Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto by Akiko . <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: Morning2k. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=K_qd-9wD6qA\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=K_qd-9wD6qA<\/a>. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em>All Rights Reserved<\/em>. <strong>License Terms<\/strong>: Standard YouTube License<\/li><li>Traditional Music II - Uganda. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: FaceMusicSuisse. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=363Nv-5oYBA\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=363Nv-5oYBA<\/a>. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em>All Rights Reserved<\/em>. <strong>License Terms<\/strong>: Standard YouTube License<\/li><li>Chromatic Scale. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: learnpianoonline. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=sr2rXc9Qu4A\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=sr2rXc9Qu4A<\/a>. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em>All Rights Reserved<\/em>. <strong>License Terms<\/strong>: Standard YouTube License<\/li><li>Yuja Wang plays the Flight of the Bumble-Bee from Rimsky-Kor.mp4. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: msystemize. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=-yZPrrboTkY\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=-yZPrrboTkY<\/a>. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em>All Rights Reserved<\/em>. <strong>License Terms<\/strong>: Standard YouTube License<\/li><li>Flight of the Bumblebee - Piano - Synthesia. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: Pianoreader. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=MK0z3LS45xU\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=MK0z3LS45xU<\/a>. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em>All Rights Reserved<\/em>. <strong>License Terms<\/strong>: Standard YouTube License<\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t <\/section>","protected":false},"author":9,"menu_order":5,"template":"","meta":{"_candela_citation":"[{\"type\":\"cc\",\"description\":\"\",\"author\":\" Catherine Schmidt-Jones\",\"organization\":\"OpenStax\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/cnx.org\/contents\/86cbf322-1fc8-4c9d-aa3d-7b732e2019af@28\/Major_Keys_and_Scales\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by\",\"license_terms\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"copyrighted_video\",\"description\":\"Chopin Etude Op 10 No.5 Valentina Lisitsa\",\"author\":\"ValentinaLisitsa\",\"organization\":\"\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=4pyqLbi2wLU\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"arr\",\"license_terms\":\"Standard YouTube License\"},{\"type\":\"copyrighted_video\",\"description\":\"Rachmaninov - Prelude in C Sharp Minor\",\"author\":\"Your Favorite Classical Pieces\",\"organization\":\"\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=wXQCPAR0EHo\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"arr\",\"license_terms\":\"Standard YouTube License\"},{\"type\":\"copyrighted_video\",\"description\":\"How Music Works 1 - Melody - Part 1\",\"author\":\"Timegrinder\",\"organization\":\"\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?t=180&v=PnbOWi6f_IM\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"arr\",\"license_terms\":\"Standard YouTube License\"},{\"type\":\"copyrighted_video\",\"description\":\"Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto by Akiko \",\"author\":\"Morning2k\",\"organization\":\"\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=K_qd-9wD6qA\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"arr\",\"license_terms\":\"Standard YouTube License\"},{\"type\":\"copyrighted_video\",\"description\":\"Traditional Music II - Uganda\",\"author\":\"FaceMusicSuisse\",\"organization\":\"\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=363Nv-5oYBA\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"arr\",\"license_terms\":\"Standard YouTube License\"},{\"type\":\"copyrighted_video\",\"description\":\"Chromatic Scale\",\"author\":\"learnpianoonline\",\"organization\":\"\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=sr2rXc9Qu4A\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"arr\",\"license_terms\":\"Standard YouTube License\"},{\"type\":\"copyrighted_video\",\"description\":\"Yuja Wang plays the Flight of the Bumble-Bee from Rimsky-Kor.mp4\",\"author\":\"msystemize\",\"organization\":\"\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=-yZPrrboTkY\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"arr\",\"license_terms\":\"Standard YouTube License\"},{\"type\":\"copyrighted_video\",\"description\":\"Flight of the Bumblebee - Piano - Synthesia\",\"author\":\"Pianoreader\",\"organization\":\"\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=MK0z3LS45xU\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"arr\",\"license_terms\":\"Standard YouTube License\"}]","CANDELA_OUTCOMES_GUID":"","pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-76","chapter","type-chapter","status-web-only","hentry"],"part":20,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-musicappreciationtheory\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/76","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-musicappreciationtheory\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-musicappreciationtheory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-musicappreciationtheory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"version-history":[{"count":35,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-musicappreciationtheory\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/76\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1624,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-musicappreciationtheory\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/76\/revisions\/1624"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-musicappreciationtheory\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/20"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-musicappreciationtheory\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/76\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-musicappreciationtheory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-musicappreciationtheory\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=76"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-musicappreciationtheory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=76"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-musicappreciationtheory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=76"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}