Key 9/6/17 - Part 1, Section 7

The Basics of Keys Almost all familiar melodies are built around a central tone Other tones of melody gravitate toward the central tone Tonic (key-note): the central tone Key: the central scale, chord, and tone of a piece Every song is in a key Piece in key of C has basic scale with C as do/tonic, C as the tonic triad, with C as the root/bottom tone

The Major Scale Scale: tonal basis of music, means “ladder” in latin, set of tones arranged from low to high, or high to low Major scale: W W H W W W H Sounds happy! Half steps - smallest interval traditionally used in western music Whole steps - twice as large as the half step Do-re-mi-fa-sol-la-ti-do, strong pull from ti --> do Scale is a pattern of intervals Conclusive quality we hear in the keynote is rooted in cultural conditioning

The Minor Scale Minor scale: W H W W H W W Sounds serious or sad :( Are 3 types of minor scales Natural minor Harmonic minor Melodic minor Focus on Natural minor - Do-re-me-fa-sol-le-te-do 1 - 2 - 3b - 4 - 5 - 6b - 7b -8 Tonic triad built from a minor scale is a minor chord! Conclusive quality is not as final now!

Key Signature To indicate key of a piece of music, composer uses a key signature Avoids having to write a sharp & flat before every sharped or flatted note in a piece If a piece uses a major scale, it is in a major key & vice versa for minor scales & minor keys Order or sharps - FCGDAEB Fat Cows Go Down And Eat Bluegrass Order of flats - BEADGCF Be Ever Aware During Guitar Class Forever

Chromatic Scale Chromatic scale: 12 tones within the octave All the white & black keys - piano Comes from Greek word chroma, meaning color Does not define a key Gives sense of motion & tension

Modulation: Change of Key Short melodies remain in a single key from beginning to end, some longer pieces use more than one key Modulation: Shifting from one key to another within the same piece of music Temporary shift of gravity Creates variety & contrast Produces subconscious effects that increase our enjoyment of the music

Tonic Key Tonic/Home key: No matter how often a piece changes keys, there is usually one main key Tonic key is the central key whole piece is organized around Traditionally, piece starts & ends in tonic key Modulating away from tonic key is like visiting May enjoy ourselves during the visit, but after a while we are glad to go home Modulations set up tensions that are resolved by returning to the tonic key