1. Diatonic Chords in Major and Minor Keys
Chapter 4

2. Tonal Music
Major Triad
Minor Triad
Diminished Triad
Augmented Triad
Major Seven
Minor Seven
Major Minor Seven
Half Diminished Seven
Fully Diminished Seven
Tonal Music is a system of music where hierarchical pitch relationships are based on a center pitch called a tonic.
Hierarchy
A system where objects are placed at levels above or below other objects.
Now that we have presented the 4 triad types and the 5 common seven chord types, we can begin to look at how they are used in tonal music.
But what is tonal music?
Tonal Music is a system of music where hierarchical pitch relationships are based on a center pitch called a tonic.
A hierarchy is a system where object are placed at levels above or below other objects, which means in tonal music, some of the notes are going to be more or less important than others.

3. Musical Hierarchy TONIC Listen: Her Majesty by the Beatles
The importance of
TONIC
In tonal music, a key is based on a very important note called a tonic: home base. In a piece of tonal music, it is the tonic note or tonic harmony to which the listener will feel most comfortable returning. Each other pitch in the key (or scale) is defined musically by its relationship to the tonic.
Let’s examine each of the scale degrees in this scale.

4. Chords in Tonal Music Chords made up only from the notes of the scale
Diatonic Chords
Altered Chords / Chromatic Chords
Chords made up only from the notes of the scale
i.e. All Diatonic Chords in the key of C major would ONLY have white keys
Chords that may use notes not from the scale.
So how are chords used in tonal music?
Most chords that you will hear in a given piece of music

5. Before we compose with these chords, we are going to learn how to recognize them.

6. Return to scales for a moment….
Minor Scale
Major Scale
Harmonic
Natural
Melodic
Yo the major scale
There are indeed various forms of the minor scale, however, composers do not think about the various forms when they compose. Rather, let’s think about the minor scale as 1 singular collection of pitches that simply has 2 variable scale degrees: 6 and 7.

7. A unified minor scale
All minor scales can be thought of as an alteration of the natural minor scale seen here.
Harmonic is the natural minor scale with a raised 7th scale degree.
Melodic is simply the natural minor scale with a raised 6th and 7th scale degree going up.
So scale degrees 6 and 7 are the only variable item here. The only note that will change.

8. How composers use the various forms…
D natural minor – D E F G A Bb C D
harmonic D E F G A Bb C# D
melodic D E F G A B C# D

9. When to use raised/lowered 6 and 7
More natural to raise 6 and 7 going up (ascending)
A single raised 7 indicates a return to the tonic (usually)
More natural to lower 6 and 7 going down (descending)
Let’s look at an example…..

10. Mozart Phantasie No. 2 and No. 3
First look at No. 2
What is the key signature?
What major key would this be?
What minor key would this be?
Are there any accidentals?
How we know its minor….
Accidentals
Starting and ending harmonies