Today we continue with the same topic from last week: how much music theory do I have to know? Let us try to be more specific…
Let’s compare it with something you know!
You came this far so I assume that you can read. Let’s compare music theory with reading…
When you started to learn how to read, you first learned the individual letters. So, it would be logical in music to first learn the notes, right?! In most of the western alphabets we have 20+ letters, in some countries even up to 30, but in music we only have 7. Yes, we only have to learn 7 notes! Well, we do have 12 notes all together in western music, but each of the other 5 is related to one of the basic 7 ones so it’s not hard to remember them. Easy-peasy! And it gets even easier! The basic 7 notes are named the same as the first 7 letters of the alphabet: A, B, C, D, E, F and G. So you already know them! And after G you just start with A again and repeat the sequence. We say that the next A (the eighth note) is an octave higher than the last one (octa: eight).
Let’s go to the other 5 notes that I mentioned earlier.
When you write letters and later words and sentences you also learn about the space between them. Well, there is also space between some of the notes but it’s easier for us to remember where there’s none because that happens only in two cases. There’s no space between B and C and between E and F. We say that they are only a half-step apart. Between other notes there’s a space for an additional note so they are two half-steps or a whole-step apart. (In England they call that a semitone and a tone, but we’ll stick to the first version.) This is how it looks like:
A _ BC _ D _ EF _ G _ A
As you can see there are 5 spaces and – surprise, surprise – that’s where the 5 missing notes come in. “Well, come on, tell us the names!” Ok, ok, but let me warn you: each one of those notes has two names. “What” Yes, two! “Why?” It depends on the scale that it is used in. “Scale? What is that?” Slowly, cowboy! We’ll come to that in a minute…
Let’s go to the names of the 5 missing notes.
Sometimes in music we have to raise or lower the note to achieve the desired result with a melody or a harmony. For example: if we raise the note D, we get the so-called “D-sharp” (D#) and it’s a half-step higher than the note D, so right there between D and E. On the other hand if we have to lower the note D, we get the “D-flat” (Db) and it’s a half-step lower than the note D, right between C and D. So, if you think about it, every one of these 5 notes has two names. For instance, the note that lies between C and D could be C# (C-sharp) if we raise the C, and it could be Db (D-flat) if we lower the D and so on. Could be a bit confusing in the beginning but you’ll get use to it and understand it better as we go on, trust me…
So, now we know all 12 notes that we have and use in our western music, all separated by a half-step. This is also called the “12-tone chromatic scale”. You can start with any note you like, it always repeats itself after 12 half-steps. Here it is:
A • A#/Bb • B • C • C#/Db • D • D#/Eb • E • F • F#/Gb • G • G#/Ab
The Major and Minor scale
We’re going to take another look at the 7 natural notes (notes without any sharps or flats).
If we play or sing one after another starting with A, we’re actually playing/singing the so-called “A-minor natural scale”. Sounds scary? It’s not! It’s just a name for a scale of notes and for a start we’re going to learn only two of them – that shouldn’t be too hard! Here’s the A-minor natural scale:
A B C D E F G A
Every natural minor scale has its so-called “relative” major scale with the exact same notes in it. We only start and finish playing it with a different note. In case of A-minor the relative major is C-major scale. How do we play it? We already know that the notes are the same and they’re repeating themselves so we take the A-minor notes, start playing them at the note C (’cause this time it’s C-major!) and we also finish the scale with the note C one octave higher:
C D E F G A B C
There you have it – the C-major scale!
But how do we find the right relative major or minor scales?
Well, if you have the major scale and you’re looking for the relative minor, you just go from your starting note (the name of your major scale) to the THIRD note DOWN the scale. There’s your relative minor scale starting note. All the notes of the scale stay the same.
And if you have the minor scale and you’re looking for the relative major, you just go from your starting note (the name of your minor scale) to the THIRD note UP the scale. There’s your relative major scale starting note and all the notes of the scale stay the same here, too.
É voilà!
The pattern
One more thing before we finish. There is one more thing I want you to learn today because this will help you play EVERY major and natural minor scale there is: you have to learn the pattern of half-steps and whole-steps in each scale! I’ll write them down in scale and only as a pattern so it’s much easier to understand and remember them. (“W” stands for “whole-step” and “H” for “half-step”.)
C-major scale pattern – starting from C:
C -W- D -W- E -H- F -W- G -W- A -W- B -H- C
Here’s just the major scale pattern:
W – W – H – W – W – W – H
A-minor natural scale pattern – starting from A:
A -W- B -H- C -W- D -W- E -H- F -W- G -W- A
Here’s just the natural minor scale pattern:
W – H – W – W – H – W – W
With these two patterns you can take any of the 12 notes and be able to play a major and/or natural minor scale – just follow the exact pattern of whole-steps and half-steps of the desired scale…
What did we learn today?
In this one short post we’ve already learned a ton of stuff – some of the basic stuff that you, as a musician, MUST know right at the beginning:
- the names of all 12 notes that we have and use in our western music
- the major scale and the natural minor scale
- the 2 patterns to use and play every major and natural minor scale there is
Lao-Tzu said: “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” If you ask me, this IS that first step in your hopefully long and magical musical journey…
