September

Music Theory: Accidentals are No Accident

Posted In: Music Theory, Uncategorized by claybutlermusic

Yesterday’s post dealt with building a scale using whole steps and half steps, which is part of the series “10 Things that Every Musician Should Know”. Today, we’re going to take the concept one step further by telling what role accidentals, or sharps/flats, play in scale building.

We’ve already established that scales are built by using a specific pattern of whole steps and half steps, and that C Major (or it’s relative A minor) is the only one that can get away with using only white keys. The rest have to alter certain notes in order to conform to that pattern. If the note spacing is too wide (a whole step when we need a half step), we reduce it by making the next note a flatted note. If the note spacing is not wide enough (a half step when we need a whole step), then we sharp the next note. Here’s an example below.

If we move from C to D on the piano to start a scale here’s what we end up with:

D (whole) E (HALF) F (WHOLE) G (whole) A (whole) B (HALF) C (WHOLE) D

As we can see from the ones in bold, this pattern does not make a major scale. (Actually it’s the Dorian mode, which we’ll cover in a later post). So, we need to use accidentals, in this case # (sharp) in order to conform the scale to the correct pattern of whole steps and half steps. Here’s the corrected pattern:

D (whole) E (whole) F# (half) G (whole) A (whole) B (whole) C# (half) D

We now have a true major scale. Here’s an example using flats. Since there’s no easy way to denote a flat other than the lowercase “b”, I’m going to stick with spelling it out.

Let’s try an E flat scale. The accidentals are in bold.

E flat (whole) F (whole) G (half) A flat (whole) B flat (whole) C (whole) D (half) E flat

So, in essence, sharps and flats exist for the sole purpose of conforming scales to the correct pattern. Once we understand this, the mystique of the accidental subsides and we have a very functional tool for making and understanding music.

ACCIDENTALS BY KEY

If you’ve ever looked at a piece of music and wondered what the groups of sharps or flats are at the beginning of each line, here’s the answer: that’s the Key Signature. This simply tells us which sharps or flats are needed to conform that scale to the correct pattern of whole steps and half steps. They also follow a pattern called the “Circle of Fifths” (here’s a great Circle of Fifths tool to help you with keys and key signatures).

Below is a list of major keys and their key signatures using the circle of fifths pattern. It’s a good idea to commit these to memory, as you’ll eventually have to use this knowledge on the fly at a gig or in a recording session.

C = No sharps/flats
G = 1 Sharp. Accidentals Present = F#
D = 2 Sharps. Accidentals Present = F#, C#
A = 3 Sharps. Accidentals Present = F#, C#, G#
E = 4 Sharps. Accidentals Present = F#, C#, G#, D#
B = 5 Sharps. Accidentals Present = F#, C#, G#, D#, A#
F# = 6 Sharps. Accidentals Present = F#, C#, G#, D#, A#, E#
C# = 7 Sharps. Accidentals Present = F#, C#, G#, D#, A#, E#, B#

Now for the Flats (using the dreaded “lowercase b” to save space).

C = No sharps/flats
F = 1 flat. Accidentals Present = Bb
Bb = 2 flats. Accidentals Present = Bb, Eb
Eb = 3 flats. Accidentals Present = Bb, Eb, Ab
Ab = 4 flats. Accidentals Present = Bb, Eb, Ab, Db
Db = 5 flats. Accidentals Present = Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb
Gb = 6 flats. Accidentals Present = Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Cb
Cb = 7 flats. Accidentals Present = Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Cb, Fb

Commit these to memory. You’ll thank me later. Here’s a handy tool that will assist you with key signatures. Stay tuned to learn which chords are present in each key!

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September

Music Theory: Building a Scale

Posted In: Music Theory, Uncategorized by claybutlermusic

In the post “10 Things that Every Musician Should Know”, the first on the list was how to build a scale using whole steps and half steps. In this entry, we’re going to deal with just that.

Music is about patterns. In western music (not the country/western variety, but music from our side of the world), we have specific tonal patterns that are present. We’ve come to inherently expect these certain patterns as we listen to music. The most basic of these patterns are the major and minor scales. From a melodic, and even harmonic, standpoint, the building of these scales is perhaps the most important information that musicians should know. Let’s see how these patterns work:

Scales are built up of a specific sequence of “whole steps” and “half steps”. “Half steps”, on a piano, are notes that are on adjacent keys (for instance, two white keys without a black key in between, or a white key next to a black key). On a guitar or bass, a half step is the distance between one fret to the next. “Whole steps” are two half steps. These, on a piano, are notes that are a key apart, like a white key with a black key in between. On a guitar or bass, it’s notes that are two frets apart. Now that we’re armed with that information, let’s see how they are arranged to form a Major Scale.

The MAJOR SCALE

A scale is made of of seven notes, each with a whole step or half step between. Going up eight notes brings us to the same note as the first, only an octave higher. We will assign each note in the scale a number (called a “scale degree”) and denote their distances apart to make the Major scale:

1 (whole) 2 (whole) 3 (half) 4 (whole) 5 (whole) 6 (whole) 7 (half) 1

The C scale is the only naturally occurring major scale on the piano that is possible if you use only white keys. (The C on a piano is the white key that’s just before the set of two black keys.) Really, you can start on any note you want to make a scale. As long as you follow that set pattern of whole steps and half steps, you will have a major scale. Just know that if you start on a note other than C, you’ll have to use black keys, which we call “accidentals” (sharps or flats).

The MINOR SCALE

A minor scale still contains seven notes, but the pattern of whole steps and half steps changes. There are different types of minor scales, but we’re only going to deal with the Natural Minor. Here’s the pattern for the natural minor scale:

1 (whole) 2 (half) 3 (whole) 4 (whole) 5 (half) 6 (whole) 7 (whole) 1

The A minor scale is the only naturally occurring minor scale on the piano that is possible by using only white notes. Therefore C Major and A Minor are “relatives” of each other. (We’ll talk more about relative majors, minors, and other modes in upcoming posts.) Again, you can start on any note you want, as long as you follow that pattern. In our next post, we’ll show you how Accidentals help conform scales to the correct pattern of whole steps and half steps.

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