So, scales go to colleges and like, major in something?
In this tutorial, we are going to discuss major and minor scales. So, let's have some fun.
2. Major scales explained
A musical scale is an ordered set of pitches that are found in the same octave. If you remember, we defined an octave as the frequency interval between two notes with the same fundamental pitch of which one has double the frequency of the other.
In an octave, we have a total of 12 pitches, including the notes on which the octave is based on. Depending on the direction of the scale, we obtain these 12 pitches by either raising or lowering the pitch of a note by one semitone.
A scale can be played in either an ascending or descending manner and depending on the number of pitches we select to play, it can be of different types. In this tutorial, we will be focusing on major and minor scales, with the added info that we will be talking only about natural minor scales in this section.
Major and minor scales have a total of 8 pitches. When playing them, you start and end on the same note (with a different pitch of course). This note is known as the root note of the scale. The root note of a scale is the note that gives us its name (e.g. C, A, E, etc.) while the quality of the scale (e.g. major, minor, etc.) is given to us by the semitone/tone distance between the pitches in the scale.
Since major and minor scales contain 8 pitches, this gives us a total of 7 distances between consecutive pitches. Notes are numbered from 1 to 8, usually using roman numerals. The scale formulas we're about to learn, as you'll see, contain the semitone/tone difference between two consecutive pitches. The differences are in order, starting with the difference between notes 1 and 2, then 2 and 3 and so on. And with this in mind, let's define the formulas for major scales:
T and S are short for tone and semitone. With these formulas now learned, let's apply them in order to create some scales. Since we already know the C major scale, let's try and build ourselves a G major scale:
You can listen to the scale here.
Let's try to build the E major scale now:
You can listen to the scale here.
3. Minor scales explained
Minor scales are built using the following formula:
With this in mind, let us build ourselves an E minor scale:
You can listen to the scale here.
Let's try another one, the C♯ minor scale to be exact:
You can listen to the scale here.
4. Understanding relative scales
You may notice something interesting about these scales. Especially when you group them two by two: G major with E minor and E major with C♯ minor. The idea is that these scales share the same notes, even though they are played in a different order.
What I am trying to say is that each major scale has a relative minor scale and vice-versa.
The concept of relative scales refers to a major and minor scale which consist of the same notes, albeit played in a different order. All the examples above, grouped in the way we've already talked about, are relative to each other. C major and A minor contain the same distinct 7 notes, played in a different order: A, B, C, D, E, F and G. G major and E minor also contain the same 7 notes: G, A, B, C, D, E and F♯. The same goes for E major and C♯ minor.
The simplest way of figuring out a scale's relative major or minor counterpart is the following:
- Topics of discussion
- Major scales explained
- Minor scales explained
- Understanding relative scales
In this tutorial, we are going to discuss major and minor scales. So, let's have some fun.
2. Major scales explained
A musical scale is an ordered set of pitches that are found in the same octave. If you remember, we defined an octave as the frequency interval between two notes with the same fundamental pitch of which one has double the frequency of the other.
In an octave, we have a total of 12 pitches, including the notes on which the octave is based on. Depending on the direction of the scale, we obtain these 12 pitches by either raising or lowering the pitch of a note by one semitone.
A scale can be played in either an ascending or descending manner and depending on the number of pitches we select to play, it can be of different types. In this tutorial, we will be focusing on major and minor scales, with the added info that we will be talking only about natural minor scales in this section.
Major and minor scales have a total of 8 pitches. When playing them, you start and end on the same note (with a different pitch of course). This note is known as the root note of the scale. The root note of a scale is the note that gives us its name (e.g. C, A, E, etc.) while the quality of the scale (e.g. major, minor, etc.) is given to us by the semitone/tone distance between the pitches in the scale.
Since major and minor scales contain 8 pitches, this gives us a total of 7 distances between consecutive pitches. Notes are numbered from 1 to 8, usually using roman numerals. The scale formulas we're about to learn, as you'll see, contain the semitone/tone difference between two consecutive pitches. The differences are in order, starting with the difference between notes 1 and 2, then 2 and 3 and so on. And with this in mind, let's define the formulas for major scales:
T-T-S-T-T-T-S
T and S are short for tone and semitone. With these formulas now learned, let's apply them in order to create some scales. Since we already know the C major scale, let's try and build ourselves a G major scale:
You can listen to the scale here.
Let's try to build the E major scale now:
You can listen to the scale here.
3. Minor scales explained
Minor scales are built using the following formula:
T-S-T-T-S-T-T
With this in mind, let us build ourselves an E minor scale:
You can listen to the scale here.
Let's try another one, the C♯ minor scale to be exact:
You can listen to the scale here.
4. Understanding relative scales
You may notice something interesting about these scales. Especially when you group them two by two: G major with E minor and E major with C♯ minor. The idea is that these scales share the same notes, even though they are played in a different order.
What I am trying to say is that each major scale has a relative minor scale and vice-versa.
The concept of relative scales refers to a major and minor scale which consist of the same notes, albeit played in a different order. All the examples above, grouped in the way we've already talked about, are relative to each other. C major and A minor contain the same distinct 7 notes, played in a different order: A, B, C, D, E, F and G. G major and E minor also contain the same 7 notes: G, A, B, C, D, E and F♯. The same goes for E major and C♯ minor.
The simplest way of figuring out a scale's relative major or minor counterpart is the following:
- for a major scale, the sixth note in the scale gives you the root note of its relative minor scale counterpart (ex: the 6th note in the C major scale is A, therefore A minor is C major's relative minor scale counterpart)
- for a minor scale, the third note in the scale gives you the root note of its relative major scale counterpart (ex: the 3rd note in the A minor scale is C, therefore C major is A minor's relative major scale counterpart)
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