Music Theory Keys and Scales
KEY SIGNATURES
TONAL STRUCTURE RHYME
Father Charles Goes Down And Ends Battle
SHARPS MAJORS
Say the rhyme forwards (Left to Right) for sharps
HOW MANY ?
RULE : Key note, DOWN one note , say rhyme
NAME THE KEY
RULE : Say rhyme for a given number of sharps, Go UP one note
FLATS MAJORS
Say the rhyme backwards (Right to Left) for flats
HOW MANY ?
RULE : Rhyme up to the key note ADD one FLAT
NAME THE KEY
RULE : Say the rhyme for a given number of flats, GO BACK one flat
RELATIONAL MINORS
PROCEDURE for MINOR Keys
IDENTIFYING RELATIONAL MAJORS (to establish KEY SIGNATURE)
Each Minor key has a relational Major. Start with the Minor key note . Go up 3 semitones to establish the RELATIONAL MAJOR KEY . Follow the MAJOR SHARPS or FLATS Procdure above. Do not include the fist note.
EXAMPLE ONE
How many sharps are there in F# Minor ?The KEY NOTE is F#.
Go UP three semitones. This takes you to thr note A
How many sharps are there is A MAJOR ?
Answer : 3 sharps F C and G
The relational Minor - F# Minor also has 3 sharps F C and G
EXAMPLE TWO
How many flats are there in Bb Minor ?
The KEY NOTE is Bb .
Go UP three semitones. This takes you to Db.
How many flats are there in Db MAJOR ?
Answr 5 Flats B E A D and G
The relational Minor - Bb Minor als o has 5 flats B E A D and G.
TECHNICAL NAMES
There are 8 degrees (note names) for each scale.
Here's the technical names
* 8 OCTAVE
* 7 LEADING NOTE
* 6 SUBMEDIANT
* 5 DOMINANT
* 4 SUBDOMINANT
* 3 MEDIANT
* 2 SUPERTONIC
* 1 TONIC