Chapter II

Chapter II:
Scales,Tonality
Key,Modes
Important Concept
• Performers often practice scales to develop their technique. The
collections of pitches and recurring patterns performers use to focus
attention on technical aspects are the same building blocks of musical
composition.
Scale
• A scale is a collection of pitches in ascending and descending order.
Musicians use a scale as a convenient way of displaying the notes
used in a melody or harmony.
Diatonic Scale
• Diatonic (literally “across the tones”) defines a scale of mixed half and
whole steps (and an occasional step and a half) in which each
individual tone plays a role. The first tone of a scale, the tonic, is a
point of rest and is considered to be the most stable. Other tones lead
toward or away from it, creating varying degrees of tension or
relaxation.
Major Key
• The major scale is a scale of seven different pitch classes with whole
steps separating adjacent tones, except for half steps between the
third and fourth degrees and between the seventh and eighth (or fi
rst) degrees. The eighth pitch has the same letter name as the first
and thus is treated as a duplication.All adjacent keys on the piano are
a half step apart.
Tetrachord
• The major scale includes two tetrachords (groups of four pitches)
constructed with the
• same arrangement of intervals—two whole steps followed by a half
step. The two tetrachords of the major scale are separated by a single
whole step.
Transposition
• This same major scale pattern of half and whole steps can be
duplicated at any pitch. Such rewriting is called transposition.
Key Signature
• provides a convenient way to memorize the sharps or the flats
needed when the scale begins on various pitches. The arrangement of
the necessary sharps or flats is called a key signature and appears at
the beginning of each staff in a composition after the clef.
Minor Scale
• The minor scale is another common diatonic scale. It is more varied in
pitch material because there are two different versions of both the
sixth and seventh scale degrees. Traditionally, the minor scales have
been described as having three distinct forms, but in practice,
composers use all the scale resources of the minor scale within a
single composition. The three traditional forms of the minor scale are
called natural, harmonic, and melodic.
Natural Minor Scale
• The natural minor scale contains seven different pitches with whole
steps separating adjacent tones, except for half steps between the
second and third degrees and between the fifth and sixth degrees.
Harmonic Minor Scale
• The harmonic minor scale has a raised seventh degree. The added
impetus of a raised seventh degree gives more melodic thrust toward
the tonic. Raising the seventh degree creates a step and a half
between the sixth and seventh degrees, and a half step between the
seventh and eighth degrees. Accidentals used to raise the seventh
degree do not appear in the key signature.
Melodic Minor Scale
• The melodic minor scale appears in both ascending and descending
form. Besides the half step between the second and third degrees,
the ascending form includes raised sixth and seventh scale degrees,
producing a half step between the seventh and eighth degrees. The
descending form is the same as the natural minor.
Scale Relationship
• It is important to associate and compare the patterns present in major
and minor scales. Two signifi cant associations are byproducts of the
overall organizational scheme: the relative and parallel relationships.
Relative Relationship
• A major and a minor scale that have the same key signature are said
to be in a relative relationship. To fi nd the relative minor of any major
scale, proceed to the sixth degree of that scale. This tone is the tonic
of the relative minor.
Circle of Fifths
• Another way to visualize the relationship between the major scales
and their relative minors is with the circle of fifths . All of the key
signatures are given within the circle. The major scale tonics are listed
outside the perimeter of the circle. The relative minors appear within
the inner circle.
Parallel Relationship
• A major and a minor scale that begin on the same tonic note are said
to be in parallel relationship.

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