Major Scales

Major Scales

            Down to ages, music have been modernizing by itself. This blog trakes this developments from renaissance age. However, for understanding major scales, we should know how to occure this major scales from before the classical age. Tetrachords which are invented by pythagoras and used by ancient greek musicans are constituent of major scales.

                                                                                                                                  Ex.3

           

            The major scale is a pattern of half steps and whole steps.  Each step is a degree of the scale.

                                                                                                                                  Ex.4

              Degree          Function

I.                   Tonic                          Key note

II.                Supertonic                 Next step above the tonic

III.             Mediant                     Halfway from tonic to dominant

IV.             Subdominant             Preliminary step of dominant

V.                Dominant                   The fifth above the tonic

VI.             Submediant               Halfway down tonic to subdominant

VII.                     Leading-tone              Tension

            Importance of "The Circle Of Fifths"(Ex.2) is that It is shows what major scale uses  what kind of and how many accidental sign. Thus, key signatures of major scales becomes obviously. For major scales, the way of calculating key signatures,  the last accidental in key signatures is back step of tonic. For instance, A major' s back step is sol# and la majors key signatures are fa# do# and sol#. Just continue counting on a row that  fa# do# sol# re# la#... or sib mib lab  reb ...

                                                                                                                                  Ex.5