Here is some more things I wish I had when I first started. Print this off and file it away in your reference folder. What, you do not have a reference folder? Start one.
OK -- first things first. Until we understand the Major and minor scale -- which notes are in each scale and the difference in a scale and a key -- most of the stuff you read on the internet will only take you so far before a brick wall comes into the picture. Those Internet bits and pieces of information assume you already understand this, and with out this basic knowledge everything will keep being Jell-O.
No way you can remember all this. File it away so when you need it you know where to go get it.
How can the following help you? The band director says; "Next one is Kiss Ole Kate, we'll do it in G ready 1 & 2 & 3..... OK you need to know the notes and chords in the scale/key of G and have some sheet music or chord charts on Kiss Ole Kate that you can use.
The melody instruments will play notes of the G scale and the harmony instruments (which we are one) will play notes of the chords made from the G scale notes. So it kinda helps if you know what those notes and or chords are -- or have some way of remembering then.
Having the notes of the Major and Natural minor scale
all on one page is hard to find. That is why I've listed them below.
Major Scale Chart 221-2221 Major Key I,ii,iii,IV,V,vi,viidim
Interval number 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
C major scale.....C D E F G A B........................Notice how each scale has different
G Major scale.....G A B C D E F#......................notes. C has no sharps or flats and
D Major scale.....D E F# G A B C#....................the E major scale has 4 sharps. I've
Etc, etc. ............A B C# D E F# G#.................given you some memory pegs below
........................E F# G# A B C# D#...............so you will not have to rely upon this
........................B C# D# E F# G# A#.............scale chart all the time.
........................F# G# A# B C# D# E#
........................C# D# E# F# G# A# B#
Now the flats......F G A Bb C D E
........................Bb C D Eb F G A
........................Eb F G Ab Bb C D
........................Ab Bb C Db Eb F G
........................Db Eb F Gb Ab Bb C
........................Gb Ab Bb Cb Db Eb F
........................Cb Db Eb Fb Gb Ab Bb
Natural Minor Scale Chart 212-2122 Natural Minor Key i,iidim,III,iv,v,VI,VII
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
A B C D E F G
E F# G A B C D
B C# D E F# G A
F# G# A B C# D E
C# D# E F# G# A B
G# A# B C# D# E F#
D# E# F# G# A# B C#
A# B# C# D# E# F# G#
D E F G A Bb C
G A Bb C D Eb F
C D Eb F G Ab Bb
F G Ab Bb C Db Eb
Bb C Db Eb F Gb Ab
Eb F Gb Ab Bb Cb Db
Ab Bb Cb Db Eb Fb Gb
Print this off and use it as a reference as you study the rest of this post.
Everything we do in Western music (Western part of the World) is based on the Major scale. To understand it we really have to start with the chromatic scale. -- C, C#/Db, D, D#/Eb, E, F, F#/Gb, G, G#/Ab, A, A#/Bb, B, C.
12 sounds that start over again at the 13th (C) with another octave of the same. Understand C#/Db is one sound, thus one note with two names. They are the in-between sounds - the black keys on the piano. Notice it's not every other one -- E does not have a # or sharped note nor does B. Why not? That will drive you crazy, just accept it and keep going.
At the begining of the Major Scale Chart notice the "phone number" 221-2221. This phone number is the tone, half tone structure I'm sure you have heard of. I remember the phone number easier than Tone, Tone, Half Tone, Tone, Tone, Tone, Half Tone. Use which ever one lifts your kilt. This phone number is your memory peg to help you decide what notes are in each Major scale. Take any note - let's use C to start with. Apply the phone number looking at the chromatic scale - C go up two notes to D now go up two more notes to E, now go up one note to F continue on going up two notes to G then two more to A then two more to B then one to C.
That is the C Major Scale. C,D,E,F,G,A,B,C. Now do that same thing for the G scale and you end up with one sharp note, the F#. The D scale ends up with two sharps the F# you already have and the C#. Continue on and you will have built the full Major scale -- just by applying that "magic phone number"
Next thing written at the top of the Major Scale chart is something called Major Key I,ii,iii,IV,V,vi,viidim,I. --- Upper case will be major chords and the lower case will be minor chords. That is the key structure cheat sheet, memory peg, what ever you want to call it -- that will tell you what chords are in a certain key. Remember scales have notes and keys have chords. That is no exactly correct, but, for now close enough for our study. Let's use the D scale and find what chords are in the key of D.
Structure.. I,. ii,... iii,... IV, V,.vi, viidim,..... I
D scale =.. D, E,.. F#,... G, A,. B,.. C#,....... D
Key of D = D, Em, F#m, G, A, Bm, C#dim,.. D --- notice the F# note becomes a F#m chord. and the E note is now a Em chord. A key will have three Major chords, three minor chords and one diminished chord. Every key will have this same number of Major, minor and diminished chords.
The band director says; "OK, the next song will be in D". The solo instruments will select their solo notes from the D scale and the accompaniment instruments will use the key of D for their chords. And Yes if the bassists will be playing accompaniment he/she will gather their notes from the active chord for their bass lines. R-R-R-R or R-5 or what ever fits with this song.
Now look at the minor scale chart. Notice the phone number is different and the key structure is also different. Apply these the same way as you did for the Major scale -- they being different is what gives the minor sound.
Notice something else -- the first column of the minor scale is the same as the 6th column in the Major scale. The 2nd minor scale column is the same as the 7th Major scale column. The third minor scale column is the same as the 1st Major scale column, etc, etc, etc. Just something to keep in mind when you start studing relative minors etc.
Some memory pegs that will help you remember things on the fly:
- See God Destroy All Earth By F#iry C#aos. Is the order of scales that have sharps in them. C has none, G has 1, D has 2, E has 4, etc.
- Fat Cats Go Down Alleys Eating Birds. Is the order of the sharps in the sharp scales. C has none, G has one the F# (fat) D has 2, the F# and the C# (cats), etc.
- Farmer Brown Eats Apple Dumplings Greasly Cooked. Is the order of the scales that have flats in them. F has one, the Bb, Bb keeps itself and adds the Eb. Eb keeps itself, the Bb and adds the Ab. Notice how it builds from Farmer Brown Eats Apples, etc.
Use these memory pegs:
See God Destroy All Earth By F#iry C#aos
Fat Cats Go Down Alleys Eating Birds
Farmer Brown Eats Apple Dumplings Greasly Cooked
The lymiric See God Destroy... and Farmer Brown .... can be used to remember the Circle of 5ths order which can be used to help you with chord progressions.
I've just given you the basic foundation of Western Music.
- The Major Scale and which scales have what notes.
- What notes are sharped and which notes are flatted.
- The Major Key structure and which chords are in each key.
- Which chords are Major chords, which are minor chords and which one is the minor diminished chord.
We really only do three things with our instruments. We make either, scales, chords or arpeggios. Perhaps you now understand scales and chords a little better ------ now go on the Internet and learn how to
use scales and chords. Dirt simple logic; scales are for the melody, chords are for the harmony. If the melody notes and the notes of the chords share some of the same notes we get harmonization. That is how music thinks.
Quiz; Under a C major chord what bass line will fit while that C chord is active?
Answer; the notes of the C major chord. Question; what are the notes of the C major chord? Answer; the Root, 3rd scale degree and the 5th scale degree, i.e. C, E, G notes. Where on your fretboard is the C, E and G notes? And this brings us back to my first post.
I glued a picture of the Circle of 5th on my first instrument so I could sneak a peak when ever I needed some help. Help yourself to one of these;
https://www.google.com/search?q=circle of 5ths&tbm=isch&imgil=-Cp5KlJsP5zt8M:;I8U63V4ACDlOIM;http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circle_of_fifths&source=iu&usg=__-Kc9TEx--CrzNNE9fqgJVtYOsyE=&sa=X&ei=9zH6U-S5BIinyAS-wIGYDw&sqi=2&ved=0CCwQ9QEwAQ&biw=1041&bih=531#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=-Cp5KlJsP5zt8M:;I8U63V4ACDlOIM;http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/33/Circle_of_fifths_deluxe_4.svg/1024px-Circle_of_fifths_deluxe_4.svg.png;http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circle_of_fifths;1024;1024
It's a circle - put the scale name, or tonic chord name you want at 12:00 O'clock. The three major chords, or scale notes are outside the circle. The three minor chords or scale notes are inside the circle and the diminished chord or scale note is inside just to the right of the last minor chord. Chords or notes works the same.
Have fun, it is a journey. Little today, little more tomorrow... When you are comfortable with this it then will be time to study chord progressions and harmony. First things first...
Later you can start gradually increasing the practice period while still taking regular breaks. Be patient with yourself and try not to cram in too much too soon, otherwise frustration can set in.
