I promised that I would follow up with a blog about minor keys. I hope that you remember how to find the major key in a song. (Please re-read the blog from two weeks ago if you need to refresh your memory.) However, here is a brief reminder: the last sharp to the right is the 7th scale tone. Go up ½ step to find the major key (this works for #’s only.) For b’s, just go to the second flat from the right and name it.
What is a minor key you ask? Composers write music to evoke emotion in the listener and performer. To make a song sound sad or pensive, a minor scale can be used. The 3rd note of the minor scale is a minor 3rd (3 half steps) above the key note instead of a major third. (4 half steps). This “lowered” third sounds darker and is used in many cultures to express a feeling or emotion. It is also used in jazz or the blues.
Keep reading if you dare….
Ok, so a minor key has the same key signature as its relative major key. If there are 3 flats in the major, there are 3 flats in the relative minor. However, the minor scale starts 3 half steps below the first note of the major scale. Another way of saying this is: the minor scale starts on the 6th scale tone of the major scale. Are you confused yet? I thought you might be so, keep reading at your own risk…
Let’s look at this in depth:
C major has no sharps or flats right? The relative minor of C major is: A minor.
They both have the same key signature. However, A minor begins on A instead of C.
So to find out if the song is in a minor key or a major key, look at the last note of the song.
Remember that 99.999% of the time, it ends on the first note of the scale. So if the song ends on A and has no sharps or flats in the key signature, then it is in A minor.
There are three forms of the “relative” minor: natural minor, harmonic minor and melodic minor. “Relative” means same key signature. (Of course, it could also mean your cousin, your aunt or your little sister.)
The natural minor is the same scale as the major but it just starts on the minor note.
The harmonic minor has a raised 7th. So in A minor, there is a G#.
The melodic minor has a raised 6th and 7th scale tone ascending. So in A minor you raise the F# and G#. However, the descending scale is the natural minor. (no additional accidentals.)
Many people need to see the scale to understand these concepts. Look at each scales and you should see the differences between the 3 forms of the minor scales.
THIS IS THE NATURAL MINOR – NO ADDITIONAL SHARPS OR FLATS OTHER THAN THOSE IN THE KEY SIGNATURE.
RAISE THE 7TH SCALE TONE IN HARMONIC MINOR
RAISE THE 6TH & 7TH SCALE TONES IN MELODIC MINOR SCALES.
Note: Remember that for the melodic minor scale, when descending, you play the natural minor scale.
Final note for people that have read this far and really like the feeling of hitting their head against a wall – There are also scales called “parallel majors and minors.” They have different key signatures but start on the same note. Like C major and C minor. One has no sharps or flats and the other has 3 flats and is related to Eb major.
(I will stop now as too much information can cause you to over-eat jelly beans this weekend! Oh, that was me while writing this blog 🙂
As always, have fun when practicing and remember to listen to your own performance. After all, whether written in a major or a minor key, music is to be heard, it is not just notes on a page.
Laurie Beth Frick