To change C major into F major, you rotate its necklace one slot counterclockwise. This has the same effect as changing C major into C Lydian mode, because G major and C Lydian are comprised of the same notes. For example, to change the C major scale into the G major scale, you rotate it one slot clockwise. You can rotate scale necklaces around the circle of fifths to change their root note. Hear the diatonic modes moved around the circle of fifths: Sorting the modes along the circle of fifths the way we’re doing here also conveniently sorts them from brightest to darkest. You can think of scale degrees 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 in a diatonic mode as switches or toggles that can be flipped in the brighter or darker direction. Notice a pattern here: as you rotate around in a clockwise direction, adding more “blue” notes (flat/minor intervals above the root), the modes get “darker.” And as you rotate around in a counter-clockwise direction, adding more “green” notes (natural/sharp/major intervals above the root), the scales get brighter. To change C Phrygian mode into C Locrian mode, you remove the G and add G-flat. I don’t feel like making the diagrams, but you do the same procedure to change the C natural minor scale into C Phrygian mode: remove the D and add D-flat. To change C Dorian mode into the C natural minor scale, you remove the A and replace it with A-flat. To change C Mixolydian mode into C Dorian mode, you remove the E and replace it with E-flat. (In this diagram and all the ones that follow, blue notes are flat or minor intervals above the root.) To change the C major scale into C Mixolydian mode, you remove the B at the clockwise end of the necklace and replace it with B-flat at the counterclockwise end. For example, to change the C major scale into C Lydian mode, you remove the F, the furthest counterclockwise end of the necklace, and replace it with F-sharp, adding it onto the furthest clockwise end of the necklace. It’s easy to transform the major scale into its parallel modes by adding and removing notes from the ends of the necklace. This kind of circular representation is called a scale necklace (or sometimes scale bracelet). The green notes form major or “natural” intervals above the root. The purple notes are the ones that form “perfect” intervals above the root C: unison, octave, fourth and fifth. Here’s the C major scale on the circle of fifths: But it also helps explain how the major scale and diatonic modes relate to each other, and gives a possible explanation for why they sound good. For one thing, it can help you understand how key signatures work. Without the sharps, it is a different pattern and, therefore, not a Major scale.If you want to understand Western music theory, the circle of fifths is an invaluable tool. This image shows that the key of D Major follows this same pattern. Notice that the pattern changes, which means that this is no longer a Major scale. Here's what it would look like without the B flatted. The B is flatted so that the scale follows the same W W H W W W H pattern. The key of F, for example, has 1 flat (B flat). The key of C has no sharps or flats because it naturally follows this pattern. In the last lesson, we discussed that the W W H W W W H step pattern is the same for all major keys. Whole & Half Step Pattern in a Major Scale Let's discuss what all of these key signatures have in common. This little trick will help you quickly determine the name of the key signature when there are multiple sharps or flats in the key signature, but you may have noticed that this trick doesn't work for the key of F or the key of C. In this case, there is already a C# in the key signature, so this key is the key of C#. The quicker way to determine this is to look at the sharps already in the key signature. This means that half step above B# is C#. Remember that there is a naturally occurring half step between B and C, which means B# is the same pitch as C. Why? The last sharp in this key signature is B#. It is not the key of E# because there is no E# in this key signature. This is the key of E because E is half step above D#, which is the last sharp in the key signature. This is the key of G because F# is the last sharp in the key signature. Sharpsįor key signatures with sharps, the key signature is the note name half step above the last sharp. It is not the key of D because there is a D flat in the key. This is the key of D flat because D flat is the second to last flat in the key signature. This is the key of E flat because E flat is the second to last flat in the key signature. Here is a list of all of the different key signatures:įor key signatures with flats, the key signature is the second to last flat.
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