Major Scale in Every Key
C = C - D - E - F - G - A - B - C
D = D - E - F# - G - A - B - C# - D
E = E - F# - G# - A - B - C# - D# - E
F = F - G - A - Bb - C - D - E - F
G = G - A - B - C - D - E - F# - G
A = A - B - C# - D - E - F# - G# - A
B = B - C# - D# - E - F# - G# - A# - B
C# = C# - D# - E# (=F) - F# - G# - A# - B# (=C) - C#
Db = Db - Eb - F - Gb - Ab - Bb - C - Db
Eb = Eb - F - G - Ab - Bb - C - D -Eb
F# = F# - G# - A# - B - C# - D# - E# (=F) - F#
Gb = Gb - Ab - Bb - Cb (=B) - Db - Eb - F - Gb
Ab = Ab - Bb - C - Db - Eb - F - G - Ab
Bb = Bb - C - D - Eb - F - G - A - Bb
To simplify, you can memorize this formula to form a major scale = whole step - whole step - half step - whole step - whole step - whole step - half step or w - w - h - w - w - w - h.
Table of Major Scales
| C major |
| ||
| G Major |  | F Major |  |
| D Major |  | Bb Major |  |
| A Major |  | Eb Major |  |
| E Major |  | Ab Major |  |
| B Major |  | Db Major |  |
| F# Major |  | Gb Major |  |
| C# Major |  | Cb Major |  |
a. A key signature is the grouping of chromatic signs that have been extracted from a scale and placed after the clef sign. The number of flats or sharps in a key signature determines the key of a composition.
b. The E
Major scale has a key signature of three flats (Figure 2-6).
Figure 2-6: Extracting Accidentals for Key Signatures.
c. The E Major scale with the key signature in place, looks like this (Figure 2-7).
Figure 2-7: E Major Key Signature.
Placement of Sharps in a Key Signature.
a. Sharps are placed on the staff in the following order (Figure 2-8).
Figure 2-8: Order of Sharps.
b. To determine this order, begin on F
(the first added to the staff). Count up five letter names to C. Then begin on C and count up five more letter names to G sharp. Continue this pattern until all seven sharps are identified (Figure 2-9).
Figure 2-9: Determining Order of Sharps.
c. Sharps are placed on a staff in a specific pattern. The first sharp, F , is placed on the fifth line of the treble staff and the fourth line of the bass staff. The second sharp, C, is placed below the first sharp. The third sharp is up, the fourth sharp down, the fifth sharp down, the sixth sharp up, and the seventh sharp down. Figure 2-10 indicates the correct placement of sharps in a key signature.
Figure 2-10: Placement of Sharps.
Placement of Flats in a Key Signature.
a. Flats are placed on the staff in the following order (Figure 2-11).
Figure 2-11: Order of Flats.
b. To determine the order of flats, begin on B flat (the first flat added to the staff). Count up four letter names to E. Then begin on E and count up four more letter names to A. Continue this pattern until all seven flats have been identified (Figure 2-12).
Figure 2-12: Determining Order of Flats.
c. The first flat, B, is placed on the third line of the treble staff and on the second line of the bass staff. The second flat, E, is placed above the first flat. The third flat is down, the fourth up, the fifth down, the sixth up, and the seventh down (Figure 2-13).
Figure 2-13: Placement of Flats.
NOTE: The order of flats in a key signature is opposite the order of sharps (Figure 2-14).
Tuesday, October 27th, 2009
More Help With Triplets
Triplets
So what do we do if we want to divide the beat into three even parts? Do we have a note value that accomplishes this?
Yes we do. It's called a triplet, and it looks like this:
The first three notes of the bar are grouped together, using a slur or bracket, with a number '3'. The '3' indicates that the three notes are to be spread evenly across the beat so that the three notes are equal in length. Here is another example of music that uses a triplet:
In music where the quarter note gets
the beat (as in 
, 
or common time,) triplets that take up one beat are
called eighth note triplets.. They are written to
occupy the space that two eighth notes would occupy.
That's the important rule to remember about
triplets:
|
|
Look at the last example. In the second bar, the triplets occupy the same space that two eighth notes would normally occupy. Now look at the excerpt below. It shows a triplet, but it's made up of quarter notes, not eighth notes:
If you apply the rule above (triplets occupy the same space that two notes of that value would normally occupy), you would conclude correctly that the quarter note triplet is two beats long. That's because two quarter notes equal two beats.
