I thought we’d start really simply and look at Chords and Scales.
Chords
Very few people look at chords properly. You just play and listen to them, and think, “Ah”. But if you don’t actually look at them, you’re missing a LOT of theory right there.
First off, what is a chord? Put simply, it’s a collection of notes played together. Most chords are made from stacking thirds from a scale on top of each other. Thirds are as simple as they sound – it’s the third note. So in C major ( C D E F G A B ) the C major chord has a C, an E and a G – the first, third and fifth of the C major scale. This is called a C Major Triad. A Triad is a collection of three notes stacked in thirds.
If we use the same scale, but start from an A, we get A, C, E – an A Minor Triad. The other Triad that you can get from the major scale is a Diminished Triad, and in C Major it starts on B – giving us B-D-F.
There’s something different about that Diminished Triad, isn’t there? To find out what, we need to look at the distances between the notes – known as the intervals.
Let’s look at a C Major Triad – C-E-G. If we count the number of Semitones (the distance between a B and a C, very reminiscent of the Jaws Theme) from the C to the E, we get four semitones. This is called a Major Third. If we count the distance from an E to a G, we get three semitones. This is a Minor Third. So a Major Triad has a Major Third followed by a Minor Third.
Now, let’s look at an A Minor Triad – A-C-E. Counting Semitones again, we get three semitones between A and C (a Minor Third) and four semitones between C and E (a Major Triad). So a Minor Triad is made from a Minor Third followed by a Major Third.
Looking at both Minor and Major Triads, they have something in common. They Both have a Major and a Minor Third in, although in different orders. This means that the distance between the First (C / A) and Fifth (E / G) notes is the same – seven semitones. This interval is called a Perfect Fifth, and it’s a very distinctive, pure sound.
However, if we now look at the B Diminished Triad - B-D-F - and count in semitones, you find that there are three semitones between B and D (a Minor Third), and three semitones between the D and F (another minor third). So that means that, between the first (B) and the fifth (F) there are only six semitones. This makes the Diminished Triad sound VERY evil.
Scales
What is a Scale? A Scale is a series of notes stretching over an octave. More simply, if you play any number of notes from a note to the same note higher up, that’s a scale. But the most used scales are the Major and Minor Scales.
A Major Scale is very simple to play if you have a piano – if you play all the white notes from a C to another C, you’ve just played the C Major Scale. It goes ( C D E F G A B C ) and sounds quite pretty and happy. If we play the white notes on a keyboard but starting from an A, which is three white notes lower than a C, we get the A Minor Scale, which goes ( A B C D E F G A ). It sounds fairly dark and menacing.
Look at that series of notes again, put next to each other, and spread across two octaves
C Major: C D E F G A B C D E F G A B C
A Minor: A B C D E F G A B C D E F G A
Looking at them there, you see clearly how the order of notes is common to both the scales. Why, then, do they sound so different? Once again, it’s all down to the distances between the notes – the intervals.
Intervals are all related to the major scale. As far as Intervals are concerned, the Major Scale is Perfect.
C Root
D Major Second -- Two Semitones
E Major Third ---- Four Semitones
F Perfect Fourth - Five Semitones
G Perfect Fifth --- Seven Semitones
A Major Sixth ---- Nine Semitones
B Major Seventh - Eleven Semitones
C Octave -------- Twelve Semitones
This is more simply written as 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
The Minor Scale, however, has various notes flattened, or lowered.
A Root
B Major Second -- Two Semitones
C Minor Third ---- Three Semitones - Flattened
D Perfect Fourth - Five Semitones
E Perfect Fifth --- Seven Semitones
F Minor Sixth ---- Eight Semitones - Flattened
G Minor Seventh - Ten Semitones - Flattened
A Octave ------- Twelve Semitones
If we express the Minor Scale in relation to the Major Scale then, we see that it follows this pattern:
1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7. Just in case you don’t know, the ‘b’ means flattened.
It is those three flattened notes – the third, sixth and seventh – that make the minor scale sound so different. In particular, it is the Third and Seventh that affect the sound – more about this later!
Obviously there are lots more scales to choose from, but these form the bulk of almost every tune you’ll know.
Next Time: Extending the Chords
