Message 19/27
Date: 17-Feb-01 @ 03:38 AM -
RE: so whats this scale?
In a C Major triad(3 note chord) the root note would be C the 3rd would be E and the 5th would be G.The root note in the key of C Major is C that is the note that all other notes in the scale of C Major relate to.
A simple way of figuring out what triads occur naturally in a scale is to use the following method.If you take the C Major scale as an example we have the notes C D E F G A B C now if you start with the C note then miss out a note then take the E note miss a note and take the G note,combine those three notes with C being the lowest in pitch followed by E followed by G and you have a C Major triad.Now start with the D note and then miss out a note choose F miss out a note choose A and combine those notes in same way as you did with the C and you will have a D minor triad.
Start on the E now and do the same thing you will get an E minor triad do this with the remaining notes and you will get an F major triad,G major triad,A minor triad,B diminished triad and then again a C major triad an octave higher and you have discovered all the triads in the key of C Major.
Now if you take the notes C D E F G A B C again and assign each of them a number(normally using Roman numerals I,II,III,IV,V,VI,VII,I = 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,1)you can then use those numbers to understand chord progressions as in a I,IV,V(1,4,5)progression consists of a triad built from the first note of the scale in this case the key of C Major or 1st chord is C Major(C,E,G).followed by a chord built from the 4th note of the scale in this case F Major(F,A,C)then a chord built from the 5th note of the scale in this case G Major(G,B,D).
In a I,IV,V(1,4,5)chord progression in the key of C Major we then have the I chord(C Major C,E,G)the IV chord(F Major F,A,C)and the V chord(G Major G,B,D).Starting with the C chord if you play that followed by the F chord then the G chord and then back to the C chord you will hear how these chords naturally work together and the G chord always sounds like it naturally comes to rest(resolves) at the C chord that is because the C chord is the root chord in that key.The sound of the 5th chord moving or falling to the 1st chord is called the perfect cadence(from the Latin word meaning "to fall").If you use this method with all the Major scales you will be able to find all the naturally occuring triads in any key and it also means that you can easily transfer(transpose) a chord progression into another key very easily.Try it what would the chords in a II,V,I chord progression in the key of C consist of?