sacred tones
29-10-2010, 12:57 AM
ez all,
this is going to be a tricky subject to cover so im going to try and keep things as simple and practical as possible. the plan is to do this over afew weeks covering one thing at a time, il be looking at key signatures, chords, melodys and basslines. as i say this is going to be tough to get across so feel free to ask any questions and il try to answer them all. also if anyone knows the subject and wants to add anything feel free.
(:conf:i cant work out how to insert google images so il just link the immages i use, if anyone can resolve this it would be awesome. )
so lets get started........
this weeks installment will be looking at key signatures in major and minor. using a key signature will give you a structure of notes to build your track around.
first off lets take a look at how the notes are layed out on a keyboard.
The white notes are natural notes and the black notes are either sharp (#) or flat (b) notes.
http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.eprintablecalendars.com/images/music/piano-keys-with-notes.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.eprintablecalendars.com/piano-keys-with-notes/&usg=__aFZ1L3Y1iAW8BSvc-KoHC8fQjK8=&h=360&w=600&sz=41&hl=en&start=0&sig2=N_Jkw6rMTpypu7lYGCYuJQ&zoom=1&tbnid=HFchbPuCua9-FM:&tbnh=89&tbnw=149&ei=cAXKTI_-A4SQjAenv53EDw&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dpiano%2Bkeys%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26saf e%3Doff%26sa%3DN%26biw%3D1366%26bih%3D545%26tbs%3D isch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=774&vpy=114&dur=820&hovh=174&hovw=290&tx=143&ty=96&oei=cAXKTI_-A4SQjAenv53EDw&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=24&ved=1t:429,r:5,s:0
next well be looking at the circle of fifths, this is a good way of working out a key and what notes will be used.
http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://jl174.k12.sd.us/images/circle_of_fifths_and_color_wheel.jpg&imgrefurl=http://jl174.k12.sd.us/Key_Signatures.aspx&usg=__8vwSiWTrEKD6rzN4I9yI5BtjB0I=&h=500&w=500&sz=94&hl=en&start=2&sig2=NQHc4IJa16CChboMtOxTjQ&zoom=1&tbnid=7JnbElKEKTtNNM:&tbnh=130&tbnw=130&ei=KAXKTIiZGsTTjAes18XQDw&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dcircle%2Bof%2Bfifths%26hl%3Den%26safe %3Doff%26sa%3DX%26biw%3D1366%26bih%3D545%26tbs%3Di sch:1%26prmd%3Div&itbs=1
this may look confusing at first but is actualy fairly simple to use once you know how, there are afew steps to apply.
the outer set of circles are major keys, the inner set of circles are minor keys. for now ignore the inner set of circles il cover them later on. well work out majors first.
look at the chart as a clock but with numbers running from 0 - 6 on each side of the face. so C will be 0, F & G will be 1, Bb & D will be 2 and so on.........
working to the right of C (0) will give you sharp keys and to the left will give you flatterned keys.
now theres just one peice of the puzzle to put in place but first lets recap where we are upto so far.
lets say i wanted to work in the key of A major, i would count round and see its at 3oclock to the right (#) of 0. so this would mean the key of A major contains 3 sharp notes.
so this is where the next bit comes in as i know the key contains 3 sharps but as of yet dont know which notes to sharpen.
here is the order of sharps and flats.
sharp - F, C, G, D, A, E, B.
flat - B, E, A, D, G, C, F.
as the key uses 3 sharps all i do is sharpen the first 3 from the list of sharps F, C and G.
so now we have the key of Amajor - (starting at A as it is the root note in the key)
A, B, C#, D, E, F#, G#, A........
so lets do afew more just to clear things up a little bit.
B is at number 5 to the right, so 5 sharps are needed ( F, C, G, D, A )so the key of B major is B, C#, D#, E, F#, G#, A#
and some flat keys
F is number 1 to the left so use one flat, B is first in the list so F major is F, G, A, Bb, C, D, E.
Eb is number 3 to the left so (B, E and A will be flattened.) so the key is Eb, F, G, Ab, Bb, C, D.
now lets look at minor keys......
each major key has a relevant minor ( the inner set of circles )
so to work out these use the same method as for major but using the inner circles not the outer.
heres afew examples......
A minor is at 0 so no sharps or flats will be used
E minor has 1 sharp (F#) so E, F#, G, A, B, C, D.
C minor has 3 flats (Bb, Eb, Ab) so C, D, Eb, F, G, Ab, Bb.
and so on.......
so thats how to use key signatures, this will be very usfull for giving you a structure to work with, instead of having 12 notes per octave you now have 7.
in the next installment i will be looking at using chords within these rules.
roll on the questions..........
:sun:
this is going to be a tricky subject to cover so im going to try and keep things as simple and practical as possible. the plan is to do this over afew weeks covering one thing at a time, il be looking at key signatures, chords, melodys and basslines. as i say this is going to be tough to get across so feel free to ask any questions and il try to answer them all. also if anyone knows the subject and wants to add anything feel free.
(:conf:i cant work out how to insert google images so il just link the immages i use, if anyone can resolve this it would be awesome. )
so lets get started........
this weeks installment will be looking at key signatures in major and minor. using a key signature will give you a structure of notes to build your track around.
first off lets take a look at how the notes are layed out on a keyboard.
The white notes are natural notes and the black notes are either sharp (#) or flat (b) notes.
http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.eprintablecalendars.com/images/music/piano-keys-with-notes.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.eprintablecalendars.com/piano-keys-with-notes/&usg=__aFZ1L3Y1iAW8BSvc-KoHC8fQjK8=&h=360&w=600&sz=41&hl=en&start=0&sig2=N_Jkw6rMTpypu7lYGCYuJQ&zoom=1&tbnid=HFchbPuCua9-FM:&tbnh=89&tbnw=149&ei=cAXKTI_-A4SQjAenv53EDw&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dpiano%2Bkeys%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26saf e%3Doff%26sa%3DN%26biw%3D1366%26bih%3D545%26tbs%3D isch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=774&vpy=114&dur=820&hovh=174&hovw=290&tx=143&ty=96&oei=cAXKTI_-A4SQjAenv53EDw&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=24&ved=1t:429,r:5,s:0
next well be looking at the circle of fifths, this is a good way of working out a key and what notes will be used.
http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://jl174.k12.sd.us/images/circle_of_fifths_and_color_wheel.jpg&imgrefurl=http://jl174.k12.sd.us/Key_Signatures.aspx&usg=__8vwSiWTrEKD6rzN4I9yI5BtjB0I=&h=500&w=500&sz=94&hl=en&start=2&sig2=NQHc4IJa16CChboMtOxTjQ&zoom=1&tbnid=7JnbElKEKTtNNM:&tbnh=130&tbnw=130&ei=KAXKTIiZGsTTjAes18XQDw&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dcircle%2Bof%2Bfifths%26hl%3Den%26safe %3Doff%26sa%3DX%26biw%3D1366%26bih%3D545%26tbs%3Di sch:1%26prmd%3Div&itbs=1
this may look confusing at first but is actualy fairly simple to use once you know how, there are afew steps to apply.
the outer set of circles are major keys, the inner set of circles are minor keys. for now ignore the inner set of circles il cover them later on. well work out majors first.
look at the chart as a clock but with numbers running from 0 - 6 on each side of the face. so C will be 0, F & G will be 1, Bb & D will be 2 and so on.........
working to the right of C (0) will give you sharp keys and to the left will give you flatterned keys.
now theres just one peice of the puzzle to put in place but first lets recap where we are upto so far.
lets say i wanted to work in the key of A major, i would count round and see its at 3oclock to the right (#) of 0. so this would mean the key of A major contains 3 sharp notes.
so this is where the next bit comes in as i know the key contains 3 sharps but as of yet dont know which notes to sharpen.
here is the order of sharps and flats.
sharp - F, C, G, D, A, E, B.
flat - B, E, A, D, G, C, F.
as the key uses 3 sharps all i do is sharpen the first 3 from the list of sharps F, C and G.
so now we have the key of Amajor - (starting at A as it is the root note in the key)
A, B, C#, D, E, F#, G#, A........
so lets do afew more just to clear things up a little bit.
B is at number 5 to the right, so 5 sharps are needed ( F, C, G, D, A )so the key of B major is B, C#, D#, E, F#, G#, A#
and some flat keys
F is number 1 to the left so use one flat, B is first in the list so F major is F, G, A, Bb, C, D, E.
Eb is number 3 to the left so (B, E and A will be flattened.) so the key is Eb, F, G, Ab, Bb, C, D.
now lets look at minor keys......
each major key has a relevant minor ( the inner set of circles )
so to work out these use the same method as for major but using the inner circles not the outer.
heres afew examples......
A minor is at 0 so no sharps or flats will be used
E minor has 1 sharp (F#) so E, F#, G, A, B, C, D.
C minor has 3 flats (Bb, Eb, Ab) so C, D, Eb, F, G, Ab, Bb.
and so on.......
so thats how to use key signatures, this will be very usfull for giving you a structure to work with, instead of having 12 notes per octave you now have 7.
in the next installment i will be looking at using chords within these rules.
roll on the questions..........
:sun: