MORE Basic Music Theory - Building Basic Scales and Chords


          As you will know if you’ve been reading these blog posts, I’ve been trying to build your basic Music Theory knowledge.  For those of you who already play piano or guitar, or really any musical instrument, you probably don’t need any of this information, or only need to review it but for everyone else, make certain you have read, studied, and understood the information from the THREE blog posts on August 21, 2016 before working on the information contained here.  Every song, from traditional Christian hymns to pop songs, to heavy metal pieces, to Classical Operas, to Bluegrass and Folk songs…EVERY kind of song, is built around a Musical Scale, and the Chords that make up that Scale.  Below, you will find “formulas” for building Major and Minor Scales, as well as “formulas” for each of the FOUR basic types of Chords.
         The first important CONCEPT you need to understand has to do with the “DISTANCE” between notes on the keyboard or fret board.  The shortest distance between any two notes is called a “HALF STEP” or a “SEMITONE”.  All the Scale and Chord Formulas are constructed using HALF STEPS and/or “WHOLE STEPS”.  A “WHOLE STEP” is equal to TWO Half Steps.  This can be seen on a piano keyboard when you move from one White Key to another White Key with one Black Key in between.  In this circumstance, the distance from one White Key to the Black Key is one Half Step or Semitone; the distance from the Black Key to the second White Key is also, one Half Step or Semitone.  Therefore, from one White key to another White key (as long as there is a Black key in between the two White keys), is one Whole Step.
         The FORMULA for a MAJOR SCALE is:
TONIC NOTE (the Note where the Scale begins) to the next Whole Step to the next Whole Step to the next Half Step, to the next Whole Step, to the next Whole Step, to the next Whole Step, to the next/last Half Step.  This means the actual FORMULA for a MAJOR SCALE is –
-       Tonic + WH + WH + H + WH + WH+ WH+ H – to the Tonic, an Octave up

         The FORMULA for NATURAL MINOR SCALE is:
TONIC NOTE (if you don’t already KNOW the Tonic Note, the Tonic of a Minor Scale is located a MINOR THIRD or THREE HALF STEPS/SEMITONES BELOW [to the left of) the MAJOR SCALE TONIC (beginning scale note), SO, TONIC to the next Whole Step to the next HALF STEP to the next WHOLE STEP, to the next WHOLE STEP, to the next HALF STEP, to the next WHOLE STEP, and the next/last WHOLE STEP.  Therefore, the “shorthand” formula for a NATURAL MINOR SCALE is –
-       Tonic + WH + H + WH + WH + H + WH + WH – to the Tonic, one Octave above the original

         The FORMULA for MAJOR CHORDS:
-       Tonic + FOUR HALF STEPS TO MIDDLE NOTE + THREE HALF STEPS TO TOP NOTE

         The FORMULA for MINOR CHORDS:
-       Tonic + THREE HALF STEPS TO MIDDLE NOTE + FOUR HALF STEPS TO TOP NOTE

         The FORMULA for DIMINISHED CHORDS:
-       Tonic + THREE HALF STEPS TO MIDDLE NOTE + THREE HALF STEPS TO TOP NOTE

         The FORMULA for AUGMENTED CHORDS:
-       Tonic + FOUR HALF STEPS TO MIDDLE NOTE + FOUR HALF STEPS TO TOP NOTE  
  
         I hope you see how “painless” and relatively “easy” Chord Theory is.  We will continue to build on your Music Theory knowledge in the coming weeks but, in the meanwhile, choose “random” notes on the piano and build some of these chords; you’ll see how straightforward and simple they are to construct.   The more you practice, the less “intimidating” this “Theory” will be for you.  You NEED to work with this material, get to know it, and manipulate the elements, the notes enough that you begin to get “comfortable”, and feel less apprehensive about handling, and building toward an acceptable level of management and accomplishment.  YOU CAN DO THIS, and practicing to achieve flexibility and familiarity with these Music Theory concepts, will empower you to “speak” Music Theory, and to become more and more “fluent” in communicating with it.
         Thanks so much for reading and studying these principles!  Take your time and enjoy your progress!  Please contact me with your questions, comments, or suggestions.  If you have questions about my lessons or about me, check out my website at www.SingitForward.net.  You are important to me and I genuinely want you to succeed, so let me know how I can help you.  Thanks again!  Sing it forward!

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