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Major and Minor Scales 1. What is a “key” in music? A key is a group of notes that are related to each other. The easiest way to think of a key is to think of a scale. In the key of C major, for instance, the scale notes are C D E F G A B C. If a song is written in C (major), we can expect it to use mostly those notes, and when we get to C it will feel like returning home. Pieces in a particular key usually – though not always – end on that note. If we saw a lot of sharps in a piece, we might (rightly) suspect it was some other key than C major – although there may be a few flats and sharps that appear as accidentals in the music. (Accidentals are extra sharps, flats, or naturals that are not in the key; they may indicate a temporary key change, or they may just “spice up” the music.) 2. What is a minor key? Minor keys or scales have a different “flavour” from majors. The reason is that the distances from one note of the scale to the next happen in a different pattern in major keys and minor keys. 3. Relative majors and minors Every major scale has a minor scale that is related to it. The relative minor, as it’s called, has the same key signature (sharps or flats) as the major. The relative minor is found three semitones down from the major. Example: C major has no sharps and no flats. Three semitones down from C is A. “A” minor also has no sharps and no flats. 4. Harmonic, and natural minor scales The natural minor is like the “A” minor scale mentioned above. It has the same key signature as its relative major, with nothing added (hence the name “natural”). The harmonic minor is nicknamed the 7-up scale in MYC, because the 7th note of the scale is raised. For example, the A harmonic minor scale is A B C D E F G# A. The 7th note of the natural scale, G, has had a sharp added to raise it. 1