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EDM Theory #1 – Let’s Talk About Major & Minor Scales!
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| cryophonik |
I started writing this a while ago, and it seems like I've come across a lot of questions regarding theory lately, and scales in particular. So, I figured I'd post what I have so far and write this as a series of sessions on basic music theory concepts used in EDM.
My plan is to start with major and minor scales, work our way through modes, chords, and chord progressions, and ultimately talk about melody writing and any other topics that come up in the meantime. The intent here is not to bore you with irrelevant trivia or bog you down with concepts typically associated only with classical music, but to introduce you to some very useful and practical concepts that will help you understand what you and others are creating, help you speak and understand the language of music theory and, hopefully, stimulate some new ways of thinking about your own EDM compositions. It will be very elementary to the more advanced musicians, but hopefully it will help people struggling with basic music theory concepts and practices. My original plan was to make this a blog, but given the other knowledgeable theory minds around here (e.g., RichieV, Diginut, Sonic_c, etc.), I think it would be better to keep it in an open forum format to facilitate an open dialog, Q&A, etc.
So, for this first session, I am going to talk about major and minor scales, which are typically used in EDM. This session will lay a foundation for later sessions discussing the relevant modes, the relationships between chords and modes, how chords are structured and arranged, and ultimately some discussions of melodies and harmonies. I will assume for this first session that the reader is familiar with note names and can locate the notes on a piano, has a general understanding of how to read music (e.g., treble vs. bass clef, notation), etc. I am going to focus on the familiar diatonic (7-note) scales in this session, since those are most widely used in EDM (and most pop/rock music), particularly the major and minor scales. We may find it useful to also discuss pentatonic (5-note) scales in another session.
Let’s start with a few terms that I will use when naming notes:
- # (sharp) = raised by a semitone (half-step)
- x (double-sharp) = raised by two semitones, or one tone (full-step)
- ♭ (flat) = lowered by a semitone
- ♭♭ (double-flat) = lowered by two semitones, or one tone
- ♮ (natural) = not raised nor lowered
Two important notes before we begin. First, when naming the notes in a diatonic scale, it is standard convention to only use each letter name once and all letter names should be used. For example, you would not write an E-major scale as E-F#-A♭-A-…because this skips the letter G, but uses the letter A twice (flattened and natural). Thus, you would write this as E-F#-G#-A-…instead. The G# and Ab are “enharmonic” notes, which essentially means that they are played the same on a piano, but named differently, depending on the context. This is very important, as we will see when we talk about chords later on, to avoid confusion when referring to which note in the scale a chord is built on, talk about interval relationships, etc. Second, we don’t use both flats and sharps in the same scale or mode, with the exception of some variations of the minor scale that we will talk about later. Again, this is standard convention for reading and writing music and, as we will see later, to avoid confusion when naming intervals, chords, etc.
The Major Scale
Let’s start with the major scale. Find middle-C on your keyboard, play all the white notes ascending up the keyboard to the next C, and you’ve played an ascending C-major scale. Looking at the note names, we see that we’ve played:
C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C
As noted above, all seven note letters (A through G) were used, and none were repeated within the 7-note scale. Of course, to play the descending major scale, you would just read these backward as you play down the keyboard from C to C. Taking a closer look at this scale, we see that the notes consist of a series of whole-steps (tones) and half-steps (semi-tones), as evidenced by the fact that some notes are separated by black keys, whereas other consecutive notes (i.e., E and F, B and C) are not. Thus, the intervals between notes in the scale are:
C to D (whole-step [W], or tone [T], or 1)
D to E (whole-step [W], or tone [T], or 1)
E to F (half-step, [H], or semi-tone [S], or ½)
F to G (whole-step [W], or tone [T], or 1)
G to A (whole-step [W], or tone [T], or 1)
A to B (whole-step [W], or tone [T], or 1)
B to C (half-step, [H], or semi-tone [S], or ½)
Now, our scale can be notated several ways:
C D E F G A B C
[ W W H W W W H ] or
[ T T S T T T S ] or
[ 1 1 ½ 1 1 1 ½ ]
These are the intervals that are used for all major scales, regardless of which note you are starting on. So, to determine a major scale in another key, you simply need to start with the root note (i.e., the note of the scale that you want to write), ascend the notes alphabetically, and use sharps or flats as appropriate to create the required major-key intervals shown above. For example, a B-maj scale would consist of:
B-C#-D#-E-F#-G#-A#-B
So, one way to think of this is to write out the letters first, then add the necessary sharps to create the major key intervals (i.e., W-W-H-W-W-W-H), as in starting with B-C-D-E-F-G-A-B, then adding a # to the C to create the whole-step between the first and second note, adding another # to the D to create the second whole-step, etc. until you get B-C#-D#-E-F#-G#-A#-B.
Another example to create a Db major scale – start with the letter names: (D♭-E-F-G-A-B-C-D♭ ) and add flats to notes as necessary to create the required major-key intervals until you get: D♭-E♭-F-G♭-A♭-B♭-C-D♭ – voila, D♭-maj scale. Note that in all examples all letters are used, none are repeated, and there is no mixing of flats and sharps.
As a final example, let’s look at G# major – the notes in this scale are G#-A#-B#-C#-D#-E#-Fx-G#. Again, note that all letters are used, thereby resulting in some rather unconventional notes, particularly the Fx (double-sharp), but also the B# and E#. Most people would have an easier time with the enharmonic equivalent of these notes (G, C, and F, respectively) and, therefore, would probably prefer to write this as an A♭ major scale (A♭-B♭-C-D♭-E♭-F-G-A♭ ), which is played the same on a piano, but obviously spelled differently.
Before moving on to minor scales, here’s a brief introduction to the names of notes within a major scale (using C-maj as an example):
[1] C – Tonic (i.e., the note that the scale begins and ends on); also called the root note
[2] D – Supertonic (one whole-note above the tonic)
[3] E – Mediant (3 note names above the tonic note; median [halfway] between the tonic and dominant)
[4] F – Subdominant (5 note names below the tonic note)
[5] G – Dominant (5 notes names above the tonic note)
[6] A – Submediant (3 note names below the tonic note; median [halfway] between the tonic and subdominant)
[7] B – Leading Tone (one half-step below the tonic; “leads” to the root note)
We’ll discuss these in more detail in later sessions.
The Minor Scales
There are three variations of the minor scale: pure (natural), harmonic, and melodic. Let’s start with pure minor, which is composed of the following intervals:
[W H W W H W W] or
[T S T T S T T] or
[1 ½ 1 1 ½ 1 1]
Thus, the notes in a Cmin scale are: C D E♭ F G A♭ B♭ C
And, the notes in an Amin scale are: A B C D E F G A
You will notice that the A natural minor scale has no flats or sharps – it’s essentially the same as playing a Cmaj scale, except that instead of starting and ending on a C, the scale starts and ends on an A. Keep this in mind as we will discuss it further when we talk about modes in the next session.
The names of the notes in a pure minor scale are the same as those for major scales with one exception: the minor seventh note is called a subtonic, rather than a leading tone, because it is one whole-step below the tonic.
Next, let’s look at harmonic, which is identical to natural minor, with the exception of the 7th note, which is raised by a half-step, creating an augmented second (i.e., 1 ½-step) interval between the sixth and seventh notes, and a half-step between the seventh note and root. A primary advantage of using the major 7 interval is that it is essentially “borrowing” the leading tone from the major scale, as discussed above. Its usefulness will become more apparent when we discuss chord progressions in a later session. The intervals in harmonic minor are:
[W H W W H W+ H] or
[T S T T S T+ S] or
[1 ½ 1 1 ½ 1½ ½]
(W+ = whole-step + half-step; T+ = Tone + semitone)
Thus, the notes in a Cmin harmonic scale are: C D E♭ F G A♭ B♮ C
The notes in an Amin harmonic scale are: A B C D E F G# A
And, the notes in a Gmin harmonic scale are: G A B♭ C D E♭ F# G
Those of you paying close attention will probably notice that the G harmonic minor scale contains both flats and a sharp (F#) - this is one of the exceptions that I mentioned above.
The final variation of the minor scale that we will discuss is the melodic minor scale. This scale is unique in that its notes for the ascending scale are different than those for the descending scale. The descending scale is the same as that of pure (natural) minor. However, the ascending melodic minor borrows both the major 6 and major 7 intervals from the major scale, thereby avoiding the awkward augmented 2nd interval that occurs in the harmonic minor scale. The intervals in the ascending melodic minor scale are:
[W H W W W W H] or
[T S T T T T S] or
[1 ½ 1 1 1 1 ½]
Thus, the notes in an ascending Cmin melodic scale are: C D E♭ F G A♮ B♮ C
And, the notes in an ascending Amin melodic scale are: A B C D E F# G# A
Again, the descending harmonic minor scale is identical to the pure minor scale discussed above. As a final wrap-up and academic exercise, let’s look at the three variations of an Ab minor scale:
A♭ pure minor: A♭ B♭ C♭ D♭ E♭ F♭ G♭ A♭
A♭ harmonic minor: A♭ B♭ C♭ D♭ E♭ F♭ G♮ A♭
A♭ melodic minor: (ascending) A♭ B♭ C♭ D♭ E♭ F G♮ A♭ (descending) A♭ G♭ F♭ E♭ D♭ C♭ B♭ A♭
In the next session we’ll talk about the “church" modes. I started writing that discussion here, but it got too lengthy, so we’ll save it for another day. |
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| ralpheeee |
"The notes in an Amin harmonic scale are: A B C D E F G# A"
First time i read that line i thought it said "Armin Harmonic Scale"
I was like..sweet, now I know his secret, Trance superstardom awaits.
Seriously tho, thanks for the info.
Looking forward to your ongoing efforts, as I already know all this beginners stuff :D but always re read it, as I think revisiting the basics is important, and you can always pick up something you may have missed or forgotten. |
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| Energy_3 |
| Nice work, such a valued contributor...!:toocool: |
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| Beatflux |
| Where do I download this new VST? |
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| kitphillips |
| Good thread. Its always nice to have this information laid out in a way that can be applied easily. |
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| tehlord |
Great post Dave. Very informative.
I had very similar classical training to you (to a much lesser degree) and I've always claimed that I never use the theoretical knowledge I've learned. A couple of weeks back the misses started singing lessons and when she was practising mid-week and asked for some help it was amazing how much information was lodged in the back of my brain. I then realised just how much I DO use the theory without realising it.
The point of my little story?
you may well find this post very helpful!!
;) |
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| Spire |
This ignoramus is very thankful for music theory lessons. I have just one request: for anything but regular prose, please use the [CODE] wrappers. Since it uses a monospaced font and preserves formatting, it is much easier to read.
Thanks again! |
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| BshidoHEAT |
I can't wait 'til the melody tutorial, I ALWAYS have problems with melodies!
Thanks Cryo! |
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| atxbigballer1 |
Thanks Cryophonik for this thread!
I can't wait for part 2!
Bump |
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| Stealth |
| quote: | Originally posted by cryophonik
The intent here is not to bore you with....concepts typically associated only with classical music, but to introduce you to some very useful and practical concepts that will help you understand what you and others are creating, help you speak and understand the language of music theory and, hopefully, stimulate some new ways of thinking about your own EDM compositions. |
thank you! |
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| Kevy Kev |
| quote: | Originally posted by Beatflux
Where do I download this new VST? |
LOL
Seriously good work cryo, very helpful... |
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| djsaekone |
awesome dude. Thanks!
Can we sticky this one? |
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