Scales and Key Signatures Guitar Lesson

Chapter 1: (00:56) Lesson Introduction In past lessons, all reading exercises that Matt has provided have been played in major keys. With this lesson, he shifts gears to minor keys. He will explain the pertinent music theory regarding minor keys. This information will enable you to read and play music written in various minor tonalities. Chapter 2: (04:07) Major Keys and Their Relative Minor For every major key, there is a relative minor key. Relative major and minor keys are written with the same key signature.

Note: Open "Circle of Fifths" listed under the "Supplemental Content" tab.

Around the outside of the circle, each major key is listed. The key center ascends by a fifth interval each time as you move around the circle in a clockwise direction. Moving inwards towards the center of the circle, the key signature for each key is listed. On the inside of the circle, the relative minor key to each major key is shown. For example, A minor is the relative minor to C major. E minor is the relative major to G major.

Finding the Relative Minor Key

If you do not have a circle of fifths diagram handy, you can use a simple shortcut to determine the relative minor of any major key. Simply write out all of the notes within the major scale. To not neglect to add any sharps or flats that may occur in the key. Then, count up to the sixth note of the scale. This note is the root of the relative minor key. Let's use the key of Bb major as an example. This scale features two flats in the key signature. Consequently, this scale is spelled as follows: Bb, C, D, Eb, F, G, A, Bb. The sixth note of the scale is G. G is the relative minor to Bb.

In many musical compositions, the key center modulates from the relative major to the relative minor or vice versa. This happens very frequently in the classical, jazz, rock, and country genres. Switching from major to the relative minor creates a drastic change in emotional quality. Chapter 3: (02:04) Parallel Keys Parallel keys are major and minor keys that share the same letter name but have different key signatures. For example, C major and C minor are parallel keys. The tonal center of both keys is the note C. However, their key signatures are different by three accidentals. The key of C major has no sharps or flats in the key signature. On the other hand, the key of C minor has three flats in the key signature.

In the previous scene, you learned that many compositions modulate from a major key to its relative minor key. Modulation from a major key to its parallel minor key is almost as common. This occurs most frequently in classical music.
Chapter 4: (03:04) A Natural Minor Scale The relative minor scale to each major scale is referred to as the "natural" minor scale. (Other types of minor scales such as the harmonic and melodic minor scales will be discussed in future lessons). The first natural minor scale that you will learn is the A natural minor scale. Remember that this minor key is relative to C major. Both of these keys feature no sharps or flats in the key signature. As a result, the A natural minor scale is spelled as follows: A, B, C, D, E, F, G.

Practicing the A Natural Minor Scale

When practicing any scale, always begin on the lowest root note. In this case, the open A string is the lowest root note. Then, ascend to the highest note available in the pattern. The highest note is G, played at the 3rd fret of the first string. Next, descend the scale to the lowest root note in the pattern. Open E played on the sixth string is the lowest note in the pattern. Finally, ascend the pattern back up to the root note.

Note: Tablature and notation to this exercise can be found under the "Supplemental Content" tab.

Watch closely as Matt plays through the A natural minor scale. Notice how this scale shares all of the same notes as the C major scale. Even though these two scales contain the same notes, they sound very different. This is due to the fact that one scale is minor in quality and the other is major in quality. Remember that minor chords and scales produce a sad or somber sound. Major scales tend to sound happy or uplifting. Chapter 5: (03:54) Relative Minor Demonstration for G and F Major The relative minor key of G major is E minor. Both of these scales have one sharp in the key signature (F#).

Practicing the E Natural Minor Scale

When practicing this scale, use the same process that you learned for A minor in the previous scene. Begin the scale on the lowest root note. This note is E, played with the open, low sixth string. Then, ascend up to the highest note available in the pattern. Once again, this note is G played at the third fret of the first string. Next, descend the pattern down to the low E note that you started with. Tablature and notation to the E natural minor scale with proper left-hand fingerings can be found under the "Supplemental Content" tab.

Relative Minor to F Major

The F major scale is spelled as follows: F, A, Bb, C, D, E, F. The sixth note of this scale is D. As a result, D minor is the relative minor key to F major. Practice the D natural minor scale using the same process used for A minor and E minor. Tablature and notation to this exercise is listed under the "Supplemental Content" tab.

Member Comments about this Lesson

Discussions with our instructors are just one of the many benefits of becoming a member of JamPlay.