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In Reply to: key of C major posted by darkstar on November 18, 2002 at 04:46:54:
I am not absolutely sure as to what you are asking. I don't want to be too elementary, but I don't know what you have an understanding of as far as music theory goes.I'll start like this; a C is a C is a C, and so forth. The 7 notes, CDEFGAB, are the notes in the key of C; that scale is repeated from C to C in each octave (8 note cluster- the 7 notes CDEFGAB plus a repeat of C for a total of 8 notes- octa=eight; get it?). It does not matter if you are at the lowest C on the piano or the highest; the key is C if you are playing the white keys (with the exception of A minor- ABCDEFGA) as long as we are talking western music concepts and not modality.
On a piano, a whole step is when there is a key (black or white) between notes. C (white key) to D (white key) has the C#/D- (adjacent black key)- key between; E (white key) to F# (black key) has the F (adjacent white key) between. The half step is when there is no key between the two notes. C (white key) to C# (adjacent black key); or E (white key) to F (adjacent white key).
As far as "key" as a concept, the key of a piece has to do with the distinction of sharps/flats and how a western scale of musical notes is composed. A western scale is like this: whole step, whole step, half step, whole step, whole step, whole step, half step. Thusly C to D (whole step), D to E (whole step), E to F (half step), F to G (whole step), G to A (whole step), A to B (whole step), B to C (half step); that is the C major scale. If you take the same intervals and move the starting note, you will have a different scale and a different key as long as you use the same whole/half intervals.
There are some really great beginner piano books that teach beginning theory. I hope this helps a bit- I could not tell exactly what you were asking.
Follow Ups:
is what had me confused.The C Major key can be any one of many octaves, then.
This implies there are only about a dozen possible keys, yes?
Do the traditional scales you see on a musical score cover all the available octaves?
Randy
It is only with the heart that one can see rightly. What is essential is invisible to the eye. - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
"This implies there are only about a dozen possible keys, yes?"There are 15 Major keys. A few of them are ENHARMONIC keys. For example, F# and Gb Major are the same set of notes, spelled two different ways. This does not result in 24 possible keys, because many would have to contain double sharps or double flats, neither of which are permissible in key signatures.
"Do the traditional scales you see on a musical score cover all the available octaves?"
Which octave you are in is completely immaterial vis-a-vis what key you are in; the bit you read in that book is misleading. A really proficient instrumentalist will sometimes practice scales by playing EVERY note available in a given scale on their instrument, bottom to top to bottom again. On piano in C Major this would mean playing all the white keys, even though the bottom note on the keyboard is A and the top note is (coincidentally) C.
Theory basics tend to be confusing at first, as there is a body of information there that all fits together like a big puzzle. Often the pieces alone can appear to be contradictory or misleading. If you're really interested I would suggest reading an entire text on the subject, or taking piano lessons, or both. Maybe some others can point you toward some specific resources.
Nice explanation from yourself and WMNIII. Then of course we get into related minor keys to further complicate. All white keys is indeed C Major, but it's also a minor. Play an all white key scale starting on A and it has a completely different sound than if you start on C.Anybody interested can probably find a local Community College to take a free or nearly free music theory class, or beginner piano class.
That sums it up pretty well. I might add that the whole-whole-half-whole-whole-whole-half pattern is for the MAJOR scale. There are also 3 primary types of minor scales in Western music which use slightly different patterns. Then, of course, come pentatonic scales, whole tone scales, chromatic scales, diminished scales, modes...............
dh
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