Building Blocks: Keys

 

    Most of the music we hear and play (at least in the western world) is tonal in nature.  "Tonal" means that the music has a "home" note or chord, which we call the "tonic".  The tonic is based on a key (for example, "key of F Major", or "key of C Minor", etc).  

    There are 12 notes in our music system, represented by the chromatic scale.  Remember how a major scale uses 7 of these notes (8 notes if you count the repeated tonic at the top)?  These 7 notes are the "main" notes that make up a key, and these notes are typically called "diatonic" notes.  The other 5 notes that aren't part of the 7 "main" notes are typically called "chromatic" or "non-diatonic".  Musicians may use any of the 12 notes in a piece of music, however if they intend to establish the feeling of being in a key or "home", they will focus on the diatonic notes rather than the chromatic notes.

    One important distinction I want to make here is the difference between scales and keys.  I've found that many people tend to confuse these two things.  Scales and keys are not the same thing.  A "scale" is a set of notes that follows a specific pattern of steps, or intervals.  A "key" is the note that feels most like home in a piece of music.

<  Building Major Scales II

 The Natural Minor Scale  >

If you have any questions, post them in the comments below!