Music · Lesson 3

Degrees, major and minor scales, key signatures, circle of fifths, chromatic, pentatonic and modes

JAMBWAECNECO

What the syllabus asks

JAMB: technical names of degrees; diatonic major/minor natural, harmonic, melodic; chromatic scales; determining the key of a passage with or without key signature not exceeding two sharps and two flats) and Section C 1(c)(ii) (tritonic, tetratonic, pentatonic, hexatonic scales). WAEC/NECO Theory 1(A)(b)–(d): diatonic major and minor, chromatic (melodic), African modes (pentatonic, hexatonic,…

WAEC: technical names of degrees; diatonic major/minor natural, harmonic, melodic; chromatic scales; determining the key of a passage with or without key signature not exceeding two sharps and two flats) and Section C 1(c)(ii) (tritonic, tetratonic, pentatonic, hexatonic scales). WAEC/NECO Theory 1(A)(b)–(d): diatonic major and minor, chromatic (melodic), African modes (pentatonic, hexatonic,…

NECO: technical names of degrees; diatonic major/minor natural, harmonic, melodic; chromatic scales; determining the key of a passage with or without key signature not exceeding two sharps and two flats) and Section C 1(c)(ii) (tritonic, tetratonic, pentatonic, hexatonic scales). WAEC/NECO Theory 1(A)(b)–(d): diatonic major and minor, chromatic (melodic), African modes (pentatonic, hexatonic,…

What you will learn

Name the scale degrees by number, technical name and solfa.
Write major scales with key signatures or accidentals.
State the orders of sharps and flats and name keys from key signatures.
Write natural, harmonic and melodic minor scales.
Use the circle of fifths to find related keys.
Write chromatic scales in harmonic and melodic forms.
Describe pentatonic and other scales used in African music.
Determine the key of a passage.

Key points

Degrees: tonic, supertonic, mediant, subdominant, dominant, submediant, leading note.
Major: T T S T T T S.
Order of sharps F C G D A E B; flats B E A D G C F.
Sharp key = last sharp + semitone; flat key = second-last flat.
Relative minor = 6th degree (down a minor 3rd).
Natural minor uses the key signature only.
Harmonic minor: raised 7th; augmented 2nd between 6 and 7.
Melodic minor: raise 6 and 7 up; natural down.
Closely related keys: dominant, subdominant and relative minors.
Harmonic chromatic: tonic and dominant once.
Melodic chromatic: sharps up, flats down (common spelling).
Pentatonic d r m s l has no semitones.

Start here: What a scale is: degrees, technical names and solfa

A scale (from Latin scala, a ladder) is a series of notes arranged in order of pitch, going up (ascending) or down (descending) step by step, starting and ending on the same note, the tonic or keynote. Each step of the ladder is a degree, numbered from the tonic. A piece that uses mainly the notes of one scale is said to be in the key of that scale; its tonic is the note the music feels it must return to.

Each degree has a technical name, which JAMB tests directly:

Notice the logic of the names. The dominant (5th) is the strongest note after the tonic. The subdominant is the same distance (a fifth) below the tonic as the dominant is above. The mediant lies midway between tonic and dominant, and the submediant midway between the tonic and the subdominant below. The leading note is a semitone below the tonic and pulls upward to it; if the seventh degree is a whole tone below the tonic (as in the natural minor), it is called the subtonic.

Tonic solfa

Nigerian choirs and church musicians use tonic solfa widely: d r m f s l t d′ (doh, ray, me, fah, soh, lah, te, doh). In movable doh solfa, doh is always the tonic of the major key, so the same syllables fit every key. That is why a choir can sing the same solfa sheet in G or in B♭. In the minor, many teachers use lah-based minor: the minor tonic is lah. Unit mu8 deals with transcription between staff and solfa.

Worked example: Degrees, names and solfa together. In G major, give the note, technical name and solfa of degrees 2, 4 and 7.
Solution. G major: G A B C D E F♯ G. Degree 2 = A, supertonic, ray. Degree 4 = C, subdominant, fah. Degree 7 = F♯, leading note, te.

Practise by singing a scale to numbers, then to technical names, then to solfa. Singing builds the inner hearing you need for melody writing and dictation.

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Practice questions

1. How many sharps are in the key signature of A major?

Show answer

A: 3
F♯, C♯, G♯.

2. The key with three flats (major) is

B♭ major
A♭ major
F major
E♭ major

Show answer

D: E♭ major
B♭, E♭, A♭; second-last flat names the key.

3. The relative minor of E♭ major is

F minor
B♭ minor
C minor
G minor

Show answer

C: C minor
Down a minor 3rd from E♭.

4. The order of sharps is

F B E A D G C
F C G D A E B
B E A D G C F
C G D A E B F

Show answer

B: F C G D A E B
Father Charles Goes Down And Ends Battle.

5. The fifth degree of a scale is called the

dominant
subdominant
mediant
submediant

Show answer

A: dominant
1 tonic, 4 subdominant, 5 dominant.

Key words

Scale: Notes in order of pitch from a tonic to its octave.
Tonic: First degree; the home note of a key.
Dominant: Fifth degree; next in importance to the tonic.
Subdominant: Fourth degree.
Leading note: Seventh degree a semitone below the tonic.
Key signature: Sharps or flats at the start of each line showing the key.
Relative minor: Minor key sharing a major key’s signature, on its 6th degree.
Tonic minor: Minor key on the same tonic as a major key.
Harmonic minor: Minor scale with raised 7th.
Melodic minor: Raised 6th and 7th ascending; natural descending.
Chromatic scale: Scale of twelve semitones.
Pentatonic: Five-note scale.

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