Basic Music Theory

Remember that there is no note between B and C, so the whole step after B takes you to C#. Therefore the intervals of the major scale

W-W-H-W-W-W-H (W= whole step, H = half step)

work out to be

D-E-F#-G-A-B-C#-D

I looked again and found my error

I was doing T T ST T T ST T
instead of T T ST T T T ST

or like you say
W W H W W W H

Here is my finished table (looks better in word, but I'm not going to spend the time to figure out how to put it here, I'll just paste it)

Have I got these right?

T T ST T T T ST
I or root ii iii IV V vi vii I or root or VIII
major minor7 minor7 major dom7 minor dim major

C D E F G A B C - one octave up

D E F# G A B C# D - one octave up

E F# G# A B C# D# E - one octave up

F G A A# C D E F - one octave up

G A B C D E F# G - one octave up

A B C# D E F# G# A - one octave up

B C# D# E F# G# A# B - one octave up

I'm going to figure out the cycle of fifths next.

F G A A# C D E F - one octave up

That should be Bb, not A#... when you make a scale, there should be one of each letter name. If you have two A notes (one natural, one sharp) it creates problems writing standard notation - calling the A# by the name Bb avoids those problems.

I find that when I cant figure out a note in a scale I make up my own notes. For example:

A - B - C# - $# - D - M#- K - etc etc

This way if anyone questions my theory behind it I can say...

"Youve never heard of $#??? Pffft, take up the kazoo you loser."

Then I usually steal their guitar and wallet, and run off. Thats how all the greats did it.

Yep... Imagination and theivery, thats where real music is at.

Kido

Dislcaimer::

Please excuse the above...its very early in the morning, and I may or may not have the ability to make sense. Kido does not and will not promote the use of theivery for music theory understanding, and will only make things up when someone either proves him wrong, or says something he doesnt understand.

Thank You.

I'm going to figure out the cycle of fifths next.

That has really helped me remember the notes in the particular scales (at least 1/2 way around it). Here's how:

Remember that VII in any scale is 1/2 step lees than the root an octave up (i.e. F# is 1/2 lower than G)

So Circle of Fifths:

C - no sharps or flats
G - 1 sharp (F# 1/2 step lower than G)
D - 2 sharps (C# 1/2 step lower than D, plus the F# from G)
A - 3 sharps (G# 1/2 step lower than A, plus the F# and C#)
E - 4 sharps (D# 1/2 step lower than E, plus the F#, C# and G#)
B - 5 sharps (A# 1/2 step lower than B, plus F#, C#, G# and D#)

In other words, on the right side of the Circle, you're always adding the sharp immediately preceding the root note to the list of sharps you already have.

At least it works for me.

In other words, on the right side of the Circle, you're always adding the sharp immediately preceding the root note to the list of sharps you already have.

That's a pretty decent way to interpret key signatures too - you have to memorize C (no accidetals) and F (1 flat), but after that:

Sharp keys are always named one letter higher than the last sharp. If it's got five sharps, the sequence is always F-C-G-D-A, so you're in the key of B. If it's seven sharps, it's F-C-G-D-A-E-B, so you're in C# - the C is sharp because of the second accidental in the signature.

Flat keys always have the name of the second-to-last flat. Four flats are B-E-A-D, so you're in Ab, and so on.