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14. The Relationships Between Keys

This post is one of a 2-part series of free basic music theory lessons on my blog, musictheoryde-mystified.com. You can see the complete list here. Please feel welcome to make a comment or ask a question.

The relationship between two keys is simply how many notes they have in common: the more notes in common, the closer their relationship.

Why do we care? Because this is not just true on paper. Theory reflects reality. Closely related keys actually sound close, musically. They sound compatible.

In the preceding lessons we have already seen two types of key relationships; the cycle of fifths and relative major and minor. Here’s a quick review:

The Cycle Of Fifths

The cycle of fifths is a list of the keys in the order of their key signatures, from every note being a flat through to every note being a sharp. In this list, any two adjacent keys have all but one note in common.

The effect of this close relationship is that the music can comfortably and cohesively shift from one key to the other and back.

This is most easily demonstrated with chords. We’ll look at chords in a later post, but for now we can say that a (basic) chord represents a key. Chord names mimic key names, just in a shortened form. A note name by itself implies a major chord/key. If it’s followed by ”m”, it’s a minor chord.

Adjacent keys in the cycle of 5ths can be visited in any order. Here’s a short example in C major with a simple melody and chords. As usual in my posts, the examples are purely for illustration, so they don’t sound as exciting as real compositions…

Here’s an example of a simple melody in C major visiting adjacent keys, as represented here by chords.

A large proportion of music in Western culture in most genres, whether fast or slow, rhythmic or free, accompanied or solo, is based on visiting closely related keys.

To find the next key in the cycle of 5ths, go up to the 5th letter in the key to find the root note, then sharpen the 7th note of the scale (add a sharp or lose a flat).
To find the previous key in the cycle of 5ths, go down to the 5th letter in the key (or up to the 4th letter) to find the root note, then flatten the 4th note of the scale (add a flat or lose a sharp).

You can also use the cycle of 5ths as a list to look up the root note of a key and its latest sharp or flat, or even the complete key signature. An example of this for major scales can be found in 12. Major Keys And The Cycle/Circle Of Fifths. The cycle of 5th for major and minor keys, with key signatures, is shown in The Cycle (circle) of Fifths.

Relative Major And Minor

Next we looked at another close relationship between keys, one where two keys have every note in common: relative major and minor. Having all notes in common, the difference is in which one is the root note. Of course, changing the root note changes the mode, hence the term relative major and minor.

Major and minor have different characters – different tonalities. Moving between one and the other feels a bit like going to an unfamiliar corner of a familiar room; like viewing the scene from a different angle.

Here is a simple melody in C major visiting the relative minor.

To find the relative minor of a major key, go up to the 3rd letter in the key and keep the same key signature (play the same notes starting on the 3rd note).
To find the relative major of a minor key, go down to the 3rd letter in the key and keep the same key signature.

For more on relative major and minor, please visit 13. Relative Major And Minor.

Parallel Major And Minor

There is a third type of key relationship which we haven’t yet visited; parallel major and minor. This means a major and a minor on the same root note.

The easiest way to see their relationship is by writing one on top of the other, literally parallel.

Here’s an example on C:

In the above graphic we can see that the parallel minor has three notes that are flattened compared to the parallel major, the 3rd, 6th and 7th notes.

Key signature wise, the parallel minor is 3 keys behind the parallel major (anticlockwise).

Parallel major and minor have only four of their seven notes in common so, as far as the cycle of 5ths goes, they’re not that closely related. However, because they share the same root note, their relationship feels closer than that.

Here is a simple melody in C major visiting the parallel minor.

Another Shortcut

Here’s another way to remember a few keys you don’t know…

Major to Parallel Minor

If you know the key signature of a major key then the minor on the same root note, the parallel minor, is 3 keys backward (anticlockwise) in the cycle of 5ths.
If you know the notes in the scale rather than the key signature, such as when playing by ear, flatten the 3rd, 6th and 7th notes. You’ll get the same result.

Minor to Parallel Major

If you know the key signature of a minor key, the major on the same root note is 3 keys forward (clockwise) in the cycle of 5ths.
If you know the notes in the scale, sharpen the 3rd, 6th and 7th notes.

Examples

Major to parallel minor

We know C major has no sharps or flats, so C minor has 3 flats (Bb, Eb, Ab)

Minor to parallel major

We know A minor has no sharps or flats, so A major has 3 sharps (F#, C#, G#)

Nothing In Common Is Still Something

On the far side of the relationship spectrum, two keys can have no notes in common. This is achieved by sharpening or flattening the root note and thus, every note. Musically, it’s a complete reset. Moving between two such unrelated keys can sound anywhere from refreshing to dramatic or mysterious.

In the case of C major, 0 sharps/flats, sharpening everything gives us C# major, 7 sharps.

Similarly, flattening everything gives us Cb major, 7 flats.

To sharpen everything, go forward (clockwise) 7 keys in the cycle of 5ths. All flats become naturals and all naturals become sharps. Every note is played 1 semitone higher than before.
To flatten everything, go backward (anticlockwise) 7 keys in the cycle of 5ths. All sharps become naturals and all naturals become flats. Every note is played 1 semitone lower than before.

Flattening D major (2 sharps) results in Db major (5 flats). All naturals become flats and all sharps become naturals.

Note: there is a practical limit to how many sharps or flats we can have. If there are more than 7, one or more notes in the scale will have a double sharp or double flat. These exist but are only used when necessary, usually as an accidental rather than as part of a key signature. For keys, it’s generally easier to respell (rename) the root note and avoid the issue.

If there are more than 7 sharps or flats, respell the root note. The key signature will go from lots of sharps to a few flats or from lots of flats to a few sharps.

For example, you probably remember by now that G major has 1 sharp, F#.

If we sharpen everything we get G# major, with 8 sharps. All the naturals are sharps and F is a double sharp.
However, G# is the same pitch as Ab. Ab major only has 4 flats so it’s much easier to read and doesn’t require a double anything.
Knowing G major does help you find Gb major though. By flattening everything we go from 1 sharp to 6 flats, no doubles there.

From The Known To The Unknown

Use your knowledge of key relationships to help learn the key signatures of more keys. Start with a couple of common or easy to remember keys and with a little thought, you’ll soon know most of them. At the same time you’ll become more familiar with the idea of keys being related to each other.

For instance, just by knowing C major (0 sharps/flats) you can quickly find its parallel minor, C minor (3 flats), 3 keys back in the cycle of fifths or flatten the 3rd, 6th and 7th notes.
You can also find C# major and Cb major by sharpening or flattening everything, as we’ve seen above.
From C minor you can find C# minor (sharpen everything: 3 flats becomes 4 sharps). Or you can find C# minor from C# major using parallel major to minor.
From C minor you can also find Eb major (still 3 flats), using relative minor to major (count up to the 3rd note in the key).
Similarly, from C# minor, using relative minor to major, you can find E major (4 sharps). Or you can find E major by sharpening everything in Eb Major (3 flats becomes 4 sharps).
We know A minor already, but if you forgot, you could find that from C major using relative major to minor (count down to the 3rd scale note, keeping the same key signature, 0 sharps/flats).

That’s 8 keys and key signatures just from remembering one key!

And I could keep going: From E major you can find E minor and so on… Not to mention using the cycle of 5ths to find the next key (add 1 sharp or lose 1 flat) or previous key (add 1 flat or lose 1 sharp), and then their relative minors or majors, etc.

Try this yourself with another common key like A minor or G major.

Try These…

Test your ability to think in key relationships! Name the following keys and list either their notes as a scale or their key signatures:

A major has 3 sharps; F#, C#, G#. What is the next key in the cycle of fifths after A major?
Bb major has 2 flats; Bb, Eb. What is the previous key in the cycle of fifths before Bb major?
D major has 2 sharps; F#, C#. What is the relative minor of D major?
D minor has 1 flat; Bb. What is the relative major of D minor?
E major has 4 sharps; F#, C#, G#, D#. What is the parallel minor of E major?
F# minor has 3 sharps; F#, C#, G#. What is the parallel major of F# minor?
You worked out the key of D minor. Now sharpen it.
G major gas 1 sharp; F#. What is the key of Gb major?

Answers at the end of this post.

Key Relationships Are Real

Being able to work out key signatures by using the various key relationships not only helps you with the odd unfamiliar key but it also reinforces your understanding of these relationships. As mentioned earlier, key relationships aren’t just musical arithmetic, they are real: when listening, you can hear the connection between related keys.

Try This…

For any key, the next and previous keys in the cycle of 5ths and their relative minors or majors are the most closely related. Choose a key whose key signature (or scale notes) you remember and work out these closely related keys.

If you play chords, try changing between the chords of these keys. If you play melodies, play their scales or triads. Either way, you’ll find that you can mix them up into any order and they will feel like they belong together.

(Sib simple chord sequence as chords, then triads, then as rapid scales)

You can also use closely related keys to work your way progressively to a distant key without really noticing, such as in the classic chord progression of Jimmy Hendrix’s Hey Joe, a cascading sequence of forward steps in the cycle of 5ths. In that song, the surprise comes when the sequence resets at the start of the next line: only then can you hear how far from home you ended up…

(Sib Hey Joe progression in scales and chords with repeat)

Note: we’ll investigate chords and triads later in this course.

If you play by ear, you can use any of the methods above to find how to play the scales of related keys. All you need to remember is the name of the key.

If you found this post helpful, please feel welcome to like, share or leave a comment. If you have any questions, leave them as a comment and I’ll respond as soon as I can. To stay up to date wth new posts, please subscribe.

NEXT LESSON: 15. Modes

PART 1 CONTENTS: Basic Music Theory Course Contents

Answers to Try These…

E major (latest sharp is D#). 4 sharps; F#, C#, G#, D#
F major (latest flat is Bb). 1 flat; Bb
B minor: same key signature, 2 sharps; F#, C#
F major: same key signature, 1 flat; Bb
E minor: 1 sharp; F#
F# major: 6 sharps; F#, C#, G#, D#, A#, E#
D# minor: scale = D# E# F# G# A# B C# D#. 6 sharps; F#, C#, G#, D#, A#, E#
Gb major has 6 flats: scale = Gb Ab Bb Cb Db Eb F Gb. 6 flats; Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Cb

12. Major Keys And The Cycle/Circle Of Fifths

The Order Of Keys

Look at the list from the last lesson, 11. Introduction To Keys And Key Signatures: Major Keys.

Now that the keys are in key signature order,we can make one more observation:

The order that the keys come in (the order of the root notes of the keys) is the same as the order that the sharps or flats come in, just starting on a different note than the root note, as shown here by the red arrows.

For sharps keys, the next key is the 5th letter above the current key.
For flats keys, the pattern is reversed. The next key is the 4th letter above the current key, which is the same as saying it’s the 5th letter below the current key. We call this sequence the Cycle of 5ths (see below).

Sharps Keys

The sharps keys start with G major (one sharp) and go up 5 letters at a time.
The sharps themselves start with F#, the 7th note of G major.
The latest sharp of a key signature is the 7th note of the scale or one letter below the root note.

Flats Keys

The flats keys start with F major (one flat) and go down 5 letters at a time.
The flats themselves start with Bb, the 4th note of F major.
The latest flat of a key signature is the 4th note of the scale, the 4th letter counting up from the root note.

Why Are Some Notes Missing?

Notice also that some note names aren’t on this list. The list of keys above only goes up to 7 sharps or 7 flats. It could go further, but scales in those keys would have more sharps or flats than notes! We would need to use double sharps or double flats in order to preserve the note naming rule (see 10. How To Find The Notes Of A Scale).

Most notes have two possible names. If the root note isn’t on the list, simply re-spell the note (re-name it with the alternative note name) and it will be there. With the alternate spelling, the same sounding key uses only a few single sharps or flats instead of doubles and is much easier to read. For this reason, keys with more than 7 sharps or flats are seldom used.

For example, G# major has 8 sharps including F double-sharp. The note G# can also be called Ab. Because it’s the root note there is no special reason to use a particular name as long as we have the right pitch. G# can be re-spelled to Ab. Ab major only has 4 flats; Bb, Eb, Ab and Db.

The Cycle (Circle) Of 5ths – The Ultimate Shortcut

The cycle of fifths (aka circle of fifths) is the ultimate shortcut for finding keys and key signatures. It’s just the list of keys we’ve already looked at above, but in condensed form.

Since keys and key signatures follow the same pattern, we don’t need to write them out separately. Here’s how it works:

This is a very long line… We can shorten it a bit by putting the sharps and flats sections on top of each other. The sharps list reads from left to right, the flats list from right to left (see arrows). The green dotted line represents where the sharps and flats themselves start.

To find the key signature of a scale:

Find the root note. For example, D major is in the sharps row, Db major is in the flats row. F major is in the flats row, F# major is in the sharps row.
If you can’t find the root note, its key signature has more than 7 sharps or flats. These are seldom used. Re-spell the name and look again.
The number above (or below) the root note is the number of sharps or flats in the key signature.
From the start of the row, follow the direction of the arrow until you cross the green dotted line. The first note after that line (the first letter with a sharp or flat) is always the first sharp or flat in the key signature.
Continue reading the following sharps or flats up to the number that’s written above (or below) the root note.
On each stave of the piece, write the sharps or flats after the clef, in the order that you found them. Be sure to write them at the standard octave for key signatures, as listed in the previous post, 11. Introduction To Keys and Key Signatures: Major Keys.

Examples

E major

E major is in the sharps row and has 4 sharps.
Reading from left to right, the first sharp is always F#.
Continue counting sharps until there are 4: F#, C#, G#, D#.

Ab major

Ab major is in the flats row and has 4 flats.
Reading from right to left, the first flat is always Bb.
continue counting flats until there are 4: Bb, Eb, Ab, Db.

The first sharp is always F# and the first flat is always Bb. If you remember BCEF, you already know this…

So far we’ve only looked at major keys. For minor keys we could use a similar list as the one above but the sequence would start on A, the minor with no sharps or flats, rather than C. The pattern would be the same but all the numbers would be different.

There is an easier way to do minor keys. We’ll visit that in the next lesson, so for now we’ll just stay with the major keys.

Try These…

Here are a few keys for you to look up in the cycle of 5ths, using either the line version or the circle version below. Find some paper and a pencil and write down the name of each key with the key signature next to it, with the sharps or flats in the correct order. Answers at the end of this post.

G major
B major
Gb major
Bb major

What’s a 5th?

We haven’t formally looked at interval names yet, that’s for a future post. Essentially, we count the interval (pitch difference) between notes in letters, including the first and last letters of the interval.

From a note to itself, such as C to the same C, is one letter. This interval is called a 1st.

From C to D is 2 letters is a 2nd, from C to E is a 3rd, etc. all the way up to an octave, from C to the next C above (or below) it, the 8th note. Octave means 8th, hence the name “octave”. A 5th is 5 letters, such as from C to G.

Real interval names go a bit further than that but in essence, interval names are based on counting letters.

The cycle of 5ths is so named because the interval from one note to the next in the cycle is a 5th. Reading from left to right, for sharps keys, the cycle goes up in 5ths, while reading from right to left, for flats keys, it goes down in 5ths.

The Circle Game

Many people say Circle of 5ths rather than Cycle of 5ths. This is because, instead of showing the pattern across a page, potentially trailing off each margin forever, it can be shown as a circle. The circle is the most popular way of representing the Cycle of 5ths. It works just the same as the line version we used, with left-to-right (sharps) being clockwise and right-to-left (flats), anticlockwise.

Here’s the circle representation of the cycle of 5ths for major keys.

The circle of 5ths is often shown without the extra sharps/flat: after all, these just follow the same sequence as the root notes. Instead, the key signature is displayed next to each key, as below. This is great as an image on your device but not as clear for committing to memory.

For jotting down quickly on paper from memory, I find the line version easier, but if you have the image to look at, the circle version with key signatures is great. The circle also has the added benefit of being able to show minor keys on the same image. We’ll come back to minor keys in the next post but if you want to have a look, visit The Cycle (circle) Of Fifths.

Know Your Key Signatures

Much of what we’ll learn in the rest of this course is dependent on knowledge of key signatures and the cycle of 5ths. Keys and key signatures are essential concepts in the language of music.

Furthermore, the cycle of 5ths is more than just a list of keys. It also represents the musical relationships between chords within an overall key, possibly the most important topic of all (but that’s for a future post).

TIP: It’s worth learning all the keys and their key signatures, or at least the common keys for your instrument or genre. Start with the major keys. Later I’ll show you a schortcut for minors.

I’m not a fan of unnecessary rules but any language has a basic vocabulary and syntax. Music is no different. Just as we need to learn the symbols for note pitch and duration, the “key” to musical success in almost any genre is to become familiar with keys and key signatures.

A Mnemonic Can Help

In primary schools, the Cycle of 5ths is taught as a mnemonic. Mine was a boring one, Go Down And Enter By Fifths, with a C at each end. I’m sure you can come up with your own… A mnemonic is a good idea because keys are the times tables of music and should be deeply embedded in your mind.

Keys are the times tables of music.

This post is one of a growing series of free basic music theory lessons on my blog, musictheoryde-mystified.com. You can see the complete list here.

Please feel welcome to like, comment or to share this post. If you have any questions, pleased leave them as a comment and I will respond as soon as I can. If you enjoy my posts and would like to be kept up to date, please subscribe.

Much of the material in this post, including the custom diagrams, is taken from Music Theory De-mystified, my upcoming music theory reference.

NEXT LESSON: 13. Relative Major And Minor

PART 1 CONTENTS: Basic Music Theory Course Contents

Answers to “Try These”

G major has 1 sharp, F#
B major has 5 sharps, F# C# G# D# A#
Gb major has 6 flats, Bb Eb Ab Db Gb Cb
Bb major has 2 flats, Bb Eb

11. Introduction To Keys and Key Signatures: Major Keys

This post and the next two cover two important musical concepts. If you need to read them more than once, please do so. If you have any questions, please post them as a comment. I’ll be happy to answer them.

Scales And Keys: What’s The Difference?

A scale is a list of a series of consecutive notes adding up to an octave, based on and named after its first note, the root note, and its mode (e.g. major or minor).

A key is the musical use of the notes of a scale. A piece is said to be in a key, (e.g. C major), when it is largely made up of the notes of the scale (e.g. of C major) and we can hear the tonality of the mode (e.g.major). For more detail, please visit How Can We Tell Which Key We’re In?

I prefer to think of this in reverse priority:

A key is music, a scale is a list of notes that music is made from.
A key is the cake, the scale is the ingredient list.
A scale is the notes of a key, listed in consecutive pitch order.

Keys and scales have the same name, except if you’re writing or playing a scale you say the word “scale” in the description:

“This piece is in C major” means “this piece is in the key of C major”.
Else you would say “play the scale of C major” or “play the C major scale”.

In other words, when talking about actual music we say “key”, not “scale”.

Practical Tip: To easily play in a key you need to be familiar with its scale.

A Scale Has A Key

Since a scale is also a basic melody, a scale itself is in a key. For example, the scale of C major is in the key of C major.

Unless we’re actually playing scales, we talk in terms of keys rather than scales.

Key Signatures

Apart from C major and A minor, other major or minor keys require some notes that are sharps or flats. So far, we’ve written them in before each note. That’s no big deal if it’s just a scale but in a piece, some of those notes might be used many times. It’s hard work when writing and the music ends up looking cluttered.

Melody in A major without key signature

A key signature uses the space on the stave just after the clef, before the time signature or any notes, to store the sharps or flats of that key for the whole length of the stave. Now they don’t need to be written next to the notes. The music looks cleaner and it’s quicker to write.

A key signature is a list of the sharps or flats used in a key.

The note naming rule states that each letter is only used for one note in the scale (7 scale notes, 7 letters), so the scale notes which are NOT in the key signature are naturals.

For example, the key signature of D major is 2 sharps, F# and C#. All the other letters are naturals.

Note: unlike time signatures, key signatures are written at the start of every stave.

The notes of a key can be played at any octave. If that note is a sharp or flat, it’s symbol is written next to the note; at the same octave as the note. In a key signature, however, a sharp or flat is only ever written at one particular octave and it applies to all octaves. It simply tells us that, for a given key, that note is a sharp or flat.

A key signature is a shortcut for writing out a scale. If we start on the root note and play the notes of the key signature, we’re playing the scale for that key.

It’s important to check the key signature, else you may play some wrong notes!

Here are two scales that look the same apart from the key signature. Carefully read the notes as you listen. In these two scales, every note is different because of the key signature!

The Order Of Sharps and Flats

The sharps or flats in the key signature are always written in the same order, regardless of the order in which the notes are played in the scale, and always in the octave shown below.

For sharps, the order is F# C# G# D# A# E# B#. F# is always the first sharp. Each sharp is the 5th letter above the previous sharp.

For flats, it’s the reverse, Bb Eb Ab Db Gb Cb Fb. Bb is always the first flat. Each flat is the 5th letter below (or the 4th letter above) the previous flat.

Don’t worry if you can’t remember all this, we’ll come back to it later…

Let’s look at A major, for example. In the scale, C# comes before F#, but in the key signature, F# appears before C#.

One big advantage to having a set order is that a player only needs to glance at the key signature to know which notes are sharps or flats. If you know the order, you only need to see how many there are.

Here’s the key signature order on the stave in the treble and bass clefs:

Note the octave where the symbols are written. For example, F# is written in the high octave rather than the low octave.

Why This Order?

Let’s say we worked out every major (or minor etc.) scale by counting semitones. If we looked at them all we would notice three things:

There are no scales with both sharps and flats.
The number of sharps/flats is unique. For example, there is only one major scale with 3 sharps.
Sharps and flats are cumulative. Once a sharp (or flat) is used in one scale, all the scales with more sharps (or flats) include that one.

We can reshuffle our list of scales in increasing key signature order. Here’s what the list of major scales looks like. To save space I have listed their key signatures rather than the whole scale:

Note: In the next post we’ll look at key signatures for minor keys as well as some shortcuts for learning key signatures.

NEXT LESSON: 12. Major Keys And The Cycle/Circle Of Fifths

PART 1 CONTENTS: Basic Music Theory Course Contents

How Can We Tell Which Key We’re In?

This post is one of a growing series of holistic investigations into various aspects of music theory. The full list can be found in the Posts page under the category Music Theory De-Mystified.

All comments are welcome. If you enjoy my post, please give it a like and share it or subscribe to my blog.

First I should say that there are two separate subjects here: the overall key and the key at a given point in the piece such as a visiting key. For the purpose of this post I’ll focus on overall key and assume a fairly simple melody but in principle, the same applies to sections and even individual phrases within the piece.

If you’re looking for a quick answer, scroll down to the summary.

When we play a scale, it’s easy to tell what the key is: it’s a combination of the root note and the mode. If we start and finish on C and play the major scale pattern of .2.2.1.2.2.2.1. (semitones), we’re in C major: C major is the major mode built on C.

But how can we hear/feel what key we’re in when the order of the notes varies, as in a melody?

If you’re reading notation, you could say, “look at the key signature”. This is true, but it’s only part of the answer. Within a key signature there are many possible tonalities. Even considering only the major and minor modes, you still need to find the right choice, to help interpret the music correctly. And if you’re listening or playing by ear, you need to be able to “feel” the key.

Look for the root note

To do this, we need to know what the root note is. For a given key signature (set of notes that make up a scale), the mode is determined by where we start the pattern i.e. the root note.

“The Spokes Of A Scale”

The best way to think of a scale is not as a strip of notes lying next to each other but as a series of spokes with the root note at the centre and the other notes around it. The double lines in the following diagram indicate the special bond between the root note and its octave (where the pattern repeats) and between the root note and the perfect 5th (more on that later in this post).

(…I see it as a kind of spiral staircase extending up and down the octaves like storeys of an apartment block, where notes on the central column are octaves of the root note…)

Root Note Power

In a piece of music, it’s as much about the relationship of each note to the root note as it is from each note to the next. To be able to feel the key we need to be able to feel the root note.

There’s a good chance that the root note is first, or at least among the first few notes, and also at or near the end, but it’s not always the case. Fortunately there are many other ways it can be pointed out in a melody.

Longest, Strongest and Most

In a melody, other than first and last, these are the three main ways we can highlight the root note.

Longest

Duration is power. Out of a series of different length notes, the longer notes are more prominent. If the root note is a long note it will stand out in the crowd.

Strongest

One way to emphasise the root note is to give it strength. There are two ways to do this:

by playing that note louder than the others or giving the note an accent (a strong attack).
by making the root note appear on the strongest parts of the bar. Time signatures have an implied hierarchy of strong and weak points- a default rhythm, if you like. Placing the root note on beat 1 gives it the most strength. In 3/4 and 4/4, beat 3 is also naturally strong. Similarly, on-beat quavers are naturally stronger than off-beat quavers.

Most

Another way to reinforce the root note is to keep coming back to it. The more often we hear it compared to surrounding notes, the more we believe it.

Examples

Here are a few single-phrase “melodies” using just a single technique to highlight the root note. For the following examples, as you listen, try to hum the note that feels like the root note. Bear in mind that no single note will fit all the time. What we’re looking for is the note that fits most of the time. When you stop listening, which single note would you remember? Try a few if you’re not sure…

The examples are all in C major, so if the techniques I have described are effective, C should feel like the root note.

To make it a fair test, I have tried to make the (mini) melodies fairly random apart from the parameter we’re testing, so they’re not great. Real composers use a combination of these techniques when creating a melody.

Longest

Strongest

Most

Lowest & Highest, Direction

Although not as significant overall, the lowest and highest notes of a passage within the melody will be naturally emphasised. I see this more as a sense of direction. When listening, we follow the direction of a scale-like series of notes, upward or downward, to its destination. The series directs us to the destination, giving that last note emphasis, before changing direction.

A scale played ascending then descending is as good an example of this as any. Scales are essentially very simple melodies with no detours.

Lowest, highest, direction

Harmonic Reinforcement

The perfect 5th, a great support act

The 5th note of a scale is almost as special as the root note itself and warrants a post of its own. I will say that it has both the capacity to blend well with the root note to support it (even if the notes are one after the other rather than played together) and to be a convenient destination for the melody to visit, a temporary root note of its own.

As a supporting note it is second to none. A 5th nearby will reinforce the presence of the root note by “pointing to it”. The 3rd note, especially the major 3rd, can also help in this way.

Some melodies place all 3 notes of the home key’s triad (chord) near each other, virtually acting as an arpeggiated chord, providing an even stronger emphasis.

Harmonic reinforcement from the perfect 5th

Accompaniment

We haven’t talked about chords yet. Chords have an enormous say in what feels like home. Chords (at least the basic types) feature the three most important notes of a key, the 1st (the root note), the 3rd and the 5th. These notes blend so well together that they reinforce the chord’s root note.

While the chord sounds (if it sounds for long enough), it’s hard not to feel that its root note is, temporarily, the root note of the piece.

The most prominent chord overall, especially towards the beginning and end of the piece, is generally that of the home key.

Other chords can also feel like home for a while if they sound for long enough, providing visiting points in the melody. This is one of the tools a composer can use to create music that has a journey, a sense of going places, rather than being stuck at home the whole time like a COVID lockdown.

The techniques described in this section are also used to establish the new key after a modulation (key change).

Even when no chords are played, the melody’s sense of direction and use of the above techniques can suggest some of these temporary keys. Chords can also be played melodically, as a series of notes called a triad. Many melodies are largely made up of scale-like passages and triads.

In A Nutshell

To answer the title question: look for the root note. The music makes sense when you can hear/feel how the other notes relate to the root note.

Look for a strong note or a strongly supported note early in the piece and towards the end. Feel the flow of the melody’s phrases- where the phrases start and end, which notes are emphasised. When a phrase is arriving home, you will hear it.

Once you know the root note, the mode will become evident, because you’ll interpret the other notes from the root note’s perspective. You can confirm this by playing the notes of the melody as a scale starting on the root note. If you have chosen the root note correctly, the tonality of the scale will match the overall tonality of the piece.

Much of the content is based on my upcoming music theory reference, Music Theory De-mystified, which is currently planned for release as an e-book by the end of 2022.

Please feel free to comment. I have a slightly unorthodox way of presenting music theory concepts but the concepts themselves are well established. If you like my posts, please subscribe so you can be informed of new posts.