Music Theory De-mystified Blogscale degrees

B19. Relative/Functional Chord Notation

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.

Relative chord notation allows us to replace the actual note names used in chord symbols with generic names, just as we refer to scale notes as degrees (1st, 2nd, etc.).

By using relative chord notation we can play a piece in any key, regardless of what key it was written in. It’s also a great learning and analysis tool; a way to clearly see the relationships between the chords.

Scale Degrees

In B13. Degrees Of A Scale: Relative Note Names we saw that we can use degrees to represent scale notes.

This can be confusing, as degrees are also used for interval names.

One solution, developed back in the 17th century, is to write scale degrees as capital Roman numerals. This practice is still in use today.

Each scale degree also has a name to reflect the function of the note within the scale.

Function?

The function of a scale note is how that note acts within the scale. Once you see the list, you’ll realise that the function is pretty self-evident based on where in the scale the note is…

For example, the tonic is the first note, the Root note. It’s function is to establish a tonal reference for the scale… in other words, the reference pitch on which the scale is built.

Scale Degrees and Their Functions

I (1st) Tonic
The tonal reference: the starting note of the scale.

II (2nd) Supertonic
The note after the Tonic.

III (3rd) Mediant
The most significant difference between major and minor modes. It is also half-way between the Tonic and the Dominant.

IV (4th) Subdominant
The root note of the previous key in the cycle of 5ths: a strong note for melodies to visit.

V (5th) Dominant
The root note of the next key in the cycle of 5ths: a strong note for melodies to visit. It is also a harmonic of the Tonic, so it reinforces the tonality of the scale. The Dominant is the most important note in the scale besides the Tonic

VI (6th) Submediant
Another clue to whether the key is major or minor.

VII (7th) Subtonic
The note before the Tonic (when 2 semitones below the octave).

VII (7th) Leading note
The note that leads up to the next octave of the Tonic (when 1 semitone below the octave).

Note that the 7th has two different names, depending on whether it’s the major 7th or minor 7th. This is due to a long-standing cultural trend in Western music.

The Rise of the Leading Note

As music developed away from the sombre sounds of medieval Church modes there was an increasing desire for a sweeter, warmer sound. This was the sound of what we now call the major scale, a mode frowned on by the Church.

The single feature that most contributed this sweetness in a melody is that when you go up in a major scale, the last interval, from the 7th to the octave, is only 1 semitone.

Aside: only one other traditional Western mode finishes with 1 semitone and that’s the Lydian mode, which can be described as “more major than major”. It’s not a very popular mode as an overall key in most genres because it has an augmented 4th, which interferes with the relationship between perfect 5ths and perfect 4ths that underpins much of Western music.

When ascending, this close interval between the 7th and octave gives us a sense of arrival. The major scale feels like it arrives at a comfortable conclusion – you could say that the major 7th leads to the octave more conclusively than the minor 7th.

Hence, the major 7th is called the leading note whereas the minor 7th is called the subtonic.

Listen to the scales of A major and A minor as melodies. Do you feel that the major 7th leads more directly to the octave than the minor 7th?

A major

A minor

Melodic and Harmonic Minor

The leading note is such a significant feature in Western music that over time, the melodic and harmonic minor scales evolved; the former allowing a major 7th to occur in a minor melody and the latter allowing the chords to be able to accommodate this.

Melodic and harmonic minors, or a combination of both, are far more commonly used in most genres than the natural minor. For a reminder of melodic and harmonic minor scales, please visit B3. Melodic And Harmonic Minor.

Relative Chord Names

We can also use function names and Roman numerals to represent chord names. By using both upper case and lower case numerals, we can describe both major and minor triads without the need for a quality.

Upper case = major chord
Lower case = minor chord

In any given key, the most commonly used chords are built on the 1st, 4th and 5th notes of the scale; the tonic, subdominant and dominant.

In a major key, the tonic, subdominant and dominant chords are all major chords:
I, IV and V

In C major, that’s C, F and G (all major chords).

In a minor key the tonic and subdominant chords are minor but, thanks to the harmonic minor, the dominant chord is usually major:
i, iv and V

In C minor, that’s Cm, Fm and G.

You can tell whether the overall key is the major or minor key of the key signature by the tonic chord. If the tonic chord is major, the key of the piece is major. If it’s minor, the key is minor.

Part of the reason why these chords fit so well together is because all of their notes belong to the overall key. If you know the key signature, you can just count letters to find the notes of each chord.

Try These…

The following chords are written as Roman numerals. Convert the numerals to actual chord names based on the overall key.

Remember, an upper case numeral is a major chord and a lower case numeral is a minor chord.

Each exercise contains the tonic, subdominant and dominant chords
Look for the tonic chord:
if it is uppercase, the piece is in a major key
If it’s lower case, the piece is in a minor key
Use the key signature to work out the name of the key and thus the tonic chord
For the other chords, count degrees in the appropriate scale until you match the Roman numeral
Write the chords above the stave using standard chord names

*For bonus points, you can also list the content of each chord, either on the stave or as text.

For example,

For the key signature of one sharp, F#, the key is either G major or E minor.
If I is uppercase, it’s in G major. If i is lowercase, it’s in E minor.

in G major, I = G, IV = C, V = D
in E minor, i = Em, iv = Am, V =B

Answers at the end of this post.

Relative chord names can also have a suffix. Any chord symbol can be written using a Roman numeral instead of a note name, such as V7 or I(sus 4).

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 with new posts, please subscribe.

NEXT LESSON: B20. The 6 Most Useful Chords In Any Major Key

PART 2 CONTENTS: Basic Music Theory Course Contents

Answers to Try These…

I = A (A C# E)
IV = D (D F# A)
V = E (E G# B)

I = Bb (Bb D F)
IV = Eb (Eb G Bb)
V = F (F A C)

i = Dm (D F A)
iv = Gm (G Bb D)
V = A (A C# E)

i = Bm (B D F#)
iv = Em (E G B)
V = F# (F# A# C#)

B13. Degrees Of A Scale: Relative Note Names

Scale Degrees

As we’ve seen in 10. How To Find The Notes Of A Scale, we can name the notes of a scale by using the interval pattern of its mode to find the right notes.

If we want to look at scales in a more general way, we can replace the actual note names by degree names; numbers representing the position of each note in the scale, such as 2nd, 3rd, 4th etc. The exception is the root note, which is either called the root note (RN for short) or tonic.

Interval Names As Scale Degrees

Further, we can distinguish notes in the major from the parallel minor by thinking of each degree as an interval above the root note and include the quality in the name.

For instance,

the 3rd note of a major scale is called the major 3rd
the 6th note of a minor scale is called the minor 6th
the 4th note of both major and minor scales is called the perfect 4th

Interval names as scale degrees allow us to describe scale notes in relative terms, so we can look at an example in one key and apply what we notice to any key.

Degree Names Quick Tip

For major and natural minor scales,

the 3rd, 6th and 7th are major or minor, as per the scale
the 2nd is always major
the 4th and 5th are always perfect

Note: we don’t use a quality for the 1st/octave.

The harmonic minor has a major 7th. The rest of the notes have the same degree names as the natural minor.

Why use degree names when we already have note names?

Degree names are a great analysis and learning tool.

As mentioned earlier, degree names make it easy to apply something we noticed in a particular key to any other key. This could be in the melody but it applies equally to chords.

Degree names are particularly useful for understanding chords: notes in a chord are also described as intervals above the root note.

Try These…

The first note in each exercise is the root note/tonic.

Use the key signature to work out if the key is major or minor.
Name the key.
Name the following notes as scale degrees.
Don’t forget to include the interval quality in the degree name, as described above.

Example

Note: if you prefer text to music notation, the exercises are written as text here.

Answers at the end of this post.

NEXT LESSON: B14. Chords 1: Major/Minor Triads And Modal Chords

PART 2 CONTENTS: Basic Music Theory Course Contents

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Answers To Try These…

Try These… (Text Version)

(text version of exercises)

D major: D, E, F#, A
B minor: B, E, F#, A
Eb major: Eb, Bb, C
C minor: C, Ab, Eb

To view the answers, click here.

16. Intervals 1: Major, Minor And Perfect Intervals

Keys and key relationships are two of the most important concepts in music theory. If you’re not sure about these, please visit 11. Introduction To Keys and Key Signatures: Major Keys and the following two posts.

Interval names are equally important. Among other uses, interval names form the basis for understanding chords and chord names.

Melodic and Harmonic Intervals

An interval is the pitch difference between two notes. Intervals occur both as consecutive notes in a melody, or as two notes sounding together such as a melody and harmony. When more than two notes sound together, such as in a chord, there are multiple intervals between the various notes.

Not surprisingly, the interval between consecutive notes is called a melodic interval and that between two notes sounding together is called a harmonic interval (some call it a vertical interval). We count and name intervals the same way in both cases, from the lower note to the higher note.

Intervals are counted from the lower note to the higher note, even if the higher note comes before the lower note in a melody.

Singing A Scale

Trained musicians, including musicians who play by ear, are able to count the intervals from one note to the next in a melody or chord by mentally (or physically) singing the notes of a scale, starting on the lower note and finishing on the higher note. This is actually a very useful skill worth developing. Such general musical skills are called musicianship and form a bridge between theory and practice.

In the coming lessons I intend to look a a few basic musicianship skills including how to count intervals by singing.

Naming Intervals By Counting Scale Notes

So far we have described the interval between two notes in two ways; by counting letters and by counting semitones. Neither are enough.

Counting letters doesn’t distinguish between sharps, flats or naturals so the number of semitones can vary: A-C and A-C# are not the same interval.
Counting semitones doesn’t guarantee that we end up with the right note names: A-C# and A-Db have the same number of semitones but use different note names.

As we’ll continue to find out, note names are important. The choice of note name reflects how that note functions in a given context. We want a way of measuring the size of an interval that also tracks the note names; a method that counts both semitones and letters. Scale notes do just that.

To count in scale notes we use a major and a minor scale whose root note is the same as the lower note of the interval; the parallel major and minor. If the lower note is A, we use A major and A minor.

However, instead of using the aeolian mode, the natural minor, we use the phrygian mode. The phrygian mode has four notes that differ from the major instead of three; the 2nd, 3rd, 6th and 7th notes, as opposed to just the 3rd, 6th and 7th notes.

Think of the phrygian mode as being more minor than minor, or the super-minor…

Even though we’re now using the phrygian mode we still call it “minor” for interval names. I will mark this minor with an asterisk * as a reminder that it’s the phrygian rather than aeolian mode.

The Interval Ruler

We can hone this down a little: the 2nd, 3rd, 6th and 7th notes of the minor are 1 semitone lower than the major, so as a shortcut we can just write out the major scale and flatten the 2nd, 3rd, 6th and 7th note to find the minor intervals. I call this an interval ruler.

Remember that to flatten a note we lower it by 1 semitone without changing its letter. A sharp becomes a natural, a natural becomes a flat and a flat becomes a double flat.

Here is the interval ruler for an interval whose lower note is A. The degree numbers are written below. Each scale degree shows the number of semitones from the root note to that note.

Major, Minor and Perfect Intervals

There are three main types of interval names; major, minor and perfect, based upon the following conditions:

If the upper note of the interval is only in the major scale on the lower note, the interval is major.
If the upper note of the interval is only in the *minor scale on the lower note, the interval is minor.
If the upper note of the interval is common to both scales, the interval is perfect.

We call this part the quality of the interval.

Perfect-type intervals are marked in green and major/minor type intervals in blue.

The other part of the interval name is the degree of the interval; the number of scale notes or letters including the first and last.

For instance, in the interval A to C#, the upper note, C#, is the 3rd note of the major scale on A, the lower note. A-C# is a major 3rd.

How To Name An Interval:

Write the lower note of the interval in the ruler as the root note and add the notes of the major key.
Now flatten the 2nd, 3rd, 6th and 7th note for the *minor as indicated by the red arrows.
Next, look in the ruler for the upper note of the interval.
The interval name is made up of the quality; major, minor or both (=perfect), and the degree.

In the above example, A-C# is a major 3rd (= 4 semitones).

Similarly, A-C is a minor 3rd (= 3 semitones), A-D is a perfect 4th (= 5 semitones), etc.

1st, 4th, 5th and 8th are perfect-type intervals.
2nd, 3rd, 6th and 7th are major/minor type intervals, depending on which scale the upper note is in.

As well as the octave, we’ve already met three intervals:

Minor 3rd (3 semitones to the 3rd letter) – the interval between the root notes of relative major and minor keys.
Perfect 5th (7 semitones to the 5th letter) – the interval from any key to the next key in the cycle of 5ths.
Perfect 4th (5 semitones to the 4th letter)- the interval from any key to the previous key in the cycle of 5ths.

An Interval Name Is Based On The Lower Note

All the examples so far assume that A is the lower note of the interval, hence we’ve used A scales for our ruler. If we want to measure an interval with a different lower note we want the interval ruler to start on that note. For example, to name the interval from G to E we would need G scales and to name the interval from Bb to Db we would need Bb scales.

G-E

E is the 6th note of G major, so G – E is a major 6th (9 semitones).

Bb-Db

Db is the 3rd note of Bb minor, so Bb – Db is a minor 3rd (3 semitones).

By now you’ll see why I was so keen on learning key signatures of major scales: knowing them makes this process a lot quicker than having to work it out on the fly! Every time we look at the interval between a pair of notes with a different lower note, we need to use a different scale for our interval ruler.

At least by using the interval ruler we only need to learn the major scale, as we can flatten the 2nd, 3rd, 6th and 7th to find the *minor (phrygian mode).

Try These…

Name the following major, minor and perfect intervals:

F-Bb
F-E
F-Db
G-B
G-D
G-F
Bb-G

Answers at the end of this post.

Interval Names In Reverse: finding the upper note

So far we’ve named an existing interval. Now let’s recreate an interval from its name. We’ll pick a note to be our lower note and name the higher note based on the interval name.

For instance, let’s find the note that’s a minor 6th above E.

First we’ll create our interval ruler on E. We’ll start with E major. The key signature of E major is 4 sharps: F#, C#, G# and D#, so the scale of E major is E, F#, G#, A, B, C#, D#, E.
Now we’ll write E *minor below it by flattening the 2nd, 3rd, 6th and 7th notes.
Next we look for the interval, in this case a minor 6th. Minor 6th means the upper note is the 6th note of the minor built on the lower note, so we look for the 6th note of E *minor on our interval ruler.

Minor 6th above E

An interval name means:

The higher note of the interval is the …th (degree name) note of the … (major or minor or both) scale built on the lower note.

Saying it in this way may help to remember how interval names work.

Try These…

Find the upper note in the following major, minor or perfect intervals:

a minor 3rd above C
a major 6th above C
a minor 2nd above E
a perfect 4th above E
a minor 7th above E
a major 2nd above Eb
a major 7th above Eb

Interval Names As Scale Degrees

The different notes of a scale are called degrees. So far I have used the note’s position in the scale to indicate the degree, such as 3rd or 5th. We can refine this by calling the third note of a major scale the major 3rd, the 5th note of either scale the perfect 5th and so on.

NEXT LESSON: 17. Listen & Sing: How To Sing The Major Scale

PART 1 CONTENTS: Basic Music Theory Course Contents

Answers To Try These…

F-Bb = perfect 4th
F-E = major 7th
F-Db = minor 6th
G-B = major 3rd
G-D = perfect 5th
G-F = minor 7th
Bb-G = major 6th

a minor 3rd above C = Eb
a major 6th above C = A
a minor 2nd above E = F
a perfect 4th above E = A
a minor 7th above E = D
a major 2nd above Eb = F
a major 7th above Eb = D