He does, in more than 1 lesson Justin says you can use each letter once and only once.
The easiest way to look at this is write out the key of A then make it A#.
How many double sharps do you end up with?
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@JustinGuitar Crew - I noticed there is a discrepancy between the âMT-302-Chartâ and the âMT-302 Worksheetâ in the Resources downloads.
On the Worksheet Justin has 2 Scale keys all ready filled out, the âAâ and the âEbâ , but on the A scale he put in the Sharps but on the âEbâ he left out 2 of the Flats in the scale. Is this a Type-o?
On his completed Chart all the Flats are there for the âEbâ Scale.
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You are correct. It should be Ab and Bb
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@Randuxy Youâre correct ⌠it is a worksheet, Justin has added the correct letters in alphabetical order, you need to âcompleteâ the scale.
this may be a dumb question but why is it important to know all the notes of the major scale in all the different keys by memory? are there any examples of how this would this benefit my benefit my playing ability? many thanks
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Welcome to the forum Elliot there are no dumb question, we only know as much as we know.
If weâre jamming together and I say it a I vi IV V in C youâll know the chords are C Am F G but the singer says lets play it out of G to fit my voice youâll be able to transpose it without asking.
You donât really need to know all the keys. Just the most common keys to start.
If your a beginner you can take your time(years) thereâs no rush.
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@GuitarTheoryJourney2005
Hello Elliot and welcome to the Community.
As @stitch says, you donât need to memorise all 12. And by building a repertoire and gaining experience playing songs and music you will soon come to âknowâ the common keys (C, G, E, A, D for guitar based songs) and their notes / chords. Memorisation through playing not studying.
Hello could someone please explain why it is important to know all the notes in each key of the major scale?
Also why is it useful to know the number of sharps and flats in each key of the major scale?
could someone give me an example of how this would be useful/helpful
kind regards
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@GuitarTheoryJourney2005 Elliot, see the two posts above here in answer to your question ⌠I hope they provide enough of an answer.
You do not need to memorise them all, just the common ones and that is mainly done through experience of using them.
Sharps and flats come along with the notes.
It is useful so you know the chords in a key by combining it with the sequence major-minor-minor-major-major-minor-diminished.
Small typo should be Diminished
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It would be good to know why the major scales ended up with specific names, and why these specific note names follow C in a specific pattern. (starting with the C major scale, the next is G major, 7 half steps away from C, and so on to the scale of C#. Then it jumps from C# scale to the F scale, just 4 half steps ahead or 8 half steps back from C#.) Wondering where that came from. Why does everything start at the C note, going clockwise 7 half steps for each scale with sharps, then 7 half steps counter clockwise from C for each scale with flats? There are 12 possible notes, but 15 possible major scales. The notes of C# scale are the same as the Db scale. They just have different note names (C# is the same as Db.) That wouldnât change the note structures of chords, so why have 2 different scales that are virtually the same? May be something that gets covered later on?
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Jim, Iâm in the middle of my theory journey and certainly donât understand things deeply yet. I think Justin does answer your questions as the course progresses. If you are impatient (as I can be!) you might find many of your questions are addressed in Richardâs series on the Circle of Fifths.
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Iâm quessing youâre asking about the circle of 5th.
It is laid out in 5ths going clockwise and 4ths Going counter clockwise. C is first because it has all natural notes.
G is the 5th of C and has 1 sharp. D is the 5th of G and has 2 sharps and so on.
F is the 4th of C and has 1 flat. Bb is the 4th is the 4th of F and has 2 flats and so on.
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C major has only natural notes (no sharps or flats) so itâs handy to start with. Itâs only a convention, you can start listing the major scales with any other root note.
I canât recall exactly if enharmonic equivalents have already been introduced by the time this lesson comes around in the course, but Iâm quite certain Justin mentions that each major scale must have each note (i.e. letter) once and only once. Hence, the C# and the Db major scale are the same regarding the pitches, but different with respect to the note names. One of them has 7 sharps while the other one has 5 flats.
As others have mentioned, itâs the circle of fifths which Richard has written a lot about (as pointed out above). But then again, a circle of seconds, thirds, sixths, sevenths, etc. can be created just as easily and you would get back around to the note you started with (C or anything else). Using the circle of fifths and fourths is yet another convention, dictated by the harmonic structure of Western music.
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I was looking at the circle of notes on the grade 3 music theory to try and figure out how this happened. Using the circle of 5ths, with the explanation you gave makes sense. Thanks.
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Starting with C the way you explained it makes sense. Justin had touched on enharmonic equivalents before the point Iâm at in grade 3. As you said, the C# and Db major scales both have different note names and one has sharps, one has flats, but if you played one after the other, they sound the same. My question was then, why have 2 scales that play exactly the same? Whatâs the point or advantage of that? Stitch also mentioned in a reply that the circle of 5ths is the basis for the designations of the major scales. That made sense to me. I was trying to see how they came up with the major scales using the note circle on music theory grade 3, the lesson on The Major Scale Theory Explained. Thanks for replying.
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Hey Jim,
If I understand well, your question is basically why can the group of the same 7 pitches be called A# major or Bb major, for example.
I think most people approach it from a practical aspect, i.e. which of the enharmonic keys is more transparent and easier to navigate.
A# major has 7 sharps and 3 double sharps: A# B# C## D# E# F## G##. There are no natural notes, and double sharps are hardly ever used in popular music (and not very often in classical music, either).
On the other hand, Bb major has only 2 flats: Bb C D Eb F G A. Only 2 accidentals have to be considered, and the diatonic chords of the key are much easier to construct, too. Of course, if you strum an F## minor and a G minor chord one after the other, they will have the same sound, but the analysis of their constituent notes will be different (F##, A#, C## vs. G Bb D).
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Thanks Joszef, I also looked online. Forget that. It had a ton of answers, many conflicting or too complicated to comprehend. I did submit this question to JG, and got a reply. They plan to use it and hopefully explain it in Thursdayâs class on Music Theory with Justin, Sept. 11 this week. One thing I wondered and did catch is, it may make it easier for some instruments to play if a piece of music is written for that specific instrument. Iâm curious as well to see what Justin says. Thanks again for replying though. I really appreciate it. I can see your 2nd paragraph response makes sense. Playing a Bb key with 2 flats would be easier than playing A# with all those #'s in it.
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