Part 4: Keys

From scale to key

You already know the C major scale:

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

When we play a scale, the notes come one after another in order. In a piece of music, the same notes can be used freely - they can be repeated, skipped, and played in a completely different order.

The melody does not sound like a scale, but it is built from the same tonal material.

When music is mainly built on the notes of the C major scale and C acts as the center, we say the music is in C major.
So the scale and the key are connected: the scale shows the notes the key is built on.

Same notes - different keys

Compare the notes in C major and A minor:

C major: C - D - E - F - G - A - B

A minor: A - B - C - D - E - F - G

So they contain the same seven notes. How can they still be two different keys?

Listen to the melodies:

Even though the melodies use the same notes, they sound different. The first one revolves around C, while the second one revolves around A.

The note that acts as the center of the music is called the tonic.

In C major, C is the tonic.
In A minor, A is the tonic.

That is why two different keys can consist of the same notes. The difference lies in which note is experienced as the center.

C major and A minor are relative keys - keys that have the same notes but different tonics.

You will learn more about relative keys in the next part.

Explore keys

Here you can switch between three keys and see how the notes and the staff are connected. The tonic is shown especially clearly.

Remember

• A key is the tonal material that a piece of music is mainly built on.
• One of the notes acts as the tonal center. It is called the tonic.
• C major and A minor use the same seven notes, but have different tonics.
• G major has F♯ where C major has F - so keys can be built on different notes.