3Part 3 · The course
Scales and Keys
Major, minor, finding the key, modes, pentatonics
- 01The Major ScaleThis lesson shows you how the major scale is built, the brightest of the scales, and how to find it on any note of the piano roll without memorizing anything.14 min
- 02The Minor ScaleAfter this lesson, you'll be able to build a minor scale on any note, you'll know why it sounds darker than the major scale, and you'll be able to use it to write a melody that holds together.14 min
- 03What Is a Key? The Note That Feels Like HomeYou're going to find out what the tonic is, the note that sounds like home, and exactly what the “Key” field shown by your software or by a sample site means.14 min
- 04How to Find the Key of a Song or SampleAfter this lesson, you'll be able to find the key of a loop, a track or a sample, first by ear and then by checking the notes, and you'll know what to make of it when an automatic detector gives you a strange answer.15 min
- 05Harmonic and Melodic Minor ScalesHere you'll learn how to change one or two notes of the minor scale to get the harmonic minor, tense and Middle Eastern in flavor, and the melodic minor, which moves more smoothly, and then how to choose between them in a melody.15 min
- 06The Modes: Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, MixolydianYou're going to discover the modes, scales that sound like major or minor except for one note, and learn how to bring out the note that gives each one its color.16 min
- 07Pentatonic and Blues ScalesThis lesson introduces the five-note scales, the major pentatonic and the minor pentatonic, then the blues scale and its blue note, so you can improvise a melody without landing on the wrong notes.14 min