Major Vs Minor Scale

There are multiple ways of going about this.

Major vs minor scale. While there are 3 different notes the essential note giving these scales their major or minor sound quality is the 3rd. A major scale is a scale in which the third scale degree the mediant is a major third above the tonic note. If the interval between the first and third tone of the scale is a minor third then the scale is a minor scale. Notice how both an e minor em chord and a g major chord fit.

In major scales half steps appear after the 3 rd and 7 th notes. The following list shows the chords for both the g major scale and its relative minor e minor. What makes a scale major or minor depends on which notes these half steps affect. Set of notes arranged in a unique pattern creates a scale.

Keep in mind that when you play the scale over a piece of music in the key of c then the scale is not really a minor it s c major. This gives them their major and minor sound qualities. In minor scales half steps follow the 2 nd and 5 th notes. In a minor scale the third degree is a minor third above the tonic.

It is possible to make a major or the minor scale using any note while playing piano. The other uses of major and minor generally refer to scales and chords that contain a major third or a minor third respectively. Major vs minor scales. Likewise the same scale is a minor when played over music in the key of a minor.

At this point i need to emphasize the importance of the knowledge of major 3rds and minor 3rds in all the keys. Minor scales have a different pattern than major but all minor scale patterns are the same. C major and a minor pentatonic use the very same notes and form the very same patterns so the answer to your question is yes. Compare pictures 1 and 2 above.

In written music relative major and minor keys actually share the same key signature. You will notice there are actually three different notes between a major scale and a natural minor scale which start on the same note compare the diagrams above. When we switched to d minor we now have e f the 2nd and 3rd note close as well as a bb the 5th and 6th note close together. The pentatonic scale can function as both major and minor on the guitar.

To understand how this works look at this example. Major and minor thirds. Now we come to the tricky question of what is minor. You can start with e minor pentatonic but the same notes and patterns can also produce g major pentatonic.