Whick music keys are lower series#

If itвЂ™s alphabetical, then why, you may ask, didnвЂ™t I start on A? I could have.

As you go forward in the alphabet, the tone gets progressively higher (until you reach вЂњGвЂќ and then you start with вЂњAвЂќ. The other way of вЂњspellingвЂќ this scale (if it were descending instead of ascending) is:Д¬, B (there is no C flat in the same sense that there is no B sharp), B flat, A, A flat, G, G flat, F, E (again, no F flat just like there is no E sharp), E flat, D, and D flat. So thatвЂ™s twelve notes in a one octave chromatic scale вЂ“ count вЂ™em. They are:Д¬, C sharp, D, D sharp, E (there is no E sharp except in a theoretical sense), F, F sharp, G, G sharp, A, A sharp, and B (again, no B sharp), Then, youвЂ™re back to C. These 12 divisions are called notes and they can each be designated as the key to any piece of western music. Obviously, on the high end there are an infinite number of вЂњAвЂќs which we do not have the capacity to hear. 65 (VPS вЂ“ vibrations per second), 110, 220, 440, 880, 1760, 3520вЂ¦Get it? Double the number of vibrations per second and you get the same note one octave higher. Someone once decided to name the tone produced by 440 vibrations per second as вЂњA.вЂќ This was arbitrary.

I am going through it to give you a picture of the general outline of how music works (and share a little of my appreciation of itвЂ™s beauty). Please remember that you donвЂ™t need to retain or understand ANY of this information in order to choose a key. вЂњResolvingвЂќ this dissonance is arguably the primary basis of all western music.)Дivide it by 3 and you get an augmented chord.Дivide it by four and you get a diminished 7th chord.Дivide it by 6 and you get the вЂњwhole toneвЂќ scale. Ten can only be evenly divided by two and five.Дivide an octave by two and you get whatвЂ™s called вЂњtri-toneвЂќ вЂ“ also described as a sharp 4th or flat 5th (which is the most dissonant interval in a scale. The beauty of twelve is that it can be evenly divided by two, three, four, and six. If we had evolved with twelve fingers instead of ten, we would almost certainly have developed our mathematical system based on it. Twelve is actually a fantastic number to base a system on. The twelve tone (called вЂњchromaticвЂќ) scale is what we use and thatвЂ™s that.

Whick music keys are lower series#

Some musicologists argue that this division by twelve is artificial (because of something called вЂњtemperingвЂќ which is a way of fine-tuning this system to make it work better.) The other side of this argument is that the overtone series is a naturally occurring phenomenon and it clearly defines a set of intervals which, taken to their logical mathematical conclusion, give us a scale which divides the octave by twelve and, therefore, twelve is the ideal (and correct) number to divide an octave by (that is my position.) DonвЂ™t worry about it. This division is based on something called the вЂњovertone seriesвЂќ which are the frequencies that sound in sympathetic vibration along with any tone. Western music has divided this interval (the octave) by twelve. When you double the number of vibrations per second, you get the same note one octave higher. You donвЂ™t need to remember any of these details. I will explain some basic music theory in order to give you the right perspective and then give a little practical advice at the end. I believe I can explain the process in a way that some of you might find helpful.

There are lots of misconceptions and misplaced embarrassment on this matter.