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In all major scales with flat key signatures, the tonic in a major key is a perfect fourth below the last flat. When there is more than one flat, the tonic is the note of the second-to-last flat in the signature. [11] In the major key with four flats (B ♭ E ♭ A ♭ D ♭), for example, the second to last flat is A ♭, indicating a key of A ...
The 'major' alteration is usually superfluous, as a key description missing an alteration is invariably assumed to be major. In the German notation scheme, a hyphen is added between the pitch and the alteration (D-Dur). In German, Dutch, and Lithuanian, the minor key signatures are written with a lower case letter (d-Moll, d klein, d kleine terts).
A pair of major and minor scales sharing the same key signature are said to be in a relative relationship. [1] [2] The relative minor of a particular major key, or the relative major of a minor key, is the key which has the same key signature but a different tonic. (This is as opposed to parallel minor or major, which shares the same tonic.)
Some key signatures have an enharmonic equivalent that contains the same pitches, albeit spelled differently. In twelve-tone equal temperament, there are three pairs each of major and minor enharmonically equivalent keys: B major/C ♭ major, G ♯ minor/A ♭ minor, F ♯ major/G ♭ major, D ♯ minor/E ♭ minor, C ♯ major/D ♭ major and ...
The sharps in the key signature of G ♯ major here proceed C ♯, G ♯, D ♯, A ♯, E ♯, B ♯, F. Single sharps or flats in the key signature are sometimes repeated as a courtesy, e.g. Max Reger's Supplement to the Theory of Modulation, which contains D ♭ minor key signatures on pp. 42–45.
A key signature indicates the prevailing key of the music and eliminates the need to use accidentals for the notes that are always flat or sharp in that key. A key signature with no flats or sharps generally indicates the key of C major or A minor, but can also indicate that pitches will be notated with accidentals as required. The key ...
Major and minor third in a major chord: major third 'M' on bottom, minor third 'm' on top. Major and minor may also refer to scales and chords that contain a major third or a minor third, respectively. A major scale is a scale in which the third scale degree (the mediant) is a major third above the tonic note.
The key signature defines the pitch of "1". So 1=C means "C major". Minor keys are based on the natural minor or the Aeolian mode, and the key signature defines the pitch of "6" of the minor key's relative major. 6=A can be used to refer to A minor, the tonic of which is written as 6.