https://banjobenclark.com/lessons/intro-to-music-theory-part-10-the-major-scale-beginner
Much of life begins and ends around the major scale. Let’s learn about it.
Discuss the lesson: Intro to Music Theory Part 10- The Major Scale
Hello, I really appreciated this lesson, for the first time I’ve “REALLY” understood a simple way to know what sharps and flats exist in each scale (as the circle of fifths I haven’t really understood to date).
My question is around the “Dim” 7th chord, it was stated that the chord is a “minor” but also a diminished.
So does this mean, if I play a the 7th chord in any chord progression as a “minor” chord that I could technically get away with that (as a shortcut) as I don’t know how to play diminished chords?
I just got a little confused about it being a diminished chord (which I already understood) but then the teacher threw in “it’s a minor” and I wondered what was meant by that 
?
Hope you can help me understand this theory a little better.
Thanks,
Adam
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Hello Adam,
In my limited understanding, you “flatten” the 3rd and 5th that you use with root to form a major chord to arrive at a diminished. For example, Cmajor chord is formed from C(root), E(3rd i.e. a whole-whole from C) and G(5th i.e. a half-whole from E). Cminor is when you flatten 3rd, which would then be C(root), D#, G. Cdiminshed is when you flatten 3rd and 5th, which then would be C, D#, F#. So Cdim has a minor tone to it, maybe that is what your teacher referred to.
Progression:
I-ii-iii-IV-V-vi-vii-I(Octave)
Root-W-W-H-W-W-W-H
John
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Ok, hang tight my explanation might be confusing. A major triad is built out of a major third, and then a minor third. A minor triad is a minor third and then a major third. A diminished triad is a minor third and then another minor third. For grins, an augmented triad is a major third and then another major third. A major third is four half steps, or two whole steps. A minor third is three half steps, or 1.5 whole steps. Hope that’s not too confusing
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2 good answers above from jmon and dragon for describing what a diminished chord is. To answer your question about using a minor. I would not suggest using a minor chord in place of the diminished chord. It doesn’t sound right. In the key of G the 7 chord is (typically) an F# dim. If you don’t know an F# dim, a good substitute would be a D7 chord. In fact, if you skip the root of the D7, the notes are the same as an F# dim (F#, A, C). To make this a more generic thing, play the 5 chord with a 7 (which is a common progression) and you are kind of playing a 7 chord that is diminished. In the key of G, your 5 chord is a D, make it a 7 and you have a D7 (a nice substitute for a F#dim). In the key of C, your 5 chord is a G, make it a 7 and you have G7 (which is a nice substitute for a Bdim).
If that doesn’t make sense, lemme know and I’ll try again.
@Mike_R , I guess then now I understand why we use the 7th chord (D7 in a Gmajor song) in playing songs. Good to know!
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Sharps = Good Deeds Are Excellent But Few
Flats = Frank Brown Eats Apple Dumplings Greedily
If a song has two sharps in the key signature it is In the key of D If a song has three flats in the key signature it is In the key of E. An easy way to remember! C has nothing in the key signature.
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Very helpful, thank you for the pattern to learn notes in a scale
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Just guessing but keys were invented by dead monks because of the limitations of the human voice.
F major went the flat route
G major goes sharp route or flat
how do you know ?
Hi, Adam!
The dim chord is in the Minor chord family due to the fact that it is a minor third between the root and the third. By flatting the fifth you make it a diminished chord (two minor chords stacked on each other… B - D - F, for example). I sometimes will call the 7 chord a “minor-minor” due to the two stacked minor thirds. Sorry - if you see one of these chords, you can’t get away with just playing it as a minor. Thankfully, you won’t see these chords very much.
mr G
Hello! I am new to the Mando and its been 20 years since I studied any music theory so I am basically starting from complete scratch here, forgive my ignorance! I was under the impression (from episode 9 in this series) that when we are ascending through notes you are sharpening them and when we are descending you are flattening them - like in his pencil analogy. This has me very confused on why at around 10:35 in this video while explaining the F major scale we go from A to Bb rather than A to A#.
I am trying not to overthink this stuff but I also feel like I am missing something crucial here to help me understand the theory from a larger perspective. Appreciate any help you all can offer!
That is a very good question! Composers will sharp notes generally if the line is ascending and flat notes, if the line is descending, but that is no way written in stone. The key of F has a B-flat instead of an A sharp for the following reasons.
I hope this doesn’t get too “nerdy”.
There are eight notes in every major scale. For the F major scale the notes are as follows:
F G A Bb C D E F. Your question is why is it a B-flat instead of a A-sharp.
One line of reasoning, is this if we used A# instead of Bb, the scale would be “SpelledOut“ like this:
F G A A#C D E F.
The two letter “A’s” it’s pretty confusing. Each note in a major scale has to use succeeding letters. So instead of F G A A# we use FGAB flat.
F G A Bb C D E F. that’s one reason. The more academic reason is as follows:
Let’s start out with the letter names of the F major scale without the flat in there.
F G A B C D E F
according to the laws of the music universe, the interval between the first two notes of a major scale, i.e. notes one and two, needs to be a whole step. F to G satisfies that. The interval , between the note G and A, IE notes two and three, needs to be a whole step as well. G to A is a whole step and meets that criteria. The third note of the scale and the fourth note of the scale has to be a half step. The third note here is an A, the fourth note is a B. Currently A to B is a whole step. So we’re going to have to change this in order to meet the criteria of a half step. We cannot Sharp the “A” to A# because that would mess up the previous interval, i.e. the G to the A which has to be a full step. So instead of making A an A# we have to flat the B or make it B-flat.
Have I muddied the waters, or does this help clear things up? Thankfully there are tools out there like the circle of fifths that give us a quick and handy dandy way of finding out the notes in every major scale without having to go through all the mental gymnastics like what I went through up there. Thanks for the question, I love it when people think and ask questions!
Mr G
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