The Tone of Do Minor

What is Do Minor

A tone is the «centre of gravity» of a work: a main note, the tonic, and a scale that is organized around it. In Do Minor the tonic is Su and the scale is smaller, that is, with a third minor (Do-Mi♭) which gives it a darker color than that of the larger tonalities.

Share armor with My biggest bemol, its relative tonality: the same notes, but with another center. And he shares tonic with Do major, its homonymous tonality, which has no alteration.

The armor

The armor has 3 bemoles, which are always written in this order at the beginning of each pentagram:

• Yeah.♭ · My♭ · The♭
• Trick to remember it: the bemoles advance through ascending quarters (Yes → My → The → Re → Sun → Do → Fa), and in the larger tones the penultimate bemol gives the name of the tonic.

The three smaller scales

Like any minor tone, Do minor can be played in three ways. The difference is in notes 6 and 7:

• Natural: Do - Re - Mi♭ - Fa - Sol - La♭ - Yeah.♭ - Do. It's exactly the notes of the armor.
• Harmonic: Do - Re - Mi♭ - Fa - Sol - La♭ - Yeah.♮ - Do. The seventh is raised to create the «sensitive», the note that pulls towards the tonic. Between La♭ And Yes♮ there is a second-increased jump, with a very characteristic taste.
• Melodic: As you go up, Do - Re - Mi♭ - Fa - Sol - The♮ – Yeah.♮ - Do; when you go down, you return to the natural scale. This is how you avoid that jump and the melody flows better.

On the score, the yes♮ (and sometimes the♮) does not appear in the armor: it is written as an accidental alteration in front of the note. So, if you see the armor of Do Minor with many Yes♮, most likely the play is in Do Minor and not in My major bemol.

The main chords

• I · Tónica, Do menor: Do - Mi♭ - Sol. The point of rest.
• IV · Subdominant, Fa minor: Fa - The♭ - Do.
• V · Dominant, Sun major: Sun - Yes♮ Thanks to the yes.♮ of the harmonic scale is a greater chord, with strength to return to the tonic.
• V7 · Seventh dominant: Sun - Yes♮ - Re-Fa. The maximum voltage before solving.
• VI · The major bemol: The♭ - Do - Mi♭. It brings light into the darkness and stars the «broken cadence».
• III · My biggest bemol: My♭ - Sun - Yes♭. It is the tonic of the relative major, the usual destination when a minor work wants «open».

Examples of progress

• Perfect chain (I - IV - V7 - I): Dom → Fam → Sol7 → Dom. It is the formula that confirms the tonality; you will hear it at the end of almost any work in Do Minor.
• Broken (V-VI): Sol7 → La♭. The ear awaits Dom and receives a major unexpected chord: a very romantic surprise resource.
• Low of regret: Do - Yes♭ - The♭ - Sun in the bass, down by degrees. It is the classic gesture of duel and sadness, from the Baroque to today.
• Modulation to the relative: Dom → Yes♭7 → Mi♭. Enough with the dominant of Me♭ to go into the light in the greatest way without changing armor.

Character

Three bemoles and a dramatic force that Beethoven became his seal: struggle, tension and, many times, a final victory in Do Major. Since then it has been associated with the heroic and the tragic. Today we know that with the temperate tuning all the tonalities sound equal to «tuned»but these associations continue to be part of the tradition and the way the composers choose them.

Works to listen to her

• Mozart: Concert for piano No. 24, K. 491 (1786).
• Beethoven: Sonata for piano «Pathetic», op. 13 (1798-1799).
• Beethoven: Symphony No. 5, op. 67 (1808): from the minor Do of the four initial notes to the triumphal Do major of the end.
• Chopin: Study op. 10 ° 12, «Revolutionary» (1831).
• Brahms: Symphony No. 1, op. 68 (1876).
• Rachmaninoff: Concert for piano No. 2, op. 18 (1901).