The Tone of The Major

What is The Major

A tone is the «centre of gravity» of a work: a main note, the tonic, and a scale that is organized around it. In the major the tonic is The and the scale is greater, that is, with a third greater (La-Do♯) which gives an open and bright color.

Share armor with Less sustained Fa, its relative tonality: the same notes, but with another center. And he shares tonic with The minor, its homonymous tonality, which has no alteration.

The armor

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

• Fa♯ · Do♯ · Sun♯
• Trick to remember it: the supports advance by ascending fifths (Fa → Do → Sol → Re → The → Mi → Yes), and the last sustained is always half tone below the larger tone.

The scale

The scale of The Major follows the pattern of tones and semitones of any larger scale (tone, tone, semitone, tone, tone, tone, semitone):

• La - Yes - Do♯ - Re - Mi - Fa♯ - Sun♯ - The
• The semitones fall between Do♯ and Re and between Sol♯ and La. That seventh note, Sol.♯, is the «sensitive»: is half the tone of the tonic and pulls it into resolution.

The main chords

• I · Tónica, The Major: The - Do♯ - Me. The point of rest.
• II · If minor: Yes - Re - Fa♯. Prepare the dominant one gently.
• IV · Sub-dominant, Re major: Re-Fa♯ - La. Get away from the tonic without tension.
• V · Dominant, My Major: My - Sun♯ - Yeah. Contains the sensitive (Sun♯) and pushes towards the tonic.
• V7 · Seventh dominant: My - Sun♯ - Yes. The maximum voltage before solving.
• VI · Less sustained Fa: Fa♯ - The -♯. It is the tonic of the relative minor and brings a touch of shadow.

Examples of progress

• Perfect chain (I - IV - V7 - I): The → Re → Mi7 → La. The formula that confirms the tonality at the end of almost any work.
• II - V - I: Sim → Mi7 → La. The most used progression from harmony, from Baroque to jazz.
• Broken (V7 - VI): Mi7 → Fa♯m. The ear awaits La and receives a minor chord: a small blow of surprise.
• Modulation to the dominant: The → Si7 → Mi. The Re♯ of the Si7 chord is the sensitive of Me and brings the music to My Major, the most common destination of a work in The Major.

Character

Three braces and a cheerful, youthful and energy-filled character. It resonates very well on the strings and clarinet in La, so it appears in many radiant works of Classicism and Romanticism. 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: Sonata for piano K. 331, with the «Turkish March» (h. 1783).
• Mozart: Concert for clarinet, K. 622 (1791).
• Beethoven: Symphony No. 7, op. 92 (1811- 1812).
• Schubert: Quintet «The trout», D. 667 (1819).
• Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 4, «Italian», op. 90 (1833).
• Franck: Sonata for violin and piano (1886).