The Tone of My Major Bemol

What is My major bemol

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

Share armor with Do minor, its relative tonality: the same notes, but with another center. And he shares tonic with My minor bemol, his homonymous tonality, which carries 6 bemoles.

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 scale

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

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

The main chords

• I · Tónica, Mi♭ greater: My♭ - Sun - Yes♭. The point of rest.
• II · Fa minor: Fa - The♭ - Do. Prepare the dominant with softness.
• IV · Subdominant, The major bemol: The♭ - Do - Mi♭. Get away from the tonic without tension.
• V · Dominant, if bemol major: Yeah.♭ - Re-Fa. It contains the sensitive (Re) and pushes towards the tonic.
• V7 · Seventh dominant: Yeah.♭ - Re - Fa - La♭. The maximum voltage before solving.
• VI · Do minor: Do - Mi♭ - Sol. It is the tonic of the relative minor and brings a touch of shadow.

Examples of progress

• Perfect chain (I - IV - V7 - I): My♭ → The♭ → Yes♭7 → Mi♭. The formula that confirms the tonality at the end of almost any work.
• II - V - I: Fam → Yes♭7 → Mi♭. The most used progression from harmony, from Baroque to jazz.
• Broken (V7 - VI): Yeah.♭7 → Dom. The ear is waiting for Me♭ And he gets a minor chord: a little surprise blow.
• Modulation to the dominant: My♭ → Fa7 → Yes♭. The one in the F7 chord is the sensitive one in Yes.♭ and takes the music to If bemol major, the most common destination of a work in My bemol major.

Character

Three bemoles and a noble, warm and majestic sound. Mozart associated it with masonry (three bemoles, like the symbolic number of the logia) and Beethoven with the heroic. 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: The magic flute, K. 620 (1791), with its three solemn chords.
• Beethoven: Symphony No. 3, «Heroica», op. 55 (1803-1804).
• Beethoven: Concert for piano # 5, «Emperor», op. 73 (1809).
• Chopin: Nocturno op. 9 ° 2 (1830-1832).
• Wagner: Prelude of The gold of the Rhine (1854): a single chord of My greater bemol that grows for more than a hundred times.
• Bruckner: Symphony No. 4, «Romantic» (1874, revised later).