Gaja wrote:Well Ab- means A flat minor. Or is it just Ab? That would be A flat major. You can count the steps and get to your scale like this:
Major scale: 1,1,1/2,1,1,1,1/2 Major chord: 0,4,3
Minor scale: 1,1/2,1,1,1/2,1,1 Minor chord: 0,3,4
This is counting from the root note (which is Ab)
Major: Ab, Bb, C, Db, Eb, F, G, Ab
Minor: Ab, Bb, Cb, Db, Eb, Fb, Gb, Ab (which is why you wouldn't use this enharmonic context, but use G#minor instead)
The root or tonic is Ab.. The sub-dominant is Db (when in Ab minor it's Db minor), the dominant is Eb
the dominant tends to lead back to the tonic, so it is often found at the end of the progression, the sub dominant kind of leads to the dominant.
Used in the order of sub dominant, dominant, tonic, these three chords form a classic cadency.
paulm0000 wrote:
Sort of get the counting part ,but the rest I've too learn thanks for sharing
Yeah sorry I nerded out about Ab minor. You can use it, but it has 7bs, meaning that every note is flat, as opposed to 'only' 5 sharps in g# minor. Both of which *absolutely* use the same tones, but enharmonically are different (which is something the study of the circle of fifths can reveal). Meaning for example they both contain the sounding 'B', but it's actually noted as Cb, when in the key of Ab minor, which overly complicates things for the musician.
The functional harmonics (tonic sub dominant, dominant) is something you just have to hear/feel. Of course there are theoretic works about this, but it won't help much unless you hear what they're talking about.
For someone who doesn't know the circle of fifths by heart it practically could work like this:
Determine the Root key. -Ab in this case
Then use the counting method to establish your pool of notes. Now you can build Major or minor chords from every note in your scale using only the notes from your pool (except for one, which is diminished -0,3,3). These are functional chords within your tonal context, as in you can use any of them without them sounding far off. Now some of these function better for certain purposes. We usually say we're "at home" at the root key and the dominant helps you "get home". It is build using a major 7 chord (the 7 adds a note two halfsteps down the root - that would be a Db added to the Eb major chord dominating your scale) from the fifth note in your scale. When you play the Dominant7 chord, you might feel its desire to resolve the Tension created between the 7 and the 3. It resolves in the tonic. Play the Eb7 chord and then play an Ab chord after. You'll be "home" again.
Share and download patches!
Join ReasonTalk on Slack!