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Show Notes

• Archived Blog Post

  Date / Time: 8/13/2008 7:50 AM UTC

  Tonight's Show Recap
  

  Wow, where can I start...
  
  Tonight's show was awesome, especially for a "first" show.
  
  According to our BTR stats, we had 407 live listeners, 53 callers (only got to about 7 or so), and hundreds of people still catching the archived recording! That's great for a first show, yeah?
  
  We gave away an Ipod Shuffle, an Ipod Touch, and a free course to three deserving callers!
  
  Here were the questions and a recap and explanation of the answers that got these three listeners over $500 in prizes tonight...
  
  (Not all questions were awarded prizes. Some were incorrectly answered, skipped or discarded).
  
  Question #1:
  
  In scale degree language, there's a particular name we call the 4th degree. It's not the tonic, it's not the mediant...it's the what?
  
  Answer: Subdominant
  
  The first degree is the tonic... it's the homebase, the key that your song is in.
  
  The second degree is the supertonic ("super" as in above)
  
  The third degree is the mediant (as in middle because it splits the 1 and 5 tone)
  
  The fourth degree is the subdominant (as you'll learn next, the 5th degree is the dominant and "sub" means below).
  
  The fifth degree is the dominant (another very important degree in music... leads strongly to the tonic, which is homebase. So if tonic is homebase, the dominant is like that street that leads to the driveway of your home!!!)
  
  The sixth degree is the submediant (it splits the sub dominant and tonic... sub means "below")
  
  The seventh degree is the leading tone or subtonic. Like the dominant degree, it produces a strong pull back to the tonic as well.
  
  So the correct answer is subdominant.
  
  
  
  2) What major key has 7 sharps?
  
  Answer:
  
  This was a tricky one because most major keys only go up to 6 sharps (F#) or 6 flats (Gb). So I expected 7 to throw some people off.
  
  7 sharps is associated with the key of C#.
  
  C# major scale:
  C# D# E# F# G# A# B# C#
  
  Notice that EVERYTHING is sharped. No natural notes. All tones are sharped.
  
  E# makes the same sound as F but you can't say F because F is not in the key of C#... but E# is because it's one of the 7 tones you sharp. B# is like that too even though we know it commonly as "C."
  
  RULES FOR MAJOR SCALES:
  
  1) Must use every alphabet letter.
  2) No skipping alphabet letters.
  3) Must go in order.
  4) Never repeat the same alphabet letter (other than the first and last notes, which in this case are both C#)
  4) Don't mix and match flats and sharps. Major scales either features sharps or flats, not both.
  
  So here's the problem with using the natural enharmonic equivalents of this scale (in other words, using the "F" and "C")...
  
  C# D# F F# G# A# C C# (WRONGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!)
  
  1) You skipped the alphabet letters "E" and "B." You went from the D letter to F.
  2) You used "F" twice and "C" twice (not including the first and last C#)
  
  So there's some background on why it must have 7 sharps.
  
  But here's the thing. It's much easier to write a song in Db because you don't have to mess around with all this. The Db major scale simply has 5 flats and nothing "crazy" going on.
  
  Db major:
  
  Db Eb F Gb Ab Bb C Db
  
  Notice all the rules are kept.
  
  
  Congrats Terrence for getting this right and winning the ipod shuffle.
  
  Note to other listeners: Call in live or press the "TALK TO CHAT" button to be a live caller and get a chance at winning a cool prize next time!
  
  3) What is a crescendo?
  
  Answer:
  In music, it's when volume gradually increases. Decrescendo is exactly the opposite, when volume gradually decreases.
  
  4)  Being that the 1st tone of a scale is usually associated with the major chord... the 2nd tone with the minor chord... the third tone with the minor chord... the fourth tone with the major chord and so on... what key would you be in if there was an E minor chord present, an F# minor chord present, and a G major chord?
  
  
  
  Answer:
  
  Only one key has an E minor, F# minor, and G major. It's D major.
  
  You have to understand what chords correspond to what tones of the scale in order to get this question right:
  
  1 = major chord
  2 = minor chord
  3 = minor chord
  4 = major chord
  5 = major chord (dominant chord when you're doing 4-tone seventh chords)
  6 = minor chord
  7 = diminished chord (half-diminished when you're doing 4-toned seventh chords)
  
  
  So in the key of D, this would be:
  
  1 = D major
  2 = E minor
  3 = F# minor
  4 = G major
  5 = A major
  6 = B minor
  7 = C# diminished
  
  
  You could have also used the process of elimination to narrow down your choices.
  
  Here's how you do it.
  
  Since minor chords only fall on the 2nd, 3rd, and 6th tones, what major keys feature E as their 2nd, 3rd, or 6th tone.
  
  D major has E as its 2nd tone.
  C major has E as its 3rd tone.
  G major has E as its 6th tone.
  
  Now, as you figure out what keys have F# as their 2nd, 3rd, or 6th tone, you are disregarding anything that doesn't hold true for E because both E and F# have to be minor (not just one or the other). If E isn't in the key or turns out to be anything other than major, then that major key is not the correct answer.
  
  E has F# as its 2nd tone.
  D has F# as its 3rd tone.
  A has F# as its 6th tone.
  
  No matches for "E" and "A" but our D is still holding up in both cases. In the key of D major, both "E" and "F#" are minor.
  
  Now since we are this far, we don't even have to analyze the G major like we did the others. All we need to know is there a Gmajor in the key of D?
  
  And the answer is YES!
  
  D major has these chords:
  
  1 = D major
  2 = E minor
  3 = F# minor
  4 = G major
  5 = A major
  6 = B minor
  7 = C# diminished
  
  Congrats to Kameron for getting this right and winning the grand prize (IPOD TOUCH)
  
  
  5) Spell out the notes of a B aug 7 chord.
  
  Answer:
  
  Augment literally means to make larger.
  
  Augmented chords have a raised 5th interval. So you basically take a major chord and raise the 5th tone. Cmajor (C+E+G) turns into C+E+G#.
  
  When you create an Augmented 7th chord, you use the b7th interval (flatted seventh). So in the case of C major, you then add Bb. It's one of those chords that have a mix of sharps and flats...
  
  C+E+G#+Bb.
  
  But that's C aug  7. Luckily B aug 7 is just one half step down.
  
  The answer would be:
  
  B + D# + F## + A
  
  Don't be confused by the F## (pronounced "F double sharp"). I can talk all day about why F double sharp is used there.
  
  For informal purposes, you can just call it "G"... if you were taking a theory test, you might get in trouble though... :).
  
  So that's an augmented seventh chord for ya!
  
  No one got that :(.
  
  
  The very last question was pulled from our chat room.
  
  6) Name all the modes of the major scale.
  
  Answer:
  
  Ionian
  Dorian
  Phrygian
  Lydian
  Mixolydian
  Aeolian
  Locrian
  
  Congratulations Gerald for getting this right and winning a free Hearandplay course of your choice!
  
  ------
  
  Enjoy the archived recording of this first show and join us next week for a new one!
  
  Invite a friend!
  
  Until then, take care...
  
  JG
  
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  • music theory
  • learn music
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  • piano
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