Gcse music- Elements

Scales & Keys

Major scales

• Starts and ends on the same note (an octave apart)

• Has a bright, happy sound

• Each major scale has a key signature (number of sharps or flats)

Minor scale

• Starts and ends on the same note (an octave apart) - Has a darker, sad sound - Each minor scale has a key signature (number of sharps or flats)

Key signatures

A key signature tells you which sharps (♯) or flats (♭) are used consistently in a piece, and it helps identify whether the music is in a major or minor key.

Modal -Dorian

scales are musical scales derived from modes, featuring unique patterns of whole and half steps. They offer varied tonalities, creating distinct musical atmospheres.

Modal-Mixolydian

a mode that is similar to the major scale but with a lowered seventh scale degree, creating a sound that is often described as bluesy or folky.

Atonal

• No key at all – no sense of major or minor

• Sounds unsettled, dissonant, or chaotic

• Often used in 20th-century classical or experimental music

Pentatonic Scale

• Only 5 notes (like black keys on a piano)

• Sounds simple, folk-like, or Eastern

Used in folk music, world music, film music

Chromatic Scale

• Uses every semitone in order

• Sounds unusual, slippery, or dramatic

• Found in film scores, classical, and jazz