2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25
G-major key (G-dur, G-Major) is not only one of the simplest, but also the most demanded in music. This scale and its constituent base notes are widely used by many musicians, from the Viennese classics to the present. G major is most widely used by guitarists and pianists. Fingering for playing scales, arpeggios and chords is quite simple. Even beginners can use it, not to mention that G major with parallel minor is just perfect for most people's voice data.
Key signs and notes
In the scale of G major there is one key sign - "F-sharp". It only means that the pure note "fa" is played and sounds a semitone higher. As in any major, the notes in G major follow the same principle of building a scale in the ratio of tones and semitones: tone-tone-semitone-tone-tone-tone-semitone.
The note “sol” acts as the main note or tonic. From it, further construction of the gamma is carried out. So, the whole scale of G major looks in ascending order in the following sequence: s alt (G) / la (A) / si (H) / do (C) / re (D) / mi (E) / f-sharp (F). As you know, the mainsteps in any key are the first (tonic), fourth (subdominant) and fifth (dominant). In our case, these are the notes “sol”, “do” and “re”. On the first step, a tonic triad (sol-si-re) is built, on the fourth - a subdominant triad (do-mi-sol), and on the fifth - a subdominant triad (re-fa-la). Accordingly, chords consisting of four notes are built on the same steps. If the first two chords use the octave range during construction, then in the third chord, called the dominant seventh chord, there is a small seventh, that is, the chord ends on the note “do”, which joins the main dominant triad from above.
Types of G major scale
Along with the main key sign, additional ones may be present in the scale. First of all, it concerns varieties of major scales. In this case, the main key sign is used only in natural major. It is also necessary to distinguish between harmonic major and melodic major. As a rule, such scales are used infrequently in music, however, they can add mystery and psychedelic richness to musical works.
In the harmonic major, the sixth step, that is, the note "mi", goes down. In the melodic major, there are already two lowered steps: the sixth and the seventh. The notes "mi" are reduced to "mi-flat" and "fa-sharp" to a pure "fa".
Playing piano chords
People who are at least a little familiar with the piano should have no difficulty playing scales or chords in the key of G major. The only thing worthPay attention - this is a fingering. For example, major triads are played using the first, third, and fifth fingers on the right hand.
A full chord uses the first, second, third and fifth fingers. The tonality of G major, like other elements of harmony, also implies special inversions of the main chords, in which the first note of the triad is transferred an octave higher. As can be seen from the above, each triad has two inversions.
Playing guitar chords
It's different when G major is played on the guitar. This instrument has its own specifics of building chords. As the simplest example, you can use the standard fingering, especially since the G major chord itself is one of the simplest.
First we press the fifth string on the second fret, then the sixth and first string on the third fret. In this version, you can also add clamping the second string at the third fret. In this form, instead of the note "si" on the second string, the note "re" will be present in the chord.
In addition to this, you can use the G major chord and the barre technique, when the first finger of the left hand completely covers the fretboard with all six strings at the third fret, to extract the G major chord. Accordingly, the third string at the fourth fret, the fifth string at the fifth fret and the fourth string at the sixth fret are further clamped with the second finger. In the case of playing the guitar, it should be borne in mind that the numbering of the fingers does not begin with a large one, but withindex.
Parallel minor
This key uses E minor as a parallel, which has exactly the same key sign. The difference in additional signs appears only when constructing harmonic and melodic scales. So, in E minor, unlike major, the steps do not go down, but go up by half a tone. In the harmonic minor, the seventh note is raised, and the scale is played without changing the rise. In the melodic minor, things are somewhat more complicated. When playing the scale in an ascending manner, the sixth and seventh steps rise, and when playing downward, pure notes are already used. If we show this with an example, then the performance of the harmonic E minor will look like this (up and down): mi-fa-sol-la-si-do-re-mi-re (becar)-do (becar)-si -la-sol-fa-mi. Becar in this case means the abolition of the use of the sharp sign (), that is, a pure note sounds without a semitone increase.
Ease of use
As for the use of G major and E minor, such combinations can be found in many works. For example, in the classics, the sonata in G major is very common. Even Haydn, Bach, Mozart, Schubert and others wrote works of this kind.
Today, these two keys are mostly used by guitarists. Firstly, the combination of basic chords is very easy to perform, and secondly, even novice musicians start learning chord technique from them. Well, and thirdly, these keys are universal for women and women.male voice.
If you look at rock music, you will notice that even from the time of its inception, when playing the guitar in fifths with drive, it was these chords and keys that were used as the main ones. It's only now that bands that play Black Metal, Gothic Metal, Doom Metal or something like that have started retuning their instruments into lowered keys like D minor or C minor. Classic rock, as a rule, is performed on the basis of fifth chords with the base on the note "mi".
Conclusion
In general, the key of G major is quite simple not only to study, but also to master the technique of playing many instruments. This is facilitated not only by the minimal content of the key characters, but also by the ease of use musically. Among other things, the main range of the gamma is the most suitable for the main range of the human voice. However, this does not mean at all that you need to strictly follow the rules and use only those notes that are present in the key. Experimentation can often lead to the most unexpected results, which is why the piece of music will only benefit and become much more interesting.
Recommended:
Author's sheet - a unit of measurement of a writer's work
To type the author's sheet, it was necessary to hit the keys of a typewriter about forty thousand times. All 23 pages must have a standard size of 29.7 x 21 cm, which is A4 size. Single-sided printing
James Horner: sheet music written from the heart
You must have heard the music of James Horner, because this incredible wizard from the world of music created soundtracks for the highest grossing films in the world. Scores for big-budget films such as Avatar, Titanic, Braveheart are solely his credit
What is tonality in music. The tone of the song. Major, minor
Before analyzing a particular musical composition, the performer first of all pays attention to the key and key signs. After all, not only the correct reading of the notes depends on this, but also the holistic nature of the work
Oginsky's Polonaise (sheet music for piano) was once as popular as rock is now
Oginsky's Polonaise is a melody so familiar that it can even be considered hackneyed. She is on the ringtones of telephone calls and in the call signs of the Moscow metro. And still the polonaise remains a favorite
How to read sheet music: some tips for beginner musicians
Those who at least once in their life have touched the wonderful world of piano music can almost never resist the temptation to sit down again at their favorite instrument and play at least a couple of simple etudes. However, this is preceded by years of diligent study and the study of the art of how to read music. Think it's that easy?