Tonalities: definition, parallel, eponymous and enharmonic equal tonalities

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

As soon as a musician begins to learn a new piece of music, the first thing he does is determine the key. And it doesn't matter what instrument the musician plays, does vocals or just learns the solfeggio number. Without a clear understanding of tonality, it is very difficult to learn a new piece. And when it comes to harmony… The ability to build chords is entirely based on understanding the key.

Pitch

What is tonality? The definitions of this word are different, it depends on the stage of learning, and on the author of the textbook. The following definitions of the word "tonality" are possible:

• Key is the name of the mode.
• Key is the height of the fret.
• Tonality - pitch position of the fret ("Elementary Theory of Music", Sposobin).
• The tonality (classical) is centralized,functionally differentiated, based on a diatonic two-mode major-minor system of a chord type, in which the chord is the main object of development, and the general patterns are determined by the principle of gravity-resolution ("Harmony in Western European music of the 9th - early 20th centuries", L. Dyachkova).

The keys are major and minor, it depends on the mode that underlies. Also, keys are parallel, of the same name, and also enharmonic equal. Let's try to figure out what it all means.

Parallel, same-name, enharmonic equal keys

The main criteria by which the tonality is determined are fret (major or minor), key signs of alteration (sharps or flats, their number) and tonic (the most stable sound of the tonality, I degree).

If we talk about parallel and similar tonalities, then here the mode is always different. That is, if the keys are parallel, they are major and minor, if they are of the same name, it is similar.

Parallel are major and minor keys, which have the same key signs and different tonics. For example, these are C major (C-dur) and A minor (A-moll).

You can see that in the natural major and minor the same notes are used in these keys, but the I degree and mode are different. Finding parallel keys is easy, they are located at a distance of a minor third. To find a parallel minor, it is necessary to build a minor third down from the first step, andto find a parallel major, you need to build a minor third up.

You can also remember that the tonic of the parallel minor is on the VI degree of the natural major, and the tonic of the parallel major is on the III degree of the minor.

Below is a table of parallel keys.

C major - A minor

Sharp keys

G Major G-dur	D major D-dur	A major A-dur	E major E-dur	B major H-dur	F sharp major Fis-dur	C-sharp major Cis-dur
E minor e-moll	B minor h-moll	F sharp minor fis-moll	C-sharp minor cis-moll	G sharp minor gis-moll	D-sharp minor dis-moll	A-sharp minor ais-moll

Flat keys

F major F-dur	B Flat Major B-dur	E Flat Major Es-dur	A Flat Major As-dur	D flat major Des-dur	G Flat Major Ges-dur	C-flat major Ces-dur
D minor d-moll	G minor g-moll	C minor c-moll	F minor f-moll	B flat minor b-moll	E flat minor es-moll	A flat minor as-moll

Major and minor keys are called the same name, they have different key signs and the same tonics. For example, these are C-major (C-dur) and C-minor (c-moll).

You can understand the essence of the keys of the same name even from the name, they have one name, one tonic. Keys of the same name (in their natural form) differ in degrees III, VI and VII.

Enharmonic equal tonalities are called tonalities, the sounds of which, all steps and consonances of which are enharmonic equal, i.e. they sound the same, have the same pitch, but are written differently.

For example, if you play C-sharp and D-flat, they sound the same, these sounds are enharmonic equal.

Examples of enharmonic equal keys

Theoretically, for any key, you can find an enharmonic replacement, however, in most cases, unused keys will turn out. The main goal of enharmonic equal keys is to simplify the life of the performer.

There are two main reasons for changing the key:

• Tones are replaced to reduce the number of characters. For example, in C-sharp major there are 7 sharps, and in D-flat major5 flats. Keys with fewer signs are simpler, more convenient, so D-flat major is more often used.
• For different types of instruments, certain keys are better suited. For example, for a group of bowed string instruments (violin, viola, cello), sharp keys are better suited, and flat keys are more convenient for wind instruments.

There are 6 pairs of keys that change enharmonically, 3 major and 3 minor.

Examples of major keys

C sharp major - 7 sharps Cis-dur	F sharp major - 6 sharps Fis-dur	B major - 5 sharps H-dur
D flat major - 5 flats Des-dur	G flat major - 6 flats Ges-dur	C-flat major - 7 flats Ces-dur

Examples of minor keys

A-sharp minor- 7 sharps ais-moll	D-sharp minor - 6 sharps dis-moll	G-sharp minor - 5 sharps gis-moll
B flat minor - 5 flats b-moll	E flat minor - 6 flats es-moll	A flat minor - 7 flats as-moll

If we talk about uncommon enharmonic substitutions, then we can cite as an example such a key as C major (no signs) and C-sharp major (12 sharps). Will be enharmonic equal to C major and D double flat major (12 flats).

Tonalities play an important role in the work of composers, certain images are assigned to some, for example, since the time of J. S. Bach, B minor is considered a "black" key, and in the work of N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov, D-flat major considered the tone of love. It is surprising that cycles of works written in all keys are created: 2 volumes of the well-tempered clavier by J. S. Bach, 24 preludes by F. Chopin, 24 preludes by A. Scriabin, 24 preludes and fugues by D. Shostakovich. And one of the guarantees of a competent, successful performance of such works is knowledge of keys.