A novice musician does not immediately understand the difference in the structure of major and minor scales and chords. Meanwhile, to know how the scale or chord is built is necessary for reading digital signatures and selecting the accompaniment. It is not difficult to remember the features of both types of keys, you just need to remember the alternation of intervals.
The words "major" and "minor" are of Latin origin. The first in translation means "big" or "funny", the second - "small" and "sad". Accordingly, the types of tonalities can be distinguished by sound. The piece, written in major, sounds cheerful and life-affirming. A play in minor key is sad. Keep in mind that this has nothing to do with tempo: things written in minor keys can be fast, and major ones can be slow.
It is easiest to imagine the structure of a major or minor scale if you have a piano keyboard in front of your eyes. Find the sound "before". The scale in C major is played only on white keys, and if you write it down, there will be no signs at the key. The do key is to the left of the group of two black keys. Note that on a piano, the distance between adjacent keys, be they white or black, is half a tone. Accordingly, between do and re - tone, between re and mi - also a tone, between mi and fa - half a tone. That is, the first part of the major scale can be represented as 2T-1 / 2T.
Count the second part in the same way. From F to G - tone, from G to A - tone, from A to B - tone, from B to top to - half tone. The second part in the formula will look like 3T-1 / 2T. Accordingly, the entire structure of the major scale looks like 2T-1 / 2T-3T-1 / 2T. Any other major scale is constructed in the same way. If the distance between adjacent white keys is not the space required by the structure - black is taken, that's all. There is also a harmonic major with an increased fourth step, which sounds like a minor.
In the same way, you can determine the structure of the minor. The minor scale, which is played on only white keys, is built from the sound of A. The corresponding key is in the group where the three are black, between the middle black and the right. From la to si - tone, between si and do - semitone, between do and re - tone, re and mi - tone, mi-fa - semitone, fa-sol - tone, sol-la - tone. The natural minor formula looks like T-1 / 2T-2T-1 / 2T-2T. In the collections of scales, you can also find harmonic and melodic minors. The first one - the seventh step is increased, the second - the sixth and seventh when moving up. When moving down, the melodic minor sounds natural.
Major and minor chords have significant differences. Both tonic triads are composed of major and minor thirds. But in the major triad, the big third is at the bottom, and in the small one - vice versa. For example, a C major triad consists of C, E, and G. Between do and e - two tones, between e and g - one and a half. If we consider the parallel minor, then the tonic triad looks like A-C-E, that is, between A and C - one and a half tones, between C and E - two.
