So far we've grounded ourselves in a thorough understanding of how a Major Scale is constructed. Historically, piano pupils would be given relentless exercises, all involving scales and other finger gymnastics. Absolutely nothing wrong with that. Playing technique is invaluable. The reason we've approached piano playing from the perspective of the maths and formula of the art, is so that we can grasp why the notes work together like they do. By listening to them and discovering how they all relate to one another will enable us to hear music through the ears of a musician and not just someone who plays mechanically from a piece of music.
Let's construct another Major Scale. This will ensure we've got the formula embedded in the brain. Starting on G, we'll create a G Major Scale. Tone, Tone, Semi-tone, Tone, Tone, Tone, Semi-tone. G to A, A to B, the semi-tone takes us straight to C, C to D, D to E, then watch carefully - the whole tone here will take us to F something. Because it's a black note to the right of F, this is F sharp. Remember, if it was to the left, it would be a flat. Finally, the interval from F sharp to G is our closing semi-tone. Do this over and over. Name the notes alphabetically and also numerically. G is 1, A is 2 and so on. You might like to re-cap on the 3 Major Scales we've picked off, C, F and, now, G.
The importance of this building block process will now start to emerge. The relationship between all these notes has vital significance. The root note [number 1 in any key or scale] is fairly obviously going to be the most important. Number 5 is the next most important. This is referred to as the dominant. The reason for this is that the 5th note dominates or rules over the root note. Let's get the ears tuned into this power of the 5th. In the case of C, we can see that the fifth is G. Play 2 Gs slowly, then land back on the C. Go from any G and go up to a C first of all, then do the same thing going down to a C. Make the C a good, final sound. We can begin to hear this ruling effect of the G as it pushes our hearing onto the C. Now do the same thing with F. F is now 1, so our fifth or dominant note will be C. Play 2 slow Cs, landing on a positive F. Same with G, where our dominant 5th is D - D...D... G.
The 2nd most important degree of any scale is the 4th. It, too, has a ruling quality, but not so powerful as the 5th. Hence. it's referred to as the sub-dominant. Try these 2 exercises and we'll hear this in practice. Taking our C scale, the 4th or sub-dominant will be F. As already illustrated, G is our 5th or dominant in the case of C major. Play an F, then a G and a good, solid C, either up or down the keyboard. We should listen for the slight push from F to G, then the more powerful push from G to C. If we reverse the notes G to F and then to C, we will notice that it doesn't have the same authority, F (4th) to C as does G (5th) to C. Again, try this over a few times, listening all the time to these relationships. Now we'll do the same thing in the key of G, where the 4th is C and the 5th is D. Same with F. F is now 1, B flat is the 4th (sub-dominant) and, as we've already discovered, C is our 5th (dominant). It's worth noting that the root note (number 1) is referred to in music theory as the Tonic. There is no definitive explanation as to why the root is called the Tonic. The root note can thus be called the 1st, the root or the Tonic.
If all this comes across as a little bit laborious, stick with it. Handsome dividends will come our way the more we absorb the relationship between all these degrees of the scale and the different colours and textures they produce. This series will now gather a bit of momentum as we look at harmonies. Harmonies are defined as 2 or more notes played together. The understanding of these dynamics is probably the most exiting and fundamental element to piano playing - or any playing for that matter. For example, the entire Nashville country music scene hinges its musicality on the grasp of degrees of the scale and how they relate to one another. It enables these fabulously skillful players to play almost anything in any key. That's where we're headed!
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