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The major and minor modes are different. How to distinguish minor from major

Major And minor are the two main modes of music. Harmony is a relationship, a combination between each other musical sounds, which are united by a root tone or chord. Let's return to major and minor. These two modes are the absolute opposite of each other. Thus, music written in a minor mode sounds sad, melancholy, and mournful. A major music It is distinguished by its joyful character, light sound, and bright musical colors.

What is the difference between major and minor?

If you remember how a triad (a chord of three sounds) is built, you will easily understand the difference between a minor and a major. A minor triad is constructed as follows: major third + minor third. If we take this chord on an instrument, let's say we build a chord from the note “C”. It turns out that the chord will look like this: “Do / Mi / Sol”. By pressing these three keys, we will hear a major triad. The chord will be light, joyful and bright.

A minor triad consists of the following intervals: minor third + major third. On the keyboard of the instrument, press the notes “C / E flat / G”. This chord sounds sad, dreary, dark.

What is the musical mode for?

The musical mode serves to express the character of the music. If a composer wants to show feelings, anxiety, sadness, or cry, he uses the minor scale. Joyful, bright, playful moods are conveyed in a major key. A change in the nature of the music is always accompanied by a change in mode. Large works consisting of several movements contain both major and minor parts.

Giving variety to musical sound is achieved in a large number of ways. Today we will look at some of the most important ones - varieties of the major and minor series, in particular harmonic minor and major. Let's start with the characteristics.

What is this - harmonic minor?

One of the types of scales related to the minor scale. This is the definition of the concept included in the subtitle. Its difference from natural sound is the increase in the VII stage. The reason for this is the presence of an imitation of the leading tone, which is characteristic only of the natural major.

The harmonic minor is considered the most common type of the series of the same name in both classical and pop music. In ascending order, its scale is constructed as follows: T - PT - T - T - PT - one and a half tone - PT.

Thus, the harmonic minor is given a specific coloring by precisely that increased second (in other words, a tone and a half), which is noticeable between the sixth and seventh degree. From here it is observed interesting trend. In classical music works of the XVIII- the beginning of the 20th century, which were created in a minor key, the transition of the melodic progression to one and a half steps is avoided. The exception will be those compositions to which the author seeks to give an oriental (oriental) flavor, sounding in the spirit of the “Russian East”. Similar move for an increased second it is more correct to call it modalism.

Existing minor keys

Let's see in which keys the harmonic minor can be seen:

  • La Minor.
  • E minor.
  • B minor harmonic: appearance of A-sharp.
  • F-sharp: raising the seventh degree when ascending.
  • C-sharp: In a harmonic form, a B-sharp is added.
  • F minor: the sound is characterized by raising E-bekar.
  • C minor: raising the B-becar when sounding harmonic.
  • G minor: with this type, F sharp is set.
  • harmonic is a rise to sharp.

Harmonic major

A harmonic major is a variation of the scale of the same name. Her main distinguishing feature- lowered VI stage. This is what distinguishes the harmonic variety from the natural one.

Let's look at the mode of harmonic major in the ascending tendency: T - T - PT - T - PT - one and a half tone - PT. The sixth lowered degree here has one feature: it helps to build intervals that will be identical to the minor. As an example: an increased second at this stage.

Thus, we can say that the specific coloring of the harmonic major is the same oriental coloring. It is given by the second between the sixth and seventh degrees, which is increased.

What kind of minor could it be?

Initially, the sound was represented only by the natural minor. But over time, new “colors” were added to the fret in order to diversify it. This is how the harmonic and melodic minor appeared. Let's look at two species that we haven't presented.

Natural. This is the name of a simple scale, as it is, without adding random signs and taking into account only the key ones. When moving up and down, the same scale can be traced. Overall: simple, sad, strict sound without unnecessary details.

Melodic. Its difference is that when moving upward, two steps become higher at once - the sixth and seventh, and when moving downwards, in the opposite direction, they are canceled. That is, in the latter case, the performer plays or sings in an almost natural minor key. An increase in the sixth stage is necessary here to cover the increased interval. It is characteristic of the harmonic variety. This is necessary because the minor is melodic, and in the melody the move to an increased second is prohibited.

Increasing the VI, VII steps gives a directed, but at the same time softened movement towards the tonic. Also wondering why this alteration is canceled when moving down? The simplest explanation is that raising the sixth and seventh degrees adds some cheerfulness to the melody. But taking into account that it is still being performed in a minor key, repeating such a frivolous note will be unnecessary.

What can a major be?

Just like minor, major can be natural, melodic and harmonic. Let's look at its varieties that are not represented.

Natural. This includes the usual scale with key signs, if necessary. There are no accidentals in natural major. This is the most common type of all three in musical works.

The sequence of tones of the scale here is as follows: T - T - PT - T - T - T - PT.

Melodic. As you remember, in the melodic minor there were two steps raised - the 6th and 7th. In major, they do not increase, but, on the contrary, decrease. And the VI and VII stages change already during the downward movement. That is, the rules for melodic minor are exactly the opposite. This makes it easy to remember their differences and common features.

An interesting feature here is this: due to the lowering of the sixth step, both increased and decreased intervals are formed between sounds - characteristic tritones. But in general, with an upward movement, a natural major is played here, and with a downward movement, the sixth and seventh degrees are lowered.

Parallel keys

Two types of keys (major and minor) are considered parallel if they have the same alteration symbols at the key. Examples of this phenomenon:

  • A minor and C major. The parallel is that they do not have any signs with the key.
  • E minor and In such keys the key is F sharp.

If you are looking parallel to major tone, then remember one fact. The tonic of the minor minor parallel to it will be lower by a minor third.

Note that in melodic and harmonic majors all alteration signs are random. For example, in harmonic E minor they are not taken to the key, but are noted where necessary in the work itself.

So we have analyzed two harmonic types of scales - major and minor. The first is characterized by an increased seventh stage, the second by a decreased sixth. When listening to a game or performance, we will notice that such tonalities stand out from others due to their orientality, oriental style which gives classical music some zest, originality of sound. In addition to the harmonic, minor and major are characterized by natural and melodic varieties, which we also touched upon in this material.

Musical mode- another concept from music theory, with whom we will meet. Mode in music is a system of relations between stable and unstable sounds and consonances, which works for a certain sound effect.

There are quite a lot of modes in music, now we will consider only the two most common (in European music) - major and minor. You have already heard these names, and you have also heard their banal decodings such as major - a cheerful, life-affirming and joyful mode, and minor - sad, elegiac, soft.

It's just approximate specifications, but in no case are labels - music in each of the musical modes can express any feelings: for example, tragedy in a major key or some bright feelings in a minor key (you see, it’s the other way around).

Major and minor - the main modes in music

So let's analyze the major and minor modes. The concept of mode is closely related to scales. The major and minor scales consist of seven musical steps (that is, notes) plus the last, eighth step repeats the first.

The difference between major and minor lies precisely in the relationship between the degrees of their scales. These steps are spaced from one another by a distance of either a whole tone or a semitone. In major, these relationships will be as follows: tone-tone semitone tone-tone-tone semitone(easy to remember - 2 tones semitone 3 tones semitone), in minor – tone semitone tone-tone semitone tone-tone(tone semitone 2 tones semitone 2 tones). Let’s look at the picture again and remember:

Now let's look at both musical modes specific example. For clarity, let’s build a major and minor scale from the note before.

You can see that there is a significant difference in the notation of major and minor. Play these examples on instruments - you will find a difference in the sound itself. Let me make one small digression: if you do not know how tones and halftones are calculated, then refer to the materials of these articles: and.

Properties of musical modes

Mode in music exists for a reason, it performs certain functions, and one of these functions is regulating the relationship between stable and unstable steps. For major and minor, stable degrees are the first, third and fifth (I, III and V), unstable - the second, fourth, sixth and seventh (II, IV, VI and VII). The melody begins and ends with steady steps if it is written in a major or minor mode. Unstable sounds always tend towards stable sounds.

The first step is of particular importance - it has a name tonic. Stable steps together form tonic triad, this triad is an identifier of a musical mode.

Other musical modes

The major and minor scales in music are not the only options for scales. In addition to them, there are many other modes characteristic of one or another musical cultures or artificially created by composers. For example, pentatonic scale- a five-step mode in which the role of tonic can be played by any of its steps. The pentatonic scale is extremely widespread in China and Japan.

Let's summarize. We defined the concept, learned the structure of the scales of major and minor modes, and divided the steps of the scales into stable and unstable.

Did you remember that tonic is basic level of musical mode, basic sustained sound? Great! You've done a good job, now you can have a little fun. Look at this cartoon joke.

Let's take a closer look at the piano keyboard. It has white and black keys. The distance between adjacent keys is called a semitone. Two semitones make up a tone.

For example, between the keys “C” and “C sharp” there is a semitone, between the keys “C sharp” and “D” there is also a semitone. And between the “do” and “re” keys there is a tone. There is a semitone between the “E” and “F” keys, because they are the closest keys, there is no black key between them.

Major and minor

A certain structure of semitones and tones makes up a musical mode. There are many modes in music. The most common of them are major and minor. You've probably heard these names.

Major mode is built according to the following system:

Tone-tone-semitone-tone-tone-tone-semitone

For example, we need to build a major scale from sound C. This is what we get:

We built "C major". If you build a major scale using the same scheme from the sound “D”, you get “D major”. And by analogy, you can build a major scale from any sound.

Minor scale is built according to a different scheme:

Tone-semitone-tone-tone-semitone-tone-tone

For example, let's build a minor scale from the sound A, as you probably already guessed, A minor. Here's what it looks like:

Using the same principle, you can build minor scales from any other sounds.

It turns out that tonality is the pitch position of a major or minor scale. That is, building a scale from a specific sound (tonic). The sounds of a scale are called scale degrees. They are designated by Roman numerals.

One of the functions of the fret is the ratio of stable and unstable steps. I, III and V are stable stages. II, IV, VI, VII – unstable. Unstable sounds gravitate towards stable ones. Usually musical composition begins and ends in steady steps. Stage I (tonic) has special meaning, it is the most important and the most stable.

The tonic triad consists of stable degrees (I, III and IV). In C major these will be sounds (do-e-sol). This is the basis of the mode, the most stable chord to which all other chords of the mode gravitate. In addition to the tonic, the main triads include the triad of the fourth degree (or subdominant), the triad of the fourth degree (dominant). Dominant (denoted Latin letter D) unstable, always tends towards tonic (denoted by the letter T). Subdominant (denoted by the letter S) – expresses mild instability, gravitates towards the tonic much less actively than the dominant.

The main triads (T, S, D) form the basis of mode tonality. When they say about a song that it is built on three chords, they usually mean these chords.

In addition to the main triads, there are also side triads. These include II, III, VI, VII stages. They do not have special names, except for the VII step, they are called by the number of the step, for example, the triad of the 2nd step. The triad of the 7th degree is called the diminished triad.

Exercise

To consolidate the material, I suggest completing this task.

Construct the following scales yourself according to the scheme for constructing major and minor: F major, G major, B minor, D minor. The task must be completed in writing in pencil on a sheet of music.

If anything is unclear, write your questions in the comments.

The theory of harmony knows the most important phenomenon of music, the brilliant period of whose dominance has already ended, and a comprehensive scientific and theoretical justification with which all scientists would agree still does not exist. This phenomenon is major and minor.

The quality that characterizes the opposite direction specific to the relationship between major and minor is usually denoted as mood. Major as “hard” (dur), “more” (maggiore), minor as “soft” (moll), “lesser” (minore) in their contrasting combination serve a powerful tool musical expressiveness, a means of a wide and varied range of action. Major and minor are the basis of two tonal modes common during the peak period of European music beginning in the 18th century. (Bach, Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Chopin, Liszt, Wagner, Glinka, Balakirev, Borodin, Mussorgsky, Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Rachmaninov, Glazunov, Scriabin), modes that largely retain their significance and for 20th century music (Stravinsky, Messiaen, especially Prokofiev, Myaskovsky, Shostakovich, Shchedrin, etc.). Majority and minority can also play a significant role in the expression of other modes, outside the major-minor system. For example, Dorian and Phrygian and some others are modes of a minor basis, Mixolydian, Lydian are of a major basis (discovery of Zarlino).

For all these oppositions, the basic type of opposition is the same: major and minor, dur and minor, “hard” and “soft.”

The opposites themselves - “hard” and “soft” - have a history much older than major and minor as modes or even as chords. Also in ancient Greece there was a contrast between “hard” (or “syntonic”, that is, with a “sharp” tension of the middle strings in a tetrachord) and “soft” (with a “weak” tension) chromia (in Claudius Ptolemy). And Boethius considered diaton to be a “hard and natural” species (durius et naturalis), and chromium to be a “softened” species (mollius). Following this and whole tone(characteristic of the diatone) was contrasted by medieval theorists with the semitone (characteristic of the chromium), as the interval “hard”, “perfect”, simple - “soft”, “imperfect”, complicated. Later (in the 16th century) this opposition was transferred to thirds - major (tertia dura) and minor (tertia mollis; by J. Cocleus).

The first “hard” and “soft” scales were historically not our major and minor scales, and medieval solmization hexachords with the structure:

(Their syllables originate from the initial syllables of the lines of the hymn “Ut queant laxis”, adapted by Guido Aretinsky for the practical development of tones and semitones of the scale.)


In the hexachord system there are three provisions hexachord depending on whether it falls into soft b(that is B-flat), or hard(“square”) (that is si-bekar), or neither one nor the other hits. Accordingly, the three hexachords were called “soft” (molle), “hard” (durum) or “natural” (naturale) (example 135).

(Even N.P. Diletsky in 1679-1681 called music in the corresponding scales “dural” - without signs and “flat” - with flats.)

In the 17th century, the concepts dur and moll began to denote the modal inclination depending on the third, major and minor (in Kepler’s genus durum = g-e-d-c-H-G, a genus molle = g-es-d-c-B-G; at the end of the 17th century, A. Werkmeister used designations in the modern sense - a-moll, e-moll).

The modern formulation of the question of major and minor includes primarily three main problems:

1) the essence of major and minor triads;

2) the essence of the classical major and minor modes (tonal-functional system);

3) major and minor inclinations of the mode in the music of the 20th century.

The third problem is not related to the content of this work. The second is dealt with mainly in the chapter on tonal functions. Here we will talk about the first problem, which, naturally, is connected with the other two.

The first scientific theory of the essence of major and minor, the connection and opposition of the two moods was proposed by the famous Italian music theorist Josephfo Zarlino in the book “Fundamentals

harmony" (or "The Doctrine of Harmony", lit. "Harmonic Instructions"; Venice, 1558). In Chapter 31 of Part 3, he gives an extremely concisely presented, but completely complete expressed idea interpretation of major and minor as aesthetic opposites based on the ancient (even Pythagorean) aesthetic theory proportions (according to edition: Zarlino G. Le Institutioni Harmoniche. Venetia, 1573. P. 211). Main three types "average"(arithmetic, harmonic and geometric) or three types of “division” (the same) Zarlino sets out in the first part (Chapter 35 and following). Let us explain the three types of “averages” with a diagram (cf.: Zarlino G. Le Institutioni Harmoniche. Venetia, 1573. P. 54; "super-third" proportion - a ratio when the larger number exceeds the smaller one by one third):

Table 13

Arithmetic the average is obtained with three numbers, where the difference between the first and second is equal to the difference between the second and third. For example: 4, 3, 2 or 3, 2, 1, or 6, 4, 2, or 7, 4, 1, etc.

Geometric the average is obtained with three numbers, where the ratio of the first and second is equal to the ratio of the second and third. For example: 4, 2, 1 or 9, 3, 1, or 16, 4, 1, etc.

Harmonic the average is obtained with three numbers, where the ratio of the differences of the first and second, second and third is equal to the ratio of the first and third. For example:

Other examples: 6, 3, 2 or 15, 12, 10, or 20, 15, 12, or 28, 7, 4.

Harmonic mean - inversion of arithmetic:

Arithmetic = 1, 2/1, 3/1, 4/1, 5/1, 6/1;

Harmonic = 1, l/2, 1/3, 1/4, 1/5, 1/6;

(for clarification: 1, 1/2, 1/3 = 6, 3, 2).

Zarlino associates “all the diversity and perfection of harmony” with the action of two intervals - fifths and thirds or their “replicates” (that is, intervals derived from them, for example sixths). The sounds of the fifth are unchanged, but the third (that is, the major third) can take its position inside the fifth, being placed either below,

either at the top, thereby dividing number of fifths (3:2) in various ways. Since one of the sounds of the third coincides with either the lower or the upper, another one is added to the fifth one sound corresponding to the “average” value. Hence the justification of major and minor by the theory of “averages”. Zarlino writes that the major third (“la Terza maggiore”), placed in the lower part of the fifth, makes the harmony “cheerful” (allegra), and placed in the upper part - “sad” (mesta). Keeping in mind that Zarlino's way of noting times in string lengths rather than in vibration numbers, we get harmonic proportion as an explanation of the major (major triad) and arithmetic- to explain the minor (if we express the same thing in a way typical of our time - in numbers of vibrations, then the data will be reversed: harmonic proportion- for minor, arithmetic proportion - for major). Thus, the sounds of fifths are extreme members:

The third is placed in the middle in two ways:

At the end of chapter 31, Zarlino makes a remarkable statement: arithmetical proportionality is a little removed from the perfection of harmony, since its parts are not in their natural position; on the contrary, the harmonic consonates completely. In these words, Zarlino anticipates an orientation toward the “natural,” that is, the natural order of sounds (a natural scale that he did not know). According to Tsarlino, major and minor are equal and logical (since they materialize in sounds the two most important aesthetic laws of proportions, which in principle equal rights), and at the same time the major is close to nature, and the minor is more distant from it. Hence the difference in expression, the nature of expressiveness.

Zarlino also noted that these two moods - major and minor - underlie all modes (although Zarlino’s theoretical taxonomy of modes is still completely alien to the idea of ​​a two-mode system), and divided all modes accordingly into two groups:

1) with a major third and a major sixth (above the finalis WITH, F, G);

2) with minor third and minor sixth (D, E, A).

The interpretation of Nikolai Diletsky (1679, 1681) is not a deep scientific theory, but it is very colorful in its formulation and original in its rationale for the relationship between major and minor triads. Formally considering music “triple in meaning” (threefold, that is, three frets) - “cheerful, pitiful and mixed”, Diletsky is in fact based on the idea of ​​only two opposite modes, which he understands depending on the underlying triads - ut-mi-sol And re-fa-la. The dependence is interpreted unambiguously, which indicates full awareness of the two-fret nature of the modern Diletsky si-

stems: “if the tone is given to singing ut, mi, salt, there will be a merry music if the tone re, fa, la- will be pitiful." Diletsky receives the rationale for both triads from Guidon’s hexachord (the very names of the “six signs of Musik” speak about this - ut, re, mi, fa, sol, la), which coincides with the two main consents- “dark” and “light”. The hexachord is divided “in two”:

If Tsarlino divided the fifth in different ways, then Diletsky divides the six sounds of the hexachord, thereby representing a unique “modal” approach.

The German theorist Moritz Hauptmann, in his book “The Nature of Harmonics and Metrics” (1853), to explain the major and minor triads, leans towards the so-called "dualistic" interpretation according to which major and minor mirror opposite to each other. Hauptmann assumes that there are only three directly understandable intervals - the octave, the fifth and the (major) third. Merging into a monolithic unity, they provide only two chords - major and minor triads. The sounds from which these intervals are built and which thereby unite the intervals into a monolithic chord are located differently in both chords: in major it is the lower sound of the fifth, from which the intervals are directed up (C-G, C-e), in minor it is the top sound of the fifth, from which the intervals are directed downwards. Therefore, the sound that combines the major consonance (Klang) has have their own fifth and third, and the sound that unites the minor consonance, available(have) fifths and thirds. Hence the logical opposition between the states: the real (active) “to have” (das Haben) and the passive (passive) “to be” (das Sein). As a result, the major triad is tending (upward) force, and minor - descending (down) heaviness.

Hugo Riemann (together with other German theorists - A. Oettingen, G. Helmholtz, Z. Karg-Ehlert) further developed the theory of dualism of major and minor, according to which minor is understood as mirror reflection(inversion) major. Riemann tried to find a natural, objective justification for major and minor. For a major (major triad) this is, naturally, a natural scale. For the minor, such a natural justification is obviously not found. Riemann turned to theory undertons, a series of which is mirror-symmetrical to the series of overtones, differing from it only in the direction of the same intervals (numbers), example 136.

Some confirmation of the Untertonian theory can be found. Because natural series(which is the overtone series and which Riemann also wants to represent the undertones) is realized in the phenomena of resonance, then in the spirit of Hauptmann’s theory the initial tone of the overtone series It has all others, and the initial tone of the undertone available for all others (example 137).

However, such confirmation cannot refute the main objection to the theory of untertons as natural phenomena: the overtone series is really given by the nature of the sounding body, since overtones are produced by dividing the sounding body into parts. Undertones, in order to be equal natural phenomena with overtones, should be obtained multiplication(?!) mass of the sounding body, which is absurd (multiplication means that to extract the sound of the lower octave, for example, on a string, the length of the string must be doubled during vibration, which is physically impossible).

Despite the existence of a number of other theories of major and minor (among which we should mention the theories of A. S. Ogolevets and P. N. Meshchaninov, see p. 255), it is difficult to name one that could be considered answering all questions. Probably Zarlino's theory (including the problem of major and minor in general theory aesthetic proportions) and Hauptmann's theory ( the best way substantiating the semantic content of the concepts of major and minor) in their complementarity provide the most reliable basis for a correct understanding of this most important phenomenon music.



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