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How to determine the tonality of a work: we determine it by ear and by notes.
To know how to determine the tonality of a work, it is necessary, first of all, to understand the concept of "tonality".
You are already familiar with this term, so I will just remind you, without delving into the theory.
Tonality in general, it is the pitch of the sound, in this case the pitch of the sound of any fret – for example, a major or a minor.
Fret is the construction of a scale according to a certain scheme and, in addition, fret is a specific sound color of the scale (major fret is associated with light tones, minor – with sad notes, shadow).
The height of each particular one depends on its tonic (the main stable note).
That is, the tonic is the note to which the fret is attached.
The fret in interaction with the tonic gives the tonality – that is, a set of sounds arranged in a certain order, located at a specific height.
How to determine the tonality of a work by ear?
It is important to understand here that it is not possible to say with accuracy at any moment of the sound in what tone this part of the work sounds.
You need to select individual moments and analyze them.
What are these moments?
This can be the very beginning or the very end of the work, as well as the end of any section of the work or even a separate phrase.
Because the beginnings and ends sound stable, they affirm the tonality, and in the middle there is usually a distance from the main tonality.
So, having chosen a fragment for yourself, pay attention to two things: what is the general mood in the work, what is the mood – major or minor?
which sound is the most stable, which sound is suitable for completing the work with it?
When you determine this, you should have a clarification.
The type of mood depends on whether it is a major key or a minor, that is, what kind of key has a fret.
Well, the tonic, that is, the steady sound that you heard, can simply be picked up on the instrument.
So, you know the tonic and you know the fret mood.
What else do you need?
Nothing, just put them together.
For example, if you heard a minor mood and the tonic of fa, then the key will be f minor.
How to determine the tonality of a piece in notes?
But how to determine the tonality of the work, if you have notes on your hands?
Probably, you have already guessed that you should pay attention to the signs when using the key.
In most cases, these signs and tonics can accurately determine the tonality, because the key signs put you in front of the fact, offering only two specific keys: one major and one minor parallel to it.
What kind of tonality in this work depends on the tonic.
You can read more about the key signs here.
Finding a tonic can cause difficulties.
Often this is the last note of a musical work or its logically completed phrase, a little less often it is also the first.
If, for example, a piece begins with a zatact (an incomplete measure preceding the first), then often the stable note is not the first, but the one that falls on a strong fraction of the first normal full measure.
Do not be too lazy to look at the accompaniment part, you can guess from it which note is the tonic.
Very often, the accompaniment plays a tonic triad, which, as the name implies, contains a tonic, and, by the way, a fret too.
The final chord of the accompaniment almost always contains it.
Summarizing the above, we will highlight several steps that you should take if you want to determine the tonality of the work:
By ear find out the general mood of the work (major or minor).
Having notes in your hands look for signs of alteration (at the key or random in places of key change).
Determine the tonic conditionally this is the first or last sound of the melody, if it does not fit – determine a stable, "reference" note by ear.
It is hearing that is your main tool in solving the issue that this article is dedicated to.
Following these simple rules, you will be able to determine the tonality of a musical composition quickly and correctly, later you will learn how to determine the tonality at first glance.
Good luck!
Author Vitaly Kovalenko
By the way, a good hint for you at the initial stage can be a cheat sheet known to all musicians – a fifth circle of major keys.
Try to use it – it is very convenient.
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