You can watch this lesson in the video below, or read at your ease under the video.
What are scales? How can you hear the difference between a major scale and a minor scale?
Let’s start with the first question: what are scales?
A scale is a set of notes (usually 7 different notes) that you can play in ascending order, descending order or in any other order.
You can define a certain scale by the intervals between its consisting notes.
As you will see later, the scale determines the mood of the music.
As I said before, a scale sets the mood of the music. Below, you can listen to the C major scale played in ascending order over a C major chord.
And now, here below, listen to the C (natural) minor scale played in ascending order over a C minor chord.
Did you hear the difference? The major sound is much happier, the minor sound is more sad, tragic or melancholic.
Notice that both scales start on a (low) C and end on a (high) C and consist of 7 different notes (you hear a sequence of 8 notes, but the C is played as the first and lowest note and as the last and highest note, so twice). So the only difference between both scales are the intervals between their consisting notes.
I hope you liked this mini-lesson about the difference between major and minor harmony. Please tell us what you think of this lesson by leaving a comment below.