numbers instead of letters
To understand music you must understand how notes relate to each other. And since it is easier to figure out how many numbers there are between 2 and 5 than it is to figure how many letters there are between D and G I'm going to give a number to each of the notes.
From now on I'm going to call C "1" and D "2", etc.,
C D E F G A B C the C scale do re mi fa so la ti do solfeggio 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 the number system
| C scale | C | D | E | F | G | A | B | C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| solfeggio | do | re | mi | fa | so | la | ti | do |
| number system | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 1 |
You may want to keep this chart handy.
- the in-between notes
- When I want to talk about the other notes - the notes in between these - I'll refer to them by using "accidentals": a sharp (#) after a number means the next note higher in the complete 12-note scale: a flat (b) means the next note lower.
- home note
- Notice how the 1 note sounds more relaxed than the other notes, as if the scale were glad to be home. Maybe it's for that reason that the scale is named for the 1 note: The "home" note - the 1 note - in the C scale is C.
- All scales revolve around their 1 note. And most melodies end on the 1 note.