Theory of Music Trinity College London Press Grade

Theory of Music Trinity College London Press Grade 1 Lesson 13: Keys – C major

Keys – C major To play in the key of C major, means to use only the natural notes: C, D, E, F, G, A, B There are no sharps or flats in the key of C major 2

There are NO BLACK KEYS in the key of C major 3

The key of C major is ALL THE WHITE KEYS on the piano 4

8 (1) These are the NUMBERS IN SEQUENCE in the key of C major 5

A song played in the ‘key of C major’ revolves around the seven notes of the C major scale – C, D, E, F, G, A, B Each note of a scale has a special name, called a scale degree Therefore, If we speak about the degrees of the scale of C major, we mean C, D, E, F, G, A, B 7

You can say degree instead of note The first (and last) degree is called the tonic or doh If the key is C major, then C is the tonic (doh) 8

In the scale of C major going up, C is the tonic 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 (1) 9

In the scale of C major going up, C is the tonic 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 (1) 10

In the scale of C major, the tonic (doh) is C Doh Ray Me Fah Soh Lah Te Doh 11

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star The music begins and ends on C. C is the Tonic (doh) 1 5 1 5 4 5 6 3 5 6 6 3 6 5 4 4 3 2 5 5 4 4 3 3 4 3 2 2 1 12

Write the note names C C 13

Write the note names C C 14

Answer the following questions (Page 19) • Give two possible names for the 1 st degree in any key • Which note is the tonic in the key of C major? tonic doh C 15

Answer the following questions (Page 19) • If you write a piece in the key of C major, from which scale will you take most of the notes? • If you listen to a piece in the key of C major, on which note will the music often begin and end? Scale of C major C 16

Write the scale of C major going up. Use semibreves and number the degrees of the scale (Page 19) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 (1) 17

Write the scale of C major going up. Use semibreves and number the degrees of the scale (Page 19) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 (1) 18

Circle the C’s in the scale you have written above and label them doh (Page 19) doh 19

Circle the C’s in the scale you have written above and label them doh (Page 19) doh 20

All the notes of the scale of C major are separated by a tone, except for the pairs E-F (3 -4) and B-C (7 -8) 21

Indicate the semitones on the piano semitone 22

Write the note names C B A G G F E D C 23

Mark the music with a bracket and an s for semitone (Page 19) s C B A G G F E D C 24

All the notes of the scale of C major are separated by a tone, except for the pairs E-F (3 -4) and B-C (7 -8) 25

Indicate the semitones on the piano semitone 26

Write the note names C D E E F F G G A G B C D G A E F B G C A B C D 27

Mark the music with a bracket and an s for semitone (Page 19) s S 28

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