If you play a major scale, you get a specific impression of the Tonality no matter where you start.
Your “ear” naturally hears that based on the “restriction” or scale formula in relation to the overtone series.
Each note in that major scale, when in the context of a Tonality, has a specific impression
That relationship makes some notes feel more consonant or “resting” – the end of motion, and some feel more dissonant or “active” – continuation of motion.
This means that we can categorize the notes of the major scale into resting and active tones.
Resting Tones of the Major Scale
The root and 3rd and 5th of the Major scale, DO and MI and SO are commonly heard as “resting” scale degrees.
When a musical phrase ends on one of those notes – it feels stable and doesn’t sound like it needs to continue anywhere.
It sounds like it’s the end of motion.
It’s important to note that since these are all heard in degrees relative to DO – DO is the most final sounding.
MI, the 3rd scale degree, and SO, the fifth degree, are not as final as DO.
The other notes of the scale actively and naturally move into these tones to create a sense of rest.
Active Tones of the Major Scale
There are two types of active tones in the Major Scale:
- Non-definitive
- Definitive
Non-Definitive Active Tones
RE and LA are active sounding whole steps.
These scale degrees are not final sounding, and they feel like they hang in mid-air (suspended).
They are equidistant from each of their surrounding scale degrees; they don’t predict their resolution to your ear.
- RE is the same distance from DO and to MI
- LA is the same distance from SO and TI
They “float” and don’t help define the Tonality to the ear when you hear them move to another scale degree.
Definitive Active Tones
We hear FA and TI, the 4th and 7th degrees of the major scale as definitive active tones.
When these scale degrees resolve, they define the tonality to your ear.
They also predict to ear your ear where they will resolve when used melodically or harmonically.
The half-step position is crucial because when a tone moves to its closest tone a half step away, the ear hears this in relation to an established root or tonic to understand the Tonality.
When the ear hears that motion, your ear knows the exact key you are in:
FA-> MI and TI->DO
In this context,
- FA wants to go to MI
- TI wants to go to DO
Leading active tones predict their movement and have become a consistent defining characteristic of Western music.
It is the presence or absence of these tones that characterize many of our contemporary styles.
Our ear must recognize and hear the relationships as found in melody and harmony – starting with the Major scale.
And once our ear learns that, we can hear that for every key there is.