ToneGym Cafe

Is there a method to recognize major/minor qualities on the staff quickly?

I am getting stuck at Notationst with recognizing Major/Minor on 3, 6 and 7.

I can see it's a 7th, 6th etc,, quickly and consistently. I can also count to figure out if they are Major/minor but that part is not quick enough.

6 props

Cuantas Vacas
May 31

Never thought about it, but I'm afraid there isn't such quick method. I have to identify the tonic and then figure out depending on position, accidentals, etc. I hope, after some time, I can recognize every single 3 and 4 note chord fast enough...😅

1 props

Hugo Paris
Jun 01

Oh wow that's impressive in real time.. Did you have prior sight singing / reading experience? :-)

1 props

Gunnar Maaß
Jun 03

My strategy is to learn the qualities like vocabulary and be more aware of the major scales over the bassnote by memorizing the #/b of the key and having a favorite melody or chord in the key.

2 props

Cuantas Vacas
Jun 03

Well, I attended music theory classes when I was a kid for 5 years. That was approximately 10-15 years after J.S. Bach's death.😆

But I never got to be very good at reading music, and haven't used that skill very often ever since... It's actually a hard skill to develop, and it requires daily exercising, just like learning any language.

5 props

Hugo Paris
Jun 10

@Gunnar Maaß I like your approach, very helpful, thank you!

0 props

Hugo Paris
Jun 10

@Cuantas Vacas haha 😂 I wish I had access to this being a kid. I'm playing catch up with a more rigid brain now.

0 props

Passawat Kingngern
Jun 10

This is a small trick I use. Just remember that the majority of the interval in the major scale is comprised of whole tones, linearly speaking. The only semi-tones (m2) you will find on the scale are between E-F and B-C. Now that we have that in mind, these four notes will have different intervals (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7) than the rest of the 3 notes (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong).

Here's my note:
m3
- if neutral E is the root
- if neutral B is the root
- if neutral C is the third
- if neutral F is the third
- the rest will always be M3 unless there's a flat

m6
- if neutral E is the root
- if neutral B is the root
- if neutral F is the sixth
- the rest will always be M6 unless there's a flat

M7
- if neutral C is the root
- if neutral F is the root
- the rest will always be m7 unless there's a sharp but be careful if it's a P8 interval

So, basically just look for E, B, C, and F lol. Hope this helps. Feel free to add if I missed anything.

6 props

Francisco Albisua
Jun 10

@Passawat Kingngern if you would be able to make a video demonstrating your method, that would be very helpful! you can use www.loom.com to make it and then post the link here. 🙏

2 props

Ciarán Buckley
Jun 10

@Passawat Kingngern This is really cool. Well done!

3 props

Colin Aiken
Jun 10

@Passawat Kingngern Climbing on board this bandwagon. Fantastic. This will really help.

2 props

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