Tags: #key
All theory articlesWhat Is Resolution in Music: How Tension Moves Toward Stability
What resolution means in melody and harmony, how it differs from stability and cadence, why stepwise motion is so common, and how to hear delayed, partial, and redirected resolution.
Reader level: ArrangerRelative Keys: The Same Notes, Different Tonal Centers
What relative keys are, how C major and A minor are connected, and why the same notes can sound like two different keys.
Reader level: ArrangerParallel Keys: Major and Minor with the Same Tonic
What parallel keys are, how C major differs from C minor, and which scale degrees change when moving between major and minor.
Reader level: ArrangerChords in a Minor Key
Learn which chords belong to natural minor, why minor keys often raise the seventh degree, and why V or V7 pulls to the tonic more strongly than v.
Reader level: ArrangerChords in a Major Key
Learn which chords belong to a major key, how the I–ii–iii–IV–V–vi–vii° pattern works, and how to build and transpose progressions.
Reader level: ArrangerWhat Are Diatonic Chords?
Learn what a diatonic scale is, how its notes form the chords of a key, and how Roman numerals help transpose chord progressions.
Reader level: ArrangerScale Degrees in a Key
Learn how scale degrees work inside a key: how they create stability and tension, change their role over chords, and help transpose music.
Reader level: ArrangerWhat Is Musical Tension?
A clear explanation of musical tension: where it comes from, how it relates to keys, scale degrees, and chord functions, and why it often seeks resolution.
Reader level: ArrangerWhat Is the Tonic?
A clear explanation of the tonic: how it creates a sense of home, why it is not always the first note, and how to hear it in melody and harmony.
Reader level: ArrangerMajor vs Minor: What Is the Difference
A simple comparison of major and minor: how the third and other scale degrees change, how to hear the difference in chords and keys, and how to see it on the guitar fretboard.
Reader level: MusicianWhat Is Minor in Music
A simple explanation of minor in music: what minor chords, minor scales, and minor keys are, how to hear the minor third, and why minor does not always mean sad.
Reader level: MusicianWhat Is Major in Music
A simple explanation of major in music: what major chords, major scales, and major keys are, how to hear the major third, and why major does not always mean happy.
Reader level: MusicianWhat Is a Key in Music
A simple explanation of musical keys: what a tonal center is, how a key differs from a scale, why the tonic matters, and how keys connect melodies, chords, and the guitar fretboard.
Reader level: PerformerWhat Is a Scale in Music
A simple explanation of musical scales: what a scale is, how notes are ordered, why scale degrees matter, and how to see a scale on the guitar fretboard.
Reader level: Musician