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HOME NOTATION KEYS SCALES AND CHORDS FUNCTIONALITY RHYTHM

Suomeksi | In English

KEYS TONAL DEGREES AND DEGREE TENDENCIES

Key and scale In the hierarchy of tonal degrees, the most important is the tonic or keynote. The prevailing model
Tonal degrees and degree of tonal functions developed by Hugo Riemann in the 19th century places emphasis on the 1st,
tendencies 4th, and 5th (the tonic, subdominant, and dominant) degrees.
Intervals It is, however, possible to perceive the hierarchy of tonal degrees differently; certain degrees hold
Consonance and a special status in comparison with the other degrees of a key.
dissonance
According to the current model of tonal perception, the tonic is the most stable degree in the
Non-harmonic notes
hierarchy. The other notes of a major triad are also included in the group of stable degrees. The
Circle of Fifths other degrees of the key are less stable; all altered notes are unstable.
Key Signatures
In the example below, minims imply the stable degrees of a major and a minor key. Unstable
degrees are marked with crotchets. A melodic line often tends to move from an unstable degree
towards the closest stable degree.  It is common for melodies to end in either  - or - . Degree
numbers are often written with a circumflex to distinguish them from, for example, interval
numbers.

The letters T and S denote a tone (a whole step) and semitone (half step), respectively. A
semitonal relationship between two degrees is perceived to be more solid than a corresponding
tonal relationship. We often use the term "tendency tone" when discussing the progress of a
melody. The best-known tendency tone is the leading note . The same idea is sometimes
associated with , often leading to . Furthermore, all chromatic notes are tendency tones and
therefore highly unstable.

In a major key, and are inclined to lead to and since there is a tritone between them. In a
harmonic minor scale, there is a tritone also between and , which makes a transfer to a relative
major scale natural as and in a harmonic minor scale are and in a relative major scale.

The figure below shows an alternative way of observing degree relationships in a major key. In the
end, melodies move from other degrees and their chromatic alterations to the first degree, shown
as the largest numbers in the diagram. Only slightly smaller are the 3rd and 5th degrees (a tonal
melody can end in either of these two). The other degrees are unstable, and the arrows show
typical directions of voice leading. The most unstable degrees (thick arrows) are the leading note
and chromatic alterations of other degrees, often momentary and showing a strong tendency
toward the root note.

A semitone apart from the next diatonic degree up, degrees 3 and 7 are not assigned a sharp
sign. The 1st, 4th, and 5th degrees are not flattened in notation.
In minor keys, degree relationships differ to some extent from those in major keys. A common
scale, the harmonic minor is the basis of degree numbering. Thus, the 7th degree in the diagram
below does not comply with the key signature (for example, G in A minor) but describes the
leading note of a harmonic minor (G sharp).

The various types of minor scales are different from each other with respect to the degrees of the
upper tetrachord. In a melodic minor, the degree progression is often 5–#6–7–1; going down it is
often 1– 7–6–5. There are, however, several exceptions to this rule. This is why 7 can have a
tendency to go in both directions.

The most typical tendencies (in a major key) can be shown in one diagram with the help of
solfège syllables:

The diagrams are intended to show degree relationships and to instruct us in writing chromatic
signs. It is commonplace, for example, for notation software to produce accidentals in an
inappropriate manner. Musicians, however, are used to reading music with a familiar musical
logic.

In major and minor keys, both the key signature and the chromatic alterations are determined by
the tonic. For example, a melody in C major always has an F sharp between F and G.
Correspondingly, A major always has a D sharp (not E flat). Chromatic alterations can't be written
in any other way except for chord progressions where chords with the same form proceed in
parallel motion. This is common especially in African-American music: the F sharp mentioned
before is G flat in the progression A 7 - G7.

Below is a list of names for scale degrees.

tonic, keynote
1. 1st degree

2. 2nd degree supertonic

3. 3rd degree mediant

4. 4th degree subdominant

5. 5th degree dominant

6. 6th degree submediant

7. 7th degree  

Other names for the leading note are leading tone (Am. English), sensibile (Italian)and Leitton
(German). The term subtonic usually denotes the lowered 7th degree.