Newb question

[YOYOYOYO]

How do you know which notes are in a certain key?

[i am sam2]

its all based on scales. major and minor are the most common(though there are different forms of minor). the major scale consists of the tonic and is followed by a series of half and whole steps. it is always in the order W W H W W W H. so, for the C scale that would be C D E F G A B C. for the G scale that would be G A B C D E F# G.

that is just the tip of the iceberg it really is a couple weeks worth of learning to get all of major and minor scales plus key signatures, etc. and im sure fatjack or mwr or someone can explain it better than i can

[jellyfish]

its all based on scales. major and minor are the most common(though there are different forms of minor). the major scale consists of the tonic and is followed by a series of half and whole steps. it is always in the order W W H W W W H. so, for the C scale that would be C D E F G A B C. for the G scale that would be G A B C D E F# G.

that is just the tip of the iceberg it really is a couple weeks worth of learning to get all of major and minor scales plus key signatures, etc. and im sure fatjack or mwr or someone can explain it better than i can

whats the "w" or "h" stand for when you wrote that out?

[a1075dd63aa12]

its all based on scales. major and minor are the most common(though there are different forms of minor). the major scale consists of the tonic and is followed by a series of half and whole steps. it is always in the order W W H W W W H. so, for the C scale that would be C D E F G A B C. for the G scale that would be G A B C D E F# G.

that is just the tip of the iceberg it really is a couple weeks worth of learning to get all of major and minor scales plus key signatures, etc. and im sure fatjack or mwr or someone can explain it better than i can

whats the "w" or "h" stand for when you wrote that out?

whole, and half

[littlefriend]

Right. You've got your musical scale which consists of:

C C#/Db D D#/Eb E F F#/Gb G G#/Ab A A#/Bb B

Each note is a half (H) step up from the previous note.
Which ever major scale you're using is the note you start on and use the pattern that i am sam2 outlined.

Minor scales have a different pattern (well, I guess two patterns, technically), but start with the major scales first.

[jellyfish]

Right. You've got your musical scale which consists of:

C C#/Db D D#/Eb E F F#/Gb G G#/Ab A A#/Bb B

Each note is a half (H) step up from the previous note.
Which ever major scale you're using is the note you start on and use the pattern that i am sam2 outlined.

Minor scales have a different pattern (well, I guess two patterns, technically), but start with the major scales first.

Damn, I just play what sounds good.

[fatjack]

Right. You've got your musical scale which consists of:

C C#/Db D D#/Eb E F F#/Gb G G#/Ab A A#/Bb B

Each note is a half (H) step up from the previous note.
Which ever major scale you're using is the note you start on and use the pattern that i am sam2 outlined.

Minor scales have a different pattern (well, I guess two patterns, technically), but start with the major scales first.

Damn, I just play what sounds good.

which means you are probably playing within these patterns

[i am sam2]

not a big deal, but i think minor scales have three patterns...natural, harmonic, and melodic. fatjack, am i correct?

[littlefriend]

NO, its just major or minor. harmonic and melodic minor are scale FORMS

I was refering to the pattern of musical steps within the scale. Major scales have the WWHWWWH pattern, but minor scales have a different pattern depending on whether you are working up the scale or down the scale.

Fatjack also had this to say about minor scales and their relation to major scales.
From page 5 of the "Ask Fatjack" thread:

first of all, the melodic minor is the just one scale, but you have to play it differently when you ascend and descend. when you ascend you play the 1,2,b3,4,5,6,7. when you descend you play the natural minor (1,2,b3,4,5,b6,b7). this is strictly in a classical sense, most guitarists wont change whether they are going up and down because it just gets too complicated and makes the scale very difficult to use.

and how do they relate to the major scale you ask? simple, they dont (except for of course what degrees are used). the melodic and harmonic minors don't translate to major scales. basically, they are a whole different set of keys. although you wont see "the key of B harmonic minor," they have completely different key sigs from any major scale. think of it this way, there are 12 different major scales, 12 different harmonic minor scales, and 12 different melodic minor scales. because they don't relate to any other major scale, they are harmonized completely different and thusly have different chords. in fact, the harmonic minor scale has a degree that can be either a major or minor chord

and if you were looking for how to build the scales, i already gave you the melodic, and the harmonic would be the 1,2,b3,4,5,b6,7