Music Fundamentals A Balanced Approach

Major Scales with Flats

Just as there are seven scales with one to seven sharps in their key signatures, there are seven scales with one
to seven flats in their key signatures. When we draw adjoining tetrachords for scales with flats we begin with
Cflat major with seven flats.

When the dominant note in C flat major (G flat) becomes the tonic note of G flat major, one flat is subtracted
from the scale and its subsequent key signature. Similarly, one flat is subtracted from each succeeding scale.

The key signatures for C major and the seven flatted scales are given on the following page. Notice:

• The order of the flats is always the same in the key signature (BbEbAbDbGbCbFb)even if the flats do not
  appear in the same order or octave in the scale. For example:

In D flat major, the order of the flats in the key signature is BbEbAbDbGb;in the scale, the order of the flatted

notes from the lowest to the highest pitches is DbEbGbAbBb.The D flat and E flat in the key signature will

affect the D and E in the lower octave of the scale because a flat in the key signature applies to all octaves

of that pitch.

172

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b

Number of flats 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Tonic note C G D A E B F

Dominant note G D A E B F

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b

b

b

b

w

D

w

E

w

F

w

G

w

A

w

B

w

C

w

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Memorize

THE ORDER OF THE FLATS IN A KEY SIGNATURE

B E A D G C F

MODULE 7

1 2 3 4 5

1 2 3 4 5

C major scale

G major scale

C tonic G dominant

G tonic D dominant

b

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b

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