There are 12 pitch classes on the piano. This is because the octave has 12 parts.
The octave of C below:
…has the following parts
- 1st Part – C
- 2nd Part – C♯ or D♭
- 3rd Part – D
- 4th Part – D♯ or E♭
- 5th Part – E
- 6th Part – F
- 7th Part – F♯ or G♭
- 8th Part – G
- 9th Part – G♯ or A♭
- 10th Part – A
- 11th Part – A♯ or B♭
- 12th Part – B
Each part above is considered a pitch class. Here’s a representation of these 12 pitch classes using sharps and flats.
These 12 pitch classes are the source of melodic and harmonic ideas. When these pitch classes are played successively (one after the other), melodic ideas are created.
Melodic ideas include scales, intervals and chords (arpeggios).
Harmonic ideas include intervals, chords, and chord progressions.
So much can be derived from these pitch classes and this depends on certain principles that are laid down.
These 12 pitch classes are categorized into Naturals and Accidentals.
Naturals are white in color: These notes were considered to be holy by the medieval church. Use of the color white is symbolic. There are seven of them.
Accidentals are black in color: These notes were considered unholy by the medieval church. These notes are black because they were considered unclean. There are five of them.
Scales – Melodic Organization
We can arbitrarily create scales by organizing pitch classes into Naturals and Accidentals. This gives us two scales:
- White Note Scales
- Black Note Scales
Let’s look at these scales. Stay focused.
White Note Scale
Melodic progression through the natural pitch classes is said to be diatonic. Diatonic comes from a Greek word which means progressing through the tones. Therefore, progressing through these tones in any order will create diatonic modes. Each note has its variation.
C to C aka – “Ionian Mode”
D to D aka – “Dorian Mode”
E to E aka – “Phrygian Mode”
F to F aka – “Lydian Mode”
G to G aka – “Myxolydian Mode”
A to A aka – “Aeolian Mode”
B to B aka – “Locrian Mode”
When modes were replaced with scales, these two modes stood out from the rest and became Traditional Scales:
Major Scale – “Ionian Mode”
Minor Scale – “Aeolian Mode”
Black Note Scales
If we move from one accidental to another until its octave, we’ll have a 5-tone scale also known as the pentatonic scale.
Pentatonic means “containing five tones” in Greek. Melodic progression through the accidental pitch classes yields something different.
- All Black Notes
- Fewer Notes
These are the two enharmonic spellings of the black note scale:
Racism or Coincidence?
Do you know that traditional scales of Europeans are Diatonic while traditional scales of Africans are Pentatonic?
Is it a coincidence that Europeans (whites) use white notes scales while Africans use black note scales? I know that white note scales can be played on black notes and black note scales can be played on white notes. However, I don’t seem to understand why there’s a sync between skin color and note color.
Why aren’t naturals called “black” and accidentals called “white?”
Well, like I said earlier, accidentals were considered unholy and using black to depict them I’ll say is rather symbolic.
Why is “Black Gospel Music” mostly played in “Black” keys?
Am I the only one who’s noticed that black gospel music uses the keys of D♭ E♭, G♭, A♭ and B♭ more than any other keys? So many people will naturally frown at playing shouts and spirituals in the key of D natural? If truth be told, the layout of black keys feel very different from the layout of white keys.
Why is it that European Art music is written mostly in white keys?
Don’t get me wrong! I’m not saying that classical music is not written in black keys. Frankly, I’ve played a little of Frederic Chopin’s Black Key Etude and I’ve played chorale works in black keys too. E.g. Joseph Haydn’s Achieved in B♭.
However, a journey through Medieval (AD 400-1400), Renaissance (AD 1400-1600), Baroque (AD 1600-1750), Classical (AD 1750-1820) and Romantic (AD 1820-1900) works will show preference for white keys to black keys. Let’s use these two notable baroque composers and their works as examples.
J.S. Bach. I’m aware inventions and sinfonias move from key to key, chromatically. However, Bach wrote lots of keyboard works in G. I’ve played several of them. E.g. – GoldBerg Variation (30 variations of an aria in the key of G) and Christmas Oratorio (64 works in F, C, G, D and A).
G.F. Handel. Most of his choral works are written in mostly D, A, G, E. A good example is Messiah. The popular excerpt from Handel’s Messiah is the Alleluia Chorus – written in D.
I have a dream… I really have a dream…
Hear me:
I have a dream that my five tone scale will one day live in an octave where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today!
Lol… I love it when you laugh and learn.
My View
I almost concluded that it was racism until I remembered that:
#1 – White keys have black notes and Black Keys have white notes.
If you move to other keys, you’ll see that for every key, there is a unique combination of black and white keys. C Diatonic Modes (All Whites) and F♯ Pentatonic modes (All Blacks) are the only exceptions to this.
Simply put, in most contexts, you cannot avoid white and black working together. They need each other.
2. Other cultures use black key scales too.
People living in the orient – China, Korea, Malaysia, Japan etc. use the pentatonic scales too.
P.S.
The content of this post is to expand your scope on the arbitrary organization of notes according to their respective colors. Please do not use the content of this post in situations contrary to the original intent of its author.
Chuku Onyemachi
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