Major vs Minor Scales: ALL GUITARISTS SHOULD KNOW THIS CRITICAL DIFFERENCE | Music Theory for Guitar

Major vs Minor Scales: ALL GUITARISTS SHOULD KNOW THIS CRITICAL DIFFERENCE | Music Theory for Guitar - YouTube

This week, we dive headfirst into some music theory.  One of the most significant factors that contributes to the emotional impact of a melody is if it uses a major scale or a minor scale.  There are emotional differences, stylistic differences, and structural differences that separate major and minor scales apart from each other. The biggest difference relies on a single note!  This concept carries over to distinct sound qualities that differentiate certain genres of music from others. Like many other forces in the universe, music has both a light side and a dark side. Comedy and tragedy.  Understanding the difference between major and minor scales gives you the power to know which side to use.

Let's start with the light side: major scales.  These scales are generally considered bright and happy sounding.  Pop, classical, and country are a few musical genres that rely heavily on major scales.  A traditional major scale falls under the umbrella of diatonic scales; which are just scales that contain seven different pitches.  Of these seven notes, the 3rd note is what defines a scale as being a major scale.  A major 3rd interval is two whole steps away from the previous note.  The same concept applies to major pentatonic scales, which contain five different pitches.  The major pentatonic scale in particular is very common in country music.

Now for the dark side: minor scales (mwahahaha).  Minor scales tend to be associated with the emotion of sadness.  Blues, rock n' roll, heavy metal, and classical music are several genres which depend a lot on minor scales.  Like a traditional major scale, a traditional minor scale is also a diatonic scale.  The critical, structural difference here is that a minor scale has a minor 3rd.  A minor 3rd interval is 1.5 steps away from the previous note.  In addition to major pentatonic scales, there are minor pentatonic scales.  Again, pentatonic scales only contain five different pitches (hence the "penta" prefix).  You'd be hard pressed to find a killer, face-melting, rock guitar solo that doesn't use a minor pentatonic scale! 

It all comes down to the 3rd scale degree.  A major 3rd and minor 3rd are only a half step apart from each other, but the emotional difference is powerful enough to separate them into two different scale categories!  Not only that, but that one note difference separates entire genres of music apart from each other.  This concept applies to different types of scales, such as modes, and even chords!  In summary, just remember that major scales=happiness; minor scales=sadness.  Have fun with this!  Check out the full video HERE to find out more: Major vs Minor Scales: ALL GUITARISTS SHOULD KNOW THIS CRITICAL DIFFERENCE | Music Theory for Guitar