Is it something to do with relative minors or something?
Whatever the reason, it's a pig to play.
Why is it called 'Bouree in E Minor' when it's clearly in G?
That's a really good question! The reason is quite simple. Bouree is actually in Em and not G. Em is the relative or natural minor of the G scale.
They are identical scales and both Em and G contain the exact same 7 notes (G-A-B-C-D-E-F#). But the G scale starts on G and the Em starts on E. E is the 6th degree of the G scale (the sixth note) and therefore is a minor (that's another discussion and depends on the mode!).
So if you have a major scale, find the sixth degree and you will have the relative minor, for example in the C scale, A is the 6th degree so Am in the relative minor (C-D-E-F-G-A-B ).
If you know the minor scale you can go back to the 3rd degree and find the relative major scale. The Circle of Fifths is a good way to visualize this (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circle_of_fifths).
I hope this isn't too confusing! It is really important when learning scales and scale patterns because if you know the G scale or pattern you also automoatically know the Em scale or pattern. So you only have to learn half as many scales! Yea!
Good luck! This is really cool stuff to learn! :cheer:
They are identical scales and both Em and G contain the exact same 7 notes (G-A-B-C-D-E-F#). But the G scale starts on G and the Em starts on E. E is the 6th degree of the G scale (the sixth note) and therefore is a minor (that's another discussion and depends on the mode!).
So if you have a major scale, find the sixth degree and you will have the relative minor, for example in the C scale, A is the 6th degree so Am in the relative minor (C-D-E-F-G-A-B ).
If you know the minor scale you can go back to the 3rd degree and find the relative major scale. The Circle of Fifths is a good way to visualize this (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circle_of_fifths).
I hope this isn't too confusing! It is really important when learning scales and scale patterns because if you know the G scale or pattern you also automoatically know the Em scale or pattern. So you only have to learn half as many scales! Yea!
Good luck! This is really cool stuff to learn! :cheer:
BigBear wrote:
Yeah...what Bear said! Rick...do you have any space for other information or is your brain crammed to capacity with music theory knowledge? (Rhetorical question). Very impressed I am. (Why do I talk like Yoda? Don't ask)
That's a really good question! The reason is quite simple. Bouree is actually in Em and not G. Em is the relative or natural minor of the G scale.
They are identical scales and both Em and G contain the exact same 7 notes (G-A-B-C-D-E-F#). But the G scale starts on G and the Em starts on E. E is the 6th degree of the G scale (the sixth note) and therefore is a minor (that's another discussion and depends on the mode!).
So if you have a major scale, find the sixth degree and you will have the relative minor, for example in the C scale, A is the 6th degree so Am in the relative minor (C-D-E-F-G-A-B ).
If you know the minor scale you can go back to the 3rd degree and find the relative major scale. The Circle of Fifths is a good way to visualize this (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circle_of_fifths).
I hope this isn't too confusing! It is really important when learning scales and scale patterns because if you know the G scale or pattern you also automoatically know the Em scale or pattern. So you only have to learn half as many scales! Yea!
Good luck! This is really cool stuff to learn! :cheer:
Yeah...what Bear said! Rick...do you have any space for other information or is your brain crammed to capacity with music theory knowledge? (Rhetorical question). Very impressed I am. (Why do I talk like Yoda? Don't ask)
It is a good question. In fact I've just been going through Neil's lessons on minor scales and he discusses this in detail. Check out these lessons
Tom
http://www.totallyguitars.com/target-ho ... a-patterns
Tom
http://www.totallyguitars.com/target-ho ... a-patterns
AHA! Ok, I get it. But, why is the sheet music scored with an f sharp on the fifth line- the key signature, as I understand it - as this indicates that the piece is written in G?
Thanks for all your responses, btw.
Edited: Er, hang on. The key sig would be exactly the same, wouldn't it.
D'oh, and all that.
Thanks for all your responses, btw.
Edited: Er, hang on. The key sig would be exactly the same, wouldn't it.
D'oh, and all that.
The key signature for both keys is the same because as BigBear and Tovo have pointed out the G major and the E minor scales are comprised of the same notes. The G major scale is G, A, B, C, D, E, F#, G with half steps occurring between B and C and between F# and G. The E minor scale which starts on the sixth step of the G major scale is E, F#, G, A, B, C, D, E. Bourree is in E minor and not G major because the melody resolves to E.
Tom
Tom
An easy way to figure out if a key of a song is in its major or relative minor is to go to the very end of the song and the last chord is typically your answer. In this case it's an E minor chord.
Another clue is that the second to last measure is a Dominant Seventh (V7) Chord. In the key of E minor the V7 chord is B-D#-F#-A. (The D# comes from the E Harmonic Minor Scale which is needed to be the leading tone to resolve to E. If you play the E Harmonic Minor scale E-F#-G-A-B-C-D#-E you can hear that strong pull the D# sound makes towards the E.)
You could argue that Section 1 is in the key of G Major because it ends on a G Major chord. But, this is the brilliance of Bach and many other composers. They can modulate a song all over the place then bring it back to its origin.
I hope this helps. Music theory seems confusing when reading about it, but if you write it out on sheet music it makes a lot more sense.
E-
Another clue is that the second to last measure is a Dominant Seventh (V7) Chord. In the key of E minor the V7 chord is B-D#-F#-A. (The D# comes from the E Harmonic Minor Scale which is needed to be the leading tone to resolve to E. If you play the E Harmonic Minor scale E-F#-G-A-B-C-D#-E you can hear that strong pull the D# sound makes towards the E.)
You could argue that Section 1 is in the key of G Major because it ends on a G Major chord. But, this is the brilliance of Bach and many other composers. They can modulate a song all over the place then bring it back to its origin.
I hope this helps. Music theory seems confusing when reading about it, but if you write it out on sheet music it makes a lot more sense.
E-