Hi,
Any music theory 'experts' on here? I would be grateful for your help in clearing up the confusion I have on the above distinction.
‘Natural’/’Diatonic’ Notes – My reading about the Major Scale is that it is generally accepted to be 'THE' Diatonic Scale of reference in Western music. It is fully compliant with the Diatonic Scale criteria stated below**.
If so then all notes/pitches in the Major scale (and in all its Keys and Modes) are natural/diatonic by definition. In the key of C this is easy to absorb since the notes are CDEFGAB (only the white keys on the piano are played). However, in all other keys, there is at least one pitch which is either sharp or flat e.g. in the key of G the notes are GABCDEF#. The F# pitch is one of the black keys on the piano but in the context of the key of G Major it is still a ‘natural’ pitch by (diatonic) definition.
Then why is it generally stated (and confusingly so) that the white keys on a piano are ‘natural’ notes and the black keys are ‘chromatic’ or ‘accidental’ pitches? Surely, that is true only when playing in the key of C Major (and any of its Modes).
**Diatonic Scale criteria:
a.5 whole steps(2 semitones) and 2 half steps(1 semitone)
b.each half step is maximally separated by at least 2 whole steps
c.all notes are derived from a chain of six Perfect 5ths relative to the reference note
d.all notes are ‘natural’ (‘diatonic’) pitches
Any music theory 'experts' on here? I would be grateful for your help in clearing up the confusion I have on the above distinction.
‘Natural’/’Diatonic’ Notes – My reading about the Major Scale is that it is generally accepted to be 'THE' Diatonic Scale of reference in Western music. It is fully compliant with the Diatonic Scale criteria stated below**.
If so then all notes/pitches in the Major scale (and in all its Keys and Modes) are natural/diatonic by definition. In the key of C this is easy to absorb since the notes are CDEFGAB (only the white keys on the piano are played). However, in all other keys, there is at least one pitch which is either sharp or flat e.g. in the key of G the notes are GABCDEF#. The F# pitch is one of the black keys on the piano but in the context of the key of G Major it is still a ‘natural’ pitch by (diatonic) definition.
Then why is it generally stated (and confusingly so) that the white keys on a piano are ‘natural’ notes and the black keys are ‘chromatic’ or ‘accidental’ pitches? Surely, that is true only when playing in the key of C Major (and any of its Modes).
**Diatonic Scale criteria:
a.5 whole steps(2 semitones) and 2 half steps(1 semitone)
b.each half step is maximally separated by at least 2 whole steps
c.all notes are derived from a chain of six Perfect 5ths relative to the reference note
d.all notes are ‘natural’ (‘diatonic’) pitches
Statistics: Posted by rodrocker52 — Thu Feb 13, 2025 7:48 pm