This has more to do with how white keys are arranged on a keyboard than the definition of diatonic. We mentioned earlier that any sequence of 7 natural notes (white keys) is diatonic, which is true but transposing the major scales to various keys will introduce accidentals (sharp/flat notes, e.g., black keys) into the scale. Whole – Whole – Half – Whole – Whole – Whole – HalfĬhoosing any starting note on a piano and playing this sequence will give you a major scale.The major scale arranges the whole and half steps of a diatonic scale in a particular order to give it its tonality. The former subdivides the chromatic scale into 7-note chunks of 5 whole steps and 2 half steps. To summarize diatonic vs chromatic, the latter contains all 12 notes in western music separated by semitones. This graphic illustrates both the diatonic C major scale (bolded notes) and the chromatic scale (all 12 notes). You may also be familiar with the harmonic and melodic minor scales, which do not meet the criteria for a diatonic scale (all of their half steps are not separated by at least two whole steps). The two most common diatonic scales in music are the major and natural minor scale. That is to say, if you played any 7 white keys in sequence, it would be diatonic by definition. Any sequence of 7 natural notes on a piano, such as F to F, G to G, B to B, etc. To be considered diatonic, each half step in the scale must also be separated by at least two whole steps. What is a diatonic scale?Ī diatonic scale is a 7-note scale containing 5 whole steps and 2 half steps. The majority of western music utilizes some sort of subset of the chromatic scale, most frequently being a diatonic scale. It may start on any tonic (root note), but must ascend or descend all 12 pitches in semitone increments. C – C# – D – D# – E – F – F# – G – G# – A – A# – Bīy definition, there is only one chromatic scale.If you played the chromatic scale on a piano starting on C, it would look like this: The chromatic scale is the complete set of 12 notes played in sequence with half steps (also called semitones) between each note. Every note except B and E has a sharp after it, e.g., A#, C#, D#, etc. In western music, there are twelve available pitches from A to G. See also this answer to a related question.The basic definitions of diatonic vs chromatic are pretty easy to understand, but like most music theory lingo, it sounds scarier than it is! The diatonic and chromatic scales together actually form the foundation for most of western music. Yet another source of chords from outside the major scale are secondary dominants (and their related II chords), resolving to diatonic chords:Ī7 => Dm | => Em | => F | D7 => G | E7 => Am These other chord tones can also be borrowed from the parallel minor key, and the most frequently used chords are (again in C): If you combine the chords from the parallel (natural) minor scale and from phrygian, you get these additional triads in the key of C:ĭb major | Eb major | Ab major | Bb majorĪpart from these chords with root notes which are not part of the C major scale, you can also use chords with roots from the scale, but with other chord tones outside the scale. A chord with the b2 as a root can be borrowed from phrygian. The parallel minor key will give you chords with roots on all chromatic notes except for the b2 (the Db in the key of C) and the #4/b5 (F#/Gb). The concept of using chords from a parallel tonality is called modal interchange. In a major key, it is quite common to add chords from the parallel minor key. Because otherwise the obvious answer is that if you allow any note, any chord could be added. For me the only way to make sense of your question is to interpret it as "which chords outside the key are frequently added to a piece in major?".
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