We have a piano in our house, which I can’t really play. However, I do sometimes mess around with it. One strange thing I always noticed is that if I randomly play the higher-pitched black keys, one-at-a-time in quick succession, it really sounds like Classical Chinese music. I just got a conformation of this from two other people, so I know it can’t be in my head. What’s the deal? I assume it has something to do with the scales and melodies of that style of music, but more information would be appreciated.
I noticed this ever since I was a little kid, and I too want to know the answer.
If you play the middle ranged black keys, the odds are good it will sound middle eastern (something I noted when I was young.)
I believe from what I remember being told by a music teacher when I discovered this, and seemingly confirmed by the internet just now, is that the black keys follow the pentatonic scale. The pentatonic scale is quite popular in particular sorts of music, plus it’s an easy way to write simple sounding music–which would be an accurate descriptor of the sorts of songs Hollywood created to refer to particular ethnicities musically back in the black and white era, which is in turn what I suspect many of us internally still think of when thinking about music from those regions having grown up on Looney Toon cartoons.
Obviously, WordMan or Le Ministre de l’mumble mumble might still come in and say I have no idea what I’m talking about.
Nope, you’re right. It’s because the black keys form a pentatonic scale, and most Chinese music is based on something very close to the Western major pentatonic scale.
Play the black keys in a scale starting from E-flat (the second black key in the sets of two) and it sounds kind of blues-y.
Noodling around with the black-key pentatonic scale can yield some surprising results - for instance, the theme from “All in the Family”.
That’ll be the minor pentatonic, the basis for 98.42% of Rock and Blues guitar (except you really need to play in the cracks).
Start on F# to sound like bagpipes.
John Lennon was a fan of the pentatonic scale, and songs like “Jealous Guy” and “Beautiful Boy” follow it pretty closely.
Now there’s a case of “less is more” if there ever was one. Why use 7 notes when you can use only 5?
My piano teacher once said no matter what you play on the black keys will sound good. This seems to hold true, but I do not know why this is. I didn’t stick with piano, but maybe others of the SD may know why this is?
Maybe because the pentatonic scale doesn’t have leading tones; in fact, another way to get a pentatonic scale is to take the standard diatonic scale and remove the leading tones. Since you’ve taken the semitones out of the scale, the worst of the possible dissonances in the diatonic scale are obviated.
MikeS nailed it, although everyone’s on the right track. Pentatonic scales are safe, for all practical purposes there are no ‘wrong’ notes in there. It is for this reason the pentatonics are the scale of choice for many rock, folk and blues musicians. What’s missing are the color tones, the leading and flavor tones that give rise to the more colorful aspects of diatonic and extended harmony. It’s hard to miss with the pentatonic scale, but it’s also tough to bring real color and tension to the melody as well.
That said, by combining varying pentatonics over static chords it is quite possible to imply more complex harmony based on upper extensions. But that’s a subject that would require more explication than I willing to go into on my iPhone keyboard. If anyones really curious I can address it in detail later at my real computer.
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MikeS nailed it, although everyone’s on the right track. Pentatonic scales are safe, for all practical purposes there are no ‘wrong’ notes in there…
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Bingo. In college, my best friend was a music major and for a project, he had to write this big piano piece… but he insisted on only using black keys… and it was amazing!
This is essentially it. While this is not totally correct, the eight-note major and minor key scales are founded on twelve half-steps in modern piano tuning (“equal temperament” IIRC):
- C natural
2, C#/D-flat - D
- D#/E-flat
- E
- F
- F#/G-flat
- G
- G#/A-flat
- A
- A#/B-flat
- B
- C (=1)
- C#/D-flat (=2)
- D (=3)
- D#/E-flat (=4)
- E (=5)
etc.
I’ve bolded the black-key steps, which are “chromatic” to a C scale. Note that they are a sequence of 2-4-7-9-11, a pentatonic scale characteristic of some East Asian music.
Obviously, an 8-step diatonic Western scale can start from any note, and will be 1-3-5-6-8-10-12 starting with that note. A G scale, for example, starts with G, and uses F# rather than F for the seventh note (half step 12 on my list). Likewise, a pentatonic scale can be the second, fourth, seventh, ninth, and eleventh half-steps starting from any note. Using E as tonic, a pentatonic of F, G, B-flat, C, and D is possible. And so on.
I understand what you’re saying, but I have a minor quibble with use of the word “tonic” there. Using E as tonic, the major pentatonic would be E, F#, G#, B, C#. (The minor pentatonic would be E, G, A, B, D). A tonic is technically the first note of a musical scale, so your scale would be a major pentatonic with F as the tonic. I understand that you mean E as a starting point for your formula, but that’s not the same as a tonic.
Playing only the black keys on a piano puts you in the key of F# Major.
I’m not strong enough on music theory to be positive or to go into any detail but I suspect the reason for the different sounds, Chinese, Middle Eastern, blues, bagpipes, etc., being mentioned has to do with the mode being played. Playing in different modes in the same key results in very different sounds.
I have only a vague understanding of modes … perhaps one of you strong theory guys can discuss (or refute) this.
It worked for Irving Berlin too.
I thought starting on D# was a major pentatonic, I only say this because I thought a yo scale was the 4th mode of a pentatonic, and wikipedia supports me. If you start one key higher (D#/Eb) you’d then get the first mode, hence major, no?
If F# is your tonic (meaning your scale starts there and melodies have a tendency to resolve to that note) then, yes, you are in a F# major pentatonic. (And that is what people are thinking of when they think of black keys = Asian music) However, if E-flat is your tonic, you have an E-flat minor pentatonic (blues) scale there. (Although many blues musicians will also add the A natural there for extra tension.)
:smack:
Nevermind, I can do basic math now that I’ve had caffeine.