Build triads and compare the three minor scales
Three steps, the way the exam actually works: work through the lab, write down your own measurements, then answer a 6-point free response. What you recorded goes to the grader with your writing, so a conclusion that does not follow from your own numbers will cost you the point — exactly as it would with a real reader.
Run the investigation
- 1Pick any root note and build a major triad on it. Count and record how many half steps above the root the third and the fifth sit.
- 2Change the chord quality to minor on the same root and record the third’s distance again.
- 3Now build a natural minor scale on that root and record how many half steps above the root its seventh degree sits.
- 4Switch to harmonic minor and record the seventh degree again, then switch to melodic minor ascending and record its sixth degree.
Booting the lab…
Record what you measured
These are your numbers, not ours. The grader sees them, so your conclusions have to follow from what you actually recorded.
| Half steps to the third of the major triad | |
|---|---|
| Half steps to the fifth of the major triad | |
| Half steps to the third of the minor triad | |
| Half steps to the 7th degree of natural minor | |
| Half steps to the 7th degree of harmonic minor | |
| Half steps to the 6th degree of melodic minor ascending |
Answer the free response
You measured intervals in half steps. (a) Using your recorded values, state what distinguishes a major triad from a minor triad, and explain why both are still called triads. (b) A diminished triad and an augmented triad each alter a member of the chord. State the half-step content of each and identify which member moves. (c) Compare your natural minor and harmonic minor seventh degrees. State the alteration, name the resulting interval between the seventh degree and the octave, and explain what harmonic function this alteration serves. (d) Melodic minor ascending raises an additional degree beyond harmonic minor. Identify it from your data and explain the melodic problem that this alteration solves.
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