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C major

{{Short description|Major scale based on C}}

{{Infobox musical scale

| name=C major
{ \magnifyStaff #3/2 \omit Score.TimeSignature s2 \clef F s }

| relative=A minor

| parallel=C minor

| dominant=G major

| subdominant=F major

| first_pitch=C

| second_pitch=D

| third_pitch=E

| fourth_pitch=F

| fifth_pitch=G

| sixth_pitch=A

| seventh_pitch=B}}

C major is a major scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. C major is one of the most common keys used in music. Its key signature has no flats or sharps. Its relative minor is A minor and its parallel minor is C minor.

The C major scale is:

{{block indent|

\header { tagline = ##f }

scale = \relative b { \key c \major \omit Score.TimeSignature

c^"C natural major scale" d e f g a b c b a g f e d c2 \clef F \key c \major }

\score { { << \cadenzaOn \scale \context NoteNames \scale >> } \layout { } \midi { } }

}}

Changes needed for the melodic and harmonic versions of the scale are written in with accidentals as necessary. The C harmonic major and melodic major scales are:

{{block indent|

\header { tagline = ##f }

scale = \relative b { \key c \major \omit Score.TimeSignature

c^"C harmonic major scale" d e f g as b c b as! g f e d c2 \clef F \key c \major }

\score { { << \cadenzaOn \scale \context NoteNames \scale >> } \layout { } \midi { } }

}}

{{block indent|

\header { tagline = ##f }

scale = \relative b { \key c \major \omit Score.TimeSignature

c^"C melodic major scale" d e f g a b c bes as g f e d c2 \clef F \key c \major }

\score { { << \cadenzaOn \scale \context NoteNames \scale >> } \layout { } \midi { } }

}}

On the piano, the C major scale can be played by playing only the white keys starting on C.

Scale degree chords

The scale degree chords of C major are:

Compositions

Twenty of Joseph Haydn's 106 symphonies are in C major, making it his second most-used key, second to D major. Of the 134 symphonies mistakenly attributed to Haydn that H. C. Robbins Landon lists in his catalog, 33 are in C major, more than any other key. Before the invention of the valves, Haydn did not write trumpet and timpani parts in his symphonies, except those in C major. Landon writes that it wasn't "until 1774 that Haydn uses trumpets and timpani in a key other than C major... and then only sparingly." Most of Haydn's symphonies in C major are labelled "festive" and are of a primarily celebratory mood.H. C. Robbins Landon, The Symphonies of Joseph Haydn. London: Universal Edition & Rockliff (1955): 227. "In the course of composing his first symphonies, the tonality of C major became indelibly impressed on Haydn's mind as the key of pomp, the key of C alto horns, trumpets and timpani, the vehicle for composing brilliant and festive music, although at least during this period [the 1760s] he did not always reserve the tonality of C major for this particular kind of symphony: Nos. 2, 7 and 9, and possibly Nos. 25 and 30 ... are C major symphonies without the psychological manifestations inherent in most of the later works in this key. For the rest, however, the C major path is astonishingly clear; it can be traced from its inception, in Nos. 20, 32 and 37, through No. 33 and the more mature Nos. 38 and 41 to its synthesis in the Maria Theresia (No. 48) and No. 56. It continues with No. 50 and proceeds through Nos. 60, 63, 69, 82 and 90, reaching its final culmination in No. 97." Wilfrid Mellers believed that Mozart's Symphony No. 41, written in 'white' C major, "represented the triumph of light".[https://newhumanist.org.uk/articles/1268/triumph-of-light Triumph of Light], Wilfrid Mellers (2005) (See also List of symphonies in C major.)

Many masses and settings of the Te Deum in the Classical era were in C major. Mozart and Haydn wrote most of their masses in C major.James Webster & Georg Feder, The New Grove Haydn. New York: Macmillan (2002): 55. "The Missa in tempora belli ... in C features the bright, trumpet-dominated sound typical of masses in this key." Gounod (in a review of Sibelius' Third Symphony) said that "only God composes in C major". Six of his own masses are written in C.{{cite journal|jstor=932894|doi=10.2307/932894|last=Fanning|first=David|author-link=David Fanning (musicologist)|title=Shostakovich: The Present-Day Master of the C Major Key|journal=Acta Musicologica|volume=73|number=2|year=2001|pages=101–140}} This essay includes an extensive survey of classical works in C major

Of Franz Schubert's two symphonies in the key, the first is nicknamed the "Little C major" and the second the "Great C major".

Scott Joplin's "The Entertainer" is written in C major.

Many musicians have stated that every musical key conjures up specific feelings.[https://www.wmich.edu/mus-theo/courses/keys.html "Affective Musical Key Characteristics"], Western Michigan University This idea is further explored in a radio program called The Signature Series. American popular songwriter Bob Dylan claimed the key of C major to "be the key of strength, but also the key of regret".{{Cite book|title=Bob Dylan: The Essential Interviews|publisher=Simon & Schuster|editor=Jonathan Cott|year=2017|isbn=978-1501173196|location=New York|page=237|oclc=975135582}} Sibelius's Symphony No. 7 is in C major and that key was of great importance in his previous symphonies.Philip Coad, "Sibelius" in A Guide to the Symphony, edited by Robert Layton. Oxford University Press. Sibelius's Seventh "is in C major, and a look back at the previous four symphonies [by Sibelius] will reveal how great the domination of C major has been [in his music]. It is the key of the Third, the relative major of the Fourth and the important 'neutral agent' in its Finale, the key which first forces away the tonic in the Fifth's Finale, and the principal opposition – the key of the brass – in the Sixth. Although it is now the tonic key, C major is also strongly associated with brass in the Seventh Symphony."

=Notable examples=

{{See also|List of symphonies in C major}}

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See also

References

{{Reflist|45em}}

Further reading

External links

  • {{Commons category-inline|C major}}
  • [https://muted.io/c-major-scale/ "Interactive piano and guitar reference to the C major scale"], muted.io
  • [https://musicmaster.in/blog/learn-to-play-c-major-scale-guitar/ "Learn to play C major scale on Guitar with notes and scale position"], musicmaster.in

{{Circle of fifths}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:C Major}}

Category:Musical keys

Category:Major scales