Basic Music Theory with Caramak

Harper Office (#2732)
The office is cheerful, the light reflecting off of
 whitewashed walls and ceiling.  A pattern mimicking musical notation in
 colors runs along the tops of the walls, shelf upon shelf rising from the
 floor to meet it.  Desks, cabinets and filing drawers are arranged about the
 room, workplaces for those whose job it is to keep the harpers and hall in
 order.
The air is fresh, tangy with sea and hides and well-seasoned
 woods.
The window looks out over Main Beach.
Through the open window, you notice that  It is a spring
 afternoon.  
You see Sign-up Sheet for B'var's Orchestra and Staff
 Tackboard here.
Jayla and Caramak are here.
Obvious exits:
Ballroom
Amber Lightshine blinks in from ::between::!
Amber Lightshine swoops up to a shelf to listen. If you're
 lucky, she might even sing for you.
Caramak grins.  "I use that a lot when I'm improvising...That
 or chromatics.  But really, those work the same way, pretty much.  Like if I
 wanted to get from C to Bb, I could play a C major chord, a B dominant
 seventh chord (B major triad with a flat seventh) and then Bb.  Or I could
 play C major F domenant seventh and Bb.  What makes those two chords, B and
 F, function the same, is the fact that the third of B, D# is the same as the
 seventh of F, Eb, and the third of F, A is the seventh of the F7 chord.  And
 those are what resolve, A to Bb, and Eb to D, to the root and third of Bb...
Amber Lightshine preens and thinks this is all very cool.
Jayla sits back and shakes her head and laughs.  "Are you
 sure I need /all/ this to be an effective performer?  But, I am still
 following you so far...so teach on!"
Caramak grins and shrugs.  "You can get by just playing by
 ear...But knowing what I'm doing ensures that even on my bad days I don't
 sound too awful..."
Jayla laughs.  "Okay....well, that's why I'm here...to learn
 from the best..."  She smiles broadly, her green eyes twinkling.
Caramak nods.  "Ok.  We haven't gotten to minor scales,
 really, yet.  Do you know the different types?"
Jayla shakes her head.  "No...basically most of my previous
 training dealt only with the major scales."
Caramak grins broadly.  "Then it's time you learned...Personally, 
 I think there's a whole lot more you can do with minor keys than
 major...Just in the fact that you can play any of the minor scales or minor
 modes...We'll get to modes in a minute.  But the most basic minor scale is
 'natural minor', which is the same as a major scale started on the sixth
 note...So A natural minor has the same notes as C major."
Jayla laughs at Caramak.  "You're really enjoying this,
 aren't you."  She becomes serious again and listens attentively.  "Okay, go
 on..."
Caramak winks to Jayla.  "Darn right I am.  The other way to
 get a minor scale is to take the major scale and lower the third, sixth and
 seventh.  It produces the same effect, it's just a different way to think
 about it...Whichever way is easier, use."
Jayla says, "Okay...I understand..."
Caramak nods.  "Now, that's natural minor.  Harmonic minor
 is the same as natural minor, only with the seventh raised.  So G to G# in A
 minor.  Which is a rather unusual scale, in that it has not just whole steps
 and half steps, but a minor third between the sixth and seventh."  OOC You
 wanna hear harmonic minor?  Listen to Aladdin some time.  It's a very
 stereotypically Arabian sound.
Jayla nods.  "A harmonic minor would be one that you would
 use if you wanted a song to get someone's attention, wouldn't it...sorta
 create a mood or feeling so the song would be more memorable?  Such as
 something satirical?"
Amber Lightshine always uses harmonic minor.. or at least
 when the harpers around her are trying to play in major.
Caramak grins.  "I like harmonic minor, personally.  It's
 definitely a good way to get attention."
Jayla smiles and nods.  
Caramak says, "Anyway, there's one more common form of
 minor, and that's 'melodic' minor.  Which is /really/ odd, it's different
 going up and going down.  Going down, it's the same as natural minor.  But
 going up, the seventh and sixth are both raised again, so in A it'd be F# and
 G#..."
Jayla says, "Hmmm....is that something that you use very
 often?"
Caramak nods, "It's fairly common, actually.  The point of
 the different ascending and descending scales is that if you're resolving a
 phrase to the tonic, you want a half-step resolution from below, hence the
 raises seventh.  And the sixth raised as well to eliminate the minor third
 gap.  And when you want to resolve a phrase to the dominant, E in A minor,
 you want the half step resolution from above, so you want the F natural..."
Jayla nods her head.  "Okay, that makes sense..it goes back
 to what you told me at the first....you're bringing everything to a
 resolution..."
Caramak nods.  "Exactly...But of course, it can't just be
 that simple...There are the modes, too.  For instance, if we go back to C
 major...The scale that starts on the second degree but has the same notes as
 C is called 'D dorian', and is a different type of minor scale..."
Jayla mutters to herself..."no, it can't be simple...."  She
 grins slightly and tries to get more comfortable as she listens...
Caramak nods. "So there are seven modes derived from the
 major...the first one is just a major scale, called the Ionian mode.  The
 second is Dorian, the third Phrygian, then Mixolydian, Lydian, Aeolian, and
 Locrian.  And these scales take their qualities from their triads.  So
 dorian, phrygian and aeolian are minor...Aeolian, I should also point out, is
 the same thing as natural minor, just under a different name."
Jayla grins at the different names.  "Okay...go on..."
Caramak considers.  Hm, where to go next...?  "That's a
 whole lot to absorb for one lesson, Jayla.  I could go on to all sorts of
 different types of chords and scales  that have no relation to major scales,
 to 7 flat 9 chords and stuff...But I'm a little worried about overloading
 you."
Jayla grins.  "Yes....you've given me plenty to remember for
 one day...I hope you can tell how much I've learned the next time you hear me
 play!"
Caramak grins.  "So do I...Getting fluent with all this
 stuff is a lot of work, and not often too much fun..."
Jayla looks up and smiles.  "Well, I don't know about you,
 because use a glass of wine after this."
Caramak nods.  "So could I.  Mug or Cloudscraper?"
Jayla stands up and stretches, a little stiff from sitting
 on the floor.  "I think the Cloudscraper...I like the peaceful atmosphere in
 there." 
Jayla walks out into the ballroom.
Caramak walks out into the ballroom.