The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #125950 Message #2793759
Posted By: beeliner
21-Dec-09 - 03:29 PM
Thread Name: The three chord trick
Subject: RE: The three chord trick
At first I couldn't understand what you mean, now I do, but you're looking at it from the wrong direction.
The Ionian scale on C has no sharps or flats.
The same series of intervals, beginning with G, has one sharp, the F#.
The same series of intervals on D has two, the F# and the C#, etc.
The key signature is only a convenience, so that the sharps and flats don't have to be signed individually.
So if a piece is signed D (two sharps), it's true that C#, E and G are 'nothing', and that's why you are not likely to encounter that combination in that key.
Don't know if that's any help - I'm sure there'll be other replies.