Classical music is founded on scales constructed from notes of agreed standard pitches. The two most common diatonic scale constructions are the major and the minor. The major scale uses the notes whose frequencies hang best together mathematically. It therefore sounds bright and positive. The minor scale heads towards less happily related notes, and sounds rather dejected.
The minor scale has two different forms, the ΓÇ£melodicΓÇ¥ and the ΓÇ£harmonicΓÇ¥. They vary only in the 6th and seventh notes of the eight that make up an octave scale.
Simple rule - major scales, keys or intervals - happy; minor scales, keys or intervals -sad.
There isnΓÇÖt time when performing to think consciously about the interval between each note. Regularly singing scales, arpeggios, and other exercises based upon them, develops the singerΓÇÖs musical automatic pilot. A sense of where pitches belong in the voice, and of how to achieve every relative interval only comes from repeated singing of scales, and careful listening.
