Transposition

Transposition occurs when a segment of music is raised or lowered by a given interval, keeping all the internal intervals the same.

For example, when the pattern of whole and half steps of the C major scale is preserved, but we begin on C-sharp instead of C, we have transposed the C major scale into a C-sharp major scale. There are 12 possible transpositions of the major and minor scales because there are 12 discrete pitches in the Western system. Here are all 12 major scales:

Major Scales

with note names

Here are all 12 natural minor scales:

Natural Minor Scales

with note names

These scales form the basis for the system of keys which we will discuss in a later section.

"Music is nothing else but wild sounds civilized into time and tune." - Thomas Fuller

"After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music." - Aldous Huxley

"Music in the soul can be heard by the universe." - Lao Tzu

"Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy." - Ludwig van Beethoven

"Music is the movement of sound to reach the soul for the education of its virtue." - Plato

"Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent." - Victor Hugo

"Music is nothing else but wild sounds civilized into time and tune." - Thomas Fuller