What is the Leading Tone in a Minor Key… and why is understanding it so important to your musicianship?
Table of Contents
Prerequisites
Basic music reading… LOVE of music… and the discipline to study and practice.
Lesson Goal
To quickly learn how to think about, read, and hear the Leading Tone in a Minor Key… in all minor keys.
back to… Table of Contents
What Does “Chromatic” Mean?
Chromatic is just a fancy adjective that refers to notes that are not defined by the key signature. And so, chromatic notes are identified using an accidental–a sharp, flat, or natural symbol–that momentarily overrides the key signature. In the simplest terms, diatonic means the notes defined by the key signature and chromatic is everything else.
Real-World Examples of the Leading Tone in a Minor Key
Let’s understand the leading tone in a minor key by studying how it’s used in two famous examples: For Elise and Moonlight Sonata.
For Elise (Key of A Minor)
The first few bars in For Elise are a great example of using the leading tone in a minor key…
Let’s break this down in order to understand, hear, and feel what is happening here…
- The note G# is the leading tone in the key of A minor.
- G# is the note immediately below A.
- G# in the key of A happens to be the Solfege syllable Ti.
- As you play this, notice the irresistible drive that the note G# has to resolve to the note A.
- This strong harmonic drive is why it’s called the leading tone.
- The leading tone happens to be “the 3” of the V chord. This is the primary reason why the V chord wants to resolve to the i chord.
- For historical reasons that will not be discussed here, the key signatures for tonal minor keys are based on the natural minor scale, which does not include this leading tone. So, in order to spell the leading tone it is necessary to “sharpen” the b7 (Te) used in the natural minor scale in order to make it the leading tone 7 (Ti).
In order to make this clear, here’s the key signature for the key of A Minor, showing the A natural minor scale with the leading tone G# added…
Play and sing this A minor scale, slowly enough to allow the sound-feeling of the leading tone (Ti) and its strong attraction to Do to make a deep impression on your mind’s ear…
Moonlight Sonata (Key of C# Minor)
Bars number 4 in Moonlight Sonata is a great example of using the leading tone in a minor key…
Let’s break this down in order to understand, hear, and feel what is happening here…
- The note B# is the leading tone in the key of C# minor.
- B# is the note immediately below C#.
- B# in the key of C# happens to be the Solfege syllable Ti.
- As you play this, notice the irresistible drive that the note B# has to resolve to the note C#.
- This strong harmonic drive is why it’s called the leading tone.
- The leading tone happens to be “the 3” of the V chord. This is the primary reason why the V chord wants to resolve to the i chord.
- For historical reasons that will not be discussed here, the key signatures for tonal minor keys are based on the natural minor scale, which does not include this leading tone. So, in order to spell the leading tone it is necessary to “sharpen” the b7 (Te) used in the natural minor scale in order to make it the leading tone 7 (Ti).
In order to make this clear, here’s the key signature for the key of C# Minor, showing the C# natural minor scale with the leading tone B# added…
Play and sing this C# minor scale, slowly enough to allow the sound-feeling of the leading tone (Ti) and its strong attraction to Do to make a deep impression on your mind’s ear…
Leading Tone, All Minor Keys
C Minor
Say aloud: “The key signature for C minor is three flats: Bb, Eb, Ab. The leading tone (Ti) is B natural.”
Play and sing this C minor scale, slowly enough to allow the sound-feeling of the leading tone (Ti) and its strong attraction to Do to make a deep impression on your mind’s ear…
C Sharp Minor
Say aloud: “The key signature for C# minor is four sharps: F#, C#, G#, D#. The leading tone (Ti) is B#.”
Play and sing this C# minor scale, slowly enough to allow the sound-feeling of the leading tone (Ti) and its strong attraction to Do to make a deep impression on your mind’s ear…
D Minor
Say aloud: “The key signature for D minor is one flat: Bb. The leading tone (Ti) is C#.”
Play and sing this D minor scale, slowly enough to allow the sound-feeling of the leading tone (Ti) and its strong attraction to Do to make a deep impression on your mind’s ear…
E Flat Minor
Say aloud: “The key signature for Eb minor is six flats: Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Cb. The leading tone (Ti) is D natural.”
Play and sing this Eb minor scale, slowly enough to allow the sound-feeling of the leading tone (Ti) and its strong attraction to Do to make a deep impression on your mind’s ear…
E Minor
Say aloud: “The key signature for E minor is one sharp: F#. The leading tone (Ti) is D#.”
Play and sing this E minor scale, slowly enough to allow the sound-feeling of the leading tone (Ti) and its strong attraction to Do to make a deep impression on your mind’s ear…
F Minor
Say aloud: “The key signature for F minor is four flats: Bb, Eb, Ab, Db. The leading tone (Ti) is E natural.”
Play and sing this F minor scale, slowly enough to allow the sound-feeling of the leading tone (Ti) and its strong attraction to Do to make a deep impression on your mind’s ear…
F Sharp Minor
Say aloud: “The key signature for F# minor is three sharps: F#, C#, G#. The leading tone (Ti) is E#.”
Play and sing this F# minor scale, slowly enough to allow the sound-feeling of the leading tone (Ti) and its strong attraction to Do to make a deep impression on your mind’s ear…
G Minor
Say aloud: “The key signature for G minor is two flats: Bb, Eb. The leading tone (Ti) is F#.”
Play and sing this G minor scale, slowly enough to allow the sound-feeling of the leading tone (Ti) and its strong attraction to Do to make a deep impression on your mind’s ear…
G Sharp Minor
Say aloud: “The key signature for G# minor is five sharps: F#, C#, G#, D#, A#. The leading tone (Ti) is F double sharp.”
Play and sing this G# minor scale, slowly enough to allow the sound-feeling of the leading tone (Ti) and its strong attraction to Do to make a deep impression on your mind’s ear…
A Minor
Say aloud: “The key signature for A minor is no sharps or flats. The leading tone (Ti) is G#.”
Play and sing this A minor scale, slowly enough to allow the sound-feeling of the leading tone (Ti) and its strong attraction to Do to make a deep impression on your mind’s ear…
B Flat Minor
Say aloud: “The key signature for Bb minor is five flats: Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb. The leading tone (Ti) is A natural.”
Play and sing this Bb minor scale, slowly enough to allow the sound-feeling of the leading tone (Ti) and its strong attraction to Do to make a deep impression on your mind’s ear…
B Minor
Say aloud: “The key signature for B minor is two sharps: F#, C#. The leading tone (Ti) is A#.”
Play and sing this B minor scale, slowly enough to allow the sound-feeling of the leading tone (Ti) and its strong attraction to Do to make a deep impression on your mind’s ear…
Takeaway
We’re not just doing intellectual “music theory” here. We are learning how to read music and hear music like a musician. With just a wee bit of experience, you will start to recognize the “leading tone in a minor key” whenever you see it in written music (as indicate by some kind of accidental) or whenever you hear it being played.
learn more… How Music Works: Chromaticism: Ascending Melodic Minor Scale
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