The defining difference between C major and A minor is that the tonal center of C major is C and the tonal center of A minor is A. This means that, in C major, chords and melodies will tend to return to rest on the C note, whereas in A minor they will tend to resolve and rest on the A note.

What Is the Harmonic Minor Scale? In the harmonic minor scale, the seventh scale degree is raised. While a natural minor scale has a flat seventh, or minor seventh, the harmonic minor scale has a natural seventh. This makes that seventh degree a leading tone, just like you’d have in a major scale.

The difference between a major and minor chord comes down to one, simple change: the 3rd in a scale. A major chord contains the 1st, 3rd, and 5th degree of the major scale. A minor chord contains the 1st, flattened 3rd, and 5th degree of the major scale of that note.

Inverted intervals are simply intervals which have been turned upside down. To invert an interval just take the bottom note, and put it on the top! As you can see below by taking the C at the bottom of the interval and moving it above the G, the initial interval of a 5th turns into a 4th when turned upside down.

An interval is said to be inverted when one of the notes is moved up or down an octave. In the example below, the minor third (b-d) becomes a Major sixth when the b is moved up an octave.

When you invert an interval • the general name of the interval and its inversion always add up to 9. The specific name will always be the “opposite” (major becomes minor; minor becomes major; augmented becomes diminished; diminished becomes augmented; but perfect intervals retain their perfect quality under inversion).

Whenever you invert a perfect interval it becomes the opposite perfect intervals. For example, if you were to invert a perfect 4th it would become a perfect 5th and vice versa, when you invert a perfect 5th it becomes a perfect 4th. Perfect intervals always stay perfect unlike the next two types of intervals.

Perfect intervals stay perfect when inverted. Ex: A major 3rd is an inverted minor 6th. 9 – 3 = 6, then switch the “major” to “minor.” A perfect fourth is an inverted perfect fifth because 9 – 4 = 5, and the quality (perfect) stays the same….Inverted Intervals.

The simple intervals that are considered to be consonant are the minor third, major third, perfect fourth, perfect fifth, minor sixth, major sixth, and the octave. Figure 1: Consonant Intervals. In modern Western Music, all of these intervals are considered to be pleasing to the ear.

When the two pitches sound simultaneously, we refer to it as a harmonic interval: Example 11–1. When they sound one after the other, we refer to it as a melodic interval: Imagine two voices singing different steps of a C-major scale, say, C and D.