Ed Mascari

Conversations at the Piano

Is this piece in a major key or is it in a minor key?  This is a question that I will often ask my students. Whether the selection is a classical composition or a standard song, knowing the answer to this question can make a difference in how you approach a piece of music.Over the years, I’ve noticed that students who have taken traditional piano lessons have spent some time learning to play minor scales. These were organized in music books so that the relative minor scale would be placed near its relative major scale. Without delving too deeply into the subject of the types of minor scales, I just want to mention a couple of points about the relative minor key.The relative minor key has the same key signature as its relative major, and it starts on the sixth (6^th) degree (note) of the major scale (or the note 1 1/2 steps below the first note of the major scale). This fact is often vaguely familiar to these same students; although they are not sure of its significance.At this point, you may be asking yourself what all of this has to do with today’s selected song, The Summer Knows. Bear with me a little longer, I’m getting to that. One of the most important aspects of my approach to teaching music theory to my piano students is that I make sure that the theory lesson applies directly to the piece of music that the student is learning. For example, when a student brought in Fur Elise a couple of weeks ago, I showed him how the first part of familiar theme is in the key of A minor and the second part is in its relative major key of C Major.While there are many examples of this relative major/minor key relationship which regularly appear in my students’ repertoires, the opportunities for illustrating the parallel major/minor key relationship are rare. And so at this point we turn to The Summer Knows (Theme from The Summer of ‘42). Not only is this a terrific theory teaching tool, but it’s a marvelous piece of music.French composer, Michel Legrand (b. 1932) has written more than 200 film and television scores as well as several musicals. In addition to his accomplishments as an arranger and conductor, he is also a virtuoso jazz and classical pianist. Legrand’s Academy Award winning score (1971) for the film The Summer of ‘42 is one of his best known especially because of his hit song, The Summer Knows.  Before we take a brief look at the music, I wanted to mention that the words for The Summer Knows were written by one of the most celebrated team of collaborative lyricists, Alan and Marilyn Bergman. In addition to their work with Legrand, they have partnered with composers such as Henry Mancini, Cy Coleman, Marvin Hamlisch and John Williams for many famous and familiar songs that have become part of the American Popular Songbook.What makes The Summer Knows so interesting to me is the relationship between the haunting opening 8 measures in the key of F minor and the following 6 measures in the parallel major key of F Major. The melody is the same, but because the key signature has gone from 4 flats to one flat, the melody now has a brighter sound.There are also a variety of great performances of The Summer Knows by some very well-know jazz artists. Among these, you will find recordings by pianists Bill Evans, Oscar Peterson, George Shearing and Hank Jones. Brass versions come from Freddie Hubbard and Art Farmer while guitarists Joe Pass, Harry Allen and Laurindo Almeida offer their stylistic interpretations.After listening to some of these tracks, you will be able to see why this beautiful example energizes me as a piano teacher. It certainly gives me a great way to illustrate the parallel major/minor key relationship to my students. When a piano student wants to learn to play The Summer Knows, I become inspired and enthusiastic as I use this song to teach her what somehow seems like a vague concept.  Why? Because here she can hear how it sounds as well as see what this looks like in the sheet music.Legrand helps me again with the last 8 bars of the piece as he goes from the key of F Major back to its parallel minor key of F minor. Although I personally find the composer’s 6 measure bridge section with its juxtaposing of A major 7^th to E7 and Ab major 7^th to Eb7 quite interesting and exciting, I usually retrain myself from giving my student too much information.Anyway, here are the two points to remember about the Parallel Minor Key:1.      It starts on the first note of its parallel major scale and has the same letter names as the major scale has.2.      It has a different key signature from its parallel major scale; its key signature comes from its relative major scale.If you want to figure out the key of any piece of music, you will find it helpful to start by identifying the major key by its key signature.Two of the lessons in the Audio Music Theory section of my website will be of help with this. Identifying Key Signatures of Major Keys helps you to learn how to tell what key a song is in. Analysis of a Major Key and Its Parallel Minor Key is for you more advanced piano students. You can make use of this chart which shows the analysis of a major key and its parallel minor key.  Hopefully, I have either introduced you to a new piece to learn or perhaps just dusted off the cobwebs a bit. In either case, although it’s hard to believe, summer’s almost over.Now is the time to schedule your fall piano lesson appointment.Several of your fellow students have already reserved their preferred day and time. With only two weeks remaining before Labor Day, your simple email to scheduling@edmascari.com will start you on the right road to playing the piano better and better.Whether you schedule your fall piano lesson at the Ed Mascari Piano Studio Natick or Hudson location, remember that we’re here to help youLearn to play the music you love!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 25th, 2009 at 4:43 am and is filed under keyboard, music theory, piano lessons, piano playing, summer. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.