AP Music Theory - Unit 2 - Minor Scales, Key Signatures, Intervals, and Timbre

Sep 30, 2026

Study guide for AP Music Theory Unit 2, focused on music fundamentals and how to read and classify pitch materials. Covers natural, harmonic, and melodic minor scales, plus minor pentatonic, and explains key relationships including parallel, relative, closely related, and distantly related keys. Introduces additional scale types such as chromatic, whole-tone, and pentatonic scales. Reviews major, minor, augmented, diminished intervals and interval inversions, then connects these ideas to timbre, melodic contour, melodic movement, and melodic range.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages8

Reading Time20 min

AccessFree to download

Minor Scales

Natural Minor

Harmonic Minor

Melodic Minor

Minor Pentatonic

Key Relationships

Parallel Keys

Relative Keys

Closely Related Keys

Distantly Related Keys

Other Scales

Chromatic Scale

Whole-Tone Scale

Pentatonic Scale

Intervals

Major Intervals

Minor Intervals

Augmented Intervals

Diminished Intervals

Interval Inversions

Transposing Instruments

Timbre and Melodic Features

Timbre

Melodic Features (Contour, Movement, Range)

Melodic Transposition

AP Music Theory: Unit 2 From Simple Studies, [https://simplestudies.edublogs.org](https://simplestudies.edublogs.org & @simplestudiesinc on Instagram)[ ](https://simplestudies.edublogs.org & @simplestudiesinc on Instagram)[& @simplestudiesinc on Instagram](https://simplestudies.edublogs.org & @simplestudiesinc on Instagram) Music Fundamentals II: Minor Scales and Key Signatures, Melody, Timbre, and Texture Minor Scales ● Natural Minor ○ No accidentals are changed from the relative minor’s key signature ○ Scale Pattern: W H W W H W W (W=whole note; H=half note) ○ Solfege: Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Ti Do ○ Scale Degrees: 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7 8 ● Harmonic Minor ○ The seventh scale degree is raised (it becomes the leading tone) ○ Scale Pattern: W H W W H m3 H ○ Solfege: Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Ti Do ○ Scale Degrees: 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 7 8 ● Melodic Minor ○ Ascending: the sixth and seventh degrees are raised ○ Descending: it becomes natural minor (meaning that the sixth and seventh degrees are no longer raised) ○ Scale Pattern (Ascending): W H W W W W H ○ Solfege (Ascending): Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Ti Do ○ Solfege (Descending): Do Te Le Sol Fa Mi Re Do ○ Scale Degrees (Ascending): 1 2 b3 4 5 6 7 8 ● Minor Pentatonic Scale ○ 5-note minor scale (made of the 5 diatonic pitches) ○ Scale Pattern: m3 W W m3 W ○ Solfege: Do Mi Fa Sol Te Do ○ Scale Degrees 1 b3 4 5 b7 8 Key Relationships ● Parallel Keys ○ Keys that share a tonic ○ One major and one minor ■ Example: d minor and D major are parallel keys because they share the same tonic (D) ● Relative Keys ○ Keys that share a key signature (but have different tonics) ■ Example: a minor and C major are relative keys (since they both don’t have any sharps or flats) ● Closely Related Keys ○ Keys that differ from each other by at most one sharp or one flat ○ Every key has 5 closely related keys ○ There are 2 ways to find closely related keys Image is [from LearnMusicTheory.net](from LearnMusicTheory.net) ● Distantly Related Keys ○ Any key that is not enharmonic, parallel, relative or closely-related ■ Example: E minor and Bb major are distantly related keys Other Scales ● Chromatic Scale ○ 12 note scale (in other words, this scale covers all 12 available pitches) ○ Each note is a semitone away from each other ■ Example: The C chromatic scale has the following notes: C, C\#, D, D\#, E, F, F\#, G, G\#, A, A\#, B, C ● Whole-Tone Scale ○ Each note on this scale is one whole note away ■ Example: The C whole-tone scale has the following notes: C, D, E, F\#, G\#, A\#, C ● Pentatonic Scale ○ 5 note scale (for major pentatonic-the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 6th notes in a major scale) ■ Example: The C pentatonic scale has the following notes: C, D, E, G, A ○ For minor pentatonic, see above under “Minor Scales” Major Intervals ● “Major” and “Perfect” are used to label an interval’s quality. ○ Seconds, thirds, sixths, and sevenths have a major quality. ○ Fourths, fifths, and eighths have perfect quality. ● Major Second ○ Made up of two half steps ○ Example: C to D ● Major Third ○ Made up of four half steps ○ Example: C to E ● Perfect Fourth ○ Made up of five half steps ○ Example: C to F ● Perfect Fifth ○ Made up of seven half steps ○ Example: C to G ● Major Sixth ○ Made up of nine half steps ○ Example: C to A ● Major Seventh ○ Made up of eleven half steps ○ Example: C to B ● Perfect Eighth (Perfect Octave) ○ Made up of twelve half steps ○ Example: C to C Minor Intervals Minor intervals are one less half step than major intervals. ● Example: C to E is a major third (4 half steps), making C to Eb is a minor third (3 half steps) . Augmented Intervals Augmented intervals are one more half step than perfect intervals/major intervals. ● Example: C to F is a perfect fourth (5 half steps), making C to F\# an augmented fourth (6 half steps) . Diminished Intervals Dim

FAQs

What distinguishes natural, harmonic, and melodic minor scales in Unit 2?

Natural minor keeps the same accidentals as the relative minor and follows the W H W W H W W pattern. Harmonic minor raises the seventh degree to create a leading tone. Melodic minor raises the sixth and seventh degrees when ascending, and returns to natural minor when descending.

How do parallel and relative keys differ?

Parallel keys share the same tonic but one is major and the other is minor. Relative keys share the same key signature but have different tonics.

How are major, minor, augmented, and diminished intervals related to half-step counts?

Major and perfect interval qualities correspond to specific half-step totals (major seconds/thirds/sixths/sevenths and perfect fourths/fifths/octaves). Minor intervals are one half step smaller than major intervals, augmented intervals are one half step larger than major or perfect intervals, and diminished intervals are one half step smaller than perfect or minor intervals.

Sep 30, 2026

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