E-flat Major & Minor Pentascales

Hello and welcome back. I'm Joseph Hoffman. Today we have two new black key pentascales to learn. Today it's E-flat major and minor let's come to the piano to get started. Now do you remember that secret hand sign I taught you for remembering the major pentascale? Let's make it. Here's the hand sign. Remember it's DO RE MI FA SO This shows you there's a half step here, but there's a whole step between DO and RE, whole step between RE and MI, half step, whole step. I can use this to figure out any major pentascale starting on any key including the black keys. So let's try it today. Today we're going to learn E-flat major. So, first we need to find an E-flat. Can you point to an E-flat somewhere in this area. If you're pointing here you're correct. We take E, we lower it a half step for E-flat. Now, we can use the hand sign to figure out the other keys. Today DO is on E-flat so where does that put RE? Well from our hand sign we know that RE is a whole step above DO, so we have to skip exactly one key, white or black. So point to a whole step above E-flat. If you're pointing here you're correct. We skipped over this key so this DO RE that makes a whole step. Now RE to MI is also a whole step, so we have to skip exactly one key, white or black. Point to a whole step above RE. If you're pointing here you're correct. So this makes DO RE MI Now we're up to MI. Here we get our half step so point to a half step step above this G. If you're pointing here you're correct. And we'll call this A-flat. Why wouldn't we call it G-sharp? Well we already have a G, and we don't want to be G, G-sharp. That's a little awkward so we call it G A-flat, try to use each letter once. So now we have E-flat F G A-flat Back to our hand sign we get one more whole step to finish out the pentascale. Where's a whole step above A-flat? Point to it. If you're pointing here you're correct, and that is B-flat. So let's name all of these keys that build our E-flat major pentascale. E-flat F G A-flat B-flat Now can you name them stepping down by yourself? Go, name them. The correct answer is B-flat A-flat G F E-flat Let's try to play. Remember to play any black key pentascale, you've got to move your hand deeper into the keys. So your finger 1 can comfortably reach. DO RE MI FA SO Now your turn. Let's try stepping down SO FA MI RE DO Your turn. Good now let's try the left hand. With your left hand can you find the E-flat major pentascale? Finger 5 starts on E-flat, then two white keys, then two black keys. This time let's name the letter names: E-flat F G A-flat B flat. Your turn. Now let's step down: B-flat A-flat G F E-flat Your turn. Now I'd like you to pause the video and find four different places on your piano that you can play the E-flat major pentascale stepping up, stepping down. Be sure to use your right hand and your left hand four different places, then press play to go on. Now I like to think of the E-flat major pentascale as a double stuff Oreo cookie. Remember we talked about the D-flat major pentascale being an Oreo cookie position? Black cookie on the bottom, but this time we have double stuff icing or cream in the middle. The white cream, and then extra black cookie on the top. So a double stuff Oreo for the E-flat major. That's just a fun way to remember this position. Now what if we wanted to make this E-flat minor? Can you point to which key we would need to change? If you're pointing here you're correct. It's always MI that has to go down a half step to ME. So G becomes G-flat. So now can you name these notes? Say it with me: E-flat F G-flat A-flat B-flat Don't fall off. Now let's try to play it. With your right hand can you cover the E-flat minor pentascale? Remember now there's just one white key in the middle and then three black keys on top. E-flat black key all by itself on the bottom. So it's black, white, black, black, black. DO RE ME FA SO Now your turn. Now let's try it with the left hand. Find the E-flat minor pentascale: black, white, black, black, black. DO RE ME FA SO Your turn. Now let's see what these pentascales look like on the staff. So let's figure out how we would draw the E-flat major pentascale on the staff. Here's what the pentascale looks like on the piano keys. Can you point to which of these notes would need a flat on the staff? Let's start at the left. We need one right here for this e which has become E-flat. Remember even though we say E-flat, we put the flat in front of the E. That warns you as you're playing that it's going to be a black key. In most cases that is. We know about a few flats where it becomes a white key. But in this case we've got E-flat, and point to the next note that we'll need a flat. If you're pointing here you're correct this a needs A-flat. So we put that flat in front of it. Remember from our website you can get a worksheet where you can practice drawing this pentascale. And where's the last one that needs a flat? We'd also need one for B-flat right up here at the top of the pentascale. Can you name these notes with me? Let's say their names. E-flat F G A-flat B-flat. Now what if we wanted to make this E-flat minor? Can you point to which of these notes we should change on the keyboard? If you're pointing here you're ...