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Ramsay - The New Notes of New Keys and their Service

it is changed from being the top of the dominant major to being the root of the minor subdominant, and levity becomes gravity in it.
     The various raisings and lowerings of notes in advancing keys, major and minor. - In each fifth of the majors ascending the top of the dominant is raised a comma. A40 in the key of C becomes A40 1/2 in the key of G; E60 in the scale of G is E60 3/4 in the scale of D; B90 in the scale of D is B91 1/8 in the scale of A. This alteration of the top of the dominant major goes on through all the twelve scales. Similarly, by the Law of Duality, each fifth in the minors descending has the root of the subdominant lowered a comma. D54 in the key of E minor is D53 1/2 in the key of A; G72 in the scale of A is G71 1/9 in the scale of D; C48 in the scale of D is C47 11/27 in the scale of G. This alteration of the root of the subdominant goes on through all the twelve minor scales.
     In just such a manner, only by more obvious leaps, the middle of the dominant in the advancing major scales is raised a sharp - i.e., four commas. When D27, the dominant top of the key of C, is multiplied by 5, it generates F#135; so, taking it one octave lower, F64 in C major is F#67 1/2 in the key of G. C96 in the key of G is C#101 1/4 in the key of D; G72 in the key of D is G#151 7/8 in the key of A. And this raising of the middle of the dominant goes on through all the twelve major keys.
     In the same way, but inversely, and still under the Law of Duality, the middle of the subdominant minor is lowered a flat. F#67 1/2 in the key of E minor is F64 in the key of A; B45 in the key of A is B?42 2/3 in the key of D; E60 in the key of D is E?56 8/9 in the key of G. This lowering by flats of the subdominant middle in the minors, responsive to the raising by sharps of the dominant middle in the majors, goes on through all the twelve minor keys.1
     The service of altered notes in advancing keys. - It is to be noted that F# generated by the power of 5 serves in three keys - G, D, and A. When next altered it is by the power of 3, and is F#; it in this form serves in four keys - E, B, F#, and C#. It is then altered again and becomes, by the power of 5, F#,#, and serves in three keys as before - G#, D#, and A#; and


1 See all this illustrated in Plate VIII.

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Created by Dale Pond. Last Modification: Thursday November 5, 2020 05:40:20 MST by Dale Pond.