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5.2.2 Curved Arrows and the Tonal Center In Music
Recall the pattern of curved arrows near the end of Chapter 4, representing the dynamic relationships among the tones that make up the “do-re-mi” major scale. That pattern of curved arrows does not apply to this new scale because the all-important tonal center does not have the same "gravitational" attraction.
Suppose you were to play all the white keys starting with E, like this:
E – F – G – A – B – C – D – E.
Now the pattern shifts to:
Again, it’s the diatonic order: five tones and two semitones, all spaced the same way. But again, with a different tonal centre, this scale sounds different from both the C-based scale and the D-based scale. The E-based scale sounds Spanish. Or maybe Middle Eastern.