Degrees of a scale

Question	Answer
Tonic	The note upon which a scale or key is based; the first note of a scale or key; the keynote.
Supertonic	That tone that is one step above the tonic of a key. See more about modern scale construction in the Appendix.
Mediant	The third note (degree) of the scale, so called because of its position halfway between the tonic and dominant. See more about modern scale construction in the Appendix.
Subdominant	That tone that is one step below the dominant of a key. See more about modern scale construction in the Appendix.
Dominant	The fifth tone of a scale.
Submediant	That tone which is positioned as far below the tonic as the mediant is above the tonic, e.g., the sixth step of the scale, the superdominant. See more about modern scale construction in the Appendix.
Leading Note	Also called "leading tone"; the major seventh of a scale, so called because it lies a semitone below the tonic and "leads" towards it.

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	Created by 13052 over 8 years ago