Text: Luigi Martino 7/30/02 Apologies !! The schoolmaster would have thrown me out of the class if I told him that C Major mirrored to Ab Major! Ok I threw in Ab and F minor because they are the mirrors of C and A minor. As long as you understood the process up until that point then the traditional theory is covered. I only threw some 'mirror' information in with it because of the way the majors and minors swap over accross the mirror point. I find it fascinating that it exists as it does. It could have been that mirroring a scale led to nowhere, and instead it leads to male/female or major/minor interplay. So consistent is the picture that it still has my attention after thirteen years, and to me I talk about it as a matter of consequence, forgetting that this symmetrical picture is not generally accepted as a 'theory'! C E G = C triad The C triad is built up by moving forward by a major 3rd (C to E) and a minor 3rd (E to G) F Ab C/C E G The mirror triad is that of F Minor which is obtained by reversing the moves that established the C triad, the maj/min 3rd applied in a leftward direction from the central note C. They are partners in that sense, one is a major triad and the other a minor triad. A C E = A minor triad This A minor triad is built up by moving forward by a minor 3rd (A to C) and a major 3rd (C to E). This triad is the relative minor of the C triad, so it is relative to C (by a 5:3 ratio). To find out what this triad's mirror partner is one has to plot down the C Major scale and mirror it. C Db Eb F G Ab Bb C/C D E F G A B C So in the mirror we find that the A note swaps for the Eb note, the C note remains as C, and the E note swaps for the Ab note. A = Eb in the mirror C = C E = Ab Ab C Eb = triad of Ab major. It just so happens that in this mirror key the Ab and F minor triads are in the same proportions as the C and A minor triads on the 'other' side. C to A = 5:3, Ab to F = 5:3. Ab triad = major triad F minor triad = relative minor triad C = major triad A minor = relative minor triad Therefore the mirror side is another major key. And it functions according to the same rules as the C Major key. C/F minor = major triad from this side of mirror linked to relative minor from other side. A minor/Ab = relative kinor from this side linked to major triad of the other side. The way these two keys are interlinked is more than coincidence I feel. From the assumption that mirroring a scale could lead to anywhere, any caotic scale that has no semblance of structure, I am instead in awe regarding the way these groups of frequencies relate to each other. The triads swap from major to minor, and so do the scales themselves (C Major becomes C Phrygian mode, a minor scale). I wouldn't be surprised, then, if notes too had major/minor or male/female qualities in the relative positions they find themselves within scales or triads. Love lui

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