The Quiz: What does a major scale have that a minor scale does not?
Middle C
A major third
Quarter notes
Flats
A major scale always has a major third, and a minor scale does not. Though it doesn’t sound like much, the simple shift can change the whole feeling of a piece of music. Without the uplifting major third, minor scales generally take on a more somber tone. Any note can be added to a minor scale to increase the tension in the piece as long as a major third is excluded.
The correct answer to this quiz is A major third.