Note Names

Where the oval or head of the note is on the staff of five (with the ability to extend for higher or lower notes) parallel lines determines the note – how high or how low. referred to using the letters A, B, C, D, E, F, G for the natural notes. Because sound is about vibration and frequency of waves, only the first seven letters of the alphabet are used and then you start with A again for the next “octave.” We say that notes with the same name are an octave apart. Between the notes named by the letters are the sharp (A♯) – half-step higher – notes and flats (B♭) – half-step lower notes. A chromatic scale with all the notes in the span of an octave, there would be: C, C♯, D, D♯, E, F, F♯, G, G♯, A, A♯, B. Certain notes can be identified as flat or sharp: A♯ = B♭,  C♯ = D♭, D♯ = E♭, F♯ = G♭, G♯ = A♭. There is a bit more explanation of this in Clefs and Keys. The basic Yntunzy deck does not have sharps or flats. There are expander packs for sharps and flats for all suits.

Clef and Keys

G or treble clef is the most common. It is part of the writing that defines the notes on the staff. Yntunzy primarily uses the treble clef with an expander pack for the F  or bass clef ( ) where the notes are lower. F clef is used to write music for bass voices and lower instruments.

Music refers to the “key” of a scale based on the chosen low note and how many notes are sharp or flat in the scale. Music compositions traditionally start with a key that tells what notes are assumed to be natural, sharp or flat in the piece unless otherwise indicated. The key can have a significant effect on the mood of a piece.

Yntunzy starts with a scale in C-major which is the notes C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C. All the intervals and chords in the basic deck use these notes. You can get an expander pack of sharps and flats to swap cards and play in the keys of F (1 flat), B♭ (2 flats), E♭ (3 flats), A♭ (4 flats), D♭ (5 flats), G (1 sharp), D (2 sharps), A (3 sharps), E (4 sharps), B (5 sharps.) All the games can be played the same way in any key. Instructions for adapting the deck are included in the expander pack.

Intervals and chords:

Because of the nature of sound, when two notes are played at the same time, it can create different qualities of sound. In musical language, people have given names to the distance between two notes (such as A – C# or D – F, etc) called intervals. The names of the intervals are:

Chords consist of playing more than two notes at a time, generally three or four. Certain combinations of notes are given names based on the lowest note of the combination and the intervals between the notes. Other note combinations can be played however they are not considered part of the “standard” chords. The chords are indicated on the jokers that come with the Yntunzy cards.

Here are the chords that are used for games with the basic deck of Yntunzy cards:

The Yntunzy cards expander pack with sharps and flats provides cards to play in 10 additional keys. The keys and the chords for those keys are provided on the jokers that come with the expansion pack.

Here are the cards that are used when playing in other keys:

G major/E minor – rest, C, D, E, F#, G, A, B, C, D, Major 7th, G Major, F# minor 7th flat 5, perfect 5^th, D major, C Major 7^th, perfect 4^th, E minor, D dominant 7^th, Major 2^nd, F# diminished, E minor 7^th.

D major/B minor – rest, C#, D, E, F#, G, A, B, C#, D, minor 7th, G Major, F# minor 7^th, perfect 5^th, D major, C# minor 7th flat 5, perfect 4^th, E minor, D Major 7^th, Major 2^nd, F# minor, E minor 7^th.

A major/F# minor – rest, C#, D, E, F#, G#, A, B, C#, D, minor 7th, G# diminished, F# minor 7^th, perfect 5^th, D major, C# minor 7th, augmented 4^th, E Major, D Major 7^th, Major 2^nd, F# minor, E dominant 7^th.

E major/C# minor – rest, C#, D#, E, F#, G#, A, B, C#, D, minor 7th, G# minor, F# minor 7^th, perfect 5^th, D# diminished, C# minor 7^th, perfect 4^th, E Major, D# minor 7^th flat 5, minor 2^nd, F# minor, E Major 7^th.

B major/G# minor – rest, C#, D#, E, F#, G#, A#, B, C#, D, minor 7th, G# minor, F# dominant 7^th, perfect 5^th, D# minor, C# minor 7^th, perfect 4^th, E Major, D# minor 7th, minor 2^nd, F# Major, E Major 7^th.

(E# and B# are rarely used and not included in the expansion deck so the keys of F# major and C# major are not possible.)

D minor/F major– rest, C, D, E, F, G, A, B♭, C, D, minor 7th, G minor, F Major 7th, diminished 5^th, D minor, C dominant 7^th, perfect 4^th, E diminished, D minor 7^th, Major 2^nd, F Major, E minor 7^th flat 5.

G minor/B♭ minor – rest, C, D, E♭, F, G, A, B♭, C, D, minor 7th, G minor, F dominant 7th, perfect 5^th, D minor, C minor 7^th, perfect 4^th, E♭ Major, D minor 7^th, minor 2^nd, F Major, E♭ Major 7^th.

C minor/E♭ major– rest, C, D, E♭, F, G, A♭, B♭, C, D, minor 7th, G minor, F minor 7^th, perfect 5^th, D diminished, C minor 7^th, perfect 4^th, E♭ Major, D minor 7^th flat 5, minor 2^nd, F minor, E♭ Major 7^th.

F minor/A♭ major – rest, C, D♭, E♭, F, G, A♭, B♭, C, D, minor 7th, G diminished, F minor 7^th, perfect 5^th, D♭ Major, C minor 7^th, augmented fourth, E♭ Major, D♭ Major 7^th, Major 2^nd, F minor, E♭ dominant 7^th.

B♭ minor/D♭ major – rest, C, D♭, E♭, F, G♭, A♭, B♭, C, D, minor 7th, G♭ Major, F minor 7^th, perfect 5^th, D♭ Major, C minor 7^th flat 5, perfect fourth, E♭ minor, D♭ Major 7^th, Major 2^nd, F minor, E♭ minor 7^th.

(C♭ and F♭ are rarely used and not included in the expansion deck so the keys of E♭ minor and A♭ minor are not possible.)

You can play all the same games with the decks in different keys because you still have 52 cards with four suits. Remember to use the jokers to tell you which chords count for melds in rummy and other games.

Here are some websites that provide more information about intervals and chords:

https://www.musictheory.net/calculators/interval

https://www.scales-chords.com/chord-namer/?notes=C%23;D%23;F%23;A%23&key=&bass=D%23