Here is an example of both a major and minor scale. Just to give you a quick idea of the differences in character, listen to them in context. Click Here Ex. In the 17 th and 18 th centuries specific keys had very specific emotional associations and composers would choose keys in order to exploit this. The key of c minor was associated with grandeur and solemnity.
Scales are hierarchical , with each tone having a certain rank in the overall pecking order.
Your ear gravitated to a certain pitch as a logical conclusion to what you had heard. Deceptive cadences are about as easy to locate as a daisy in a summer field. Try to find a couple in the music you like to listen to. There is one, for example, in the Suzanne Vega song, Luka . Again, you were expecting a resolution because the leading tone tends to draw the ear to the following tonic pitch.