Scale (music)
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In music, a scale is a set of musical notes in order by pitch, either ascending or descending.
A scale is contrasted with a musical mode in one of two ways:
- as a pattern of notes or pitches regardless of tonic or other notes' importance, as opposed to a scale with a tonic and possible frame
- as an ordered collection of notes or pitches, as opposed to a series of intervals, which is a musical mode.
Each note in a scale is referred to as a scale degree. Though the scales from musical traditions around the world are often quite different, the pitches of the notes in any given scale are usually related by mathematical rules.
Scales may be described according to the intervals they contain, for example
or by the number of different pitch classes they contain:
- most common: pentatonic, hexatonic, heptatonic or five, six, and seven tone scales, respectively.
- used in prehistoric music: ditonic or two, tritonic or three, tetratonic or four
- in modern classical music: octatonic or eight.
Scales are often abstracted from performance or composition, though they are often used precompositionally to guide or limit a composition. One or more scales may be used in a composition, such as in Claude Debussy's L'Isle Joyeuse.
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Scales in Western music
Scales in traditional Western music generally consist of seven notes, made up of a root note and six other scale degrees whose pitches lie between the root and the root's first octave. Notes in the commonly used scales (see just below) are separated by whole and half step intervals of tones and semitones (the harmonic minor scale including a three-semitone interval; the pentatonic including two of these).
There are a number of different types of scales used commonly in Western music, including:
- The major scale (seven notes)
- The minor scale (seven notes)
- The chromatic scale (twelve notes)
- The modal scales (seven notes)
- The whole tone scale (six notes)
- The pentatonic scale (five notes)
Synthetic scales:
- The diminished scales (also known as octatonic)
- The altered scale
- The Phrygian dominant scale (also called "Spanish" or "Jewish")
- The Arabic scale
- The psychoacoustical scales
Scale degrees
A scale degree is a numeric position of a note within a scale ordered by increasing pitch. The simplest system is to name each degree after its numerical position in the scale, for example: the first, the fourth. Because intervals are inclusive, a fifth describes a note which is four notes after the tonic.
Major scales have seven notes which are named, in order: tonic, supertonic, mediant, subdominant, dominant, submediant, leading-tone (or leading-note). Also commonly used is the "movable do" solfege naming convention in which each scale degree is given a syllable. In the major scale, the solfege syllables are: Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti (or Si), Do (or Ut).
On the Origin of Scales
A current viewpoint indicates tonal scales and tonality arise from overtones and can be found at http://www.greenwych.ca/natbasis.htm and also in the 2004 book: "On the Origin of Music" by Bob Fink (Greenwich Publ., Canada). The theory is called the "trio theory," claiming that influence from the most audible overtones of the three most nearly universal intervals (found across time & cultures, namely, a tone's octave, 4th and 5th), when their overtones are placed within the range of that octave, will evolve into the most widespread of scales: Pentatonic, major & minor (depending how many of the audible overtones are so placed). The unequal audibile strengths of the overtones determine the role & power of each note in a scale (tonic, dominant or subdominant) -- i.e., tonality and tonal scales. See musical acoustics.
Non-Western scales
In traditional Western music, scale degrees are most often separated by equally tempered tones or semitones, creating at most, twelve pitches. Many other musical traditions employ scales that include other intervals or a different number of pitches. In the middle eastern Hejaz scale, there are some intervals of three semitones. Gamelan music uses a small variety of scales including Pélog and Sléndro, none including equally tempered intervals. Ragas in Indian classical music often employ intervals smaller than a semitone (Callow & Sheperd, 1972; Jhairazbhoy & Stone, 1963). Arab music maqams may use quarter tone intervals (Zonis, 1973). In both ragas and maqams, the distance between a note and an inflection (e.g., shruti) of that same note may be less than a semitone.
Microtonal scales
The term microtonal music usually refers to music with roots in traditional Western music that employs non-standard scales or scale intervals. The composer Harry Partch made custom musical instruments to play compositions that employed a 43-note scale system, and the American jazz vibraphonist Emil Richards experimented with such scales in his 'Microtonal Blues Band' in the 1970s. John Cage, the American experimental composer also created works for prepared piano which use varied, sometimes random, scales. Microtonal scales are also used in traditional Indian Raga music, which has a variety of modes which are used not only as modes or scales but also as defining elements of the song, or raga.
Jazz and blues
Through the introduction of blue notes, jazz and blues employ scale intervals smaller than a semitone. See also: jazz scales. The blue note is an interval that is technically neither major or minor but 'in-between', giving it a characteristic flavour. For instance, in the key of E, the blue note would be either, a note between G and G# or a note moving between both. In blues a pentatonic scale is often used. In jazz many different modes and scales are used, often within the same piece of music. Chromatic scales are common, especially in modern jazz.
Chords
The notes in a chord are usually a subset of a particular scale, in the common practice period being built upward by thirds from a particular scale degree. Thus in a C major scale: CDEFGAB, a chord built on C is the notes CEG.
Patterns
Patterns like repetitive licks, or melodic patterns are made from taking bits and pieces of scale patterns and improvising.
Psychoacoustical scales
The bark scale and the mel scale are two psychoacoustical scales.
Source
- Burns, Edward M. (1999). "Intervals, Scales, and Tuning", The Psychology of Music second edition. Deutsch, Diana, ed. San Diego: Academic Press. ISBN 0122135644.
- Zonis, E. (1973). Classical Persian music: An Introduction. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
External links
- http://musicianswiki.com/index.php/scales Lots of scales (including exotic ones) with midi examples.
- http://www.skytopia.com/project/scale.html
- Online Guitar Scale Diagrams
- http://home.austin.rr.com/jmjensen/musicTheory.html
- http://www.greenwych.ca/natbasis.htm (Evolution of Scales)
- http://www.greenwych.ca/cycl-5-2.htm (7-Note Solution -- why history & archaeologists turns up so many 5 and 7 note scales)
- http://www.greenwych.ca/fl-compl.htm (Oldest known "Neanderthal flute" plays do-re-mi-fa scalenotes.)
- http://www.guitarrevelations.com/index.htm
- http://www.banjolin.co.uk/modes/scales.htm (Modes and Scales for Traditional Music)