Chaptertwo 190116131749
Chaptertwo 190116131749
Chapter Two
Music Scale theory
What is a scale?
The easiest way to explain scales is like a collection of notes that of a musical reason have been
grouped together. The benefit of knowing scales in music is that you know how to orient
yourself among notes.
Fundamentals
In many cases a scale consists of seven notes – this is the case of the major and minor scales. The
scales are also octave-repeating which means the pattern of notes is the same regardless if you
play a scale on the left, the middle or the right side of the keyboard.
On a full scale piano, there is a total of 88 keys, but there are only twelve different notes which
are repeated from low to high tones, from the base to the treble.
In the illustration above, you can see twelve tones that make one octave and these notes also
form a Chromatic Scale). One important thing is that C# is sometimes written Db; D# is
sometimes written Eb and so on. These are called enharmonic notes and how they are written
depends on the key they belong to. The symbols after the letter (accidentals) are known
as sharps and flats. C# is spelled "C sharp" and Db is spelled "D flat". This is of course only
theory, but is nevertheless good to know about.
And now look at the F major scale:
Changing keys
Music pieces are written in a certain key, like Brandenburg Concerto No 1 in F Major by J.S.
Bach. It would be feasible to re-arrange this concerto to another key, like for example D Major.
It would still be the same to a large extent, but the timbre would be different.
Tonality
Most songs start and end with the same tone which is the first note, or tonic, in the scale. Then
you play notes from a scale you could hear that the music seems to gravitate towards the first
note, it is like some tension is left until you have reached that first note. This phenomenon is
called tonality.
Intervals
Intervals in music describe the distance between two notes. The most common intervals are:
prime, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and octave. See these intervals illustrated below:
Intervals can also be used to describe the structure of a scale category. For example, the Major
Scale can be written like: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and the Natural Minor can be written like: 1, 2, b3, 4,
5, b6, b7, referring to the intervals.
Steps
Another way to describe the structure of a scale is with the word steps which refer to the distance
between notes. The most often used terms are half steps and whole steps. Between C and C# it is
one half step and between C and D it is one whole step.
In the scale overviews on this site you will see "semi- notes" (equivalent to half steps) and
"formulas" used also to describe the scales. It is mainly the same thing only described in
different ways. For the Major Scale this will look like: 2 - 2 - 1 - 2 - 2 - 2 - 1 (semi-notes) and
Whole, Whole, Half, Whole, Whole, Whole, Half (formula).
Types of Scale
1. Chromatic Scales
2. Diatonic Major Scale
3. Diatonic Minor Scales
4. Blues Scales
5. Diminished Scales
6. Pentatonic Scales
7. Whole Tone Scales
Chromatic Scales
What is a Chromatic Scale?
A chromatic scale consists of all the 8 tones in the do-re-mi scale plus all the additional half-
tones that are left out when you sing do-re-mi.
In other words, the 12 tones in a chromatic scale are a half-step or semi-tone apart.
The word "chromatic" comes from the Greek word chroma meaning "color." The chromatic
scale consists of 12 notes each a half step apart. It is from the chromatic scale that every other
scale or chord in most Western music is derived. We will take the C chromatic scale as an
example: C Chromatic Scale as you go up: C C# D D# E F F# G G# A A# B C
C Chromatic Scale as you go down: C B Bb A Ab G Gb F E Eb D Db C
C#/Db: C#, Eb, E, F#, G#, A# (A), C (B), C# C#/Db: C#, D#, E, F#, G#, A, B, C#
D#/Eb: D#, F, F#, G#, A#, C (B), D (C#), D# D#/Eb: D#, F, F#, G#, A#, B, C#, D#
F#/Gb: F#, G#, A, B, C#, Eb (D), F (E), F# F#/Gb: F#, G#, A, B, C#, D, E, F#
G#/Ab: G#, A#, B, C#, Eb, F (E), G (F#), G# G#/Ab: G#, A#, B, C#, D#, E, F#, G#
A: A, B, C, D, E, F# (F), G# (G), A A: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, A
A#/Bb: A#, C, C#, Eb, F, G (F#), A (G#), A# A#/Bb: A#, C, C#, D#, F, F#, G#, A#
Blues Scales
Adding a”blue note” to the regular pentatonic scale gives the Pentatonic Blues Scale. These
scales are for obvious reasons perfect when playing blues on the piano. The "Major Blues Scale"
is some less common than the "Minor Blues Scale", and therefore we start with minor and you
find the major by scrolling down. The blues originate from a mix of different sources in music,
so there is no satisfying explanation in theoretical terms about this scale. But the most important
thing is of course how it sounds when you are using it.
Diminished Scale
The Diminished Scale consists of eight notes, and therefore belongs to the category of
octatonic scales. The name is derived from the fact that the scale is built upon two
diminished seven chords. The scale is not very common, but sometimes used in jazz music
primarily. See also the Dominant Diminished Scale. The diminished scale is also referred to
as the Whole-half diminished scale due to the fact it is constructed by every second whole
and half steps (notice also that it is a symmetrical scale). It must not be confused with
the Diminished Whole Tone Scale (Altered Scale a.k.a. Super Locrian) .
Interval: 1, b2, b3, 3, b5, b6, b7
Semi-notes: 2 - 1 - 2 - 1 - 2 - 1 - 2 - 1
Formula: Whole, Half, Whole, Half, Whole, Half, Whole, Half
C: C, D, Eb, F, Gb, Ab, A, B, C
C#/Db: C#, D#, E, F#, G, A, Bb, C, C#
D: D, E, F, G, Ab, Bb, B, C#, D
D#/Eb: D#, F, F#, G#, A, B, C, D, D#
E: E, F#, G, A, Bb, C, C#, D#, E
F: F, G, Ab, Bb, B, C#, D, E, F
F#/Gb: F#, G#, A, B, C, D, D#, F, F#
G: G, A, Bb, C, C#, D#, E, F#, G
G#/Ab: G#, A#, B, Db, D, E, F, G, G#
A: A, B, C, D, Eb, F, Gb, Ab, A
A#/Bb: A#, C, Db, Eb, E, Gb, G, A, A#
B: B, C#, D, E, F, G, Ab, Bb, B
Dominant Diminished Scales overview
The Dominant Diminished Scale consists of eight notes, and therefore belongs to the category of
octatonic scales. It is also a so-called symmetrical scale since the intervals are consistent. The
formula is half tone, whole tone throughout the scale, hence the reason it is sometimes called the
Half-tone/Whole-tone Scale
pentatonic scales are especially common in traditional folk music, county and gospel. Here are
Interval: 1, 2, 3, 5, 6
Semi-notes: 2 - 2 - 3 - 2 - 3
Formula: Whole, Whole, Whole and a half, Whole, Whole and a half