Scale ( music ) - wikipedia Scale ( music ) For psychoacoustic scale, see bark scale and mel scale. Ascending and descending chromatic scale Play ( help info ) Pattern of intervals in the C - major scale Play ( help info ) In music theory, a scale is any set of musical notes ordered by fundamental frequency or pitch. A scale ordered by increasing pitch is an ascending scale, and a scale ordered by decreasing pitch is a descending scale. Some scales contain different pitches when ascending than when descending, for example, the melodic minor scale. Often, especially in the context of the common practice period, most or all of the melody and harmony of a musical work is built using the notes of a single scale, which can be conveniently represented on a staff with a standard key signature. Due to the principle of octave equivalence, scales are generally considered to span a single octave, with higher or lower octaves simply repeating the pattern. A musical scale represents a division of the octave space into a certain number of scale steps, a scale step being the recognizable distance ( or interval ) between two successive notes of the scale. However, there is no need for scale steps to be equal within any scale and, particularly as demonstrated by microtonal music, there is no limit to how many notes can be injected within any given musical interval. A measure of the width of each scale step provides a method to classify scales. For instance, in a chromatic scale each scale step represents a semitone interval, while a major scale is defined by the interval pattern T -- T -- S -- T -- T -- T -- S, where T stands for whole tone ( an interval spanning two semitones ), and S stands for semitone. Based on their interval patterns, scales are put into categories including diatonic, chromatic, major, minor, and others. A specific scale is defined by its characteristic interval pattern and by a special note, known as its first degree ( or tonic ). The tonic of a scale is the note selected as the beginning of the octave, and therefore as the beginning of the adopted interval pattern. Typically, the name of the scale specifies both its tonic and its interval pattern. For example, C major indicates a major scale with a C tonic. Contents 1 Background 1.1 Scales, steps, and intervals 1.2 Pitch 1.3 Types of scale 1.4 Harmonic content 1.5 Scales in composition 2 Western music 3 Note names 4 Transposition and modulation 5 Jazz and blues 6 Non-Western scales 6.1 Equally tempered 6.2 Other 6.3 Intra-scale intervals 7 Microtonal scales 8 See also 9 References 10 Further reading 11 External links Background Scales, steps, and intervals Diatonic scale in the chromatic circle Scales are typically listed from low to high pitch. Most scales are octave - repeating, meaning their pattern of notes is the same in every octave ( the Bohlen -- Pierce scale is one exception ). An octave - repeating scale can be represented as a circular arrangement of pitch classes, ordered by increasing ( or decreasing ) pitch class. For instance, the increasing C major scale is C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- A -- B -- ( C ), with the bracket indicating that the last note is an octave higher than the first note, and the decreasing C major scale is C -- B -- A -- G -- F -- E -- D -- ( C ), with the bracket indicating an octave lower than the first note in the scale. The distance between two successive notes in a scale is called a scale step. The notes of a scale are numbered by their steps from the root of the scale. For example, in a C major scale the first note is C, the second D, the third E and so on. Two notes can also be numbered in relation to each other : C and E create an interval of a third ( in this case a major third ) ; D and F also create a third ( in this case a minor third ). Pitch A single scale can be manifested at many different pitch levels. For example, a C major scale can be started at C4 ( middle C ; see scientific pitch notation ) and ascending an octave to C5 ; or it could be started at C6, ascending an octave to C7. As long as all the notes can be played, the octave they take on can be altered. Types of scale Scales may be described according to the number of different pitch classes they contain : Chromatic, or dodecatonic ( 12 notes per octave ) Octatonic ( 8 notes per octave ) : used in jazz and modern classical music Heptatonic ( 7 notes per octave ) : the most common modern Western scale Hexatonic ( 6 notes per octave ) : common in Western folk music Pentatonic ( 5 notes per octave ) : the anhemitonic form ( lacking semitones ) is common in folk music, especially in oriental music ; also known as the `` black note '' scale Tetratonic ( 4 notes ), tritonic ( 3 notes ), and ditonic ( 2 notes ) : generally limited to prehistoric ( `` primitive '' ) music Monotonic ( 1 note ) : limited use in liturgy, and for effect in modern art music Scales may also be described by their constituent intervals, such as being hemitonic, cohemitonic, or having imperfections. Many music theorists concur that the constituent intervals of a scale have a large role in the cognitive perception of its sonority, or tonal character. `` The number of the notes that make up a scale as well as the quality of the intervals between successive notes of the scale help to give the music of a culture area its peculiar sound quality. '' `` The pitch distances or intervals among the notes of a scale tell us more about the sound of the music than does the mere number of tones. '' Scales may also be described by their symmetry, such as being palindromic, chiral, or having rotational symmetry as in Messaien 's modes of limited transposition. Scales can also be described by their distribution patterns and possibilities for notation. For example, a heliotonic scale is one that can be notated with one note head on each line and space, using only single and double alterations ( flats, double - flats, sharps, and double - sharps ). Thus all heliotonic scales are heptatonic, but not all heptatonic scales are heliotonic. Since heliotonia is a metric of a scale 's tone distribution pattern, is related to evenness, coherence, spectra variation, and the Myhill Property. Harmonic content The notes of a scale form intervals with each of the other notes of the chord in combination. A 5 - note scale has 10 of these harmonic intervals, a 6 - note scale has 15, a 7 - note scale has 21, an 8 - note scale has 28. Though the scale is not a chord, and might never be heard more than one note at a time, still the absence, presence, and placement of certain key intervals plays a large part in the sound of the scale, the natural movement of melody within the scale, and the selection of chords taken naturally from the scale. A musical scale that contains tritones is called tritonic ( though the expression is also used for any scale with just three notes per octave, whether or not it includes a tritone ), and one without tritones is atritonic. A scale or chord that contains semitones is called hemitonic, and without semitones is anhemitonic. Scales in composition The lydian mode Play ( help info ), middle, functions as an intermediary between the whole tone scale Play ( help info ), top, and the major scale Play ( help info ), bottom. Scales can be abstracted from performance or composition. They are also often used precompositionally to guide or limit a composition. Explicit instruction in scales has been part of compositional training for many centuries. One or more scales may be used in a composition, such as in Claude Debussy 's L'Isle Joyeuse. To the right, the first scale is a whole tone scale, while the second and third scales are diatonic scales. All three are used in the opening pages of Debussy 's piece. Western music See also : Musical mode Scales in traditional Western music generally consist of seven notes and repeat at the 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 includes a three - semitone step ; the anhemitonic pentatonic includes two of those and no semitones. Western music in the Medieval and Renaissance periods ( 1100 -- 1600 ) tends to use the white - note diatonic scale C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- A -- B. Accidentals are rare, and somewhat unsystematically used, often to avoid the tritone. Music of the common practice periods ( 1600 -- 1900 ) uses three types of scale : The diatonic scale ( seven notes ) -- this includes the major scale and the natural minor The melodic and harmonic minor scales ( seven notes ) These scales are used in all of their transpositions. The music of this period introduces modulation, which involves systematic changes from one scale to another. Modulation occurs in relatively conventionalized ways. For example, major - mode pieces typically begin in a `` tonic '' diatonic scale and modulate to the `` dominant '' scale a fifth above. In the 19th century ( to a certain extent ), but more in the 20th century, additional types of scales were explored : The chromatic scale ( twelve notes ) The whole tone scale ( six notes ) The pentatonic scale ( five notes ) The octatonic or diminished scales ( eight notes ) A large variety of other scales exists, some of the more common being : The Phrygian dominant scale ( a mode of the harmonic minor scale ) The Arabic scales The Hungarian minor scale The Byzantine music scales ( called echoi ) The Persian scale Scales such as the pentatonic scale may be considered gapped relative to the diatonic scale. An auxiliary scale is a scale other than the primary or original scale. See : modulation ( music ) and Auxiliary diminished scale. Note names In many musical circumstances, a specific note of the scale is chosen as the tonic -- the central and most stable note of the scale, also known as the root note. In Western tonal music, simple songs or pieces typically start and end on the tonic note. Relative to a choice of a certain tonic, the notes of a scale are often labeled with numbers recording how many scale steps above the tonic they are. For example, the notes of the C major scale ( C, D, E, F, G, A, B) can be labeled ( 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 ), reflecting the choice of C as tonic. The expression scale degree refers to these numerical labels. Such labeling requires the choice of a `` first '' note ; hence scale - degree labels are not intrinsic to the scale itself, but rather to its modes. For example, if we choose A as tonic, then we can label the notes of the C major scale using A = 1, B = 2, C = 3, and so on. When we do so, we create a new scale called the A minor scale. See the musical note article for how the notes are customarily named in different countries. The scale degrees of a heptatonic ( 7 - note ) scale can also be named using the terms tonic, supertonic, mediant, subdominant, dominant, submediant, subtonic. If the subtonic is a semitone away from the tonic, then it is usually called the leading - tone ( or leading - note ) ; otherwise the leading - tone refers to the raised subtonic. Also commonly used is the ( movable do ) solfège naming convention in which each scale degree is denoted by a syllable. In the major scale, the solfège syllables are : do, re, mi, fa, so ( or sol ), la, ti ( or si ), do ( or ut ). In naming the notes of a scale, it is customary that each scale degree be assigned its own letter name : for example, the A major scale is written A -- B -- C ♯ -- D -- E -- F ♯ -- G ♯ rather than A -- B -- D ♭ -- D -- E -- E -- G ♯. However, it is impossible to do this in scales that contain more than seven notes, at least in the English - language nomenclature system. Scales may also be identified by using a binary system of twelve zeros or ones to represent each of the twelve notes of a chromatic scale. It is assumed that the scale is tuned using 12 - tone equal temperament ( so that, for instance, C ♯ is the same as D ♭ ), and that the tonic is in the leftmost position. For example, the binary number 101011010101, equivalent to the decimal number 2773, would represent any major scale ( such as C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- A -- B ). This system includes scales from 100000000000 ( 2048 ) to 111111111111 ( 4095 ), providing a total of 2048 possible species, but only 351 unique scales containing from 1 to 12 notes. A more mathematically flexible schema for binary representation, espoused by theorist Ian Ring in his study of musical scales, has bits representing ascending tones, with the smaller bits representing lower pitches and higher bits representing higher pitches. This causes the bits to appear reversed compared with Duncan 's system. Under this schema, a major scale is 101010110101 = ( 2741 ), a single root tone is 1, and a chromatic scale is still 111111111111 ( 4095 ). All the tone possibilities that begin with a root tone, and are thus scale - like, are odd - numbered. Scales may also be shown as semitones from the tonic. For instance, 0 2 4 5 7 9 11 denotes any major scale such as C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- A -- B, in which the first degree is, obviously, 0 semitones from the tonic ( and therefore coincides with it ), the second is 2 semitones from the tonic, the third is 4 semitones from the tonic, and so on. Again, this implies that the notes are drawn from a chromatic scale tuned with 12 - tone equal temperament. For some fretted string instruments, such as the guitar and the bass guitar, scales can be notated in tabulature, an approach which indicates the fret number and string upon which each scale degree is played. Transposition and modulation Composers transform musical patterns by moving every note in the pattern by a constant number of scale steps : thus, in the C major scale, the pattern C -- D -- E might be shifted up, or transposed, a single scale step to become D -- E -- F. This process is called `` scalar transposition '' or `` shifting to a new key '' and can often be found in musical sequences and patterns. Since the steps of a scale can have various sizes, this process introduces subtle melodic and harmonic variation into the music. In Western tonal music, the simplest and most common type of modulation ( or changing keys ) is to shift from one major key to another key built on the first key 's fifth ( or dominant ) scale degree. In the key of C major, this would involve moving to the key of G major ( which uses an F# ). Composers also often modulate to other related keys. In some Romantic music era pieces and contemporary music, composers modulate to `` remote keys '' that are not related to or close to the tonic. An example of a remote modulation would be taking a song that begins in C major and modulating ( changing keys ) to F# major. This variation from transposition and modulation is what gives scalar music much of its complexity. Jazz and blues See also : Jazz scales Through the introduction of blue notes, jazz and blues employ scale intervals smaller than a semitone. The blue note is an interval that is technically neither major nor minor but `` in the middle '', giving it a characteristic flavour. A regular piano can not play blue notes, but with electric guitar, saxophone, trombone and trumpet, performers can `` bend '' notes a fraction of a tone sharp or flat to create blue notes 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. Non-western scales Equally tempered In Western music, scale notes are often separated by equally tempered tones or semitones, creating 12 notes per octave. A scale uses a subset of these 12. There are other traditional tempered scale systems dividing the octave to equal intevals in other numbers than 12. Examples are 53 in the Middle East, and 72 in southern India. Other Many other musical traditions use scales that include other intervals. These scales originate within the derivation of the harmonic series. Musical intervals are complementary values of the harmonic overtones series. Many musical scales in the world are based on this system, except most of the musical scales from Indonesia and the Indochina Peninsulae, which are based on inharmonic resonance of the dominant metalophone and xylophone instruments. Intra-scale intervals There are also scales that use a different number of pitches. A common scale in Eastern music is the pentatonic scale, consisting of five notes spanning an octave. Some scales span part of an octave ; Several such short scales are typically combined to form a scale spanning a full octave or more, and usually called with a third name of its own. The Middle Eastern music has around a dozen such short scales that are combined to form hundreds of full - octave spanning scales. Among these middle eastern scales Hejaz scale has one interval spanning 14 commas ( of the middle eastern type found 53 in an octave ) roughly similar to 3 semitones ( of the western type found 12 in an octave ), while Saba scale, another of these middle eastern scales, has 3 consecutive tones within 14 commas, i.e. separated by roughly one western semitone either side of the middle tone. Gamelan music uses a small variety of scales including Pélog and Sléndro, none including equally tempered nor harmonic intervals. Indian classical music uses a moveable seven - note scale. Indian Rāgas often use intervals smaller than a semitone. Arabic music maqamat may use quarter tone intervals. In both rāgas and maqamat, the distance between a note and an inflection ( e.g., śruti ) of that same note may be less than a semitone. Microtonal scales This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( June 2012 ) The term microtonal music usually refers to music with roots in traditional Western music that uses non-standard scales or scale intervals. In the late 19th century, Mexican composer Julián Carrillo created microtonal scales that he called Sonido 13. The composer Harry Partch made custom musical instruments to play compositions based on 43 - note scale system, and the American jazz vibraphonist Emil Richards experimented with such scales in his Microtonal Blues Band in the 1970s. Easley Blackwood wrote compositions in all equal - tempered scales from 13 to 24 notes. Erv Wilson introduced concepts such as Combination Product Sets ( Hexany ), Moments of Symmetry and golden horagrams, used by many modern composers. Microtonal scales are also used in traditional Indian Raga music, which uses a variety of modes not only as modes or scales, but also as defining elements of the song, or raga. See also Music portal List of musical scales and modes Melodic pattern Pitch circularity Shepard tone References Jump up ^ Benward, Bruce and Saker, Marilyn Nadine ( 2003 ). Music : In Theory and Practice, seventh edition : vol. 1, p. 25. Boston : McGraw - Hill. ISBN 978 - 0 - 07 - 294262 - 0. Jump up ^ Hewitt, Michael ( 2013 ). Musical Scales of the World, pp. 2 -- 3. The Note Tree. ISBN 978 - 0 - 9575470 - 0 - 1. Jump up ^ http://www.allthescales.org/intro.html#Perfection Jump up ^ Nzewi, Meki, and Odyke Nzewi ( 2007 ), A Contemporary Study of Musical Arts. Pretoria : Centre for Indigenous Instrumental African Music and Dance. Volume 1 p. 34 ISBN 978 - 1 - 920051 - 62 - 4. Jump up ^ Nettl, Bruno, and Helen Myers ( 1976 ). Folk Music in the United States, p. 39. ISBN 978 - 0 - 8143 - 1557 - 6. Jump up ^ https://ianring.com/musictheory/scales/#chirality Jump up ^ Hanson, Howard. ( 1960 ) Harmonic Materials of Modern Music, pp. 7ff. New York : Appleton - Century - Crofts. LOC 58 - 8138. Jump up ^ Hanson, Howard. ( 1960 ) Harmonic Materials of Modern Music, pp. 7ff. New York : Appleton - Century - Crofts. LOC 58 - 8138. Jump up ^ Tymoczko, Dmitri ( 2004 ). `` Scale Networks and Debussy '' ( PDF ). Journal of Music Theory. 48 ( 2 ) : 219 -- 294 ( 254 -- 264 ). doi : 10.1215 / 00222909 - 48 - 2 - 219. ISSN 0022 - 2909. Retrieved 18 July 2017... Jump up ^ Duncan, Andrew ( 1991 ). `` Combinatorial Music Theory ''. Journal of the Audio Engineering Society. 39 ( 6 ) : 427 -- 448. ISSN 0004 - 7554. Archived from the original on 7 January 2008. Retrieved 18 July 2017. Jump up ^ Ring, Ian. `` A Study of Scales ''. Ian Ring. Retrieved 18 July 2017. Jump up ^ Explanation of the origin of musical scales clarified by a string division method by Yuri Landman on furious.com Jump up ^ Burns, Edwaard M. 1998. `` Intervals, Scales, and Tuning. '', p. 247. In The Psychology of Music, second edition, edited by Diana Deutsch, 215 -- 64. New York : Academic Press. ISBN 0 - 12 - 213564 - 4. Jump up ^ Zonis ( Mahler ), Ella. 1973. Classical Persian Music : An Introduction. Cambridge, MA : Harvard University Press. Further reading Barbieri, Patrizio ( 2008 ). Enharmonic Instruments and Music, 1470 -- 1900. Latina, Italy : Il Levante Libreria Editrice. ISBN 978 - 88 - 95203 - 14 - 0. Yamaguchi, Masaya ( 2006 ). The Complete Thesaurus of Musical Scales ( revised ed. ). New York : Masaya Music Services. ISBN 978 - 0 - 9676353 - 0 - 9. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Musical scales. Octave Frequency Sweep, Consonance & Dissonance WolframTones -- hear and play musical scales All Scales in Music, organized by amount of modes Visual representation of scales from WolframTones ScaleCoding Database in. xls and FileMaker formats of all 2048 possible unique scales in 12 tone equal temperament + meantone alternatives. Musical notation Staff 8 15 Abbreviation Bar / barline / measure Clef Da capo Dal segno Key signature Ledger line Mode Ossia Scale Rehearsal letter Repeat sign Tempo Time signature Transposition Transposing instrument Musical notes Accidental ( flat natural sharp ) Cue note Dotted note Grace note Note value ( beam notehead stem ) Pitch Rest Tacet Tuplet Tremolo Interval Helmholtz pitch notation Letter notation Scientific pitch notation Articulation Accent Sforzando ( musical direction ) Caesura Damping Dynamics Fermata Fingering Legato Marcato Ornament ( appoggiatura glissando grace note mordent slide trill ) Portato Slur Staccato Tenuto Tie Tonguing Sheet music History of music publishing Music engraving Popular - music publisher Sheet - music publisher Scorewriter Alternative Braille music Chord chart Fake book Figured bass Graphic notation Lead sheet Eye music Nashville number system Numbered musical notation Klavarskribo Tablature ( `` Tab '' ) Parsons Percussion notation Simplified Non-Western and ancient Chinese Kepatihan Kunkunshi Neume Swaralipi Shakuhachi Znamenny Related Mensural notation Music stand Sight - reading Sight singing Transcription List of musical symbols Category : Musical notation Musical scales ( list ) Main Western Major Minor Chromatic Types Bebop Diatonic Distance model Enharmonic Jazz Symmetric Synthetic mode Synthetic scale Name Acoustic Adonai malakh mode Alpha Altered Beta Blues Bohlen -- Pierce Double harmonic Enigmatic Flamenco mode Gamma Half diminished Harmonic major Harmonic Jazz minor Lydian dominant Major Locrian Misheberak Phrygian dominant Ptolemy 's intense diatonic Scale of harmonics Whole tone Ethnic origin Algerian Arabic Double harmonic Major Locrian Quarter tone 17 equal temperament Brazil Escala nordestina Gamelan Pelog Slendro Gypsy Hungarian gypsy Hungarian minor Istrian Japanese Neapolitan Persian Ukrainian Dorian Ukrainian minor Modes Modes in Western music Gregorian Authentic Dorian Phrygian Lydian Mixolydian Plagal Hypodorian Hypophrygian Hypolydian Hypomixolydian Other Ionian Hypoionian Aeolian Hypoaeolian Locrian Hypolocrian Reciting tone Diatonic Ionian ( I ) Dorian ( II ) Phrygian ( III ) Lydian ( IV ) Mixolydian ( V ) Aeolian ( VI ) Locrian ( VII ) Jazz minor Ascending melodic minor ( I ) Dorian ♭ 2 ( II ) Lydian Augmented ( III ) Lydian Dominant ( IV ) Mixolydian ♭ 13 ( V ) Locrian ♮ 2 ( VI ) Altered ( VII ) Number of tones Monotonic ( 1 ) Ditonic ( 2 ) Tritonic ( 3 ) Tetratonic ( 4 ) Pentatonic ( 5 ) Hexatonic ( 6 ) Heptatonic ( 7 ) Octatonic ( 8 ) Chromatic ( 12 ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Scale_(music)&oldid=833202170 '' Categories : Musical scales Musical tuning Hidden categories : Use dmy dates from July 2017 Articles with hAudio microformats All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from June 2012 Articles with unsourced statements from March 2016 Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from October 2014 Articles needing additional references from June 2012 All articles needing additional references All articles with specifically marked weasel - worded phrases Articles with specifically marked weasel - worded phrases from June 2012 Use dmy dates from October 2010 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Asturianu বাংলা Bân - lâm - gú Brezhoneg Català Čeština Dansk Deutsch Eesti Ελληνικά Español Esperanto Euskara فارسی Français Gaeilge Galego 한국어 Hrvatski Ido Bahasa Indonesia Íslenska Italiano עברית Basa Jawa Kurdî Latviešu Lietuvių Magyar മലയാളം Bahasa Melayu Nederlands 日本 語 Nordfriisk Norsk Occitan Polski Português Română Русский Simple English Slovenčina کوردی Српски / srpski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska ไทย Тоҷикӣ Türkçe Українська Tiếng Việt 粵語 中文 46 more Edit links This page was last edited on 30 March 2018, at 06 : 28. 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Question: a series of single notes ascending or descending is called a
Answer: scale