page_title: Heptatonic scale
section_title: Heptatonia prima
hierarchical_section_title: Heptatonic scale / Heptatonia prima and secunda / Heptatonia prima
caption_attribution_description: English: Aeolian mode on C.
context_page_description: A heptatonic scale is a musical scale that has seven pitches per octave. Examples include the major scale or minor scale; e.g., in C major: C D E F G A B C—and in the relative minor, A minor, natural minor: A B C D E F G A; the melodic minor scale, A B C D E F♯G♯A ascending, A G F E D C B A descending; the harmonic minor scale, A B C D E F G♯A; and a scale variously known as the Byzantine, and Hungarian, scale, C D E♭ F♯ G A♭ B C. Indian classical theory postulates seventy-two seven-tone scale types, whereas others postulate twelve or ten seven-tone scale types collectively called thaat.
  Several heptatonic scales in Western, Roman, Spanish, Hungarian, and Greek music can be analyzed as juxtapositions of tetrachords. All heptatonic scales have all intervals present in their interval vector analysis, and thus all heptatonic scales are both hemitonic and tritonic. There is a special affinity for heptatonic scales in the Western key signature system.
context_section_description: Beginning on keynote A and working up the notes of the 'natural minor' scale (A, B, C, D, E, F, G, A), the seven modes are:
  Aeolian mode (natural minor) t-s-t-t-s-t-t
  Locrian mode s-t-t-s-t-t-t
  Ionian mode (major) t-t-s-t-t-t-s
  Dorian mode t-s-t-t-t-s-t
  Phrygian mode s-t-t-t-s-t-t
  Lydian mode t-t-t-s-t-t-s
  Mixolydian mode t-t-s-t-t-s-t
caption: Aeolian mode C About this soundPlay (help·info)
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