Scales

In music, a scale (Latin: scala, ladder) is a collection of specially arranged step-wise intervals and a summary of tones available in a composition. A scale is to a composer what a palette is to an artist. This intervalic formula can be transposed to begin on any pitch, and since in Western music there are twelve available pitches (semi-tones) in an octave, there can be twelve different scales of each type.

The most common scales are major (ex.1), minor (ex.2) and chromatic (ex.3). There are many other scale types such as pentatonic (ex.4), wholetone (ex.5) and diminished or octatonic (ex.6).

Less common scales and the predecessors of modern scales are the so-called church modes (mode is another name for scale). The names of the modes come from the ancient Greek tribes - Ionian (major), Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian (natural minor) and Lochrian. The first five of these modes are the most frequently used, especially by jazz musicians (exs.7-13).

When playing scales or a piece of music, a musician will be presented with a key signature at the beginning of each staff line. A key signature is a summation of the appropriate accidentals (flats and sharps) that ocur in a scale or piece of music. Each scale has its own unique key signature (ex.14).

Major and minor scales are said to be relative when the minor scale begins on the sixth scale degree of the major and has the same key signature (e.g. C major: c,d,e,f,g,a,b,c and A minor: a,b,c,d,e,f,g,a) (ex.15).

Major and minor scales are said to be parallel when both scales start on the same pitch (e.g. C major; c,d,e,f,g,a,b,c; and C minor c,d,eb,f,g,ab,bb,c). In parallel scales each scale will have a different key signature. The minor scale will have the same key signature as its relative major, a minor third higher (e.g. C major has no sharps or flats but C minor, being relative to Eb major, will have three flats) (ex.16).

In certain forms of minor scales, harmonic and melodic, some accidentals must be added, besides the ones in the key signatures, to create these specific scale forms (e.g. in harmonic minor, the seventh scale degrees must be raised 1/2 step ascending and descending, while in the melodic minor, the sixth and seventh scale degrees must be raised 1/2 step ascending and then lowered 1/2 step upon descending) (ex.17).

Each tone of a scale can be identified by a specific name. This is usually done for seven tone scales such as major and minor scales (ex.18).

A major scale is constructed of seven different tones with an eighth tone an octave above the first tone. There is a whole step (w) between each tone of the scale except between the third to fourth scale degrees and between the seventh to eighth scale degrees where a semi-tone or half step (h) occurs. For example - a C major scale consists of c,d,e,f,g,a,b,c. The semi-tones occur between

Take a piece of staff paper and write a treble clef sign at the begining of each staff line. On the first staff, write out a C major scale using whole notes to indicate each scale tone. Write the scale in its ascending and descending forms. Then write a number under each tone (1- 8 and 8-1) to indicate its place in the scale. Label the scale.

Repeat this process on the successive staves for each major scale up to and including key signatures of four flats and four sharps. (A good order for constructing the major scales would be to start with C major and then continue with the flats - F, Bb, Eb and Ab and then continue with the sharps - G, D, A, and E.) Be sure to add the appropriate accidentals in front of each tone to attain the proper intervallic content (formula) for a major scale.

After each scale is completed, add the appropriate key signature at the begining of the staff which reflects the accidentals you used to construct the scale. Then you can erase the accidentals because the appropriate key signature will now be in place.

Play each of these scales on your instrument or a piano to make sure that you have written them down correctly. Compare each scale to the C major scale for the proper intervallic content. Play these scales daily on your instrument until they are memorized.

Notice that in the natural minor there are no chromatic alterations. In the harmonic minor, the seventh scale degree is raised 1/2 step (creating the interval of an augmented second) going up and coming down. In the melodic minor, the sixth and seventh scale degrees are raised 1/2 step going up and lowered 1/2 step (to their original form) going down (ex.17).

Take a piece of staff paper and write a treble clef sign at the begining of each staff. Using the first three staves, write out an A minor scale in each of its three forms using whole notes to indicate each scale tone. Start with the natural minor, then harmonic minor and end with melodic minor. Write each scale in its ascending and descending forms. Then write a number under each tone (1-8 and 8-1) to indicate its place in the scale. Label the scales.

Hint: By writing these three forms of minor scales on separate staves (one above the other) you will be able to see more clearly the related intervallic structure between each.

Repeat this process on successive staves for each minor scale up to and including key signatures of four flats and four sharps. (A good order for constructing the minor scales would be to start with A minor and then continue with the flats - D, G, C and F and then continue with the sharps - E, B, F# and C#.) Be sure to add the appropriate accidentals in front of each tone to attain the proper intervallic content (formula) for each form of the minor scales.

After each scale is completed, add the appropriate key signature at the beginning of the staff which reflects the accidentals you used to construct the scale. Then you can erase the accidentals because the appropriate key signature will now be in place.

Hint 2: Make sure you do not erase the altered accidentals placed on the sixth and seventh tones of the harmonic and melodic minor forms.

Play each of these scales on your instrument or a piano to make sure that you have written them down correctly. Compare each of the three forms of minor and listen for similarities and differences. Play these scales daily on your instrument until they are memorized.

Tonality - Refers to music with a central tone (tonic) to which all of the other tones are related. A synonym for key ( e.g. a piece of music is said to have the "tonality of C major" or to be in the "key of C major").

Chromatic - Using altered notes not found in the major or minor scale (addition of flats, sharps and/or naturals not found in the key signature).

A piece of music can be purely diatonic (with no chromatic tones) or mildly chromatic (with a few chromatic tones) or very chromatic (with many chromatic tones).

Modulation - The change from one key (tonal center) to another within a piece of music. This can occur not at all, or infrequently or often depending on the composer and style period of the music.