Musical Practice and Performance Stack Exchange
Musical Practice and Performance Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [scales]

For questions about playing, understanding, or studying scales.

Most scales are made of seven notes whereby each scale degree is giving a letter name from A to G based on the distance from the root and the previous note. In seven note scales it is typical to describe the pattern in terms of half steps 'H'(one semitone) and whole steps 'W'(two semitones).

For example the scale pattern for a major scale is:

WWHWWWH

Applying that to a C root of C yields the following:

C D E F G A B C
 W W H W W W H
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The notes outside the major scale form a pentatonic scale

Something that woke me up in the middle of the night, realising that if you take the 12 notes in an octave in western music, and from that you remove all those belonging to a major scale, you are left with 5 notes arranged as a pentatonic scale!…
palako
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What scales are suitable for funk? Is there a funk scale?

I hope this question isn't too "noob"-ish for you guys (but hey I've gotta start somewhere). What scales are suitable for funk? Is there a funk scale, akin to the blues scale? I'm pretty sure the answer is no, seeing as Google doesn't turn up any…
Doctor Jones
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What is the historic origin of the terms & textbook definitions of the natural minor, harmonic minor, & melodic minor scales?

EDIT I edited my question title to better reflect what I am asking. I am specifically asking about pedagogical sources that present these three forms of minor scales, like this... My Piston Harmony textbook (1st ed.) presents such a diagram. My…
Michael Curtis
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minor tetratonic scales

I've read somewhere that tetratonic scales have been extensively played in jazz from Lester Young to Mulgrew Miller. I understand they are derived from the melodic minor scale. Could anyone explain to me how they are built and which chords they can…
user45784
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Melodic minor scale

Why do classical teachers often tell students to play melodic minor descending as natural minor? I read that Schoenberg said it was to release tension of the leading tone but if so why don’t we do this to all scales with leading tone
beastmode
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Is there a scale called the relative minor scale?

A book I'm reading Alfred's Essentials of Music Theory Minor Scales (pg 90-91) says Every major key has a RELATIVE MINOR KEY that has the same key signature. Each relative minor scale begins on the 6th note of the relative major scale. The 6th…
PatS
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Why does the minor pentatonic scale sounds "oriental" to me?

I've been training my minor pentatonic scale on guitar for a while (mostly playing it in A with the first position) and it always sounded somewhat oriental to me, in the sense of the musical airs you'd find in music to set the plot in Orient,…
Learning is a mess
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Song in C major has F# note

I've composed a melody in C Major but there's this one note, F#, which comes at two places. So, can I still say the song is in C major? Or, does it change the key of the whole song?
Indu
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What actually constitutes a diatonic scale?

Trying to do my own homework here! I've read that only the standard major scale is diatonic. Also, I've read that the harmonic and melodic minor scales are also diatonic. Also I've read that the notes from any scale can be called diatonic to that…
Tim
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When to deviate from scale?

Although above composition is in B minor, there is a single A# in the piece that is not in the scale. What is the purpose of this out of scale note? When does it make sense to use notes out of the scale?
yasar
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The musical scale E-sharp major is fake?

WikiPedia has an article about E-sharp minor scale (that is a scale relative to G-sharp major) there is no article of E-sharp major, instead it redirects to F major that is a scale using flats instead of sharps. I want to know if the E-sharp major…
TechnicGoblin5R
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Are minor scales meant to be in sharp or flat keys?

I know you can read minor scales in both sharp and flat keys, but which is preferred in the world of music? Is it more useful to know them best as say Eb minor or D# minor? I know it doesn't make a change in the scale whichever way you read it, and…
Niccole
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Confusion Regarding diminished scales and how to practise them

I have found that there are conflicting views on what is considered the diminished scale in jazz and when to play it. If I have a ii-V- I in C and would like to apply a diminished scale to create a line on the V7 chord containing the chord tones of…
Robert Buckley
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Why is C# in the D Major Scale?

So far in my music learning journey I've been quite happy with the Whole, Whole, Half, Whole, Whole, Whole, Half tone construction of major scales. That is until I came across the D Major Scale. D E F# G A B C# Why does D Major Scale end in C#,…
Mark Kneen
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Why is the first note of a scale the most important?

While reading and refreshing basic music theory, I've met the tonic note as related to common practice diatonic scales. From introductory resources, the usual explanation is simple enough. The first (the lowest) note of the scale is the tonic note;…
Steven Maude
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