Scale Formations

1
Scale Formations

• Something old
• Something new
• Something borrowed

2
Scales

• The Common Practice period is almost entirely
  based upon major and minor scales.
• Some believe that the minor scale is just a
  different color as opposed to a different scale.
• Composers began to experiment with different
  scales.
• Because the major/minor system was so entrenched
  for so long, the old modal scales sounded as new
  to the audiences at the beginning of the
  twentieth-century as some of the newer
  formations.
• It is unusual to find compositions based entirely
  on one scale, except for compositions using
  chromatic and microtonal scales.

3
Five-Note Scales

• Pentatonic only means five notes, however it is
  often used to refer to the scale that is
  constructed of only major seconds and minor
  thirds (aka the anhemitonic pentatonic scale).
• This scale is often used to suggest an Oriental
  flavor, but is also very common in folk and
  childrens songs.
• There are five modes because any member of the
  scale can serve as tonic.
• Limited source for melodic pitch material or
  tertian harmonies.
• The accompaniment will either be nonpentatonic,
  nontertian, or both.
• Other five-note scales employing minor seconds
  and major thirds, etc., are possible but less
  common in Western music.

4
Six-Note Scales

• The only one really used in the twentieth century
  is the whole tone scale.
• It is made up entirely of whole steps, one of
  which is a diminished third - equal division of
  the octave.
• There are only two possible versions of the scale
  before duplicating the pitch-class content.
• It is most strongly associated with Impressionism
  (Debussy) but is found in the music of other
  composers.
• The whole tone scale is more limited than the
  pentatonic scale both melodically and
  harmonically.

5
Seven-Note Scales

• The diatonic modes became popular among some
  composers in the early part of the twentieth
  century.
• The major types are
• The Lydian scale has a raised 4th scale degree.
• The Mixolydian scale has a lowered seventh scale
  degree.

6
Seven-Note Scales

• The minor types are
• The Aeolian scale is the same as the natural
  minor.
• The Dorian scale has a raised 6th scale degree.
• The Phrygian scale has a lowered 2nd scale
  degree.
• The Locrian scale (obviously NOT used in the
  Renaissance) has lowered 2nd and 5th scale
  degrees.
• Sometimes the modal key signature is used and
  sometimes composers use the standard major or
  minor key signature and then add the necessary
  accidentals.

7
Seven-Note Scales

• Other possible seven-note scales are possible,
  using only major and minor seconds, or using the
  seeming endless combinations other intervals.
• None of these are used as frequently as the
  diatonic modes.

8
Eight-Note Scales

• Octatonic only means eight notes, but is usually
  used to refer to a scale consisting of
  alternating whole steps and half steps.
• The scale is also referred to as the diminished
  scale because any two nonenharmonic diminished
  seventh chords will combine to create this scale.
• It is another example of the equal division of
  the octave.
• The scale may begin with a half step or a whole
  step.
• There are only three possible versions of the
  scale before duplicating the pitch-class content.
• The use of the whole tone and modal scales
  declined as the century progressed, but use of
  the octatonic scale has continued.
• The octatonic scale is often used in jazz.

9
Other Scales

• Many passages use all or nearly all twelve
  pitches -- the chromatic scale.
• Sometimes only the melody uses all twelve,
  sometimes the harmony, and sometimes both.
• Microtonal scales use intervals smaller than a
  minor second.
• The most commonly used microtone is a
  quarter-step.
• Several different ways of indicating
  quarter-tones have been devised.
• Other cultures, including the ancient Greeks,
  used other microtones.

10
Other Scales

• Olivier Messiaen used what he called Modes of
  Limited Transposition.
• These scales have less than twelve transpositions
  before the pitch-class content is duplicated.
• They consist of six to ten notes.
• The whole tone scale and the octatonic scale are
  members of this group.
• Sometimes the composer would use more than two or
  more scale types simultaneously.