MUSC 101 Music Fundamentals - Spring 2012

Unit 8 - Other Scales

[Overview] [Syllabus]

Other Scales

Although major and minor scales are the most common scales found in western European music after 1600, composers use other scales as well. These other scales include the chromatic scale, the whole tone scale, the pentatonic scales, and the blues scales.

Hint for the Midterm

You'll need to understand the Major Pentatonic, Rock Blues, and Minor Blues scale formulas.

Chromatic Scale

The chromatic scale is the scale of half steps and has twelve notes excluding the octave. It is normally written using the fewest accidentals.

Ascending Chromatic Scale

Sharps are preferred for the ascending form of the chromatic scale.

Descending Chromatic Scale

Flats are preferred for the descending form of the chromatic scale.

Whole Tone Scale

The whole tone scale is the scale of whole steps and has six notes excluding the octave. One of the notes is usually written enharmonically so the scale ends with an octave.

Pentatonic Scales

Pentatonic scales have five notes excluding the octave. There are several pentatonic scales based on subsets of the major and natural minor scales. Pentatonic scales are found in nearly all musical cultures.

Pentatonic Major Scales

Two common pentatonic scales are subsets of the major scale. If we number the notes of the major scale 1234567, the major pentatonic scales use the notes 12356 and 12456.

Pentatonic Minor Scales

Three common pentatonic scales are subsets of the natural minor scale. If we number the notes of the natural minor scale 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7 1, the minor pentatonic scales use the notes 1 2 b3 5 b6, 1 2 4 5 b6, and 1 b3 4 5 b7.

Three common patterns derive from the minor scale. If we number the notes of the natural minor scale 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7 1 and use the notes 1 2 b3 5 b6 and 1 2 4 5 b6 as we did in major, we get these scales. A third minor pentatonic scale, 1 b3 4 5 b7, is commonly used in folk, rock, and blues.

The two major pentatonic scales 1 2 3 5 6 and 1 2 4 5 6 and the minor pentatonic scale 1 b3 4 5 b7 share a common pitch set.

The minor pentatonic scale is numbered 1 b3 4 5 b7 when referenced to the A Major Scale. If referenced to the C Major scale, it would be numbered 61235, a permutation of the pentatonic major 12356.

Pentatonic scales are found in other musical cultures.

Japanese scale

This is a pentatonic scale used in Japanese music.

There are two "trichords" joined by a whole step. Each "trichord" has the pattern H (2W).

Blues Scales

There are two common blues scales: rock blues and minor blues.

Numerical Representations of Scales

Here's a table of the scales we've looked at so far using the major scale as our reference scale.

Scales Listening Examples

C Major 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1
C Natural Minor 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7 1
C Harmonic Minor 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 7 1
C Melodic Minor ascending 1 2 b3 4 5 6 7 1 descending 1 b7 b6 5 4 b3 2 1
C Chromatic ascending 1 #1 2 #2 3 4 #4 5 #5 6 #6 7 1 descending 1 7 b7 6 b6 5 b5 4 3 b3 2 b2 1
C Whole Tone 1 2 3 #4 #5 #6 1
C Major Pentatonic 1 2 3 5 6 1
C Major Pentatonic 1 2 4 5 6 1
C Minor Pentatonic 1 2 b3 5 b6 1
C Minor Pentatonic 1 2 4 5 b6 1
C Minor Pentatonic 1 b3 4 5 b7 1
C Japanese Pentatonic 1 b2 4 5 b6 1
C Rock Blues 1 b3 3 5 6 b7 1
C Minor Blues 1 b3 4 #4 5 b7 1

[Overview] [Syllabus]

Revised by John Ellinger, Spring 2012.