Discover the different TYPES of musical SCALE

Image: Write Songs

You will constantly hear that music is closely related to mathematics, and this is very true, since sound is a physical element that we understand through numbers, like all phenomena natural. The interesting thing is to realize how through creativity, humans have managed to evolve this phenomenon into an art. In this article by a TEACHER, we will learn about different types of musical scale, being the scale one of the elements that define the structure of the melody and the harmony, thanks to its mathematical construction.

Index

1. What is a musical scale
2. The major scale
3. All types of musical scale
4. When to Use the Different Musical Scales

The concept of the scale refers to a succession of steps or steps. In the case of music, those steps are musical notes. When we place a series of notes of different pitch that ascends or descends, with determined distances between one and the other, we are forming a scale. In order to analyze and build scales, we must talk about a fundamental concept: the "interval".

Interval in music

The interval is distance between one note and another. The musical unit for measuring an interval is the "tone". On the piano it is very easy to visualize the distances between the notes, there is a complete tone between one note and another when there is a key in between. For example, we can see that between C and D there is a black key, so its distance is 1 full tone. We also have the "semitone", which, as its name implies, is half a tone. Back at the piano, if we look at the E and F keys, we will see that there are no keys in between, so their distance is 1 semitone.

The interval is crucial to be able to analyze and build scales because it is the way in which we measure the relationship that one note has with the other. Thus, as a whole, the series of notes has a different meaning depending on these relationships.

Image: classical music

The major scale is one of the most important types of musical scale. Although it is believed that this was not exactly the basic scale in music in the past, we now recognize the major scale as the reference scale. It is from the analysis of this scale that we can then study other scales.

The major scale has 7 notes and the eighth (the repetition of the first note 6 tones apart). If we take note of the intervals between each note, we obtain the following sequence of intervals: 1 tone, 1 tone, 1 semitone, 1 tone, 1 tone, 1 tone, 1 semitone. To make this more visual we will only use the numbers, obtaining a formula like this: 1 – 1 – ½ – 1 – 1 – 1 – ½.

No matter what musical note we start a scale on, if we keep this formula, it will always be a major scale.

The basic scales are the major scale, natural minor scale, and harmonic minor scale. These are the most used in popular music.

Major scale

1 – 1 – ½ – 1 – 1 – 1 – ½

It is a scale that has a bright and joyous sound.

Natural Minor Scale

1 – ½ – 1 – 1 – 1 – ½ – 1

It has a gloomy and melancholic sound.

Harmonic Minor Scale

1 – ½ – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – ½

It has a mysterious, oriental sound.

Other important musical scales

As the world of scales is so vast, we will only mention a few other scales without analyzing them:

• Pentatonic Scale (5 notes using only full tones).
• Blues scale
• Tonal Scale (Full tones only).
• Chromatic Scale (12 notes, semitones only).

Greek Modes Scales. Maintains major scale relationships, but starting at different starting points.

• Ionian
• Doric
• Phrygia
• Lidia
• Mixolydia
• Wind
• Locria

Image: all about music

There is a great variety of musical scales. Due to their structure, some are used more frequently than others. There are scales that have a very particular structure and because of this their use is restricted. In general, the scales that we can use depend on the musical context and the harmony of a song or work. We tend to choose a musical scale for the feeling or sensations it causes. For example, if we want to communicate a melancholic environment, it is very likely that we will use the minor scale. On the contrary, if we want a festive feeling, we can use the major scale.

It is also a question of style and culture. As a style, there are scales that are directly related to a musical genre, such as the blues scale. And in terms of culture, for example, pentatonic scale is usually related to eastern countries such as China, while the Harmonic Minor scale It is usually related to the Arab countries of the Middle East.

There are contemporary works that, in order to explore new sounds, use musical scales less conventional thus reaching particular sounds, as is the case of classical music modern.

Thanks to the variety of musical scales, we have a wide palette of sounds to communicate both the simple and the abstract. It is very fun and interesting to know that there are so many options to reflect the human condition and to explore with creativity.

Now that you know about Types of Musical Scale, you can start a new journey of discovery in music. If you liked reading this article by a teacher We invite you to leave a comment.

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