In music, a scale is a set of musical notes in order by pitch, either ascending or descending. Wikibooks Wikiversity has more about this subject: School of Music Wikicities has a wiki about Music: Music Look up Music in Wiktionary, the free dictionary All Music Guide: includes a comprehensive and flexible Genre and Style system MusicWiki: A Collaborative Music-related encyclopedia Science of Music: Multimedia exploration of the... Wikibooks Wikiversity has more about this subject: School of Music Wikicities has a wiki about Music: Music Look up Music in Wiktionary, the free dictionary All Music Guide: includes a comprehensive and flexible Genre and Style system MusicWiki: A Collaborative Music-related encyclopedia Science of Music: Multimedia exploration of the... Pitch may refer to: Pitch is the property of a sound or musical tone measured by its perceived frequency Pitch, or tone of voice, refers to variation of tone in tonal language, and in languages with melodic accent Pitch, a throw of a baseball by a pitcher Pitch, part of...

A scale is contrasted with a musical mode in one of two ways: In music, a mode is an ordered series of musical intervals, which, along with the key or tonic define the pitches. ...

• as a pattern of notes or pitches regardless of tonic or other notes' importance, as opposed to a scale with a tonic and possible frame
• as an ordered collection of notes or pitches, as opposed to a series of intervals, which is a musical mode.

Each note in a scale is referred to as a scale degree. Though the scales from musical traditions around the world are often quite different, the pitches of the notes in any given scale are usually related by mathematical rules. In logic see Kripke semantics In popular music a modal frame (Van der Merwe 1989) is one of a number of types permeating and unifying African, European, and American song (Middleton 1990, p. ... In music, pitch is the perception of the frequency of a note. ... In music theory, an interval is the distance in pitch between two notes, the lower and higher members of the interval. ... In music, a mode is an ordered series of musical intervals, which, along with the key or tonic define the pitches. ... In music or music theory a scale degree is an individual note of a scale, both its pitch and its diatonic function. ... World music is a term that covers all music that is not part of mainstream popular music or classical music and has some kind of ethnic component. ... In music, pitch is the perception of the frequency of a note. ... Musical scales A musical scale is a discrete set of pitches used in making or describing music. ...

Scales may be described according to the intervals they contain, for example In music theory, an interval is the distance in pitch between two notes, the lower and higher members of the interval. ...

• tonal, modal, diatonic, derived, chromatic, synthetic

or by the number of different pitch classes they contain: The adjective tonal can refer to: tonality in music a tonal language This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... In music, a mode is an ordered series of musical intervals, which, along with the key or tonic define the pitches. ... In Music theory, the diatonic major scale (also known as the Guido scale), from the Greek diatonikos or to stretch out, is a fundamental building block of the European-influenced musical tradition. ... The chromatic scale is any musical scale that contains more than one consecutive half-step (in other words two adjacent pairs of scale degrees or members which are separated by a semitone). ... Generally, synthetic means pertaining to synthesis, i. ... In music and music theory a pitch class contains all notes that have the same name; for example, all Es, no matter which octave they are in, are in the same pitch class. ...

• most common: pentatonic, hexatonic, heptatonic or five, six, and seven tone scales, respectively.
• used in prehistoric music: ditonic or two, tritonic or three, tetratonic or four
• in modern classical music: octatonic or eight.

Scales are often abstracted from performance or composition, though they are often used Precompositionally to guide or limit a composition. One or more scales may be used in a composition, such as in Claude Debussy's L'Isle Joyeuse. In music, a pentatonic scale is a scale with five notes per octave. ... In music a hexatonic scale is a scale (music) with six (hexa) degrees. ... In the history of music, prehistoric music (previously called primitive music) is all music produced in preliterate cultures (prehistory), beginning somewhere in very late geological history. ... Modernism in music is characterized by a desire for or belief in progress and science, surrealism, anti-romanticism, political advocacy, general intellectualism, and/or a breaking with tradition or common practice. ... In music, a diminished scale is a scale in which the notes of the scale ascend in alternating intervals of a whole step and a half step. ... A street musician with accordion in Bremen A performance comprises an event in which generally one group of people (the performer or performers) behave in a particular way for the benefit of another group of people (the viewer or viewers, or audience). ... Composition deals with the bits and pieces that make up things. ... In music, precompositional decisions are those decisions which a composer decides upon before or while beginning to create a composition. ... Claude Debussy (Achille-) Claude Debussy (August 22, 1862 – March 25, 1918) was a composer of impressionistic classical music. ... LIsle Joyeuse is an extended solo piano piece by Claude Debussy composed in 1904. ...

Scales in Western music

Scales in traditional Western music standardly consist of seven notes, made up of a root note and six other scale degrees whose pitches lie between the root and the root's first octave. Notes in the commonly used scales (see just below) are separated by whole and half step intervals of tones and semitones (the harmonic minor scale including a three-semitone interval; the pentatonic including two of these). Classical music is music considered classical, as sophisticated and refined, in a regional tradition. ... The tonic is the first note of a musical scale, and in the tonal method of music composition it is extremely important. ... In music, pitch is the perception of the frequency of a note. ... In music, an octave (sometimes abbreviated 8ve or 8va) is the interval between one musical note and another with half or double the frequency. ... This article will be merged with Italian musical terms at some point in the near future. ... In music theory, an interval is the distance in pitch between two notes, the lower and higher members of the interval. ...

There are a number of different types of scales used commonly in Western music, including:

• The major scale (seven notes)
• The minor scale (seven notes)
• The chromatic scale (twelve notes)
• The modal scales (seven notes)
• The whole tone scale (six notes)
• The pentatonic scale (five notes)

Synthetic scales: In music theory, the major scale is one of the diatonic scales. ... A minor scale in musical theory can be viewed as the sixth mode of the major scale. ... The chromatic scale is any musical scale that contains more than one consecutive half-step (in other words two adjacent pairs of scale degrees or members which are separated by a semitone). ... In music, a mode is an ordered series of musical intervals, which, along with the key or tonic define the pitches. ... In music, a whole tone scale is a scale in which each note is separated from its neighbors by the interval of a whole step. ... In music, a pentatonic scale is a scale with five notes per octave. ...

• The diminished scales (also known as octatonic)
• The altered scale
• The Spanish and Jewish scale
• The Arabic scale
• The psychoacoustical scales

In music, a diminished scale is a scale in which the notes of the scale ascend in alternating intervals of a whole step and a half step. ... In music, an altered scale is a notes of the scale except the tonic have been flattened (lowered in pitch) by an interval of a half step from a major scale. ... The Spanish scale (also called the Jewish scale, Ahava Rabboh or Freygish) is commonly used in Hebrew prayers and in Spanish music. ... In music, the Arabic scale is arrived at by either: Raising the seventh of the Jewish scale Raising the seventh and third of the Phrygian mode Lowering the sixth and second of a major scale Series of intervals: H -3 H W H -3 H H = Half step W = Whole... Psychoacoustics is the study of subjective human perception of sounds. ...

Scale degrees

A scale degree is a numeric position of a note within a scale ordered by increasing pitch. The simplest system is to name each degree after its numerical position in the scale, for example: the first, the fourth. Because intervals are inclusive, a fifth describes a note which is four notes after the tonic. In music theory, an interval is the distance in pitch between two notes, the lower and higher members of the interval. ...

Major scales have seven notes which are named, in order: tonic, supertonic, mediant, subdominant, dominant, submediant, leading-tone (or leading-note). Also commonly used is the "movable do" solfege naming convention in which each scale degree is given a syllable. In the major scale, the solfege syllables are: Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti (or Si), Do (or Ut). The tonic is the first note of a musical scale, and in the tonal method of music composition it is extremely important. ... In music theory, a leading-tone (called the leading-note outside the US) is a note or pitch which is resolves or leads to a note one semitone higher or lower, being an lower and upper leading-tone, respectively. ... In music and sight singing solfege or solmization is a way of assigning syllables to degrees or steps of the diatonic scale. ...

Non-Western scales

In traditional Western music, scale degrees are most often separated by equally tempered tones or semitones, creating at most, twelve pitches. Many other musical traditions employ scales that include other intervals or a different number of pitches. In the middle eastern Hejaz scale, there are some intervals of three semitones. Gamelan music uses a small variety of scales including Pélog and Sléndro, none including equally tempered intervals. The music of India includes some excellent examples, as some ragas employ scale intervals smaller than a semitone, up to twenty two pitches, though many of these are shrutis or inflections of the twelve main notes (Callow & Sheperd, 1972; Jhairazbhoy & Stone, 1963). Arab music maqams may use quarter tones and thus from fifteen to the max of twenty-four pitches, though these may similarly be inflecions (Zonis, 1973). Neither Indian nor Arab scales are chromatically microtonal (Burns, 1999). A gamelan is a musical ensemble of Indonesian origin typically featuring metallophones, xylophone(s), drums, and gongs. ... Pelog is one of the two essential scales of Gamelan music native to Bali and Java, in Indonesia. ... Slendro (called salendro by the Sundanese) is a pentatonic (five tone) scale, one of the two most common scales used in Indonesian gamelan music. ... The music of India includes multiples varieties of folk, popular, pop, and classical music. ... Raga (राग) (rāg /राग (Hindi), raga (Anglicised from rāgaḥ/रागः (Sanskrit)) or rāgam /ராகம் (Tamil)) are the very detailed melodic modes used in Indian classical music. ... Shruti (what is heard) is a canon of Hindu scriptures, early forms of which may have existed as early as 1500 BC, with most scholarship favoring dates between 1200 and 800 BC. Shruti is said to have no author; rather, it is believed to be a divine recording of the... Arab music is the music of Arabic-speaking people or countries, especially those centered around the Arabian Peninsula. ... In music, a maqam [sic] (plural maqamat) is a technique of improvisation that defines the pitches, patterns, and development of a piece of music. ... A quarter tone is an interval half as wide (aurally, or logarithmically) as a semitone, which is half a whole tone. ... Microtonal music is music using microtones -- intervals of less than a semitone, or as Charles Ives put it, the notes between the cracks of the piano. ...

Microtonal scales

The term microtonal music usually refers to music with roots in traditional Western music that employs non-standard scales or scale intervals. The composer Harry Partch made custom musical instruments to play compositions that employed a 43-note scale system, and the American jazz vibraphonist Emil Richards experimented with such scales in his 'Microtonal Blues Band' in the 1970s. John Cage, the American experimental composer also created works for prepared piano which use varied, sometimes random, scales. Microtonal scales are also used in traditional Indian Raga music, which has a variety of modes which are used not only as modes or scales but also as defining elements of the song, or raga. Microtonal music is music using microtones -- intervals of less than a semitone, or as Charles Ives put it, the notes between the cracks of the piano. ... A composer is a person who writes music. ... Harry Partch (June 24, 1901 – September 3, 1974) was an American composer. ... A musical instrument is a device that has been constructed or modified with the purpose of making music. ... [[image:Luigi Waites PlaysVibraphone. ... Emil Richards is a percussionist who plays a variety of different percussive instruments. ... Events and trends Although in the United States and in many other Western societies the 1970s are often seen as a period of transition between the turbulent 1960s and the more conservative 1980s and 1990s, many of the trends that are associated widely with the Sixties, from the Sexual Revolution... John Cage John Milton Cage (September 5, 1912–August 12, 1992) was an experimental music composer and writer, possibly best known (some might say notorious) for his piece 433, often described (somewhat erroneously) as four and a half minutes of silence. ... A prepared piano is a piano that has had its sound altered by placing objects (preparations) between or on the strings. ... Raga (राग) (rāg /राग (Hindi), raga (Anglicised from rāgaḥ/रागः (Sanskrit)) or rāgam /ராகம் (Tamil)) are the very detailed melodic modes used in Indian classical music. ... This article is about modes as used in music. ... Scale (botany) Scale (zoology) Scale (medical) Scale (music) Scale (measurement) Scale (chemical) Scale (social sciences) Scale (spatial) Scale (computing) Order of magnitude Logarithmic scale Scale model Architects scale Engineers scale This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same... A song is a relatively short musical composition for the human voice (possibly accompanied by other musical instruments), which features words (lyrics). ... Raga (राग) (rāg /राग (Hindi), raga (Anglicised from rāgaḥ/रागः (Sanskrit)) or rāgam /ராகம் (Tamil)) are the very detailed melodic modes used in Indian classical music. ...

Jazz and blues

Through the introduction of blue notes, jazz and blues employ scale intervals smaller than a semitone. See also: jazz scales. The blue note is an interval that is technically neither major or minor but 'in-between', giving it a characteristic flavour. For instance, in the key of E, the blue note would be either, a note between g and g# or a note moving between both. In blues a pentatonic scale is often used. In jazz many different modes and scales are used, often within the same piece of music. Chromatic scales are common, especially in modern jazz. In jazz and blues notes added to the major scale for expressive quality, loosely defined by musicians to be an alteration to a scale or chord that makes it sound like the blues. ... Jazz is a musical art form characterized by blue notes, syncopation, swing, call and response, polyrhythms, and improvisation. ... Blues is a vocal and instrumental musical form which evolved from African American spirituals, shouts, work songs and chants and has its earliest stylistic roots in West Africa. ... One important aspect of jazz is its use of many complementary scales and the modification of these scales by the introduction of blue notes. ... The term interval is used in the following contexts: cricket mathematics music time This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... For non-military meanings, see major (disambiguation). ... The term minor (from Latin smaller, lesser) has several meanings: Minor is a legal term for a young person, see Minor (law). ... The word key has several uses: A key (lock) as a physical object (tool) used to manipulate a lock. ... G is the seventh letter in the Roman alphabet. ... G is the seventh letter in the Roman alphabet. ... In music, a pentatonic scale is a scale with five notes per octave. ... In music, a mode is an ordered series of musical intervals, which, along with the key or tonic define the pitches. ... In music, chromatic indicates the inclusion of notes not in the prevailing scale and is also used for those notes themselves (Shir-Cliff et al 1965, p. ...

Chords

The notes in a chord are usually a subset of a particular scale, in the common practice period being built upward by thirds from a particular scale degree. Thus in a C major scale: CDEFGAB, a chord built on C is the notes CEG. In music and music theory a chord (from the middle English cord, short for accord) is three or more notes sounding simultaneously, or near simultaneously over a period of time. ... In music the common practice period is a long period in western musical history spanning from before the classical era proper to today, dated, on the outside, as 1600-1900. ... In music, see the following intervals: Major third Minor third The mediant, and the chord built on the mediant, is often called simply the third, as it is the third degree of the diatonic scale. ... In music or music theory a scale degree is an individual note of a scale, both its pitch and its diatonic function. ...

Psychoacoustical scales

The bark scale and the mel scale are two psychoacoustical scales. The Bark scale is a psychoacoustical scale. ... The mel scale, proposed by Stevens, Volkman and Newman in 1937 is a perceptual scale of pitches judged by listeners to be equal in distance one from another. ... Psychoacoustics is the study of subjective human perception of sounds. ...

Source

• Burns, Edward M. (1999). "Intervals, Scales, and Tuning", The Psychology of Music second edition. Deutsch, Diana, ed. San Diego: Academic Press. ISBN 0122135644.
• Zonis, E. (1973). Classical Persian music: An Introduction. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.