scales, modes, synthetic scales, symmetric scales, scale construction, melodic minor, harmonic minor, pentatonic
The term polymodal refers to the use of more than one mode at a time. Usually the layered modes share the same tonic, like C Dorian and C Lydian. Polymodal chromaticism is related to the fact that it is possible… Read More »How to Use Polymodal Chromaticism
These next concepts will crucial to understand not only tonal harmony but also to understand how we can use this knowledge to escape the tonal pull exerted by certain chord types and instead work in an atonal or modal context.… Read More »The Importance of the Tritone in Harmony
The construction of this scale basically consists on adding a b6 on a major scale that unlike the bebop major scale, with similar construction, is treated as a scale degree and not simply as a passing tone: The addition of… Read More »The 6th Diminished Scale
Learning how to harmonize a scale is a procedure that will allow you to figure out the possible chord formations as a consequence of using the notes from that tonality. In order to do so you just… Read More »How to Harmonize Scales
Now that you have a good idea of how each mode sounds and considering that we are dealing with modes from within the same tonality, it is time see how they relate to each other in terms of feel and… Read More »Darkest to Brightest Modes
With the harmonic scale, we run into an augmented 2nd interval between the 6th and 7th degree. The idea behind the construction of the melodic scale is so that the melodic ascension towards the tonic is smoother by raising the… Read More »The Melodic Minor Scale and Modes
Because a scale is a collection of notes that divide the octave into a certain number of steps, I previously implied that you could create your own scale materials. When you do so, my only advice is that the process… Read More »Synthetic Scale Formations
Before we dive in, it is important to understand how this scale can be built. The harmonic minor scale stems from a need to have a leading tone in a minor scale that naturally doesn’t exist. In essence, the… Read More »Harmonic Minor Scale and Modes
These scales can be built either with the repetition of the tonic as the root for the second octave, or not. The easiest way of building such scales is by combining two different scales, like so: There are many harmonic… Read More »Two-Octave Scales
Throughout the post, I’ll be explaining what are modes and how you can use them; how you can make chords to emphasize that mode; and compare how they sound differently from each other – the different shades of major… Read More »The Diatonic Modes
Chords are made from scale materials or pitch sets, meaning that any scale that contains the notes of a particular chord that is being used is a potential candidate to be used over it. But something to always be… Read More »Matching Scales to Chords
When I mentioned the overtone series and that the pentatonic scale is one of the most used and recognized scales in the world, you probably noticed that there were some scale degrees missing. Probably, the most commonly used pentatonic scale… Read More »The Pentatonic Major and Minor Scales
The first diatonic scales we will be looking at are the natural major and minor. Scales can be classified as being major or minor, depending on the third interval between the tonic and the mediant – a major third is… Read More »The Diatonic Major and Minor Scales
A symmetrical scale is basically one that results from the equal division of an octave. I will only be approaching the most common but there are many other ways to divide the octave. This symmetry is also usually present even… Read More »Symmetric Scales
In Western music, a diatonic scale is a heptatonic scale where each tone is a degree of the scale. Each degree refers to the relative position of a particular note to the tonic, the first and main note of the… Read More »Scale Degrees and Leading Tone
A musical scale is basically a collection of notes that divide the octave in a certain number of scale steps. The reason why the pitches are organized within one octave is so we can proceed with the same notes or… Read More »Scales and the Overtone Series
In music, an interval is the relative distance between two notes that can be measured in tones or steps and, in the equal temperament system that uses twelve notes, the smallest measurable unit is a half-step or a half-tone. The… Read More »Intervals
Each of these modes can be found by playing its one octave range, or ambitus, on the “white key” notes on a piano, or C major scale. The important thing was the pattern of half steps and whole steps within… Read More »The Medieval Church Modes
