Scales

Mr D T Cotter
Music Graduate Teaching Assistant
Mount Kelly School, Tavistock, Devon
What is a scale?
• A set of musical notes, ordered by pitch
How many types of scale are there?
• Lots and lots. There are 63 of them!

• See how many you recognise…

 15 equal 16 equal 17 equal 19 equal 21 equal Acoustic scale Aeolian mode / Algerian scale
temperament temperament temperament temperament temperament natural minor
scale

Alpha scale Altered scale Augmented Bebop Beta scale Blues scale Bohlen-Pierce Chromatic scale
scale dominant scale scale

Delta scale Dorian mode Double Enigmatic scale Euler-Fokker Flamenco Gamma scale Gypsy scale
harmonic scale genus mode

Half-diminished Harmonic Harmonic Harmonic scale Hexany Hirajoshi scale Hungarian Hungarian
scale major scale minor scale gypsy scale minor scale

In scale Insen scale Ionian mode / Istrian scale Iwato scale Locrian mode Lydian Lydian mode
major scale augmented
scale

Major bebop Major locrian Major Melodic minor Melodic minor Minor Mixolydian Neapolitan
scale scale pentatonic scale scale pentatonic mode / Adonai major scale
scale (ascending) scale malakh mode

Neapolitan Non- Octatonic scale Pelog Persian scale Phrygian Phrygian mode Prometheus
minor scale Pythagorean dominant scale scale
scale

Quarter tone Scale of Slendro Tritone scale Ukranian Whole tone Yo scale
scale harmonics dorian scale scale
We’re going to focus on the 4 main scales?
• Chromatic
• Major
• Harmonic Minor
• Melodic Minor

***Important Point***

Scales always start on their tonic note!!

Chromatic scale
• A chromatic scale is a scale made up entirely of semitones.
• It can start and end on any note.

• Who wants to write out a chromatic scale on the board?

***Important Point***

Remember accidentals always come before the notehead!!

Major scale
• The Major scale has the following formula:

TTSTTTS
T = Tone S = Semi-tone

• Therefore, a C Major scale looks like this:

 Major scale - Exercise
• Name a note…then use the formula to find its major scale:

T T S T T T S
Harmonic minor scale
• This is the ‘easy’ minor scale.
• It is the same ascending as it is descending.

T S T T S 3S S
• Therefore, an A Harmonic minor scale looks like this:
 Harmonic Minor scale - Exercise
• Name a note…then use the formula to find its major scale:

T S T T S 3S S
Melodic minor scale
• This is the same as the Harmonic minor, with 2 changes:

1) When ascending, the 6th degree is sharpened

2) When descending, the 6th and 7th degrees of the scale are flattened

• Can you see the difference?

 Melodic minor - Exercise
• Can someone write out a Melodic minor scale on the board?

• Try one of these:

D Melodic Minor
E Melodic Minor
Remember class…