Most people who are just beginning their involvement with music learn about the musical scales first. These scales might have just five notes, or they might have twelve, and they can sound sad or happy, evoking all kinds of emotions from listeners. Music is very prevalent in all our lives – we can listen to it for entertainment, we hear it in movie and television scores, and it’s even in all the commercials we see on TV.
Google display advertising companies help clients to produce music that will be remembered by listeners and who will then associate that music with their brand. This is a subtle way of establishing engagement with potential customers, and of cementing that relationship for the long-term. In this article, we’ll be examining the different musical scales and how they can represent various musical styles.
What exactly are musical scales?
Music is comprised of three different elements, those being melody, rhythm, and harmony. While melody and harmony may or may not be present in a specific musical composition, the one element that’s always present is rhythm. The overwhelming majority of all musical compositions will also include melody and harmony, and in Western music, melody and harmony are created from 12 different pitches.
These diverse pitches can be organized into scales, which are sequences of notes that incorporate some of those 12 different pitches. While there is no set rule for determining how many pitches must be included in a specific scale, the most common scales generally contain five, seven, or twelve pitches. A five-pitch scale is known as a pentatonic scale, a seven-pitch scale is referred to as a heptatonic scale, and a twelve-pitch scale is a chromatic scale.
Major scales and minor scales
In Western music, there are quite a few scales, but the real workhorse among them is the heptatonic scale, i.e. the seven-pitch scale. Major scales sound happy and uplifting, so they are often used to generate a positive mood in listeners. On the other hand, minor scales tend to sound darker and more ominous, so they are generally used to convey a feeling of sadness, discontent, and sometimes even terror.
Actually, there are three different minor scales: the harmonic minor, the natural minor, and the melodic minor. Most listeners would recognize the natural minor scale first, since it’s used most commonly in Western music. Whenever you hear music that sounds a little scary or depressing, it’s probably been largely composed using the natural minor scale. You’ll find this kind of music very often in horror movies or scary television shows.
Major and minor pentatonic scales
All pentatonic scales have only five pitches, which means two of the pitches from a heptatonic scale have been left out. This has the effect of creating catchy music that resonates strongly with listeners and can be adapted for use in many different musical styles. These scales are often used in the production of country music, as well as in rock music, blues, and folk music. This is not surprising since this scale uses the five notes from a major scale, which have the highest number of underlying chords associated.
Minor pentatonic scales also include five notes from the natural minor scale, with two pitches left out again. You will often hear minor pentatonic scales in creepy horror movies or perhaps in the score of a presentation that evokes sadness or fear.
Blues scales
By adding an extra note to the minor pentatonic scale, you can create a blues scale, which, of course, would be used in many blues compositions and similar-sounding music. The extra note is what gives blues music its distinctive sound and flavor. The standard minor pentatonic scale can be used to play blues music, but that extra sharp note that you include is what characterizes it as a distinctly blues scale. The major blues scale is sometimes used in gospel music, and that’s why it’s referred to as the gospel scale, but the minor blues scale is far more common, and is instantly recognizable.
Modes of the scales
Modes of a scale consist of a set of scales having very distinctive qualities, which can be produced from either a minor or major scale. These modes will have a very distinctive pattern of tones and semitones associated with them, and these patterns can be built starting with a seven-note scale. The modes which have a ‘major’ sound to them include the Ionian, Lydian, and Mixolydian modes.
The Ionian mode is really just another way of saying a major scale. The Lydian scale consists of a pattern starting on the fourth degree and is very closely associated with a major scale. This kind of music is considered uplifting, and is often used to convey an inspirational mood, as it does in the movie E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial. The Mixolydian mode is a scale pattern that starts on the fifth degree, and is also closely associated with the major scale. You can hear the Mixolydian scale in all kinds of popular music from genres like blues, rock, and fusion. One great example of Mixolydian mode is the guitar solos included on Steely Dan’s Reelin’ in the Years.
Then too, there are the minor-sounding modes: the Aeolian, the Dorian, and the Phrygian. The Aeolian is a major scale that begins on the sixth degree, and since this constitutes the exact same pattern as a minor scale, the Aeolian is often used interchangeably with minor scales. The Dorian mode is a major scale starting on the second degree and is very commonly used by guitarists, whether they be blues guitarists or hard rock gurus. The Phrygian mode is a major scale pattern that starts on the third degree, but also includes a minor tonality. This is often a featured component of the Arabian music characteristic of North Africa and Spain.
Usage of modes in music
Modes like those described above have a very definite use in popular music. You can think of modes as colours on a palette and these colours range from very light to very dark. Modes like the Lydian mode have the most raised notes and therefore sound the brightest and cheeriest. These are at the ‘light’ end of the musical spectrum. Modes that incorporate a number of lowered tones, like the Phrygian, are the darker-sounding scales that sound more ominous or brooding. Using modes can emphasize the brightness or darkness of any musical composition, and is therefore very useful when trying to create a specific mood for listeners.
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