Questions tagged [scales]
For questions about playing, understanding, or studying scales.
1,279 questions
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Can I keep my thumb on the B♭ Briccialdi key?
A couple of elementary flute books lead me to believe that the standard fingering for the note B♭ on the flute is:
Note
Thumb
Left Hand
Right Hand
Little Finger
B♭(i)
B♮
1 – –
1 – –
D♯
It follows ...
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What is the actual difference between scales of the same notes?
I've recently been improvising on various scales, and one thing that I really don't understand is the difference between for example C Major and A Minor, or C Major and D Dorian scales. When I'm ...
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Pythagoras and his Scale Degrees: Modes [duplicate]
Why did Pythagoras name each scale/modal degree off regions of Greece?
1.) Ionian
2.) Dorian
3.) Phyrigian
4.) Lydian
5.) Mixolydian
6.) Aeolian
7.) Locrian
Are they characteristics of the music of ...
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Why is it that all major scales are formulated this way? [closed]
Why is it that major scales are formulated by starting from an arbitrary note and going, TTSTTTS? Aren't there other ways to make the music sound happy? Why don't we use those? And why don't we just ...
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How do you make reference to this note in a relative way?
Me and my band have an intermdiate knowledge of musical theory, please look at this image to see how we reference each note. In a C minor context:
As you can see, there we have a way to reference all ...
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How do I interpret this Just Intonation scale?
I understand the concept in terms of whole number division for frequencies in a scale to some degree, but when trying to learn Arnold Dreyblatt's scale (link below), I'm lost as to what the fractions ...
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Chord progression in F but with a stray B note
Longtime lazy play-by-ear guitarist, now working on learning theory (and if it matters, mainly focusing on the ukulele now)
I was fiddling around the other night and came up with a progression that I'...
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what is the proper guideline for choosing a scale over a chord?
When playing solo over a chord, a scale should be chosen.
When a musician choose a certain scale, what is the rationale behind?
I can come up with a few points but only poorly.
such scale
has ...
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Representing notes of the musical scale with color
I know this might sound a bit like the bikeshedding problem, or what's the best pizza topping in the world...
But if you have to choose a way to use color to represent notes of the musical scale (e.g. ...
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How to get more accurate performances with difficult passages (eg. the end of Chopin Nocturne in C# minor)
I am playing piano as a hobby, but I am putting a lot of effort into perfecting the pieces I like.
Specifically, I am playing Chopin nocturne in c sharp minor and although I am playing it for a while, ...
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Harmonic minor 'A'. How is left hand (bass staff) affected?
I'm following along Alfred's basic adult piano course book. They've introduced a harmonic minor scale, but I'm confused about what happens to the bass staff.
In the book it says "The 7th tone (G) ...
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What scale is between minor and Major in quality?
I remember learning something about this in regular Music Education class, (not in Music Theory class), when I was in Elementary School. I don’t remember what grade I learned it in, but it was ...
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scale degree notation question
While watching Seth Monahan's Youtube videos on Classical harmony and counterpoint,
I noticed that he used ^1 ^2 ^3 ^4 ^5 ^6 ^7 for minor scale.
I have read harmony books on different genres other ...
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Do these notes belong to the same scale, and, if not, why don't they seem dissonant?
I was watching the notes of a song I like, and I found this:
I don't know much if anything about music theory, but in most scales I have used, most 3-note chords can't include a note next to one of ...
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Identity of scale of chord progression I created
While messing around with my piano, and experimenting with different chords, I created a pleasant-sounding chord progression. Problem is, I've spent a long while trying to identify what scale is ...
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Modes Scales and Keys
Is it correct to refer to modes as keys, or are they simply modes? If they're not keys, how come C Ionian is referred to as the major key, and its relative minor key, Am, (Aeolian), referred to as the ...
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Is there a ''mathematical'' reason for the distinction of black/white keys on a piano or is there only a cultural reason?
This question can be found in different forms on the internet and this website. Unfortunately, I am not satisfied with the given answers: They are partly even different from another. So please let me ...
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12 bar Blues in Bm scale
The first four bars of the Bminor blues are
Bm7 / Em7 / Bm7 / Bm7
What does the 7 mean? Does it indicate that the 7th note of the Bminor scale (A) needs to be included in the chord and the same for ...
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Fuzzy notes or some clearer, well-known term out there for what I mean?
Pondering about a yet-to-implement feature in a DIY software tool, also to be yet well-documented for other computer musicians who might be interested in the future.
The tool is an interpreter or ...
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Pentatonic and Chinese tradition - what I am getting wrong?
I am not a musician, just a dilettante. I am interested in the traditional Chinese music system, which is supposed to be a pentatonic scale.
According to Wiki, one way to get a pentatonic scale is to ...
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Chopin Nocturne in C sharp minor Scales RH and LF correspondence, does one choice make more sense musically than another?
Take the longest scale (measure 56--in this previous discussion some alternatives were given but it does not address my question): The Henle edition I have (shown here) seems to group rather evenly (...
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Are there any disadvantages to using 12 letters for the musical notes, instead of 7 letters with sharps/flats? [duplicate]
I am working on a fantasy spoken language for a fantasy world ultimately (long ways away from that!). One thing I'm currently dealing with is the basic letters used to make the sounds/words, and ...
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Major chords on bass guitar
So I've been playing the bass for about a year and a half, I play most nights and play with friends as often as I can. Until now I have only played songs I can get tab for, and spend time learning it ...
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Why does this Roman numeral chord have a ♯ prefix?
These are the chords for some A minor scales:
For melodic minor, why does the F♯o diminished chord have a '♯' in front of the Roman numeral, and the G♯o diminished chord does not?
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I can generally sing on-key, but I fear that I'll sing off key in front of the audience. What should I do?
So I've been wondering that: I can generally sing a song with correct pitches (is it called on-key singing? Sorry, english is not my first language) without guide melody on home.
But throughout my ...
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How to practice guitar scales on the first 3 strings [closed]
I am just beginning to learn the guitar.
Maybe it is natural, but personally I find it more difficult playing the upper part of a scale (or higher in pitch, 1st, 2nd and 3rd strings) mainly because of ...
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Are there widely accepted names for 31edo modes?
I am looking for scales and modes in 31edo, and I found this page:
https://en.xen.wiki/w/31edo_modes
It's overall a nice library of scales. The issue is, the namings are too unique that I cannot find ...
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Can we shift the diatonic scale "one fifth" to the left?
The seven-note Pythagorean scale is obtain by completing the cycle of fifths until we get to the eighth fifth.
The diatonic scale is obtained by starting with the fourth and then running the cycle of ...
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Why is the key typically the first and/or last note (or chord) of a song?
Is there a strategical reason when composing for the key to commonly be the first and/or last note (or chord) of a song?
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How did minor 2nd get its name?
In the natural, or harmonic or melodic minor scale, we do not find the minor 2nd note which is rather found in Phrygian or Locrian Mode, or maybe Ionian#1. Then why is this note called minor 2nd if it ...
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What is a scale consisting of Root, m3, M3, P4, P5, M6, m7 called?
In a chord progression that follows a circle-of-fourths pattern with each chord being a dominant 7 chord (each chord is R, M3, 5, m7), each successive pair of chords contains 7 notes, with one shared ...
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Confusion regarding intervals
In my study of intervals I learned that two notes separated by one semitone is a minor 2nd interval. This feels quite intuitive to me and I readily accepted this fact a long time ago.
Just recently, ...
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Why does Cmaj7 and Emaj7 sound good (or a name to describe this progression)?
I have an extremely limited understanding of theory, and from what I currently understand, chords will sound good together if they share a common key/scale (e.g. for C major scale, the chords that ...
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What is the difference in playing a mode in key vs in sequence?
So I got more serious about guitar recently and I learned the major scale and all of the modes.
My question is, what is the difference, assuming you’re in the key of G major, in playing A Dorian, and ...
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Are there names for the different Pentatonic scales?
We all know on the guitar there are 5 positions for the Pentatonic Scale and a big deal is made about position 1 being the minor pentatonic and position 2 being the major pentatonic. But what about ...
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How to handle songs whose scales are neither major or minor in harmonic mixing?
Harmonic mixing typically relies on the circle of fifths, often renamed as the "Camelot wheel" in the context of harmonic mixing. However, that circle/wheel only contains two scales: major ...
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Could a program perform automated scale/mode detection beyond just the major and minor scales?
The automated scale/mode detection programs that I am aware of such as Mixed in Key can only detect major and minor scales, in addition to the key. Could there also be programs that could perform ...
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Why is the scale of Hotel California B-min but not F#-phrygian?
I was listening Hotel California by Eagles and decided that F# is the key/tonic for this song. Thus it has to be F#-Phrygian scale. But over the internet I see that it is B-minor. It means it has same ...
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Playing a scale with a flat 10 across multiple octaves
Let's say I'm playing a keyboard solo and I'm using a C major scale with a flat 10.
So I play an E in the first octave and an E flat in the second octave, but then I get very, showy prog-rocky and I ...
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How do find the key signature in "Fantasia on Greensleeves" [closed]
Can someone verify if Ralph Vaughan Williams "Fantasia on Greensleeves" is played in F natural minor/melodic minor scale or C minor, if not which key signature?
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Why is music using a temperament other than 12-TET rare today?
There are several other temperaments like 19-TET and 31-TET, but almost all modern music uses 12-TET. Why aren't the two former used more often?
anon
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How do i arrange chords after mixing pentatonic modes?
The Ionian mode which is the Major scale - is the second mode of the minor pentatonic scale (the Major pentatonic scale) plus a Perfect 4th and a Major 7th notes. It is also a combination of, for ...
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What is the specific key and tuning for this tongue drum I just got? [duplicate]
I just got a tongue drum and I'm not sure how to look up music or tabs specifically for it. The numbers starting at 1 and going around clockwise are: 1, 6 with a dot below, 2, 5, 1 with a dot above, 5 ...
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Do added-tone chords change depending on the key?
I'm so confused. I have three questions.
1. Is the added tone (or note) counted from the tonic of a key or the root note of the chord?
2. Since, with the same scale degree, a note changes depending on ...
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Why is it the C Major scale that is played without accidentals, instead of A [duplicate]
Why is it C's Major scale that comes without accidentals instead of A?
The C Major scale is played C D E F G A B C
The C chromatic scale is played C C# D D# E F F# G G# A A# B C
Why was it decided ...
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Why are all legato practices about 3 notes per string?
Is it normal if I practice legato on 5 positions major, minor scale?
The thing I notice practicing legato with 5 positions scale is harder to keep tracking on metronome, since some string only has two ...
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Two categories of scales
There are scales like C-Major or Eb harmonic Minor or A-octatonic or G# Mixo(#11) or E-acoustic. Heck, what not, a plenty of scales actually, more you could imagine to be listed here.
And there are ...
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How do I use moveable solfege to play songs by ear? [duplicate]
I've been told solfege will help me play a melody by ear and have been learning about it.
One thing that really confuses me, is do I approach it by using intervals to remake the song? For example when ...
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How to find the parent scale (prime form?) for a group of sibling modes?
Reminder: I know just enough theory to be really annoying. this is everything I know about it. so far.
I've calculated all the possible modes and recently learned they all have names but what eludes ...
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When was the term "scale degree" coined? Or where did it originate?
Today is the first time I've heard the term "scale degree". When was the term coined? Or where did it originate?
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