history of scales

Are some of the melodic scales we love today to create our American styles similar in sound to the ones the Greek and Roman civilizations used thousands of years ago in creating their music? Do our present day melodic resources go all the way back to the Neanderthal folks? Some do believe so, that the musical scales we all use today to create our music have been around a very, very long time. fn

The following ideas follow a combined theoretical and historical evolution of our present day scales and provides a way to organically organize the modern melodic resources available to the creative artist today. The core scale of this organization is the 5 note pentatonic relative major / relative minor scale. Musicologists find these colors as far back in our civilized history as they have been able to so far convincingly venture and the pentatonic melodies that have been preserved and passed along through the generations of players by whatever means, have no ethnic or cultural boundaries. So, starting with the pentatonic sounds, the following ideas outline the evolution of this color into other essential scales used to create the various styles of American music.

Pentatonic scale. One historical core of American music is the ancient pentatonic color. A common choice for indigenous players globally for creating their magic, the pentatonic colors enjoy current fame in American music in a big way with rockers and blues players, kids love pentatonic melodies, there is quite a bit of this color in the new age music, and even jazz players use the pentatonic colors, oftentimes using their ancient sounds to move outside the realms of structured tonality. This 5 note relative major / minor configuration of the same group of pitches forms the basis of our modern tonalities today. Compare the two colors. Example 1.

Example 1a.

Perhaps the melodic motif of bars 1and 2 is familiar? Bars 5 and 6 improvises a similar idea in the minor environment. Same pitches, two distinctly different colors, why? Is there a theoretical basis for the difference? Yes there is, the difference is in what theorists term the intervals, actual musical measurement between pitches. Who said we are not scientists?

So, the intervals between the pitches are different? Let's measure. Example 2.

Not surprising that some of the intervals of the major pentatonic color are the major 2nd, 3rd and 6th. And that the minor color has the minor 3rd and minor 7th. Where do these numerical numbers come from? Well, the numerical label identifies the distance between pitches as written on the staff, representing the actual sounds that we hear. We use the number 1 to identify the tonic pitch we are measuring from. Example 2a.

Here are the intervals from the chart above written out in standard notation. Example 2b.

Combining the ideas from the two charts above, we can now easily assign numbers for each of the pitches and begin to use the term scale degree. Here is a chart of the letter names and corresponding numbers by scale degree. Example 2c.

We can use these numbers with the minor pentatonic scale as well. Example 2d.

Cool so far? Why do we want to theoretically associate the letter names of pitches with numbers? Well, associating letter names with numbers allows us to internalize one set of numerical theory guidelines which can then be applied to any of the 12 groupings of major or minor pentatonic pitches possible. Thinking along these lines, does understanding the theory of American music often involve one set of theory principles projected from the 12 pitches of the chromatic scale? Yes, it can. The concepts remain the same, it is the letter names that change as we move through the various keys and colors. One set of theoretical principles, 12 starting points or tonal centers called keys. Do all styles of the American music use the 12 keys? No. Do any of the styles use the 12 keys in one tune? Rarely if ever. Does an understanding of the 12 tone system expand one's musical possibilities? Without a doubt.

Adding the tritone. The first expansion from our ancient pentatonic color is created by mixing into these five note scales what is termed the tritone color. We do this by simply adding additional pitches. This next idea adds one pitch Eb into the group. Cool with the musical interval between our root pitch A and Eb? Example 3.

Sound familiar? Click again. Besides the tritone and minor pentatonic pitches, So what's in the sound of bars 16 and 17 above?

This next idea adds the tritone color into the major pentatonic color scale by using two pitches, the span between them being the tritone interval. Example 3a.

Sound familiar? Do you know another name for the scale in bars 20 and 21?

So, where does the tritone color originally come from? That is hard to say, it's dissonant tonal quality kept it out of European church music for centuries. In American music, I believe the tritone color was borrowed from the European equal tempered system and merged with the minor pentatonic color when European culture met the mostly rural, indigenous natured pentatonic sounds of the native Americans and the people forced to migrate from the African's in the 1700's. From this merging of musical cultures in early America, the blues scale was born. Did they come together in a church down south during the 1800's when folks finally got a tuned piano and someone to play it? The equal temper colors and the blues scale are the two main melodic resources for American music. Do you recognize the new colors created by adding the tritone to both the minor and major pentatonic colors? Yes? No? Both of these new colors are integral components of the American sounds we dig. Let's review a bit then move on.

Adding the one pitch tritone color to the minor pentatonic scale we create the all important color of the American musicians palette, the blues scale. Example 4, basic blues lick.

Adding the 2 pitch tritone grouping to the major pentatonic color creates the major scale, formally known as the Ionian mode. Example 4a.

Does this last melody sound even vaguely familiar? Yes? Cool. No? Keep trying. The idea in example 4 and 4a is that scales are simply "groups of pitches to create melodic ideas from." Both the blues and major scale are potentially important colors on our musical palettes. The major scale and its relative minor by far and away have created most of the popular melodies of American music. Adding the blues into this equal tempered environment is the true American "spice."

So, is this how our melodic resources historically evolved? From pentatonic to major / minor? No, not really, although the major / relative minor groups were part of our melodic ancestry, they were not the principle colors. Really? Yep, when our present day equal tempered system was just a twinkle in the eyes of future players, a system of modes was the center of our musical universe.

Above in the text, the number 12 appeared in conjunction with the "how many" of a particular grouping of pitches or scale. This next idea is what the "equal tempering" or retuning of the pitches allows to happen. Let's look at a picture of a piano keyboard spanning one octave and include the letter names of all of the pitches. Example 5.

Look familiar? Counting the white and black keys from the left to right we have 12 different letter names. If we can build a major scale starting on the pitch C as in example 5 above, can we also build a major scale from the other 11 letter names? Yes we can. Same with the blues scale? You bet cha! All and any scale forever and ever? Well... for the most part, sure, why not? The ability to project scales and chords from each of the 12 tones is part of the magic of the equal tempered system. The other part of equal temper "magic" is that individually, each key is in tune with itself as well as with their 11 neighbors, over the entire 7 octave range of a well tuned piano. How is that possible? Is it in the tempering of the pitches, a rather complex process with lots of variables? Yep.

So, is there a standard way to organize the 12 keys? Of course, we have it all here. One way is to organize the 12 equal divisions of the octave within equal temper like the hours on the face of a clock. As theorists, we can call this picture the cycle of fifths. Why that name? Well, the fifth is the first partial, after the octave, in the overtone series. So, based on the naturally occurring overtone series, i.e., sounds created within nature, this convenient "key clock" is based on the motion by fifths. Example 6.

Look familiar? C at 12 o'clock. Moving clockwise to the right, what is the fifth degree of the C major scale? Count out the letter names of the C major scale on your fingers. 1,2,3,4,5, the fifth is G. Yes? G is at 1o'clock. What is the fifth degree of G? D right? Round and round. Moving counterclockwise to the left, the keys move by fourth. What is the fourth scale degree of C major? F, right? Fourth degree of F major? Bb, n'est pas? Bb? Are you hip to the "b" of Bb? Theorists call it an accidental. So, round and round until the loop of keys closes upon itself.

In American music, can we project any kind of scale or chord from each of the 12 pitches? Yes we can. This is part of the equal temper magic. With this in mind, the theory of American music is perhaps most easily understood by listening to it's popular styles over the last couple of hundred years. Can we define the various styles of American music by their theoretical complexity? Well, we can try right? Here goes.

American folk music and its modern cousins, bluegrass and country, is generally based on the major / relative minor scales and their modes, usually created from one key. Although there is usually a main melody and a contrasting idea, they tend to come from the same key center, thus the same pitches, making many folk songs reasonably basic in their theoretical makeup. The harmony is for the most part triadic while chord progressions are diatonic. The story being told is the focus, the music simply sets the mood of the tale.

Early blues folk music is much the same. The story being told is the focus of the song. Theoretically, a couple of blues pitches and chords from one key, usually expanding the triad to include it's seventh. Of interest is perhaps the idea that blues music is a combination of melodies created from the blues scale supported by chords from equal temper. We generally place these blues ideas into the 12 bar blues form. Oftentimes based on a 2 part call and response phrasing, the 12 bar blues form is to this day the predominate vehicle for many players of American music. Rockers, country, blues and jazz players globally use this cool and basic 12 bar form to tell their stories and excite their worlds.

American rock music is much like folk and blues, a couple of pitches and a couple of chords in it's most basic presentation. The blues based, three chord One / Four / Five rock progression is a mainstay and theoretically pretty basic. From the emergence of rock and roll in the 50's to present day hip hop, rap, world and pop, the theoretical complexity of the music contained within the broad category called "rock" spans an enormous range.

Jazz music is potentially the most complex of the truly indigenous American musical styles. Based on a combination of the blues and equal temperament colors, the various styles of jazz that have evolved over the last 100 years or so have fully explored the melodic and harmonic vocabularies of equal temperament and the blues. The rhythms and tempos used to create jazz are often more complex and faster than traditional folk, blues and rock, oftentimes demanding a higher skill level of the players to execute the music. Unlike the other forms of popular American music, it is common in jazz music to find multiple key centers, multiple themes, incorporating different styles i.e., swing, Latin, within one composition. Adding up these possibilities together makes the world of jazz music potentially complex. And with certain jazz artists and their compositions, very, very complex theoretically and a real joy and challenge to perform.

In all of the styles of American music, the main contribution of the European equal temperament is the highly sophisticated melodic and harmonic resource as represented and created by a well tuned piano. And as so often happens in writing and performance, the melodies of American music often include the variably tuned blues color. This pairing of colors is placed within a performance tradition of American styles whereby players often get to "jam" a bit within the performing of the tune. Some gigs are total jams and are called just that jam sessions. These sessions have historically played an important role in the development of new styles and emerging players. 

Advanced players of all of the American styles cherish and prepare for this opportunity to play "themes and create their variations", as an integral part of the true American musical art forms. Not that this "jamming" aspect of playing music is historically unique to American music, but the purposeful combination of these two colors, the blues and equal temperament in a jamming format, this is one key aspect theoretically that is unique to the creation of American music. The inherent "looseness" of the performance format by including a bit of the "jam" within, is balanced by the ability of the players to play by ear within the established musical forms used by all of us to tell our stories. Perhaps this freedom of pitch and jamming within a common format to all is reflective of the spirit of the historical American philosophies and ideals? Comments?

With this in mind, lets go back to the key clock or cycle of fifths diagram and pick up with the theoretical organization of the tonal resources used to create the various styles of American music. What if we were to arrange the pitches contained on the key clock / cycle of fifths by half steps? Would we create a scale? If so, what scale would we create? Here is the cycle of fifths respelt by half step. Example 7.

Lets write the 12 pitches arranged by half step on the staff and see what we get, shall we? Example 7a.

Sound familiar? Got these pitches under your fingers? Can you sing the line? Theorists call this scale the chromatic scale. I like to think of it as the "grandparent" of all of the scales and chords we use to create American music. Why is that? Well, all of the pitches we need to create any of the melodic or harmonic resources from the equal tempered system is contained in this chromatic grouping of 12 pitches. Recognize this melody? Example 7b.

This old-time "carnival" lick is created from the chromatic scale and still today retains the magic to prompt memories of days gone by, thus is the power of music. Do you know any other chromatic melodies? I don't. But in advanced blues, rock and jazz, we often find bits of the chromatic color inserted into a player's lines. The chromatic color helps "blur" the tonal direction, creating a heightened sense of tension and release.

Is there another way to spell these pitches? Yes there is. Theorists call this different spelling of a pitch an enharmonic equivalent. Here is a comparison chart for the more common of these different labels for the same pitch. Example 7c.

Why choose one pitch label over another? The labeling of a pitch is usually determined by it's key signature, convenience, or direction of the musical line. Whichever label allows for the easiest transfer of ideas, either in the written music or verbally from one player to another usually determines it's identity.

So, the intervalic formula for the chromatic scale is simply consecutive half steps ( 1 / 2 ). Are there formulas for other types of scales? Yes there is. Can one formula build all of the 12 versions of one type of scale? Yes, and this is the key to simplify the learning process. Lets examine the interval formula used to create the major scale. Using C as the root, here is a chart showing the formula, intervals and pitches. Example 8.

What is the key signature for the key of C major? Are there any sharps or flats? Nope. Here is a picture of the keyboard showing the pitches of the C major scale. Example 8a.

From the chart above, notice that there is no black key between the letters E and F, B and C? Which interval does that correspond to? Whole step? Half step? E to F and B to C? These two half steps are set in stone so to speak and are an important part of the foundational construction of the equal temperament system.

So, does one interval formula projected from each of the 12 pitches of the chromatic scale create all 12 of the major scales? Yes it does. Really? Yes, the intervals are the same, it is simply the letter names that change. Here is a chart containing the interval formula for creating the major scale and the letter names created from the 12 pitches of the chromatic scale, the listing of the 12 keys are arranged by fifths. Example 8b.

Let's put these 12 major scales onto the treble clef. Depending on your artistic essence, the major scale can cover a lot of ground. Just getting these 12 scales / pitches / keys under your fingers is a solid step for lots of players and potentially opens up a new vista for the emerging creative artist. Can you play the 12 major scales on your chosen instrument?  Give it a try. Here are the 12 major scales of the equal temperament just cooking along. Example 8.

Cool huh? What about the minor colors and their variations? The blues scale? As done above with the major scale, we can build any scale color from any of the 12 pitches of the chromatic scale. Why would we want to do this? Well, each of the 12 keys are said to have their own distinct color and timbre. That the sharp keys ( keys containing #'s G, D, A, E, B ) are thought to be "brighter" sounding, the flat keys, ( keys with b's, F, Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb ) are said to be darker, more "somber." So, when we write a happy song, we might try it out in a key with some sharp pitches. More reflective ideas are perhaps better presented in keys with flat notes. Cool with this? Is this even possible? Your ideas on this color of keys?

Can we use the major scale as a basis to derive other melodic resources available to the creative musician? Yes we can. What are some of the different scales we can organically or diatonically create from within the major scale? Familiar with either of the following two choices?

Click on scales / modes for a discussion of all of the standard melodic resources available to the creative musician. So from what melodic resources do all of our melodies come from? If all of the scales and chords can come from the chromatic scale, do all melodies and chord progressions come from the chromatic scale too? Well, in theory they do, but what scale resources are the most common? Well, does that depend on what style of music you dig? Could. Are certain groups of pitches used to create the sounds of a particular musical style? Exactly. Exceptions? Always, this is American music right? Here is a handy chart linking various American musical styles with the musical resources so often used to create them.

The key factor in regards to learning the theory is to initially focus in on those aspects that are used to create the music you are now playing. Once this theory of what you are already doing is understood, it is easy to create new paths of learning. What is your path?

Other topics in this section?

Grout, Donald J. History of music

"It's not how you start but how you finish." NCAA motto.