Intervals & Scales
The distances between notes, and the collections they form.
Aeolian mode
The Aeolian mode is a musical mode or, in modern usage, a diatonic scale also called the natural minor scale. On the piano, using only the white keys, it is the scale that starts with A and continues
Read → EntryBlues scale
The term blues scale refers to several different scales with differing numbers of pitches and related characteristics. A blues scale is often formed by the addition of an out-of-key "blue note" to an
Read → EntryChromatic scale
In Western music, a chromatic scale (or twelve-tone scale) is a set of twelve pitches within an octave, where the interval between any two adjacent notes is a semitone. The chromatic scale is a
Read → EntryChromaticism
Chromaticism is a compositional technique interspersing the primary diatonic pitches and chords with other pitches of the chromatic scale. In simple terms, within each octave, diatonic music uses
Read → EntryCircle of fifths
In music theory, the circle of fifths (sometimes also cycle of fifths) organizes the twelve pitch classes of the chromatic scale in a cycle of ascending perfect fifths. Since the cycle ascends in the
Read → EntryDiatonic and chromatic
Diatonic and chromatic are terms in music theory that are used to characterize scales. The terms are also applied to musical instruments, intervals, chords, notes, musical styles, and kinds of
Read → EntryDiatonic scale
In music theory, a diatonic scale is a heptatonic (seven-note) scale that includes five whole steps (whole tones) and two half steps (semitones) in each octave, in which the two half steps are
Read → EntryDorian mode
The Dorian mode or Doric mode can refer to three very different but interrelated subjects: one of the ancient harmoniai (characteristic melodic behaviour, or the scale structure associated with it);
Read → EntryEnharmonic equivalence
In music, two written notes have enharmonic equivalence if they produce the same pitch but are notated differently. Similarly, written intervals, chords, or key signatures are considered enharmonic
Read → EntryHarmonic minor scale
The harmonic minor scale (or Aeolian ♮7 scale) is a musical scale derived from the natural minor scale, with the minor seventh degree raised by one semitone to a major seventh, creating an augmented
Read → EntryInterval (music)
In music theory, an interval is a difference in pitch between two sounds. An interval may be described as horizontal, linear, or melodic if it refers to successively sounding tones, such as two
Read → EntryIonian mode
The Ionian mode is a musical mode or, in modern usage, a diatonic scale also called the major scale. It is named after the Ionian Greeks. It is the name assigned by Heinrich Glarean in 1547 to his
Read → EntryKey (music)
In Western tonal music, a key represents the most common pitches and the center of tonal stability in a song or other composition. A key has two components: a tonic pitch and a mode. The tonic pitch
Read → EntryLocrian mode
The Locrian mode is the seventh mode of the diatonic scale. It is either a musical mode or simply a diatonic scale. On the keyboard it is the scale that starts with B and uses only the white keys
Read → EntryLydian mode
The modern Lydian mode is a seven-tone musical scale formed from a rising pattern of pitches comprising three whole tones, a semitone, two more whole tones, and a final semitone. : \key c \lydian
Read → EntryMajor scale
A major scale is a sequence of musical notes containing a major triad on the tonic. Most commonly, the term "major scale" refers to the natural major scale (or Ionian mode), which is one of the most
Read → EntryMajor second
In Western music theory, a major second (sometimes also called whole tone or a whole step) is a second spanning two semitones (). A second is a musical interval encompassing two adjacent staff
Read → EntryMajor third
In music theory, a third is a musical interval encompassing three staff positions (see Interval number for more details), and the major third () is a third spanning four half steps or two whole
Read → EntryMinor scale
A minor scale is a sequence of musical notes in which the third scale degree is a minor third above the tonic. The notes A–B–C–D–E–F–G form a prototypical minor scale. There are three common types of
Read → EntryMinor third
In music theory, a minor third is a musical interval that encompasses three half steps, or semitones. Staff notation represents the minor third as encompassing three staff positions (see: interval
Read → EntryMixolydian mode
Mixolydian mode may refer to one of three things: the name applied to one of the ancient harmoniai or tonoi, based on a particular octave species or scale, one of another ancient church modes, or a
Read → EntryMode (music)
In music theory, the term mode or modus is used in a number of distinct senses, depending on context. Its most common use may be described as a type of musical scale coupled with a set of
Read → EntryOctatonic scale
An octatonic scale is any eight-note musical scale. However, the term most often refers to the ancohemitonic symmetric scale composed of alternating whole and half steps, as shown in the accompanying
Read → EntryOctave
In music, an octave (: eighth) or perfect octave (sometimes called the diapason) is an interval between two tones, one having twice the frequency of vibration of the other. For instance, the interval
Read → EntryParallel key
In music theory, a major scale and a minor scale that have the same starting note (tonic) are called parallel keys and are said to be in a parallel relationship. For example, G major and G minor have
Read → EntryPentatonic scale
A pentatonic scale is a musical scale with five notes per octave, in contrast to heptatonic scales, which have seven notes per octave (such as the major scale and minor scale). Pentatonic scales were
Read → EntryPerfect fifth
In music theory, a perfect fifth is the musical interval corresponding to a pair of pitches with a frequency ratio of 3:2, or very nearly so. In classical music from Western culture, a fifth is the
Read → EntryPerfect fourth
A fourth is a musical interval encompassing four staff positions in the music notation of Western culture, and a perfect fourth () is the fourth spanning five semitones (half steps, or half tones).
Read → EntryPhrygian mode
: \key c \phrygian \override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f \relative c' \clef treble \time 8/4 c4^\markup Modern C Phrygian mode des es f g aes bes c The Phrygian mode (pronounced ) can refer
Read → EntryRelative key
In music theory, relative keys are the major and minor scales that have the same key signatures (enharmonically equivalent), meaning that they share all of the same notes but are arranged in a
Read → EntryScale (music)
In music theory, a scale is "any consecutive series of notes that form a progression between one note and its octave", typically by order of pitch or fundamental frequency. Often, especially in the
Read → EntrySemitone
In Western music theory, a semitone (also called a half step or half tone) is one of two parts into which a whole tone is divided. Semitones appear as the smallest steps in chromatic scales (which
Read → EntryTransposition (music)
In music, transposition refers to the process or operation of moving a collection of notes (pitches or pitch classes) up or down in pitch by a constant interval. For example, a music transposer might
Read → EntryTritone
In music theory, a tritone is a musical interval spanning three whole tones. For instance, the interval from F to the B above it (in short, F–B) is a tritone as it can be decomposed into the three
Read → EntryWhole-tone scale
In music, a whole-tone scale is a scale in which each note is separated from its neighbors by the interval of a whole tone. In twelve-tone equal temperament, there are only two complementary
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