International Scales

[Frederic Petitpas]

Want to add a flavor to your song eh?

Let's have some scales to cook music with.

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It is very easy to read even if you don't know music theory. Just look at the "Semitone Original" column.

We'll take "Major" as an example: The Major Scale = 2212221

The first note you play is not included in the count. If you play a C, then the 2212221 tells you that you must play 2 semitones after C, then 2 more, then only 1 (which means the note right after) and so on.

On a guitar, if your first note is on the 3rd fret, you will go like this:

3-5-7-8-10-12-14-15

3 + 2 = 5 + 2 = 7 + 1 (as 221 of 2212221) [...]

If you understand this you can play any scale here.

[AngelCityOutlaw]

Excellent list Metal Man!

I caught the "eh?" at the end of your first sentence. Yay Canada.

[BlackPanther]

Oooo this may help a little, although I do want to get some things cleared up before I assume I understand this chart. Not sure I still understand the semitone original chart could you possibly clarify what the numbers mean? Also I'm assumin the generic major scale degree colum just means go up that scale and play based on the sharps and flats shown correct?

[Frederic Petitpas]

Not sure I still understand the semitone original chart could you possibly clarify what the numbers mean?

Ok this is actually a lot easier than the "generic" major thing, for me anyway.

Say you have 21422

You play a note (I don't know if you play piano or guitar)

You begin to count after the note you played. So to get to 2, you count 2 semitons after your first note.

So if you play C, you don't play the following black key but play the next white key. There, you counted 2 you're at the note D.

If you'd start from E on a guitar it'd be [that's a "tab" below]:

E|-0-2-3-7-9-11 (as in 21422)

Also I'm assumin the generic major scale degree colum just means go up that scale and play based on the sharps and flats shown correct?

Yes, you go with the usual Major mode in mind (whole whole half whole whole whole half) and use the sharps and flats to count if it's a whole step or a half.

Whole step = 2 semitons

Half = 1 semiton

Here's the E major on a guitar to make things a bit more visual.

Makes sense ? ;P

[evory]

Interesting list, I just have to nitpick a little because I'm an arrogant pedant, I apologise in advance. 12356 is the traditional Chinese pentatonic scale, not any 'Chinese Mongolian' whatever that may be. 13#457, the supposed Chinese scale, seems to be an inversion of the pentatonic Aeolian scale or something along those lines, it's not something I've actually heard in a single piece of Chinese music thus far. Also, the supposed Balinese scale is actually the 5 note mode of the gamelan pelog scale which is used in Java; the Balinese mode uses 7 notes. I'm not sure why I'm even saying all this.

[Garpocalypse]

2212221

Mantra Whole Whole Half Whole Whole Whole Half.

I think it's worth mentioning that those scales are not based off of the individual countries music history or culture but rather just "how that country sounds" to us in western music theory.

I would recommend picking up Scales&Modes In The Beginning by Ron Middlebrook. Excellent resource for learning more of what's out there.