| Scales & Modes |
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 Scales and
modes are an essential part of tonal music, defining the entire harmonic
structure upon which a piece is based.
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Major Scales |
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Minor Scales |
| The major scale is one
of the two main scales, known as the diatonic scales. The major scale is
formed from this pattern: WWWhWWWh, where W
is a whole step and h is a half step. |
| Ionian
Dorian Phrygian Lydian Mixolydian Aeolian Locrian |
| The second main scale
is the minor scale. There are three different forms of the minor scale -
the harmonic minor, the melodic minor, and the natural minor. |
Other Scales |
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| One other
common scale which does not fit into any of the other categories is the
pentatonic scale, which can be interpreted as the black keys of the piano.
It is commonly thought of as an oriental scale.
Another scale, the wholetone scale, is unique in that it uses only whole steps. Debussy used this type of scale a great deal. |