scale
Let an agent explain musical scales and their construction, relay major scale types, modes and non-Western scales from music theory sources, describe experimental scales, and distinguish scales from modes as a related concept, from keys and from tuning systems.
Research draft, second pass
A second pass drafted this model: the structure a model of this thing needs, and what is known about it in the world. The line under this one says how the second half was obtained - researched against sources, or recalled without web access, in which case nothing here was read anywhere and every claim is a lead to verify. Unreviewed either way.
written by Claude from model knowledge without web access - no source was read, every claim is a lead to verify
Researched by: Claude
Purpose and description
Let an agent explain musical scales and their construction, relay major scale types, modes and non-Western scales from music theory sources, describe experimental scales, and distinguish scales from modes as a related concept, from keys and from tuning systems.
A set of musical notes ordered by pitch, forming the material for melodies and harmonies, from the major, minor and pentatonic scales of Western music and the ancient Greek and church modes through the octatonic and enigmatic scales to the pelog of Javanese gamelan and the experimental Wendy Carlos scales that divide the octave in non-standard ways; scales are defined by their intervals and are the basis of musical systems worldwide.
What it is for: Organising pitch material for music.
It can be explain construction and types; relay modes and non-Western scales; describe experimental scales; distinguish related concepts.
Distinguishing features
Interval pattern
Cultural variety
Basis of melody
Experimental forms
What it looks like
Not a visible object; a series of notes.
Physical character
major scale intervals: W W H W W W H pattern
pentatonic notes: 5 count
octatonic notes: 8 count
Wendy Carlos alpha scale: about 15.4 steps per octave note
How it is recognised
Ordered set of pitches
Major, minor, pentatonic, ancient modes, octatonic, enigmatic, pelog, Wendy Carlos scales
A mode is a scale with a tonic and character; a key is a tonal centre; a tuning system sets pitch ratios
Related models
is a kind of - in registry terms
is related to - a scale with a tonic
is contrasted with - which sets pitch ratios
is exemplified by - the most common Western scale
In practice
Families and kinds
diatonic scales including major, minor and church modes
pentatonic scales such as the major pentatonic
symmetric scales such as octatonic and whole tone
synthetic scales such as the enigmatic scale
non-Western scales such as pelog and slendro
microtonal and experimental scales such as Wendy Carlos s alpha, beta and gamma
Standards and regulation
No regulation; music theory conventions
Failure modes and hazards
Confusing scale, mode and key
Treating Western scales as universal
Registry aliases mixing scales, theory terms and a composer s systems
Also called
Where this came from
wikidata · CC0 1.0
Also registered as vr.tr.scale-animal
Drafted structure
Bundle to layer to finding to question, as the second pass will find it: 4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions.
Understand What a scale is.
Definition.
Definition
Definition.
Definition
Definition.
- What is a musical scale, and how does it differ from a mode, a key and a tuning system? definition
- Is the question about scales in general, a specific scale, theory or a tradition? boundary
Types
Types.
Types
Types.
- What are major, minor, pentatonic, octatonic, enigmatic scales, ancient modes, pelog and the Wendy Carlos scales? definition
- Which entry fits the specific scale? action
Theory Theory.
Science.
Construction
Construction.
Construction
Construction.
- How are scales built from interval patterns, and how do they relate to keys and chords? provenance
- Which references are standard? provenance
Modes
Modes.
Modes
Modes.
- What are the ancient Greek and church modes, and how do they relate to modern scales? provenance
- Which sources are cited? provenance
World Non-Western and experimental.
Attribution.
Traditions
World traditions.
Traditions
Traditions.
- How do pelog, slendro, maqam and raga systems organise pitch, as their traditions describe? provenance
- Which entry fits pelog? action
Experimental
Experimental scales.
Experimental
Experimental.
- What are the Wendy Carlos scales and other microtonal scales? provenance
- Which entry fits microtonal music? action
Context Practice and history.
Context.
Practice
Practice.
Practice
Practice.
- How do musicians learn and use scales in performance and improvisation? action
- Which entry fits scale practice? action
History
History.
History
History.
- How did scale theory develop from Pythagoras and Greek modes to modern theory? provenance
- Which entry fits the history of music theory? action
What the second pass must settle
- Should pentatonic scale, octatonic scale and pelog be separate primary entries?
- How should music theory sources be linked?
- The registry entry has merged aliases naming specific scales and systems; should they be split off?