Chords from non-traditonal scales?
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- KVRer
- 18 posts since 20 Aug, 2011 from Portugal
If you see the super locrian as a half-diminished chord you'll have 1 b2 b3 b4 b5 b6 b7 8
Lander Vast - Double Harmonic Madness
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- KVRAF
- 5703 posts since 8 Dec, 2004 from The Twin Cities
It should be mentioned that there are numerous non-traditional scales that aren't really 'exotic', but which, rather, derive from the internally symmetrical nature of the 12 tone equally tempered scale that is the default for the vast majority of musical instruments.
These scales haven't been given names that are universally accepted, but they are quite common in twentieth century music. Their nature is easy enough to elucidate.
The most common of these 'derived' scales is the whole tone scale (e.g. c, d, e, f#, g#, a#, {c}), which is well-known to the point of being a cliche, and which is kind of boring to work with, because it has no natural fifths or fourths.
Another common scale is the 'octatonic' or 'diminished' scale (e.g. c, c#, d#, e, f#, g, a, b flat, {c}). This scale is made up simply by alternating whole steps and half steps as you ascend or descend. It is quite commonly used in many varieties of metal and 'progressive' rock. As you can see, it is not 'friendly' with our system of notation, and is hard to write without using tons of accidentals, or mixing up sharps and flats.
Yet another such scale has no common name that I have seen, but it alternates half-steps and minor thirds: (c, d flat, e, f, g#, a, {c}). This scale is less popular than the other two, but it will probably sound familiar to you if you play with it for a bit. Bartok was fond of it, and it is often used in horror movie soundtracks.
Now the thing about these scales is that, being symmetrical within the octave, they don't transpose the way diatonic scales like the major and minor scales do. There are, for example, only two collections of notes that are called whole tone scales (c, d, e, f#, g#, a#) and (c#, d#, f, g, a, b). If you transpose either of these you will simply get one of these collections of notes in a different order, for instance: (e, f#, g#, a#, c, d). There are only three collections of notes that can be got by transposing the octatonic scale, only four that can be got by transposing (c, d flat, e, f, g#, a) and so on.
Because of this quality, the French composer Olivier Messiaen called these scales (and numerous others) 'Modes of Limited Transposition', and gave each of them a number, but his nomenclature never really caught on.
In any case, each of these scales has its own internal logic, which you kind of have to discover for yourself, as there is no historically continuous theoretical tradition standing behind them.
For instance, each octatonic scale contains 4 different triads, a minor third apart, that can be either major or minor. This can result in some interesting effects, such as playing an open fourth, and leading the lower note down a half step, and the higher note up a half step, to create an open fifth. This creates a strange sort of atonal cadence between harmonies a tritone apart.
Another interesting thing about the octatonic scale is that each of the three different transpositions contains four notes in common with each of the other transpositions, making it extremely easy to move between them.
Lots of fun can be had exploring these scales.
These scales haven't been given names that are universally accepted, but they are quite common in twentieth century music. Their nature is easy enough to elucidate.
The most common of these 'derived' scales is the whole tone scale (e.g. c, d, e, f#, g#, a#, {c}), which is well-known to the point of being a cliche, and which is kind of boring to work with, because it has no natural fifths or fourths.
Another common scale is the 'octatonic' or 'diminished' scale (e.g. c, c#, d#, e, f#, g, a, b flat, {c}). This scale is made up simply by alternating whole steps and half steps as you ascend or descend. It is quite commonly used in many varieties of metal and 'progressive' rock. As you can see, it is not 'friendly' with our system of notation, and is hard to write without using tons of accidentals, or mixing up sharps and flats.
Yet another such scale has no common name that I have seen, but it alternates half-steps and minor thirds: (c, d flat, e, f, g#, a, {c}). This scale is less popular than the other two, but it will probably sound familiar to you if you play with it for a bit. Bartok was fond of it, and it is often used in horror movie soundtracks.
Now the thing about these scales is that, being symmetrical within the octave, they don't transpose the way diatonic scales like the major and minor scales do. There are, for example, only two collections of notes that are called whole tone scales (c, d, e, f#, g#, a#) and (c#, d#, f, g, a, b). If you transpose either of these you will simply get one of these collections of notes in a different order, for instance: (e, f#, g#, a#, c, d). There are only three collections of notes that can be got by transposing the octatonic scale, only four that can be got by transposing (c, d flat, e, f, g#, a) and so on.
Because of this quality, the French composer Olivier Messiaen called these scales (and numerous others) 'Modes of Limited Transposition', and gave each of them a number, but his nomenclature never really caught on.
In any case, each of these scales has its own internal logic, which you kind of have to discover for yourself, as there is no historically continuous theoretical tradition standing behind them.
For instance, each octatonic scale contains 4 different triads, a minor third apart, that can be either major or minor. This can result in some interesting effects, such as playing an open fourth, and leading the lower note down a half step, and the higher note up a half step, to create an open fifth. This creates a strange sort of atonal cadence between harmonies a tritone apart.
Another interesting thing about the octatonic scale is that each of the three different transpositions contains four notes in common with each of the other transpositions, making it extremely easy to move between them.
Lots of fun can be had exploring these scales.