Diatonic scale

In music theory, a diatonic scale (from the Greek diatonikos, "to stretch out") is a seven-note musical scale comprising five whole-tone and two half-tone steps, in which the half tones are maximally separated. The modern Western use of these scales is based on concepts developed by Guido d'Arezzo, and are therefore sometimes referred to as Guido scales.

Related Topics:
Music theory - Scale - Guido d'Arezzo

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Diatonic scales are a fundamental building block of the European musical tradition. It is sometimes used to refer to all the modes, but is generally used only in reference to the major and minor scales. It contains seven notes to the octave, corresponding to the white keys on a piano, obtained from a chain of six successive fifths in some version of meantone temperament, and resulting in two tetrachords separated by intervals of a whole tone. If our version of meantone is the twelve tone equal temperament the pattern of intervals in semitones will be 2-2-1-2-2-2-1. The major scale begins on the first note and proceeds by steps to the first octave. In solfege, the syllables for each scale degree are "Do-Re-Mi-Fa-Sol-La-Ti-Do".

Related Topics:
Music - Modes - Notes - Octave - Piano - Chain - Fifths - Meantone temperament - Tetrachord - Interval - Whole tone - Equal temperament - Semitone - Major scale - Solfege

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The natural minor scale can be thought of in two ways, the first is as the relative minor of the major scale, beginning on the sixth degree of the scale and proceeding step by step through the same tetrachords to the first octave of the sixth degree. In solfege "La-Ti-Do-Re-Mi-Fa-Sol." Alternately, the natural minor can be seen as a composite of two different tetrachords of the pattern 2-1-2-2-1-2-2. In solfege "Do-Re-Mé-Fa-Sol-Lé-Té-Do."

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Western harmony from the Renaissance up until the late nineteenth century is based upon the diatonic scale and the unique hierarchical relationships, or diatonic functionality, created by this system of organizing seven notes. It should be kept in mind that most longer pieces of common practice music change key, but this leads to a hierarchical relationship of diatonic scales in one key with those in another.

Related Topics:
Harmony - Renaissance - Late nineteenth century - Hierarchical - Diatonic functionality - Change key

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These unique relationships are as follows: Only certain divisions of the octave, 12 and 20 included, allow uniqueness, coherence, and transpositional simplicity, and that only the diatonic and pentatonic subsets of the 12 tone chromatic set follow these constraints (Balzano, 1980, 1982). The diatonic collection contains each interval class a unique number of times (Browne 1981 cited in Stein 2005, p.49, 49n12). Diatonic set theory describes the following properties: maximal evenness, Myhill's property, well formedness, the deep scale property, cardinality equals variety, and structure implies multiplicity.

Related Topics:
Diatonic set theory - Maximal evenness - Myhill's property - Well formedness - Deep scale property - Cardinality equals variety - Structure implies multiplicity

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There is significant evidence that the evolution of the diatonic scale is natural, because it's based on the most basic harmonics of any scale's first note, and that it has actually occurred many times over the course of human history. There is even circumstantial evidence that a flute used by neanderthals 32,000 years ago was based on a diatonic scalehttp://www.greenwych.ca/fl-compl.htm, as was a song recorded on a clay tablet in ancient Syria, 3,400 years ago.

Related Topics:
Neanderthal - Syria

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