A big list of scales and modes I compiled...

I'm also having problems readning this. Do you base everything of the major scale pattern, and then everything else is just a mod of it?

 

You could also make these scales on the Virtual Guitar to see what they look like. Take a screen shot of them or print them too.

 

A-FUCKIN-MAZING

 

This great, but if you don't know how a Harmonic Minor scale relates to the Major scale, Simply saying R, 2, 3, 4 etc. doesn't help because you would have to know what the intervals between the notes already are on a Harmonic Scale before you can translate

If you could base it off its relation to the Major scale, that would help a lot.


Hopefully that makes sense

 

I'm trying to learn music theory so give me a break. But... how do you read this. I understand that it is relative and R=root, but are the numbers whole steps and then the half steps are determined by whether they are sharp or flat? And what is the point of bb7 in the Ultralocian scale? Or is that just a typo? Please help me out. Thanks.

 

Ok, I think I figured it out. Is it all related to the major scale as far as the accidentals are concerned? Still, some clarification would be nice.

 

Yes, you got it. 1 is the tonic (or root, if you're talking about chords), and the 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 are all major or perfect intervals from the tonic.

2 = major 2nd
3 = major 3rd
4 = perfect 4th
5 = perfect fifth
6 = major sixth
7 = major seventh

Incidentally, 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 is the formula for the major scale. We use this as the basis for comparison for other scales.

As soon as you start adding accidentals, you get different intervals from the root/tonic:

b2 = minor second
#2 = augmented second
b3 = minor third
#4 = augmented fourth
b5 = diminished fifth
#5 = augmented fifth
b6 = minor sixth
#6 = augmented sixth (probably won't see this much; usually written as b7)
bb7 = diminished seventh
b7 = minor seventh

When you add accidentals, our formula changes, and we no longer have a major scale. 1 2 3 4 5 6 b7 is a mixolydian scale, for example.

The bb7 that you were asking about, it's not a typo. It comes from the spelling of the diminished seventh chord.

maj7 = 1 3 5 7 ("major seven")
7 = 1 3 5 b7 ("dominant seven")
m7 = 1 b3 5 b7 ("minor seven")
ø7 = 1 b3 b5 b7 ("half diminished seven", or "minor seven flat-five")
°7 = 1 b3 b5 bb7 ("fully diminished seven", or "diminished seven")

The ultralocrian mode comes from the harmonic minor scale (1 2 b3 4 5 b6 7), starting on the seventh note. If you arrange the harmonic minor scale to begin on the seventh note, you get this: 7 1 2 b3 4 5 b6

If you then make that 7 into a 1, you get this: 1 b2 b3 b4 b5 b6 bb7

 

fuck. I need to write something in ultra-locrian. Why? because it sounds so badass.

 

Thanks, it's much more clear now. Might take me a while to interpret each scale, but I have a good place to start.

 

OK, let me ask you about this. In the chart it says under "Major scale and it's mode" it says for Ionian that it's R,2,3,4,5,6,7. And then under Melodic Minor it says R,2,b3,4,5,6,7. So that makes sense, because the (ascending) melodic minor scale is basically the same as the A major scale but with a minor 3rd. But then for the harmonic minor scale it lists it as R,2,3,4,5,6,7. Shouldn't it be R,2,b3,4,5,b6,7?

 

Yes, you've got it.

And, again, you are correct.

 

Just downloaded the list 7 times somehow even though I clicked on the link only once. haha, go figure.

 

Ugh I don't have MS Office...

 

I haven't tried this particular .DOC, but OpenOffice, NeoOffice, AbiWord and "I'm sure there's more out there, Ask Dr. Google" should be able to open it.

If you're on a Mac, TextEdit.app will open it easy-peasy.

Actually, if you're on 'Doze, then WordPad is a freebie that should be able to open this, correct?

Ray

 

And yes, to clarify, everything is a mod of the major scale in ways.

Then there are mods like the harmonic/melodic minor scales which are totally different.

An example of how the 1,2,3.. etc, works is to explain things by writing down the c major scale, which is C, D, E, F, G, A, B, and change the root note every time.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 <- C major(Ionian) scale (C D E F G A B C)
No sharps and no flat's here

Now, lets do the same thing but from D to D, making D our root.
This is how it will look like in intervals

1, 2, b3, 4, 5, 6, b7, 8 <- D dorian scale (D E F G A B C D)
This is, as you can see, a major scale with a flat third and a flat seventh, as described by the "b" sign in front of the 3 and 7.

This can also be seen as a minor scale with a major 6th.

Next up: E-E

1, b2, b3, 4, 5, b6, b7, 8 <- E phrygian scale (E, F, G, A, B, C, D, E)
This is a major scale with a flat second, flat third, flat sixth and flat seventh.

We refer to it as a minor scale with a flat 2nd, though.

Now: F-F

1, 2, 3, #4, 5, 6, 7, 8 <- F lydian scale (F, G, A, B, C, D, E, F)
This is a major scale with a raised 4th note.

------------
G-G this time

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, b7, 8 <- G mixolydian scale (G, A, B, C, D, E, F, G)
This is a major scale with a flat seventh note.

Now, A-A

1, 2, b3, 4, 5, b6, b7, 8 <- A aeolian scale (A, B, C, D, E, F, G, A)
This is a major scale with a flat third, flat sixth and a flat seventh.

This is also a pure minor scale.


Last one, B-B

1, b2, b3, 4, b5, b6, b7, 8 <- B locrian scale (B, C, D, E, F, G, A, B)
This is a major scale with a flat sexond, flat third, flat fifth, sixth and seventh.

This could also be referred to as a minor scale with a flat 2nd and a flat 5th.



What you have here, is the seven major modes and the intervals in those scales. 1=root.

I hope this clarify's some things for you.

 

Good list! Time to start working on them, one by one.

 

Two resources...and really the only two you would ever/never need (see what I did there?) would be the Thesaurus of Melodic Patterns by Nicolas Slonimsky, and An Improvisers OS by Wayne Krantz. Slonimsky is very heavy and classically oriented, but the Krantz one is brilliant. It's totally a written version of what Allan Holdsworth did when he started learning and contains every possible scale. Except, he doesn't think of them as 'scales' as such, he prefers to think of them as limited note groupings or 'flavours' you can use and shift between. If you think like that when improvising around scale shapes you are familiar with it's a great way to first introduce single notes you wouldn't normally use, going into full waaaaaaaaay out tension territory. If I'd found that and grasped the concepts when I was about 17 I might have been a fusion professional, instead of having a degree in jazz but working in IT!

 

This is an awesome thread. Thx

 

This is a fantastic thread.

 

what did you mean when you used "B" instead of "b"? I thought it was a typo at first, but then saw it throughout the document.