Guitar Chord Diagrams

How to Read Them

Like spoken languages, music is a language of its
own. If you can read chord diagrams, a whole world
of playing possibilities opens up to you! Simply put,
a chord diagram is a graphical representation of
where to place your fingers on the guitar fretboard.
Each chord has a specific shape. This is what makes
it so easy to learn because all you have to do is
remember the shape associated with the chord name.
 Check out some other cool guitar images:
Anatomy of a guitar: All the bits and pieces laid bare!

The Guitar Fretboard: Natural notes only.

The Guitar Fretboard: sharps and flats included.

Guitar barre chords: the 3 major shapes! Learn 192

Chords with just 8 different barre chord shapes!
Confused about how to read tab and which way to
hold the page??? This image will clear things up.

The Diagram below shows how the fingers on your

left hand (if you are a right handed player) are
numbered. If you are left handed, simply translate the
numbers to the fingers of your right hand. These are
the numbers that appear above the chord diagram
Well, that should be plenty to give you a flying start
to being a guitar chord master. Below is a free online
chord chart of the major chords in their open
positions. When a chord is in its open position, it
means that you do not have to 'barre' the strings at
any point to play the chord. I'll cover Barre Chords in
the next few pages, so keep clicking ahead!

The Circle of Fifths

The circle of fifths depicts the relatedness of keys in
an easily-readable chart. The circle tells which keys
you can easily modulate to, and which keys you
cannot. This is a very useful tool for songwriting, and
should help you immensely.

The circle of fifths is a musical tool showing the

relatedness of keys. It is based on a simple principle:
in the clockwise direction, each new key is the
dominant (V) of the previous key. Therefore, in the
counterclockwise direction, each key is the fourth
(IV) of the previous key. The keys on each side of a
given key are closely related keys. For example, if
you play in the key of G, the keys on each side of G
 (C and D) are closely related to G. Closely related
keys are easy to change to, using only a few simple
chords, or often only one.

In this diagram, the outside letters refer to the keys.

Inside the circle, the number of sharps or flats
appears for each key. When there are two keys which
are enharmonic equivalents, such as C# and Db, I
have listed both keys and the sharps or flats in each.

As an example of the uses of the circle, we will try

this musical passage which modulates (changes) from
G to D, a closely related key. Play this passage to see
how it sounds and to better understand the musical
devices used.
 G C Am D7 <-- I-IV-ii-V7
progression in G

G C Am D7

G C Em A7 <-- Modulation
to dominant: D

D G Em A7 <-- Same I-IV-

ii-V7 progression in D

D G Em A7 D

Another example, modulating from G to C, another

closely related key:
G C D7 G <-- I-IV-V7-I
progression in G

G C D7 G

G C D G7 <-- Modulation
to fourth: C

C F G7 C <-- Same I-IV-

V7-I progression in C

C F G7 C

Study the circle of fifths until you understand the

relatedness of keys, dominants, and modulations, and
your music will become much more interesting. This
takes practice and lots of work, but eventually it will
become second nature. Believe me, this is a very
useful tool for songwriters which will improve your
music and your understanding of music immensely.
So go for it!

1. K R E P - G I T A R :
I: C
3 4 2 0 1 0
D
X 0 0 1 3 2
E
0 2 3 1 0 0
F
1 3 4 2 1 1
G
2 1 0 0 0 3
A B
0 0 1 2 3 0 1 1 2 3 4 1

II

Bass Bass Bass Bass Bass B ass B ass

G A Bb
C D E
IV: F 1 1 2 3 4 1

1 3
F 4 2
#
1 1

II

E
A
B ass

V: G B C D
B ass
 2 . P E N G E M B A N G A N - K R E P G IT A R :
3 4
C 2 0 1 0 0 2
E 3 1 0 0 0 0
A
1 2 3 0
D #/ E
X X X 1 3
b
2 1 3
G
4 2 1 1 1 1
C
2 3 4 1

III III III

X 0
D
0 1 3 2 1 3
F
4 2 1 1 1 1
B
2 3 4 1
X X
E
X 1 3 2
G#/ Ab
1 3 4 2 1 1
C# / D
1 1 2 3 4 1
b

II IV IV IV

C# / D
X X X 1 3
b
2
F#/ Gb
1 3 4 2 1 1
A# / B
1 1 2 3 4
b
1 X X
F
X 1 3 2 1 3
A
4 2 1 1 1 1
D
2 3 4 1

I II I V V V

D S T. D S T. D S T.
Guitar chords and harmonised scales
Harmonised scales for guitar
Transposing
This chart can help with transposing, or changing
key. For instance, if you're singing a song in C and
it's too low for your voice, try moving all the chords
to D.
C, Am, F, G
becomes
D Bm G A
This is also known as a I vi IV V progression.
To play the chords in G, just move the pattern for E
up 3 frets.
NB - the distance between the chords and the type of
chord used are the same, only the pitch has changed.
When you've got the idea, you can use easier chords
to replace the barre chords.
 Ch or d / K r ep P ia n o ( K eyb oa r d )

C F is

Cis G

D Gis

D is A

E Ais

F B

Extended Chords
So far we have established that chords are built from
notes of the major scale by stacking them in third
scale degrees. On the previous page we looked at
triads which are formed from the first three of these
stacked notes. If we carry on past three notes we
create extended chords such as seventh, ninth,
eleventh and thirteenth chords.
Major triads consist of the 1st, 3rd and 5th scale
degrees. If we add the next note in the stacked series
we end up with the major seventh chord. If we now
add the next one to that we get the major ninth chord
and so on. As usual, the diagrams below show you
these examples in the key of C major.

Thinking about chords in terms of major scale note

degrees is very important. It's surprisingly easy to
remember the formulas for each chord type and once
mastered, enables you to understand and figure out
what notes belong to any chord. Once you know your
scales and have a good working knowledge of the
notes on the fretboard, you can begin to work out any
type of guitar chords whenever you need them,
without having to resort to looking it up in a chord
book or chart.
Major chord formulas
 Major (Triad): 1 - 3 - 5
 Major Seventh: 1 - 3 - 5 - 7
 Major Ninth: 1 - 3 - 5 - 7 - 9
 Major Eleventh: 1 - 3 - 5 - 7 - 9 - 11
 Major Thirteenth: 1 - 3 - 5 - 7 - 9 - 11 - 13
From now on it's all about these formulas so start
memorising them. Next we'll take a look at minor
chords.

Minor Chords
So far we have only been looking at how major
chords are built from notes of the major scale. Even
though minor chords can be built the same way by
stacking thirds from the minor scale, it's not the
preferred method. We still use the major scale as the
foundation for all chord types whether they be minor,
seventh or any other chord type.
You could indeed say that a minor triad is built on the
first, third and fifth notes of the natural minor scale
but then we need to think multidimensional. It makes
more sense to think all chord type's relative to the
major scale.
The only difference between a major triad and a
minor triad is the third scale degree, which is
flattened in the minor chord. Whenever we use the
terms "flat" or "flattened" we simply mean to lower a
note by one semitone (half step). Likewise, when we
use the terms "sharp" or "sharpen" we simply mean to
raise the note by one semitone. By thinking of scale
degrees in this way it makes it easy memorise some
straightforward scale formulas that allow us to think
of all chord types relative to the major scale.
Minor chords can be triads or extended. The formulas
are easy to remember, the third is flattened in the
triad, and in the extended minor chords the third and
seventh are flattened. All other notes are the same as
you would find in the major chords. For example,
Cmin13 and Cmaj13 differ only by the third and
seventh scale degrees, which are both flattened. Here
are the scale formulas for minor chords.
 Triad: 1 - b3 - 5
 Minor Seventh: 1 - b3 - 5 - b7
 Minor Ninth: 1 - b3 - 5 - b7 - 9
 Minor Eleventh: 1 - b3 - 5 - b7 - 9 - 11
 Minor Thirteenth: 1 - b3 - 5 - b7 - 9 - 11 - 13
For the sake of clarity, the following shows how the
major triads and major seventh's compare to their
minor counterparts in the key of C.
 C Maj: 1 - 3 - 5
 C min: 1 - b3 - 5
 Cmaj7: 1 - 3 - 5 - 7
 Cmin7: 1 - b3 - 5 - b7

Dominant Chords
The basics of chord construction has pretty much
been covered in the previous pages. All other chord
types use the same idea, the only differences lie in
what notes need to be altered.
Dominant chords contain the same notes as major
chords with the exception of a flat seventh. The term
"dominant" or "Dom" is rarely used in the chord
name itself, so when you see chords named C7, E7,
F#7 etc, these are all dominant chords and shouldn"t
be confused with major or minor. In other words, C7,
Cmaj7, Cmin7 are all different chords. C7, C9, C11
and C13 are all dominant chords.
Scale formulas:
 Seventh: 1 - 3 - 5 - b7
 Ninth: 1 - 3 - 5 - b7 - 9
  Eleventh: 1 - 3 - 5 - b7 - 9 - 11
 Thirteenth: 1 - 3 - 5 - b7 - 9 - 11 - 13
Examples in C
 C7 consists of the notes C E G Bb
 C9 consists of the notes C E G Bb D
 C11 consists of the notes C E G Bb D F
 C13 consists of the notes C E G Bb D F A
The 9th chord formula is: 1 - 3 - 5 - b7 - 9
The major 7th minor 9th chord formula is: 1
-3-5-7-9
The minor 7th minor 9th chord formula is: 1
- b3 - 5 - b7 - 9
So together the 9 Chords The minor 9 Chords
are as follows: are as follows:
A = A - C# - E - G - B A=A-C-E-G-B
B = B - D# - F# - A - C# B = B - D - F# - A - C#
C = C - E - G - Bb - D C = C - Eb - G - Bb - D
D = D - F# - A - C - E D=D-F-A-C-E
E = E - G # - B - D - F# E = E - G - B - D - F#
F = F - A - C - Eb - G F = F - Ab - C - Eb - G
G=G-B-D-F-A G = G - Bb - D - F - A
The Major 9th Chords are as follows:
A = A - C# - E - G# - B
B = B - D# - F# - A# - C#
C=C-E-G-B-D
D = D - F# - A - C# - E
E = E - G # - B - D# - F#
F=F-A-C-E-G
G = G - B - D - F# - A

Diminished Chords
Diminished chords are often the source of some
confusion because they aren't defined to one
particular type. They can be diminished, diminished
seventh and half diminished. The main feature of
these chords is that they are basically minor chords
with a flattened fifth.
The first of them is the ordinary diminished. This is
basically a diminished triad. It's the same as an
ordinary minor chord but with a flat fifth.
Next is the half diminished. This is now more
commonly called a minor seven flat five (min7b5)
because as the name suggests, that's exactly what it
is. It's the same chord type as the ordinary minor
seventh but with the fifth scale degree flattened.
The last one is the diminished seventh, also
sometimes called a full diminished. The construction
of this chord is the same as the half diminished but
with a double flat seventh! Yes you read that right,
it's a double flat I.e. bb7. If you are thinking "but
that's the same as a sixth" then you'd be right, it
certainly is. So why not just call it a six. Well to be
honest it's not that important. The theory behind it is
too involved for a quick and easy explanation but the
main thing about these weird kind of labels is it has
more to do with written music and key signatures.
When it comes to writing music notation, this way
makes a lot more sense. If you are not into reading
and writing music, nor have much interest in music
theory then it doesn't really matter whether you think
of it a sixth or a double flat seven. It does however
make sense to stick to the norm when you are writing
or talking about it because it avoids confusion and
keeps the pedants happy!
One thing to note about the diminished seventh is that
it's intervals are all of an equal distance, a minor third
(three semitones) apart. This makes the chord sound
unstable, any of the notes in a diminished chord
could be considered the root. For this reason, in a
piece of music it would be the surrounding chords
that would determine the key, or what note in the
chord should be considered the root note.
 Diminished: 1 - b3 - b5
  Half Diminished: 1 - b3 - b5 - b7 (also called
min7b5)
 Diminished Seventh: 1 - b3 - b5 - bb7

Augmented Chords
Technically speaking, an augmented chord is a major
chord with a raised (sharpened) fifth. So for an
augmented triad we would have the scale formula 1-
3 - #5. This equates to the notes C, E, G# for the C
augmented chord.
Augmented chords are most often labelled as "aug"
or "+" I.e. C aug or C+.
Problems can arise with this chord because there is
sometimes a lack of consistency in the way people
name them. The term "augmented", when applied to
musical intervals, means to raise by one semitone.
This means that the terms augmented fourth,
augmented fifth, augmented eleventh etc.. they all
make sense, they simply mean #4, #5, #11.
So why can this be confusing? Because the term
"aug" or "+" when used in conjunction with a triad is
taken for granted that it is referring to the fifth. For
extended chords, this isn't always the case. Take the
augmented seventh chord for example. Is this a
dominant seventh chord with a raised fifth or a
dominant seventh chord with a raised seventh? The
name Caug7 can be rather ambiguous as it suggests
neither in any certain terms. If you've been revising
your chord theory so far then you have probably
already realised that a dominant chord with an
augmented seventh would actually be a major
seventh chord so this one is rarely open to confusion,
even though, you will often find this chord written as
C7+5 which takes away any confusion, it is a C7
chord with an augmented fifth.
Another example would be the augmented ninth.
Most of the time this chord name will be referring to
a seventh chord with an added raised ninth. Even
though you will sometimes see it written as Caug9 or
similar, the better way to name it is C7+9.
The augmented triad contains notes of an equal
distance apart just like the diminished seventh does,
but with the intervals a major third apart (four
semitones). Each of them can be considered the root,
so like the diminished seventh, it's context dictates
the key.

Suspended Chords
The suspended chord is another one of those chord
types that attracts some confusion. In traditional
theory, suspension is a term used when a chord tone
is held over from a previously played chord and then
resolved to the third of the new chord. That's the
quick explanation, and one that we aren't going to go
into detail because in modern music the suspended
chord is considered a chord in it's own right.
The Sus 2 and the Sus 4 are the two most commonly
used and they are both derived from the major triad
by replacing the third scale degree with the second
(Sus 2) or the fourth (Sus 4).
For example, the C major triad consists of the notes C
E and G which are the first, third and fifth scale
degrees of the C major scale. The second scale degree
is D and the fourth is F so if we replace the E with D
we end up with a Csus2 and by replacing the E with
F we get a Csus4 chord.
Suspended Chord formulas
 Csus2 = 1 - 2 - 5 = C - D - G.
 Csus4 = 1 - 4 - 5 = C - F - G
There is some controversy surrounding the use of
Sus2. This chord has evolved quite recently
compared to the suspended fourth and while the
theory behind it makes sense, there are some that
argue it's usage because it's simply an inversion of a
Sus4 chord. For an example, if you look at the notes
in an Fsus2 chord you'll see that it's actually an
inversion of a Csus4.
 Csus4: C F G
 Fsus2: F G C
Whatever side of the fence you are on, you may as
well get used to suspended seconds because it's very
likely they're here to stay, even if they are a sus 4!
LATIHAN : GAMBARLAH KREP ( CHORD)PIANO,
UNTUK SOAL-SOALDIBAWAHINI !!!
1. C# 7 2 . Dbm 3. Bb dim 4. G# m

5. ASUS 6 . GM7 7. A 8. Ab 7

9. Edim 1 0 . F#aug 11. EM7 12. A#M7

13. Bm7 14. Caug 15. F sus *KERJAKAN SESUAI

DENGAN MODEL YANG
DIKEHENDAKI . ( GAM –
BAR SOAL )
Pentatonic scale
 
From Wikipedia Last modified on 31
December 2011, at 21:29

The first two phrases of the melody from Stephen

Foster's "Oh! Susanna" are based on the major
pentatonic scale[1]  Play (help·info).
File:Ravel Ma Mere l'Oye Laideronnette
Imperatricedes Pagodes m.9-13.png File:Debussy
Voiles, Preludes, Book I, no. 2, mm.43-45.png
A pentatonic scale is a musical scale with five notes
per octave in contrast to a heptatonic (seven note)
scale such as the major scale and minor scale.
Pentatonic scales are very common and are found all
over the world, including Celtic folk music,
Hungarian folk music, West African music, African-
American spirituals, Gospel music, American folk
music, Jazz, American blues music, rock music, Sami
joik singing, children's song, the music of ancient
Greece[4][5] and the Greek traditional music and songs
from Epirus, Northwest Greece, music of Southern
Albania, folk songs of peoples of the Middle Volga
area (such as the Mari, the Chuvash and Tatars), the
tuning of the Ethiopian krar and the Indonesian
gamelan, Philippine Kulintang, Native American
music, melodies of Korea, Malaysia, Japan, China
and Vietnam (including the folk music of these
countries), the Andean music, the Afro-Caribbean
tradition, Polish highlanders from the Tatra
Mountains, and Western Impressionistic composers
such as French composer Claude Debussy. Examples
of its use include Chopin's Etude in G-flat Major, op.
10, no. 5, the "Black Key" etude.[1] Presumably in the
major pentatonic.
The ubiquity of pentatonic scales, specifically
anhemitonic (without semitones) modes, can be
attributed to the total lack of the most dissonant
intervals between any pitches; there are neither any
semitones (and therefore also no complementary
major sevenths) nor any tritones. This means any
pitches of such a scale may be played in any order or
combination without clashing.
Types of pentatonic scales
Hemitonic and anhemitonic
Ethnomusicology commonly classifies pentatonic
scales as either hemitonic or anhemitonic. Hemitonic
scales contain one or more semitones and
anhemitonic scales do not contain semitones. For
example, a hemitonic pentatonic scale common in
some areas of North and West Africa contains flatted
2nd, 3rd, and 6th scale degrees. Hence, this version
of a C hemitonic scale would be C, D-flat, E-flat, G,
A-flat, C. Another common version flats the 3rd and
6th scale degrees. Hence, this version of a C
hemitonic scale would now be C, D, E-flat, G, A-flat,
C.
Major pentatonic scale
Anhemitonic pentatonic scales can be constructed in
many ways. The major pentatonic scale may be
thought of as a gapped or incomplete major scale.[6]
However, the pentatonic scale has a unique character
and is therefore complete in terms of tonality. One
construction takes five consecutive pitches from the
circle of fifths;[7] starting on C, these are C, G, D, A,
and E. Transposing the pitches to fit into one octave
rearranges the pitches into the major pentatonic scale: C, D, E, G, A.

 play
 (help·info)

Another construction works backward: It omits two

pitches from a diatonic scale. If we were to begin
with a C major scale, for example, we might omit the
fourth and the seventh scale degrees, F and B. The
remaining notes, C, D, E, G, and A, are
transpositionally equivalent to the black keys on a
piano keyboard: G-flat, A-flat, B-flat, D-flat, and E-
flat.

Omitting the third and seventh degrees of the C major

scale obtains the notes for another transpositionally
equivalent anhemitonic pentatonic scale:
{F,G,A,C,D}. Omitting the first and fourth degrees of
the C major scale gives a third anhemitonic
pentatonic scale: {G,A,B,D,E}.
Minor pentatonic scale
Although various hemitonic pentatonic scales might
be called minor, the term is most commonly applied
to the relative minor pentatonic derived from the
major pentatonic, using scale tones 1, 3, 4, 5, and 7 of
the natural minor scale.[1] It may also be considered a
gapped blues scale.[8] The C minor pentatonic would be C, E-flat, F, G, B-
flat. The A minor pentatonic, the relative minor of C, would be the same tones as C major
pentatonic, starting on A, giving A, C, D, E, G. This minor pentatonic contains all three
tones of an A minor triad.
  play
(help·info)

Songs on the minor pentatonic scale include the

Canadian folk song "Land of the Silver Birch".[citation
needed]
Because of their simplicity, pentatonic scales
are often used to introduce children to music. Other
popular children's songs are almost pentatonic. For
example, the almost-pentatonic nature of the
Gershwin lullaby "Summertime", is evident when it
is played in the key of E-flat minor. In that key, the
melody can be played almost entirely on the black
keys of a piano, except just once per verse, where a
white key is needed.[citation needed]

Five black-key pentatonic scales of the piano

The five pentatonic scales found by running up the
black keys on the piano are:
Black
Mode White key
notes
ia a Name(s) Ratio equivalen
(asoba
tuber t
)
E♭-G♭-
Minor 30:36:40:45:54:6 ACDE
1 A♭-B♭-
Pentatonic 0 GA
D♭-E♭
 G♭-A♭-
Major 24:27:30:36:40:4 C D E G
2 B♭-D♭-
Pentatonic 8 AC
E♭-G♭
Egyptian, A♭-B♭-
24:27:32:36:42:4 D E G A
3 Suspende D♭-E♭-
8 CD
d G♭-A♭
Blues
B♭-D♭-
Minor, 15:18:20:24:27:3 E G A C
4 E♭-G♭-
Man 0 DE
A♭-B♭
Gong
Blues D♭-E♭-
24:27:32:36:40:4 G A C D
5 Major, G♭-A♭-
8 EG
Ritusen B♭-D♭
(A minor seventh can be 7:4, 16:9, or 9:5; a
major sixth can be 27:16 or 5:3. Both were
chosen to minimize ratio parts.)
Ricker assigned the major pentatonic scale mode I
while Gilchrist assigned it mode III.[9]
Tuning
Ben Johnston gives the following Pythagorean tuning
for the minor pentatonic scale[10]:
Not Solfe
A C D E G A
e ge
Ratio 1/1 32/27 4/3 3/2 16/9 2/1
Audi  1  3  4  5  7  8
 (help·inf (help·inf (help·inf (help·inf (help·inf (help·inf
o o) o) o) o) o) o)
Ste Name m3 T T m3 T
   
p Ratio 32/27 9/8 9/8 32/27 9/8
 Play (help·info)
Proceeding by the principle that historically gives the
Pythagorean diatonic and chromatic scales, stacking
perfect fifths with 3:2 frequency proportions, the
anhemitonic pentatonic scale can be tuned thus;
64:72:81:96:108. Considering the anhemitonic scale
as a subset of a just diatonic scale, it is tuned thus;
24:27:30:36:40. Assigning precise frequency
proportions to the pentatonic scales of most cultures
is problematic.
The slendro anhemitonic scales of Java and Bali are
said to approach, very roughly, an equally-tempered
five note scale, but, in fact, their tunings vary
dramatically from gamelan to gamelan.
Specially trained musicians among the Gogo people
of Tanzania sing the fourth through ninth (and
occasionally tenth) harmonics above a fundamental,
which corresponds to the frequency proportions
4:5:6:7:8:9. Up to eight, this is an octaval scale of
five notes, while nine is a major second above eight,
and a major ninth above four. The 6:7:8 bit includes
two septimal ratios rarely found on western staves
(septimal minor third & septimal whole tone).
Composer Lou Harrison has been one of the most
recent proponents and developers of new pentatonic
scales based on historical models.
Further pentatonic musical traditions
The major pentatonic scale is the basic scale of the
music of China and the music of Mongolia. The
fundamental tones (without meri or kari techniques)
rendered by the 5 holes of the Japanese shakuhachi
flute play a minor pentatonic scale. The traditional
Japanese song "Sakura" uses a hemitonic pentatonic
scale of the notes A-B-C-E-F.[citation needed] The Yo scale
used in Japanese shomyo Buddhist chants and gagaku
imperial court music is an anhemitonic pentatonic
scale[11] shown below, which is the fourth mode of the major pentatonic scale.
 play
(help·info)

Hirajōshi scale:
Hirajoshi scale on C.[12]  Play (help·info) Sachs gives
C-D♭-F-G♭-B♭.[13] Speed and Kosta & Payne give C-
D-E♭-G-A♭.[14][15]
In Javanese gamelan music, the slendro scale is
pentatonic, with roughly equally spaced intervals (  
MIDI sample (help·info)). Another scale, pelog, has
seven tones, but is generally played using one of
several pentatonic subsets (known as pathets), which
are roughly analogous to different keys or modes.
In Scottish music, the pentatonic scale is very
common. The Great Highland bagpipe scale is
considered three interlaced pentatonic scales. This is
especially true for Piobaireachd which typically uses
one of the pentatonic scales out of the nine possible
notes. It also features in Irish traditional music, either
purely or almost so. The minor pentatonic is used in
Appalachian folk music. Blackfoot music is most
often pentatonic or hexatonic.
In Andean music, the pentatonic scale is used
substantially minor, sometimes major, and seldom in
scale. Andean music preserves and develops a rich
heritage of Incas' musical culture.[citation needed] In the
most ancient genres of Andean music being
performed without string instruments (only with
winds and percussion), pentatonic melody is often
leaded with parallel fifths and fourths, so formally
this music is hexatonic. Hear example:  Pacha Siku
(help·info).

Jazz music commonly uses both the major and the

minor pentatonic scales. For example, jazz pianists
Art Tatum, Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock, blues,
and rock. Pentatonic scales are useful for improvisors
in modern jazz, pop, and rock contexts because they
work well over several chords diatonic to the same
key, often better than the parent scale. For example,
the blues scale is predominantly derived from the
minor pentatonic scale, a very popular scale for
improvisation in the realm of blues and rock alike.[16]
 Rock guitar solo almost all over B minor pentatonic
(help·info) For instance, over a C major triad (C, E, G)
in the key of C major, the note F can be perceived as
dissonant as it is a half step above the major third (E)
of the chord. It is for this reason commonly avoided.
Using the major pentatonic scale is an easy way out
of this problem. The scale tones 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 (from the
major pentatonic) are either major triad tones (1, 3, 5)
or common consonant extensions (2, 6) of major
triads. For the corresponding relative minor
pentatonic, scale tones 1, ♭3, 4, 5, ♭7 work the same
way, either as minor triad tones (1, ♭3, 5) or as
common extensions (4, ♭7), as they all avoid being a
half step from a chord tone.
The melodies of popular music sometimes contain
the pentatonic scale. For example, in the songs "Ol'
Man River" or "Sukiyaki".[citation needed] The pentatonic
scale is also a staple ingredient of film music, where
it is used as a shorthand to signal primitive or exotic
contexts. With suitable changes in orchestration it
can be used to depict an Oriental setting, a scene with
American Indians, or a rustic hoedown. An example
of film music in which both the East-Asian and
American-Western elements of the story are
suggested in the melody is the title theme for The 7
Faces of Dr. Lao.[citation needed]
U.S. military cadences, or "jodies," which keep
soldiers in step while marching or running, also
typically use pentatonic scales.[17]
Hymns and other religious music sometimes use the
pentatonic scale. For example, the melody of the
hymn "Amazing Grace",[18] one the most famous of
all pieces of religious music.
Composers of Western classical music have used
pentatonic scales for special effects. Antonín Dvořák,
inspired by the native American music and African-
American spirituals he heard in America, made
extensive use of pentatonic themes in his "New
World" Symphony and his "American" Quartet.[citation
needed]
Giacomo Puccini's Madama Butterfly and
Turandot allude to the pentatonicism of Japan and
China respectively.[citation needed] Maurice Ravel used a
pentatonic scale as the basis for a melody in
"Passacaille", the third movement of his Piano Trio,
[citation needed]
and as a pastiche of Chinese music in
"Laideronette, Emperatrice des Pagodes", a
movement from his Ma Mère l'Oye (Mother Goose).
Béla Bartók's The Miraculous Mandarin and Igor
Stravinsky's The Nightingale contain many
pentatonic passages.[citation needed] Gustav Mahler's Das
Lied von der Erde, also contains heavy influences
from Oriental pentatonic scales, mixed in with an
advanced Romantic harmonic idiom to form a rather
unique sounding masterpiece.[citation needed]
The common pentatonic major and minor scales (C-
D-E-G-A and C-Eb-F-G-Bb, respectively) are useful
in modal composing, as both scales allow a melody
to be modally ambiguous between their respective
major (Ionian, Lydian, Mixolydian) and minor
(Aeolian, Phrygian, Dorian) modes (Locrian
excluded). With either modal or non-modal writing,
however, the harmonization of a pentatonic melody
does not necessarily have to be derived from only the
pentatonic pitches.
Use in education
The pentatonic scale plays a significant role in music
education, particularly in Orff-based, Kodály-based,
and Waldorf methodologies at the
primary/elementary level. The Orff system places a
heavy emphasis on developing creativity through
improvisation in children, largely through use of the
pentatonic scale. Orff instruments, such as
xylophones, bells and other metallophones, use
wooden bars, metal bars or bells which can be
removed by the teacher leaving only those
corresponding to the pentatonic scale, which Carl
Orff himself believed to be children's native tonality.
[19]
Children begin improvising using only these bars,
and over time, more bars are added at the teacher's
discretion until the complete diatonic scale is being
used. Orff believed that the use of the pentatonic
scale at such a young age was appropriate to the
development of each child, since the nature of the
scale meant that it was impossible for the child to
make any real harmonic mistakes.
In Waldorf education, pentatonic music is considered
to be appropriate for young children due to its
simplicity and unselfconscious openness of
expression. Pentatonic music centered around
intervals of the fifth is often sung and played in early
childhood; progressively smaller intervals are
emphasized within primarily pentatonic as children
progress through the early school years. At around
nine years of age the music begins to center around
first folk music using a six-tone scale, and then the
modern diatonic scales, with the goal of reflecting the
children's developmental progress in their musical
experience. Pentatonic instruments used include
lyres, pentatonic flutes, and tone bars; special
instruments have been designed and built for the
Waldorf curriculum.[20]
Further reading
 Pentatonicism from the Eighteenth Century to
Debussy by Jeremy Day-O'Connell (University
of Rochester Press 2007) – the first
comprehensive account of the increasing use of
the pentatonic scale in 19th century Western art
music, including a catalogue of over 400 musical
examples.
 Tran Van Khe "Le pentatonique est-il universel?
Quelques reflexions sur le pentatonisme", The
World of Music 19, nos. 1–2:85–91 (1977).
English translation p. 76–84
 Kurt Reinhard, "On the problem of pre-
pentatonic scales: particularly the third-second
nucleus", Journal of the International Folk
Music Council 10 (1958).
  Yamaguchi, Masaya (New York: Charles Colin,
2002; Masaya Music, Revised 2006).
Pentatonicism in Jazz: Creative Aspects and
Practice. ISBN 0967635314
 Jeff Burns, Pentatonic Scales for the Jazz-Rock
Keyboardist (1997).


Blues scale
 
From Wikipedia Last modified on 30
December 2011, at 16:34
The term blues scale is used to describe a few scales
with differing numbers of pitches and related
characteristics. See: blues.
The hexatonic, or six note, blues scale consists of the
minor pentatonic scale plus the ♯4th or ♭5th degree[1]
[2][3]
. A major feature of the blues scale is the use of
blue notes,[4] however, since blue notes are
considered alternative inflections, a blues scale may
be considered to not fit the traditional definition of a
scale.[5] At its most basic, a single version of this
"blues scale" is commonly used over all changes (or
chords) in a twelve bar blues progression.[6] Likewise,
in contemporary jazz theory, its use is commonly
based upon the key rather than the individual chord.[2]

Blues scale as minor pentatonic plus flat-5th/sharp-

4th  Play (help·info).
The heptatonic, or seven note, conception of the
"blues scale" is as a diatonic scale (a major scale)
with lowered third, fifth, and seventh degrees[7] and
blues practice is derived from the "conjunction of
'African scales' and the diatonic western scales".[8]
Steven Smith argues that, "to assign blue notes to a
'blues scale' is a momentous mistake, then, after all,
unless we alter the meaning of 'scale'.[9] Indeed, the A
minor pentatonic scale does have many uses.

Blues scale as diatonic scale with lowered 3rd, 5th,

and 7th degrees  Play (help·info).
Despite this, an essentially nine note blues scale is
defined by Benward and Saker[10] as a chromatic
variation of the major scale featuring a flat third and
seventh degrees which, "alternating with the normal
third and seventh scale degrees are used to create the
blues inflection. These 'blue notes' represent the
influence of African scales on this music."[11]

Blues scale as a chromatic variant of the major scale

 Play (help·info).

Jazz scale
 
From Wikipedia Last modified on 11
December 2011, at 08:00

One chord scale option for +7th chords is the whole

tone scale[1]:
C D E F♯ G♯ A♯/B♭  Play (help·info).

Augmented dominant seventh (+7th) chord: C E G♯

B♭  Play (help·info).
A jazz scale is any musical scale used in jazz. Many
"jazz scales" are common scales drawn from Western
European classical music, including the diatonic,
whole-tone, octatonic (or diminished), and the modes
of the ascending melodic minor. All of these scales
were commonly used by late nineteenth and early
twentieth-century composers such as Rimsky-
Korsakov, Debussy, Ravel and Stravinsky, often in
ways that directly anticipate jazz practice.[2] Some
jazz scales, such as the bebop scales, add additional
chromatic passing tones to the familiar diatonic
scales.
One important feature of jazz is what theorists call
"the principles of chord-scale compatibility": the idea
that a sequence of chords will generate a sequence of
compatible scales. In classical major-mode harmony,
chords typically belong to the same scale. (For
example, a I-ii-V-I progression in C major will
typically use only the notes of the C diatonic
collection.) In jazz, a four-chord progression may use
four different scales, often as the result of chordal
alterations. For instance, in C major, a jazz musician
may alter the V chord G-B-D-F with a flattened fifth,
producing G-B-D♭-F. An improviser might then
choose a scale containing these four notes, such as G
whole tone (G-A-B-C♯-D♯-F), G octatonic [or
symmetric diminished] (G-A♭-B♭-B-C♯-D-E-F), or a
mode of either D or A♭ melodic minor ascending (G-
A-B-C♯-D-E-F or G-A♭-B♭-C♭-D♭-E♭-F
respectively). In each case the scale contains the
chord tones G-B-D♭-F and is said to be compatible
with it. This notion of "chord scale compatibility"
marks a fundamental difference between jazz
harmony and traditional classical practice.
An avoid note is a note in a jazz scale that is
considered, in jazz theory and practice, too dissonant
to be played against the underlying chord, and so is
either avoided or chromatically altered.[3] For
example, in major-key harmony the fourth, and thus
11th, is an avoid note and thus either treated as a
passing tone or augmented (raised a semitone).[4]
Avoid notes are often a minor second (or a minor
ninth) above another note[5] or a perfect fourth above
the root of the chord.[6]
[One] can get a good sense of the difference between
classical and non-classical harmony from looking at
how they deal with dissonances. Classical treats all
notes that don't belong to the chord (i.e., the triad) as
potential dissonances to be resolved. ... Non-classical
harmony just tells you which note in the scale to
avoid ["what is sometimes called an avoid-note"]
(because it's really dissonant), meaning that all the
others are okay.[6]
Modes of the major scale

Pattern of whole and half steps in the major scale.

The number of scales available to improvising
musicians continues to expand. As modern
techniques and musical constructions appear, jazz
players find the ones they can put into compositions
or use as material for melodic exploration. Prominent
examples are the seven modes of the diatonic major
scale and added-note scales.

CDEFG (associated with C

I Ionian mode
ABC Major 7 chord)
C D E♭ F G (associated with C-6
ii Dorian mode
A B♭ C or C-7 13 chord)
Phrygian C D♭ E♭ F (associated with
iii
mode G A♭ B♭ C Csus4 ♭9)
C D E F♯ G (associated with C
IV Lydian mode
ABC Maj7 ♯11 chord)
Mixolydian CDEFG (associated with C7
V
mode A B♭ C chord)
C D E♭ F G (associated with C-7
vi Aeolian mode
A♭ B♭ C ♭13 chord)
 C D♭ E♭ F (associated with C-
viio Locrian mode
G♭ A♭ B♭ C 7♭5 chord)

Compare each of the modes to the major scale for

clues as to the subtle differences between them.
Ionian is based on the 1st degree of the major scale,
Dorian on the 2nd, Phrygian on the 3rd, etc.

C D E F G (associated with C Major 7

C Ionian
ABC chord)
D E F G A (associated with D-6 or D-
D Dorian
BCD 7 13 chord)
E F G A B (associated with Esus4 ♭9
E Phrygian
CDE chord)
F G A B C (associated with F Maj7
F Lydian
DEF ♯11 chord)
G GABCD
(associated with G7 chord)
Mixolydian E F G
A B C D E (associated with A-7 ♭13
A Aeolian
FGA chord)
B C D E F (associated with B-7♭5
B Locrian
GAB chord)

Combinations of the characteristic details of these

modes are also in common use. For example, the
Lydian dominant uses the raised 4th degree of the
Lydian with the flatted seventh of the Mixolydian,
yielding C D E F♯ G A B♭ C. Chromatic alterations
are also useful,as in the Lydian Augumented scale C
D E F♯ G♯ A B C for use on the chord Cmaj7+5.
Bebop scales
Bebop scales add a single chromatic passing tone to
the 7 note major scale (Ionian and Mixolydian
modes). The added passing tone creates an 8 tone
scale that fits rhythmically evenly within a 4/4
measure of eight 8th notes, thus making it useful in
practicing. When an 8th note bebop scale run starts
on the beat from a chord tone (Root, 3rd, 5th or ♭7th)
the other chord notes will also fall on the beats. As a
result all of the "non-chord tones" will fall on the
upbeats (the "ands" when counting "one and two and
three and four and") and become passing tones.
There are two commonly used types of bebop scales:
Dominant bebop scale, which adds the raised 7th to
Mixolydian: Ascending: 1 2 3 4 5 6 ♭7 7 (8)
Descending: 8 ♭7 6 ♭6 5 4 3 2 (1)
Major bebop scale, which adds ♯5 to Ionian: 1 2 3 4 5
♯5 6 7 (8)
NOTE: A dominant bebop scale works well over an
entire ii V.
Modes of the melodic minor scale

A melodic minor ascending  Play (help·info).

A great deal of modern jazz harmony arises from the
modes of the ascending form of the melodic minor
scale, also known as the jazz melodic minor scale.[7]
(see jazz minor scale) This scale is essentially a
diatonic major scale with a flatted third, for example
C D E♭ F G A B C (Exactly the same as in "classical"
music and its theory, in Jazz the melodic minor
scale's sixth and seventh are not necessarily flattened
when descending). As with any other scale, the
modes are derived from playing the scale from
different root notes, causing a series of jazz scales to
emerge.[7]
Modes of C ascending melodic minor:

(associated
with C- maj7 or
ascending T, 2,♭3, 4, 5, 6,
i C-6 chords ,
melodic minor 7
functions as a i
minor)
 (associated
with D7 sus ♭9
Phrygian ♮6 (or T,♭2,♭3, 4, 5,
II chord,
Dorian ♭2) 6,♭7
functions as a
dominant)
(associated
Lydian with E♭ maj7
T, 2, 3,♯4,♯5,
III augmented +5 chord,
6, 7
(Lydian ♯5) functions as a
I+)
(associated
Lydian
with F7 ♯11
dominant (also,
T, 2, 3,♯4, 5, chord,
IV "Lydian ♭7")
6,♭7 functions as a
(also known as
dominant not
Mixolydian ♯4)
going to I)
(associated
Mixolydian ♭6 with G7 ♭13
T, 2, 3, 4,
V (or simply "fifth chord,
5,♭6,♭7
mode") functions as a
dominant)
(associated
Locrian ♮2 (also
with Ami7 ♭5,
T, 2,♭3, 4,
vi known as "half- which functions
diminished" ♭5,♭6,♭7
as a ii chord in
scale) minor)
 Super Locrian (associated
(also "altered with B7 ♯9 ♭13
T,♭2,♭3,
VII dominant scale", chord,
♭4,♭5,♭6,♭7
or "altered functions as a
scale") dominant)

It should be noted that the names of these scales are

variations of the names used for some of the modes
of the diatonic major scale, for example the Phrygian
Natural 6, the second mode of the melodic minor, is
named so because it is the same as the Phrygian
mode of the major scale except with a raised (i.e.,♮6)
sixth.
Symmetric diminished/Octatonic scale

Diminished scales on E♭, D, and D♭, ascending

There are two types of symmetric diminished scales.
These scales are sometimes called octatonic scales
because they contain eight tones. They are based on a
series of alternating half steps and whole steps. One
type starts with a half-step (H-W-H-W-H-W-H-W),
and one starts with a whole step (W-H-W-H-W-H-
W-H).
Because of the repetition of the interval pattern after
only two notes, each note in the scale can be a root in
another symmetric diminished scale. For example,
the C symmetric diminished scale of the half-step-
first type, is composed with the same notes as the
half-step-first type E♭ scale, and the whole-step-first
type D♭ scale:
C symmetric (half, whole) diminished  Play
(help·info): C D♭ E♭ E F♯ G A B♭ C

E♭ symmetric (half, whole) diminished: E♭ E F♯ G A

B♭ C D♭ E♭
D♭ symmetric (whole, half) diminished: D♭ E♭ E F♯
G A B♭ C D♭
All three are composed with the same group of notes:
C D♭ E♭ E F♯ G A B♭ C D♭ E♭ E F♯ G A B♭
In fact, all symmetric diminished scales are
composed with only three groups of notes.
Whole tone scale

Whole tone scale on B  Play (help·info): {B, D♭, E♭,

F, G, A, B}.
The Whole tone scale, consisting exclusively of
whole steps, is often used on V7 +5 chords (G7 + for
example).
Pentatonic scales
Main article: Pentatonic scale
Two pentatonic scales common to jazz are the major
pentatonic scale and the minor pentatonic scale.
They are both modes to each other, respectively.
The major pentatonic scale begins with a major scale
and omits the fourth and the seventh scale degrees.
The C major scale is ( C, D, E, F, G, A, B ), so the C
major pentatonic scale is ( C, D, E, G, A ) :

C major pentatonic scale  Play (help·info).

The minor pentatonic scale uses the same notes as the
major pentatonic scale, but begins on the sixth scale
degree of the corresponding major scale. Continuing
the example above, A is the sixth scale degree of C
major, so the A minor pentatonic scale would be ( A,
C, D, E, G ) :

A minor pentatonic scale  Play (help·info).

The nomenclature, "minor pentatonic scale," minor is
employed in the sense of relative key, as the diatonic
A minor scale is the relative minor of the diatonic C
major scale.
The minor pentatonic scale replaces the 2nd scale
degree with an augmented 4 followed by the fifth and
is commonly known as a blues scale.
Jazz improvisers, particularly bassist and guitarist,
use these scales in a number of interesting ways. For
example, over Bb Maj7#11, one can use a major
pentatonic based on the 2nd scale degree of Bb (C D
E G A) to imply 9, 3, ♯11, 13, and 7 respectively.
Similarly, over a fully altered F#7 chord, one can use
the same major pentatonic, this time based on the
tritone (C D E G A) to imply ♭5, ♭13, ♭7, ♭9, and ♯9.
Blues scale

Blues scale as minor pentatonic plus flat-5th/sharp-

4th  Play (help·info).
Blues scales also come in major and minor varieties.
The C minor blues scale is C E♭ F F♯ G B♭ C
ascending or C B♭ G G♭ F E♭ C descending. The
difference in the up and down versions is only in its
enharmonic spelling, i.e. G♭ vs F♯.
The C major blues scale is C D D♯ E G A C
ascending or C A G E E♭ D C descending.
Guitarists often mix the major and minor pentatonics
together along with the blues scale. The dorian and
mixolydian modes are similar to this combination and
they can also be used in the same context.

Blues scale as a chromatic variant of the major scale

 Play (help·info).
Winthrop Sargeant describes the jazz scale as the
above scale, defined as, "a definite series of tones
within an octave used as the basis of a musical
composition," compiled instead from multiple
compositions and improvisations (according to
Stearns: "a great many jazz records") and is
hypothesized as displaying the influence of African
music.[8] The E♭ and B♭ are blue notes.[9]
Harmonic minor scale
Main article: Harmonic minor scale

A harmonic minor  Play (help·info).

The harmonic minor scale is also of value to many
improvisors, as it provides an alternative color for
many common chords and chord progressions. An
example is C-D-E♭-F-G-A♭-B-C. The C harmonic
minor scale can be used on the chords of a piece in C
minor, especially on the minor ii V7 i chord
progression.
Altered dominant scale
Main article: Altered scale

Altered dominant scale on C.

The altered dominant scale, also loosely called the
altered scale, is so named because all the scale
members that can be altered relative to the basic
dominant scale (the Mixolydian mode), without
losing the dominant quality, are altered. The scale
includes both altered ninths (raised and lowered), and
both altered fifths (raised and lowered). Starting on
C, it contains the notes: C, D♭, E♭, F♭, G♭, A♭ and
B♭. The altered fifths coincide enharmonically with
the sharp eleventh and the flat thirteenth which would
also be considered altered relative to their
Mixolydian forms. The tonic, major third, and
dominant seventh are retained as essential to the
dominant quality.
The scale can also be understood as a mode of the
ascending melodic minor scale starting from the 7th
scale degree. For a C7 chord, the C♯ melodic minor
scale starting from B♯ (C enharmonically) produces
the C altered dominant scale enharmonically.
This scale is also called the superlocrian scale, as it is
indeed reminiscent of a locrian scale with a flattened
4th, but it is usually regarded as that of major quality.
Another name for this scale is the diminished-
wholetone scale because the first tetrachord is that of
a (half, whole) diminished scale and the second
tetrachord is whole-tone (or locrian).

Pelog
 
From Wikipedia Last modified on 11
September 2011 at 21:46
Pelog is one of the two essential scales of gamelan
music native to Bali and Java, in Indonesia. The other
scale commonly used is called slendro. Pelog has
seven notes, but many gamelan ensembles only have
keys for five of the pitches. Even in ensembles that
have all seven notes, many pieces only use a subset
of five notes.
Tuning
Since the tuning varies so widely from island to
island, village to village, and even gamelan to
gamelan, it is difficult to characterize in terms of
intervals. One rough approximation expresses the
seven pitches of Central Javanese pelog as a subset of
9-tone equal temperament. An analysis of 27 Central
Javanese gamelans by Surjodiningrat (1972) revealed
a statistical preference for this system of tuning.[1]
As in slendro, although the intervals vary from one
gamelan to the next, the intervals between notes in a
scale are very close to identical for different
instruments within the same Javanese gamelan. This
is not the case in Bali, where instruments are played
in pairs which are tuned slightly apart so as to
produce interference beating. The beating is ideally at
a consistent speed for all pairs of notes in all
registers. This contributes to the very "agitated" and
"shimmering" sound of gamelan ensembles. In the
religious ceremonies that contain Gamelan, these
interference beats are meant to give the listener a
feeling of a god's presence or a stepping stone to a
meditative state.
Note names in Java
The notes of the slendro scale can be designated in
different ways; In Java, one common way is the use
of numbers (often called by their names in Javanese,
especially in a shortened form. An older set uses names derived from parts of the body.
Notice that both systems have the same designations for 5 and 6.

Number Javanese number Traditional name

Full Short Full Literal

name name name meaning

1 siji ji Bem head

2 loro ro Gulu neck

3 telu lu Dhadha chest

4 papat pat papat four

5 lima ma lima five

6 enem nem nem six

7 pitu pi barang thing

Subsets
Java
Though the full pelog scale has seven tones, usually
only a five-tone subset is used (see the similar
Western concept of mode). In fact, many gamelan
instruments physically lack keys for two of the tones.
Different regions, such as Central Java or West Java
(Sunda), use different subsets. In Central Javanese
gamelan, the pelog scale is traditionally divided into
three pathet (modes). Two of these, called pathet
nem and pathet lima, use the subset of 1, 2, 3, 5, and
6; the third, pathet barang, uses 2, 3, 5, 6, and 7. The
remaining two notes, including 4 in every pathet, are
available for embellishments on most instruments,
but they do not usually appear on gendér, gambang,
or interpunctuating instruments.

Sundanese pelog degung Javanese pathet lima

1 (da) 6

2 (mi) 5

3 (na) 3

4 (ti) 2
 5 (la) 1

Bali
In Bali, all seven tones are used in gamelan semar
pegulingan and gamelan gambuh. All seven tones are
rarely heard in a single traditional composition. Like
in Java, five-tone modes are used. There are three
modes, selisir, tembung and sunaren. Gamelan gong
kebyar instruments have five keys in the pelog selisir
mode (heard in the audio example above). Unlike
Java, there are only five names for the notes, and the
same five names are used in all three modes. The
modes all start on the note named ding, and then
continue going up the scale to dong, deng, dung and
dang. This means that the same pitch will have a different name in a different mode.
The modes are arranged as follows:

Balinese modes

Tone Selisir Tembung Sunaren

1 ding dung —

2 dong dang dung

3 deng — dang

4 — ding —

5 dung dong ding

6 dang deng dong

7 — — deng