Byzantine scale
Encyclopedia
In music
, the double harmonic major scale is a scale whose gaps
may evoke "exotic" music to Western listeners. This is also known as the Arabic and the Byzantine scale. It is also likened to the gypsy scale
because of the augmented 2 between the 2nd and 3rd degrees. Arabic scale may also refer to any Arabic mode, the simplest of which, however, to Westerners, resembles the double harmonic major scale..
The sequence of steps
comprising the double harmonic scale is:
Or, in relation to the tonic
note:
However, this scale is commonly represented with the first and last half step each being represented as a quarter tone
. The non-quarter tone form is identical to the North Indian Thaat
named Bhairav and the South Indian (Carnatic) Melakarta
named Mayamalavagowla.
The double harmonic scale is arrived at by either:
It is referred to as the "double harmonic" scale because it contains two augmented seconds. By contrast both the harmonic major and harmonic minor scales contain only one augmented second, located between their sixth and seventh degrees.
The double harmonic scale is uncommonly used in classical music
from Western culture
, as it does not closely follow any of the basic musical modes, nor is it easily derived from them. It also does not easily fit into common Western chord progressions such as the authentic cadence. The Arabic scale (in the key of E) was used in Nikolas Roubanis's "Misirlou
", and in the Bacchanale
from the opera Samson and Delilah
by Saint-Saëns. Claude Debussy
used the scale in "Soirée dans Grenade", "La Puerta del Vino
", and "Sérénade interrompue
" to evoke Spanish flamenco music or Moorish heritage. A commonly known usage in western music is The Cure
's "Killing An Arab
". The scale is also popular in India.
, most similar to the harmonic minor scale with a raised 4th degree.
The second mode is somewhat of a hybrid between the blues scale
(contains a #4) and bebop scale
(both #6 and 7).
. The double harmonic scale may be made from a Phrygian dominant scale by sharpening its 7th degree.
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, the double harmonic major scale is a scale whose gaps
Steps and skips
In music, a step, or conjunct motion, is a linear or successive interval between two pitches which are consecutive scale degrees. Any larger interval is called a skip , or disjunct motion...
may evoke "exotic" music to Western listeners. This is also known as the Arabic and the Byzantine scale. It is also likened to the gypsy scale
Gypsy scale
The term Gypsy scale, refers to one of several musical scales named after their association with Gypsy music.-Hungarian Gypsy scale:...
because of the augmented 2 between the 2nd and 3rd degrees. Arabic scale may also refer to any Arabic mode, the simplest of which, however, to Westerners, resembles the double harmonic major scale..
The sequence of steps
Steps and skips
In music, a step, or conjunct motion, is a linear or successive interval between two pitches which are consecutive scale degrees. Any larger interval is called a skip , or disjunct motion...
comprising the double harmonic scale is:
- halfMinor secondIn modern Western tonal music theory a minor second is the interval between two notes on adjacent staff positions, or having adjacent note letters, whose alterations cause them to be one semitone or half-step apart, such as B and C or C and D....
– augmented secondAugmented secondIn classical music from Western culture, an augmented second is an interval produced by widening a major second by a chromatic semitone. For instance, the interval from C to D is a major second, two semitones wide, and both the intervals from C to D, and from C to D are augmented seconds, spanning...
– half – wholeMajor secondIn Western music theory, a major second is a musical interval spanning two semitones, and encompassing two adjacent staff positions . For example, the interval from C to D is a major second, as the note D lies two semitones above C, and the two notes are notated on adjacent staff postions...
– half – augmented secondAugmented secondIn classical music from Western culture, an augmented second is an interval produced by widening a major second by a chromatic semitone. For instance, the interval from C to D is a major second, two semitones wide, and both the intervals from C to D, and from C to D are augmented seconds, spanning...
– half.
Or, in relation to the tonic
Tonic (music)
In music, the tonic is the first scale degree of the diatonic scale and the tonal center or final resolution tone. The triad formed on the tonic note, the tonic chord, is thus the most significant chord...
note:
- minor 2nd, major 3rd, perfect 4th and 5th, minor 6th, major 7th.
However, this scale is commonly represented with the first and last half step each being represented as a quarter tone
Quarter tone
A quarter tone , is a pitch halfway between the usual notes of a chromatic scale, an interval about half as wide as a semitone, which is half a whole tone....
. The non-quarter tone form is identical to the North Indian Thaat
Thaat
A thāt is a mode in northern Indian or Hindustani music. Thāts always have seven different pitches and are a basis for the organization and classification of ragas in North Indian classical music.- System :...
named Bhairav and the South Indian (Carnatic) Melakarta
Melakarta
Melakarta is a collection of fundamental ragas in Carnatic music . Melakarta ragas are parent ragas from which other ragas may be generated. A melakarta raga is sometimes referred as mela, karta or sampurna as well.In Hindustani music the thaat is equivalent of Melakarta...
named Mayamalavagowla.
The double harmonic scale is arrived at by either:
- raising the seventh of the Phrygian dominant scalePhrygian dominant scaleIn music, the altered Phrygian scale or Freygish scale , featuring an unusual key signature and a distinctive augmented second interval, is the fifth mode of the harmonic minor scale, the fifth being the dominant...
, (a mode of the harmonic minor scale), by a semitone. - raising the seventh and third of the Phrygian modePhrygian modeThe Phrygian mode can refer to three different musical modes: the ancient Greek tonos or harmonia sometimes called Phrygian, formed on a particular set octave species or scales; the Medieval Phrygian mode, and the modern conception of the Phrygian mode as a diatonic scale, based on the latter...
, (a mode of the Major Scale), by a semitone. - lowering both the sixth and second of a major scaleMajor scaleIn music theory, the major scale or Ionian scale is one of the diatonic scales. It is made up of seven distinct notes, plus an eighth which duplicates the first an octave higher. In solfege these notes correspond to the syllables "Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Ti/Si, ", the "Do" in the parenthesis at...
by a semitone. - lowering the 2nd note of a harmonic major scaleHarmonic major scaleIn music theory, the harmonic major scale is a musical scale which found occasional use during the common practice era and is now occasionally employed, most often in jazz. It was named by Rimsky-Korsakov...
by a semitone. - combining the lower half of phrygian dominant with the upper half of harmonic minor
It is referred to as the "double harmonic" scale because it contains two augmented seconds. By contrast both the harmonic major and harmonic minor scales contain only one augmented second, located between their sixth and seventh degrees.
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
from Western culture
Western culture
Western culture, sometimes equated with Western civilization or European civilization, refers to cultures of European origin and is used very broadly to refer to a heritage of social norms, ethical values, traditional customs, religious beliefs, political systems, and specific artifacts and...
, as it does not closely follow any of the basic musical modes, nor is it easily derived from them. It also does not easily fit into common Western chord progressions such as the authentic cadence. The Arabic scale (in the key of E) was used in Nikolas Roubanis's "Misirlou
Misirlou
Misirlou , is a popular Greek song with popularity in five styles of music: Greek rebetiko, Middle-Eastern belly dancing, Jewish klezmer, American surf rock, and international orchestral easy listening .- History :...
", and in the Bacchanale
Bacchanale
A bacchanale is a dramatic musical composition, often depicting a drunken revel or bacchanal.Well-known examples are the bacchanales in Camille Saint-Saëns's Samson et Dalila and the Overture and Bacchanale of Richard Wagner's Tannhäuser. John Cage wrote a Bacchanale for prepared piano...
from the opera Samson and Delilah
Samson and Delilah
Samson and Delilah may refer to:*Samson, a Biblical figure*Delilah, a Biblical figure*Samson and Delilah, a Biblical narrative* Samson and Delilah , a painting by Peter Paul Rubens* Samson and Delilah, the club mascots of the Sunderland A.F.C...
by Saint-Saëns. Claude Debussy
Claude Debussy
Claude-Achille Debussy was a French composer. Along with Maurice Ravel, he was one of the most prominent figures working within the field of impressionist music, though he himself intensely disliked the term when applied to his compositions...
used the scale in "Soirée dans Grenade", "La Puerta del Vino
Preludes (Debussy)
Claude Debussy's Préludes are two sets of pieces for solo piano. They are divided into two separate livres, or books, of twelve preludes each. Unlike previous collections of preludes, like those of JS Bach and Chopin, Debussy's do not follow a strict pattern of key signatures.Each book was written...
", and "Sérénade interrompue
Preludes (Debussy)
Claude Debussy's Préludes are two sets of pieces for solo piano. They are divided into two separate livres, or books, of twelve preludes each. Unlike previous collections of preludes, like those of JS Bach and Chopin, Debussy's do not follow a strict pattern of key signatures.Each book was written...
" to evoke Spanish flamenco music or Moorish heritage. A commonly known usage in western music is The Cure
The Cure
The Cure are an English rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976. The band has experienced several line-up changes, with frontman, vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Robert Smith being the only constant member...
's "Killing An Arab
Killing an Arab
"Killing an Arab" is the first single by The Cure. It was recorded at the same time as their first LP in the UK, Three Imaginary Boys but not included on the album...
". The scale is also popular in India.
Symmetry
The double harmonic scale features radial symmetry, or symmetry around its root, or center note. Breaking up the three note chromaticism and removing this symmetry by sharpening the 2nd or flattening the 7th note respectively by one semitone yields the harmonic major and Phrygian Dominant mode of the harmonic minor scales respectively, each of which, unlike the double harmonic minor scale, has a full diminished chord backbone.Modes
Like most heptatonic (seven pitches in the octave) scales, the double harmonic scale has a mode for each of its individual scale degrees. The most commonly known of these modes is the 4th mode, the Hungarian gypsy scaleHungarian gypsy scale
The Hungarian Gypsy Scale is a name given by different authorities to two different scale forms. The more commonly used of these scales is the fourth mode of the Double harmonic scale , it can be found by sharpening the 4th degree of the harmonic minor scale to introduce an additional gap, or...
, most similar to the harmonic minor scale with a raised 4th degree.
The second mode is somewhat of a hybrid between the blues scale
Blues scale
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...
(contains a #4) and bebop scale
Bebop scale
The bebop scales are frequently used in jazz improvisation and are derived from the modes of the major scale, the melodic minor scale, and the harmonic minor scale....
(both #6 and 7).
Relationship to Phrygian major (Jewish scale)
The nearest other existing scale to the double harmonic scale is the Phrygian dominant scalePhrygian dominant scale
In music, the altered Phrygian scale or Freygish scale , featuring an unusual key signature and a distinctive augmented second interval, is the fifth mode of the harmonic minor scale, the fifth being the dominant...
. The double harmonic scale may be made from a Phrygian dominant scale by sharpening its 7th degree.
See also
- Gypsy scaleGypsy scaleThe term Gypsy scale, refers to one of several musical scales named after their association with Gypsy music.-Hungarian Gypsy scale:...
- Arabic scaleArabic scaleArabic scale may refer to:*Double harmonic scale, a scale with two augmented seconds*Quarter tone scale, or 24 tone equal temperament*17 equal temperament, a tuning dividing the octave into 17 equal steps*Major locrian scale, a scale similar to locrian...
- Arabic music
- Byzantine musicByzantine musicByzantine music is the music of the Byzantine Empire composed to Greek texts as ceremonial, festival, or church music. Greek and foreign historians agree that the ecclesiastical tones and in general the whole system of Byzantine music is closely related to the ancient Greek system...
- Musical modeMusical modeIn the theory of Western music since the ninth century, mode generally refers to a type of scale. This usage, still the most common in recent years, reflects a tradition dating to the middle ages, itself inspired by the theory of ancient Greek music.The word encompasses several additional...
- Tritone substitutionTritone substitutionIn classical music, a substitute dominant is "a chord sufficiently akin to the dominant to be reasonably set against the tonic, and yet remote enough to give a chromatically expressive, large-scale dissonance to the structure"...