Volume IV · Chapter 30
Beyond Major and Minor
MUSIC 21B · C-ID MUS 150Chapter quiz →
In the musicianship bookChapter 28: The Diatonic ModesChapter 29: Other Scales, Changing Meters
Introduction: New Collections, New Centers
Around 1900, composers such as Debussy, Ravel, Stravinsky, Bartók, Scriabin, and Messiaen began to build music from pitch collections other than major and minor scales: the old church modes, folk pentatonic scales, and new symmetrical scales. Without the functional pull of V to I, they established a pitch center by other means. Jazz, film, and popular music later adopted the same resources.
Click any example to hear it.
The Diatonic Modes
Each white-key scale starting on a different note is a mode. You can think of modes in two ways: as rotations of the major scale (D Dorian uses C major's notes from D to D), or as altered major or minor scales on the same tonic (parallel modes). The second view is more useful for hearing and composing, because each mode has a characteristic note that distinguishes it from plain major or minor.
| Mode | Compare to | Characteristic note | On C |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ionian | major | — | C D E F G A B |
| Dorian | natural minor | raised 6̂ (♮6) | C D E♭ F G A B♭ |
| Phrygian | natural minor | lowered 2̂ (♭2) | C D♭ E♭ F G A♭ B♭ |
| Lydian | major | raised 4̂ (♯4) | C D E F♯ G A B |
| Mixolydian | major | lowered 7̂ (♭7) | C D E F G A B♭ |
| Aeolian | major (it is natural minor) | — | C D E♭ F G A♭ B♭ |
| Locrian | natural minor | ♭2 and ♭5 (unstable diminished tonic triad) | C D♭ E♭ F G♭ A♭ B♭ |
Pentatonic and Blues Scales
A pentatonic scale has five notes and no half steps: C–D–E–G–A (major pentatonic) and its rotation A–C–D–E–G (minor pentatonic). The black keys of the piano form a pentatonic scale. Pentatonic melodies appear in folk music worldwide, in Debussy and Ravel, and throughout jazz, rock, and pop. The blues scale adds a chromatic "blue note" (♯4/♭5) to the minor pentatonic.
Symmetrical Collections
Some scales repeat the same pattern of intervals within the octave. Because they're symmetrical, they have fewer distinct transpositions than the usual twelve and no built-in tonic: a center must be created by the music. Messiaen called them modes of limited transposition.
| Collection | Pattern | Notes | Distinct transpositions | Triads it contains |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whole-tone | W W W W W W | 6 | 2 | augmented triads only |
| Octatonic | H W H W… (or W H…) | 8 | 3 | 4 major, 4 minor, 4 diminished; 2 diminished sevenths |
| Hexatonic | H m3 H m3 H m3 | 6 | 4 | 3 major, 3 minor, 2 augmented |
| Chromatic | H × 12 | 12 | 1 | all |
The acoustic scale (C–D–E–F♯–G–A–B♭) combines Lydian's ♯4 with Mixolydian's ♭7. It approximates the lower partials of the harmonic series and is common in Debussy, Bartók, and jazz (where it's called Lydian dominant, used over dominant chords with a ♯11).
Creating a Pitch Center
Without dominant-to-tonic progressions, composers emphasize a center (centricity) with other tools:
- Pedal points and drones: a sustained or repeated bass note.
- Ostinato: a repeated figure built around the center.
- Repetition and duration: the center is heard most often and longest.
- Register and metric emphasis: the center falls on downbeats and in the bass or the top of the texture.
- Beginning and ending on the center, and approaching it by step.
Non-Tertian Chords
- Quartal and quintal chords stack fourths or fifths (C–F–B♭–E♭; C–G–D–A). Open, ambiguous, and modern-sounding (Bartók, Hindemith, modal jazz).
- Secundal chords and clusters stack seconds (C–D–E–F). Played on the piano with the palm or forearm, they become tone clusters (Cowell, Ives).
- Added-note chords add a second, fourth, or sixth to a triad without a seventh (Cadd9, C6).
- Polychords superimpose two triads, often a tritone apart. Stravinsky's "Petrushka chord" combines C major and F♯ major.
- Bitonality (polytonality) layers two keys at once, e.g., a melody in one key over accompaniment in another (Milhaud).
Planing
Planing (parallelism) moves a chord shape in parallel motion, so that harmony thickens a melody line instead of progressing functionally. Debussy made it a signature sound.
- Diatonic planing: the chords stay within one collection, so their qualities change (major, minor, diminished) as they move.
- Chromatic (real) planing: every chord keeps the exact same intervals, so the music leaves any single key. Parallel dominant sevenths and ninths are typical.
Try It: Collection Explorer
Collection Explorer
Choose a collection and a starting note. See its spelling and interval pattern, and hear it. For the symmetrical collections, count how many different transpositions exist.
Summary
- The diatonic modes are rotations of the major scale; each has a characteristic note relative to parallel major or minor (Dorian ♮6, Phrygian ♭2, Lydian ♯4, Mixolydian ♭7, Locrian ♭2/♭5).
- Pentatonic scales have five notes and no half steps; the blues scale adds a blue note.
- Symmetrical collections (whole-tone: 2 transpositions; octatonic: 3; hexatonic: 4) have limited transpositions and no built-in tonic. The acoustic scale combines ♯4 and ♭7.
- Centricity comes from pedals, ostinatos, repetition, register, and emphasis.
- Non-tertian chords: quartal, quintal, secundal/cluster, added-note, polychords; bitonality layers keys.
- Planing moves chords in parallel: diatonic (qualities change) or chromatic/real (exact shape).