Question about scales

Question

So after some long years of messing with my guitar, playing on and off I decided to dive into music theory.

I learned quite a bit in a few days and eveything makes a lot more sense, I can understand why some notes sound good together now and my fretboard is no longer a random bunch of notes.

Now my question is regarding the major scale and the rest of them. Do all of the scales have the major scale as the starting point?

So like the pentatonic scale is the major scale without the 2nd and 6th note, and a minor scale is the major scale but with flatted notes (I think the 3rd 6th and 7th if I remember correctly).

So when people talk about playing the 3rd note from the key of A, they talk about playing the 3rd note from the major scale of A right? Even if they are using a different scale?

And if that note is not in the major scale, it will be named as a flat 3rd?

Posted Dec 12, 2021, 2:49 PM UTC

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MrMoosetach2•4 yr. ago

I think the easiest way for you to understand this is to look at it visually. Good article here:

https://www.guitarworld.com/lessons/jazz-guitar-corner-learn-all-seven-major-modes-easy-way

Take these modes, and lay them out in whatever key you want, but stay them throughout the neck. As you look at them you will notice the positions of the scales correspond to different positions on the neck and that if you play them as a standalone scale they sound and feel different.

There are many different scales and sounds, and not all are heptatonic (7 notes).

TLDR: no not all scales are based of the major - it is a western conventional scale but many different countries have different scales as their common sound.

E_PunnyMous•4 yr. ago

You’re close. Kinda. But not really. But you’re right to begin to see there is a method to the organization.

All major modes start with an all-natural scale. The major scale, aka the Ionian mode, is one of seven major modes. Each mode has twelve keys, many are enharmonic. (There are other modes, I gather, but I’m not that far down the rabbit hole. Yet.)

Moreover, when referring to modes other than Ionian, you can refer to them either by their tonal/semitonal relationship, or, in a more shorthand way, simply refer to changes from the C Major scale. For example:

C Ionian (Major): CDEFGABC no sharps, no flats
Tonal Pattern: WWHWWWH

D Dorian: DEFGABCD no sharps, no flats
Tonal Pattern: WHWWWHW
C Dorian (starting on C and using the Dorian mode): CDEbFGABbC

So you can also describe a mode relative to the C Major scale: In comparison, Dorian has a flat third and a flat seventh. So instead of confusing everyone and saying, “Alright guys let’s try this in C Dorian” you can say, “Start on C, flat third, flat seventh” and your band will get it right away.

If you haven’t done it yet, I highly recommend hand-charting all keys in all modes, and hand-charting the Circle of Fifths. It’s a slog and practically speaking unnecessary, but educationally it’s very very useful.