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The Evolution of the Major Scale
If we begin at D, then due to laws of physics,
the two most harmonically consonant notes with D (as with any note)
are either a perfect fourth above or a perfect fourth below
D harmonizes perfectly with either A or G,
so why shouldn't the fourths surrounding THOSE two notes be consonant?
Using the knowledge that 4ths harmonizxe either up or
down, it is a simple matter to expand that formula to the interval of
a perfect fourth on either side of figure 1:
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4th
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4th
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4th
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4th
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E
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A
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D
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G
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C
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(figure 2)
Rearranging the order of the notes in figure 2,
one will notice that it is the Ur-Scale:
"A minor pentatonic"!
Scales built with this same formula continue to have
a lasting place in musics from all over the globe.
Taking this "logic of 4ths" (as in figure 2 above) one step
further,
the following 7-note tone row was discovered:
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4th
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4th
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4th
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4th
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4th
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4th
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B
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E
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A
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D
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G
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C
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F
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(figure 4)
which rearranged similarly to figure 3 above,
yields what is commonly known as
the "Natural Minor" or "Aeolian Mode".
This formula of scale degrees, continues to be in the
top three favorite tonal centers
for most musicians and composers.
The addition of the notes B and F into the A minor pentatonic mode,
creates an interval of great tension into the tone row, this special
interval is known as a tri-tone (the interval of 3 whole-tones).
The tension created by the tritone calls for
the B to resolve up a half step to the C,
and for the F to resolve chromatically down to the E.
Once this cadence has taken place,
the natural resolution falls squarely on
the two defining notes of the C major triad (C and E).
These tension-resolution tendencies cement the major
scale's dominance over all other scales.
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Guitar-Lessons-Riverside-CA.com
copyright © 2007 Jeff Brent
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