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Scale
Tone Nomenclature |
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Scales in Western music involve a series of seven
tones, numbered 1 through 7 in an ascending scale. The tones of major and minor scales are also referred to by specific
names (nomenclature) that describe the function or position of each note in a
scale. The eighth note in an ascending scale is called an
octave, which is a tone of the same name, for example, C3 to C4 (see pitch notation.) An octave is the pitch difference of two tones with the highest
tone having a fundamental frequency that is twice the frequency of the lower tone. The first tone in a scale is called the tonic or 1, the
tone representing the key center. The
tonic is the most important tone in a scale.
The supertonic (2) is the note just above the tonic, the second note
of an ascending scale. The next most prominent tone after the tonic is the
fifth tone of an ascending scale, called the dominant. The third tone (3) in
an ascending scale is called the mediant, which is half-way between the tonic
(1) and the dominant (5). The fourth tone of an ascending scale is called the
subdominant (4), the tone just below the dominant. It is also the fifth note down in a descending scale which could
also be described as the same interval of dominant but below the tonic, “sub”
meaning below. The sixth note of an
ascending scale is called the submediant, which is also the note half-way
between the tonic in the next octave and the subdominant below that tonic note. The remaining note of the ascending scale is the
seventh, also called the leading tone.
The leading tone (7) often precedes the tonic note in melodies and as
the preceding note in a chord which resolves to a chord with the tonic note. (See chords.) Sometimes, the seventh note of an ascending scale is
lowered one half step, using a flat as an accidental. This note is not usually in a major scale,
but is the seventh note of a minor scale in its natural form. The scale tone with a flat 7 is called the
subtonic. Summary of scale tone names: 1 Tonic 2 Supertonic 3 Mediant 4 Subdominant 5 Dominant 6 Submediant 7 Leading Flat 7 Subtonic Click on the Cakewalk file link to see and hear examples of scale
tones and their nomenclature. |
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