Okay, so we have learned a lot of scales so far. This can become confusing and jumbling trying to remember them all and how different they are from each other.
A way to remember is to break them apart into smaller pieces. This is so you can compare and contrast between the scales – essentially see what makes them similar and different.
We can break them up into different groups.
A tetrachord (tetra – meaning “four”) is not a chord, but a group of 4 consecutive notes.
Take a major scale for example and split it down the halfway. Compare the two different tetrachords:
You will see that they are formed of the same interval pattern of W-W-H (or M2-M2-m2). These are major tetrachords, because they are distinctive of the major scale.
Another way to break scales into smaller groups is into pentachords, groups of 5 consecutive notes.
Once again, this is to help understand and memorize the structure/functions of scales.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read! Feel free to comment, share, and subscribe for more daily tips below! Till next time.
Daily Music Writing Tips - Blog by Bryan M. Waring 