Knowra Pentatonic scale Pentatonic scale A scale built from five distinct pitches within an octave. Pentatonic scales occur in many musical traditions and can be formed with different interval patterns.
Musical scale : An ordered collection of pitches used as a framework for melody and harmony. Pentatonic scales are one family within the broader idea of an ordered pitch collection.
Major pentatonic scale : A five-note scale corresponding to the first, second, third, fifth, and sixth degrees of a major scale. It is a widely used form with a distinctive interval pattern and major-tonic character.
Blues scale : A scale used in blues that commonly adds a chromatic passing tone to a minor pentatonic collection. Blues musicians expand the minor pentatonic framework with a characteristic added pitch.
Ancient Chinese music : Music produced in China before the modern era, known through texts, instruments, and archaeological evidence. Historical Chinese theory documents pentatonic organization, an influential example rather than a universal origin.
Major scale : A seven-note diatonic scale with a pattern of whole and half steps associated with major tonality. The major pentatonic scale can be derived by omitting two degrees from this seven-note scale.
Interval (music) : The distance in pitch between two notes, measured by steps, semitones, or frequency ratios. The pattern of intervals, not merely the number of notes, defines each pentatonic form.
Minor pentatonic scale : A five-note scale corresponding to the first, third, fourth, fifth, and seventh degrees of the natural minor scale. Its different placement of intervals gives the five-note collection a minor-tonic character.
Blues improvisation : The creation of spontaneous melodies over blues harmony, often using recurring scale patterns and expressive inflections. The minor pentatonic scale supplies a compact vocabulary for improvising over blues changes.
Gamelan : An Indonesian ensemble tradition centered on tuned percussion, with distinct tuning systems and regional styles. Some gamelan scales use five pitches, illustrating pentatonic practice outside Western theory.
Minor scale : A family of seven-note scales associated with minor tonality, including natural, harmonic, and melodic forms. The minor pentatonic scale shares some degrees with natural minor while omitting others.
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