Minor Scales

[DavBa...@aol.com]

Baz wrote:

>I beg to differ from our friend Peter Adler... He says in
>his otherwise wonderful treatise on minor scales, that
>the melodic minor is the one that most of us think of as
>minor.... NOW, I realise that I am not necessarily "most
>of us", but just about every musician I know thinks of
>the Harmonic minor as the 'regular' minor scale these
>days. In other words, for those lost along the way, the
>one that follows the key signature of its 'relative
>major' except for the sharpened (by accidentals) 7th.
>i.e. A minor = A B C D E F G# A (A being the relative
>minor of C major). Perhaps this depends on the type(s) of
>music you usually play??!!
>
>Anyone else have thoughts on this???

Absolutely!

My music dictionary does not define "the 'regular' minor
scale." The scale you have spelled (A B C D E F G# A) is
more properly known as the "Harmonic Minor Scale" and, as
its name implies, exists for harmonic reasons, not melodic
ones. Yes, as a melody it sounds a little like some
stereotypical Mediterranean music (much of which should
also include quarter tones, which should be of no interest
to free-reed players), but its primary value to western
music is that it contains the notes upon which we draw to
form harmonies and chords when working in minor keys.
Virtually any minor key tune in classical or popular music
is harmonized largely with the minor chords built on the
first and fourth notes of the scale and the major chord
built on the fifth. These chords contain the notes found in
the Harmonic Minor Scale.

Other minor scales of interest include:

The "Natural" Minor Scale, which does not contain the
raised seventh, and corresponds to the Greek Aeolian mode.
It is the scale that is defined by the key signature. It
only works melodically as a descending scale (see below).

The "Melodic" Minor Scale, which, coming down, is the same
as the Natural Minor, but in its ascending form includes a
raised sixth and seventh. This is generally thought to be
very satisfying to modern western ears and is found very
commonly throughout classical and popular music, but not a
lot in folk music (except that a very clear example is the
first eight notes of "Staines Morris" (the May-Pole song).

"Modal" Minor (Dorian mode) is very common in folk music, particularly of the
British Isles. It is like the Natural
Minor except that the sixth note is raised. Almost any
traditional Irish jig or reel in a minor key is Dorian.
These tunes tend to spend a lot of time on the major chord
built on the seventh note of the scale.

Getting back to the original question of a few days ago
("Are there really tunes that use these scales?" --Sorry,
I've lost the original wording and attribution), The
Melodic and Modal minor scales (in fragments or complete
scales) turn up in well-known melodies all over the place.
The Harmonic minor gives us the notes to choose from in
building chords, and the Natural minor exists for purely
theoretical reasons (no flames, please!) as a pure
manifestation of the key signature.

Sorry for the long post. Julie, start dinner without me.

David Barnert
<davba...@aol.com>
Albany, N.Y.
_____________________________________________________________
"The highlight of my childhood was making my brother laugh so
hard that food came out his nose."
---Garrison Keillor

[Jeroen Nijhof]

DavBa...@aol.com wrote:

: ones. Yes, as a melody it sounds a little like some

: stereotypical Mediterranean music (much of which should
: also include quarter tones, which should be of no interest
: to free-reed players

Unless you retune your accordion, like Farouk Mohammed Hassan.
He can be heard on Planet Squeezebox.
That track almost made me want to retune mine. Perhaps I could
sacrifice a Hero..

Jeroen

[DoN. Nichols]

In article <96091721191...@emout03.mail.aol.com>,
<DavBa...@aol.com> wrote:
>Baz wrote:
>
[ ... ]

>My music dictionary does not define "the 'regular' minor
>scale." The scale you have spelled (A B C D E F G# A) is
>more properly known as the "Harmonic Minor Scale" and, as
>its name implies, exists for harmonic reasons, not melodic

>ones. Yes, as a melody it sounds a little like some
>stereotypical Mediterranean music (much of which should
>also include quarter tones, which should be of no interest

>to free-reed players), but its primary value to western
>music is that it contains the notes upon which we draw to
>form harmonies and chords when working in minor keys.
>Virtually any minor key tune in classical or popular music
>is harmonized largely with the minor chords built on the
>first and fourth notes of the scale and the major chord
>built on the fifth. These chords contain the notes found in
>the Harmonic Minor Scale.
>
>Other minor scales of interest include:
>
>The "Natural" Minor Scale, which does not contain the
>raised seventh, and corresponds to the Greek Aeolian mode.
>It is the scale that is defined by the key signature. It
>only works melodically as a descending scale (see below).

Aha! A use for a 'tina tuned in Salvation Army tuning. It is a
little over a quarter-tone sharp, so with two 'tina players (one with modern
pitch, and one with S.A. pitch), and some careful work, any quarter-tone
music should be possible. (Yes, the S.A. box should be tuned down just a
bit, from +60 cents to +50 cents. :-)

Sorry for breaking into an interesting exposition, but I couldn't
resist. :-)

Squeeze On,
DoN.
--
Email: <dnic...@d-and-d.com> | Donald Nichols (DoN.)
Voice Days: (703) 704-2280 | Eves: (703) 938-4564
My Concertina web page: | http://www.d-and-d.com/dnichols/DoN.html
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