When learning about music we will often hear the term scale. In studying music and scales, we will often hear terms such as major, minor, chromatic, and many others because there are several types of scales used in creating music. If you are studying music and want to know more deeply it is very important for us to get to know more about the types of scales.
Understanding Scale
A scale is a series of notes arranged at a certain distance, like a ladder in real life, so the scale has a function similar to that in everyday life. If we look at a ladder has a function to go up or down. So is tone. There are times when the note goes up or gets higher, there are times when the note drops or gets lower. This distance is usually called a tone interval, which is a pause between one note and another. This interval is like the distance between steps in everyday life. Some stairs are close to each other, some are far. In general, the scales are divided into three types, namely pentatonic, diatonic, and chromatic. The following is an explanation of the scales
Pentatonic Scale
Penta means five, is used for the term type of scale because here only 5 main tones are used. This type is divided into two, namely the scale and the slendro scale. This type is mostly used for the rock n ‘roll music genre, some variations of pop and blues songs, children’s songs, and traditional songs. We often encounter this scale in Javanese traditional music such as gamelan music.
It is easier to understand the difference between Slendro and Pelog is that Slendro consists of a pentatonic scale using a tone of 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 which usually gives the impression of being happy and lively while pelog consists of a pentatonic scale using a tone of 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 which can provide a calm and sublime impression. Examples of songs that use pentatonic scales, namely
• Windmills
• Dig
• Lenggang kale
• Suwe ora jamu
• Pinch the suweng
Diatonic Scale
If there are 5 tones pentatonic, for the diatonic type there are 7 notes with 2 kinds of intervals. We often listen to or play this diatonic scale in contemporary or contemporary music. We often encounter these scales when we learn a musical instrument such as the guitar because the basis for playing the guitar is often using this type of scale. This diatonic scale uses intervals of 1 or uses half intervals. In this type, it is still divided into 2 scales, namely major and minor as follows the explanation
Minor Scale
The minor scale is divided into three types, namely the original minor scale, harmonic and melodic. The original minor type only has the main tone, so there is no chromatic sign, while for this harmonic type, each note is raised halfway but when it goes up or down the tone remains the same. If it is a melodic type, only the 6th and 7th notes are raised when it goes up and half as well as when it goes down. This minor scale when played will create deep nuances such as solemn, sad, or being in a dark atmosphere. Examples of songs with minor scales include
- Mandatory songs such as Meneningkan Cipta, Tanah Airku, Bagimu Negeri, Mother Earth, and Indonesia Pusaka.
- Children’s songs such as Bring the Moon, Morning Star, Love Mother, and My Rabbit
- Regional songs such as Bubuy Bulan, Kole-Kole, Sing Sing So, and Ole Sio.