i've been reading alot about scales and can't seem to process the idea.. could anyone help?

What do you have questions about? What is a scale? The circle of Fifths?

yhea, i don't really get it.. what is a scale in the music world?

A scale is 7 notes played in order. It ends on the 8th note which is an octave from what you started on. A scale does not repeat a note (except for the 1st and 8th). Let's use the C Major scale as an example.

C D E F G A B C
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

I've numbered the notes as they would appear in the scale. Each note is called a degree. Notice how I said earlier that each note (except for the first and last) is not repeated. With me so far?

Here's the wiki page, but from what you said in your first post I don't know if that's going to help you much. I could be wrong. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scale_(music)

i've read the wiki page too but i get lost... so let me get this right basically scales is just a root cord to the next same root chord?

so for example i take G as a root it would be G A B C D E F G ?

yup (to be more technical, that would be mixolydian mode, but you don't need to know about those yet)

basically, just think of a scale as this....a sequence of notes in either ascending or descending pattern

there's many different patterns...a normal scale contains 8 notes going up (the start and end notes are the same), a chromatic has 11, whole-tone has 6....

just a sequence of notes, in a certain order

ah ic.. so it's just like from C to C like what sondagger exampled...

what is the use of it then?

every (tonal) song is based on a scale, it defines the variety of notes that are most often used in the song.
if you take the C major scale for example C - D - E - F ...[..] C, it's not very likely that the composer uses the black keys ais, gis etc. unless he modulates to another scale/key signature.

every (tonal) song is based on a scale, it defines the variety of notes that are most often used in the song.

Many atonal song base on various scales too. :P Like 12 tones serialism bases on the chromatic scale.

every (tonal) song is based on a scale, it defines the variety of notes that are most often used in the song.
if you take the C major scale for example C - D - E - F ...[..] C, it's not very likely that the composer uses the black keys ais, gis etc. unless he modulates to another scale/key signature.

hmm.. so it's like a singer each song has a diffrent voice? that's what scales is?

hmm.. so it's like a singer each song has a diffrent voice? that's what scales is?

Nop, that's more like 'range' or 'timbre' you're talking about. But since I'm pretty bad at explaining things, you'll have to wait for the next poster or so to clarify what a scale is, all I can do is to tell you what you're saying is not right.

Nop, that's more like 'range' or 'timbre' you're talking about. But since I'm pretty bad at explaining things, you'll have to wait for the next poster or so to clarify what a scale is, all I can do is to tell you what you're saying is not right.

so it's like a high tone and low tone? the same song but diffrent tones?

XD Nonono, you know what? Forget what I said, cos it's confusing you further. Let the other people better at explaining enlighten you.

XD Nonono, you know what? Forget what I said, cos it's confusing you further. Let the other people better at explaining enlighten you.

okay thanks for trying to explain.. hehehe..

i guess you can think of it this way..a scale is really only a "method" of getting music to sound and feel a certain way (happy, sad, etc...)

a "scale" can be used as a foundation, where other notes are built around it. it's really a guide for how a composer wants his/her music to sound.

like, in art, sometimes you practice drawing lines, circles, other shapes, etc...but when you paint a picture, you base your picture off of those lines and shapes. the purpose of scales are kind of similar.

i guess you can think of it this way..a scale is really only a "method" of getting music to sound and feel a certain way (happy, sad, etc...)

a "scale" can be used as a foundation, where other notes are built around it. it's really a guide for how a composer wants his/her music to sound.

like, in art, sometimes you practice drawing lines, circles, other shapes, etc...but when you paint a picture, you base your picture off of those lines and shapes. the purpose of scales are kind of similar.


so in a building it's like the design...

One example is a series of notes following this pattern:

WWHWWWH

(W = whole step)
(H = half step)

Technically, this is a major scale. Start on whatever note you want, and play this pattern, and you'll have a major scale. However, a scale, in general, is like this one, only with different patterns of whole and half steps (and occasionally greater distances, like three half steps). Not all music is scalar, but some is.

The is just a very brief introduction, but it should give you the basic idea.

yes, you can think of it as a basic design! the scale serves as a REFERENCE POINT for how the other sounds in a piece should be made...

yes, you can think of it as a basic design! the scale serves as a REFERENCE POINT for how the other sounds in a piece should be made...

thanks... so let's say i play the do-re-mi song it's in the C scale so it's C D E F G A B C and if i want it to change to a G scale it's G A B C D E F# G.. so instead of i begind with C D E C D C D, it's G A B A B A B... hehehe.. i think i'm starting to get the idea here.. hehehe..