Music Scales - Melodies in Hiding

Music scales get a bad rap. But the truth is that melodies and scales are just 2 sides of the same coin. You can't have one without the other.

Can you write songs without knowing scales? YES! OF COURSE you can.

Can you write songs without USING music scales. No, you can't.

You can sing your melodies, even if you don't know the "Names" of the notes you're singing.Music is AURAL, not VISUAL.

But your notes will still be drawn toward groupings of pitches known as the KEY or KEY SIGNATURE. It's how we have chords & chord progressions.

As soon as you've decided on a chord, your melody notes (scale choices), fit like white on rice.

So is it essential that you learn your scales???

HERE'S THE DEAL

I just spent a day recording someone else's songs in a local recording studio.

• They hired me to play piano & keyboards.
• There were no charts.
• I created background parts & a solo. (That means chords & single-note parts).

The songwriter brought a homemade demo/CD he had made. He also brought his guitar to play the chords & sing it for us. That's all we needed.

Several hours later, he walked out with a very nice demo that included Bass, Drums, Keys, Guitar & Vocals.

Did anybody use scales? YES, YES and YES.

Did the songwriter? No.

He doesn't think in terms of music scales, he just creates music.

TIME IS MONEY

As you know, studio time costs money. Our job was to play his song as if we knew it... quickly.

Obviously, we didn't know it. But after hearing his chords and vocal melodies, we all began to create some parts.

To be fair...

• All the players were experienced and able to create quality parts.

• All of us hear the built-in music scales... they come with the KEY.

• All of us listen to each other and create organically/together.

So the question is, "Could we have done his project without knowing scales?"

No.

He could have come in and recorded solo - just him and his guitar. But we couldn't do what we did in the amount of time we had, without a working knowledge of music scales.

MUSIC SCALES ARE PART OF THE MUSICIAN'S TOOL KIT

I can drive a nail with a large screwdriver, but a hammer is better. I may have to walk all the way back to the garage to get it, but it will save me time with all the other nails.

So it is with music. Scales are just one more tool to have in the songwriter tool kit. There are times you need them, and other times when they aren't necessary.

There has already been a ton of material written about music scales. My approach should build on what you already know.

Hopefully, these ideas will sharpen ALL of your tools.

MUSIC SCALES - PRE-DETERMINED PATTERNS OF HALF STEPS & WHOLE STEPS

A Scale is a pattern of fixed music intervals.

Of all the diminshed, altered, hybrid, jazz, ethnic, major & minor music scale possibilities...

The MAJOR SCALE is the most used in Western music.

• It has 8 tones. ALL 8 MUST BE INCLUDED TO BE A MAJOR SCALE.
• They will not change.
• If you understand the pattern, you can construct MAJOR SCALES on all 12 tones.
• EVERY interval is a WHOLE-step...EXCEPT between steps 3-4 and 7-8.
• Every scale other than C Major must use at least 1 black note, (sharps & flats) to build the correct pattern of steps.

CAUTION: A major scale is not "ALL THE WHITE NOTES"... on a keyboard.

It is ONLY C to C on the piano - the C Major Scale. Why...?

BECAUSE OF THE PATTERN OF HALF STEPS AND WHOLE-STEPS.

Scales can go up (Ascending) or down (Descending). But there is one note of each major scale that sounds & "feels" like home. It is the pitch that all the others pull toward.

This ground zero pitch is known as the "TONIC". (No, a gin & tonic won't help.)

This is also the title note of each scale.

For example, the tonic of the C Major scale is C. The tonic of a D Major scale is D. E major is E... and so on.

If you know solfege (do,re,mi,fa,sol...), it is "do".

MELODY - NOTES THAT SEEM TO BELONG TOGETHER.

A well-crafted tune is a collection of pitches that seem meant for each other. They go up, & down or stay in one place & repeat just the right amount.

Like music scales, melodies can travel stepwise... OR jump over a larger music interval.

Melodies are divided into PHRASES, just like speaking or writing gives breaks with breaths, commas & periods.

Phrases help us hear and feel the emotion of the Lyric AND the Melody.

The first example, "Joy To the World", uses a note-for-note DESCENDING major scale.

Notice that the phrase BEGINS & ENDS on the tonic. It is home.

Notice also that it is smooth motion, step-wise... like a scale.

If you learn the pattern of "Joy to the World", you can transfer it to any note and play all the major scales... without having to HUNT & PECK.

• Your ear knows the tune.
• Your eye will recognize the pattern.
• Your brain can transfer the pattern to different notes.

MELODY IS MATH: Every note of a melody is related to a Chord/Scale.

The following tune uses the FIRST FIVE NOTES of the C Major Scale. Notice that it does not begin on the TONIC. It begins on the 3rd scale step (mi).

Let's try the formula in another key: D Major.

Build a major scale on D with the correct music interval spacing...
W W H W W W H

Now take a look at Jingle Bells in D Major.

Now you can play "Jingle Bells" in any key you like. just keep the pattern, and move it to a different starting note.

As long as you keep the pattern, and know the Major scale, you'll play the right notes.

You already know many songs from your childhood. Analyze them and learn how they function.

THE PAYOFF COMES IN MANY WAYS

• If you play your songs with other musicians, rehearsals are far more productive if you know your KEYS & CHORDS.

• Musicians have horror stories about singers that don't know what KEY their songs are in. You can easily be accused of not knowing what you're doing. (If you have a musical director to take care of this, that's different). If not, LEARN YOUR TUNES.

• Songs can often benefit from a modulation placed later in the song. When you know the scale & chord patterns, you can take them into new keys easily.

• If you play an instrument, the benefits are both technical (your chops) and musical (you can play what you think of much faster). Much of the music we hear and play is based on Major & Minor scales.

• "Sitting In" with others is less fearful. Open-mic jams with other singer-songwriters are less guessing and more jamming when you can listen and interact intelligently.

• Improvising or "noodling" can be part of your songs, both vocally & instrumental.

Understanding music scales won't guarantee you anything. Being ignorant of them guarantees you at least one thing... you don't know them. Big deal. If that's not a problem for you, then carry on without them.

Here's to writing better melodies, HOWEVER YOU GET THERE.

Check out more great articles in these areas:

Power Tools: Principles of Music Theory

Lyric Writing Library

Finding Your Own Vibe

Songwriting Tips for Pros and Beginners

Rhythm Without the Blues

Return from Music Scales to HOME