Aequilībrium harmoniae

(The Harmony of Balance, or The Balance of Harmony)

a mathematical analysis of scales, modes, & the circle of fifths

by Aaron Freed, composer and programmer

  1. Contents
  2. Introduction
    1. Scales 101
    2. Modes 101
      1. C major’s relative modes
      2. Mode transformations
    3. These are just examples; it could also be something much better
    4. The modes in circle of fifths order
      1. Modes descending from Lydian
      2. Mode transformations revisited
      3. Mode transformations re-revisited
    5. The principles of inverse operations
      1. Mode transformations inverted
    6. An audio demonstration
    7. Further notes
      1. Diabolus in mūsicā
  3. The major scale’s modes & the circle of fifths
    1. 12 major scales × 7 modes = 84 permutations
      1. C   (B♯)
      2. B   (C♭)
      3. A♯ / B♭
      4. A
      5. G♯ / A♭
      6. G
      7. F♯ / G♭
      8. F   (E♯)
      9. E   (F♭)
      10. D♯ / E♭
      11. D
      12. C♯ / D♭
    2. Key signature cheat sheet
      1. Key signatures of the Ionian scale’s seven modes in twelve-tone equal temperament
    3. Why is this happening?
      1. C++
      2. You were expecting modes, but it was me, Dio the circle of fifths!
      3. Ionian interval spacing
    4. Chord analysis by mode
      1. Chord tonalities by scale position & mode (linear order)
      2. Chord tonalities by scale position & mode (circle of fifths order)
      3. Chords for C major’s parallel modes
      4. Chords for C major’s relative modes
  4. Beyond the Ionian scale
    1. Other heptatonic scales & tonalities
      1. Other heptatonic scales
      2. Harmonic minor & melodic minor’s modes at a glance
    2. Beyond pentatonic and heptatonic scales
      1. Ἐπίθετᾰ πρός ᾰ̓ρῐθμούς τόνων   (Adjectives for numbers of notes)
  5. The pentatonic scale
    1. As complement of Ionian
    2. As truncation of Ionian
      1. The incorrect “upshift” hypothesis
      2. The incorrect “downshift” hypothesis
    3. We have to go deeper (Scaleception)
      1. The correct “tritone deletion” explanation
    4. Analysis of modes in linear order
      1. The correct “root note” explanation
    5. Comparison of interval spacing
      1. Interval analysis (circle order)
      2. Interval analysis (linear order)
    6. A brief explanation of scale rotation
    7. The pentatonic circle of fourths, or, contrary motion explained
      1. Pentatonic interval spacing (root order)
      2. Ionian interval spacing (root order)
      3. Ionian interval spacing (circle of fifths order)
      4. Pentatonic interval spacing (circle of fourths order)
      5. Land of Confusion
      6. Ionian tetrachords & pentatonic trichords & synaphai, oh my
    8. An analysis of five-semitone scale rotation
      1. Ionian & pentatonic building blocks
      2. Outcome of swapping n-chord with synaphe
    9. Other single-note scale rotations
      1. The hendecatonic scale
        1. Transforming the hendecatonic scale
      2. Heptatonic chromatic
        1. The heptatonic chromatic scale
        2. The heptatonic chromatic scale (complete transformation)
      3. Other truncations of the chromatic scale
        1. Note movements and the 12-TET chromatic scale
      4. Alternating heptamode & alternating heptamode inverse
        1. Alternating heptamode & alternating heptamode inverse
        2. Alternating heptamode & alternating heptamode inverse (revisited)
        3. Alternating heptamode: A closer examination
      5. Melodic Phrygian (or Neapolitan “major”, as it’s misleadingly known)
        1. Analyzing the melodic Phrygian scale
        2. Transforming the melodic Phrygian scale
      6. Apathetic minor & Pacific
        1. Apathetic minor and Pacific on C
        2. Apathetic minor and Pacific on C (simplified)
        3. Single-note transformations of apathetic minor
        4. Single-note transformations of Pacific
      7. A brief analysis of note distributions
        1. Note distributions across parallel modes
      8. Why Ionian’s scale mutation requires a coprime scale length with 12
        1. Tetratonic truncation of Ionian
        2. Hexatonic truncation of Ionian
        3. Octatonic expansions of Ionian
  6. Transformations of the Ionian scale
    1. Harmonic minor
      1. Harmonic minor vs. modes from Aeolian (rooted on C, linear order)
      2. Harmonic minor vs. modes from Aeolian (rooted on scale, linear order)
      3. Harmonic minor vs. modes from Aeolian (rooted on C, in “circle of fifths” order)
      4. Harmonic minor vs. modes from Aeolian (rooted on scale, in “circle of fifths” order)
      5. Chord tonalities by scale position & mode (harmonic minor, linear order)
      6. Chord tonalities by scale position & mode (harmonic minor, “circle of fifths” order)
      7. Chords for C harmonic minor’s parallel modes
      8. Chords for C harmonic minor’s relative modes
    2. Melodic minor
      1. Melodic minor vs. modes from Ionian (rooted on C, linear order)
      2. Melodic minor vs. modes from Ionian (rooted on scale, linear order)
      3. Melodic minor vs. modes from Ionian (rooted on C, in “circle of fifths” order)
      4. Melodic minor vs. modes from Ionian (rooted on scale, in “circle of fifths” order)
      5. Melodic minor vs. modes from Dorian (rooted on scale, linear order)
      6. Melodic minor vs. modes from Dorian (rooted on C, in “circle of fifths” order)
      7. Melodic minor vs. modes from Dorian (rooted on scale, in “circle of fifths” order)
      8. Chord tonalities by scale position & mode (melodic minor, linear order)
      9. Chord tonalities by scale position & mode (melodic minor, “circle of fifths” order)
      10. Chords for C melodic minor’s parallel modes
      11. Chords for C melodic minor’s relative modes
    3. The Ionian scale’s stability
      1. Melodic minor vs. Ionian & Dorian (rooted on C±½, “circle of fifths” order)
      2. Melodic minor vs. modes from Mixolydian (rooted on C±½, linear order)
      3. Melodic minor vs. modes from Mixolydian (rooted on C±½, “circle of fifths” order)
      4. Harmonic minor’s modes revisited, or, please throw some snacks down this rabbit hole
      5. Harmonic minor & melodic minor’s “circle of fifths” progressions
      6. One weird trick to transform harmonic minor to melodic minor
    4. Mathematical proof of even spacing
    5. Other single-note transformations of Ionian
      1. Threshold of Transformation
      2. Expand, expand, expand. Clear forest, make land, fresh blood on hands
      3. Why just shells? Why limit yourself? She sells seashells; sell oil as well
      4. Guns, sell stocks, sell diamonds, sell rocks, sell water to a fish, sell the time to a clock
    6. Scale transformations and symmetry
      1. Step on the gas, take your foot off the brakes; run to be the president of the United States
      2. Big smile, mate; big wave, that’s great; now the truth is overrated; tell lies out the gate
      3. Polarise the people; controversy is the game; it don’t matter if they hate you if they all say your name
  7. “What immortal hand or eye / Could frame thy fearful symmetry?”
    1. Rotational symmetry: Modes of limited transposition
      1. Mode 1: The whole-tone scale
        1. Whole-tone note sets
        2. Transposing the whole-tone scale
      2. Mode 2: The octatonic scale
        1. Mode 2’s modes
        2. Mode 2’s notes
        3. Transposing the second mode of limited transposition
      3. Mode 3: The triple chromatic scale
        1. The third mode of limited transposition
      4. Mode 4: The double chromatic scale
        1. The fourth mode of limited transposition
      5. Mode 5: The tritone chromatic scale
        1. The fifth mode of limited transposition
      6. Mode 6: The whole-tone chromatic scale
        1. The sixth mode of limited transposition
      7. Mode 7: Duplex genus secundum inverse
        1. The seventh mode of limited transposition
      8. Truncations & implications
        1. Transposing the diminished seventh chord
        2. Transposing the augmented chord
      9. Mode 0: The chromatic scale
        1. Permuatations of the chromatic scale
      10. All modes of limited transposition in 12-TET
        1. MoLTs at a glance
        2. Note distributions of parallel modes of limited transposition
        3. Note distributions of parallel modes of limited transposition (adjusted for inflation)
      11. Single-note transformations of modes of limited transposition
        1. Note distributions across parallel modes (…again‽ But that trick never works!)
      12. Microtonal corollaries
        1. The 12-tone chromatic scale as a mode of limited microtonal transposition
    2. Reflective symmery
      1. One-note reflective symmetry: the octave
      2. Two-note reflective symmetry: the tritone
      3. Three-note reflective symmetry (five scales, five modes)
      4. Tetratonic reflective symmetry (three scales, five modes)
      5. Pentatonic reflective symmetry (ten scales, ten modes)
      6. Hexatonic reflective symmetry (six scales, ten modes)
      7. Heptatonic reflective symmetry (ten scales, ten modes)
      8. Octatonic reflective symmetry (five scales, ten modes)
      9. Enneatonic reflective symmetry (five scales, five modes)
      10. Decatonic reflective symmetry (three scales, five modes)
      11. Hendecatonic reflective symmetry (one scales, one modes)
      12. Dodecatonic reflective symmetry (the chromatic scale)
      13. Symmetrical scale complements
  8. A crash course in Ancient Greek harmony
    1. Etymology
      1. Αἱ ἐτῠμολογῐ́αι τῶν ἑπτᾰ́ τόνων   (The seven modes’ etymologies)
    2. Ancient Greek tonoi & modern modes
      1. Interval key
      2. Interval ratios of a diatonic tetrachord
      3. Interval Genera: A Feed from Cloud Mountain
    3. Pythagoras with the looking glass: Comparing interval ratios
      1. A comparison of Pythagorean tuning & twelve-tone equal temperament
      2. Pythagorean interval division (or is it subtraction?)
    4. Ancient Greek tonoi & modern modes
      1. Approximate intervals of Ancient Greek tonoi & modern diatonic modes
      2. Greek enharmonic tonoi (C roots, linear order)
      3. Greek chromatic tonoi & their inversions (C roots, linear order)
      4. Greek chromatic tonoi & their inversions (mode-based roots, linear order)
      5. Greek chromatic tonoi & their variants (mode-based roots, “circle of fifths” order)
      6. Greek diatonic tonoi (C roots, circle of fifths order)
    5. Chromatic tonos analysis: The circle of fifths
      1. Greek chromatic tonoi & their variants (C roots, “circle of fifths” order)
      2. Greek chromatic tonoi & their variants (C roots, linear order)
      3. Greek chromatic tonoi & their variants (C roots, “aligned synaphai” order)
    6. Chromatic tonos analysis: Tetrachord swap
      1. Greek chromatic tonoi & their variants (C roots, “cyclical tetrachord swap” order)
      2. Greek chromatic tonoi & their variants (C roots, “linear tetrachord swap” order)
      3. Greek chromatic tonoi & their variants (C roots, “aligned tetrachord swap” order)
    7. Chromatic tonos analysis: Minor third position
      1. Greek chromatic tonoi & their variants (C roots, “cyclical aligned minor thirds” order)
      2. Greek chromatic tonoi & their variants (C roots, “linear aligned minor thirds” order)
      3. Greek chromatic tonoi & their variants (C roots, “doubly aligned minor thirds” order)
    8. Why our modes have historically inaccurate names
      1. Medieval names for the Greek diatonic tonoi
      2. Inverting the Greek diatonic tetrachord
      3. Mode transformations re-re-revisited
      4. Modes and the notes they redshift
    9. Applied Greek harmony: Tetrachords in modern scales
    10. Acknowledgements & sources
    11. Appendix 1: Greek musical terminology
      1. Λεξικογραφία Ἑλληνῐκῶν μουσῐκῶν ῐ̓́δῐογλῶσσῐῶν
    12. Appendix 2: Interval ratios of 12- and 24-tone equal temperament
      1. 24-tone equal temperament’s interval ratios
  9. The carnatic numbered mēḷakartā
    1. The carnatic numbered mēḷakartā
  10. Scale counts in 12-TET by scale size
    1. 12-TET mode counts
    2. All mModes of limited transposition
    3. 12-TET discrete scales
    4. Appendix: All 2,048 modes of all 205 scales in 12-TET
  11. Yes, but, why?
  12. Endnotes
    1. Greek chromatic tonoi & their inversions (mode-based roots, OCD order 1)
    2. Greek chromatic tonoi & their inversions (mode-based roots, OCD order 2)

Introduction

Scales 101

Be warned: This is a dense technical analysis of scales and modes. If you don’t have a solid grasp of music theory, the charts may look pretty, but much of my analysis may fly straight over your head. If you want to learn music theory, I have introductions to rhythm ⟨aaronfreed.github.io/whatistime.html⟩ and harmony ⟨aaronfreed.github.io/basicmusicalharmony.html⟩ that provide far better starting points.

I’m sure my decision to title this work in Latin will come as a surprise to absolutely no one who knows me. I had a reason to do so beyond purely being pretentious, though. Latin’s genitive case conveys a two-way possessive relationship. That is, it means both “The X of Y” and “The Y of X”. I’d briefly retitled this work The Balance of Harmony, and my repeated inability to remember whether I’d retitled it The Harmony of Balance or The Balance of Harmony clarified to me that I wanted my title to convey both. As pretentious as Aequilībrium harmoniae might be, The Balance of Harmony and the Harmony of Balance seems even more so. The idea of a possessive relationship extending in both directions is entirely foreign to English grammar, which I’m sure must baffle anyone who’s ever cared for a cat or a dog. And in any case, the Latin genitive case’s reciprocality seems to underscore the entire idea of balance. That is, balance is harmony, and harmony is balance. One isn’t more important than the other; they’re of equal importance, because they’re ultimately the same thing.

(Before we proceed: As always, please contact me ⟨aaronfreed.github.io/aboutme.html⟩ if you notice any errors or omissions.)

This book started as an analysis of the familiar Ionian (diatonic major) scale, its seven modes, and their interrelationships. You know the one. Whole step, whole step, half-step, whole step, whole step, whole step, half-step. Play the white keys on the piano from C to C. Doe, a deer, a female deer. There’s your Ionian scale.

What began this analysis was discovering that raising or lowering specific pat­terns of notes in the scale, one by one, produces a cycle that encompasses not merely all seven modes of the scale, but all eighty-four possible sets of Ionian modes and root notes, in a manner inextricably linked to the circle of fifths. That’s where it began, at least; I may never manage to climb back out of this rabbit hole again.

A brief (lol, lmao) explanation is perhaps in order. First off, it may help to define what I mean by scale:

  1. Scales must repeat every octave. If A0 is part of a scale, so are A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, A6, A7, and so on.
  2. Scales must not duplicate any pitches. A scale may not include both G♯ and A♭ in standard Western tuning, because they are the same pitch. (Note that this is not true in all tunings!)
  3. Scales must include their root notes. That is, a scale defined as starting on C must actually include C.
  4. Scales must be defined in either ascending or descending order. Modern Western harmony almost always defines scales in ascending order. Late in this book, I address ancient Greek harmony. The Ancient Greeks defined scales in descending order, but to avoid confusing readers, I’ll convert them to ascending order.
  5. Scales must have identical ascents and descents. The most common definition of the melodic minor scale uses a different descent than ascent. For our purposes, this is not a scale. I will therefore use “melodic minor” throughout this book as a synonym for “ascending melodic minor”.

Those are the only restrictions I’m placing on my definition of “scale”, because otherwise, certain patterns will be impossible to analyze. This has a few additional implications, including:

  1. Scales’ intervals must add up to an octave. (Do you understand why?)

And, specifically in our tuning system, twelve-tone equal temperament (or 12-TET):

  1. Scales must contain at least one note and no more than twelve notes.
  2. Each interval of an n-note scale must be no smaller than one semitone and no larger than (13 - n) semitones. The largest possible interval size is 12 semitones, for the one-note scale.

12-TET contains 2¹¹ = 2,048 patterns of notes that meet this definition. (It’s not 2¹² because combinations that exclude the root do not meet our definition.) However, not all of these qualify as discrete scales; as it turns out, our tuning system only has 205 scales, which collectively possess 2,048 modes. I explain the oddly specific number of 205 in §7’s discussion of reflective symmetry.

Modes 101

Modes are a bit more slippery to define. I shall attempt to do so by example of the Ionian scale itself.

Of the seven modes that are §2 and §3’s central focus, six move varying numbers of Ionian’s intervals either from the end to the beginning, or vice versa. (Ionian itself is the first mode.) These modes are usually numbered by their roots - i.e., which degree (note of the parent scale) they start on. Following this numbering, I’ll list the C Ionian scale’s seven modes.

C major’s relative modes
# Mode 12 3 4 5 6 7 Comment
1Ionian C D E F G A B The traditional major scale.
2Dorian D Ef G A Bc
3Phrygian Efg A Bcd
4Lydian F G AB C D E The only mode that raises a note from Ionian.
5Mixolydian G A B C D Ef
6Aeolian A Bc D Efg The natural minor scale.
7Locrian Bcd Efga Rare due to its diminished root chord; many pieces that use it modulate out of it at times, creating a sense that we’re rarely truly ‘home’. It’s more eerie or mysterious than unsettling, though; the Ionian scale is too melodic for the latter, diminished root or not.
C major’s relative modes
# Mode 12 3 4 5 6 7
1 Ionian C D E F G A B
The traditional major scale.
2 Dorian D E f G A B c
3 Phrygian E f g A B c d
4 Lydian F G A B C D E
The only mode that raises a note from Ionian.
5 Mixolydian G A B C D E f
6 Aeolian A B c D E f g
The natural minor scale.
7 Locrian B c d E f g a
Rare due to its diminished root chord; many pieces that use it modulate out of it at times, creating a sense that we’re rarely truly ‘home’. It’s more eerie or mysterious than unsettling, though; the Ionian scale is too melodic for the latter, diminished root or not.

The other way to think of it is as a scale transformation. This is the parallel definition of modes, because it gives us a major scale’s parallel minor (e.g., C major to C minor). In this definition, we start the modes on the same note, and they make the following changes to the major scale. Note that, in this context, “♭” means “lower the respective scale degree of the major scale by a semitone” (i.e. F♯ would become F♮), and “♯” means “raise the respective scale degree of the major scale by a semitone” (i.e., G♭ would become G♮).

Mode transformations
# ModeMode 12 3 4 5 6 7
1Ionian Ionian
2Dorian Dorian ♭3 ♭7
3Phrygian Phrygian ♭2♭3 ♭6♭7
4Lydian Lydian ♯4
5Mixolydian Mixolydian ♭7
6Aeolian Aeolian ♭3 ♭6♭7
7Locrian Locrian ♭2♭3 ♭5♭6♭7

There are a few mnemonics for these. Three of my favorites are:

Of course, the last of these requires you to recall that we pronounce ph as f. This is because Phrygian is an anglicized version of Φρῠ́γῐος (romanization: Phrŭ́gĭos). This has undergone several pronunciation shifts (remember, Greek is an ancient language).⁽⁰⁾ Approximate pronunciations (note that ü is pronounced as in German, g is a hard g, and Modern Greek omits many of the diacritics found in earlier dialects of Greek):

Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

These are just examples; it could also be something much better

Defining modes is not an exact science: some songs start on chords that aren’t the root, and determining the root in such cases is essentially a case of what feels like home, which is inherently subjective. (If a song uses any mode’s IV-V-I progression often enough, there’s a case for that mode being the song’s intended mode, but this isn’t a universal rule, and many songs never use any such progression.) Often, we can only be certain of a song’s intended mode if its songwriter explicitly specifies a mode besides major or minor. (The latter might be oversimplifications: they might just say G major because they figure people won’t know C Lydian.)

Those caveats aside, some immediately recognizable examples of each mode include:

Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

The modes in circle of fifths order

I mostly won’t be analyzing the modes in their traditional order, since I’m analyzing how lowering a regular pattern of notes by a semitone each walks us through every mode on every key. I call this the circle of fifths order for reasons that will become readily apparent. A few notes (pun intended):

Modes descending from Lydian⁽¹⁾
# Root & mode Pitch lowered 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1
4C Lydian C D E F♯G A B C
1C Ionian 4C D E F G A B C
5C Mixolydian7C D E F G A B♭C
2C Dorian 3C D E♭F G A B♭C
6C Aeolian 6C D E♭F G A♭B♭C
3C Phrygian 2C D♭E♭F G A♭B♭C
7C Locrian 5C D♭E♭F G♭A♭B♭C
4C♭Lydian 1C♭D♭E♭F G♭A♭B♭C♭
Mode transformations revisited
# ModeMode 12 3 4 5 6 7
4Lydian Lydian ♯4
1Ionian Ionian
5Mixolydian Mixolydian ♭7
2Dorian Dorian ♭3 ♭7
6Aeolian Aeolian ♭3 ♭6♭7
3Phrygian Phrygian ♭2♭3 ♭6♭7
7Locrian Locrian ♭2♭3 ♭5♭6♭7

The significance of that note sequence may not be immediately obvious, but if we reshuffle the above table back into linear order, it becomes easier to understand its inverse relationship to the modes themselves:

Mode transformations re-revisited
# ModeMode 12 3 4 5 6 7
1Ionian Ionian
2Dorian Dorian ♭3 ♭7
3Phrygian Phrygian ♭2♭3 ♭6♭7
4Lydian Lydian ♯4
5Mixolydian Mixolydian ♭7
6Aeolian Aeolian ♭3 ♭6♭7
7Locrian Locrian ♭2♭3 ♭5♭6♭7

The Russian author Anton Chekhov might have a few words to say about this table. This is my roundabout way of advising you to remember it.

Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

The principles of inverse operations

Mode transformations invertedMode transformations inverted
circle of fifths order
circle of fifths orderlinear order
# ModeMode 12 3 4 5 6 7 # Mode 12 3 4 5 6 7
7Locrian Locrian ♭2♭3 ♭5♭6♭7 7Locrian ♭2♭3 ♭5♭6♭7
3Phrygian Phrygian ♭2♭3 ♭6♭7 6Aeolian ♭3 ♭6♭7
6Aeolian Aeolian ♭3 ♭6♭7 5Mixolydian ♭7
2Dorian Dorian ♭3 ♭7 4Lydian ♯4
5Mixolydian Mixolydian ♭7 3Phrygian ♭2♭3 ♭6♭7
1Ionian Ionian 2Dorian ♭3 ♭7
4Lydian Lydian ♯4 1Ionian
linear order
Locrian ♭2♭3 ♭5♭6♭7
Aeolian ♭3 ♭6♭7
Mixolydian ♭7
Lydian ♯4
Phrygian ♭2♭3 ♭6♭7
Dorian ♭3 ♭7
Ionian

Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

An audio demonstration

Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

Further notes

Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

The major scale’s modes & the circle of fifths

12 major scales × 7 modes = 84 permutations

C   (B♯)
# Root Mode RMKS1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1
 0C4 – Lydian G 1♯ CDEF♯ GABC
 2C5 – MixolydianF 1♭ CDEFGAB♭ C
 3C2 – Dorian B♭ 2♭ CDE♭ FGAB♭ C
 4C6 – Aeolian E♭ 3♭ CDE♭ FGA♭ B♭ C
 5C3 – Phrygian A♭ 4♭ CD♭ E♭ FGA♭ B♭ C
 6C7 – Locrian D♭ 5♭ CD♭ E♭ FG♭ A♭ B♭ C

Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

B   (C♭)
# Root Mode RMKS1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1
 8B1 – Ionian B 5♯ BC♯ D♯ EF♯ G♯ A♯ B
 9B5 – MixolydianE 4♯ BC♯ D♯ EF♯ G♯ AB
10 B2 – Dorian A 3♯ BC♯ DEF♯ G♯ AB
11 B6 – Aeolian D 2♯ BC♯ DEF♯ GAB
12 B3 – Phrygian G 1♯ BCDEF♯ GAB

Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

A / B
# RootMode RMKS12 3 4 5 6 7 1
14 B♭ 4 – Lydian F 1♭ B♭ CDEFGAB♭
15 B♭ 1 – Ionian B♭ 2♭ B♭ CDE♭ FGAB♭
16 B♭ 5 – MixolydianE♭ 3♭ B♭ CDE♭ FGA♭ B♭
17 B♭ 2 – Dorian A♭ 4♭ B♭ CD♭ E♭ FGA♭ B♭
18 B♭ 6 – Aeolian E♭ 5♭ B♭ CD♭ E♭ FG♭ A♭ B♭
20 A♯ 7 – Locrian B 5♯ A♯ BC♯ D♯ EF♯ G♯ A♯

Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

A
#Root Mode RMKS1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1
21 A4 – Lydian E 4♯ ABC♯ D♯ EF♯ G♯ A
22 A1 – Ionian A 3♯ ABC♯ DEF♯ G♯ A
23 A5 – MixolydianD 2♯ ABC♯ DEF♯ GA
24 A2 – Dorian G 1♯ ABCDEF♯ GA
26 A3 – Phrygian F 1♭ AB♭ CDEFGA
27 A7 – Locrian B♭ 2♭ AB♭ CDE♭ FGA

Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

G / A
#RootMode RMKS12 3 4 5 6 7 1
28 A♭ 4 – Lydian E♭ 3♭ A♭ B♭ CDE♭ FGA♭
29 A♭ 1 – Ionian A♭ 4♭ A♭ B♭ CD♭ E♭ FGA♭
30 A♭ 5 – MixolydianD♭ 5♭ A♭ B♭ CD♭ E♭ FG♭ A♭
32 G♯ 6 – Aeolian B 5♯ G♯ A♯ BC♯ D♯ EF♯ G♯
33 G♯ 3 – Phrygian E 4♯ G♯ ABC♯ D♯ EF♯ G♯
34 G♯ 7 – Locrian A 3♯ G♯ ABC♯ DEF♯ G♯

Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

G
#Root Mode RMKS1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1
35 G4 – Lydian D 2♯ GABC♯ DEF♯ G
36 G1 – Ionian G 1♯ GABCDEF♯ G
38 G2 – Dorian F 1♭ GAB♭ CDEFG
39 G6 – Aeolian B♭ 2♭ GAB♭ CDE♭ FG
40 G3 – Phrygian E♭ 3♭ GA♭ B♭ CDE♭ FG
41 G7 – Locrian A♭ 4♭ GA♭ B♭ CD♭ E♭ FG

Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

F / G
#RootMode RMKS12 3 4 5 6 7 1
42 G♭ 4 – Lydian D♭ 5♭ G♭ A♭ B♭ CD♭ E♭ FG♭
44 F♯ 5 – MixolydianB 5♯ F♯ G♯ A♯ BC♯ D♯ EF♯
45 F♯ 2 – Dorian E 4♯ F♯ G♯ ABC♯ D♯ EF♯
46 F♯ 6 – Aeolian A 3♯ F♯ G♯ ABC♯ DEF♯
47 F♯ 3 – Phrygian D 2♯ F♯ GABC♯ DEF♯
48 F♯ 7 – Locrian G 1♯ F♯ GABCDEF♯

Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

F   (E♯)
#Root Mode RMKS1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1
50 F1 – Ionian F 1♭ FGAB♭ CDEF
51 F5 – MixolydianB♭ 2♭ FGAB♭ CDE♭ F
52 F2 – Dorian E♭ 3♭ FGA♭ B♭ CDE♭ F
53 F6 – Aeolian A♭ 4♭ FGA♭ B♭ CD♭ E♭ F
54 F3 – Phrygian D♭ 5♭ FG♭ A♭ B♭ CD♭ E♭ F

Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

E   (F♭)
#Root Mode RMKS1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1
56 E4 – Lydian B 5♯ EF♯ G♯ A♯ BC♯ D♯ E
57 E1 – Ionian E 4♯ EF♯ G♯ ABC♯ D♯ E
58 E5 – MixolydianA 3♯ EF♯ G♯ ABC♯ DE
59 E2 – Dorian D 2♯ EF♯ GABC♯ DE
60 E6 – Aeolian G 1♯ EF♯ GABCDE
62 E7 – Locrian F 1♭ EFGAB♭ CDE

Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

D / E
#RootMode RMKS12 3 4 5 6 7 1
63 E♭ 4 – Lydian B♭ 2♭ E♭ FGAB♭ CDE♭
64 E♭ 1 – Ionian E♭ 3♭ E♭ FGA♭ B♭ CDE♭
65 E♭ 5 – MixolydianA♭ 4♭ E♭ FGA♭ B♭ CD♭ E♭
66 E♭ 2 – Dorian D♭ 5♭ E♭ FG♭ A♭ B♭ CD♭ E♭
68 D♯ 3 – Phrygian B 5♯ D♯ EF♯ G♯ A♯ BC♯ D♯
69 D♯ 7 – Locrian E 4♯ D♯ EF♯ G♯ ABC♯ D♯

Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

D
#Root Mode RMKS1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1
70 D4 – Lydian A 3♯ DEF♯ G♯ ABC♯ D
71 D1 – Ionian D 2♯ DEF♯ GABC♯ D
72 D5 – MixolydianG 1♯ DEF♯ GABCD
74 D6 – Aeolian F 1♭ DEFGAB♭ CD
75 D3 – Phrygian B♭ 2♭ DE♭ FGAB♭ CD
76 D7 – Locrian E♭ 3♭ DE♭ FGA♭ B♭ CD

Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

C / D
#RootMode RMKS12 3 4 5 6 7 1
77 D♭ 4 – Lydian A♭ 4♭ D♭ E♭ FGA♭ B♭ CD♭
78 D♭ 1 – Ionian D♭ 5♭ D♭ E♭ FG♭ A♭ B♭ CD♭
80 C♯ 2 – Dorian B 5♯ C♯ D♯ EF♯ G♯ A♯ BC♯
81 C♯ 6 – Aeolian E 4♯ C♯ D♯ EF♯ G♯ ABC♯
82 C♯ 3 – Phrygian A 3♯ C♯ DEF♯ G♯ ABC♯
83 C♯ 7 – Locrian D 2♯ C♯ DEF♯ GABC♯

Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

Key signature cheat sheet

Key signatures of the Ionian scale’s seven modes in twelve-tone equal temperament
LydMajMixDorMin PhrLoc KS A B C D E F G
F♯C♯G♯D♯A♯E♯B♯7♯
B F♯C♯G♯D♯A♯E♯6♯
E B F♯C♯G♯D♯A♯5♯
A E B F♯C♯G♯D♯4♯
D A E B F♯C♯G♯3♯
G D A E B F♯C♯2♯
C G D A E B F♯1♯
F C G D A E B
B♭F C G D A E 1♭
E♭B♭F C G D A 2♭
A♭E♭B♭F C G D 3♭
D♭A♭E♭B♭F C G 4♭
G♭D♭A♭E♭B♭F C 5♭
C♭G♭D♭A♭E♭B♭F 6♭
F♭C♭G♭D♭A♭E♭B♭7♭

Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

Why is this happening?

Whether we realized it or not, we’ve been traversing the circle of fifths this entire time. My introduction notes that traveling from C Lydian to C Ionian is, in a sense, traveling from G major to C major. Here’s the C table again. Note Relative Major’s traversal down the circle of fifths:

C++
# Root Mode RMKS1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1
 0C4 – Lydian G 1♯ CDEF♯ GABC
 1C1 – Ionian C CDEFGABC
 2C5 – MixolydianF 1♭ CDEFGAB♭ C
 3C2 – Dorian B♭ 2♭ CDE♭ FGAB♭ C
 4C6 – Aeolian E♭ 3♭ CDE♭ FGA♭ B♭ C
 5C3 – Phrygian A♭ 4♭ CD♭ E♭ FGA♭ B♭ C
 6C7 – Locrian D♭ 5♭ CD♭ E♭ FG♭ A♭ B♭ C

Apart from C Ionian, these modes each rearrange different major scales, as we can see by reshuffling them back to Ionian:

You were expecting modes, but it was me, Dio the circle of fifths!
# Original Mode Root KS1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1
 04 – Lydian G 1♯ GABCDEF♯ G
 11 – Ionian C CDEFGABC
 25 – MixolydianF 1♭ FGAB♭ CDEF
 32 – Dorian B♭2♭ B♭ CDE♭ FGAB♭
 46 – Aeolian E♭3♭ E♭ FGA♭ B♭ CDE♭
 53 – Phrygian A♭4♭ A♭ B♭ CD♭ E♭ FGA♭
 67 – Locrian D♭5♭ D♭ E♭ FG♭ A♭ B♭ CD♭

Every note of every scale in this table is, in fact, a perfect fifth below its counterpart in its predecessor. That’s the first part of the explanation.

The second part of the explanation explains why the modes’ circle of fifths order is what it is. Reminder: octave numbering starts at C, so the note above B0 is C1, which in turn is eleven semitones below B1. (I’m sure this must’ve been done purely to annoy people on the obsessive-compulsive spectrum. Other obsessive-compulsive programmers will understand what an atrocity this is without my having to explain it, and for everyone else, I don’t believe the English language possesses adequate expressiveness to explain.)

Anyhow, let’s go to F1 near the bottom of the piano keyboard. (The grand piano spans from A0 to C8.) What’s a perfect fifth above that? C2. What’s a perfect fifth above C2? G2. Move up another perfect fifth. We’re at D3. Up another perfect fifth. A3. Up another perfect fifth. E4. Another perfect fifth. B4. So, to recap, we have the notes:

  1. F1
  2. C2
  3. G2
  4. D3
  5. A3
  6. E4
  7. B4

F, C, G, D, A, E, B: the fourth, first, fifth, second, sixth, third, and seventh degrees of the C major scale. There’s our circle of fifths order. The entire scale is literally just 7/12 of the circle of fifths, rearranged into linear order. The mode depends merely on which note in the sequence you use as the base. In our example, this would be:

  1. Lydian
  2. Ionian
  3. Mixolydian
  4. Dorian
  5. Aeolian
  6. Phrygian
  7. Locrian

So, start on the desired mode’s note, flatten the other six notes into linear order, and voilà, there’s your scale.

It’s worth noting that we can also construct the major scale by starting on B0 and moving up a perfect fourth six times. In scale theory, a perfect fifth is the same pitch class as a perfect fourth, because we disregard octaves. In short, the diatonic major scale consists of seven stacked and flattened perfect fifths. This is known as a scale generator. Only a small fraction of scales have these.

The last part of the explanation has to do with interval distributions:

Ionian interval spacing
#Mode1 234567Intervals
4Lydian CDEF♯ GAB 1 1 1 ½1 1 ½
1Ionian CDEFGAB 1 1 ½1 1 1 ½
5Mixolydian CDEFGAB♭ 1 1 ½1 1 ½1
2Dorian CDE♭ FGAB♭ 1 ½1 1 1 ½1
6Aeolian CDE♭ FGA♭ B♭ 1 ½1 1 ½1 1
3Phrygian CD♭ E♭ FGA♭ B♭ ½1 1 1 ½1 1
7Locrian CD♭ E♭ FG♭ A♭ B♭ ½1 1 ½1 1 1

A brief explanation of the above table format is in order, since you’ll be seeing it a lot. The first interval is the number of whole steps between the first and second notes. The second interval is the number of whole steps between the second and third notes. And so on, until the final interval, which, for an l-note scale, is the number of whole steps between notes l and l + 1. “How can an l-note scale have a note l + 1?”, I hear you object. Simple: A scale is a pattern that repeats every octave. Thus, note l + 1 is an octave above note 1. Note (2 × l) + 1 is two octaves above note 1. And so on. Interval l should always equal 6 − the sum of intervals 1 through l − 1; also, for n = the number of whole steps between notes 1 and l, it should equal 6 − n. This is a mathematical property of how scales work; if any scale’s intervals ever sum up to anything but six whole steps, I made a mistake.

The Ionian scale is virtually unique among 12-TET’s seven-note scales in that, for every mode of the scale, it is possible to swap two intervals and produce a different mode of the same scale, and it is possible to cycle through the entire chromatic scale by doing these transformations. The other seven-note scale that most unambiguously displays this trait is actually, for various reasons, its polar opposite in virtually every important way. In §5, particularly §5.9, I will go over more about why, precisely, this is. For now, the important point is that each step down the circle of fifths order swaps only one interval pair, and therefore moves only one note. If more intervals changed, the pattern would break.

Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

Chord analysis by mode

Chord tonalities by scale position & mode (linear order)
Mode1234567
1Ionian Majminmin Maj Majmindim
2Dorian minmin Maj Majmindim Maj
3Phrygian min Maj Majmindim Majmin
4Lydian Maj Majmindim Majminmin
5Mixolydian Majmindim Majminmin Maj
6Aeolian mindim Majminmin Maj Maj
7Locrian dim Majminmin Maj Majmin
Chord tonalities by scale position & mode (circle of fifths order)
Mode1234567
4Lydian Maj Majmindim Majminmin
1Ionian Majminmin Maj Majmindim
5Mixolydian Majmindim Majminmin Maj
2Dorian minmin Maj Majmindim Maj
6Aeolian mindim Majminmin Maj Maj
3Phrygian min Maj Majmindim Majmin
7Locrian dim Majminmin Maj Majmin

Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

Beyond the Ionian scale

Other heptatonic scales & tonalities

While the above analysis focuses exclusively on the Ionian scale’s modes, numerous possible scales (and modes thereof) don’t fit its pattern, many of which I’ll now analyze. Some examples:

Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

Beyond pentatonic and heptatonic scales

Of course, scales needn’t contain seven notes. Pentatonic (five-note) scales are so complex to unpack that they’ll need their own section (mostly because neither five nor seven divide evenly into the parent temperament). Here’s a brief overview of other scale sizes in ascending order:

So far, we’ve exclusively been considering 12-TET, but of course, plenty of other tunings have been and still are used; nothing even constrains octaves to twelve notes. For instance:

For the record:

Ἐπίθετᾰ πρός ᾰ̓ρῐθμούς τόνων
Epíthetă prós ărĭthmoús tónōn
Adjectives for numbers of notes
#Ἐπίθετον
Epítheton
Adjective
Ἑλληνική «–τονος»
Hellēnĭke «–tonos»
Greek “–toned”
Ῥωμᾰῐ̈σμένη
Rhṓmăĭ̈sméni
Romanized
Ἑλληνική «–τονικός»
Hellēnĭke «–tonikós»
Greek “–tonic”
Ῥωμᾰῐ̈σμένη
Rhṓmăĭ̈sméni
Romanized
1monotonicμονότονοςmonótonosμονότονικόςmonótonikós
2diatonicδιατονοςdiatonosδιατονικόςdiatonikós
3tritonicτρίτονοςtrítonosτρίτονικόςtrítonikos
4tetratonicτετράτονοςtetrátonosτετράτονικόςtetrátonikós
5pentatonicπέντατονοςpéntatonosπέντατονικόςpéntatonikós
6hexatonicἑξατονοςhexatonosἑξατονικόςhexatonikós
7heptatonicἑπτάτονοςheptátonosἑπτάτονικόςheptátonikós
8octatonicὀκτάτονοςoktátonosὀκτάτονικόςoktátonikós
9enneatonicἐννεάτονοςenneátonosἐννεάτονικόςenneátonikós
10decatonicδέκατονοςdékatonosδέκατονικόςdékatonikós
11hendecatonicἕνδεκάτονοςhendekátonosἕνδεκάτονικόςhendekátonikós
12dodecatonicδωδεκάτονοςdōdekátonosδωδεκάτονικόςdōdekátonikós

The suffix -tonic is Greek. Friends don’t let friends mix Latin prefixes and Greek suffixes. (Unless Latin already did so, that is. It did borrow τόνος as tonus, but only as a noun, never an adjective; it did not borrow τονικός.)

I only managed to find attestations of some of the Greek forms in this list, but it seems likely they all must have existed at some time. The ones I found are in bold; the ones I was unable to find are in fainter text.

Bolded English words, meanwhile, have attested usages for scale size in music theory contexts. Monotonic, diatonic, and tritonic are printed more faintly because they have completely different meanings that have nothing to do with the number of pitches in a scale, so using them to mean that will likely just confuse readers. The latter two are also struck through because their alternate meanings are ubiquitous in music theory contexts. You might be technically correct to use them to refer to scale size, but is that really the hill you want to die on?

  1. Monotonic mostly refers to the modern Greek accent system (cf. the old polytonic system with markers for word pitch and breathing). It has no widely established meaning in music theory, so this case is less clear-cut than the others.
  2. Diatonic means of two interval sizes. In English and Ancient Greek alike, it most often means what became our diatonic major scale: it’s at least 2,500 years old.
  3. Tritonic means spanning an interval of three whole tones, i.e., a tritone.

Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

The pentatonic scale

As complement of Ionian

Pentatonic (five-note, “5t” for short) scales are ubiquitous in rock, blues, and jazz, though they’re much older than that and exist in many cultures. The most common pentatonic scale is literally Ionian’s scale complement.

What exactly is a scale complement? It’s the equivalent of a binary XOR. Say we represent a scale as a set of twelve 1s (“this tone is part of the scale”) or 0s (“this tone is not part of the scale”). Now, flip all the bits. Tones that had notes are no longer part of the scale; tones that didn’t now are. That’s the complement.

This means we can play the pentatonic scale using all the piano keys we didn’t use to play Ionian. Whenever I write “the pentatonic scale”, preceded by the definite article, I mean this pentatonic scale. To wit:

To a huge extent, the pentatonic and Ionian scales’ relationship even extends to their modes. For instance:

I must clarify, however, that scale complements apply on a scale-wide basis, not on a modal basis. That is, because the complement of any non-hexatonic scale in 12-TET will have a different number of notes, its complement will also have a different number of modes (barring a few exceptions, known as modes of limited transposition, which are covered in §7’s discussion of symmetry). As a result, it’s not possible to make 1:1 comparisons between scale complements’ modes. I feel the need to emphasize this because we’re to compare the pentatonic and Ionian scales through a second lens, and 1:1 comparisons do apply through the second one.

Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

As truncation of Ionian

Conveniently, though, it’s not just a complement, though: it’s also a truncation. We can get the pentatonic scale simply by deleting two notes of Ionian. As a result, the two scales’ modes correspond in countless ways.

Since the pentatonic scale has two fewer notes than Ionian, our analysis must delete two modes. But which two? We can derive the pentatonic scale from Ionian in at least three different ways.

Quick warning before we proceed further: we’re taking a quick detour into “right for the wrong reasons” land. After the third table, I’ll explain how, why, and where the first two tables go wrong.

Let’s try disregarding Phrygian and Locrian, the lowest modes in the circle of fifths progression. In this analysis:

  1. Major pentatonic deletes Lydian’s fourth and seventh notes: F♯ G♯ A♯ C♯ D♯ (1, 1, , 1, ).
  2. Scottish pentatonic deletes Ionian’s third and seventh notes: C♯ D♯ F♯ G♯ A♯ (1, , 1, 1, ).
  3. Neutral pentatonic deletes Mixolydian’s third and sixth notes: G♯ A♯ C♯ D♯ F♯ (1, , 1, , 1). Neutral pentatonic is comparable to Dorian mode in two ways: it is a symmetrical scale, and it’s the midpoint of the pentatonic circle of fifths order (which is complex enough to merit its own section below).
  4. Minor pentatonic deletes Dorian’s second and sixth notes: D♯ F♯ G♯ A♯ C♯ (, 1, 1, , 1).
  5. Blues minor deletes Aeolian’s second and fifth notes: A♯ C♯ D♯ F♯ G♯ (, 1, , 1, 1).

Got all that? Let’s recap. (Note: “H” = half-tone, ”W” = whole tone, “M” = minor third)

The incorrect “upshift” hypothesis
[7t]   Mode   [5t][7t]   Piano keys   [5t][7t]   Intervals   [5t]Del
Lydian Major 5t. FGABCDE F♯ G♯ A♯ C♯ D♯ W W W H W W H W W M W M 4 7
Ionian Scottish 5t. CDEFGAB C♯ D♯ F♯ G♯ A♯ W W H W W W H W M W W M 3 7
Mixolydian Neutral 5t. GABCDEF G♯ A♯ C♯ D♯ F♯ W W H W W H W W M W M W 3 6
Dorian Minor 5t. DEFGABC D♯ F♯ G♯ A♯ C♯ W H W W W H W M W W M W 2 6
Aeolian Blues Minor ABCDEFG A♯ C♯ D♯ F♯ G♯ W H W W H W W M W M W W 2 5

I probably don’t even need to point out how many patterns recur in both scales.

We just analyzed the pentatonic modes based on notes a half-step above them, but we could just as easily have used the notes a half-step above. This means instead disregarding Lydian and Ionian. Oddly enough, we delete the same scale degrees either way:

The incorrect “downshift” hypothesis
[7t]   Mode   [5t][7t]   Piano keys   [5t][7t]   Intervals   [5t]Del
Mixolydian Major 5t. GABCDEF G♭ A♭ B♭ D♭ E♭ W W H W W H W W W M W M 4 7
Dorian Scottish 5t. DEFGABC D♭ E♭ G♭ A♭ B♭ W H W W W H W W M W W M 3 7
Aeolian Neutral 5t. ABCDEFG A♭ B♭ D♭ E♭ G♭ W H W W H W W W M W M W 3 6
Phrygian Minor 5t. EFGABCD E♭ G♭ A♭ B♭ D♭ H W W W H W W M W W M W 2 6
Locrian Blues Minor BCDEFGA B♭ D♭ E♭ G♭ A♭ H W W H W W W M W M W W 2 5

(End warning.)

Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

We have to go deeper (Scaleception)

But wait, there’s more! Consulting the heptatonic circle of fifths progression enables us to “average” the above two tables. Eerily, averaging them doesn’t invalidate their results in any way except a trivial one: this is the first analysis that’s actually correct. But, as the famed philosopher Nigel Tufnel put it, that’s nitpicking, innit?

How pentatonic transforms Ionian: The correct “tritone deletion” explanation
[7t]   Mode   [5t][7t]   Piano keys   [5t][7t]   Intervals   [5t]Del
Ionian Major 5t. CDEFGAB CDEGA W W H W W W H W W M W M 4 7
Mixolydian Scottish 5t. GABCDEF GACDE W W H W W H W W M W W M 3 7
Dorian Neutral 5t. DEFGABC DEGAC W H W W W H W W M W M W 3 6
Aeolian Minor 5t. ABCDEFG ACDEG W H W W H W W M W W M W 2 6
Phrygian Blues Minor EFGABCD EGACD H W W W H W W M W M W W 2 5

So, to reiterate: Only the tritone deletion table is completely accurate; its two predecessors are filthy half-truths, owing to a mathematical pattern they don’t account for. Can you figure out why?

  1. If both scales have symmetrical modes (Dorian and neutral pentatonic), then:

    1. We should compare the symmetrical modes to each other.
    2. Symmetrical modes should be their circle-order comparisons’ center data rows.
    3. Rows whose intervals are mirrors in the base should remain mirrors in the transformation.
    4. Both circle-order interval comparisons should possess 180° rotational symmetry.

    All of these are false in the first two tables and true in the third.

  2. Since we didn’t delete the root, we must compare the base scales. Only table three does so. Not comparing the base scales is a surefire recipe for confusion.
  3. If we delete a note, we must delete its mode. We deleted notes four and seven. Only the third table deletes both notes’ modes (Lydian and Locrian).
  4. Our analysis must compare the same notes within each scale. We didn’t move notes, only remove them, so our analysis can’t either. Examining the first table closely reveals why this is a problem: Mixolydian four, Dorian seven, Aeolian three, Phrygian six, and Locrian two are Ionian’s root!

    The problem is less obvious in the second table, but it tells us to remove Ionian’s third note. Major pentatonic, like Ionian, opens with two whole steps, so it hasn’t removed Ionian’s third note! This is why we should only shift notes in our analysis if we delete the root. (And if so, good luck – you’ll need it.)

“Tritone Deletion”, “Tritone Substitution”, or “Tritone Shift” could all fit for the third table. The notes it removes correspond exactly to the Ionian scale’s sole tritone; it also lists the pentatonic scales exactly a tritone from where its two predecessors had them. I chose “Tritone Deletion” in the end because it’s a more accurate description of what we’re actually doing, and the difference in pitch is a direct consequence of removing the tritone instead of removing other notes, then shifting the scale.

Since pentatonic’s mode nomenclature isn’t as well established as Ionian’s, my brain’s cutesy part wants to rename them Nianoi, Niadyloxim, Niarod, Nialoea, and Niagyrhp. I’m afraid that even after the above explanation, that might confuse people, but that won’t stop me from using them as alternate names.

Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

Analysis of modes in linear order

Viewing the modes in linear order, with the Ionian scale’s missing modes included, may help further clarify why the “upshift” and “downshift” tables are wrong:

How pentatonic transforms Ionian: The correct “root note” explanation
[7t]   Mode   [5t][7t]   Piano keys   [5t][7t]   Intervals   [5t]Del
Ionian Major 5t. CDEFGAB CDEGA W W H W W W H W W M W M 7 4
Dorian Neutral 5t. DEFGABC DEGAC W H W W W H W W M W M W 6 3
Phrygian Blues Minor EFGABCD EGACD H W W W H W W M W M W W 5 2
Lydian FGABCDE W W W H W W H 4 1
Mixolydian Scottish 5t. GABCDEF GACDE W W H W W H W W M W W M 3 7
Aeolian Minor 5t. ABCDEFG ACDEG W H W W H W W M W W M W 2 6
Locrian BCDEFGA H W W H W W W 1 5

(Note: I reordered a few “deleted notes” entries in this table to clarify its pattern.)

Modes and roots are inextricably linked. We must compare the same notes in each scale:

  1. We didn’t delete this note; its mode, Ionian, becomes major pentatonic 5t..
  2. We didn’t delete this note; its mode, Dorian, becomes neutral pentatonic 5t..
  3. We didn’t delete this note; its mode, Phrygian, becomes blues minor.
  4. Deleting this note deletes its mode; Lydian has no pentatonic equivalent.
  5. We didn’t delete this note; its mode, Mixolydian, becomes Scottish pentatonic 5t..
  6. We didn’t delete this note; its mode, Aeolian, becomes minor pentatonic 5t..
  7. Deleting this note deletes its mode; Locrian has no pentatonic equivalent.

Put another way, recall how Ionian’s modes got their numbering:

  1. Ionian starts on its first note.
  2. Dorian starts on its second note.
  3. Phrygian starts on its third note.
  4. Lydian starts on its fourth note.
  5. Mixolydian starts on its fifth note.
  6. Aeolian starts on its sixth note.
  7. Locrian starts on its seventh note.

So, applying the same principle to the pentatonic scale:

  1. Major pentatonic 5t. starts on its first note.
  2. Neutral pentatonic 5t. starts on its second note.
  3. Blues minor starts on its third note.
  4. Scottish pentatonic 5t. starts on its fourth note.
  5. Minor pentatonic 5t. starts on its fifth note.

Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

Comparison of interval spacing

Why pentatonic and Ionian’s intervals are out of sync may not be obvious. Let’s revisit the above table, this time with deleted tones in red and combined intervals in purple:

How pentatonic transforms Ionian: Interval analysis (circle order)
[7t]   Mode   [5t][7t]   Piano keys   [5t][7t]   Intervals   [5t]Del
Lydian FGABCDE W W W H W W H 4 1
Ionian Major 5t. CDEFGAB CDEGA W W H W W W H W W M W M 4 7
Mixolydian Scottish 5t. GABCDEF GACDE W W H W W H W W M W W M 3 7
Dorian Neutral 5t. DEFGABC DEGAC W H W W W H W W M W M W 3 6
Aeolian Minor 5t. ABCDEFG ACDEG W H W W H W W M W W M W 2 6
Phrygian Blues Minor EFGABCD EGACD H W W W H W W M W M W W 2 5
Locrian BCDEFGA H W W H W W W 1 5

It may help to emphasize that we aren’t deleting intervals; we’re deleting notes and combining intervals. For instance, deleting a scale’s second note combines its first two intervals. Also, bear in mind that:

  1. Ionian has only semitones and whole tones
  2. We only delete notes that:

    1. follow semitones and precede whole tones
    2. follow whole tones and precede semitones

Thus, the two intervals around every deleted note turn become a single minor third aligning exactly to the pattern of deletions. Since this pattern is out of phase with the original one, it changes, but if the deleted notes were surrounded by different intervals, the new interval pattern wouldn’t map so precisely to the deletions.

Interestingly, that relationship may be less obvious in linear order, even with the above highlighting:

How pentatonic transforms Ionian: Interval analysis (linear order)
[7t]   Mode   [5t][7t]   Piano keys   [5t][7t]   Intervals   [5t]Del
Ionian Major 5t. CDEFGAB CDEGA W W H W W W H W W M W M 7 4
Dorian Neutral 5t. DEFGABC DEGAC W H W W W H W W M W M W 6 3
Phrygian Blues Minor EFGABCD EGACD H W W W H W W M W M W W 5 2
Lydian FGABCDE W W W H W W H 4 1
Mixolydian Scottish 5t. GABCDEF GACDE W W H W W H W W M W W M 3 7
Aeolian Minor 5t. ABCDEFG ACDEG W H W W H W W M W W M W 2 6
Locrian BCDEFGA H W W H W W W 1 5

So, let’s correct our original analysis, shall we?

  1. Major pentatonic 5t. deletes Ionian’s fourth and seventh notes: C D E G A (1, 1, , 1, ). It’s the root form of the scale and the pentatonic circle of fourths’ lowest mode.
  2. Scottish pentatonic 5t. deletes Mixolydian’s third and seventh notes: G A C D E (1, , 1, 1, ). It’s the pentatonic circle of fourths’ second-lowest mode.
  3. Neutral pentatonic 5t. deletes Dorian’s third and sixth notes: D E G A C (1, , 1, , 1). Like Dorian, it’s symmetrical and the midpoint of its own circle of fourths.
  4. Minor pentatonic 5t. deletes Aeolian’s second and sixth notes: A C D E G (, 1, 1, , 1). It’s the pentatonic circle of fourths’ second-highest mode.
  5. Blues minor deletes Phrygian’s second and fifth notes: E G A C D (, 1, , 1, 1). It’s the pentatonic circle of fourths’ highest mode.

Oh, right. I haven’t explained why I call it a circle of fourths, which in turn means I need to explain scale rotation.

Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

A brief explanation of scale rotation

Scale rotation is the practice of forming a mode by moving intervals of a scale from its start to its end, or vice versa. When I refer to moving a scale’s intervals “left”, I’m referring both to the piano keyboard and to the scale interval tables I use. Rotating a scale left means moving most of its intervals to a lower point in the scale. Since scales repeat every octave, the rest move to the top.

“It might not always be ‘most’,” I hear you object. True, you could rotate a seven-note scale six degrees to the right, but why would you, when that’s the same as rotating it one degree to the left?

…Which means I need to explain rotation by degrees, too. No, we’re not talking angles here. Rotating a scale n degrees left moves its first n intervals to the end; rotating it n degrees right moves its last n intervals to the start. Dorian is one degree left of Ionian; Lydian is three degrees left of Ionian. And so on.

I may also refer to rotation by semitones. Rotating a scale by five semitones means the intervals moved sum up to five semitones. Thus, rotating Ionian five semitones to the left also takes you to Lydian.

A scale rotation’s size, measured either by degrees or by interval sum, has nothing to do with how far it moves the scale’s notes. Lydian is a five-semitone leftward rotation from Ionian, but it only moves one note (the fourth degree of the scale) by a semitone (F to F♯, when rooted on C).

I may also refer to scale rotations by how many notes they move. A single-note rotation only moves one note. This does not signify anything about how many intervals it moves forward or backward, the size of those intervals, or even about the interval by which the note is moved.

So, to summarize: Ionian to Lydian is a single-note rotation; it moves the note by one semitone, but it rotates the scale by five semitones (and three degrees).

I’ll try to keep this terminology from being ambiguous, but words are an imperfect medium for discussing music at the best of times, and when we throw mathematics, geometry, and set theory into the mix, forget it. If anything feels confusingly worded, please let me know, and I’ll try to clarify.

Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

The pentatonic circle of fourths, or, contrary motion explained

The pentatonic and Ionian circle of fifths orders move their parent scales in exact opposite directions. In fact, to emphasize this, I’m not even gonna call it the pentatonic circle of fifths anymore. I’ma call it monkeydude Josh the pentatonic circle of fourths. I find this fitting for at least two reasons:

  1. In scale analysis, octaves don’t matter: we get to the same note whether we go a perfect fifth down or a perfect fourth up. Altering the nomenclature helps call attention to their contrary directions.
  2. I’ve analyzed heptatonic scales through a seven-semitone lens. Analyzing pentatonic scales through anything but a five-semitone lens would feel wrong.

But why do they move in opposite directions? It’s probably easiest to analyze in terms of interval spacing.

Pentatonic changes two of Ionian’s interval pairs from “tone, semitone” to “minor third”. It so happens that one of Ionian’s two semitones closes out the scale. Thus, compare what happens when we shift pentatonic major’s intervals to the left to what happens when we shift Ionian’s.

Pentatonic interval spacing (root order)
#Mode1 2345Intervals
1Nainoi Major 5t CDEGA111
2Nairod Neutral 5t CDF GA♯11 1
3Naigyrhp Blues Minor CD♯ F G♯A♯ 1 11
4NaidyloximScottish 5tCDFGA111
5Nailoea Minor 5t CD♯F GA♯ 11 1
Ionian interval spacing (root order)
#Mode1 234567Intervals
1Ionian CDEFGAB 1 1 ½ 1 1 1½
2Dorian CDE♭ FGAB♭ 1 ½ 1 1 1½ 1
3Phrygian CD♭ E♭ FGA♭ B♭ ½ 1 1 1½ 1 1
4Lydian CDEF♯ GAB 1 1 1½ 1 1 ½
5MixolydianCDEFGAB♭ 1 1½ 1 1 ½ 1
6Aeolian CDE♭ FGA♭ B♭ 1½ 1 1 ½ 1 1
7Locrian CD♭ E♭ FG♭ A♭ B♭ ½ 1 1 ½ 1 11

Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

That’s a lot to unpack. Some analysis:

Both scales contain a repeated interval set (called a tetrachord in Ionian and a trichord in pentatonic) and a spare whole step, or synaphe. I’ve marked one possible reading within the interval list. (Two such readings exist of pentatonic, and three of Ionian; in this example, I avoided splitting tetrachords or trichords in the base scale.)

Synaphe (plural: synaphai or synaphes) comes from the Attic Greek word σῠνᾰφή (sŭnăphḗ, literally connection, union, junction; point or line of junction; conjunction of two tetrachords). Its Attic pronunciation was roughly suh-nup-HEY pre-φ shift and suh-nuh-FAY (so, basically how a drunk person would say Santa Fe) afterward, but I think English speakers, mistakenly assuming it to be French, might say sy-NAFF.

(Pro tip: If a word contains ph and doesn’t split it across two syllables, it’s almost always transliterated Greek. Also, pronouncing foreign words using the wrong orthography is a great way to make a linguistics nerd’s blood boil. Speaking of which, orthography descends from ορθο- (ortho-, correct) and -γραφίᾱ (-graphíā, writing).)

Ionian and pentatonic share similar structures and five notes… but for this analysis’ purposes, that’s almost where their similarities stop.

Ionian interval spacing (circle of fifths order)
#Mode1 234567Intervals
4Lydian CDEF♯ GAB 1 1 1½ 1 1 ½
1Ionian CDEFGAB 1 1 ½ 1 1 1½
5MixolydianCDEFGAB♭ 1 1½ 1 1 ½ 1
2Dorian CDE♭ FGAB♭ 1 ½ 1 1 1½ 1
6Aeolian CDE♭ FGA♭ B♭ 1½ 1 1 ½ 1 1
3Phrygian CD♭ E♭ FGA♭ B♭ ½ 1 1 1½ 1 1
7Locrian CD♭ E♭ FG♭ A♭ B♭ ½ 1 1 ½ 1 11

Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

I’m analyzing Ionian’s tetrachord as whole tone, whole tone, semitone, placing the synaphe mid-scale. Swapping the synaphe with the tetrachord above shifts the scale down, note by note. (Remember, a scale is a repeating note pattern, so in Mixolydian, the tetrachord above is intervals 1-3; in Aeolian and Locrian, it’s split across the start and end of the scale.) Only Lydian starts with larger intervals than Ionian – it swaps Ionian’s first semitone and third whole tone, with the following results:

Pentatonic interval spacing (circle of fourths order)
#Mode1 2345Intervals
3Naigyrhp Blues Minor CD♯ F G♯A♯ 1 11
5Nailoea Minor 5t CD♯F GA♯ 11 1
2Nairod Neutral 5t CDF GA♯11 1
4NaidyloximScottish 5tCDFGA111
1Nainoi Major 5t CDEGA111

Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

I’m analyzing pentatonic with the synaphe up front, making its trichord whole tone, minor third. Since major pentatonic’s intervals are as back-loaded as possible, its other C-rooted modes move at least one note up a semitone, and its rotations must lower the root before any other notes.

Thus, while Ionian is second in its circle of fifths, major pentatonic is last in its own circle of fourths. The next transposition in the above sequence yields C♭ blues minor (or B blues minor, whichever you please).

A few additional observations about both scales:

A final note: Don’t read too much into my decision to highlight the synaphai. Their positions are only part of why the scales move in different directions. In fact, since both scales are, apart from two outliers, made entirely of whole steps, multiple intervals can be read as their synaphai; the choice depends entirely on the arbitrary choice of trichord or tetrachord pattern. Two such patterns can fit for the pentatonic scale and three for Ionian; each result in different synaphai and n-chord divisions. I settled on divisions that wouldn’t split the base scale’s n-chords. (I’ve highlighted my approaches below.)

Ionian tetrachords & pentatonic trichords & synaphai, oh my
Scale Pattern n-chord 1 n-chord 2 Synaphe
Major 5t 1 23 45 1
Major 5t 1 34 51 2
Ionian 11½ 567 123 4
Ionian 1½1 671 234 5
Ionian ½11 712 345 6

Note that the Ancient Greeks used the final analysis for their diatonic genus, which was nearly identical to our Ionian scale in all but name. When in Greece, I shall do as the Greeks did, but in this section, I figured it was better to defer the added complexity until this part of my explanation.

In short, the extra whole step’s position per se doesn’t affect the scale’s direction; their different directions are mostly due to Ionian ending with a semitone and major pentatonic with a minor third. But the circle orders are direct results of the pentatonic and Ionian scales’ atypically even note distribution. Transforming one mode of most other scales into another requires far more work. Let’s explore why.

Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

An analysis of five-semitone scale rotation

The pentatonic and Ionian scales are, respectively, the only pentatonic and heptatonic scales in 12-TET for which moving a single note by a semitone amounts to a scale rotation. There’s a relatively simple mathematical explanation for why, too:

In short, for moving a single note of any five- or seven-note scale in 12-TET by a semitone to rotate the scale, its intervals must be almost completely uniform, with only two identical outliers that:

  1. Differ in size from the remainder by only a semitone
  2. Are separated by five semitones

Readers may still have one final question: why is the number of outliers so important? Actually, it isn’t; it’s just important that the outliers be identical. If a seven-note scale could be completely uniform apart from one outlier, moving that interval would also rotate the scale. And, as it turns out, it can, but not, ironically, by making its note distribution more uniform.

  1. Take the temperament modulo the scale size to get the number of extra semitones to distribute: 12 modulo 7 is 5. We have five extra semitones to distribute.
  2. Take the note count modulo the extra semitones to figure out the most uniform note distribution possible: 7 modulo 5 is 2.

In short, two intervals must be outliers in the most uniform heptatonic note distribution possible. The way to get a single outlier, therefore, is to go in the exact opposite direction and make the outlier as big as possible. Which brings us to our next point of analysis.

Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

Other single-note scale rotations

The hendecatonic scale

I’ve focused most of my analysis so far on pentatonic and heptatonic scales, but now that I better understand the mathematical principles explaining why this happens, I’ve expanded my scope somewhat to see if I can uncover other examples of similar patterns with scale rotations of various interval sizes. I’ve uncovered a few, which I’ll explain in this section.

Other equal temperaments certainly have similar examples (for instance, in 24-TET, rotation by 11 or 13 quarter-tones should produce similar results for similar 11- and 13-note scales), but I haven’t finished developing tools for scale analysis outside 12-TET, so they’ll have to wait.

Do other scales exist in 12-TET that don’t contain the above composition for which moving a single note by a semitone will qualify as a scale rotation? As it happens, yes: I can say with complete confidence, without even having to think about it, that the hendecatonic scale must demonstrate the same principle. And I say the hendecatonic scale for a simple reason: 12-TET contains only a single hendecatonic scale. The reason may be self-explanatory, but if it isn’t, I’ll give you a hint: It’s the same reason there’s only one dodecatonic scale.

In 12-TET, hendecatonic scales must contain all but one note of the chromatic scale. Thus, it must contain ten semitones and one whole tone, and swapping its whole tone with any of its semitones qualifies as a scale rotation by default. There are only eleven ways to remove notes that aren’t the root; thus, a single scale with eleven modes, which displays similar patterns not just for the circle of fifths but for every possible interval in 12-TET.

Transforming the hendecatonic scale
Mode1234567891011Intervals
C, Mode 1CC♯ DD♯ EFF♯ GG♯ AA♯ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1
C, Mode 2CC♯ DD♯ EFF♯ GG♯ AB½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½
C, Mode 3CC♯ DD♯ EFF♯ GG♯ A♯ B½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½
C, Mode 4CC♯ DD♯ EFF♯ GAA♯ B½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½
C, Mode 5CC♯ DD♯ EFF♯ G♯ AA♯ B½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½
C, Mode 6CC♯ DD♯ EFGG♯ AA♯ B½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½
C, Mode 7CC♯ DD♯ EF♯ GG♯ AA♯ B½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½
C, Mode 8CC♯ DD♯ FF♯ GG♯ AA♯ B½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½
C, Mode 9CC♯ DEFF♯ GG♯ AA♯ B½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½
C, Mode 10CC♯ D♯ EFF♯ GG♯ AA♯ B½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½
C, Mode 11CDD♯ EFF♯ GG♯ AA♯ B1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½
C♯, Mode 1C♯ DD♯ EFF♯ GG♯ AA♯ B½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1

Of course, the very fact that only one hendecatonic scale exists in 12-TET somehow makes this fact feel vastly less impressive, even though it has exactly the same cause as Ionian’s circle of fifths pattern. Funny how that works. (In fact, the hendecatonic scale can be generated using the exact same generator as Ionian; it just runs for four more notes.)

Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

The heptatonic chromatic scale

Applying this same principle, we can determine that one other heptatonic scale exists in 12-TET for which moving a series of single notes by a constant interval size will rotate the scale. However, you don’t move its notes by a semitone; you move them by a perfect fourth. And, ironically, this doesn’t rotate it by five semitones; it rotates it by one. And its root won’t progress through the chromatic scale by semitones: it’ll progress through it by perfect fourths. (This will still take it all the way around the chromatic scale, just in a different order.) It’s the heptatonic chromatic scale, which has the following interval spacing:

½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 3

Which is to say:

semitone, semitone, semitone, semitone, semitone, semitone, tritone

Trying to restrict ourselves to using every letter of the scale gives us an absolutely cursed set of notations. (For this set of tables and only this set of tables, I’ve used chromatic coloring rather than Doppler-shift coloring.)

Modes of the heptatonic chromatic scale
Scale 1 234567Intervals
Heptatonic Chromatic ICD♭E𝄫F𝄫G𝄫♭A𝄫𝄫B𝄫𝄫♭½½½½½½3
Heptatonic Chromatic IICD♭E𝄫F𝄫G𝄫♭A𝄫𝄫B½½½½½3½
Heptatonic Chromatic IIICD♭E𝄫F𝄫G𝄫♭A♯B½½½½3½½
Heptatonic Chromatic IVCD♭E𝄫F𝄫G𝄪A♯B½½½3½½½
Heptatonic Chromatic VCD♭E𝄫F𝄪♯G𝄪A♯B½½3½½½½
Heptatonic Chromatic VICD♭E𝄪♯F𝄪♯G𝄪A♯B½3½½½½½
Heptatonic Chromatic VIICD𝄪𝄪E𝄪♯F𝄪♯G𝄪A♯B3½½½½½½

Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

“D𝄪𝄪” and “B𝄫𝄫♭” use the same color because they represent the same note. You probably know it as F♯ or G♭.

Sorry. Like I said, it’s an absolutely cursed set of notations. Perhaps it’ll be more legible if we abandon any pretense of using every note name once. In fact, let’s observe the entire set of transformations:

The heptatonic chromatic scale (complete transformation)
Scale 1 234567Intervals
C Heptatonic Chromatic ICC♯ DD♯ EFF♯ ½½½½½½3
C Heptatonic Chromatic IICC♯ DD♯ EFB½½½½½3½
C Heptatonic Chromatic IIICC♯ DD♯ EA♯ B½½½½3½½
C Heptatonic Chromatic IVCC♯ DD♯ AA♯ B½½½3½½½
C Heptatonic Chromatic VCC♯ DG♯ AA♯ B½½3½½½½
C Heptatonic Chromatic VICC♯ GG♯ AA♯ B½3½½½½½
C Heptatonic Chromatic VIICF♯ GG♯ AA♯ B3½½½½½½
F Heptatonic Chromatic IFF♯ GG♯ AA♯ B½½½½½½3
F Heptatonic Chromatic IIFF♯ GG♯ AA♯ E½½½½½3½
F Heptatonic Chromatic IIIFF♯ GG♯ AD♯ E½½½½3½½
F Heptatonic Chromatic IVFF♯ GG♯ DD♯ E½½½3½½½
F Heptatonic Chromatic VFF♯ GC♯ DD♯ E½½3½½½½
F Heptatonic Chromatic VIFF♯ CC♯ DD♯ E½3½½½½½
F Heptatonic Chromatic VIIFBCC♯ DD♯ E3½½½½½½
A♯ Heptatonic Chromatic IA♯ BCC♯ DD♯ E½½½½½½3
A♯ Heptatonic Chromatic IIA♯ BCC♯ DD♯ A½½½½½3½
A♯ Heptatonic Chromatic IIIA♯ BCC♯ DG♯ A½½½½3½½
A♯ Heptatonic Chromatic IVA♯ BCC♯ GG♯ A½½½3½½½
A♯ Heptatonic Chromatic VA♯ BCF♯ GG♯ A½½3½½½½
A♯ Heptatonic Chromatic VIA♯ BFF♯ GG♯ A½3½½½½½
A♯ Heptatonic Chromatic VIIA♯ EFF♯ GG♯ A3½½½½½½
D♯ Heptatonic Chromatic ID♯ EFF♯ GG♯ A½½½½½½3
D♯ Heptatonic Chromatic IID♯ EFF♯ GG♯ D½½½½½3½
D♯ Heptatonic Chromatic IIID♯ EFF♯ GC♯ D½½½½3½½
D♯ Heptatonic Chromatic IVD♯ EFF♯ CC♯ D½½½3½½½
D♯ Heptatonic Chromatic VD♯ EFBCC♯ D½½3½½½½
D♯ Heptatonic Chromatic VID♯ EA♯ BCC♯ D½3½½½½½
D♯ Heptatonic Chromatic VIID♯ AA♯ BCC♯ D3½½½½½½
G♯ Heptatonic Chromatic IG♯ AA♯ BCC♯ D½½½½½½3
G♯ Heptatonic Chromatic IIG♯ AA♯ BCC♯ G½½½½½3½
G♯ Heptatonic Chromatic IIIG♯ AA♯ BCF♯ G½½½½3½½
G♯ Heptatonic Chromatic IVG♯ AA♯ BFF♯ G½½½3½½½
G♯ Heptatonic Chromatic VG♯ AA♯ EFF♯ G½½3½½½½
G♯ Heptatonic Chromatic VIG♯ AD♯ EFF♯ G½3½½½½½
G♯ Heptatonic Chromatic VIIG♯ DD♯ EFF♯ G3½½½½½½
C♯ Heptatonic Chromatic IC♯ DD♯ EFF♯ G½½½½½½3
C♯ Heptatonic Chromatic IIC♯ DD♯ EFF♯ C½½½½½3½
C♯ Heptatonic Chromatic IIIC♯ DD♯ EFBC½½½½3½½
C♯ Heptatonic Chromatic IVC♯ DD♯ EA♯ BC½½½3½½½
C♯ Heptatonic Chromatic VC♯ DD♯ AA♯ BC½½3½½½½
C♯ Heptatonic Chromatic VIC♯ DG♯ AA♯ BC½3½½½½½
C♯ Heptatonic Chromatic VIIC♯ GG♯ AA♯ BC3½½½½½½
F♯ Heptatonic Chromatic IF♯ GG♯ AA♯ BC½½½½½½3
F♯ Heptatonic Chromatic IIF♯ GG♯ AA♯ BF½½½½½3½
F♯ Heptatonic Chromatic IIIF♯ GG♯ AA♯ EF½½½½3½½
F♯ Heptatonic Chromatic IVF♯ GG♯ AD♯ EF½½½3½½½
F♯ Heptatonic Chromatic VF♯ GG♯ DD♯ EF½½3½½½½
F♯ Heptatonic Chromatic VIF♯ GC♯ DD♯ EF½3½½½½½
F♯ Heptatonic Chromatic VIIF♯ CC♯ DD♯ EF3½½½½½½
B Heptatonic Chromatic IBCC♯ DD♯ EF½½½½½½3
B Heptatonic Chromatic IIBCC♯ DD♯ EA♯ ½½½½½3½
B Heptatonic Chromatic IIIBCC♯ DD♯ AA♯ ½½½½3½½
B Heptatonic Chromatic IVBCC♯ DG♯ AA♯ ½½½3½½½
B Heptatonic Chromatic VBCC♯ GG♯ AA♯ ½½3½½½½
B Heptatonic Chromatic VIBCF♯ GG♯ AA♯ ½3½½½½½
B Heptatonic Chromatic VIIBFF♯ GG♯ AA♯ 3½½½½½½
E Heptatonic Chromatic IEFF♯ GG♯ AA♯ ½½½½½½3
E Heptatonic Chromatic IIEFF♯ GG♯ AD♯ ½½½½½3½
E Heptatonic Chromatic IIIEFF♯ GG♯ DD♯ ½½½½3½½
E Heptatonic Chromatic IVEFF♯ GC♯ DD♯ ½½½3½½½
E Heptatonic Chromatic VEFF♯ CC♯ DD♯ ½½3½½½½
E Heptatonic Chromatic VIEFBCC♯ DD♯ ½3½½½½½
E Heptatonic Chromatic VIIEA♯ BCC♯ DD♯ 3½½½½½½
A Heptatonic Chromatic IAA♯ BCC♯ DD♯ ½½½½½½3
A Heptatonic Chromatic IIAA♯ BCC♯ DG♯ ½½½½½3½
A Heptatonic Chromatic IIIAA♯ BCC♯ GG♯ ½½½½3½½
A Heptatonic Chromatic IVAA♯ BCF♯ GG♯ ½½½3½½½
A Heptatonic Chromatic VAA♯ BFF♯ GG♯ ½½3½½½½
A Heptatonic Chromatic VIAA♯ EFF♯ GG♯ ½3½½½½½
A Heptatonic Chromatic VIIAD♯ EFF♯ GG♯ 3½½½½½½
D Heptatonic Chromatic IDD♯ EFF♯ GG♯ ½½½½½½3
D Heptatonic Chromatic IIDD♯ EFF♯ GC♯ ½½½½½3½
D Heptatonic Chromatic IIIDD♯ EFF♯ CC♯ ½½½½3½½
D Heptatonic Chromatic IVDD♯ EFBCC♯ ½½½3½½½
D Heptatonic Chromatic VDD♯ EA♯ BCC♯ ½½3½½½½
D Heptatonic Chromatic VIDD♯ AA♯ BCC♯ ½3½½½½½
D Heptatonic Chromatic VIIDG♯ AA♯ BCC♯ 3½½½½½½
G Heptatonic Chromatic IGG♯ AA♯ BCC♯ ½½½½½½3
G Heptatonic Chromatic IIGG♯ AA♯ BCF♯ ½½½½½3½
G Heptatonic Chromatic IIIGG♯ AA♯ BFF♯ ½½½½3½½
G Heptatonic Chromatic IVGG♯ AA♯ EFF♯ ½½½3½½½
G Heptatonic Chromatic VGG♯ AD♯ EFF♯ ½½3½½½½
G Heptatonic Chromatic VIGG♯ DD♯ EFF♯ ½3½½½½½
G Heptatonic Chromatic VIIGC♯ DD♯ EFF♯ 3½½½½½½

Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

Other truncations of the chromatic scale

Similar corollaries apply to certain other scale sizes: moving successive notes of the pentatonic chromatic scale (½ ½ ½ ½ 4, or semitone, semitone, semitone, semitone, minor sixth) by seven semitones will inevitably take the scale through all its modes, moving the scale root up by a perfect fifth each time. (Note that the pentatonic chromatic scale is the scale complement of the heptatonic chromatic scale.)

However, this only works for a few scale sizes. Why? Rotating the hexatonic chromatic scale (½ ½ ½ ½ ½ , or semitone, semitone, semitone, semitone, semitone, perfect fifth) moves each note by a tritone. Two tritones add up to an octave, so we skip five-sixths of the chromatic scale.

The only non-semitone interval of any such truncation of the chromatic scale is (13 - n) semitones, where n is the scale’s note count. Thus, scale rotation moves notes (12 - n) semitones. For such a scale rotation to take us through every mode across the entire chromatic scale, this interval cannot be a factor of 12. In fact, in any n-TET, for scale rotations that move single notes by more than a chromatic step to cover the entire chromatic scale, n modulo the interval size (in units of 1/n octave) must not be 0. Thus, in 12-TET:

Note movements and the 12-TET chromatic scale
Semitones Notes used Pattern
1 11 all notes linear order
2 10 six notes major second
3 9 four notes minor third
4 8 three notes major third
5 7 all notes circle of fourths
6 two notes tritone

Why do most rows list two interval sizes? Moving a note up by seven semitones equates to moving it down by five. Thus, in 12-TET, the only truncations of the chromatic scale for which this method of scale rotation will work contain 1, 5, 7, and 11 notes, and their rotations will respectively move single notes by a semitone, a perfect fourth, a perfect fourth, and a semitone.

Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

Alternating heptamode and alternating heptamode inverse

Thus, the Ionian and heptatonic chromatic scales are the only heptatonic scales in 12-TET with single-note rotations that cycle through the entire chromatic scale. I’ve only found three other heptatonic scales in 12-TET that have single-note rotations of any sort. Two respectively have the following interval spacing:

Alternating heptamode: semitone, whole tone, semitone, whole tone, semitone, whole tone, minor third
Jhankāradhvani ♯5: whole tone, semitone, whole tone, semitone, whole tone, semitone, minor third

Now, if we try to use every letter of the scale, it might not even be obvious that this even works as a single-note transformation. (I haven’t given these proper names yet; sorry.)

Alternating heptamode & alternating heptamode inverse
Scale 1 234567Intervals
1212132CD♭E♭F♭G♭A𝄫B♭½1½1½1
1213212CD♭E♭F♭GAB♭½1½1½1
1321212CD♭EF♯GAB♭½1½1½1
2121213CDE♭FG♭A♭B𝄫1½1½1½
2121321CDE♭FG♭AB1½1½1½
2132121CDE♭F♯G♯AB1½1½1½
3212121CD♯E♯F♯G♯AB1½1½1½
1212123CD♭E♭F♭G♭A𝄫B𝄫½1½1½1
1212312CD♭E♭F♭G♭AB♭½1½1½1
1231212CD♭E♭F♯GAB♭½1½1½1
3121212CD♯EF♯GAB♭½1½1½1
2121231CDE♭FG♭A♭B1½1½1½
2123121CDE♭FG♯AB1½1½1½
2312121CDE♯F♯G♯AB1½1½1½

Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

Let’s try just using sharps instead of trying to use every letter of the scale – which is still confusing, since the notes don’t stay in the same positions between scales. For instance, D♯ appears in all scales except 1321212 (the third scale) and 2312121 (the last), but in 3212121 (the seventh scale) and 3121212 (the fourth from the last), it’s the second note of the scale, and in all others it appears in, it’s the third note. Likewise, F♯ appears in all scales except 1213212 (the second scale) and 2123121 (the second from the last), and it switches between positions four and five.

Alternating heptamode & alternating heptamode inverse (revisited)
Scale 1 234567Intervals
1212132CC♯D♯EF♯GA♯½1½1½1
1213212CC♯D♯EGAA♯½1½1½1
1321212CC♯EF♯GAA♯½1½1½1
2121213CDD♯FF♯G♯A1½1½1½
2121321CDD♯FF♯AB1½1½1½
2132121CDD♯F♯G♯AB1½1½1½
3212121CD♯FF♯G♯AB1½1½1½
1212123CC♯D♯EF♯GA½1½1½1
1212312CC♯D♯EF♯AA♯½1½1½1
1231212CC♯D♯F♯GAA♯½1½1½1
3121212CD♯EF♯GAA♯½1½1½1
2121231CDD♯FF♯G♯B1½1½1½
2123121CDD♯FG♯AB1½1½1½
2312121CDFF♯G♯AB1½1½1½

Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

In case it isn’t obvious why these don’t cycle through the entire chromatic scale: in both cases, the single-note rotation moves a note by a minor third. Four minor thirds make up an octave, so we will only cycle through four notes of the chromatic scale.

That said, we’re somewhat examining this scale through the wrong lens. The issue is that the root of the Ionian scale only changes once in its set of transformations: between Locrian and Lydian. This isn’t actually the case here. If we examine the pattern of notes being moved, we notice something interesting:

  1. 1212132 to 1213212: F♯ is raised to A
  2. 1213212 to 1321212: D♯ is raised to F♯
  3. 1321212 to 2121213: C is raised to D♯

…and this is where things get confusing.

With Ionian’s scale transformations, we only have to mess with the root once: between Locrian and Lydian. Alternating heptamode isn’t so simple: we have to transpose the root on multiple occasions. In fact, only eight notes can ever be part of this set of transformations, and going forward, I’ll represent them all with flats except F♯, since doing so will make E the only repeated letter. Thus, starting on C with 1212132 gives us:

Alternating heptamode: A closer examination
ModeD♭¹E♭¹F♯¹B♭¹D♭²E♭²F♯²
1212132CD♭E♭EF♯G B♭
1213212CD♭E♭E GAB♭
1321212CD♭ EF♯GAB♭
2121213 D♭E♭EF♯GAB♭
2121321 D♭E♭EF♯G B♭C
2132121 D♭E♭E GAB♭C
3212121 D♭ EF♯GAB♭C
1212132 E♭EF♯GAB♭ D♭
1213212 E♭EF♯G B♭CD♭
1321212 E♭E GAB♭CD♭
2121213 EF♯GAB♭CD♭
2121321 EF♯GAB♭ D♭E♭
2132121 EF♯G B♭CD♭E♭
3212121 E GAB♭CD♭E♭
1212132 F♯GAB♭CD♭ E
1213212 F♯GAB♭ D♭E♭E
1321212 F♯G B♭CD♭E♭E
2121213 GAB♭CD♭E♭E
2121321 GAB♭CD♭ EF♯
2132121 GAB♭ D♭E♭EF♯
3212121 G B♭CD♭E♭EF♯
1212132 AB♭CD♭E♭E G
1213212 AB♭CD♭ EF♯G
1321212 AB♭ D♭E♭EF♯G
2121213 B♭CD♭E♭EF♯G
2121321 B♭CD♭E♭E GA
2132121 B♭CD♭ EF♯GA
3212121 B♭ D♭E♭EF♯GA

In each row, the orange note will move in the next scale, and the blue note has just moved. Note that these are always separated by a tritone within the same scale, and the note always moves up by a minor third from one scale to the next (except from 3212121 to 1212132, when it moves down by a major sixth). The note that moves is also always either a minor third below or a major sixth above the note that moved in the previous scale. The four notes that move by minor thirds and major sixths form C, E♭, F♯, and A diminished seventh chords; the four notes that only ever move by octaves form D♭, E, G, and A♯ diminished seventh chords.

I’m going to confess that I don’t perfectly understand what’s going on here either. But note that both this scale and its inverse contain three pairs of whole tones and semitones, and one additional minor third. A whole tone and a semitone, of course, add up to a minor third. Thus, although this is in some ways the least regular interval distribution we’ve examined, the fact that it can be divided into four three-semitone regions (three with two notes, one with one) necessitates a rotation that lines up exactly with the parent tonality. In short, while a scale needs to be nearly regular to be possible to rotate all its notes across the entire chromatic scale, the intervals themselves must be impossible to subdivide into regions of exactly equal size.

These scales’ complements experience exactly the same issue:

Major pentatonic ♭234: semitone, whole tone, minor third, minor third, minor third
Major pentatonic ♭23: whole tone, semitone, minor third, minor third, minor third

I will leave discerning why as an exercise for the reader.

Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

Melodic Phrygian (or Neapolitan “major”, as it’s misleadingly known)

One other scale has a similar transformation, and it’s just as confusing to track. It’s most frequently known by the misleading name “Neapolitan major”. This is a terrible name, because it is objectively not a major scale – it doesn’t have a major third above the root! The reasoning behind the name is that a Neapolitan chord starts on a scale’s flat second degree, and it has a major sixth above the root, while its counterpart the Neapolitan minor has a minor sixth above the root. This is a terrible justification, because I can’t think of any other set of scales in which “major” and “minor” refer to the sixth scale degree rather than the third. Beyond this point, I will instead call them, respectively, melodic Phrygian and harmonic Phrygian; anyone who knows Phrygian, melodic minor, and harmonic minor can reasonably infer what those mean.

(Super-Locrian and Lydian dominant are modes of melodic minor. Lydian dominant ♭6 is sometimes, equally inaccurately, called Lydian minor, which I will not dignify with further discussion.)

Melodic Phrygian transforms as follows:

Analyzing the melodic Phrygian scale
Scale 1 234567 Intervals
Locrian major C♯D♯E♯F♯GAB 11½½111
Super-Locrian ♭2 C♯D♯EFGAB 1½½1111
Leading whole-tone inverse C♯DE♭FGAB ½½11111
Melodic Phrygian CD♭E♭FGAB ½11111½
Leading whole-tone C♭D♭E♭FGAB♭ 11111½½
Lydian dominant augmented C♭D♭E♭FGA♭B𝄫 1111½½1
Lydian dominant ♭6 C♭D♭E♭FG♭A𝄫B𝄫 111½½11

Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

Once again, trying to keep the same note names paints a misleading picture. It looks like more than one note is moving per scale transformation until we rename the notes. In the following table, I’ve renamed C♭ to B♮, E♯ to F♮, E♭ to D♯, G♭ to F♯, A𝄫 to G♮, A♭ to G♯, B𝄫 to A♮, and B♭ to A♯. I’ve also reshuffled the modes so that melodic Phrygian is at the bottom, intensified the border each time we move the root note, and highlighted the note we move in each scale transformation. Since we move the note by a whole step each time, we skip half the possible transpositions. This set gives us melodic Phrygian on A♯, G♯, F♯, E, D, and C; and its other modes on B, A, G, F, D♯, and C♯.

Transforming the melodic Phrygian scale
Scale 1 234567 Intervals
Leading whole-tone BC♯D♯FGAA♯ 11111½½
Lydian dominant augmented BC♯D♯FGG♯A 1111½½1
Lydian dominant ♭6 BC♯D♯FF♯GA 111½½11
Locrian major BC♯D♯EFGA 11½½111
Super-Locrian ♭2 BC♯DD♯FGA 1½½1111
Leading whole-tone inverse BCC♯D♯FGA ½½11111
Melodic Phrygian A♯BC♯D♯FGA ½11111½
Leading whole-tone ABC♯D♯FGG♯ 11111½½
Lydian dominant augmented ABC♯D♯FF♯G 1111½½1
Lydian dominant ♭6 ABC♯D♯EFG 111½½11
Locrian major ABC♯DD♯FG 11½½111
Super-Locrian ♭2 ABCC♯D♯FG 1½½1111
Leading whole-tone inverse AA♯BC♯D♯FG ½½11111
Melodic Phrygian G♯ABC♯D♯FG ½11111½
Leading whole-tone GABC♯D♯FF♯ 11111½½
Lydian dominant augmented GABC♯D♯EF 1111½½1
Lydian dominant ♭6 GABC♯DD♯F 111½½11
Locrian major GABCC♯D♯F 11½½111
Super-Locrian ♭2 GAA♯BC♯D♯F 1½½1111
Leading whole-tone inverse GG♯ABC♯D♯F ½½11111
Melodic Phrygian F♯GABC♯D♯F ½11111½
Leading whole-tone FGABC♯D♯E 11111½½
Lydian dominant augmented FGABC♯DD♯ 1111½½1
Lydian dominant ♭6 FGABCC♯D♯ 111½½11
Locrian major FGAA♯BC♯D♯ 11½½111
Super-Locrian ♭2 FGG♯ABC♯D♯ 1½½1111
Leading whole-tone inverse FF♯GABC♯D♯ ½½11111
Melodic Phrygian EFGABC♯D♯ ½11111½
Leading whole-tone D♯FGABC♯D 11111½½
Lydian dominant augmented D♯FGABCC♯ 1111½½1
Lydian dominant ♭6 D♯FGAA♯BC♯ 111½½11
Locrian major D♯FGG♯ABC♯ 11½½111
Super-Locrian ♭2 D♯FF♯GABC♯ 1½½1111
Leading whole-tone inverse D♯EFGABC♯ ½½11111
Melodic Phrygian DD♯FGABC♯ ½11111½
Leading whole-tone C♯D♯FGABC 11111½½
Lydian dominant augmented C♯D♯FGAA♯B 1111½½1
Lydian dominant ♭6 C♯D♯FGG♯AB 111½½11
Locrian major C♯D♯FF♯GAB 11½½111
Super-Locrian ♭2 C♯D♯EFGAB 1½½1111
Leading whole-tone inverse C♯DD♯FGAB ½½11111
Melodic Phrygian CC♯D♯FGAB ½11111½

Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

Apathetic minor & Pacific

I’ve found one other pair of scales that exhibits this behavior. Unsurprisingly, they’re mirror images of each other, and again, I don’t have good names for most of them; I’ll simply call them “apathetic minor” and “Pacific”. Rooted on C, they look like this:

Apathetic minor and Pacific on C
Scale 1 234567 Intervals
3114111CD♯EFG𝄪A♯B½½2½½½
4111311CD𝄪E♯F♯GA♯B2½½½½½
1311411CD♭EFG♭A♯B½½½2½½
1411131CD♭E♯F♯GA♭B½2½½½½
1131141CD♭E𝄫FG♭A𝄫B½½½½2½
1141113CD♭E𝄫F♯GA♭B𝄫½½2½½½
1113114CD♭E𝄫F𝄫G♭A𝄫B𝄫♭½½½½½2
4113111CD𝄪E♯F♯G𝄪A♯B2½½½½½
3111411CD♯EFG♭A♯B½½½2½½
1411311CD♭E♯F♯GA♯B½2½½½½
1311141CD♭EFG♭A𝄫B½½½½2½
1141131CD♭E𝄫F♯GA♭B½½2½½½
1131114CD♭E𝄫FG♭A𝄫B𝄫♭½½½½½2
1114113CD♭E𝄫F𝄫GA♭B𝄫½½½2½½

Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

Which, again, is extremely difficult to parse. Let’s simplify.

(For the record, “apathetic minor” is the mode labelled “1131141”, and Pacific is the mode labelled “1311141”. Again, I apologize for not baving better names for these.)

Apathetic minor and Pacific on C (simplified)
Scale 1 234567 Intervals
3114111CD♯EFAA♯B½½2½½½
4111311CEFF♯GA♯B2½½½½½
1311411CC♯EFF♯A♯B½½½2½½
1411131CC♯FF♯GG♯B½2½½½½
1131141CC♯DFF♯GB½½½½2½
1141113CC♯DF♯GG♯A½½2½½½
1113114CC♯DD♯F♯GG♯½½½½½2
4113111CEFF♯AA♯B2½½½½½
3111411CD♯EFF♯A♯B½½½2½½
1411311CC♯FF♯GA♯B½2½½½½
1311141CC♯EFF♯GB½½½½2½
1141131CC♯DF♯GG♯B½½2½½½
1131114CC♯DFF♯GG♯½½½½½2
1114113CC♯DD♯GG♯A½½½2½½

Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

Of course, the transformations again require moving the root more often than that. And because we’re moving a note by six semitones, we’re again skipping ⅚ of the chromatic scale for each mode.

Single-note transformations of apathetic minor
Scale 1 234567 Intervals
3114111CD♯EFAA♯B½½2½½½
4111311BD♯EFF♯AA♯2½½½½½
1311411BCD♯EFAA♯½½½2½½
1411131A♯BD♯EFF♯A½2½½½½
1131141A♯BCD♯EFA½½½½2½
1141113AA♯BD♯EFF♯½½2½½½
1113114AA♯BCD♯EF½½½½½2
3114111F♯AA♯BD♯EF½½2½½½
4111311FAA♯BCD♯E2½½½½½
1311411FF♯AA♯BD♯E½½½2½½
1411131EFAA♯BCD♯½2½½½½
1131141EFF♯AA♯BD♯½½½½2½
1141113D♯EFAA♯BC½½2½½½
1113114D♯EFF♯AA♯B½½½½½2
Single-note transformations of Pacific
Scale 1 234567 Intervals
1114113DD♯EFAA♯B½½½2½½
4113111BD♯EFG♯AA♯2½½½½½
3111411BDD♯EFAA♯½½½2½½
1411311A♯BD♯EFG♯A½2½½½½
1311411A♯BDD♯EFA½½½½2½
1141131AA♯BD♯EFG♯½½2½½½
1131114AA♯BDD♯EF½½½½½2
1114113G♯AA♯BD♯EF½½½2½½
4113111FAA♯BDD♯E2½½½½½
3111411FG♯AA♯BD♯E½½½2½½
1411311EFAA♯BDD♯½2½½½½
1311411EFG♯AA♯BD♯½½½½2½
1141131D♯EFAA♯BD½½2½½½
1131114D♯EFG♯AA♯B½½½½½2

Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

A brief analysis of note distributions

It may also be instructive to compare how many times each note appears on each mode of each scale on C.

Note distributions across parallel modes
ScaleCC♯DD♯EFF♯GG♯AA♯B
Ionian 7 2 5 4 3 6 2 6 3 4 5 2
Major pentatonic 5 0 3 2 1 4 0 4 1 2 3 0
Chromatic heptatonic 7 6 5 4 3 2 2 2 3 4 5 6
Chromatic pentatonic 5 4 3 2 1 0 0 0 1 2 3 4
Alternating heptamode 7 3 3 6 3 3 6 3 3 6 3 3
Major pentatonic ♭234 5 1 1 4 1 1 4 1 1 4 1 1
Alternating heptamode inverse 7 3 3 6 3 3 6 3 3 6 3 3
Major pentatonic ♭23 5 1 1 4 1 1 4 1 1 4 1 1
Melodic Phrygian 7 2 6 2 6 2 6 2 6 2 6 2
Augmented ninth 5 0 4 0 4 0 4 0 4 0 4 0
Apathetic minor 7 5 3 2 3 5 6 5 3 2 3 5
Rāga Saugandhini 5 3 1 0 1 3 4 3 1 0 1 3
Pacific 7 5 3 2 3 5 6 5 3 2 3 5
Rāga Saugandhini inverse 5 3 1 0 1 3 4 3 1 0 1 3

Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

  1. The reflective symmetry about F♯ seen above holds uniformly for every scale.
  2. As a consequence of #1, a scale and its mirror image always have identical note distributions. This explains the identical note distributions seen above.
  3. After each heptatonic scale, I list its pentatonic complement. Each pentatonic scale uses every note of the chromatic scale in two fewer modes than its heptatonic complement does. This principle appears to hold uniformly for all scale complements, even counting the null set as the chromatic scale’s complement.

    1. Hexatonic scales and their complements always have identical note distributions.
    2. Pentatonic scales’ note distributions equal their heptatonic complements’ distributions minus two.
    3. Tetratonic scales’ note distributions equal their octatonic complements’ distributions minus four.
    4. Three-note scales’ note distributions equal their enneatonic complements’ distributions minus six.
    5. Two-note scales’ note distributions equal their decatonic complements’ distributions minus eight.
    6. The octave’s note distribution equals the hendecatonic scale’s note distribution minus ten.
    7. The null set’s note distribution equals the dodecatonic scale’s note distribution minus twelve.

    This has a few further implications. At the start of this section, we noted that the hendecatonic scale must use each note of the chromatic scale except the root in all but one of its modes. For similar reasons, every note of the chromatic scale except the root appears in:

    1. At least eight modes of every decatonic scale.
    2. At least six modes of every enneatonic scale.
    3. At least four modes of every octatonic scale.
    4. At least two modes of every heptatonic scale.

    Meanwhile, every scale must use the root in all of its modes – this is a requirement of being a scale.

  4. Decrementing alternating heptamode and melodic Phrygian’s root counts by 1 would cause them to repeat the same pattern four and six times, respectively. This makes them very nearly rotationally as well as reflectively symmetrical. Explaining the full implications of this would require covering some principles we haven’t addressed yet, so we’ll return to these scales when we discuss modes of limited transposition (which, to be clear, these scales aren’t; however, they’re single-note transformations thereof).
  5. Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

    Why Ionian’s scale mutation requires a coprime scale length with 12

    For the sake of Science, let’s try using a scale generator with four notes separated by perfect fifths. Starting on F, we’ll get a scale of C-D-F-G. What would that set of transformations look like?

    Tetratonic truncation of Ionian
    RIDMIDSIDIID1234Intervals
    165D062D38.α2325CDFG11
    1065D093D38.β3252CD♯FA♯11
    645D073D38.γ2523CDGA11
    1185D138D38.δ5232CFGA♯11

    Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

    The intervals vary too much for single-note transformations to be possible. What about C-D-E-F-G-A?

    (I’ll explain these names and/or replace them with better ones soon™.)

    Hexatonic truncation of Ionian
    RIDMIDSIDIID123456Intervals
    2709F296F71.β223221CDEGAB1111½
    693F273F71.ε221223CDEFGA11½11
    1701F315F71.γ232212CDFGAA♯111½1
    1197F239F71.ζ212232CDD♯FGA♯1½111
    1449F383F71.δ322122CD♯FGG♯A♯11½11
    1323F116F71.α122322CC♯D♯FG♯A♯½1111
    2709F296F71.β223221BC♯D♯F♯G♯A♯1111½
    693F273F71.ε221223BC♯D♯EF♯G♯11½11

    Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

    This will cycle us through the entire circle of fifths, but…

    1. Between F71.β and F71.ε, B moves down by a tritone to F.
    2. Between F71.ε and F71.γ, E moves up by a tritone to A♯.
    3. Between F71.γ and F71.ζ, A moves down by a tritone to D♯.
    4. Between F71.ζ and F71.δ, D moves up by a tritone to G♯.
    5. Between F71.δ and F71.α, G moves down by a tritone to C♯.

    But then the pattern breaks. The transformation from F71.α on C to F71.β on B requires moving two notes, not one: F down to B, and C up to F♯ – both by a tritone, but we’re no longer doing a single-note transformation here.

    Another giveaway is that the interval pattern breaks – indeed, as we can see by examining F71.ε on B, we’d need even more transformations to continue it.

    Well, what about octatonic, then? As far as I can work out, there is a single-note set of transformations, but it will not cycle us through the entire chromatic scale.

    Octatonic expansions of Ionian
    RIDMIDSIDIID12345678Intervals
    3765H280H28.δ22122111CDEFGAA♯ B11½11½½½
    2805H271H28.η22111221CDEFF♯ GAB11½½½11½
    2775H095H28.β11221221CC♯ DEF♯ GAB½½11½11½
    1965H256H28.ε21221112BC♯ DEF♯ GG♯ A1½11½½½1
    1725H224H28.θ21112212BC♯ DD♯ EF♯ G♯ A1½½½11½1
    3435H170H28.γ12212211A♯ BC♯ D♯ EF♯ G♯ A½11½11½½
    1515H163H28.ζ12211122A♯ BC♯ D♯ EFF♯ G♯ ½11½½½11
    1455H047H28.α11122122A♯ BCC♯ D♯ FF♯ G♯ ½½½11½11
    3765H280H28.δ22122111G♯ A♯ CC♯ D♯ FF♯ G11½11½½½

    Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

    This set of transformations may be somewhat difficult to parse, but as far as I can make out, this is what’s happening here:

    1. H28.δ to H28.δ: A♯ moves down four semitones to F♯.
    2. H28.η to H28.β: One semitone below F♯, F moves down four semitones to C♯.
    3. H28.β to H28.ε: One semitone below C♯, C moves down four semitones to G♯. Because we moved the root below B, it now moves to the front of the scale.
    4. H28.ε to H28.θ: One semitone below G♯, G moves down four semitones to D♯.
    5. H28.θ to H28.γ: One semitone below D♯, D moves down four semitones to A♯. A♯ becomes the new root, since it is below our previous root of B.
    6. H28.γ to H28.ζ: One semitone below A♯, A moves down four semitones to F.
    7. H28.ζ to H28.α: One semitone below F, E moves down four semitones to C.
    8. H28.α to H28.δ: One semitone below C, B moves down four semitones to G. Because we moved the root below G♯, it now moves to the front of the scale.

    As we can see, this sequence of transformations will move the entire scale by major thirds each cycle, so this set of transformations will only transpose each mode to one third of the chromatic scale. This is a direct result of the scale length sharing a factor with 12: it’s surely no coincidence that their mutual factor is exactly equal to the number of semitones by which this set of transformations moves the scale each cycle. Effectively, for this form of mutation to work, the generator must use an interval size that is coprime with the parent temperament, and it must use a scale length that is also coprime with the parent temperament. So, the intervals that will work are one semitone, five semitones, seven semitones, and eleven semitones, and the scale lengths that will work are one note, five notes, seven notes, and eleven notes.

    Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

    Transformations of the Ionian scale

    Harmonic minor

    Since learning harmonic and melodic minor’s modes is absolutely essential for anyone who wants to play jazz, I’ve created several sets of tables to help people visualize them better.

    Harmonic minor vs. modes from Aeolian (rooted on C, linear order)
    Scale 1 234567Intervals
    Aeolian ♯7Harmonic minorCDE♭FGA♭B1½11½½
    AeolianCDE♭FGA♭B♭ 1½11½11
    Locrian ♯6Maqam TarznauynCD♭E♭FG♭AB♭ ½11½½1
    LocrianCD♭E♭FG♭A♭B♭ ½11½111
    Ionian ♯5Ionian augmentedCDEFG♯AB11½½1½
    IonianCDEFGAB11½111½
    Dorian ♯4Lydian diminishedCDE♭F♯GAB♭ 1½½1½1
    DorianCDE♭FGAB♭ 1½111½1
    Phrygian ♯3Phrygian dominantCD♭EFGA♭B♭ ½½1½11
    PhrygianCD♭E♭FGA♭B♭ ½111½11
    Lydian ♯2Aeolian harmonicCD♯EF♯GAB½1½11½
    LydianCDEF♯GAB111½11½
    Mixolydian ♯1Super-Locrian ♭7CD♭E♭F♭G♭A♭B𝄫½1½11½
    MixolydianCDEFGAB♭ 11½11½1

    Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

    Thus, as the first set of mode names suggests, harmonic minor’s modes respectively raise by a half-step:

    Since we’re transposing every mode to C, we can’t raise Mixolydian’s first degree, because it’s the first degree! Instead, we must lower every other degree by a half-step. Say wha?

    Somehow, it’s actually both even weirder than that, and not weird at all: what we do in the above table is the equivalent of raising the first degree. Since we’re constraing ourselves to a root of C, raising the first note of a scale by a half-step requires us to lower every note of that scale by a half-step. This results in the first note being the only scale degree we don’t lower: ½ − ½ = 0.

    In practice, though, it’s usually already raised for us: it’s harmonic minor’s seventh degree! Let’s see what happens when we root these modes on the corresponding notes of their respective parent C minor scales:

    Harmonic minor vs. modes from Aeolian (rooted on scale, linear order)
    Scale 1 234567Intervals
    Aeolian ♯7Harmonic minor CDE♭FGA♭B 1½11½½
    Aeolian CDE♭FGA♭B♭ 1½11½11
    Locrian ♯6Maqam Tarznauyn DE♭FGA♭BC ½11½½1
    Locrian DE♭FGA♭B♭C ½11½111
    Ionian ♯5Ionian augmented E♭FGA♭BCD 11½½1½
    Ionian E♭FGA♭B♭CD 11½111½
    Dorian ♯4Lydian diminished FGA♭BCDE♭ 1½½1½1
    Dorian FGA♭B♭CDE♭ 1½111½1
    Phrygian ♯3Phrygian dominant GA♭BCDE♭F ½½1½11
    Phrygian GA♭B♭CDE♭F ½111½11
    Lydian ♯2Aeolian harmonic A♭BCDE♭FG ½1½11½
    Lydian A♭B♭CDE♭FG 111½11½
    Mixolydian ♯1Super-Locrian ♭7 BCDE♭FGA♭ ½1½11½
    Mixolydian B♭CDE♭FGA♭ 11½11½1

    Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

    Thus, B♭ Mixolydian is to C Aeolian as B Mixolydian ♯1 is to C harmonic minor: each starts from its parent scale’s seventh note. There’s actually nothing odd going on here at all; it’s exactly how modes are supposed to behave. C Mixolydian ♯1 equates to lowering every note of C Mixolydian except C by a half-step – and to raising only the B in B Mixolydian by a half-step.

    Observant readers may have noticed that the “rooted on C” table above actually appears to contain several shifts. The missing puzzle piece is that it lists the modes in ascending order rather than “circle of fifths” order, which I did to make the scales’ intervals easier to relate to each other. So let’s return to “circle of fiths” order.

    Harmonic minor vs. modes from Aeolian (rooted on C, in “circle of fifths” order)
    Scale 1 234567Intervals
    Lydian ♯2Aeolian harmonicCD♯EF♯GAB½1½11½
    LydianCDEF♯GAB111½11½
    Ionian ♯5Ionian augmentedCDEFG♯AB11½½1½
    IonianCDEFGAB11½111½
    Mixolydian ♯1Super-Locrian ♭7CD♭E♭F♭G♭A♭B𝄫½1½11½
    MixolydianCDEFGAB♭ 11½11½1
    Dorian ♯4Lydian diminishedCDE♭F♯GAB♭ 1½½1½1
    DorianCDE♭FGAB♭ 1½111½1
    Aeolian ♯7Harmonic minorCDE♭FGA♭B1½11½½
    AeolianCDE♭FGA♭B♭ 1½11½11
    Phrygian ♯3Phrygian dominantCD♭EFGA♭B♭ ½½1½11
    PhrygianCD♭E♭FGA♭B♭ ½111½11
    Locrian ♯6Maqam TarznauynCD♭E♭FG♭AB♭ ½11½½1
    LocrianCD♭E♭FG♭A♭B♭ ½11½111

    Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

    We now see that, broadly speaking, in all except one case, each scale has one fewer sharp or one more flat than its predecessor two entries above. The clear outlier is Mixolydian ♯1, and this table may further clarify why the mode corresponding to Mixolydian is the one thus affected. Mixolydian corresponds to Ionian’s fifth scale degree, Dorian’s fourth scale degree, Phrygian’s third scale degree… and that’s the degree that harmonic minor’s modes raise. For completeness, here are the modes in “circle of fifths” order, rooted to their respective notes within their parent C minor scales:

    Harmonic minor vs. modes from Aeolian (rooted on scale, in “circle of fifths” order)
    Scale 1 234567Intervals
    Lydian ♯2Aeolian harmonic A♭BCDE♭FG ½1½11½
    Lydian A♭B♭CDE♭FG 111½11½
    Ionian ♯5Ionian augmented E♭FGA♭BCD 11½½1½
    Ionian E♭FGA♭B♭CD 11½111½
    Mixolydian ♯1Super-Locrian ♭7 BCDE♭FGA♭ ½1½11½
    Mixolydian B♭CDE♭FGA♭ 11½11½1
    Dorian ♯4Lydian diminished FGA♭BCDE♭ 1½½1½1
    Dorian FGA♭B♭CDE♭ 1½111½1
    Aeolian ♯7Harmonic minor CDE♭FGA♭B 1½11½½
    Aeolian CDE♭FGA♭B♭ 1½11½11
    Phrygian ♯3Phrygian dominant GA♭BCDE♭F ½½1½11
    Phrygian GA♭B♭CDE♭F ½111½11
    Locrian ♯6Maqam Tarznauyn DE♭FGA♭BC ½11½½1
    Locrian DE♭FGA♭B♭C ½11½111

    Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

    Analysis of chord tonality by scale position:

    Chord tonalities by scale position & mode (harmonic minor, linear order)
    Mode1234567
    1Aeolian ♯7 Harmonic minor mindim AUGmin Maj Majdim
    2Locrian ♯6 Maqam Tarznauyn dim AUGmin Maj Majdimmin
    3Ionian ♯5 Ionian augmented AUGmin Maj Majdimmindim
    4Dorian ♯4 Lydian diminishedmin Maj Majdimmindim AUG
    5Phrygian ♯3 Phrygian dominant Maj Majdimmindim AUGmin
    6Lydian ♯2 Aeolian harmonic Majdimmindim AUGmin Maj
    7Mixolydian ♯1Super-Locrian ♭7 dimmindim AUGmin Maj Maj
    Chord tonalities by scale position & mode (harmonic minor, “circle of fifths” order)
    Mode1234567
    4Dorian ♯4 Lydian diminishedmin Maj Majdimmindim AUG
    1Aeolian ♯7 Harmonic minor mindim AUGmin Maj Majdim
    5Phrygian ♯3 Phrygian dominant Maj Majdimmindim AUGmin
    2Locrian ♯6 Maqam Tarznauyn dim AUGmin Maj Majdimmin
    6Lydian ♯2 Aeolian harmonic Majdimmindim AUGmin Maj
    3Ionian ♯5 Ionian augmented AUGmin Maj Majdimmindim
    7Mixolydian ♯1Super-Locrian ♭7 dimmindim AUGmin Maj Maj

    The circle of fifths table here may clarify one reason harmonic minor requires so many more changes to rotate than Ionian does. Note how only one chord stays the same between any two successive rows of the harmonic minor “circle of fifths” table, while four stayed the same between any two successive rows of Ionian’s table (e.g., Ionian and Mixolydian both have I, ii, IV, and vi chords). For each mode rooted on C, we get the following chords:

    Chords for C harmonic minor’s parallel modes
    ModeMode1234567
    1C Aeolian ♯7 C harmonic minor C minD dim E♭ augF min G maj A♭ majB dim
    2C Locrian ♯6 C Maqam Tarznauyn C dim D♭ augE♭ min F maj G♭ majA dimB♭ min
    3C Ionian ♯5 C Ionian augmented C augD min E maj F majG♯ dimA minB dim
    4C Dorian ♯4 C Lydian diminished C min D maj E♭ majF♯ dimG minA dim B♭ aug
    5C Phrygian ♯3 C Phrygian dominant C maj D♭ majE dimF minG dim A♭ augB♭ min
    6C Lydian ♯2 C Aeolian harmonic C majD♯ dimE minF♯ dim G augA min B maj
    7C Mixolydian ♯1 C Super-Locrian ♭7 C dimD♭ minE♭ dim F♭ augG min A♭ maj B𝄫 maj

    Meanwhile, the chords for C harmonic minor’s relative modes are as follows:

    Chords for C harmonic minor’s relative modes
    ModeMode1234567
    1C Aeolian ♯7 C harmonic minor C minD dim E♭ augF min G maj A♭ majB dim
    2D Locrian ♯6 D Maqam Tarznauyn D dim E♭ augF min G maj A♭ majB dimC min
    3E♭ Ionian ♯5 E♭ Ionian augmented E♭ augF min G maj A♭ majB dimC minD dim
    4F Dorian ♯4 F Lydian diminished F min G maj A♭ majB dimC minD dim E♭ aug
    5G Phrygian ♯3 G Phrygian dominant G maj A♭ majB dimC minD dim E♭ augF min
    6A♭ Lydian ♯2 A♭ Aeolian harmonic A♭ majB dimC minD dim E♭ augF min G maj
    7B Mixolydian ♯1 B Super-Locrian ♭7 B dimC minD dim E♭ augF min G maj A♭ maj

    Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

    Melodic minor

    Melodic minor is perhaps better related to the modes starting with Ionian. I haven’t drawn borders this time, because… well, it’s easier to show the table, then explain.

    Melodic minor vs. modes from Ionian (rooted on C, linear order)
    Scale 1 234567Intervals
    Ionian CDEFGAB 11½111½
    Ionian ♭3 Dorian ♯7Melodic minor CDE♭FGAB 1½1111½
    Dorian CDE♭FGAB♭ 1½111½1
    Dorian ♭2 Phrygian ♯6Jazz minor inverse CD♭E♭FGAB♭ ½1111½1
    Phrygian CD♭E♭FGA♭B♭ ½111½11
    Phrygian ♭1 Lydian ♯5Lydian augmented CDEF♯G♯AB 1111½1½
    Lydian CDEF♯GAB 111½11½
    Lydian ♭7 Mixolydian ♯4Lydian dominant CDEF♯GAB♭ 111½1½1
    Mixolydian CDEFGAB♭ 11½11½1
    Mixolydian ♭6 Aeolian ♯3Aeolian dominant CDEFGA♭B♭ 11½1½11
    Aeolian CDE♭FGA♭B♭ 1½11½11
    Aeolian ♭5 Locrian ♯2Half-diminished CDE♭FG♭A♭B♭ 1½1½111
    Locrian CD♭E♭FG♭A♭B♭ ½11½111
    Locrian ♭4 Ionian ♯1Super-Locrian CD♭E♭F♭G♭A♭B♭ ½1½1111

    Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

    The dual mnemonics for each mode of melodic minor in this table effectively show how we can derive melodic minor and each of its modes in two different ways from two different modes of Ionian:

    1. Melodic minor is Ionian with a flat third or Dorian with a sharp seventh.
    2. Jazz minor inverse is Dorian with a flat second or Phrygian with a sharp sixth.
    3. Lydian augmented is Phrygian with a flat first* or Lydian with a sharp fifth.
    4. Lydian dominant is Lydian with a flat seventh or Mixolydian with a sharp fourth.
    5. Aeolian dominant is Mixolydian with a flat sixth or Aeolian with a sharp third.
    6. Half-diminished is Aeolian with a flat fifth or Locrian with a sharp second.
    7. Super-Locrian is Locrian with a flat fourth or Ionian with a sharp first*.

    Asterisks are necessary for the first scale degree when transposing every scale degree to C. When improvising on an existing scale, the same principles apply as with harmonic minor’s Mixolydian ♯1 – the mode’s root will already be transposed within the scale you’re playing, so you just have to bear that in mind when thinking of what notes to play above it. This may be clearer in the following table, which shows how the above modes relate to C melodic minor and C Ionian:

    Melodic minor vs. modes from Ionian (rooted on scale, linear order)
    Scale 1 234567Intervals
    Ionian CDEFGAB 11½111½
    Ionian ♭3Melodic minor CDE♭FGAB 1½1111½
    Dorian DEFGABC 1½111½1
    Dorian ♭2Jazz minor inverse DE♭FGABC ½1111½1
    Phrygian EFGABCD ½111½11
    Phrygian ♭1Lydian augmented E♭FGABCD 1111½1½
    Lydian FGABCDE 111½11½
    Lydian ♭7Lydian dominant FGABCDE♭ 111½1½1
    Mixolydian GABCDEF 11½11½1
    Mixolydian ♭6Aeolian dominant GABCDE♭F 11½1½11
    Aeolian ABCDEFG 1½11½11
    Aeolian ♭5Half-diminished ABCDE♭FG 1½1½111
    Locrian BCDEFGA ½11½111
    Locrian ♭4Super-Locrian BCDE♭FGA ½1½1111

    Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

    In short, E♭ Phrygian ♭1’s root note is already flat in its parent scale – you don’t have to flat it again!

    “Circle of fifths” order makes it clear that the big note shift from Phrygian to Lydian augmented occurs in the “rooted on C” chart for the same reason the note shift between Mixolydian and Mixolydian ♯1 occurs with the harmonic minor scale: rooting everything to C means we can’t lower the first note and must instead raise the other notes by however much we’d have lowered the first note.

    Melodic minor vs. modes from Ionian (rooted on C, in “circle of fifths” order)
    Scale 1 234567Intervals
    Lydian CDEF♯GAB 111½11½
    Lydian ♭7Lydian dominant CDEF♯GAB♭ 111½1½1
    Ionian CDEFGAB 11½111½
    Ionian ♭3Melodic minor CDE♭FGAB 1½1111½
    Mixolydian CDEFGAB♭ 11½11½1
    Mixolydian ♭6Aeolian dominant CDEFGA♭B♭ 11½1½11
    Dorian CDE♭FGAB♭ 1½111½1
    Dorian ♭2Jazz minor inverse CD♭E♭FGAB♭ ½1111½1
    Aeolian CDE♭FGA♭B♭ 1½11½11
    Aeolian ♭5Half-diminished CDE♭FG♭A♭B♭ 1½1½111
    Phrygian CD♭E♭FGA♭B♭ ½111½11
    Phrygian ♭1Lydian augmented CDEF♯G♯AB 1111½1½
    Locrian CD♭E♭FG♭A♭B♭ ½11½111
    Locrian ♭4Super-Locrian CD♭E♭F♭G♭A♭B♭ ½1½1111

    Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

    Phrygian mode corresponds to Ionian’s third degree; that’s the note melodic minor lowers from Ionian. Thus, Phrygian is the mode that undergoes the note shift in the above table. Moreover, C Lydian augmented raises every note of C Phrygian except its root because its parent scale lowers its corresponding note.

    For completeness, here’s “circle of fifths” order without transposition.

    Melodic minor vs. modes from Ionian (rooted on scale, in “circle of fifths” order)
    Scale 1 234567Intervals
    Lydian FGABCDE 111½11½
    Lydian ♭7Lydian dominant FGABCDE♭ 111½1½1
    Ionian CDEFGAB 11½111½
    Ionian ♭3Melodic minor CDE♭FGAB 1½1111½
    Mixolydian GABCDEF 11½11½1
    Mixolydian ♭6Aeolian dominant GABCDE♭F 11½1½11
    Dorian DEFGABC 1½111½1
    Dorian ♭2Jazz minor inverse DE♭FGABC ½1111½1
    Aeolian ABCDEFG 1½11½11
    Aeolian ♭5Half-diminished ABCDE♭FG 1½1½111
    Phrygian EFGABCD ½111½11
    Phrygian ♭1Lydian augmented E♭FGABCD 1111½1½
    Locrian BCDEFGA ½11½111
    Locrian ♭4Super-Locrian BCDE♭FGA ½1½1111

    Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

    Of course, as the red names in the “rooted on C” table suggest, we can also get melodic minor by raising a different set of notes on a different series of modes. I’ve changed the first set of scale names accordingly, and since this interpretation of melodic minor raises pitches from its parent modes instead of lowering them, I’ve printed it first in this table. Note also Ionian’s different root key here (B♭ major instead of C major).

    Melodic minor vs. modes from Dorian (rooted on scale, linear order)
    Scale 1 234567Intervals
    Dorian ♯7Melodic minor CDE♭FGAB 1½1111½
    Dorian CDE♭FGAB♭ 1½111½1
    Phrygian ♯6Jazz minor inverse DE♭FGABC ½1111½1
    Phrygian DE♭FGAB♭C ½111½11
    Lydian ♯5Lydian augmented E♭FGABCD 1111½1½
    Lydian E♭FGAB♭CD 111½11½
    Mixolydian ♯4Lydian dominant FGABCDE♭ 111½1½1
    Mixolydian FGAB♭CDE♭ 11½11½1
    Aeolian ♯3Aeolian dominant GABCDE♭F 11½1½11
    Aeolian GAB♭CDE♭F 1½11½11
    Locrian ♯2Half-diminished ABCDE♭FG 1½1½111
    Locrian AB♭CDE♭FG ½11½111
    Ionian ♯1Super-Locrian BCDE♭FGA ½1½1111
    Ionian B♭CDE♭FGA 11½111½

    Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

    Here’s a comparison of these transformations in “circle of fifths” order, rooted to C:

    Melodic minor vs. modes from Dorian (rooted on C, in “circle of fifths” order)
    Scale 1 234567Intervals
    Lydian ♯5Lydian augmented CDEF♯G♯AB 1111½1½
    Lydian CDEF♯GAB 111½11½
    Ionian ♯1Super-Locrian CD♭E♭F♭G♭A♭B♭ ½1½1111
    Ionian CDEFGAB 11½111½
    Mixolydian ♯4Lydian dominant CDEF♯GAB♭ 111½1½1
    Mixolydian CDEFGAB♭ 11½11½1
    Dorian ♯7Melodic minor CDE♭FGAB 1½1111½
    Dorian CDE♭FGAB♭ 1½111½1
    Aeolian ♯3Aeolian dominant CDEFGA♭B♭ 11½1½11
    Aeolian CDE♭FGA♭B♭ 1½11½11
    Phrygian ♯6Jazz minor inverse CD♭E♭FGAB♭ ½1111½1
    Phrygian CD♭E♭FGA♭B♭ ½111½11
    Locrian ♯2Half-diminished CDE♭FG♭A♭B♭ 1½1½111
    Locrian CD♭E♭FG♭A♭B♭ ½11½111

    Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

    And in “circle of fifths” order rooted on their parent scales:

    Melodic minor vs. modes from Dorian (rooted on scale, in “circle of fifths” order)
    Scale 1 234567Intervals
    Lydian ♯5Lydian augmented E♭FGABCD 1111½1½
    Lydian E♭FGAB♭CD 111½11½
    Ionian ♯1Super-Locrian BCDE♭FGA ½1½1111
    Ionian B♭CDE♭FGA 11½111½
    Mixolydian ♯4Lydian dominant FGABCDE♭ 111½1½1
    Mixolydian FGAB♭CDE♭ 11½11½1
    Dorian ♯7Melodic minor CDE♭FGAB 1½1111½
    Dorian CDE♭FGAB♭ 1½111½1
    Aeolian ♯3Aeolian dominant GABCDE♭F 11½1½11
    Aeolian GAB♭CDE♭F 1½11½11
    Phrygian ♯6Jazz minor inverse DE♭FGABC ½1111½1
    Phrygian DE♭FGAB♭C ½111½11
    Locrian ♯2Half-diminished ABCDE♭FG 1½1½111
    Locrian AB♭CDE♭FG ½11½111

    Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

    Analysis of chord tonality by scale position. (For reasons that will become clearer in the next section, I’m using Super-Locrian as the top scale of melodic minor’s “circle of fifths” order.)

    Chord tonalities by scale position & mode (melodic minor, linear order)
    Mode1234567
    1Ionian ♭3 Dorian ♯7 Melodic minor minmin AUG Maj Majdimdim
    2Dorian ♭2 Phrygian ♯6 Jazz minor inverse min AUG Maj Majdimdimmin
    3Phrygian ♭1 Lydian ♯5 Lydian augmented AUG Maj Majdimdimminmin
    4Lydian ♭7 Mixolydian ♯4 Lydian dominant Maj Majdimdimminmin AUG
    5Mixolydian ♭6 Aeolian ♯3 Aeolian dominant Majdimdimmindim AUG Maj
    6Aeolian ♭5 Locrian ♯2 Half-diminished dimdimminmin AUG Maj Maj
    7Locrian ♭4 Ionian ♯1 Super-Locrian dimminmin AUG Maj Majmin
    Chord tonalities by scale position & mode (melodic minor, “circle of fifths” order)
    Mode1234567
    7Locrian ♭4 Ionian ♯1 Super-Locrian dimminmin AUG Maj Majmin
    4Lydian ♭7 Mixolydian ♯4 Lydian dominant Maj Majdimdimminmin AUG
    1Ionian ♭3 Dorian ♯7 Melodic minor minmin AUG Maj Majdimdim
    5Mixolydian ♭6 Aeolian ♯3 Aeolian dominant Majdimdimminmin AUG Maj
    2Dorian ♭2 Phrygian ♯6 Jazz minor inverse min AUG Maj Majdimdimmin
    6Aeolian ♭5 Locrian ♯2 Half-diminished dimdimminmin AUG Maj Maj
    3Phrygian ♭1 Lydian ♯5 Lydian augmented AUG Maj Majdimdimminmin

    Oddly, melodic minor’s sucessive modes in circle of fifths order have no chords in common.

    Chords for C melodic minor’s parallel modes
    Mode1234567
    1C melodic minor C minD min E♭ aug F maj G majA dimB dim
    2C jazz minor inverse C min D♭ aug E♭ maj F majG dimA dimB♭ min
    3C Lydian augmented C aug D maj E majF♯ dimG♯ dimA minB min
    4C Lydian dominant C maj D majE dimF♯ dimG minA min B♭ aug
    5C Aeolian dominant C majD dimE dimF minG min A♭ aug B♭ maj
    6C half-diminished C dimD dimE♭ minF min G♭ aug A♭ maj B♭ maj
    7C Super-Locrian C dimD♭ minE♭ min F♭ aug G♭ maj A♭ majB♭ min
    Chords for C melodic minor’s relative modes
    Mode1234567
    1C melodic minor C minD min E♭ aug F maj G majA dimB dim
    2D jazz minor inverse D min E♭ aug F maj G majA dimB dimC min
    3E♭ Lydian augmented E♭ aug F maj G majA dimB dimC minD min
    4F Lydian dominant F maj G majA dimB dimC minD min E♭ aug
    5G Aeolian dominant G majA dimB dimC minD min E♭ aug F maj
    6A Half-diminished A dimB dimC minD min E♭ aug F maj G maj
    7B Super-Locrian B dimC minD min E♭ aug F maj G majA min

    Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

    The Ionian scale’s stability

    Let’s use a slightly more flexible root to compare melodic minor’s modes to Ionian’s in both directions – Ionian’s modes, melodic minor’s modes, and Dorian’s modes. Note especially how much stabler the Ionian scale’s root is.

    Melodic minor vs. Ionian & Dorian (rooted on C±½, “circle of fifths” order)
    Scale 1 234567Intervals
    C♯DEF♯G♯AB ½111½11
    Phrygian ♭1 Lydian ♯5Lydian augmented CDEF♯G♯AB 1111½1½
    Lydian CDEF♯GAB 111½11½
    C♯ Locrian C♯DEF♯GAB ½11½111
    Locrian ♭4 Ionian ♯1 C♯DEFGAB ½1½1111
    C Ionian CDEFGAB 11½111½
    Lydian CDEF♯GAB 111½11½
    Lydian ♭7 Mixolydian ♯4Lydian dominant CDEF♯GAB♭ 111½1½1
    Mixolydian CDEFGAB♭ 11½11½1
    Ionian CDEFGAB 11½111½
    Ionian ♭3 Dorian ♯7Melodic minor CDE♭FGAB 1½1111½
    Dorian CDE♭FGAB♭ 1½111½1
    Mixolydian CDEFGAB♭ 11½11½1
    Mixolydian ♭6 Aeolian ♯3Aeolian dominant CDEFGA♭B♭ 11½1½11
    Aeolian CDE♭FGA♭B♭ 1½11½11
    Dorian CDE♭FGAB♭ 1½111½1
    Dorian ♭2 Phrygian ♯6Jazz minor inverse CD♭E♭FGAB♭ ½1111½1
    Phrygian CD♭E♭FGA♭B♭ ½111½11
    Aeolian CDE♭FGA♭B♭ 1½11½11
    Aeolian ♭5 Locrian ♯2Half-diminished CDE♭FG♭A♭B♭ 1½1½111
    Locrian CD♭E♭FG♭A♭B♭ ½11½111
    Phrygian CD♭E♭FGA♭B♭ ½111½11
    Phrygian ♭1 Lydian ♯5 C♭D♭E♭FGA♭B♭ 1111½1½
    C♭ Lydian C♭D♭E♭FG♭A♭B♭ 111½11½
    Locrian CD♭E♭FG♭A♭B♭ ½11½111
    Locrian ♭4 Ionian ♯1Super-Locrian CD♭E♭F♭G♭A♭B♭ ½1½1111
    C♭D♭E♭F♭G♭A♭B♭ 11½111½

    Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

    None of these representations are perfect, but together, they may help illuminate how these scales’ modes are related. As you can see, it’s quite messy – we have to move our root up or down a half-step at points to preserve relationships to the Ionian scale and the circle of fifths. Whether we read melodic minor as Ionian ♭3 or as Dorian ♯7, we must move its root three times in a row to keep the circle of fifths progression stable:

    1. Half-diminished to Lydian augmented: lower it a half-step
    2. Lydian augmented to Super-Locrian: raise it a half-step
    3. Super-Locrian to Lydian dominant: lower it a half-step

    If the above table continued, its next three modes would be B Lydian, B Lydian dominant, and B Mixolydian – and a case could be made for rewriting its last six rows as B♯ Phrygian, B Lydian augmented, B Lydian, B♯ Locrian, B♯ Super-Locrian, and B Ionian.

    One further set of comparisons involves melodic minor and Mixolydian. Oddly, this lines up better in several respects: in particular, it lines up each scale’s symmetrical modes (Aeolian dominant and Dorian) and balances accidentals across the comparison (i.e., C♯ Super-Locrian and C Lydian each have one sharp; C Ionian has no accidentals, while C Lydian dominant has a sharp and a flat).

    Melodic minor vs. modes from Mixolydian (rooted on C±½, linear order)
    Scale 1 234567Intervals
    Ionian CDEFGAB 11½111½
    Lydian ♭7 Mixolydian ♯4Lydian dominant CDEF♯GAB♭ 111½1½1
    Dorian CDE♭FGAB♭ 1½111½1
    Mixolydian ♭6 Aeolian ♯3Aeolian dominant CDEFGA♭B♭ 11½1½11
    Phrygian CD♭E♭FGA♭B♭ ½111½11
    Aeolian ♭5 Locrian ♯2Half-diminished CDE♭FG♭A♭B♭ 1½1½111
    Lydian CDEF♯GAB 111½11½
    Locrian ♭4 Ionian ♯1 C♯DEFGAB ½1½1111
    Mixolydian CDEFGAB♭ 11½11½1
    Ionian ♭3 Dorian ♯7Melodic minor CDE♭FGAB 1½1111½
    Aeolian CDE♭FGA♭B♭ 1½11½11
    Dorian ♭2 Phrygian ♯6Jazz minor inverse CD♭E♭FGAB♭ ½1111½1
    Locrian CD♭E♭FG♭A♭B♭ ½11½111
    Phrygian ♭1 Lydian ♯5 C♭D♭E♭FGA♭B♭ 1111½1½
    Melodic minor vs. modes from Mixolydian (rooted on C±½, “circle of fifths” order)
    Scale 1 234567Intervals
    Lydian CDEF♯GAB 111½11½
    Locrian ♭4 Ionian ♯1 C♯DEFGAB ½1½1111
    Ionian CDEFGAB 11½111½
    Lydian ♭7 Mixolydian ♯4Lydian dominant CDEF♯GAB♭ 111½1½1
    Mixolydian CDEFGAB♭ 11½11½1
    Ionian ♭3 Dorian ♯7Melodic minor CDE♭FGAB 1½1111½
    Dorian CDE♭FGAB♭ 1½111½1
    Mixolydian ♭6 Aeolian ♯3Aeolian dominant CDEFGA♭B♭ 11½1½11
    Aeolian CDE♭FGA♭B♭ 1½11½11
    Dorian ♭2 Phrygian ♯6Jazz minor inverse CD♭E♭FGAB♭ ½1111½1
    Phrygian CD♭E♭FGA♭B♭ ½111½11
    Aeolian ♭5 Locrian ♯2Half-diminished CDE♭FG♭A♭B♭ 1½1½111
    Locrian CD♭E♭FG♭A♭B♭ ½11½111
    Phrygian ♭1 Lydian ♯5 C♭D♭E♭FGA♭B♭ 1111½1½

    Although this comparison swaps two interval pairs from the Ionian modes we’re comparing them to, it also only swaps two of their notes (which may include the root). There are two ways to read this set of transformations:

    1. Melodic minor swaps Mixolydian’s second interval with its third and its sixth with its seventh.
    2. Melodic minor swaps Mixolydian’s second and third intervals with its sixth and seventh.

    The latter is probably the more helpful way to read it. Since both these interval pairs collectively add up to three semitones, only the notes within each interval pair move.

    To preseve the pattern, harmonic minor’s modes must shift their roots in similar ways to melodic minor’s, except more unpredictably spaced (which feels inevitable, since its intervals are also less evenly spaced):

    1. Ionian augmented (#2) to Super-Locrian ♭7 (#3)
    2. Super-Locrian ♭7 (#3) to Lydian diminished (#4)
    3. Maqam Tarznauyn (#7) to Aeolian harmonic (#1)
    Harmonic minor’s modes revisited, or, please throw some snacks down this rabbit hole
    Scale 1 234567Intervals
    Lydian ♯2Aeolian harmonic CD♯EF♯GAB ½1½11½
    Lydian CDEF♯GAB 111½11½
    Ionian ♯5Ionian augmented CDEFG♯AB 11½½1½
    Ionian CDEFGAB 11½111½
    Mixolydian ♯1Super-Locrian ♭7 C♯DEFGAB♭ ½1½11½
    Mixolydian CDEFGAB♭ 11½11½1
    Dorian ♯4Lydian diminished CDE♭F♯GAB♭ 1½½1½1
    Dorian CDE♭FGAB♭ 1½111½1
    Aeolian ♯7Harmonic minor CDE♭FGA♭B 1½11½½
    Aeolian CDE♭FGA♭B♭ 1½11½11
    Phrygian ♯3Phrygian dominant CD♭EFGA♭B♭ ½½1½11
    Phrygian CD♭E♭FGA♭B♭ ½111½11
    Locrian ♯6Maqam Tarznauyn CD♭E♭FG♭AB♭ ½11½½1
    Locrian CD♭E♭FG♭A♭B♭ ½11½111

    Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

    The Ionian scale’s descent is comparatively stable: each transformation lowers only one note of the scale, and it lowers that note only by a semitone. As far as I can ascertain, it is the only heptatonic scale for which this is true. I hypothesize that this occurs because it comes as close as any heptatonic scale in twelve-tone equal temperament can come to having its notes evenly spaced, without being precisely even. Two whole tones, a semitone, three whole tones, and a semitone. The fact that these notes, in turn, traverse the circle of fifths from F to B is the other part of the puzzle.

    Descending through Ionian’s modes in circle of fifths order lowers one note every transformation by a semitone. Few other scale transformations are so simple. Harmonic and melodic minor’s transformations each lower two notes by a semitone and raise a third note by a semitone:

    Harmonic minor & melodic minor’s “circle of fifths” progressions
    Scale 1 234567 Shift from Previous Note
    C D E F♯ G A B −½ 0 0 0 0 0 0
    C D E F G A B 0 0 0 −½ 0 0 0
    C D E F G A B♭ 0 0 0 0 0 0 −½
    C D E♭ F G A B♭ 0 0 −½ 0 0 0 0
    C D E♭ F G A♭ B♭ 0 0 0 0 0 −½ 0
    C D♭ E♭ F G A♭ B♭ 0 −½ 0 0 0 0 0
    C D♭ E♭ F G♭ A♭ B♭ 0 0 0 0 −½ 0 0
    C♭ D♭ E♭ F G♭ A♭ B♭ −½ 0 0 0 0 0 0
    C D♯ E F♯ G A B −½ 0 0 0 −½ 0
    C D E F G♯ A B 0 −½ 0 −½ 0 0
    C♯ D E F G A B♭ 0 0 0 −½ 0 −½
    C D E♭ F♯ G A B♭ −½ 0 −½ 0 0 0
    C D E♭ F G A♭ B 0 0 0 −½ 0 −½
    C D♭ E F G A♭ B♭ 0 −½ 0 0 0 −½
    C D♭ E♭ F G♭ A B♭ 0 0 −½ 0 −½ 0
    C♭ D E♭ F G♭ A♭ B♭ −½ 0 0 0 −½ 0
    C♭ D♭ E♭ F♭ G A♭ B♭ 0 −½ 0 −½ 0 0
    C D♭ E♭ F♭ G♭ A♭ B𝄫 0 0 0 −½ 0 −½
    C♭ D♭ E𝄫 F G♭ A♭ B𝄫 −½ 0 −½ 0 0 0
    Phrygian ♭1 Lydian ♯5 C Lydian augmented C D E F♯ G♯ A B −½ −½ 0 0 0 0
    Locrian ♭4 Ionian ♯1 C♯ D E F G A B 0 0 −½ −½ 0 0
    Lydian ♭7 Mixolydian ♯4 C Lydian dominant C D E F♯ G A B♭ −½ 0 0 0 0 −½
    Ionian ♭3 Dorian ♯7 C melodic minor C D E♭ F G A B 0 0 −½ −½ 0 0
    Mixolydian ♭6 Aeolian ♯3 C Aeolian dominant C D E F G A♭ B♭ 0 0 0 0 −½ −½
    Dorian ♭2 Phrygian ♯6 C jazz minor inverse C D♭ E♭ F G A B♭ 0 −½ −½ 0 0 0
    Aeolian ♭5 Locrian ♯2 C half-diminished C D E♭ F G♭ A♭ B♭ 0 0 0 −½ −½ 0
    Phrygian ♭1 Lydian ♯5 C♭ D♭ E♭ F G A♭ B♭ −½ −½ 0 0 0 0
    Locrian ♭4 Ionian ♯1 C Super-Locrian C D♭ E♭ F♭ G♭ A♭ B♭ 0 0 −½ −½ 0 0

    Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

    Note a few additional patterns here:

    (At some point, I plan to make equivalents of §3’s charts for at least melodic minor and harmonic minor, and perhaps for some of the Greek scales I discuss below as well… but not until I’ve written programs to automate their generation, which could take anywhere from a few days to months.)

    Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

    Mathematical proof of even spacing

    Ionian has the most even interval distribution any seven-note scale can have in 12-TET, and I’ll prove it.

    1. In n-tone equal temperament, for an s-note scale, divide n by s to determine the mean interval size, expressed in units of 1/n octave (i.e., the smallest possible interval; in 12-TET, a semitone).

      12/7 is 1.714285714….
    2. If there is a remainder, discard it to get the scale’s lower interval size, and add one to the result to get its larger interval size. If there is no remainder, skip the rest of this proof; you’re done (but, as Oliver Messiaen would’ve already told you, you won’t have any other modes).

      That’s 1. So all intervals in the scale should be at least a semitone (and, in fact, must be).
    3. Take the modulus of the temperament size and the scale size to determine how many intervals will get an extra 1/n octave added to them.

      12 modulo 7 is 5. Thus, we have five leftover half-steps to add to five of the intervals.
    4. Subtract the number of leftovers from the number of notes in the scale to determine how many intervals don’t get an extra 1/n octave.

      7 - 5 is 2. Thus, five intervals have added semitones, two don’t. Five whole steps, two half steps.
    5. To determine the most even interval distribution, first divide the number of occurrences of the more frequent interval by the number of occurrences of the less frequent one.

      • If the divisor is 0, you need to work on your reading comprehension: step 2 already told you to stop.
      • If the less frequent interval occurs multiple times and the quotient is an integer, the scale will repeat the same pattern multiple times per octave and is therefore a mode of limited transposition.
      • If the less frequent interval occurs nearly as often as the more frequent one, you may need to repeat some of these steps, replacing n with the count of the more frequent interval and s with the count of the less frequent one.
      5 / 2 = 2.5. There should be a median of 2.5 occurrences of the more frequent interval in a row.
    6. The interval distribution should take roughly this form: small group of more frequent interval, less frequent interval, large group of more frequent interval, less frequent interval. If there are more than two groups of the less frequent interval, determining the optimal distribution may require repeating some of these steps, replacing with n the more frequent interval’s count and s with the less frequent one’s count.

      Since we can’t have a whole step exactly 2.5 times in a row, we’ll have to have two in one group and three in another. That gives us two whole tones, a semitone, three whole tones, and a semitone. That’s Ionian. I literally just described the Ionian scale. Median number of whole tones in a row: 2.5. Therefore, its semitones are as evenly spread out as they possibly can be between its whole tones.

    Surely that also applies to its complement, right? Let’s look at the pentatonic scale.

    1. In n-tone equal temperament, for an s-note scale, divide n by s to determine the mean interval size, expressed in units of 1/n octave (i.e., the smallest possible interval; in 12-TET, a semitone).

      12/5 is 2.4.
    2. If there is a remainder, discard it to get the scale’s lower interval size, and add one to the result to get its larger interval size. If there is no remainder, skip the rest of this proof; you’re done (but, as Oliver Messiaen would’ve already told you, you won’t have any other modes).

      That’s 2. So all intervals in the scale should be at least a whole tone.
    3. Take the modulus of the temperament size and the scale size to determine how many intervals will get an extra 1/n octave added to them.

      12 modulo 5 is 2. So we have two leftover half-steps to add to two of the intervals.
    4. Subtract the number of leftovers from the number of notes in the scale to determine how many intervals don’t get an extra 1/n octave.

      5 - 2 is 3. Thus, two intervals have extra semitones, three won’t. Three whole steps, two minor thirds.
    5. To determine the most even interval distribution, first divide the number of occurrences of the more frequent interval by the number of occurrences of the less frequent one.

      • If the divisor is 0, you need to work on your reading comprehension: step 2 already told you to stop.
      • If the less frequent interval occurs multiple times and the quotient is an integer, the scale will repeat the same pattern multiple times per octave and is therefore a mode of limited transposition.
      • If the less frequent interval occurs nearly as often as the more frequent one, you may need to repeat some of these steps, replacing n with the count of the more frequent interval and s with the count of the less frequent one.
      3 / 2 = 1.5. There should be a median of 1.5 occurrences of the more frequent interval in a row.
    6. The interval distribution should take roughly this form: small group of more frequent interval, less frequent interval, large group of more frequent interval, less frequent interval. If there are more than two groups of the less frequent interval, determining the optimal distribution may require repeating some of these steps, replacing with n the more frequent interval’s count and s with the less frequent one’s count.

      Since we can’t have exactly 1.5 whole steps in a row, we’ll have to have two in one group and one by itself. That gives us two whole tones, a minor third, a whole tone, and a minor third. Which, again, is the pentatonic scale.

    Of course, we already knew this. If the Ionian scale has the most even interval distribution a heptatonic scale can have in 12-TET, its complement must also have the most even interval distribution a pentatonic scale can have in 12-TET, by definition. Nonetheless, it’s nice to prove it mathematically.

    Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

    Other single-note transformations of Ionian

    So far, we’ve almost exclusively explored single-note transformations of Ionian and its modes:

    Do other single-note transformations exist? Yes, but fewer than you might expect:

    Thus, eight single-note transformations create heptatonic scales that aren’t other modes of Ionian. (I’ve printed the five we haven’t yet explored in bold, blue text.)

    Threshold of Transformation
    Scale 1 234567 Intervals
    Ionian ♯1C♯DEFGAB½1½1111
    CD♭EFGAB½½111½
    CD♯EFGAB½½111½
    Ionian ♭3CDE♭FGAB1½1111½
    CDEFG♭AB11½½1½
    Ionian ♯5CDEFG♯AB11½½1½
    CDEFGA♭B11½1½½
    CDEFGA♯B11½1½½

    Expanding those gives us:

    4. Expand, expand, expand. Clear forest, make land, fresh blood on hands
    Scale 1 234567 Intervals
    Ionian ♭2 CD♭EFGAB ½½111½
    Dorian ♭1 C♭DE♭FGAB♭ ½111½½
    Phrygian ♭7 CD♭E♭FGA♭B𝄫 ½111½½
    Lydian ♭6 CDEF♯GA♭B 111½½½
    Mixolydian ♭5 CDEFG♭AB♭ 11½½½1
    Aeolian ♭4 CDE♭F♭GA♭B♭ 1½½½11
    Locrian ♭3 CD♭E𝄫FG♭A♭B♭ ½½½111
    Ionian ♯2 CD♯EFGAB ½½111½
    Dorian ♯1 C♯DE♭FGAB♭ ½½111½
    Phrygian ♯7 CD♭E♭FGA♭B ½111½½
    Lydian ♯6 CDEF♯GA♯B 111½½½
    Mixolydian ♯5 CDEFG♯AB♭ 11½½½1
    Aeolian ♯4 CDE♭F♯GA♭B♭ 1½½½11
    Locrian ♯3 CD♭EFG♭A♭B♭ ½½½111
    Ionian ♭5 CDEFG♭AB 11½½1½
    Dorian ♭4 CDE♭F♭GAB♭ 1½½1½1
    Phrygian ♭3 CD♭E𝄫FGA♭B♭ ½½1½11
    Lydian ♭2 CD♭EF♯GAB ½1½11½
    Mixolydian ♭1 C♭DEFGAB♭ 1½11½½
    Aeolian ♭7 CDE♭FGA♭B𝄫 1½11½½
    Locrian ♭6 CD♭E♭FG♭A𝄫B♭ ½11½½1
    Ionian ♯6 CDEFGA♯B 11½1½½
    Dorian ♯5 CDE♭FG♯AB♭ 1½1½½1
    Phrygian ♯4 CD♭E♭F♯GA♭B♭ ½1½½11
    Lydian ♯3 CDE♯F♯GAB 1½½11½
    Mixolydian ♯2 CD♯EFGAB♭ ½½11½1
    Aeolian ♯1 C♯DE♭FGA♭B♭ ½½11½1
    Locrian ♯7 CD♭E♭FG♭A♭B ½11½1½
    Ionian ♭6 CDEFGA♭B 11½1½½
    Dorian ♭5 CDE♭FG♭AB♭ 1½1½½1
    Phrygian ♭4CD♭E♭F♭GA♭B♭ ½1½½11
    Lydian ♭3 CDE♭F♯GAB 1½½11½
    Mixolydian ♭2 CD♭EFGAB♭ ½½11½1
    Aeolian ♭1C♭DE♭FGA♭B♭ ½11½1½
    Locrian ♭7CD♭E♭FG♭A♭B𝄫 ½11½1½

    Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

    Or, in circle of fifths order:

    5. Why just shells? Why limit yourself? She sells seashells; sell oil as well
    Scale 1 234567 Intervals
    Lydian ♭6 CDEF♯GA♭B 111½½½
    Ionian ♭2 CD♭EFGAB ½½111½
    Mixolydian ♭5 CDEFG♭AB♭ 11½½½1
    Dorian ♭1 C♭DE♭FGAB♭ ½111½½
    Aeolian ♭4 CDE♭F♭GA♭B♭ 1½½½11
    Phrygian ♭7 CD♭E♭FGA♭B𝄫 ½111½½
    Locrian ♭3 CD♭E𝄫FG♭A♭B♭ ½½½111
    Lydian ♯6 CDEF♯GA♯B 111½½½
    Ionian ♯2 CD♯EFGAB ½½111½
    Mixolydian ♯5 CDEFG♯AB♭ 11½½½1
    Dorian ♯1 C♯DE♭FGAB♭ ½½111½
    Aeolian ♯4 CDE♭F♯GA♭B♭ 1½½½11
    Phrygian ♯7 CD♭E♭FGA♭B ½111½½
    Locrian ♯3 CD♭EFG♭A♭B♭ ½½½111
    Lydian ♭2 CD♭EF♯GAB ½1½11½
    Ionian ♭5 CDEFG♭AB 11½½1½
    Mixolydian ♭1 C♭DEFGAB♭ 1½11½½
    Dorian ♭4 CDE♭F♭GAB♭ 1½½1½1
    Aeolian ♭7 CDE♭FGA♭B𝄫 1½11½½
    Phrygian ♭3 CD♭E𝄫FGA♭B♭ ½½1½11
    Locrian ♭6 CD♭E♭FG♭A𝄫B♭ ½11½½1
    Lydian ♯3 CDE♯F♯GAB 1½½11½
    Ionian ♯6 CDEFGA♯B 11½1½½
    Mixolydian ♯2 CD♯EFGAB♭ ½½11½1
    Dorian ♯5 CDE♭FG♯AB♭ 1½1½½1
    Aeolian ♯1 C♯DE♭FGA♭B♭ ½½11½1
    Phrygian ♯4 CD♭E♭F♯GA♭B♭ ½1½½11
    Locrian ♯7 CD♭E♭FG♭A♭B ½11½1½
    Lydian ♭3 CDE♭F♯GAB 1½½11½
    Ionian ♭6 CDEFGA♭B 11½1½½
    Mixolydian ♭2 CD♭EFGAB♭ ½½11½1
    Dorian ♭5 CDE♭FG♭AB♭ 1½1½½1
    Aeolian ♭1 C♭DE♭FGA♭B♭ ½11½1½
    Phrygian ♭4 CD♭E♭F♭GA♭B♭ ½1½½11
    Locrian ♭7 CD♭E♭FG♭A♭B𝄫 ½11½1½

    Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

    Note that Dorian ♭1 is the mathematical inverse of Dorian ♯1, as is Dorian ♯5 of Dorian ♭4. Dorian ♭5 is likewise the mathematical inverse of Dorian ♯4, harmonic minor’s fourth mode. To clarify:

    6. Guns, sell stocks, sell diamonds, sell rocks, sell water to a fish, sell the time to a clock
    Scale 1 234567 Intervals
    Lydian ♭6 CDEF♯GA♭B 111½½½
    Locrian ♯3 CD♭EFG♭A♭B♭ ½½½111
    Ionian ♭2 CD♭EFGAB ½½111½
    Phrygian ♯7 CD♭E♭FGA♭B ½111½½
    Mixolydian ♭5 CDEFG♭AB♭ 11½½½1
    Aeolian ♯4 CDE♭F♯GA♭B♭ 1½½½11
    Dorian ♭1 C♭DE♭FGAB♭ ½111½½
    Dorian ♯1 C♯DE♭FGAB♭ ½½111½
    Aeolian ♭4 CDE♭F♭GA♭B♭ 1½½½11
    Mixolydian ♯5 CDEFG♯AB♭ 11½½½1
    Phrygian ♭7 CD♭E♭FGA♭B𝄫 ½111½½
    Ionian ♯2 CD♯EFGAB ½½111½
    Locrian ♭3 CD♭E𝄫FG♭A♭B♭ ½½½111
    Lydian ♯6 CDEF♯GA♯B 111½½½
    Lydian ♭2 CD♭EF♯GAB ½1½11½
    Locrian ♯7 CD♭E♭FG♭A♭B ½11½1½
    Ionian ♭5 CDEFG♭AB 11½½1½
    Phrygian ♯4 CD♭E♭F♯GA♭B♭ ½1½½11
    Mixolydian ♭1 C♭DEFGAB♭ 1½11½½
    Aeolian ♯1 C♯DE♭FGA♭B♭ ½½11½1
    Dorian ♭4 CDE♭F♭GAB♭ 1½½1½1
    Dorian ♯5 CDE♭FG♯AB♭ 1½1½½1
    Aeolian ♭7 CDE♭FGA♭B𝄫 1½11½½
    Mixolydian ♯2 CD♯EFGAB♭ ½½11½1
    Phrygian ♭3 CD♭E𝄫FGA♭B♭ ½½1½11
    Ionian ♯6 CDEFGA♯B 11½1½½
    Locrian ♭6 CD♭E♭FG♭A𝄫B♭ ½11½½1
    Lydian ♯3 CDE♯F♯GAB 1½½11½
    Lydian ♭3 CDE♭F♯GAB 1½½11½
    Locrian ♯6 CD♭E♭FG♭AB♭ ½11½½1
    Ionian ♭6 CDEFGA♭B 11½1½½
    Phrygian ♯3 CD♭EFGA♭B♭ ½½1½11
    Mixolydian ♭2 CD♭EFGAB♭ ½½11½1
    Aeolian ♯7 CDE♭FGA♭B 1½11½½
    Dorian ♭5 CDE♭FG♭AB♭ 1½1½½1
    Dorian ♯4 CDE♭F♯GAB♭ 1½½1½1
    Aeolian ♭1 C♭DE♭FGA♭B♭ ½11½1½
    Mixolydian ♯1 C♯DEFGAB♭ ½1½11½
    Phrygian ♭4 CD♭E♭F♭GA♭B♭ ½1½½11
    Ionian ♯5 CDEFG♯AB 11½½1½
    Locrian ♭7 CD♭E♭FG♭A♭B𝄫 ½11½1½
    Lydian ♯2 CD♯EF♯GAB ½1½11½

    Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

    Scale transformations and symmetry

    The above data aren’t very easy to parse. Clearly, some of these transformations produce more symmetrical and (for lack of a better term) stabler scales than others. The question is, why? I’m still piecing together the answer, but a piece of the puzzle has to do with note distributions.

    The Ionian scale is internally symmetrical: Dorian mode has the same interval order forwards and backwards. Ionian is tied among heptatonic scales in 12-TET for the smallest number of semitone intervals (only two), and it has fewer tritones than any other heptatonic scale in 12-TET. Also – and this is probably the most important fact here – Ionian has the most uniform note distribution among heptatonic scales in 12-TET, but – and this part is equally important – it isn’t completely uniform. As we’ll see later when we discuss modes of limited transposition, completely uniform scales don’t even have modes.

    Transforming a single note can thus completely destroy the scale symmetry. As it happens, of all the single-note transformations that produce symmetrical scales, both sets produce versions of the melodic minor scale, which we’ve already examined. Not coincidentally, this also is the closest heptatonic scale within 12-TET to Ionian’s stability respective to the circle of fifths: while one must transform each note three times for its equivalent of Ionian’s descent through its modes, at least it’s the same note three times in a row.

    Another important note is that each transformation of Ionian that raises a note has an equal and opposite transformation that lowers a note and produces the first transformation’s reflection. For twelve of the fourteen transformations that produce modes of melodic minor, that reflection is another mode of melodic minor; for the remaining two, that reflection is itself, but is applied to a different mode of Ionian:

    While writing Ionian’s modes this way is pretentious, we can say the same of its own internal transformations:

    All single-note transformations of the Ionian scale that don’t create hexatonic scales or modes of melodic minor or Ionian result in scales with enantiomorphs (Attic Greek: ἐναντίος, enantíos, opposite, + μορφή, morphḗ, form), which all appear in different sets of single-note transformations of the Ionian scale. Only scales without internal reflective symmetry have enantiomorphs. This means that:

    In the following table, I’ve taken the liberty of rotating Lydian ♯5 to the end of the first set of scale comparisons, and Locrian ♭4 to the start of the second. I had several reasons for this:

    1. This places the symmetrical mode, Aeolian ♯3 / Mixolydian ♭6, in the center of the comparisons.
    2. The table’s other comparisons are between two discrete sets of scale transformations, but here, we compare a set of scale transformations to itself. This places our comparison in sync with itself.
    3. These are the table’s only comparisons of single-note transformations that can be derived from two discrete parent modes. Oddly, shifting the scales like this actually approximates our usual circle of fifths order:

      • Both sets now open with Ionian ♯1 / Locrian ♭4, between which is Lydian.
      • Both sets now close with Lydian ♯5 / Phrygian ♭1, between which is Locrian.
    4. Remember in the pentatonic scale analysis how I said symmetrical modes should be circle-order comparisons’ central rows? Now it is.
    5. This results in a few additional quirks:

      1. The 7×7 interval inset has 180° rotational symmetry.
      2. Both halves also have identical interval distributions, with a pattern that spans across them.

    Other one-note transformations don’t produce symmetrical scales; therefore, they have reflections.

    I specifically used Dorian mode for these examples because it’s symmetrical in the base scale, but we can still make similar comparisons for the other six modes, since they each have reflections within the Ionian scale:

    Thus, the reflection of a transformation of a non-palindromic mode applies to the parent mode’s reflection:

    We can observe all this in the table below.

    7. Press on the gas, take your foot off the brakes; then run to be the president of the United States
    Scale 1 234567 Intervals
    Ionian ♯1 Locrian ♭4 C♯DEFGAB ½1½1111
    Mixolydian ♯4 Lydian ♭7 CDEF♯GAB♭ 111½1½1
    Dorian ♯7 Ionian ♭3 CDE♭FGAB 1½1111½
    Aeolian ♯3 Mixolydian ♭6 CDEFGA♭B♭ 11½1½11
    Phrygian ♯6 Dorian ♭2 CD♭E♭FGAB♭ ½1111½1
    Locrian ♯2 Aeolian ♭5 CDE♭FG♭A♭B♭ 1½1½111
    Lydian ♯5 Phrygian ♭1 C♭D♭E♭FGA♭B♭ 1111½1½
    Locrian ♭4 Ionian ♯1 C♯DEFGAB ½1½1111
    Lydian ♭7 Mixolydian ♯4 CDEF♯GAB♭ 111½1½1
    Ionian ♭3 Dorian ♯7 CDE♭FGAB 1½1111½
    Mixolydian ♭6 Aeolian ♯3 CDEFGA♭B♭ 11½1½11
    Dorian ♭2 Phrygian ♯6 CD♭E♭FGAB♭ ½1111½1
    Aeolian ♭5 Locrian ♯2 CDE♭FG♭A♭B♭ 1½1½111
    Phrygian ♭1 Lydian ♯5 C♭D♭E♭FGA♭B♭ 1111½1½
    Lydian ♭2 CD♭EF♯GAB ½1½11½
    Ionian ♭5 CDEFG♭AB 11½½1½
    Mixolydian ♭1 C♭DEFGAB♭ 1½11½½
    Dorian ♭4 CDE♭F♭GAB♭ 1½½1½1
    Aeolian ♭7 CDE♭FGA♭B𝄫 1½11½½
    Phrygian ♭3 CD♭E𝄫FGA♭B♭ ½½1½11
    Locrian ♭6 CD♭E♭FG♭A𝄫B♭ ½11½½1
    Lydian ♯3 CDE♯F♯GAB 1½½11½
    Ionian ♯6 CDEFGA♯B 11½1½½
    Mixolydian ♯2 CD♯EFGAB♭ ½½11½1
    Dorian ♯5 CDE♭FG♯AB♭ 1½1½½1
    Aeolian ♯1 C♯DE♭FGA♭B♭ ½½11½1
    Phrygian ♯4 CD♭E♭F♯GA♭B♭ ½1½½11
    Locrian ♯7 CD♭E♭FG♭A♭B ½11½1½
    Lydian ♭3 CDE♭F♯GAB 1½½11½
    Ionian ♭6 CDEFGA♭B 11½1½½
    Mixolydian ♭2 CD♭EFGAB♭ ½½11½1
    Dorian ♭5 CDE♭FG♭AB♭ 1½1½½1
    Aeolian ♭1 C♭DE♭FGA♭B♭ ½11½1½
    Phrygian ♭4 CD♭E♭F♭GA♭B♭ ½1½½11
    Locrian ♭7 CD♭E♭FG♭A♭B𝄫 ½11½1½
    Lydian ♯2 CD♯EF♯GAB ½1½11½
    Ionian ♯5 CDEFG♯AB 11½½1½
    Mixolydian ♯1 C♯DEFGAB♭ ½1½11½
    Dorian ♯4 CDE♭F♯GAB♭ 1½½1½1
    Aeolian ♯7 CDE♭FGA♭B 1½11½½
    Phrygian ♯3 CD♭EFGA♭B♭ ½½1½11
    Locrian ♯6 CD♭E♭FG♭AB♭ ½11½½1
    Lydian ♭6 CDEF♯GA♭B 111½½½
    Ionian ♭2 CD♭EFGAB ½½111½
    Mixolydian ♭5 CDEFG♭AB♭ 11½½½1
    Dorian ♭1 C♭DE♭FGAB♭ ½111½½
    Aeolian ♭4 CDE♭F♭GA♭B♭ 1½½½11
    Phrygian ♭7 CD♭E♭FGA♭B𝄫 ½111½½
    Locrian ♭3 CD♭E𝄫FG♭A♭B♭ ½½½111
    Lydian ♯6 CDEF♯GA♯B 111½½½
    Ionian ♯2 CD♯EFGAB ½½111½
    Mixolydian ♯5 CDEFG♯AB♭ 11½½½1
    Dorian ♯1 C♯DE♭FGAB♭ ½½111½
    Aeolian ♯4 CDE♭F♯GA♭B♭ 1½½½11
    Phrygian ♯7 CD♭E♭FGA♭B ½111½½
    Locrian ♯3 CD♭EFG♭A♭B♭ ½½½111

    Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

    One obvious symmetrical scale can’t be produced with a single-note transformation to the Ionian scale (though we can produce it by swapping two intervals; it’s also equivalent to the whole-tone scale with a note added). Its interval distribution is quite far from uniform, and it’s also all but impossible to relate to any sort of circle of fifths order. We’ve already studied it at length, but I haven’t shown it with every mode rooted on C, so here it is.

    8. Big smile, mate; big wave, that’s great; now the truth is overrated; tell lies out the gate
    Scale 1 234567 Intervals
    Locrian major CDEFG♭A♭B♭ 11½½111
    Super-Locrian ♭2 CDE♭F♭G♭A♭B♭ 1½½1111
    Leading whole-tone inverse CD♭E𝄫F♭G♭A♭B♭ ½½11111
    Melodic Phrygian CD♭E♭FGAB ½11111½
    Leading whole-tone CDEF♯G♯A♯B 11111½½
    Lydian dominant augmented CDEF♯G♯AB♭ 1111½½1
    Lydian dominant ♭6 CDEF♯GA♭B♭ 111½½11

    Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

    I’m also bizarrely partial to the Major Phyrgian scale, which has its own fearful symmetry, to coin a phrase. It’s more closely related to the Ancient Greek chromatic genus, which I cover below in the section on Ancient Greek harmony, than it is to the Ionian scale. We’ll therefore revisit it later.

    9. Polarise the people; controversy is the game; it don’t matter if they hate you if they all say your name
    Scale 1 234567 Intervals
    Hungarian Romani minor inverse CD♭EFG♭AB♭ ½½½½1
    Ionian augmented ♯2 CD♯EFG♯AB ½½½1½
    Kanakāngi ♭5 CD♭E𝄫FG♭A♭B𝄫 ½½½1½
    Major Phrygian CD♭EFGA♭B ½½1½½
    Rasikapriyā CD♯EF♯GA♯B ½1½½½
    Ultra-Phrygian CD♭E♭F♭GA♭B𝄫 ½1½½½
    Hungarian Romani minor CDE♭F♯GA♭B 1½½½½

    Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

    “What immortal hand or eye
    Could frame thy fearful symmetry?”

    Rotational symmetry: Modes of limited transposition

    The scales we’ve examined in detail thus far have as many modes as they have notes. A seven-note scale multiplied by twelve notes in the chromatic scale gives us eighty-four possible permutations of modes and root notes; pentatonic scales likewise have sixty possible permutations. However, this is not true of every scale (although, as we will eventually see, it is true of every pentatonic and heptatonic scale in 12-TET specifically).

    French composer Oliver Messiaen coined the term “modes of limited transposition” (acronym: MoLTs ) for scales that have fewer modes than notes. Such scales can be “simplified” into repetitions smaller than an octave.

    1. A scale with the same number of modes as notes is not a mode of limited transposition.
    2. A scale that can be transposed to a discrete set of notes for every note in the chromatic scale is not a mode of limited transposition.

    Messiaen identified seven possible patterns (beyond the chromatic scale in its entirety); eight “truncations” also remove notes in ways that conform to the patterns, and the chromatic scale itself meets Messiaen’s definition of a mode of limited transposition, making for a total of sixteen.

    Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

    Mode 1: The whole-tone scale

    Since the whole-tone scale repeats a single interval six times (W-W-W-W-W-W), it has only one mode (i.e., itself) that may only be made from two sets of notes:

    Whole-tone note sets
    # 1 2 3 4 5 6
    1 C D E F♯ G♯ A♯
    2 C♯ D♯ F G A B

    Multiplying one mode by six repetitions by two note sets gives us a total of twelve transpositions:

    Transpositions of the whole-tone scale
    TP123456P123456
    1 1 C D E F♯ G♯ A♯ 2 C♯ D♯ F G A B
    2 1 D E F♯ G♯ A♯ C 2 D♯ F G A B C♯
    3 1 E F♯ G♯ A♯ C D 2 F G A B C♯ D♯
    4 1 F♯ G♯ A♯ C D E 2 G A B C♯ D♯ F
    5 1 G♯ A♯ C D E F♯ 2 A B C♯ D♯ F G
    6 1 A♯ C D E F♯ G♯ 2 B C♯ D♯ F G A

    The whole-tone scale is the first mode of limited transposition, and the only one that has no other modes. (A few truncations of the modes of limited transposition also have no other modes, as we shall see below.)

    Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

    Mode 2: The octatonic scale

    The octatonic scale (H-W-H-W-H-W-H-W), Messiaen’s second mode of limited transposition, repeats a two-note pattern every three half-steps. Since its pattern has only two notes, it has only two modes:

    The second mode’s modes
    # 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
    1 ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ 1
    2 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 ½

    And since its pattern spans three half-steps, there are only three possible note sets:

    The second mode’s notes
    # 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
    1 C C♯ D♯ E F♯ G A A♯
    2 C♯ D E F G G♯ A♯ B
    3 D D♯ F F♯ G♯ A B C

    Does it make sense why we have to stop counting here? C octatonic’s third mode would start on D♯, but it would contain exactly the same notes as D♯ octatonic’s first mode, in exactly the same order! We can’t count them both, so the octatonic scale has six total permutations of modes and note sets.

    But if we have to stop counting modes at the end of each cluster, how do we calculate the number of discrete transpositions of the scale and its modes? As far as I can work out, the calculation is quite simple:

    1. (8 / 4 = 2) Divide the scale’s note count by its repetitions per octave to count its modes.
    2. (2 × 12 = 24) Multiply by the number of transpositions (which is always 12 in 12-TET).

    As we see below, the octatonic scale indeed has twenty-four total transpositions:

    Transposing the second mode of limited transposition
    M T P 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 M T P 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
    1 1 C C♯ D♯ E F♯ G A A♯ 1 1 C♯ D♯ E F♯ G A A♯ C
    2 C♯ D E F G G♯ A♯ B 2 D E F G G♯ A♯ B C♯
    3 D D♯ F F♯ G♯ A B C 3 D♯ F F♯ G♯ A B C D
    2 1 D♯ E F♯ G A A♯ C C♯ 2 1 E F♯ G A A♯ C C♯ D♯
    2 E F G G♯ A♯ B C♯ D 2 F G G♯ A♯ B C♯ D E
    3 F F♯ G♯ A B C D D♯ 3 F♯ G♯ A B C D D♯ F
    3 1 F♯ G A A♯ C C♯ D♯ E 3 1 G A A♯ C C♯ D♯ E F♯
    2 G G♯ A♯ B C♯ D E F 2 G♯ A♯ B C♯ D E F G
    3 G♯ A B C D D♯ F F♯ 3 A B C D D♯ F F♯ G♯
    4 1 A A♯ C C♯ D♯ E F♯ G 4 1 A♯ C C♯ D♯ E F♯ G A
    2 A♯ B C♯ D E F G G♯ 2 B C♯ D E F G G♯ A♯
    3 B C D D♯ F F♯ G♯ A 3 C D D♯ F F♯ G♯ A B

    Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

    Mode 3: The triple chromatic scale

    The third mode of limited transposition repeats a three-interval pattern across four half-steps; thus, it has three unique modes that may be constructed from four possible sets of notes, for a total of twelve permutations of notes per four-half-step cluster:

    The third mode of limited transposition
    M S 1 23456789Intervals
    1 1 CDD♯ EF♯G G♯A♯B 1½½ 1½½ 1½½
    2 C♯D♯E FGG♯ ABC
    3 DEF F♯G♯A A♯CC♯
    4 D♯FF♯ GAA♯ BC♯D
    2 1 DD♯E F♯GG♯ A♯BC ½½1 ½½1 ½½1
    2 D♯EF GG♯A BCC♯
    3 EFF♯ G♯AA♯ CC♯D
    4 FF♯G AA♯B C♯DD♯
    3 1 D♯EF♯ GG♯A♯ BCD ½1½ ½1½ ½1½
    2 EFG G♯AB CC♯D♯
    3 FF♯G♯ AA♯C C♯DE
    4 F♯GA A♯BC♯ DD♯F

    I leave filling in the rest of the table as an exercise for the reader. A quick hint: You should wind up with three sets of twelve scales that each walk up the chromatic scale by half-steps, for a total of thirty-six.

    Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

    Mode 4: The double chromatic scale

    Modes 4 through 7 all repeat patterns of various lengths twice an octave. Since the fourth mode of limited transposition has eight total notes, it has forty-eight possible transpositions.

    The fourth mode of limited transposition
    M S 1 2345678Intervals
    1 1 CC♯DF F♯GG♯B ½½½½½½
    2 C♯DD♯F♯ GG♯AC
    3 DD♯EG G♯AA♯C♯
    4 D♯EFG♯ AA♯BD
    5 EFF♯A A♯BCD♯
    6 FF♯GA♯ BCC♯E
    2 1 CC♯EFF♯GA♯B ½½½ ½½½
    2 C♯DFF♯GG♯BC
    3 DD♯F♯GG♯ACC♯
    4 D♯EGG♯AA♯C♯D
    5 EFG♯AA♯BDD♯
    6 FF♯AA♯BCD♯E
    3 1 CD♯EFF♯AA♯B ½½½ ½½½
    2 C♯EFF♯GA♯BC
    3 DFF♯GG♯BCC♯
    4 D♯F♯GG♯ACC♯D
    5 EGG♯AA♯C♯DD♯
    6 FG♯AA♯BDD♯E
    4 1 CC♯DD♯F♯GG♯A ½½½ ½½½
    2 C♯DD♯EGG♯AA♯
    3 DD♯EFG♯AA♯B
    4 D♯EFF♯AA♯BC
    5 EFF♯GA♯BCC♯
    6 FF♯GG♯BCC♯D

    Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

    Mode 5: The tritone chromatic scale

    The fifth mode has six notes and repeats twice an octave; therefore, it has thirty-six possible transpositions.

    The fifth mode of limited transposition
    M S 1 23456Intervals
    1 1 CC♯FF♯GB ½2½ ½2½
    2 C♯DF♯GG♯C
    3 DD♯GG♯AC♯
    4 D♯EG♯AA♯D
    5 EFAA♯BD♯
    6 FF♯A♯BCE
    2 1 CEFF♯A♯B 2½½2½½
    2 C♯FF♯GBC
    3 DF♯GG♯CC♯
    4 D♯GG♯AC♯D
    5 EG♯AA♯DD♯
    6 FAA♯BD♯E
    3 1CC♯DF♯GG♯ ½½2½½2
    2 C♯DD♯GG♯A
    3 DD♯EG♯AA♯
    4 D♯EFAA♯B
    5 EFF♯A♯BC
    6 FF♯GBCC♯

    Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

    Mode 6: The whole-tone chromatic scale

    Messiaen’s sixth mode of limited transposition repeats a four-note, six-half-step pattern. Four modes, six note combinations per mode, twenty-four note permutations per cluster, two clusters per octave, forty-eight permutations of roots and modes across the entire chromatic scale.

    The sixth mode of limited transposition
    M S 1 2345678Intervals
    1 1 CDEFF♯G♯A♯B 11½½11½½
    2 C♯D♯FF♯GABC
    3 DEF♯GG♯A♯CC♯
    4 D♯FGG♯ABC♯D
    5 EF♯G♯AA♯CDD♯
    6 FGAA♯BC♯D♯E
    2 1 CDD♯EF♯G♯AA♯ 1½½11½½1
    2 C♯D♯EFGAA♯B
    3 DEFF♯G♯A♯BC
    4 D♯FF♯GABCC♯
    5 EF♯GG♯A♯CC♯D
    6 FGG♯ABC♯DD♯
    3 1 CC♯DEF♯GG♯A♯ ½½11½½11
    2 C♯DD♯FGG♯AB
    3 DD♯EF♯G♯AA♯C
    4 D♯EFGAA♯BC♯
    5 EFF♯G♯A♯BCD
    6 FF♯GABCC♯D♯
    4 1 CC♯D♯FF♯GAB ½11½½11½
    2 C♯DEF♯GG♯A♯C
    3 DD♯FGG♯ABC♯
    4 D♯EF♯G♯AA♯CD
    5 EFGAA♯BC♯D♯
    6 FF♯G♯A♯BCDE

    Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

    Mode 7: Duplex genus secundum inverse

    This decatonic scale repeats the same pattern twice an octave; thus, it has sixty possible transpositions.

    The seventh mode of limited transposition
    M S 1 2345678910Intervals
    1 1 CC♯DD♯F F♯GG♯AB ½½½1½ ½½½1½
    2 C♯DD♯EF♯ GG♯AA♯C
    3 DD♯EFG G♯AA♯BC♯
    4 D♯EFF♯G♯ AA♯BCD
    5 EFF♯GA A♯BCC♯D♯
    6 FF♯GG♯A♯ BCC♯DE
    2 1 CC♯DEF F♯GG♯A♯B ½½1½½½½1½½
    2 C♯DD♯FF♯ GG♯ABC
    3 DD♯EF♯G G♯AA♯CC♯
    4 D♯EFGG♯ AA♯BC♯D
    5 EFF♯G♯A A♯BCDD♯
    6 FF♯GAA♯ BCC♯D♯E
    3 1 CC♯D♯EF F♯GAA♯B ½1½½½½1½½½
    2 C♯DEFF♯ GG♯A♯BC
    3 DD♯FF♯G G♯ABCC♯
    4 D♯EF♯GG♯ AA♯CC♯D
    5 EFGG♯A A♯BC♯DD♯
    6 FF♯G♯AA♯ BCDD♯E
    4 1 CDD♯EF F♯G♯AA♯B 1½½½½1½½½½
    2 C♯D♯EFF♯ GAA♯BC
    3 DEFF♯G G♯A♯BCC♯
    4 D♯FF♯GG♯ ABCC♯D
    5 EF♯GG♯A A♯CC♯DD♯
    6 FGG♯AA♯ BC♯DD♯E
    5 1 CC♯DD♯E F♯GG♯AA♯ ½½½½1½½½½1
    2 C♯DD♯EF GG♯AA♯B
    3 DD♯EFF♯ G♯AA♯BC
    4 D♯EFF♯G AA♯BCC♯
    5 EFF♯GG♯ A♯BCC♯D
    6 FF♯GG♯A BCC♯DD♯

    Truncations & implications

    To illustrate MoLT truncation, let’s strip every other note of the first two MoLTs. The results may look familiar:

    1. Whole-tone: An augmented chord.

      Transposing the augmented chord
      P/T 1 2 3 P/T 1 2 3 P/T 1 2 3 P/T 1 2 3
      A/1 C E G♯ A/2 C♯ F A A/3 D F♯ A♯ A/4 D♯ G B
      B/1 E G♯ C B/2 F A C♯ B/3 F♯ A♯ D B/4 G B D♯
      C/1 G♯ C E C/2 A C♯ F C/3 A♯ D F♯ C/4 B D♯ G
    2. Octatonic: A diminished seventh chord.

      Transposing the diminished seventh chord
      P/T 1 2 3 4 P/T 1 2 3 4 P/T 1 2 3 4 P/T 1 2 3 4
      A/1 C D♯ F♯ A B/1 D♯ F♯ A C C/1 F♯ A C D♯ D/1 A C D♯ F♯
      A/2 C♯ E G A♯ B/2 E G A♯ C♯ C/2 G A♯ C♯ E D/2 A♯ C♯ E G
      A/3 D F G♯ B B/3 F G♯ B D C/3 G♯ B D F D/3 B D F G♯

    (Note: Each arrangement of the three diminished seventh chords appears on the same line as its rotations; by contrast, the augmented chord’s three-note sets are 3×3 squares. For each chord, A/2 precedes B/1.)

    Some additional notes:

    Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

    Mode 0: The chromatic scale

    The chromatic scale itself merits further discussion. It repeats one interval twelve times (H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H). Thus, it has only one mode, which in turn may only be made from one permutation of notes. The chromatic scale can therefore be transposed in twelve different ways across the entire, um, chromatic scale:

    Permuatations of the chromatic scale
    #123456789101112
    1CC♯DD♯EFF♯GG♯AA♯B
    2C♯DD♯EFF♯GG♯AA♯BC
    3DD♯EFF♯GG♯AA♯BCC♯
    4D♯EFF♯GG♯AA♯BCC♯D
    5EFF♯GG♯AA♯BCC♯DD♯
    6FF♯GG♯AA♯BCC♯DD♯E
    7F♯GG♯AA♯BCC♯DD♯EF
    8GG♯AA♯BCC♯DD♯EFF♯
    9G♯AA♯BCC♯DD♯EFF♯G
    10AA♯BCC♯DD♯EFF♯GG♯
    11A♯BCC♯DD♯EFF♯GG♯A
    12BCC♯DD♯EFF♯GG♯AA♯

    By extension, we might consider the chromatic scale the Zeroth Mode of Limited Transposition: all other scales in twelve-tone equal temperament are truncations of it.

    Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

    All modes of limited transposition in 12-TET

    In 12-TET, sixteen scales meet all necessary criteria for modes of limited transposition, with thirty-eight modes between them (in total, they are missing sixty-four modes). I listed intervals in semitones and only listed one mode of each scale. See the section on scale counts by size for all modes of each.

    MoLTs at a glance
    Notes     Intervals     Modes
    12 111111111111 1
    10 1111211112 5
    9 112112112 3
    8 12121212 2
    11131113 4
    11221122 4
    6 222222 1
    131313 2
    114114 3
    123123 3
    132132 3
    4 3333 1
    1515 2
    2424 2
    3 444 1
    2 66 1
    MoLTs at a glance
    Notes Intervals
    (semitones)
    Modes NotesIntervals
    (semitones)
    Modes NotesIntervals
    (semitones)
    Modes NotesIntervals
    (semitones)
    Modes
    12 111111111111 1 10 1111211112 5 9 112112112 3 8 12121212 2
    8 11131113 4 8 11221122 4 6 222222 1 6 131313 2
    6 114114 3 6 123123 3 6 132132 3 4 3333 1
    4 1515 2 4 2424 2 3 444 1 2 66 1

    Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

    These scales have the following note distributions across their parallel modes:

    Note distributions of parallel modes of limited transposition
    ScaleCC♯DD♯EFF♯GG♯AA♯B
    Mode 0 (111111111111)111111111111
    Mode 7 (1112111121)544444544444
    Mode 3 (211211211)322232223222
    Mode 4 (11311131)432223432223
    Mode 6 (22112211)423232423232
    Mode 2 (12121212)211211211211
    Mode 5 (141141)321012321012
    Mode 2 Truncation 1 (321321)311211311211
    Mode 3 Truncation (131313)210121012101
    Mode 2 Truncation 2 (231231)311211311211
    Mode 1 (222222)101010101010
    Mode 5 Truncation 1 (1515)210001210001
    Mode 6 Truncation (2424)201010201010
    Diminished Seventh (3333)100100100100
    Augmented Chord (444)100010001000
    Tritone (66)100000100000

    Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

    Adjusting these numbers to account for the missing modes gives us the following distributions:

    Note distributions of parallel modes of limited transposition (adjusted for inflation)
    ScaleCC♯DD♯EFF♯GG♯AA♯B
    Mode 0 (111111111111)121212121212121212121212
    Mode 7 (1112111121)10888881088888
    Mode 3 (211211211)966696669666
    Mode 4 (11311131)864446864446
    Mode 6 (22112211)846464846464
    Mode 2 (12121212)844844844844
    Mode 5 (141141)642024642024
    Mode 2 Truncation 1 (321321)622422622422
    Mode 3 Truncation (131313)630363036303
    Mode 2 Truncation 2 (231231)622422622422
    Mode 1 (222222)606060606060
    Mode 5 Truncation 1 (1515)420002420002
    Mode 6 Truncation (2424)402040204020
    Diminished Seventh (3333)400400400400
    Augmented Chord (444)300030003000
    Tritone (66)200000200000

    Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

    Single-note transformations of modes of limited transposition

    I mentioned that I’d return to melodic Phrygian, alternating heptamode, alternating heptamode inverse, apathetic minor, and Pacific after we’d covered modes of limited transposition. 12-TET cannot contain heptatonic modes of limited transposition, but melodic Phrygian, alternating heptamode, and alternating heptamode inverse are single-note transformations of modes of limited transposition. For instance:

    The scale transformations we apply to each of these scales to produce their modes consist solely of moving the added or deleted note by the interval at which their parent modes of limited transposition repeat, which is why they don’t take us through the entire chromatic scale. Here’s a note distribution comparison, adjusted for inflation limited transposition (i.e., the whole-tone scale is short 5 modes and the octatonic scale is short 3, so to facilitate 1:1 comparisons, I’ve multiplied the whole-tone scale’s values by 6 and the octatonic scale’s values by 4).

    Note distributions across parallel modes (…again‽ But that trick never works!)
    ScaleCC♯DD♯EFF♯GG♯AA♯B
    Ionian 7 2 5 4 3 6 2 6 3 4 5 2
    Chromatic heptatonic 7 6 5 4 3 2 2 2 3 4 5 6
    Melodic Phrygian 7 2 6 2 6 2 6 2 6 2 6 2
    Whole-tone 6 0 6 0 6 0 6 0 6 0 6 0
    (Difference) 1 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2
    Whole-tone chromatic 8 4 6 4 6 4 8 4 6 4 6 4
    Melodic Phrygian 7 2 6 2 6 2 6 2 6 2 6 2
    (Difference) 1 2 0 2 0 2 2 2 0 2 0 2
    Octatonic 8 4 4 8 4 4 8 4 4 8 4 4
    Alternating heptamode 7 3 3 6 3 3 6 3 3 6 3 3
    (Difference) 1 1 1 2 1 1 2 1 1 2 1 1
    Double chromatic 8 6 4 4 4 6 8 6 4 4 4 6
    Apathetic minor 7 5 3 2 3 5 6 5 3 2 3 5
    (Difference) 1 1 1 2 1 1 2 1 1 2 1 1

    Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

    Note also that the whole-tone scale is rotationally symmetrical by two semitones, the octatonic scale is rotationally symmetrical by three semitones, and the double chromatic and whole-tone chromatic scales are rotationally symmetrical by six semitones. That is, the whole-tone scale’s distribution repeats every two semitones, the octatonic scale’s every three semitones, and the double chromatic and whole-tone chromatic scales’ every six semitones. This is axiomatically equivalent to their being modes of limited transposition.

    Now, note how melodic Phrygian, alternating heptamode, and apathetic minor come to duplicating those distributions: in fact, disregarding the root note, alternating heptamode has exactly (octatonic’s adjusted distributions × ¾), and melodic Phrygian has exactly ((whole-tone’s adjusted distributions × ⅔) + 2). The root note is the outlier here because, by definition, it must always occur in every mode of any scale.

    It should be fairly obvious why melodic Phrygian and its modes are 12-TET’s only heptatonic single-note transformations of the whole-tone scale: we may only add notes into six gaps, which are all whole steps; thus, all such transformations must change one whole step into two half-steps.

    12-TET contains three different octatonic modes of limited transposition, namely Messiaen’s modes 2, 4, and 6. Can we derive other similar heptatonic scales in similar ways? That is, can deleting a single note of the octatonic, double chromatic, or whole-tone chromatic scales create other scales whose modes can in turn all be derived through single-note transformations to themselves? I believe I’ve exhausted all the possibilities, but I haven’t mathematically proved that yet.

    Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

    Microtonal corollaries

    Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

    Reflective symmetry

    As it turns out, counting the octave and the chromatic scale, sixty-four modes of fifty-one scales in twelve-tone equal temperament have interval distributions with reflective symmetry. They are:

    (I will explain the scale names soon™.)

    One-note reflective symmetry: the octave
    Scale 1 Intervals
    A01.αA001C6
    Two-note reflective symmetry: the tritone
    Scale 12 Intervals
    B06.αB006CF♯33
    Three-note reflective symmetry (five scales, five modes)
    Scale 123 Intervals
    C01.βC010CC♯B½5½
    C10.βC018CDA♯141
    C16.βC025CD♯A3
    C19.αC031CEG♯222
    C13.βC036CFG1
    Tetratonic reflective symmetry (three scales, five modes)
    Scale 1234 Intervals
    D05.βD035CC♯F♯B½½
    D36.βD070CDF♯A♯1221
    D43.αD097CD♯F♯A
    D36.δD117CEF♯G♯2112
    D05.δD131CFF♯G½½
    Pentatonic reflective symmetry (ten scales, ten modes)
    Scale 12345 Intervals
    E01.γE036CC♯DA♯B½½4½½
    E13.βE063CC♯D♯AB½131½
    E17.βE082CC♯EG♯B½2½
    E20.βE094CC♯FGB½212½
    E34.γE146CDD♯AA♯1½3½1
    E55.γE220CD♯EG♯A½2½
    E31.εE266CEFGG♯2½1½2
    E65.εE232CD♯FGA111
    E66.βE177CDFGA♯111
    E64.γE165CDEG♯A♯11211
    Hexatonic reflective symmetry (six scales, ten modes)
    Scale 123456 Intervals
    F04.γF074CC♯DF♯A♯B½½22½½
    F33.βF129CC♯D♯F♯AB½11½
    F42.βF162CC♯EF♯G♯B½11½
    F47.βF179CC♯FF♯GB½2½½2½
    F42.εF304CDFF♯GA♯1½½1
    F33.εF373CD♯FF♯GA1½½1
    F04.ζF407CEFF♯GG♯2½½½½2
    F65.ζF356CD♯EF♯G♯A½11½
    F65.γF254CDD♯F♯AA♯1½½1
    F80.αF287CDEF♯G♯A♯111111
    Heptatonic reflective symmetry (ten scales, ten modes)
    Scale 1234567 Intervals
    G01.δG056CD♭E𝄫F𝄫G𝄪A♯B½½½3½½½
    G09.γG090CD♭E𝄫F♭G♯A♯B½½121½½
    G44.βG159CD♭E♭F♭G♯AB½1½2½1½
    G45.δG284CDE♭F♭G♯AB♭1½½2½½1
    G11.γG107CD♭E𝄫FGA♯B½½1½½
    G55.βG209CD♭EFGA♭B½½1½½
    G37.ηG389CD♯EFGA♭B𝄫½½1½½
    G64.ζG334CDEFGA♭B♭11½1½11
    G66.γG301CDE♭FGAB♭1½111½1
    G49.βG176CD♭E♭FGAB½11111½
    Octatonic reflective symmetry (five scales, ten modes)
    Scale 12345678 Intervals
    H03.δH065CC♯DD♯F♯AA♯B½½½½½½
    H17.γH111CC♯DFF♯GA♯B½½½½½½
    H17.ηH185CC♯EFF♯GG♯B½½½½½½
    H03.θH295CD♯EFF♯GG♯A½½½½½½
    H41.δH237CDD♯EF♯G♯AA♯1½½11½½1
    H40.ζH249CDD♯FF♯GAA♯1½1½½1½1
    H15.ηH268CDEFF♯GG♯A♯11½½½½11
    H41.βH166CC♯D♯FF♯GAB½11½½11½
    H40.βH154CC♯D♯EF♯G♯AB½1½11½1½
    H15.γH099CC♯DEF♯G♯A♯B½½1111½½
    Enneatonic reflective symmetry (five scales, five modes)
    Scale 123456789 Intervals
    I01.εI035CC♯DD♯EG♯AA♯B½½½½2½½½½
    I05.δI049CC♯DD♯FGAA♯B½½½111½½½
    I13.γI069CC♯DEFGG♯A♯B½½1½1½1½½
    I19.βI096CC♯D♯EFGG♯AB½1½½1½½1½
    I16.ιI131CDD♯EFGG♯AA♯1½½½1½½½1
    Decatonic reflective symmetry (three scales, five modes)
    Scale 123456789A Intervals
    J02.εJ020CC♯DD♯EF♯G♯AA♯B½½½½11½½½½
    J04.δJ025CC♯DD♯FF♯GAA♯B½½½1½½1½½½
    J06.γJ031CC♯DEFF♯GG♯A♯B½½1½½½½1½½
    J04.ιJ038CC♯D♯EFF♯GG♯AB½1½½½½½½1½
    J02.κJ046CDD♯EFF♯GG♯AA♯1½½½½½½½½1
    Hendecatonic reflective symmetry (one scales, one modes)
    Scale 123456789AB Intervals
    K01.ζK006CC♯DD♯EFGG♯AA♯B½½½½½1½½½½½
    Dodecatonic reflective symmetry (the chromatic scale)
    Scale 123456789ABC Intervals
    L01.αL001CC♯DD♯EFF♯GG♯AA♯B½½½½½½½½½½½½

    There are 205 discrete scales in twelve-tone equal temperament, which seems like an arbitrary number. The reason is that 51 of its scales possess internal reflective symmetry across at least one axis. Counting the reflectively symmetrical scales twice gives us 205 + 51 = 256 (2⁸).

    The 154 scales without reflective symmetry are called chiral scales – they have no axes of reflective symmetry, so another scale serves as their enantiomorph (Greek: ἐναντίος, enantíos, opposite, and μορφή, morphḗ, form). The 51 symmetrical (or achiral) scales have no enantiomorphs: every reflection of any mode of an achiral scale is either itself (if the mode itself is symmetrical) or another mode of that scale. For instance, the reflection of Ionian is Phrygian; the reflection of Dorian is Dorian. Between its 51 symmetrical scales and 77 pairs of chiral scales, 12-TET contains 128 (2⁷) discrete pitch sets. I’ll examine these more in the coming weeks.

    Note that the heptatonic and chromatic scales above are scale complements:

    Symmetrical scale complements
    PentatonicE01E13E17E20E34E55E31E65E66E64
    HeptatonicG01G09G44G45G11G55G37G64G66G49

    Strangely, we don’t see the pattern hold across other sets of scale complements.

    Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

    A crash course in Ancient Greek harmony

    Etymology

    Ionian and its modes are named for places in or near ancient Greece and/or ancient Greek tribes:

    Αἱ ἐτῠμολογῐ́αι τῶν ἑπτᾰ́ τόνων
    (Hai etumologíai tô heptá tónōn)
    [The seven modes’ etymologies]
    #Mode Greek Romanized Reference
    1Ionian Ἰωνία Iōnía region on the western coast of Anatolia (modern Turkey)
    2Dorian Δωρῐεύς Dōrieús one of the four major Hellenic tribes
    3Phrygian Φρῠγῐ́ᾱ Phrugíā kingdom in west-central Anatolia
    4Lydian Λῡδῐ́ᾱ Lūdíā Anatolian kingdom most famously ruled by Croesus
    5Mixolydianμιξο-Λῡ́δῐοςmixo-Lū́diosliterally “mixed Lydian”
    6Aeolian Αἰολῐ́ᾱ Aiolíā region of northwestern Anatolia
    7Locrian Λοκρῐ́ς Lokrís Three discrete regions ⟨en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locris⟩ of ancient Greece

    However, they have little to do with the regions or tribes they were named after, or even the ancient Greek tonoi (singular: tonos) that in many cases shared their names; it was more a case of “medieval Europeans thought it’d be cool to name their modes after aspects of Ancient Greece.”

    Tonos comes from the ancient Greek ὁ τόνος, ho tónos, meaning cord, chord⁽⁵⁾, note, tone, or tension; its dual nominative form was τὼ τόνω, tṑ tónō, and its plural nominative form was οἱ τόνοι, hoi tónoi. As for the word diatonic, that comes from the Ancient Greek διατονικός (diatonikós), literally meaning two tones, in reference to the diatonic tetrachord, which… well, keep reading.

    Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

    Ancient Greek Harmony: The Cliffs Notes

    This is an oversimplification by necessity, as ancient Greek music theory wasn’t unified;⁽⁶⁾ Philolaus (Φιλόλαος, Philólaos), Archytas (Ἀρχύτας), Aristoxenus (Ἀριστόξενος ὁ Ταραντῖνος, Aristóxenos ho Tarantínos), Ptolemy (Πτολεμαῖος, Ptolemaios), and others had quite different conceptions of it. I will list modern sources in an acknowledgement section below.

    I should first clarify that very little music of ancient Greece actually survives to this day; the earliest known piece that can reasonably be described as complete is the Seikilos epitaph ⟨en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seikilos_epitaph⟩ from the first or second century CE, and while we have an idea what its melody sounded like, how it would have been harmonized is a matter of conjecture. (Older pieces still survive in fragments, such as the Hurrian songs ⟨en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurrian_songs⟩, one of which is nearly complete.) Greek authors actually provided fairly complete descriptions of tuning practices, and in at least Archytas’ case, modern scholars believe he was describing the actual practices of his day, but we don’t really know how Greek music sounded; on some level, we’re taking the word of contemporary authors, only some of whom seem to have been especially concerned with describing actual musical practice.⁽⁷⁾

    I’ll be using numbers to represent the intervals of ancient Greek harmony within 24-tone equal temperament ⟨en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quarter_tone⟩ (24-TET), which adds an additional 12 notes exactly halfway between each note of the familiar 12-note chromatic scale. In 24-TET, an exact ratio of ²⁴√2:1 determines the spacing of the smallest interval (known as a quarter-tone, downminor second, infra second, or wide unison), thus:

    Interval key
    # Interval Tone Exact Approximate
     ¼Infra secondQuarter-tone ²⁴√2:11.02930223664
     ½Minor secondSemitone ¹²√2:11.05946309436
    Major secondWhole tone ⁶√2:11.12246204831
    Minor third Three semitones ⁴√2:11.18920711500
    Major third Two whole tones ³√2:11.25992104989

    Note that in scales with only whole-steps and half-steps, I’ll use H (i.e., Half) interchangeably with ½, and W (i.e., Whole) interchangeably with 1. In all other scales, I’ll only use the numbers.

    24-TET is by necessity an oversimplification as well, not least since different authors defined the same interval differently. For instance, here are how Philolaus, Archytas, and 24-TET would define the intervals within a diatonic tetrachord. (A tetrachord is a major element of Greek harmony consisting of four notes.)

    Also, I’ve taken the liberty of reversing what they called the first and third intervals – ancient Greek harmony defined scales in what we would consider descending order. But then, the ancient Greek metaphor for time literally inverted the modern one: they saw the past as receding away in front of us, continually getting ever more distant, and the future as creeping up from behind us. I actually find their metaphor far more apt than ours: who can actually see the future? And our memories of the past get more distant every day.

    I don’t know if this metaphor affected how they described changes over time. I may be overthinking this, but if they thought of the past as in front of them, they may not have perceived this as a descent. I don’t have enough information to know if concrete proof exists one way or the other. Certainly, where the ancient Greeks refer to time, translators must be aware of their metaphor, and anyone who reads translated Greek writing that concerns time should take the differences into account (and even ask if the translator knew of them).

    Interval ratios of a diatonic tetrachord
    Source Low interval Middle interval High interval
    Philolaus256 :2431.05349794239 9:8=1.125 9:8=1.125
    Archytas 28 :27 =1.0370370370… 8:7=1.142857142857… 9:8=1.125
    24-TET ¹²√2:1 1.05946309436⁶√2:11.12246204831 ⁶√2:11.12246204831

    Thus, representing ancient Greek harmony using 24-TET is a substantial oversimplification, and in point of fact, we’d get closer to Archytas’ definitions in 24-TET by using a quarter tone for the low interval and 1¼-tone (that is, the interval between a major second and a minor third, known as an infra third or ultra second) for the middle interval. However, the intervals I’ve selected (a minor second and two major seconds) are closer to Philolaus’ definitions and, crucially, can be represented in modern Western music’s 12-TET.

    As one further example, both Philolaus and Archytas define a diatonic tetrachord’s high and low notes as having 4:3 (1.33333…) ratios, which 24-TET would represent using a perfect fourth (≈1.33483985417). Most people’s ears are insufficiently trained to tell the difference – even trained singers with perfect pitch frequently wander off-key by larger differences than that (at least when they’re not subjected to pitch alteration⁽⁸⁾).

    The same ancient Greek tonos could actually use any of three genera (singular: genus). Each tonos contained two tetrachords, four-note sets spanning a 4:3 ratio, or perfect fourth. The note spacing varied between genera, but all three used one interval once per tetrachord and another interval twice, in the following order:

    Interval Genera: A Feed from Cloud Mountain
    Genus Low intervalMiddle intervalHigh interval
    EnharmonicInfra secondInfra second Major third
    Chromatic Minor secondMinor second Minor third
    Diatonic Minor secondMajor second Major second

    The tetrachords and synaphai’s positions, meanwhile, varied between tonoi, with notable consequences:

    Since tetrachords spanned 4:3 ratios, synaphai were mathematically constrained to 9:8, or major seconds:

    Note that enharmonic has a different meaning in twelve-tone equal temperament than it has in ancient Greek harmony (or any tuning system that uses microtonality). In 12-TET, enharmonic means two tones have the same pitch. In ancient Greek harmony, it refers to an interval spacing smaller than a semitone and to the tuning system that used it. As stated, I’ll approximate this interval in 24-TET with quarter-tones.

    Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

    Pythagoras with the looking glass: Comparing interval ratios

    One point in twelve-tone equal temperament’s favor is how closely it approximates every foundational interval of Pythagorean tuning. In the chart headers below, P stands for Pythagorean, M for Modern (i.e., 12-TET), R for Ratio, and Q for Quotient. The final column shows 12-TET’s difference from Pythagorean tuning.

    A comparison of Pythagorean tuning & twelve-tone equal temperament
    IntervalPRPQMRMQMQPQ
    Octave2:122¹⁄₁=2=+0
    Perfect fifth3:21.52⁷⁄₁₂≈1.49830707688≈−0.00169292312
    Perfect fourth4:31.3333333…2⁵⁄₁₂≈1.33483985417+0.00150652083
    Major third81:641.2656252¹⁄₃≈1.25992104989≈−0.00570395011
    Diminished fourth8192:65611.248590153942¹⁄₃≈1.259921049890.01133089595
    Minor third32:271.1851851…2¹⁄₄≈1.18920711500+0.00402192982
    Major second9:81.1252¹⁄₆≈1.12246204831≈−0.00253795169
    Minor second256:2431.0534979…2¹⁄₁₂≈1.05946309436+0.00596515197

    So 12-TET is within about 0.0015 of the Pythagorean ratios for perfect fourths and fifths; its major second is off by about 0.0025; its minor third is off by about 0.004; and its major third and minor second are off by about 0.006. Only an incredibly well-trained ear could discern any of these differences.

    The only interval where 12-TET is off by more than 0.01 is the diminished fourth – which doesn’t really exist in 12-TET. It’s the result of subtracting two Pythagorean minor thirds from an octave. Since Pythagorean note spacing wasn’t even, an octave minus two minor thirds produced a different interval than a major third. In 12-TET, it’s just a major third. Unlike many diminished intervals, the Pythagorean diminished fourth is quite consonant – in fact it’s actually closer to a 5:4 ratio than the major third is, so this may not be surprising. In any case, both the modern and Pythagorean major third and minor third closely approximate 5:4 (1.25) and 6:5 (1.2) ratios, which may be part of why our ears find them so harmonically pleasing.

    Incidentally, all Pythagorean interval ratios are based on powers of two and three, and Pythagorean intervals smaller than perfect fifths can be derived through a sequence of ratio division. To wit:

    Pythagorean interval division (or is it subtraction?)
    DividendDivisorQuotient
    Octave2¹:3⁰2:1
    Perfect fifth3¹:2¹3:2
    Octave2¹:3⁰2:1Perfect fifth3¹:2¹3:2Perfect fourth2²:3¹4:3
    Perfect fifth3¹:2¹3:2Perfect fourth2²:3¹4:3Major second3²:2³9:8
    Perfect fourth2²:3¹4:3Major second3²:2³9:8Minor third2⁵:3³32:27
    Minor third2⁵:3³32:27Major second3²:2³9:8Minor second2⁸:3⁵256:243
    Minor third2⁵:3³32:27Minor second2⁸:3⁵256:243Diminished fourth2¹³:3⁸8192:6561
    Perfect fourth2²:3¹4:3Minor second2⁸:3⁵256:243Major third3⁴:2⁶81:64

    Note that while we’re dividing pitch ratios, we’re effectively subtracting intervals. Since pitch is a binary logarthmic scale, raising a note an octave doubles its pitch. In mathematical terms, log₂ (xy) equals the number of octaves between the notes represented by pitches x and y, which will be fractional if they’re not separated by an exact multiple of an octave, zero if x = y, and negative if y > x. This means that dividing 2:1 by 3:2 gives us a ratio of 4:3, but we’ve subtracted the note span of a perfect fifth from the octave, giving us a perfect fourth. Try not to think about it too hard and you might not get a headache.

    One interesting footnote to this: Remember the Fibonacci sequence? Start with 0 and 1, and repeatedly add the previous two numbers together. 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, etc.

    Now, look again at the ratios above. 0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, and 13 – all the numbers in the Fibonacci sequence up to 13 – appear both as exponents and, in the cases of 2 and 3, as bases. The major third is, in fact, the only interval in the above table that doesn’t use Fibonacci numbers as exponents – the octave can be expressed as 2¹:3⁰, and the perfect fifth is 3¹:2¹. The Fibonacci spiral truly is everywhere – although the Indian mathematician Acharya Pingala (Sanskrit: आचार्य पिङ्गल) is the first writer known to have explicitly described the sequence (ca. 200 BCE), there it is in Pythagorean tuning in 500 BCE.

    It may seem rather haphazard as to whether the ratio starts with a power of 3 or a power of 2; it may also seem rather haphazard as to whether we’re dividing the most recent interval by the second-most recent interval or vice versa. In both these cases, the answer simply depends on which is larger: the larger number appears first in the ratio, and the larger ratio serves as the dividend. Either way, the power of 2 is always one Fibonacci number ahead of the power of 3. Another way to think of the sequence is as follows:

    If the sequence continued, the next interval would be 2²¹:3¹³, or 2,097,152:1,594,323 (≈1.31538715806). As far as I know, this was not a Pythagorean interval, which probably won’t surprise anyone. Nor is it likely to surprise anyone that Fibonacci had his own tuning system, which I’ll undoubtedly write about soon™.

    Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

    Ancient Greek tonoi & modern modes

    A few notes:

    Here are all three genera of all seven tonoi, followed by the diatonic genus’ modern equivalent:

    Approximate intervals of Ancient Greek tonoi & modern diatonic modes
    Tonos Genus 1–2 2–3 3–4 4–5 5–6 6–7 7–8
    Mixolydian Enharmonic ¼ ¼ 2 ¼ ¼ 2 1
    Mixolydian Chromatic ½ ½ ½  ½ 1
    Mixolydian Diatonic ½ 1 1 ½ 1 1 1
    Lydian Enharmonic ¼ 2 ¼ ¼ 2 1¼
    Lydian Chromatic ½ ½  ½ 1½
    Lydian Diatonic 1 1 ½ 1 1 1½
    Phrygian Enharmonic 2 ¼ ¼ 2 1¼ ¼
    Phrygian Chromatic ½ ½ 1½ ½
    Phrygian Diatonic 1 ½ 1 1 1½ 1
    Dorian Enharmonic ¼ ¼ 2 1¼ ¼ 2
    Dorian Chromatic ½  ½ 1½ ½
    Dorian Diatonic ½ 1 1½ 1 1
    Hypolydian Enharmonic ¼ 1¼ ¼ 2 ¼
    Hypolydian Chromatic ½ 1½ ½ ½
    Hypolydian Diatonic 1 1 1½ 1 1 ½
    Hypophrygian Enharmonic 2 1¼ ¼ 2 ¼ ¼
    HypophrygianChromatic 1½ ½ ½ ½
    HypophrygianDiatonic 1 1½ 1 1 ½ 1
    Hypodorian Enharmonic 1 ¼ ¼ 2 ¼ ¼ 2
    Hypodorian Chromatic 1 ½ ½ ½ ½
    Hypodorian Diatonic 1 ½ 1 1 ½ 1 1

    The above table is quite abstract, so to follow it up, here are the actual scales. There is no particularly well-established standard for 24-TET notation. I’m choosing to use ʌ to mean “raise this note by a quarter tone” and v to mean “lower this note by a quarter tone.” As in the previous table, I’ve separated the tetrachords in the interval listing to make it clear where they occur, and I’ve highlighted the synaphe (a bit more so, even, because it will become a bit less legible shortly).

    Greek enharmonic tonoi (C roots, linear order)
    Enharmonic Tonos 1 234567Intervals
    Mixolydian CC♯FF♯ A♯¼ ¼ 2 ¼ ¼ 2 1
    Lydian CFvFCv¼ 2 ¼ ¼ 2 1¼
    Phrygian CEFvFABCv2 ¼ ¼ 2 1¼ ¼
    Dorian CC♯FGG♯¼ ¼ 2 1¼ ¼ 2
    Hypolydian CFvGv GCv¼ 2 1¼ ¼ 2 ¼
    Hypophrygian CEF♯Gv GBCv2 1¼ ¼ 2 ¼ ¼
    Hypodorian CDD♯ GG♯1¼ ¼ 2 ¼ ¼ 2

    Here are the chromatic tonoi rooted in C and, for the sake of representing what medieval Europeans might have thought they were, their inversions.

    Greek chromatic tonoi & their inversions (C roots, linear order)
    Chromatic Tonos 1 234567Intervals
    Mixolydian CD♭ E𝄫 FG♭ A𝄫 B♭ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1
    Lydian CD♭ EFG♭ AB½ ½ ½ 1½
    Phrygian CD♯ EFG♯ A♯ B½ ½ 1½ ½
    Dorian CD♭ E𝄫 FGA♭ B𝄫 ½ ½ 1½ ½
    Hypolydian CD♭ EF♯ GA♭ B½ 1½ ½ ½
    Hypophrygian CD♯ E♯ F♯ GA♯ B1½ ½ ½ ½
    Hypodorian CDE♭ F♭ GA♭ B𝄫 1½ ½ ½ ½
    Mixolydian inverse CDE♯ F♯ GA♯ B1 ½ ½ ½ ½
    Lydian inverse CD♭ E♭ F♯ GA♭ B½ 1 ½ ½ ½
    Phrygian inverse CD♭ E𝄫 F♭ GA♭ B𝄫 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½
    Dorian inverse CD♯ EFGA♯ B ½ ½ 1 ½ ½
    Hypolydian inverse CD♭ EFG♭ A♭ B½ ½ ½ 1 ½
    Hypophrygian inverseCD♭ E𝄫 FG♭ A𝄫 B𝄫 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1
    Hypodorian inverse CD♯ EFG♯ AB♭ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1

    Remember how I said above that Chromatic Dorian was directly relevant to this section? Well, there you go.

    Scale-based transposition now. My base scales are Chromatic Lydian and Chromatic Hypophrygian inverse; this is an admittedly arbitrary choice that I made purely because they use the fewest accidentals on C. This also creates a neat pattern in the table below:

    Greek chromatic tonoi & their inversions (mode-based roots, linear order)
    Chromatic Tonos 1 234567Intervals
    Mixolydian BCD♭EFG♭A ½½½½1
    Lydian CD♭EFG♭AB ½½½1½
    Phrygian D♭EFG♭ABC ½½1½½
    Dorian EFG♭ABCD♭ ½½1½½
    Hypolydian FG♭ABCD♭E ½1½½½
    Hypophrygian G♭ABCD♭EF 1½½½½
    Hypodorian ABCD♭EFG♭ 1½½½½
    Mixolydian inverse FGA♯BCD♯E 1½½½½
    Lydian inverse EFGA♯BCD♯ ½1½½½
    Phrygian inverse D♯EFGA♯BC ½½1½½
    Dorian inverse CD♯EFGA♯B ½½1½½
    Hypolydian inverse BCD♯EFGA♯ ½½½1½
    Hypophrygian inverse A♯BCD♯EFG ½½½½1
    Hypodorian inverse GA♯BCD♯EF ½½½½1

    The ancient Greek tonoi’s “circle of fifths” order is:

    1. Hypolydian
    2. Lydian
    3. Hypophrygian
    4. Phrygian
    5. Hypodorian
    6. Dorian
    7. Mixolydian

    This may help explain how the Greeks got the names Hypolydian, Hypophrygian, and Hypodorian in the first place: ὑπό (hupó) is literally Ancient Greek for under, and remember, the ancient Greeks’ scales went in what we consider descending order.

    I’m reversing the inverted scales’ order in the next table, since as its predecessor clearly demonstrates, they’re actually moving in the opposite direction from their namesakes. Also, I’m reintroducing Major Phrygian and its modes here, since they’re the midway point between the chromatic scales and their inversions.

    Greek chromatic tonoi & their variants (mode-based roots, “circle of fifths” order)
    Chromatic Tonos 1 234567Intervals
    Hypolydian FG♭ABCD♭E ½1½½½
    Lydian CD♭EFG♭AB ½½½1½
    Hypophrygian G♭ABCD♭EF 1½½½½
    Phrygian D♭EFG♭ABC ½½1½½
    Hypodorian ABCD♭EFG♭ 1½½½½
    Dorian EFG♭ABCD♭ ½½1½½
    Mixolydian BCD♭EFG♭A ½½½½1
    Ultra-Phrygian EFGA♭BCD♭ ½1½½½
    Kanakāngi ♭5 BCD♭EFGA♭ ½½½1½
    Hungarian Romani minor FGA♭BCD♭E 1½½½½
    Major Phrygian CD♭EFGA♭B ½½1½½
    Hungarian Romani minor inverse GA♭BCD♭EF ½½½½1
    Rasikapriyā D♭EFGA♭BC ½1½½½
    Ionian augmented ♯2 A♭BCD♭EFG ½½½1½
    Mixolydian inverse FGA♯BCD♯E 1½½½½
    Dorian inverse CD♯EFGA♯B ½½1½½
    Hypodorian inverse GA♯BCD♯EF ½½½½1
    Phrygian inverse D♯EFGA♯BC ½½1½½
    Hypophrygian inverse A♯BCD♯EFG ½½½½1
    Lydian inverse EFGA♯BCD♯ ½1½½½
    Hypolydian inverse BCD♯EFGA♯ ½½½1½

    So effectively, Lydian and Hypolydian keep one tetrachord in the same place; the other tetrachord just swaps places with the extra whole-step.⁽⁹⁾ This actually continues to be true throughout the rest of the chromatic scales. Effectively, the extra whole-step either moves three places forward or four places back. Dividing the Ionian scale in this way shows us the same thing occurring with it:

    Greek diatonic tonoi (C roots, circle of fifths order)
    ModernAncient1 234567Intervals
    Lydian Hypolydian CDEF♯ GAB1 1 1½ 1 1 ½
    Ionian Lydian CDEFGAB1 1 ½ 1 1 1½
    MixolydianHypophrygianCDEFGAB♭ 1 1½ 1 1 ½ 1
    Dorian Phrygian CDE♭ FGAB♭ 1 ½ 1 1 1½ 1
    Aeolian Hypodorian CDE♭ FGA♭ B♭ 1½ 1 1 ½ 1 1
    Phrygian Dorian CD♭ E♭ FGA♭ B♭ ½ 1 1 1½ 1 1
    Locrian Mixolydian CD♭ E♭ FG♭ A♭ B♭ ½ 1 1 ½ 1 1 1

    Every scale in this table lowers its predecessor’s extra whole-step to a half-step – and because the extra whole-step is always followed by a half-step, that half-step subsequently becomes a whole-step. This is, in fact, exactly the source of most of the patterns we’ve observed throughout our analysis of the Ionian scale. I don’t know how much the ancient Greeks mapped this out and how much of it simply stemmed from intuition, but if it was by design, the designer was a genius, and I’m sad that their name has been lost to history.

    Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

    Chromatic tonos analysis: The circle of fifths

    There’s no obvious equivalent of the circle of fifths progression for the chromatic genus, though; for reasons explained above, that’s a special property of the diatonic genus’ mathematical regularity. Rotating most scales requires making more changes to their intervals. Let’s see the scales on C again, this time with the tetrachord placement standardized around Major Phrygian’s layout (since it centers the synaphe within the middle row).

    I’ve numbered the scales so I can more clearly explain patterns. The first column (the Greek letters) refers to which scale a mode belongs to: that is, α denotes the chromatic tonoi, β denotes a mode of Major Phrygian, and γ denotes the inverse chromatic tonoi. The number denotes the linear mode order, corresponding to the Greeks’ order (thus, Mixolydian is first, Hypodorian last). I used the same synaphe positioning for all three, so the inverse chromatic scales have the reverse ordering (Hypodorian first, Mixolydian last). I will retain this numbering throughout future analysis of these scales.

    Greek chromatic tonoi & their variants (C roots, “circle of fifths” order)
    #Chromatic Tonos 1 234567Intervals
    α.6Hypophrygian CD♯ E♯ F♯ GA♯ B1½ ½ ½ ½
    α.3Phrygian CD♯ EFG♯ A♯ B½ ½ 1½ ½
    α.7Hypodorian CDE♭ F♭ GA♭ B𝄫 1½ ½ ½ ½
    α.4Dorian CD♭ E𝄫 FGA♭ B𝄫 ½ ½ 1½ ½
    α.1Mixolydian CD♭ E𝄫 FG♭ A𝄫 B♭ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1
    α.5Hypolydian CD♭ EF♯ GA♭ B½ 1½ ½ ½
    α.2Lydian CD♭ EFG♭ AB½ ½ ½ 1½
    β.6Ultra-Phrygian CD♭ E♭ F♭ GA♭ B𝄫 ½ 1½ ½ ½
    β.3Kanakāngi ♭5 CD♭ E𝄫 FG♭ A♭ B𝄫 ½ ½ ½ 1½
    β.7Hungarian Romani minor CDE♭ F♯ GA♭ B1½ ½ ½ ½
    β.4Major Phrygian CD♭ EFGA♭ B½ ½ 1½ ½
    β.1Hungarian Romani minor inverseCD♭ EFG♭ AB♭ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1
    β.5Rasikapriyā CD♯ EF♯ GA♯ B ½ 1½ ½ ½
    β.2Ionian augmented ♯2 CD♯ EFG♯ AB ½ ½ ½ 1½
    γ.6Lydian inverse CD♭ E♭ F♯ GA♭ B½ 1 ½ ½ ½
    γ.3Hypolydian inverse CD♭ EFG♭ A♭ B½ ½ ½ 1 ½
    γ.7Mixolydian inverse CDE♯ F♯ GA♯ B1 ½ ½ ½ ½
    γ.4Dorian inverse CD♯ EFGA♯ B ½ ½ 1 ½ ½
    γ.1Hypodorian inverse CD♯ EFG♯ AB♭ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1
    γ.5Phrygian inverse CD♭ E𝄫 F♭ GA♭ B𝄫 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½
    γ.2Hypophrygian inverse CD♭ E𝄫 FG♭ A𝄫 B𝄫 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1

    Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

    Their linear order looks like this:

    Greek chromatic tonoi & their variants (C roots, linear order)
    #Chromatic Tonos 1 234567Intervals
    α.1Mixolydian CD♭ E𝄫 FG♭ A𝄫 B♭ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1
    α.2Lydian CD♭ EFG♭ AB½ ½ ½ 1½
    α.3Phrygian CD♯ EFG♯ A♯ B½ ½ 1½ ½
    α.4Dorian CD♭ E𝄫 FGA♭ B𝄫 ½ ½ 1½ ½
    α.5Hypolydian CD♭ EF♯ GA♭ B½ 1½ ½ ½
    α.6Hypophrygian CD♯ E♯ F♯ GA♯ B1½ ½ ½ ½
    α.7Hypodorian CDE♭ F♭ GA♭ B𝄫 1½ ½ ½ ½
    β.1Hungarian Romani minor inverseCD♭ EFG♭ AB♭ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1
    β.2Ionian augmented ♯2 CD♯ EFG♯ AB ½ ½ ½ 1½
    β.3Kanakāngi ♭5 CD♭ E𝄫 FG♭ A♭ B𝄫 ½ ½ ½ 1½
    β.4Major Phrygian CD♭ EFGA♭ B½ ½ 1½ ½
    β.5Rasikapriyā CD♯ EF♯ GA♯ B ½ 1½ ½ ½
    β.6Ultra-Phrygian CD♭ E♭ F♭ GA♭ B𝄫 ½ 1½ ½ ½
    β.7Hungarian Romani minor CDE♭ F♯ GA♭ B1½ ½ ½ ½
    γ.1Hypodorian inverse CD♯ EFG♯ AB♭ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1
    γ.2Hypophrygian inverse CD♭ E𝄫 FG♭ A𝄫 B𝄫 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1
    γ.3Hypolydian inverse CD♭ EFG♭ A♭ B½ ½ ½ 1 ½
    γ.4Dorian inverse CD♯ EFGA♯ B ½ ½ 1 ½ ½
    γ.5Phrygian inverse CD♭ E𝄫 F♭ GA♭ B𝄫 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½
    γ.6Lydian inverse CD♭ E♭ F♯ GA♭ B½ 1 ½ ½ ½
    γ.7Mixolydian inverse CDE♯ F♯ GA♯ B1 ½ ½ ½ ½

    Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

    It fascinates me how these three sets of modes complement each other. Note the accidental distributions: the inversions have sharps bunched in the middle, the chromatic scales have flats bunched in the middle, and Major Phrygian has flats bunched above it and sharps below it. Of course, the interval distribution explains why that might have happened:

    In short, the accidental distribution is a direct consequence of the interval distribution. Comparing the same position across sets (i.e., α.1, β.1, γ.1, then α.2, β.2, γ.2, then α.3, β.3, γ.3, etc.) may clarify this:

    Greek chromatic tonoi & their variants (C roots, “aligned synaphai” order)
    #Chromatic Tonos 1 234567Intervals
    α.1Mixolydian CD♭ E𝄫 FG♭ A𝄫 B♭ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1
    β.1Hungarian Romani minor inverseCD♭ EFG♭ AB♭ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1
    γ.1Hypodorian inverse CD♯ EFG♯ AB♭ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1
    α.2Lydian CD♭ EFG♭ AB½ ½ ½ 1½
    β.2Ionian augmented ♯2 CD♯ EFG♯ AB ½ ½ ½ 1½
    γ.2Hypophrygian inverse CD♭ E𝄫 FG♭ A𝄫 B𝄫 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1
    α.3Phrygian CD♯ EFG♯ A♯ B½ ½ 1½ ½
    β.3Kanakāngi ♭5 CD♭ E𝄫 FG♭ A♭ B𝄫 ½ ½ ½ 1½
    γ.3Hypolydian inverse CD♭ EFG♭ A♭ B½ ½ ½ 1 ½
    α.4Dorian CD♭ E𝄫 FGA♭ B𝄫 ½ ½ 1½ ½
    β.4Major Phrygian CD♭ EFGA♭ B½ ½ 1½ ½
    γ.4Dorian inverse CD♯ EFGA♯ B ½ ½ 1 ½ ½
    α.5Hypolydian CD♭ EF♯ GA♭ B½ 1½ ½ ½
    β.5Rasikapriyā CD♯ EF♯ GA♯ B ½ 1½ ½ ½
    γ.5Phrygian inverse CD♭ E𝄫 F♭ GA♭ B𝄫 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½
    α.6Hypophrygian CD♯ E♯ F♯ GA♯ B1½ ½ ½ ½
    β.6Ultra-Phrygian CD♭ E♭ F♭ GA♭ B𝄫 ½ 1½ ½ ½
    γ.6Lydian inverse CD♭ E♭ F♯ GA♭ B½ 1 ½ ½ ½
    α.7Hypodorian CDE♭ F♭ GA♭ B𝄫 1½ ½ ½ ½
    β.7Hungarian Romani minor CDE♭ F♯ GA♭ B1½ ½ ½ ½
    γ.7Mixolydian inverse CDE♯ F♯ GA♯ B1 ½ ½ ½ ½

    Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

    Chromatic tonos analysis: Tetrachord swap

    So let’s run an experiment. Let’s allow ourselves to swap scales with the same Greek letters, while keeping the Arabic numeral the same. That is to say, without changing the position of any tetrachords, let’s swap scales between sets. The first set of scales will front-load the largest intervals, and the third set will back-load the largest intervals; balanced scales will go into the second set. Here are the results:

    Greek chromatic tonoi & their variants (C roots, “cyclical tetrachord swap” order)
    #Chromatic Tonos 1 234567Intervals
    α.6Hypophrygian CD♯ E♯ F♯ GA♯ B1½ ½ ½ ½
    α.3Phrygian CD♯ EFG♯ A♯ B½ ½ 1½ ½
    γ.7Mixolydian inverse CDE♯ F♯ GA♯ B1 ½ ½ ½ ½
    γ.4Dorian inverse CD♯ EFGA♯ B ½ ½ 1 ½ ½
    γ.1Hypodorian inverse CD♯ EFG♯ AB♭ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1
    β.5Rasikapriyā CD♯ EF♯ GA♯ B ½ 1½ ½ ½
    β.2Ionian augmented ♯2 CD♯ EFG♯ AB ½ ½ ½ 1½
    γ.6Lydian inverse CD♭ E♭ F♯ GA♭ B½ 1 ½ ½ ½
    γ.3Hypolydian inverse CD♭ EFG♭ A♭ B½ ½ ½ 1 ½
    β.7Hungarian Romani minor CDE♭ F♯ GA♭ B1½ ½ ½ ½
    β.4Major Phrygian CD♭ EFGA♭ B½ ½ 1½ ½
    β.1Hungarian Romani minor inverseCD♭ EFG♭ AB♭ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1
    α.5Hypolydian CD♭ EF♯ GA♭ B½ 1½ ½ ½
    α.2Lydian CD♭ EFG♭ AB½ ½ ½ 1½
    β.6Ultra-Phrygian CD♭ E♭ F♭ GA♭ B𝄫 ½ 1½ ½ ½
    β.3Kanakāngi ♭5 CD♭ E𝄫 FG♭ A♭ B𝄫 ½ ½ ½ 1½
    α.7Hypodorian CDE♭ F♭ GA♭ B𝄫 1½ ½ ½ ½
    α.4Dorian CD♭ E𝄫 FGA♭ B𝄫 ½ ½ 1½ ½
    α.1Mixolydian CD♭ E𝄫 FG♭ A𝄫 B♭ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1
    γ.5Phrygian inverse CD♭ E𝄫 F♭ GA♭ B𝄫 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½
    γ.2Hypophrygian inverse CD♭ E𝄫 FG♭ A𝄫 B𝄫 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1

    Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

    Neat. Now what if we put the scales back into something resembling linear order?

    Greek chromatic tonoi & their variants (C roots, “linear tetrachord swap” order)
    Chromatic Tonos 1 234567Intervals
    γ.1Hypodorian inverse CD♯ EFG♯ AB♭ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1
    β.2Ionian augmented ♯2 CD♯ EFG♯ AB ½ ½ ½ 1½
    α.3Phrygian CD♯ EFG♯ A♯ B½ ½ 1½ ½
    γ.4Dorian inverse CD♯ EFGA♯ B ½ ½ 1 ½ ½
    β.5Rasikapriyā CD♯ EF♯ GA♯ B ½ 1½ ½ ½
    α.6Hypophrygian CD♯ E♯ F♯ GA♯ B1½ ½ ½ ½
    γ.7Mixolydian inverse CDE♯ F♯ GA♯ B1 ½ ½ ½ ½
    β.1Hungarian Romani minor inverseCD♭ EFG♭ AB♭ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1
    α.2Lydian CD♭ EFG♭ AB½ ½ ½ 1½
    γ.3Hypolydian inverse CD♭ EFG♭ A♭ B½ ½ ½ 1 ½
    β.4Major Phrygian CD♭ EFGA♭ B½ ½ 1½ ½
    α.5Hypolydian CD♭ EF♯ GA♭ B½ 1½ ½ ½
    γ.6Lydian inverse CD♭ E♭ F♯ GA♭ B½ 1 ½ ½ ½
    β.7Hungarian Romani minor CDE♭ F♯ GA♭ B1½ ½ ½ ½
    α.1Mixolydian CD♭ E𝄫 FG♭ A𝄫 B♭ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1
    γ.2Hypophrygian inverse CD♭ E𝄫 FG♭ A𝄫 B𝄫 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1
    β.3Kanakāngi ♭5 CD♭ E𝄫 FG♭ A♭ B𝄫 ½ ½ ½ 1½
    α.4Dorian CD♭ E𝄫 FGA♭ B𝄫 ½ ½ 1½ ½
    γ.5Phrygian inverse CD♭ E𝄫 F♭ GA♭ B𝄫 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½
    β.6Ultra-Phrygian CD♭ E♭ F♭ GA♭ B𝄫 ½ 1½ ½ ½
    α.7Hypodorian CDE♭ F♭ GA♭ B𝄫 1½ ½ ½ ½

    Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

    The above table clarifies why the group distribution breaks down as it does: we’ve swapped scales in such a way that across all three scale sets, we cycle between γ, β, and α, in order, seven times in a row. This sorts scales 6 and 3 to one group; scales 7, 4, and 1 to another; and scales 5 and 2 to a third.

    Grouping like numbers in the above table together produces similar results to our first “aligned synaphai” table, but as one might expect, we’ve consistently front-loaded large intervals in the first scale of each trio and back-loaded them in the third. The minor thirds also move more consistently, always moving two positions earlier when they cross synaphai and one when they don’t.

    (Aside: English needs an equivalent of quadrant, quintant, sextant, septant, octant, etc. for the number three.)

    Greek chromatic tonoi & their variants (C roots, “aligned tetrachord swap” order)
    #Chromatic Tonos 1 234567Intervals
    α.1Mixolydian CD♭ E𝄫 FG♭ A𝄫 B♭ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1
    β.1Hungarian Romani minor inverseCD♭ EFG♭ AB♭ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1
    γ.1Hypodorian inverse CD♯ EFG♯ AB♭ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1
    γ.2Hypophrygian inverse CD♭ E𝄫 FG♭ A𝄫 B𝄫 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1
    α.2Lydian CD♭ EFG♭ AB½ ½ ½ 1½
    β.2Ionian augmented ♯2 CD♯ EFG♯ AB ½ ½ ½ 1½
    β.3Kanakāngi ♭5 CD♭ E𝄫 FG♭ A♭ B𝄫 ½ ½ ½ 1½
    γ.3Hypolydian inverse CD♭ EFG♭ A♭ B½ ½ ½ 1 ½
    α.3Phrygian CD♯ EFG♯ A♯ B½ ½ 1½ ½
    α.4Dorian CD♭ E𝄫 FGA♭ B𝄫 ½ ½ 1½ ½
    β.4Major Phrygian CD♭ EFGA♭ B½ ½ 1½ ½
    γ.4Dorian inverse CD♯ EFGA♯ B ½ ½ 1 ½ ½
    γ.5Phrygian inverse CD♭ E𝄫 F♭ GA♭ B𝄫 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½
    α.5Hypolydian CD♭ EF♯ GA♭ B½ 1½ ½ ½
    β.5Rasikapriyā CD♯ EF♯ GA♯ B ½ 1½ ½ ½
    β.6Ultra-Phrygian CD♭ E♭ F♭ GA♭ B𝄫 ½ 1½ ½ ½
    γ.6Lydian inverse CD♭ E♭ F♯ GA♭ B½ 1 ½ ½ ½
    α.6Hypophrygian CD♯ E♯ F♯ GA♯ B1½ ½ ½ ½
    α.7Hypodorian CDE♭ F♭ GA♭ B𝄫 1½ ½ ½ ½
    β.7Hungarian Romani minor CDE♭ F♯ GA♭ B1½ ½ ½ ½
    γ.7Mixolydian inverse CDE♯ F♯ GA♯ B1 ½ ½ ½ ½

    So, as we can see, each interval’s relative position has a massive impact on a scale’s accidental distribution. This makes intuitive sense, but it still might be hard to understand how much it underpins a scale’s entire composition without seeing it laid out like this.

    I only noticed after numbering the scales that each trio starts on the same letter that closed out the previous trio, then cycles through the others in ascending order (resetting to α after γ). That actually explains a lot.

    Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

    Chromatic tonos analysis: Minor third position

    One last set of comparisons: by shifting Hypophrygian and Phrygian to the end of the chromatic tonoi, and Phrygian inverse and Hypophrygian inverse to the start of the inverse chromatic tonoi, we align the minor thirds instead of the synaphai. This resembles the first set of scales while increasing the similarity of the scale ordering between sets. I also swapped the inverse chromatic and chromatic scales’ positions from the “circle of fifths” order comparisons; I’ll explain why below.

    Greek chromatic tonoi & their variants (C roots, “cyclical aligned minor thirds” order)
    #Chromatic Tonos 1 234567Intervals
    γ.5Phrygian inverse CD♭ E𝄫 F♭ GA♭ B𝄫 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½
    γ.2Hypophrygian inverse CD♭ E𝄫 FG♭ A𝄫 B𝄫 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1
    γ.6Lydian inverse CD♭ E♭ F♯ GA♭ B½ 1 ½ ½ ½
    γ.3Hypolydian inverse CD♭ EFG♭ A♭ B½ ½ ½ 1 ½
    γ.7Mixolydian inverse CDE♯ F♯ GA♯ B1 ½ ½ ½ ½
    γ.4Dorian inverse CD♯ EFGA♯ B ½ ½ 1 ½ ½
    γ.1Hypodorian inverse CD♯ EFG♯ AB♭ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1
    β.6Ultra-Phrygian CD♭ E♭ F♭ GA♭ B𝄫 ½ 1½ ½ ½
    β.3Kanakāngi ♭5 CD♭ E𝄫 FG♭ A♭ B𝄫 ½ ½ ½ 1½
    β.7Hungarian Romani minor CDE♭ F♯ GA♭ B1½ ½ ½ ½
    β.4Major Phrygian CD♭ EFGA♭ B½ ½ 1½ ½
    β.1Hungarian Romani minor inverseCD♭ EFG♭ AB♭ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1
    β.5Rasikapriyā CD♯ EF♯ GA♯ B ½ 1½ ½ ½
    β.2Ionian augmented ♯2 CD♯ EFG♯ AB ½ ½ ½ 1½
    α.7Hypodorian CDE♭ F♭ GA♭ B𝄫 1½ ½ ½ ½
    α.4Dorian CD♭ E𝄫 FGA♭ B𝄫 ½ ½ 1½ ½
    α.1Mixolydian CD♭ E𝄫 FG♭ A𝄫 B♭ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1
    α.5Hypolydian CD♭ EF♯ GA♭ B½ 1½ ½ ½
    α.2Lydian CD♭ EFG♭ AB½ ½ ½ 1½
    α.6Hypophrygian CD♯ E♯ F♯ GA♯ B1½ ½ ½ ½
    α.3Phrygian CD♯ EFG♯ A♯ B½ ½ 1½ ½

    Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

    Between the three sets of scales, this set of comparisons simply moves each synaphe one position to the left (e.g., Phrygian inverse to Ultra-Phrygian, Ultra-Phrygian to Hypodorian). This becomes especially clear when we rearrange them into linear order:

    Greek chromatic tonoi & their variants (C roots, “linear aligned minor thirds” order)
    #Chromatic Tonos 1 234567Intervals
    γ.7Mixolydian inverse CDE♯ F♯ GA♯ B1 ½ ½ ½ ½
    γ.1Hypodorian inverse CD♯ EFG♯ AB♭ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1
    γ.2Hypophrygian inverse CD♭ E𝄫 FG♭ A𝄫 B𝄫 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1
    γ.3Hypolydian inverse CD♭ EFG♭ A♭ B½ ½ ½ 1 ½
    γ.4Dorian inverse CD♯ EFGA♯ B ½ ½ 1 ½ ½
    γ.5Phrygian inverse CD♭ E𝄫 F♭ GA♭ B𝄫 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½
    γ.6Lydian inverse CD♭ E♭ F♯ GA♭ B½ 1 ½ ½ ½
    β.1Hungarian Romani minor inverseCD♭ EFG♭ AB♭ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1
    β.2Ionian augmented ♯2 CD♯ EFG♯ AB ½ ½ ½ 1½
    β.3Kanakāngi ♭5 CD♭ E𝄫 FG♭ A♭ B𝄫 ½ ½ ½ 1½
    β.4Major Phrygian CD♭ EFGA♭ B½ ½ 1½ ½
    β.5Rasikapriyā CD♯ EF♯ GA♯ B ½ 1½ ½ ½
    β.6Ultra-Phrygian CD♭ E♭ F♭ GA♭ B𝄫 ½ 1½ ½ ½
    β.7Hungarian Romani minor CDE♭ F♯ GA♭ B1½ ½ ½ ½
    α.2Lydian CD♭ EFG♭ AB½ ½ ½ 1½
    α.3Phrygian CD♯ EFG♯ A♯ B½ ½ 1½ ½
    α.4Dorian CD♭ E𝄫 FGA♭ B𝄫 ½ ½ 1½ ½
    α.5Hypolydian CD♭ EF♯ GA♭ B½ 1½ ½ ½
    α.6Hypophrygian CD♯ E♯ F♯ GA♯ B1½ ½ ½ ½
    α.7Hypodorian CDE♭ F♭ GA♭ B𝄫 1½ ½ ½ ½
    α.1Mixolydian CD♭ E𝄫 FG♭ A𝄫 B♭ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1

    Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

    Now let’s compare across sets with the minor thirds aligned. This is why I swapped the chromatic scales and their inversions: if I hadn’t, we’d be moving the synaphai right rather than left.

    Greek chromatic tonoi & their variants (C roots, “doubly aligned minor thirds” order)
    Chromatic Tonos 1 234567Intervals
    γ.7Mixolydian inverse CDE♯ F♯ GA♯ B1 ½ ½ ½ ½
    β.1Hungarian Romani minor inverseCD♭ EFG♭ AB♭ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1
    α.2Lydian CD♭ EFG♭ AB½ ½ ½ 1½
    γ.1Hypodorian inverse CD♯ EFG♯ AB♭ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1
    β.2Ionian augmented ♯2 CD♯ EFG♯ AB ½ ½ ½ 1½
    α.3Phrygian CD♯ EFG♯ A♯ B½ ½ 1½ ½
    γ.2Hypophrygian inverse CD♭ E𝄫 FG♭ A𝄫 B𝄫 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1
    β.3Kanakāngi ♭5 CD♭ E𝄫 FG♭ A♭ B𝄫 ½ ½ ½ 1½
    α.4Dorian CD♭ E𝄫 FGA♭ B𝄫 ½ ½ 1½ ½
    γ.3Hypolydian inverse CD♭ EFG♭ A♭ B½ ½ ½ 1 ½
    β.4Major Phrygian CD♭ EFGA♭ B½ ½ 1½ ½
    α.5Hypolydian CD♭ EF♯ GA♭ B½ 1½ ½ ½
    γ.4Dorian inverse CD♯ EFGA♯ B ½ ½ 1 ½ ½
    β.5Rasikapriyā CD♯ EF♯ GA♯ B ½ 1½ ½ ½
    α.6Hypophrygian CD♯ E♯ F♯ GA♯ B1½ ½ ½ ½
    γ.5Phrygian inverse CD♭ E𝄫 F♭ GA♭ B𝄫 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½
    β.6Ultra-Phrygian CD♭ E♭ F♭ GA♭ B𝄫 ½ 1½ ½ ½
    α.7Hypodorian CDE♭ F♭ GA♭ B𝄫 1½ ½ ½ ½
    γ.6Lydian inverse CD♭ E♭ F♯ GA♭ B½ 1 ½ ½ ½
    β.7Hungarian Romani minor CDE♭ F♯ GA♭ B1½ ½ ½ ½
    α.1Mixolydian CD♭ E𝄫 FG♭ A𝄫 B♭ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1

    Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

    Now, we’ve effectively just reversed the first “aligned synaphai” table’s pattern. That table moved the minor third one degree left twice in a row, then moved it one degree right and the synaphe one degree left. This one moves the synaphe one degree left twice in a row, then moves it one degree right and the minor third one degree left. Another way to say this is that by rotating Mixolydian to the end of the chromatic tonoi and Mixolydian inverse to the front of the inverse chromatic tonoi, we’ve swapped the synaphai and tetrachords’ movement patterns.

    One curiosity here is how much Mixolydian and Mixolydian inverse differ from the two scales immediately below and above them, respectively. Most other scale trios remain fairly consistent in note composition; these two are the exceptions. In fact, Mixolydian really behaves more like the third and sixth trios, and Mixolydian inverse really behaves more like the second and fifth. I understand why, but it’s still slightly surreal to see it laid out like this. I can think of at least three explanations that clarify why this occurs:

    1. Mixolydian inverse is one of this table’s only two scales that start with a consecutive minor third and major second, in either order, and Mixolydian is one of its only two scales that end with those intervals.
    2. We can just refer back to the “linear tetrachord swap” table and see that its first seven scales consist of this table’s second trio, fifth trio, and Mixolydian inverse; its last seven scales consist of Mixolydian followed by this table’s third trio and sixth trio; and its middle seven scales consist of this table’s second scale, third scale, middle three scales, third-from-last scale, and second-from-last scale;.
    3. We can just look at the interval distributions here. The first and last scale trios are the only ones where a major second moves from the front of the scale to the end, or vice versa. Thus, all the other scale trios have much more consistent note distributions.

    Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

    Why our modes have historically inaccurate names

    Our Ionian mode’s chromatic counterpart is actually Chromatic Hypolydian, and our Aeolian mode’s counterpart is Chromatic Hypodorian. Why is that? Well, as I remarked above, medieval Europeans were confused about some aspects of Greek harmony. There are actually multiple possible sources of this, and I’m not totally sure which one was at fault, but I’ll present a couple of ways a person could wind up with the scale names they got.

    One possibility is that they erroneously thought the Greeks described their tetrachords in ascending order. Four of our modern modes also had multiple names, and they borrowed three of these from the Ancient Greek tonoi: their Hypodorian was our Aeolian, their Hypophrygian was our Locrian, and their Hypolydian was our Ionian.

    Medieval names for the Greek diatonic tonoi
    AncientMedievalModern1 234567Intervals
    Mixolydian HypophrygianLocrian CD♭ E♭ FG♭ A♭ B♭ ½ 1 1 ½ 1 1 1
    Lydian Hypolydian Ionian CDEFGAB1 1 ½ 1 1 1½
    Phrygian Dorian Dorian CDE♭ FGAB♭ 1 ½ 1 1 1½ 1
    Dorian Phrygian Phrygian CD♭ E♭ FGA♭ B♭ ½ 1 1 1½ 1 1
    Hypolydian Lydian Lydian CDEF♯ GAB1 1 1½ 1 1 ½
    HypophrygianMixolydian MixolydianCDEFGAB♭ 1 1½ 1 1 ½ 1
    Hypodorian Hypodorian Aeolian CDE♭ FGA♭ B♭ 1½ 1 1 ½ 1 1

    So, what if we were to purchase fast food and disguise it as our own cooking reverse the order of the notes within each tetrachord?

    Inverting the Greek diatonic tetrachord
    OriginalReversedModern1 234567Intervals
    Mixolydian Mixolydian Mixolydian CDEFGAB♭ 1 1 ½ 1 1 ½ 1
    Lydian Hypodorian Aeolian CDE♭ FGA♭ B♭ 1 ½ 1 1 ½ 11
    Phrygian Hypophrygian Locrian CD♭ E♭ FG♭ A♭ B♭ ½ 1 1 ½ 11 1
    Dorian Hypolydian Ionian CDEFGAB 1 1 ½ 11 1 ½
    Hypolydian Dorian Dorian CDE♭ FGAB♭ 1 ½ 11 1 ½ 1
    Hypophrygian Phrygian Phrygian CD♭ E♭ FGA♭ B♭ ½ 11 1 ½ 1 1
    Hypodorian Lydian Lydian CDEF♯ GAB 11 1 ½ 1 1 ½

    So, effectively, for Mixolydian, they put the tetrachords in the right parts of the scale, but they put the intervals within each tetrachord in the wrong order. Then, they put the remaining modes in the opposite of the Ancient Greeks’ order, likely assuming that they were rotating the scale in the opposite direction.

    Remember, the ancient Greeks used the opposite metaphor for time from the modern one: they thought of the past as being in front and the future as being behind them. I don’t know if this was the source of medieval Europeans’ confusion, but it wouldn’t entirely surprise me if it was.

    Now, remember Chekhov’s table near the start of this document? This is another potential source of their confusion. I’ll reprint a variant, this time depicting both the blueshifted (ascending) and redshifted (descending) scale transformations. In this case, we care about the redshift, since Greek harmony went in descending order.

    Mode transformations re-re-revisited
    # ModeMode 12 3 4 5 6 7
    1Ionian Ionian
    2Dorian Dorian ♭3 ♭7
    3Phrygian Phrygian ♭2♭3 ♭6♭7
    4Lydian Lydian ♯4
    5Mixolydian Mixolydian ♭7
    6Aeolian Aeolian ♭3 ♭6♭7
    7Locrian Locrian ♭2♭3 ♭5♭6♭7

    Disregarding the fact Medieval Europeans gave three of our modes new names, the names we use for each mode actually would’ve been correct for the modes of the notes we redshift in circle of fifths order. That is:

    Modes and the notes they redshift
    # Modern Greek Medieval Redshifts
    1 Ionian Lydian Hypolydian 4(Lydian)
    2 Dorian Phrygian Dorian 3(Phrygian)
    3 Phrygian Dorian Phrygian 2(Dorian)
    4 Lydian Hypolydian Lydian 1(Ionian)
    5 Mixolydian Hypophrygian Mixolydian 7(Locrian)
    6 Aeolian Hypodorian Hypodorian 6(Aeolian)
    7 Mixolydian Hypophrygian Locrian 5(Mixolydian)

    This is another possible explanation for what might have confused medieval Europeans.

    Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

    Applied Greek harmony: Tetrachords in modern scales

    We’ve already seen how the Ionian scale is a variant of a scale in which a tetrachord is repeated with a whole-tone separation (though in our Ionian mode, specifically, the second tetrachord is split midway through). To reiterate, let’s look at D Dorian, whose intervals are W-H-W-W-W-H-W:

    And because the tetrachord itself is symmetrical, so is Dorian mode itself.

    A few scales in Other Scales and Tonalities above are also built on two tetrachords separated by a whole step:

    Scales built on two tetrachords can be pleasing in their regularity, and they may be helpful starting places when you first write pieces that stray from the Ionian scale’s familiarity. Symmetrical scales built on two of the same tetrachord (e.g., double harmonic minor or modes thereof) may be especially ideal starting places. I’d suggest inventing your own, but there aren’t any others.

    But you can be creative in varying how the ancient Greeks constructed their harmony. One possibility: a nine-note scale featuring two of the same pentachord (five-note sequence) separated by a whole-step. To fit these criteria, your pentachord must span a perfect fourth (2½ steps), which unfortunately prevents it from being rotationally symmetrical - your options are W-H-H-H, H-W-H-H, H-H-W-H, or H-H-H-W.

    If you want rotational symmetry, though, you could invert the second pentachord:

    The second option, H-W-H-H-W-H-H-W-H, can also be constructed by repeating the same trichord (three-note sequence), H-W, with a half-step separation each time, which is another interesting variation on the ancient Greek idea. Within it, each trichord spans a minor third; the added half-step above it means that the same interval pattern repeats every major third. Above its root key, it also includes a minor third, a major third, a perfect fourth, and a perfect fifth above its root key. These make it potentially a very versatile scale. (Since its dominant chord is diminished and it excludes the major second above its root, it also shares some harmonic characteristics with Phrygian mode and Phrygian dominant.) But these aren’t the only possible variants – be creative!

    Then again, you may prefer harmonic minor or melodic minor, which respectively only lower one note of Aeolian mode and raise one note of Ionian mode; both are also so ubiquitous in Western music that they may be intuitive. Neither, however, possess the repeated tetrachord of the ancient Greek genera. (Melodic minor does possess a symmetrical mode, Aeolian dominant [W-W-H-W-H-W-W]; harmonic minor does not.)

    Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

    Acknowledgements & sources

    I first wish to thank Marty O’Donnell (yes, that Marty O’Donnell) for pointing out that it wasn’t sufficiently clear what parts of this section I was oversimplifying; his feedback resulted in a much clearer explanation. However, the opinions presented in this section are entirely my own. In particular, Marty believes modern scholars have extrapolated more from ancient Greek texts than is merited by their contents – and in the interest of fairness, I must point out that he has a degree in music theory, and I don’t. However, I must also be fair to myself: Marty got his degree decades ago, and a lot of music scholarship has been done since then.

    But even then, I’ll be the first person to admit that I’m by no means an infallible source, so here are some starting places for readers wishing to learn more about this subject. Wi­ki­pe­dia ⟨en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musical_system_of_ancient_Greece⟩ has much, much more information ⟨en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octave_species⟩; the Xenharmonic wiki ⟨en.xen.wiki/w24edo_scales⟩, Feel Your Sound ⟨feelyoursound.com/scale-chords⟩, Midicode ⟨web.archive.org/web/20120308164408/www.midicode.com/tunings/greek.shtml⟩, and Ian Ring’s Scale Finder were also helpful. (The latter is so incredibly helpful that I’ve begun linking to its entries for scales on this page.) Solra Bizna and I also wrote a Rust program to automate several aspects of scale analysis; some of its output is on this very page.

    I consulted several other resources researching this section; many were too technical to be of interest to non-specialists, but those seeking more detailed technical analysis of ancient Greek tuning systems may be interested in Robert Erickson’s analysis of Archytas ⟨ex-tempore.org/ARCHYTAS/ARCHYTAS.html⟩ (who provided what modern scholars believe to be detailed, accurate descriptions of his era’s actual tuning practices). Our knowledge of Archytas’ musical writings evidently comes from Ptolemy’s Harmonics, whose author comments in depth on the former’s writings⁽⁷⁾; large fragments of AristoxenusElements of Harmony and smaller fragments of Philolaus’ musical writings survive to this day.

    But I think it’s most helpful to quote the ancient Greeks in their own words (or as close to their words as English speakers without educations in Attic Greek will understand), so, via Cris Forester’s book on the subject ⟨chrysalis-foundation.org/musical-mathematics-pages/philolaus-and-euclid⟩, here’s a translated excerpt of Philolaus, whom I quote less for his comprehensibility than for his technical detail:

    The magnitude of harmonia is syllaba and di’oxeian. The di’oxeian is greater than the syllaba in epogdoic ratio. From hypate [E] to mese [A] is a syllaba, from mese [A] to neate [or nete, E¹] is a di’oxeian, from neate [E¹] to trite [later paramese, B] is a syllaba, and from trite [B] to hypate [E] is a di’oxeian. The interval between trite [B] and mese [A] is epogdoic [9:8], the syllaba is epitritic [4:3], the di’oxeian hemiolic [3:2], and the dia pason is duple [2:1]. Thus harmonia consists of five epogdoics and two dieses; di’oxeian is three epogdoics and a diesis, and syllaba is two epogdoics and a diesis.
    Philolaus, translated by Andrew Barker, Greek Musical Writings, Vol. 2 (1989:
    Cambridge University Press).
    [Text and ratios in brackets are Cris Forester’s.]

    Difficult as this is to parse, a close reading reveals Philolaus to be describing the Ionian scale:

    In other words:

    Plugging those in gives us:

    The magnitude of an octave is a perfect fourth and a perfect fifth. The perfect fifth is greater than the perfect fourth in whole-step ratio. From hypate [E] to mese [A] is a perfect fourth, from mese [A] to neate [or nete, E¹] is a perfect fifth, from neate [E¹] to trite [later paramese, B] is a perfect fourth, and from trite [B] to hypate [E] is a perfect fifth. The interval between trite [B] and mese [A] is a whole step [9:8], the perfect fourth is epitritic [4:3], the perfect fifth hemiolic [3:2], and the octave is duple [2:1]. Thus an octave consists of five whole steps and two half-steps; a perfect fifth is three whole steps and a half-step, and a perfect fourth is two whole steps and a half-step.

    Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.

    Philolaus’ description is so exact that I believe we can conclude from it that the ancient Greeks routinely used a direct ancestor of our Ionian scale. However, I must reiterate: “ancient Greek harmony” refers to over a millennium of musical practices that were by no means uniform; various authors described other tonoi and indeed entirely different tuning systems. I’ve focused on the tonoi described above for two reasons:

    1. They’re easy to equate to modern tuning systems.
    2. They clearly inspired (four of) our modern modes’ names.

    I also wish to acknowledge a few resources for the Greek language itself. Wiktionary is low key one of the best online resources for learning languages; it contains a wealth of information on Greek declensions, conjugations, and vocabulary. Λογεῖον and the Liddell, Scott, Jones wiki capably filled gaps in Wiktionary’s coverage. I’m by no means fluent in Attic Greek, but I’ve managed to write lyrics in it that don’t completely embarrass me. (Here’s the song itself if you want to listen to it.) I’d never have managed that without such comprehensive lexicons.

    (Keep an eye on this page – I still intend to add more information on the medieval church modes that served as the precursors to our modern modes.)

    Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

    Appendix 1: Greek musical terminology

    It might seem like overkill to include a table this repetitive, but Google Translate is not great at parsing Ancient Greek. My hope is that this will help.

    This table focuses exclusively on musical meanings of terms; many have other meanings as well. For instance, the lyre’s three strings are named after the three Muses.

    Λεξικογραφία Ἑλληνῐκῶν μουσῐκῶν ῐ̓́δῐογλῶσσῐῶν
    Lexikographía Hellēnĭkôn mousĭkôn ĭ́dĭóglôssĭôn
    A lexicography of Ancient Greek musical idioglossia
    Ἀττικός Ἑλληνική
    Attĭkós Hellēnĭkḗ
    Attic Greek
    Ῥωμᾰῐ̈σμένη
    Rhṓmăĭ̈sméni
    Romanized
    Μετάφρασις
    Metáphrasis
    Translation
    ἐναρμόνιος μιξολῡ́δῐος τόνος
    enarmónios mixolū́dĭos tónos
    enharmonic Mixolydian tonos
    ἐναρμόνιος Λῡ́δῐος τόνος enarmónios Lū́dĭos tónos enharmonic Lydian tonos
    ἐναρμόνιος Φρῠ́γῐος τόνος enarmónios Phrŭ́gios tónos enharmonic Phrygian tonos
    ἐναρμόνιος Δώριος τόνος enarmónios Dṓrios tónos enharmonic Dorian tonos
    ἐναρμόνιος ὑπολύδῐος τόνος enarmónios hŭpolū́dĭos tónos enharmonic Hypolydian tonos
    ἐναρμόνιος ὑποφρῠ́γῐος τόνος enarmónios hŭpophrŭ́gios tónos enharmonic Hypophrygian tonos
    ἐναρμόνιος ὑποδώριος τόνος enarmónios hŭpodṓrios tónos enharmonic Hypodorian tonos
    χρωμᾰτῐκός μιξολῡ́δῐος τόνος
    khrōmătĭkós mixolū́dĭos tónos
    chromatic Mixolydian tonos
    χρωμᾰτῐκός Λῡ́δῐος τόνος khrōmătĭkós Lū́dĭos tónos chromatic Lydian tonos
    χρωμᾰτῐκός Φρῠ́γῐος τόνος khrōmătĭkós Phrŭ́gios tónos chromatic Phrygian tonos
    χρωμᾰτῐκός Δώριος τόνος khrōmătĭkós Dṓrios tónos chromatic Dorian tonos
    χρωμᾰτῐκός ὑπολύδῐος τόνος khrōmătĭkós hŭpolū́dĭos tónos chromatic Hypolydian tonos
    χρωμᾰτῐκός ὑποφρῠ́γῐος τόνος khrōmătĭkós hŭpophrŭ́gios tónos chromatic Hypophrygian tonos
    χρωμᾰτῐκός ὑποδώριος τόνος khrōmătĭkós hŭpodṓrios tónos chromatic Hypodorian tonos
    διατονικός μιξολῡ́δῐος τόνος
    diatonikós mixolū́dĭos tónos
    diatonic Mixolydian tonos
    διατονικός Λῡ́δῐος τόνος diatonikós Lū́dĭos tónos diatonic Lydian tonos
    διατονικός Φρῠ́γῐος τόνος diatonikós Phrŭ́gios tónos diatonic Phrygian tonos
    διατονικός Δώριος τόνος diatonikós Dṓrios tónos diatonic Dorian tonos
    διατονικός ὑπολύδῐος τόνος diatonikós hŭpolū́dĭos tónos diatonic Hypolydian tonos
    διατονικός ὑποφρῠ́γῐος τόνος diatonikós hŭpophrŭ́gios tónos diatonic Hypophrygian tonos
    διατονικός ὑποδώριος τόνος diatonikós hŭpodṓrios tónos diatonic Hypodorian tonos
    μουσικά mousiká music
    μουσικός mousikós musically skilled, musical
    ἁρμονίᾱ harmoníā harmony
    διαπασῶν diapasôn octave (lit. “through all”)
    διπλόος diplóos double, 2:1 ratio
    δῐοξειῶν dĭoxeiôn perfect fifth
    ἡμιόλιος hēmiólios 1½, 3:2 ratio
    σῠλλᾰβή sŭllăbḗ perfect fourth
    ἐπίτριτος epítritos 1⅓, 4:3 ratio
    τρῐ́τος, τρῐ́τη trĭ́tos, trĭ́tē third
    ἐπόγδοος epógdoos 1⅛, 9:8 ratio
    δίεσις díesis a scale’s smallest interval
    ὑπάτη hupátē lyre’s lowest-pitched string
    παραμέση paramésē second-lowest-pitched string
    μέση mésē lyre’s middle string
    νήτη, νεάτη nḗtē, neátē lyre’s highest-pitched string

    …OK, fine, I completely made up the declension of «ῐ̓́δῐογλῶσσῐῶν», but to be fair, it wouldn’t have sufficed at all to have used a modern declension when all the surrounding language is Attic.

    (For the time being, a complete explanation of declensions is beyond my scope, but I may eventually find myself unable to resist writing one.)

    Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

    Appendix 2: Interval ratios of 12- and 24-tone equal temperament

    As an appendix to the section on tonoi, I’ve also created this table of every possible interval in 24-tone equal temperament. The column “LPT” means “Lowest Possible Temperament” – in other words, to contain an interval, a temperament must be a multiple of its LPT; e.g., if the LPT is 8, the interval will appear in 16-TET, 24-TET, 32-TET, and so on, but will not appear in 12-TET. The lower the LPT, the bolder the font used to print the interval. Intervals printed in blue also appear in 12-TET (our familiar 12-note chromatic scale).

    24-tone equal temperament’s interval ratios
    #IntervalExactApproximateLPT
    1 Quarter tone, infra second 2¹⁄₂₄ =²⁴2 1.0293022366424
    2 Minor second 2²⁄₂₄ = ¹²2 1.0594630943612
    3 Neutral second 2³⁄₂₄ =2 1.09050773267 8
    4 Major second 2⁴⁄₂₄ =2 1.12246204831 6
    5 Ultra second, infra third 2⁵⁄₂₄ =²⁴32 1.1553526968724
    6 Minor third 2⁶⁄₂₄ =2 1.18920711500 4
    7 Neutral third 2⁷⁄₂₄ =²⁴128 1.2240535433024
    8 Major third 2⁸⁄₂₄ = ³2 1.25992104989 3
    9 Ultra third, narrow fourth 2⁹⁄₂₄ =8 1.29683955465 8
    10Perfect fourth 2¹⁰⁄₂₄= ¹²32 1.3348398541712
    11Wide fourth 2¹¹⁄₂₄ =²⁴2,048 1.3739536474624
    12Tritone 2¹²⁄₂₄ =2 1.41421356237 2
    13Narrow fifth 2¹³⁄₂₄ =²⁴8,192 1.4556531828424
    14Perfect fifth 2¹⁴⁄₂₄= ¹²128 1.4983070768812
    15Wide fifth, infra sixth 2¹⁵⁄₂₄=32 1.54221082541 8
    16Minor sixth 2¹⁶⁄₂₄= ³4 1.58740105197 3
    17Neutral sixth 2¹⁷⁄₂₄=²⁴131,072 1.6339154532424
    18Major sixth 2¹⁸⁄₂₄=8 1.68179283051 4
    19Ultra sixth, infra seventh 2¹⁹⁄₂₄=²⁴524,288 1.7310731220124
    20Minor seventh 2²⁰⁄₂₄=32 1.78179743628 6
    21Neutral seventh 2²¹⁄₂₄ =128 1.83400808641 8
    22Major seventh 2²²⁄₂₄ = ¹²2,048 1.8877486253612
    23Ultra seventh, narrow octave2²³⁄₂₄ =²⁴8,388,6081.9430638823124
    24Octave 2²⁴⁄₂₄= 2 2 1

    Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

    The carnatic numbered mēḷakartā

    A numbered set of fundamental rāgasa (musical scales) that originated in carnatic music (South Indian classical music). They must obey a few rules:

    Many of these correspond exactly to frequently used Western scales (e.g., #8 is Phrygian, #20 is Aeolian, #21 is harmonic minor, #22 is Dorian, #23 is melodic minor, #28 is Mixolydian, #29 is Ionian, #65 is Lydian); however, many others are virtually unique to Indian music, and some fundamental modes of Western music (e.g., Locrian mode) are absent here, as they break some of the fundamental rules of mēḷakartā.

    Indian music uses multiple scales, and although there are commonly held to be 22 shruti per octave, this remains a matter of some debate, since in practice, pitch tends to vary somewhat. To avoid confusion, I’m therefore printing the swaras’ Western names.

    The carnatic numbered mēḷakartā
    #Scale 1 234567Intervals
    1KanakangiCD♭E𝄫FGA♭B𝄫½½1½½
    2RatnāngiCD♭E𝄫FGA♭B♭ ½½1½11
    3GānamūrtiCD♭E𝄫FGA♭B½½1½½
    4VanaspatiCD♭E𝄫FGAB♭ ½½11½1
    5MānavatiCD♭E𝄫FGAB½½111½
    6TānarūpiCD♭E𝄫FGA♯B½½1½½
    7SenāvatiCD♭E♭FGA♭B𝄫½111½½
    8HanumatodiCD♭E♭FGA♭B♭ ½111½11
    9DhenukāCD♭E♭FGA♭B½111½½
    10NātakapriyāCD♭E♭FGAB♭ ½1111½1
    11KokilapriyaCD♭E♭FGAB½11111½
    12RūpavatiCD♭E♭FGA♯B½111½½
    13GāyakapriyāCD♭EFGA♭B𝄫½½1½½
    14VakuḷābharaṇamCD♭EFGA♭B♭ ½½1½11
    15MāyāmāḻavagowlaCD♭EFGA♭B½½1½½
    16ChakravākamCD♭EFGAB♭ ½½11½1
    17SūryakāntamCD♭EFGAB½½111½
    18HātakāmbariCD♭EFGA♯B½½1½½
    19JhankāradhvaniCDE♭FGA♭B𝄫1½11½½
    20NaṭabhairaviCDE♭FGA♭B♭ 1½11½11
    21KīravāṇiCDE♭FGA♭B1½11½½
    22KharaharapriyāCDE♭FGAB♭ 1½111½1
    23GourimanohariCDE♭FGAB1½1111½
    24VaruṇapriyāCDE♭FGA♯B1½11½½
    25MāraranjaniCDEFGA♭B𝄫11½1½½
    26ChārukesiCDEFGA♭B♭ 11½1½11
    27SarasāngiCDEFGA♭B11½1½½
    28HarikāmbhōjiCDEFGAB♭ 11½11½1
    29DhīraśankarābharaṇamCDEFGAB11½111½
    30NāganandiniCDEFGA♯B11½1½½
    31YāgapriyāCD♯EFGA♭B𝄫½½1½½
    32RāgavardhiniCD♯EFGA♭B♭ ½½1½11
    33GāngeyabhuśaniCD♯EFGA♭B½½1½½
    34VāgadhīśvariCD♯EFGAB♭ ½½11½1
    35ŚūliniCD♯EFGAB½½111½
    36ChalanāṭaCD♯EFGA♯B½½1½½
    37SālagamCD♭E𝄫F♯GA♭B𝄫½½2½½½
    38JalārnavamCD♭E𝄫F♯GA♭B♭ ½½2½½11
    39JhālavarāḷiCD♭E𝄫F♯GA♭B½½2½½½
    40NavanītamCD♭E𝄫F♯GAB♭ ½½2½1½1
    41PāvaniCD♭E𝄫F♯GAB½½2½11½
    42RaghupriyāCD♭E𝄫F♯GA♯B½½2½½½
    43GavāmbhodiCD♭E♭F♯GA♭B𝄫½1½½½
    44BhavapriyāCD♭E♭F♯GA♭B♭ ½1½½11
    45ŚubhapantuvarāḷiCD♭E♭F♯GA♭B½1½½½
    46ShaḍvidamārginiCD♭E♭F♯GAB♭ ½1½1½1
    47SuvarnāngiCD♭E♭F♯GAB½1½11½
    48DivyamaṇiCD♭E♭F♯GA♯B½1½½½
    49DhavaḻāmbariCD♭EF♯GA♭B𝄫½1½½½
    50NāmanārāyaṇiCD♭EF♯GA♭B♭ ½1½½11
    51KāmavardhiniCD♭EF♯GA♭B½1½½½
    52RāmapriyāCD♭EF♯GAB♭ ½1½1½1
    53GamanāśramaCD♭EF♯GAB½1½11½
    54ViśvambariCD♭EF♯GA♯B½1½½½
    55ŚāmaḻāngiCDE♭F♯GA♭B𝄫1½½½½
    56ŚanmukhapriyāCDE♭F♯GA♭B♭ 1½½½11
    57SimhendramadhyamamCDE♭F♯GA♭B1½½½½
    58HemavatiCDE♭F♯GAB♭ 1½½1½1
    59DharmavatiCDE♭F♯GAB1½½11½
    60NītimatiCDE♭F♯GA♯B1½½½½
    61KāntāmaṇiCDEF♯GA♭B𝄫111½½½
    62RiśabhapriyāCDEF♯GA♭B♭ 111½½11
    63LatāngiCDEF♯GA♭B111½½½
    64VāchaspatiCDEF♯GAB♭ 111½1½1
    65MechakalyāniCDEF♯GAB111½11½
    66ChitrāmbariCDEF♯GA♯B111½½½
    67SucharitrāCD♯EF♯GA♭B𝄫½1½½½
    68JyotisvarupiniCD♯EF♯GA♭B♭ ½1½½11
    69DhāthuvardhaniCD♯EF♯GA♭B½1½½½
    70NāsikābhūśaṇiCD♯EF♯GAB♭ ½1½1½1
    71KōsalamCD♯EF♯GAB½1½11½
    72RasikapriyāCD♯EF♯GA♯B½1½½½

    The numbering consistently obeys several patterns:

    Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

    Scale counts in 12-TET by scale size

    In twelve-tone equal temperament, by definition, heptatonic scales contain the root and six of the eleven other pitches. Since (as we proved above) heptatonic and pentatonic scales can’t be modes of limited transposition in 12-TET, we can thus calculate the total number of scales using the formula (11
    6
    ) = 11!
    6!5!
    = 11·10·9·8·7
    5·4·3·2
    = 11·7·3·2 = 462. Since 462 / 7, there are 66 discrete scales with seven modes each.

    Meanwhile, the number of pentatonic scales in 12-TET is (11
    4
    ) = 11!
    4!7!
    = 11·10·9·8
    4·3·2
    = 11·5·3·2 = 330. If we discount modes, 330 / 5 also leaves us with 66 discrete pentatonic scales in 12-TET. This is no coincidence: since 12-TET’s heptatonic and pentatonic scales can’t be modes of limited transposition, every pentatonic scale in 12-TET has five modes, every heptatonic scale in 12-TET has seven modes, and every pentatonic scale in 12-TET is, by definition, the scale complement of a heptatonic scale.

    As it turns out, with modes included, 12-tone equal temperament contains the following scale counts:

    12-TET mode counts
    NotesModes
    1121
    21111
    31055
    49165
    58330
    67462
    Total2,048

    We can’t simply divide each of those scale counts by the number of notes in the scale, because the following scales are modes of limited transposition. (The “−” column denotes the number of missing modes.) As mentioned above, counting truncations and the chromatic scale, 12-TET contains 16 discrete modes of limited transposition with 38 modes between them; if they were not modes of limited transposition, they’d have a total of 102 modes, so they’re short by 64. (2,048 + 64 = 2,112 ⟨youtu.be/w5jwxrTqoEA⟩.)

    All modes of limited transpositionModes of limited transposition
    #Intervals#Intervals
    12 111111111111 11 6 222222 5
    10 1111211112
    1112111121
    1121111211
    1211112111
    2111121111
    5 131313
    313131
    4
    114114
    141141
    411411
    3
    9 112112112
    121121121
    211211211
    6 123123
    231231
    312312
    3
    8 12121212
    21212121
    6 132132
    213213
    321321
    3
    11131113
    11311131
    13111311
    31113111
    4
    4 3333 3
    1515
    5151
    2
    11221122
    12211221
    22112211
    21122112
    4 2424
    4242
    2
    3 444 2
    2 66 1
    12 111111111111 11
    10 1111211112
    1112111121
    1121111211
    1211112111
    2111121111
    5
    9 112112112
    121121121
    211211211
    6
    8 12121212
    21212121
    6
    11131113
    11311131
    13111311
    31113111
    4
    11221122
    12211221
    22112211
    21122112
    4
    6 222222 5
    131313
    313131
    4
    114114
    141141
    411411
    3
    123123
    231231
    312312
    3
    132132
    213213
    321321
    3
    4 3333 3
    1515
    5151
    2
    2424
    4242
    2
    3 444 2
    2 66 1

    Thus, with modes excluded, 12-tone equal temperament’s discrete scales break down as follows:

    12-TET discrete scales
    NotesScales
    111121
    2106
    3919
    4843
    5766
    680
    Total205

    I’m not yet sure if it’s coincidental that modes of limited transposition are responsible for 64 missing modes and that 64 scale modes possess internal reflective symmetry. I have a very strong hunch that it is not.

    Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index

    All 2,048 modes of all 205 scales in 12-TET

    I’ve listed all 2,048 modes of 12-tone equal temperament’s 205 scales. Due to the sheer quantity of data, I’ve put this on its own page, but I consider it an extension of this book. (As of 2025-09-06, the scale list is ≈2,200 lines, ≈34,000 words, and ≈135,000 characters; this page is ≈3,700 lines, ≈52,000 words, and ≈275,000 characters. This adds up to ≈5,900 lines, ≈86,000 words, and ≈410,000 characters between both.)

    1. 1 scale, 1 mode
    2. 6 scales, 11 modes
    3. 19 scales, 55 modes
    4. 43 scales, 165 modes
    5. 66 scales, 330 modes
    6. 80 scales, 462 modes
    7. 66 scales, 462 modes
    8. 43 scales, 330 modes
    9. 19 scales, 165 modes
    10. 6 scales, 55 modes
    11. 1 scale, 11 modes
    12. 1 scale, 1 mode

    Back to top · Complete 12-TET scale list · My discography · Marathon soundtracks · Contact me · Website index