[Smt-talk] Labeling scales

[Bruce Grant]

Dear colleagues,

Oops! I wasn't very clear, Dimitar! I meant to say that "I've never seen
harmonic major used" as a label during my 9 years of study at Juilliard,
University of Southern California, and Indiana University! Perhaps things
have changed since I finished my studies in 1973. Gosh, forty years ago!
It's interesting to learn that Rimsky-Korsakov used the term, but we didn't
much talk about him or Tchaikovsky either, in theory courses, though we did
perform extracts from their operas in the workshops where I learned my craft
as opera coach and conductor. That is perhaps an example of "the inflexible
and old-fashioned manner essential musicianship and theory one are taught.
detached from musical practices." I started noticing pieces in major with
the lowered 6th degree a long time ago. One of my favorites is the love
scene from Berlioz's Romeo and Juliette. But I don't think that we ever
learned about this scale in theory.

I should also have added, when I suggested naming the tetrachord with the
augmented second in the middle the "altered" tetrachord, the alteration of
the seventh degree in minor, as well as the sixth degree in major, both
alterations being melodic as well as harmonic. I've given a lot of thought
to this sort of thing in order to avoid geographical and ambiguous names for
scales. If you have the time and know a little French, you might like to
visit my website, where I have posted a manual on improvisation for my
students in France: 

http://bruce.grant.pagesperso-orange.fr 

I suggest naming ascending "melodic" minor "combined" minor for example, as
a minor pentachord is combined with a major tetrachord, what you call "modal
interaction". "Combined major" has a major pentachord and a minor
tetrachord. Is this the scale you mean by melodic major? I don't suppose
that one implies that normal major is not melodic! I use the term "neutral"
for the tetrachord with the semitone in the middle, avoiding the
geographical names Dorian and Mixolydian with "neutral minor" and "neutral
major". That's what I meant by "qualifications" of major and minor: first
the quality of the third in the pentachord, followed by the type of
tetrachord. Maybe we can change "the inflexible and old-fashioned manner
essential musicianship and theory one are taught" by rethinking labels for
the "pitch sets" that are scales that say something about their physical
make-up, in order to attach them better to international musical practice.

Bruce Grant, DM, Indiana University

Music director

Atelier lyrique de Bourgogne

Dijon, France

 

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