User:Aura/Aura's Diatonic Scales: Difference between revisions

All of the chief diatonic scales listed here are named for their most useful mode.  Yes, I've actually used all of these particular scales as the the basis for tonality, and yes, all of the most useful modes of all of these diatonic scales are actually capable of circle progressions using just the notes in the scale, although this often requires using tricks such as having a Suspended-4 chord on the Dominant.  Phrygian, Lydian and Locrian require additional tricks, which I'll mention under their respective scales.

Unlike the version that is present in 12edo- and likely even many other Just versions of this scale, my preferred version actually differs from the inverse of the Ionian scale.  A circle progression in this scale requires not only a Suspended-Sharp-4 chord on the Contralead, and, a quartal chord with an added minor third on the Dominant.  This scale consists of notes related to the Tonic by the following ratios:

This scale is the one most closely associated with Ptolemy's Intense Diatonic Scale; in fact, Ptolemy's Intense Diatonic scale occurs as "Lydic Ionian"- the fifth mode of this scale.  If you use the Sycophant Antitonic harmony, you are forced to follow it up with the Lead harmony if you want to maintain this tonality.  Likewise, using the full Supertonic harmony is generally ill-advised unless you swiftly follow it up with the Tonic- otherwise, you need to omit the third of this chord if you want to maintain this tonality.  This scale consists of notes related to the Tonic by the following ratios:

One might think that Locrian is useless and not even worth the trouble, however, the actual problem is that people generally don't know how to handle a flattened fifth, and they assume that the harmony of Locrian must be strictly tertian when this is not the case at all.  In truth, Locrian harmonies generally rely on the omission of either the fifth or the third- with the only consistent exceptions being the Tyrant Antitonic chord on the flattened fifth, and variants of the Tonic harmony that are used as a means of creating tension.  If one is looking for resolution in this mode, they only have to create a chord consisting of the Tonic, the Mediant, and octave reduplications of the Tonic both above and below.  Do note that because Locrian's strongest distal harmony is the Tyrant Antitonic harmony- which is unable to act as a proper anchor for melodies without chord support- the Tonic, Mediant, and Subtonic pick up the slack and are thus more common than they would be otherwise, with the end result being that Locrian chord progressions run a significant risk of stagnation, especially in the hands of unskilled composers.  A circle progression in Locrian requires not only the omission of the third on the Reverse Lead chord, but also the displacement of the Tyrant Antitonic chord's third upwards by an octave.  This scale is only distinct from the Lydian scale if the Keenanisma is not tempered out, as otherwise, the step patterns between the two scales are identical- with the Locrian scale consisting of notes related to the Tonic by the following ratios: