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pentatonic scale

pen-tah-TAH-nik skale

[English]

A scale of five tones. It is used in African, Far Eastern, and Native American music. The pentatonic scale has been used in 20th century compositions as well.

SCALE STEPS (IN SEMITONES OR HALF-STEPS)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
C4  
D4
   
F4
 
G4
 
A4
   
C5
See more about modern scale construction in the Appendix.

Example


Tadashi Yanada: Japenese Melodies, "Jogashima No Ame"






Olivier Messiaen: Turangalila-Symphony, "Joie du sang des étoiles"






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Last Updated: 2016-06-06 17:07:31