music.rst
author Oleksandr Gavenko <gavenkoa@gmail.com>
Mon, 22 Feb 2016 12:46:36 +0200
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Include only local subsections into TOC. This prevent duplication of TOC when build single page HTML document. Also this make unnecessary CSS hack to hide document title as top level section.

.. -*- coding: utf-8; -*-
.. include:: HEADER.rst

========
 Music.
========
.. contents::
   :local:

Music scale.
============

*Scale* is any set of musical notes ordered by fundamental frequency or pitch.

Scale ordered by increasing pitch is an *ascending scale*, and a scale ordered
by decreasing pitch is a *descending scale*.

The distance between two successive notes in a scale is called a *scale step*.

For Western music with 12 tones in octave used several definition of steps:

 * *semitone*, *half step* is 2^(1/12)
 * *whole step*, *whole tone*, *major second* is 2^(2/12)

*Chromatic scale* is a musical scale with twelve pitches, each a semitone
above or below another. On a modern piano or other equal-tempered
instrument, all the semitones have the same size (100 cents). In other
words, the notes of an equal-tempered chromatic scale are equally spaced.

 * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromatic_scale

*Diatonic scale* (or heptatonia prima) is a scale composed of seven distinct
pitch classes: ``2–2–1–2–2–2–1``.

 * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatonic_scale

*Minor scale*: ``2-1-2-2-1-2-2``.

 * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minor_scale

Pentatonic major scale: ``1, 2, 3, 5, 6``.
Pentatonic minor scale: ``1, ♭3, 4, 5, ♭7``.

 * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentatonic_scale

The eight degrees of the diatonic scale are also known by traditional names:

 * 1st degree – Tonic (key note)
 * 2nd degree – Supertonic
 * 3rd degree – Mediant
 * 4th degree – Subdominant
 * 5th degree – Dominant
 * 6th degree – Submediant
 * 7th degree – Leading tone
 * 8th degree – Tonic (Octave)

Intervals names:

* *Minor second* - 1 semitones.
* *Major second* - 2 semitones.
* *Minor third* - 3 semitones.
* *Major third* - 4 semitones.
* *Perfect fourth* - 5 semitones, 4:3.
* *Perfect fifth* - 7 semitones, 3:2.
* *Minor sixth* - 8 semitones.
* *Major sixth* - 9 semitones.
* *Minor seventh* - 10 semitones.
* *Major seventh* - 11 semitones.

The notes of a scale are numbered by their steps from the root of the scale.

  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scale_%28music%29
    Often, especially in the context of the common practice period, most or all
    of the melody and harmony of a musical work is built using the notes of a
    single scale, which can be conveniently represented on a staff with a
    standard key signature.
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_practice_period
    Common-practice harmony is almost always derived from diatonic scales and
    tends to follow particular chord progressions that have withstood the test
    of time.