Understanding Diatonic and Pentatonic Scales, Understand the Difference Between Them

Kapanlagi.com - Music and songs are one of the types of artworks that have many fans. The melodies and songs are effective in becoming one of the enjoyable and calming entertainment media. Behind the melodious music, there are several musical elements that compose it. Scale is one of those musical elements.

Scales are certainly a familiar term. Not only for musicians, but also for the general public and music enthusiasts. As the name suggests, a scale is a series or collection of notes arranged in a certain order. The presence of scales in music plays a role in making a piece of music or song sound melodious.

That's why it is important to understand what scales are. Summarized from various sources, here is a review of scales as an important element in music.

1. Understanding Musical Scales

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As mentioned earlier, a musical scale is a sequence of consecutive notes in a piece of music or song. This means that in order to form a musical scale, various types of diverse notes are required. It is this diversity of notes that can support the emergence of an illusion in a piece of music or song that can create an impression or feeling.

The collection of consecutive notes is called a musical scale because it has a high-low arrangement, from the lowest to the highest, so it appears like a ladder. A musical scale in a song or music is not arranged randomly. In order to create harmony, the musical scale must be continuous.

Generally, musical scales are divided into two types. The two types of musical scales are diatonic and pentatonic scales. These two types of musical scales have their own functions and distinctive characteristics. Therefore, the use of diatonic and pentatonic scales is specifically intended for certain situations and needs.

2. Understanding Tones

Before delving deeper into what a scale is, especially diatonic and pentatonic types, it is good for us to understand what a tone is. Because, a scale is a arrangement of tones. This means that tones are important elements that form a scale. In general, a tone is defined as the high or low pitch of a sound, both in music and everyday speech.

In the realm of music, a tone has a more specific definition. To understand this definition, let's look at the explanations of some experts.

1. Sylado
According to Sylado, a tone is the right time to be heard. This means that a tone actually takes the form of a living time and has a collection of illusions, as well as a sound that can create an effect on feelings and thoughts.

2. Banoe
Tone is a branch of art that organizes various sequences of sounds that can be understood and comprehended by humans.

3. Jamalus
Meanwhile, according to Jamalus, a tone is a branch of art that takes the form of sound with a song and composition of a expression of thoughts and feelings. The main elements of a tone include melody, rhythm, harmony, and song structure.

3. Diatonic Scales

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After understanding briefly what a scale is, it's time to continue understanding the two types of scales, diatonic and pentatonic. Generally, a scale is a arrangement of tones. Diatonic scales, on the other hand, are scales composed of seven primary tones, with intervals of either one or half-step between each tone. This scale is commonly used in modern or contemporary music.

Diatonic scales consist of two types, major and minor. Major scales produce cheerful or happy melodies. Major scales are often used in pop songs or children's songs.

On the other hand, diatonic minor scales only use the primary tones and do not have any inserted tones. Additionally, this scale usually only has half-steps, creating a sad and melancholic sound. Diatonic minor scales are divided into three types: harmonic, natural, and melodic.

4. Pentatonic Scale

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Another type of scale is the pentatonic scale. Unlike the diatonic scale, the pentatonic scale consists of seven notes and has five primary notes. While the diatonic scale is commonly used in modern and contemporary music, the pentatonic scale is more commonly used in folk or traditional songs with traditional musical instruments.

Some examples of traditional musical instruments that use the pentatonic scale include gamelan, gambang kromo, calung, tifa, and many more. In traditional music, especially in gamelan, there are two famous types of pentatonic scales, namely Pelog and Slendro.

These two types of pentatonic scales have their own characteristics. The Pelog pentatonic scale has a respectful, solemn, and melancholic character. On the other hand, the Slendro pentatonic scale has a cheerful, joyful, dynamic, and spirited impression.

Those are some explanations about scales, which are arrangements of notes in a piece of music or song. Hopefully, this information is useful and can broaden your knowledge.

(kpl/psp)