Algerian scale
From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
File:Algerian scale.png
(Middlebrook 1984)[1] Audio file "Algerian scale.mid" not found
The Algerian Scale is a scale which is frequently found in Algerian, Berber, and North African music. The frequent use of 1.5 steps(or whole-and-a-half steps) in the scale helps create a sound which is commonly associated with Moorish music.
(Fischer 1996)[2]
It is also defined as an eleven note scale containing two augmented seconds. This was used by Jacques Ibert in Escales (1924).[3]
Scale formula
In step notation:
- W, H, WH, H, H, WH, H
- W = Whole step
- H = Half step
- WH = Whole-and-a-half step
or in decimals:
- 1 step + 0.5 step + 1.5 step + 0.5 step + 0.5 step + 1.5 step + 0.5 step.
Note that this formula gives the first octave only. In the second octave, the third step will be 1 rather than 1.5, followed by a step of 1 rather than 0.5. This may be seen in image to the right. The lower octave shows an F♯ while the upper octave shows an F natural.
Sources
- ↑ Middlebrook, Ron (1984). Scales and Modes in the Beginning, p.125. ISBN 0-89898-151-4.
- ↑ Fischer, Peter (1996). Rock Guitar Secrets, p.160. Mel Bay Publications. ISBN 3-927190-62-4, ISBN 978-3-927190-62-7.
- ↑ Robert Fink, Robert Ricci (1975). The Language of Twentieth Century Music: A Dictionary of Terms, p.3. Schirmer Books. ISBN 0-02-870600-5, ISBN 978-0-02-870600-9.
