Witless music theory question...

[David Nimrod]

Ok, I admit it, what I know about music theory could be written on the back of a stamp...

My question is:- do these notes (in any order) constitute a scale, and if so, what is it?

F, G#, C#, D#, A#,

Many thanks ;-)

[Bilbo]

It's a variation on a simple C sharp pentatonic starting on the F but missing out the A sharp until the second octave. Or a minor sixth arpeggio with an added 11th? It would read better as flats not sharps (i.e. D flat not C sharp) but I guess typing flats is harder!

Edited November 26, 2007 by bilbo230763

[Mikey D]

It's a common Db or C# major pentatonic.

Db(C#), Eb(D#), F, Ab(G#), Bb(A#)

1 - 2 - 3 - 5 - 6

[chris_b]

Penta what? Just looks like a simple G#major scale to me: G# A# C C# D# F G G#.

[Bilbo]

A flat - it makes more sense as an A flat major scale than G sharp.

Simply put, if you think all seven note (octave) scales should have an A B C D E F G. A G sharp scale reads G sharp, A Sharp, C, C sharp, D sharp, E shap G, G sharp. So it has 2 cs and 2 Gs and would be a nightmare to read using conventional staff notation.

If you make it A flat you have and A flat, B flat, C, D flat, E flat, F, G A flat. Much better in my head and on paper!

Make sense?

So, its a D flat pentatonic (penta = five notes including the root (tonic), hence D flat, E flat, F (major 3rd so its a major pentatonic), A flat, B flat. 5 notes = pentatonic). In fact, most pentatonics work against more than one major scale and a D flat pentatonic is equally useful against both a D flat (C sharp) scale, a G flat (F sharp) scale and an A flat (G sharp) major scale. So we are all right!!

[David Nimrod]

[quote name='bilbo230763' post='94622' date='Nov 26 2007, 04:38 PM']So we are all right!![/quote]


Phew!!! ;-)

Thanks to you all...

[David Nimrod]

[quote name='Mikey D' post='94579' date='Nov 26 2007, 03:06 PM']It's a common Db major pentatonic.[/quote]

That makes perfect sense now - thanks!