Structure: A Link Between Impressionism and Jazz1 Dmitri Tymoczko

The Consecutive-Semitone Constraint on Scalar
Structure: A Link Between Impressionism and Jazz1
Dmitri Tymoczko
The diatonic scale, considered as a subset of the twelve

chromatic pitch classes, possesses some remarkable mathematical
properties. It is, for example, a "deep scale," containing each of
the six diatonic intervals a unique number of times; it represents a
"maximally even" division of the octave into seven nearly-equal
parts; it is capable of participating in a "maximally smooth" cycle
of transpositions that differ only by the shift of a single pitch by a
single semitone; and it has "Myhill's property," in the sense that
every distinct two-note diatonic interval (e.g., a third) comes in
exactly two distinct chromatic varieties (e.g., major and minor).
Many theorists have used these properties to describe and even
explain the role of the diatonic scale in traditional tonal music.2
Tonal music, however, is not exclusively diatonic, and the two
nondiatonic minor scales possess none of the properties
mentioned above. Thus, to the extent that we emphasize the
mathematical uniqueness of the diatonic scale, we must downplay
the musical significance of the other scales, for example by
treating the melodic and harmonic minor scales merely as
modifications of the natural minor. The difficulty is compounded
when we consider the music of the late-nineteenth and twentieth
centuries, in which composers expanded their musical vocabularies
to include new scales (for instance, the whole-tone and the
octatonic) which again shared few of the diatonic scale's
interesting characteristics. This suggests that many of the features
*I would like to thank David Lewin, John Thow, and Robert Wason for
their assistance in preparing this article.
Dee, for example, Carlton Gamer, "Some Combinatorial Resources of
Equal-Tempered Systems" Journal of Music Theory 11 (1967): 32-59; John
Clough and Jack Douthett, "Maximally Even Sets," Journal of Music Theory
35/1 (1991): 93-173; Richard Cohn "Maximally Smooth Cycles, Hexatonic
Systems, and the Analysis of Late-Romantic Triadic Progressions," Music
Analysis 15/1 (1996): 9-40; and John Clough and Gerald Myerson, "Variety and
Multiplicity in Diatonic Systems," Journal of Music Theory 29 (1985): 249-270.
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136 Integral
of the diatonic scal

limited analytical si
whether there are ot
commonly used mu
In this regard, it is
do not contain con
scales most common
melodic minor, oc
"extraneous" mem
significantly, the c
plausibly be attribu
no consecutive sem
major and minor
contemplate the p
scales are musically
contain consecutiv
correspondence be
and the scales featu
and III, supports t
constraint" seems t
the impressionists
may be one of the
developed as it has.
In "Coordination of in
Music Theory 35/1 (1
requirement that the c
than or equal to the chr
38 septachords have no
minor, the overtone, a
admirably approximate
(whole-tone and octato
plus one) that is not. Fu
have been valued by c
centuries.
The Consecutive Semitone Constraint 137
I. Scales in Theory
A. The four "locally diatonic" scales
The formation of the ascending melodic minor scale h

been described as a two-stage process: first, the seventh
the natural minor scale is raised to create a leading tone
sixth degree is raised to avoid the "melodically a
augmented second between scale-degrees six and seven.
the perceived awkwardness of the harmonic minor
from the unsuitability of those hypothetical alternative
the augmented second between degrees six and seven i
an extra note, we can extract two general principles
tempered scalar organization. 5
(Al) the interval between any two consecutive scal

should be either one or two chromatic semitones; and
(A2) no three consecutive degrees should be jo

successive semitones.
Let us further restrict the concept of scale by stipulating that a

scale is a subset of pitch classes (rather than pitches) that can be
ordered according to conditions Al-2, and that the first note of
the scale "follows" the last note in the natural sense. This rules out
Slonimsky's "plural" scales, which occupy more than a single
octave, and ensures that our scales combine seamlessly with their
octave transpositions.^ (These stipulations ensure that the various
modes of a scale also have this property.) Finally, let us declare
Sec, for example, the entry under "scale" in The New Harvard Dictionary of
Music, ed. Don Michael Randel (Cambridge: Harvard, 1986), 729.
"These criteria assume a diatonic set embedded within a twelve-tone
chromatic scale, and thus depend on Western convention rather than, say, the
physics of the overtone series. For discussions relating common scales to the
overtone servies, see Rudolf Rasch and Reinier Plomp, "The Perception of
Musical Tones," and Edward M. Burns, "Intervals, Scales, and Tuning," both in
Diana Deutsch, ed., The Psychology of Music (New York: Academic Press, 1999).
Nicolas Slonimsky, Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns (New York:
Amsco, 1975), iv.
138 Integral
that two scales are "

ordering and/or tra
phrygian "the same
stepwise orderings of
There are, surprisin
our two criteria: the
of the melodic-mino
The whole-tone scale
each of the seven-no
diatonic within a th
pitches of any of th
three adjacent pitch
diatonic scale contain
the criteria: "whole
and "semitone, w
significant and audib
The "overtone" scale is

pitch-classes in the harm
example, are approximate
overtones of G.
i"o see this, consider th
semitones, since we are
first. Now if a scale has n
If the scale has exactly
"overtone scale." Call the
no three notes can be c
contain the ordered tet
scale's modes must also
semitone occurs between
below it. In either case y
and A melodic minor asc
neither between D and E
embedded in the order
must be filled either by
scale. Finally, it is clear
defined on the octatoni
semitones.
Since the overtone scale contains every permissible three-interval sequence

of intervals, we could also say that the four scales are "locally overtone" within a
four-note span.
locally diatonic scales and traditional diatonic mus

diatonic scales will bear some perceptible resem
traditional scales, while chords of locally diatonic t
resemble diatonic triads and seventh chords, and so on. 1
These four scales have also been the subject of a trem
amount of intuitive musical exploration. Debussy, for in
often associated with the whole-tone scale. Octatonic col
have been associated with Debussy, Bart6k, Scri
Stravinsky, among others.11 At least one theorist has
importance of the "overtone scale" in Bart6k's music,
also be found in the works of Debussy and Ravel. 12 An
explore below, the peculiar sound of bop and post-bop
"Chinese" quality in Cab Calloway's alleged descript
large part a function of the use of whole tone, octa
overtone scales to represent dominant harmonies. The
"local diatonicism" may reveal the structural facts under
intuitive exploration. The concept adds specific conten
notion that various musicians, from Debussy to Herbie
More precisely: the two criteria ensure that melodies compos

taking successive notes of the locally diatonic scales will be comp
intervals that we classify (with reference to the traditional diato
"seconds." Likewise, chords formed by taking every other note
diatonic scale will be formed out of intervals that we classify as "th
that this is not true of larger intervals, such as fourths or fifths.
11 Allen Forte, "Debussy and the Octatonic," Music Analysis
125-169; Richard S. Parks, The Music of Claude Debussy (New H
1983); Richard Cohn, "Bart6k's Octatonic Strategies: A Motivic
Journal of the American Musicological Society 44 (1991): 262-
Antokoletz, The Music of Beld Bartdk (Berkeley: The University o
Press, 1984), chapter 7; George Perle , " Scriabin's Self-Analyses," M
3 (1984): 101-122; and Pieter C. van den Toorn, The Music of Igor
(New Haven: Yale University Press, 1983).
For essays on nineteenth-century octatonicism, see Forte,
Experimental Music and the Music of the Early Twentieth C
19th-century Music 10 (1987): 209-228; Forte, "Moussorgsky as M
Phantasmic Episode in Boris Godunov" Music Analysis 9 (1990
Richard Taruskin, "Chernomor to Kashchei: Harmonic Sorcery; or, S
'Angle,'" Journal of the American Musicological Society 38 (1987): 26
I2Ern6 Lendvai, Bela Bartdk: An Analysis Of His Music (Londo
Averill, 1971).
140 Integral
have engaged in a s
traditional tonal vo
"sounded like" and "were different from" the scales in traditional
tonal music.
B. Extending the four-scale system
Many common scales, such as the pentatonic and the harmonic

minor, include an interval of three semitones (henceforth a
"minor third," even when an enharmonic spelling as an
augmented second is expected) between adjacent degrees. It is
natural, therefore, to think about relaxing condition Al by
permitting that interval as well. Our new criteria would read:
(Bl) the interval between any two consecutive scale degrees

should be either one, two, or three chromatic semitones; and
(B2) no three consecutive degrees should be joined by

successive semitones.
Unfortunately, this produces a "scale explosion." Instead of a

neat group of four scales, we are left with a chaotic plurality that
includes dozens of collections, some of which - like the
diminished-seventh chord - have only a dubious claim to
scalarity. We can restore order by adding a maximality constraint:
(B3) A scale cannot be a subset of any larger scale that meets

criteria (Bl) and (B2).
The reasoning here is that large, scale-like subsets will have

much in common with their parent sets: a scale from which one
or two notes has been removed is perceptually close to the
original. There is an important loss of precision involved, for
instance in assimilating the pentatonic scale to the diatonic and
overtone scales, but this loss is arguably outweighed by our need
for a manageably small collection of fundamental scales.
The maximality constraint reduces the number of qualifying
scale-types to seven. Besides the four locally diatonic scales
already mentioned, there are three new kinds

harmonic minor scale; its inversion, the "harmoni
so called because it is equivalent to the harmonic m
a raised third scale degree; and the "hexatonic"
augmented" scale, composed of alternating half-st
thirds.13 These new scales are again quite familiar
minor scale is, of course, ubiquitous in music o
period. The harmonic major scale, which can be de
major tonic, major dominant, and minor subdo
traditionally appears in major-key contexts inv
mixture - for example, no. 24 of Brahms's Han
op. 24. The symmetric augmented scale ofte
middleground collection in passages involving
progressions in which roots move by major third. ^
None of these three new scales is "locally diaton
contains a "semitone, minor third" sequence. A
however, conform locally (within a three-note span
intervallic constraints of the harmonic minor and
scales, and could thus be termed "locally harm
because the harmonic major and harmonic min
contain all five of the two-interval sequences per
Bl-3 ("whole tone, whole tone," "whole tone
"semitone, whole tone," "minor third, semitone,"
minor third") appear within the harmonic minor
harmonic major scale. ^
%he name "harmonic major** originates, I believe, with

term "symmetric augmented** comes from jazz practice.
1 See Cohn, "Maximally Smooth Cycles.**
^Reflecting on this list of permissible interval sequences
any scale which meets Bl-3 will either be locally diaton
consecutive [0145] tetrachord. We can use this to demonstr
only three new scales, along the lines of footnote 8. There ar
either this tetrachord is bounded by minor thirds, or it is
seconds. (Minor seconds would create consecutive semito
[0145] tetrachord C-Er-E-F is bounded on one side by a mi
minor third is to be maximal, then it must itself be bounded
semitones. We end up with the set C-EP-E-F-Gfr-A, which
(One obtains this same set no matter whether the minor thir
to the F or to the C.) Thus, if the [0145] tetrachord is bounde
142 Integral
C. The seven scales as m
One might think t

further by dropping
interval sequence, su
the no-consecutive semitones rule:
(Cl) A set cannot contain consecutive semitones; and
(C2) A set cannot be a subset of a larger set that meets

criterion (Cl).
Interestingly, this new pairing of constraints produces exactly

the same seven scales as we derived in the previous section, and no
more. 1(^17 Condition Bl, in other words, turns out to be
irrelevant: our seven scales are the only maximal set classes that
do not contain consecutive semitones. Therefore, they contain
every set that does not itself contain an [012] subset. Embedded
within some or all of these seven scales are 11 of the 12 trichordal
set classes, 24 of 29 tetrachords, 22 of 38 pentachords, 18 of 50
hexachords, 4 of 38 septachords, and 1 of 29 octachords. This
means that we can expect to find our seven scales appearing even
minor third, then it is bounded on both sides by minor thirds, and the
tetrachord is part of a symmetric augmented scale. If, on the other hand, it is
bounded by major seconds, then our scale contains the consecutive hexachord
Er-C-D^-Er-F-G. This set is not maximal. It can be filled either by an A * or an
A, producing, respectively, the harmonic minor or the harmonic major scale.
Jeff Pressing used a computer to discover this fact in the late 1970s. See
"Towards an Understanding of Scales in Jazz," Jazz Research 9 (1978): 25-35,
and "Pitch Class Set Structures in Contemporary Jazz," Jazz Research 14 (1982):
133-72.
The reason is that any set that meets criteria Cl and C2 can have "gaps" of
at most a minor third. That is because intervals larger than a minor third can
always be filled in without creating consecutive minor seconds: C-E, for
instance, can be filled in by a D, C-F by D-EK C-FI by D-E, and so on. But, as
we saw in the previous section, the maximality constraint also rules out the
interval patterns "whole-step, minor-third" and "minor-third, whole-step."
Thus any minor thirds must be bounded by semitones on both sides, and we
can apply the argument of the preceding section.
in contexts where composers may not have been th

explicitly scalar terms. The purely harmonic avo
consecutive semitones (expressed by principles Cl-2) ne
generates subsets of the seven scales we derived from t
principles Bl-3.
One important corollary is that any superimposition
triads of any quality (major with major, augmen
diminished, etc.) belongs to one of the seven scale
because it is impossible to form consecutive sem
superimposing two triads, or indeed, by superimposing
diminished seventh chord) onto a diminished sevent
(Similar, but weaker, statements are true of larger colle
instance, 36 of the 48 possible combinations of a tr
dominant-seventh chord belong to one of the seven sc
we should not be surprised to find our seven scales
harmonic points of convergence for composers workin
different musical idioms. Compare, by way of illustra
famous superimposition in the last movement of B
Ninth Symphony with the chord that Stravinsky used
hundred years later, in the "Dance of the Adolescents."
Example 1. Large, non-chromatic chords

(a) Beethoven, Ninth Symphony, IV, m. 208.
(b) Stravinsky, Rite of Spring, rehearsal 13.
HThis, in turn, is due to the fact the major/minor triad, the

triad, and the diminished-seventh chord are the maximal sets
contain seconds.
144 Integral
Stravinsky's chord
registration, the tri
forms of the harmon
at the collection via
initial key of the las
of that scale is prese
sonority. Stravinsky
terms. Registration
thirteenth chord on
to belong to one o
compositional proces
lead to similar result
have been such frequ
Likewise, composers
progressions will pr
two-chord span.
Example 2. Debussy,
We can thus use scal

chord triadic prog
categories. In Table 1
root of triad 1 to th
are numbered so as t
than six. For exampl
excerpt above, C min
as "triad 2", since the
from E to C.
On the basis of Tab
progressions ten
harmonic-minor co
Table 1. Classification of triadic progressions

according to scale membership.
Triad 1 Triad 2 Interval Between Parent Scale

Quality Quality Roots (semitones) ^
MM 1 harm-min
mm 1 harm-maj
Mm 1 harm-maj, harm-min
m M 1 diatonic
MM 2 diatonic, overtone
mm 2 diatonic, overtone
Mm 2 diatonic
m M 2 harm-maj, harm-min
M, m,d M, m,d 3 oct (and others)
MM 3 oct, harm-maj
mm 3 oct, harm-min
Mm 3 oct only
m M 3 oct, overtone, diatonic
harm-maj, harm-min
M,m,A M,m,A 4 augmented (and others)
MM 4 oct, harm-maj
mm 4 oct, harm-min
Mm 4 diatonic, augmented,
harm-maj, harm-min
m M 4 augmented only
MM 5 diatonic, harm-maj
mm 5 diatonic, harm-min
Mm 5 overtone, harm-maj,
harm-min
m M 5 diatonic, overtone
M, m M, m 6 octatonic only
A d7 any harm-maj, harm-min
^Measured upwards, from the root of triad 1 to the root of triad
146 Integral
"diatonic," minor-th
progressions "symm
izations are the mo
Indeed, many listen
and octatonic scales
third related triads
may well recall sim
Gt-minor to E-min
In comparison, triad
distinctly octatoni
category.
II. Scales in Practice:
A. Nondiatonic scales i
Jazz is a complex, im
scales of various kin
the "blues," and th
meet any of the sets
Nevertheless, condit
are extremely impor
been incorporated in
where they are part
Furthermore, these
the system of traditio
early twentieth-cent
serving to expand
functionality.
Jazz players often
chords as the princi
lying these rules is
express the function
an improviser can bu
tone scale that begin
with a lowered fifth
scale. But one would
unaltered dominant-seventh chord, since the fifth of t

falls outside of the scale. (Using scales that do not c
notes of the underlying harmony is called "playing
Jazz textbooks often codify these principles in lists tha
the most common jazz chords with the scales used
them. These lists vary somewhat from book to book, bu
basic agreement on a number of points. (Refer to my
for the rules of "chord-scale compatibility" as they ap
number of well-known contemporary jazz text-books.)
The oudines of the system are borrowed from tr
tonality: in major, the ionian mode is used to express
tonic-major function, the dorian mode to express
chords, and mixolydian mode for dominant chords. (M
here understood to begin on the root of the chord: one
G mixolydian to express a G7 chord.) But there are
important divergences from traditional theory. First, d
seventh chords tend to be associated with octatonic sca
than harmonic minor scales. Second, half-diminishe
chords can be harmonized either with the locrian mode
classical tradition) or with a form of the overtone scale
to the traditional locrian mode with a raised second deg
mode is sometimes called "locrian f 2.") Dominant chor
represented in a number of ways. Whole-tone scales ca
on the root of dominant-seventh chords that have been
so as to conform to the whole tone scale in ques
C9 (no 5th), and so on. An octatonic scale (beginni
semitone) can be built on the root of unaltered dominan
chord, the root of a dominant-seventh with a minor o
(i.e., augmented) ninth, or that of any other seve
compatible with the octatonic scale.
Overtone scales are used in two distinct forms. The fir
is equivalent to a mixolydian mode with raised fourth
sometimes called the "lydian dominant" scale.20 It c
to represent dominant-seventh chords with a flattened
raised eleventh. ("Lydian dominant" scales are most
Jazz textbooks often use the term "scale" where "mode" wou
appropriate. At the risk of confusing the reader, I am following co
148 Integral
for II7 chords that d

"Take the A Train,"
The second, which
lowered fourth degr
to represent domina
fifths, minor or augm
The preceding rules,
the four locally diat
more peripheral rul
Section I-B. Tonic
harmonic major sc
degrees can be expre
(equivalent to the l
symmetric augmen
arrangement). Min
seventh, can be exp
standard ascending
minor scale. Other p
played over various
these pentatonic sca
scales that conform t
Finally, there are th
"blues" scale (which
David Baker's "beb
really represent sy
tones to standard di
we can say: (1) virtu
compatibility" invol
scales are covered
scale compatibility
comprehensive, prac
derived theoretically
The four non-dia
dominant harmonies
tone and octaton
tetrachord" (or WTT
21 Please refer to the app
{C, D, E, F#} and "octatonic tetrachord" (or OT

to transpositions of the tetrachord {C, Ct, D|,
reconstruct these four rules of dominant chord "chord-scale
compatibility." Let Tl be the first tetrachord of the scale,
beginning on the root of the chord. Let T2 be the second
tetrachord of the scale, beginning on the pitch a tritone away
from the root. Let M be the mode that results. Then if T1=WTT
and T2 = OT, M = the "lydian dominant" mode of the overtone
scale. If TUWTT and T2 = WTT, M = the whole-tone scale. If
Tl = OT and T2 = WTT, M = the "altered" scale. And finally, if
Tl = OT and T2 = OT, M = the semitone-whole tone mode of
the octatonic scale. The seemingly complicated choice of four
scales can thus be reduced to a simple choice of two tetrachords.
Example 3. The chromatic representations ofV, simplified.
The neatness of this representation suggests that the scales

might indeed originate with the V*5 chord, enharmonically
equivalent to the "French sixth" chord of classical practice. This
chord (set-class [0257]) is in fact the only four-note collection
common to the whole-tone, octatonic, and overtone scales. It is
also a chord closely associated with the early pioneers of bop.
("We drink our fifths, the beboppers flat theirs," an older player
is said to have quipped.) One might hypothesize that the use of
these four scales originated with the problem of "filling out" the
l>5 chord with diatonic scale-fragments - a problem very much
like the one which led to the origin of the ascending form of the
melodic minor scale. It is natural to imagine that the "lydian
dominant" scale came first, as it differs by only one note from
150 Integral
the standard mix

symmetry of the ch
the tetrachord pro
whole-tone and octat
to doubt that this sp
may still help to exp
the l>5 dominant ch
diatonic scales; they ar
Musicological evid
was the first to ente
the impressionists
tone scales in "Ko-K
1940.22 Several comm
who popularized the
The other scales m
Ravel. Ravel, in parti
scales in ways that
example, in measure
String Quartet (sh
V7/V-V-vi chord p
tone, octatonic, and
he uses the octatonic scale to express a diminished
sonority - exactly as a jazz player would. (The EJ1 in the soprano
voice is an embellishment entirely typical of Ravel's style.) At
measure 92 (Example 6), he uses "locrian §2" over a half-
diminished seventh chord. And at measure 119 (rehearsal H;
shown in Example 7), the climax of the development section, he
uses the "altered" scale to express what is essentially ao chord: a
"French sixth" chord of dominant function. (Notice that the Cf
in the cello, which does not belong to the scale, "resolves" to C^ in
the second half of the measure.)2*
^ee the transcription of aKo-Kow in Ken Rattenbury's Duke Ellington:

Jazz Composer (New Haven: Yale, 1990), ch. 6. See also Gunther Schuller, The
Swim Era (New York: Oxford, 1989), 131.
^See Schuller, 131; also Thomas Owens, Bebop: The Music and Its Players
(New York: Oxford, 1995), 264 n.2, where he cites Schuller.
Example 4. Ravel, String Quartet, measures 22-25.
Example 5. Ravel String Quartet, measure 32
^Ravcl uses unadulterated "altered" scales in his "Ondine." See the a

in Section III-B, below.
152 Integral
Example 6. Ravel,
Example 7. Ravel S
Here, then, in just a

exemplifying five of
compatibility." Wh
principles independen
impressionist prac
detailed nature of
influence. At the sam
so for has been that
musical exploration.
possible to imagine t
B. Two jazz solos
1. Bud Powell s solo on "Collard Greens and Black-Eyed Peas
Bud Powell recorded Oscar Pettiford's "Collard Greens and

Black Eyed Peas" in 1953.2^ A standard G-major blues with a
VI7-ii-V progression at measures 8-10, the tune (Example 8)
consists of three repetitions of a three-bar melodic figure, with
one-bar solo breaks in between. Powell plays it twice. His first two
breaks, in measures 4 and 8, both involve locally diatonic scales.
The run at measure 4, over a I7 harmony, uses the overtone scale,
an example of more-or-less standard modal. The descending
chords at measure 8, made up of consecutive diminished triads
with major sevenths, are a common jazz trope, clearly derived
from the octatonic scale.
Example 8. Pettiford, "Collard Greens and Black Eyed Peas "

(as played by Bud Powell), measures 1-12.
Bud Powell, piano; George Duvivier, bass; An Taylor, drums. The

recording appears on The Amazing Bud Powell, Volume 2 (Blue Note CDP 7
81504 2).
154 Integral
The break in measu

the first two breaks
at measure 24 (Exam
of Powell's solo, beg
scale on D.
Example 9. Pettiford, "Collard Greens and Black Eyed Peas'*

(Starred notes are very faint and difficult to hear at full speed.)
In measure 28, we find another altered scale over the G

dominant chord, leading to C7 in measure 29. Measure 32
features an octatonic scale fragment which moves from Af to F,
the raised fourth (or eleventh) and flat-ninth of the underlying
E7 chord. (It is also possible to hear an overtone scale,
G-A-B-Cf-D-E-F, across the barline between measures 31-32,
but I doubt that this reflects Powell's thinking.) There

stretch of octatonicism over the D7 in measure 34.
The second chorus of Powell's solo is mainly diatonic.
exception is measure AA (Example 10), where an au
triad (D-Ft-Ai) represents the upper regions of an
dominant chord (the seventh, ninth, and sharp-elevent
This could imply either a whole tone scale or th
dominant (on E), and it is noteworthy because it illustr
close connection between the extended harmonies of jaz
locally diatonic scales.
Example 10. Pettiford, " Collar d Greens and Black Eyed P

(as played by Bud Powell), measure 44.
Jazz players tend not to use the unaltered dominant-

chord (E-Gjt-B-D-Ft-A in the key of A), since it contai
tritone and one of the pitches of the tritone's resolution
dominant chord, which Powell plays in measure 44, is
preferred. This chord virtually spells out an overtone
contains six of the seven notes of the "lydian d
mode - and is quite possibly one of the routes by w
overtone scale first entered jazz.26
Following Powell's two solo choruses, there are two ch
bass solo, and two in which Powell and Art Taylor pre
Cf. Charlie Parker, who claimed he discovered his sound by p

"higher intervals" of a chord - presumably the 9ths, llths, and 1
"changing the chords accordingly** [See Levin and Wilson, "'No B
Jazz*: Parker," Downbeat 16-17 (1949)]. This "changing of the ch
conceivably involve raising the 1 lth, to avoid anticipating the tonic
dominant harmony.
156 Integral
measure solos altern

as "trading fours").
Powell's use of chr
In measures 74-76 w
traditional modal m
measure 76), inexpl
altered scale (measu
presents an unadulte
over a V chord; th
diatonic gesture.
Example 11. Pettifor

(as played by Bud
After another chor

chorus of piano solo
in Example 12), and
from measure 28 re
octatonic passage fro
whole- tone "ripple" o
Example 12. Pettiford, "Collard Greens and Black Eyed Peas"

2. McCoy Tyner's solo on "Pursuance"
John Coltrane's "Pursuance" is a B> -minor blues with ^vii

(A? minor) substituting for iv, a secondary dominant at measure
9 (C7 or F|7), and a two-bar (usually i-V) turnaround at 11-12
Recorded in 1964, the tune appears as Part III of Coltrane's
A Love Supreme?7 The tempo is fast and the harmonies are
sometimes disregarded in the service of what Tyner onc
described as "freer melodic invention."28 Tyner's solo (shown in
Example 13), which begins in the third bar of the first chorus,
opens with three rising pentatonic runs balanced by a descending
overtone figure (an incomplete altered scale on C) which leads to
a V7 arpeggio. (The D in the seventh measure of the solo is
passing.) Note that the arpeggio in measure 8 implies either
whole- tone scale on F or an altered scale on F.
John Coltrane, tenor sax; McCoy Tyner, piano; Jimmy Garrison, bass; and
Elvyn Jones, drums. The CD is released by MCA/IMPULSE as John Coltrane
A Love Supreme (MCAD-5660; JVC-467).
Liner notes to Tyner's 1967 recording, The Real McCoy (Blue Note CDP
7 46512 2).
158 Integral
Example 13. McCoy T

Coltrane, "Pursuan
The second chorus

pentatonic pickup th
passage (measures 1-
an overtone scale (a
clearly state it. A s
leads to a climactic w
passing tones (B^l a
cadential formula.
Example 14. McCoy T

Coltrane, "Pursua
Most of the rest of the solo features a number of trad

Tyner procedures that do not involve our scales - p
scales "outside" the harmonic structure (choruses 3 and
non-tonal sequencing of motives from the tune (choruse
sophisticated polyrhythms (chorus 9), and spontaneous
invention (choruses 8 and 10). However, there are two
from the body of the solo where the locally diatonic s
implied in an interesting way. In the first two measures of
(Example 15), the tune's main motive is sequenced along
of a diminished triad. This octatonic passage serves a
between the free atonality of chorus 4 and the more to
that follows. The passage is a spontaneous, improvisation
stration of the transpositional symmetry of the octatonic s
Example 15. McCoy Tyner s solo from the fifth chorus

Coltrane, "Pursuance, " measures 1-12.
There is a related passage at the beginning of

(Example 16), in which the whole- tone scale determ
successive transpositions of the motive. The effect is
but it is possible to hear the whole-tone scale acti
middleground. Finally, near the end of the solo in
(Example 17), Tyner includes a long passage of wh
material, perhaps to help clear the aural "palate" at the
improvisation.
160 Integral
Example 16. Coltran
Example 17. McCoy T

Coltrane, "Pursua
III. Scales in Practi
Schoenberg once w
experimentation e
have always alterna
the experiences of
abstracted into stri
generations."29 Sch
compositional exp
describes the relati
Like contemporar
frequent use of t
occasionally deploy
Schoenberg, Structur
York: Norton, 1969), p.
as well. (Both composers were especially pa

rearrangements of the ascending melodic minor s
see below.) The impressionists' use of the seven sc
less systematic than that of contemporary jaz
some extent, the scales serve to extend traditional tonal
functionality, as in jazz practice. Yet they can also provide an
alternative to tonality - as in Debussy's "Voiles," where the
whole-tone scale represents not just a dominant sonority but also
a stable tonic entity in its own right. These differences no doubt
reflect the distinction between a self-conscious, avant-garde
tradition of "art music" and the improvisatory, vernacular tradition
of jazz, but they also attest to the process of musical
"standarization" to which Schoenberg alluded.
A. Debussy's "Footprints"
Debussy's "Des pas sur la neige," the sixth of his first book
of Preludes (1909-10), proceeds by presenting its three-note
ostinato in the context of a number of different scales and
modes. The ostinato is a locally diatonic scale fragment (D-E-F),
belonging to nine distinct scale- forms that meet criteria Bl-3.
As enumerated in Table 2, these include two diatonic (C and F
major), two overtone (D and F ascending-melodic-minor), two
harmonic-major (C and A), two harmonic-minor (D and A), and
one octatonic (the whole-step/half-step arrangement starting
on D). All but two of these forms (D melodic-minor and
A harmonic-major) appear over the course of the piece's 36 bars.
The piece is divided into two parallel phrases (measures 1-15
and 16-36), which are themselves composed of a number of
similar subphrases. The first begins in measure 2, with a three-
measure tune in D aeolian. The second subphrase (measures 5-7)
features descending parallel triads, and switches to D dorian, the
second of the two diatonic collections that contain the ostinato
scale fragment. In the third subphrase (measures 8-11; shown in
Example 18), the ostinato is harmonized with two dominant-
seventh chords related by half-step. I hear the harmonic
pattern continuing through the third measure of the subphrase.
162 Integral
Table 2. Scales con

as they appear in
Scale-type Scale Measure

diatonic D aeolian 2-4, 19
D dorian 5-7, 20-21
overtone D melodic minor -
F melodic minor 16-18
harmonic major C harmonic major 1 1
A harmonic major -
harmonic minor D harmonic minor 32-36
A harmonic minor 27-28
octatonic D-E- ... 8-9 (?)
Example 18. Debussy, "Des pas sur la

(from Preludes, book I), mm. 8-11
According to this hearing, the C7 is ex

"lydian dominant" scale: C-D-E-F|-G
measures of the passage, and A-B^-D-E
possible to hear the passage as octatonic: if
in left hand on the first beat to be non-h
then measures 8-9 each present a complete
The last measure of the passage shifts the harmonic p

a fifth - to G7, expressed by a complete "harmonic majo
C. On the third beat, Debussy moves to what at first so
an inverted & major-seventh chord. In the next
however, it is revealed to be an A?13 chord with an unpr
suspension in the bass.^0 The ostinato disappears in the
phrase (measures 12-15), which features a lyrical ba
expressing a complete A^-mixolydian scale. This is f
the last two measures by a modified C7 chord, an in
expression of the even whole-tone scale.
The second large phrase begins with a short section (m
Example 19) recalling measures 1-4. Debussy adds a
melody in the bass, and reharmonizes the entire passag
"locrian #2" mode of the overtone scale. In measure 19
suddenly to D aeolian.
Example 19. Debussy y "Des pas sur la neige," mm. 16
The next six measures (measures 20-25) extend the

ing triads of measures 5-7. In measure 21, the compose
suddenly into D^ mixolydian. For three measures, the
reduced to its last two pitches, the E here acting
^°Notice the sequence in the middle register of mm. 10-12:

in the alto in m. 10, C-B-B^-E^ in mm. 11-12, the last note of
being delayed until the beginning of the next sub-phrase. Mea
stands at the intersection of three independent patterns: th
oscillation, which leads us to expect Er in the bass (reharmoniz
suspended A*7 chord rather than a Er7), the harmonic sequence, wh
aK and the melodic sequence, which pushes the music forwa
beginning of the next phrase. Each of these serves to propel the m
slightly different directions.
164 Integral
harmonic tone. The

chords in the left
mixolydian. The th
begins with minor t
an oscillation between
pitches of the harmo
Example 20. Debussy
After a brief retu

Debussy ends with
which all the pitche
passage as modal, w
D-minor chord, when
Example 21. Debussy
It is also possible to hea

the octatonic scale. (See
analysis, the final D-m
governing mm. 32-35; on
B. " Ondine" from Ravel's Gaspard de la Nuit
Ravel's " Ondine" is based on four modes of the overtone scale:

the familiar "melodic minor" arrangement; the mode that jazz
musicians call the "altered" scale (see Example 3c, above); a little-
used mode that could be called the "dorian ^2" mode, and, most
strikingly, a mode I will call "mixolydian ?6."32 It is this last form
of the overtone scale that gives rise to the primary sonority of the
piece, a major triad with an added minor sixth. This shimmering
sound appears eight times in "Ondine" at five different pitch
levels. Each time, it is accompanied by melodic material drawn
from the overtone scale. Curiously, these melodies never state the
entire overtone collection: in all eight appearances of the primary
sonority, Ravel omits the pitch that would customarily serve as
the tonic of the associated melodic minor scale.33 Table 3
summarizes the appearances of the overtone scale in the piece.
Table 3. The Overtone/Melodic Minor Scale in Ravel's "Ondine"34
Measure Mode Collection
1-5 mixolydian *6 F§ mm
7-9 melodic minor D| mm
10-14 melodic minor Ft mm
15-16 mixolydian * 6 Ff mm
17-22 melodic minor Cf mm
29 locrian #2? Ctlmm?
30 lydian dominant? Ff mm?
31-33 mixolydian ^6 Cttmm
34-36 melodic minor Ffmm
37-39,41 mixolydian *6 Cjlmm
40, 4 1 dorian * 2 E mm
3 As their names suggest, these modes resemb

modes but for one note.
^This may represent Ravel's attempt to use the so
than minor-mode dominant.
^sfote that I count the initial half-bar as a full measure, so that the melody
begins in measure 3.
166 Integral
Table 3 (contin
Measure Mode Collection
42-45 mixolydian * 6 Gi mm
43-44 altered/lyd. dominant E mm
46-50 mixolydian ^ 6 F mm
46, 47-48 altered/lyd. dominant Ct mm
5 1-52 mixolydian *6 D mm
51 altered B? mm
55 altered B* mm
64 melodic minor F| mm
65 melodic minor E mm
69-72 melodic minor B mm
81-82 altered A mm
84-88 melodic minor D mnr^
89-92 mixolydian ^6 F| mm
Many of the other six scales appear as well, including the

diatonic, octatonic, harmonic-major, and harmonic-minor
collections. Indeed the only one of the seven scales that is
noticeably absent is the one most commonly associated with
Ravel and Debussy - the whole-tone scale. (Though cf. measure
29.) Table 4 lists some of these other scales as they appear in the
piece.
There are only a few places, such as measures 27-30, 54-55,
67-68, and 89, where Ravel changes harmonies before
definitively implying a scale. Most of these passages involve
strong root-functional chord progressions - by descending fifth
in measures 27-30 and 54-55, by minor third and descending
fifth in measures 67-68 - and individual sonorities which do not
contain consecutive semitones.36 Indeed, the only figures that
55I hear the G# as a neighbor-note. If one hears it as part of the scale, then
mm. 85-88 contain a harmonic major scale.
^Notice further that the pitches in mm. 29 and 30 belong to Cl and Ft
melodic minor, the two scales that provided the primary harmonic material of
the opening phrase.
Table 4. Other scales in "Ondine"
Measure Scale Collection
5-6, 9-10 diatonic D| dorian

23-26 diatonic G| maj.
24-25 octatonic CCtt J7
29 whole-tone? CD
50 harm-maj. B harm-maj
53 (1st half) harm-min. D harm-min
53 (2nd half) diatonic D dorian
56 harm-min. D harm-min
57 diatonic D dorian
58-59 (l.h.) octatonic Cf D
58-59 (r.h., beats 1 , 4) octatonic C| D
58-60 (r.h. & l.h., beats 2-3) harm-maj B harm-maj
73-74 diatonic C maj
75-76 diatonic F| maj
81-83 diatonic Gff dorian
could not be derived from any one of th

passages in the right hand of measures 4
The piece opens with a series of gent
which begin in F| melodic-minor and
different scalar regions. Ravel changes s
implying a different scale with each alte
example, he waits a beat after the melo
(implying C# harmonic-major) before sh
an At (implying Cf major). Table 5
implied by the first 9 measures of m
scales are incomplete, since there is no F
Example 22 sketches the pitch content
the piece. At measure 11, Ravel return
F| melodic-minor, this time over an Fjl-m
15, he reverts to the primary sonority
*'I.e., the octatonic collection that contains C
168 Integral
Two measures later

from F| melodic-min
roots. (These two diff
classical tradition,
Ravel's extended sca
C| melodic-minor to
in 24-25. At measu
series of chords that d
The second large p
begins in measure 31 w
Table 5. Modulation
Measure Enharmonic Change Implied Scale

1-4 F| mm
5 (beat 3) B -» B§ Cf harm-maj
5 (beat 4) A -» At? C$ major
6 (beat 1) dt -» C* Djt mm
6 (beat 4) CX-» C§ Cf major
7 Cft -» C* Di mm
9 (beat 2) B| -» B D| dorian
9 (beat 4) A§ -» A, Bjt -» B F§ mm
Example 22. Sketch of Ravel "Ondine," mm. 11-22.
piece, here transposed down a fourth. ^8 In the first h

phrase, Ravel alters the pitches of the melody (EN to E|
34) so as to conform to the harmonic shift at mea
The accompanimental figure moves down by step, t
underlying scalar movement is by perfect fourth, bac
Ff melodic-minor collection of the opening.
Example 23. Sketch of Ravel, "Ondine, " mm. 31-37.
In the second half of the phrase, the melody remains

mode (A| locrian), the harmonies having been chang
conform to the melody. The difference between the s
suggests that Ravel occasionally uses melodic motion to
scale choice. It is unclear why Ravel sometimes alters hi
to conform to the changing harmonies (as in measu
and why he sometimes chooses harmonies to suppor
that remain in a single scale. The choice may have been
immediate aesthetic grounds; possibly, however, more s
explanations await discovery.
^One might question whether traditional movement by

appropriate to overtone-scale music. For while fifth-related diatoni
share six notes in common, fifth-related overtone scales share only f
based on the overtone scale, the major second, not the perfect fifth
natural interval of harmonic progression, as it preserves the maxim
of pitches, five. Alternatively, one might invert the argument, using t
Ravel's piece sounds flawless and convincing to suggest that theoris
overstate the importance of transpositions that preserve maximal pi
170 Integral
Example 24. Sketch
The harmonic mov

again involves a stri
(from Cjl melodic-m
progression from
figuration remains c
The third large phra
the primary sonorit
fifth, from C| melo
passage involves a se
mixolydian ^6 and th
scale. The harmonie
underlying scale-mo
minor to E melodi
harmonic shift from
jazz players it might
as essentially static,
D|7 chord to an "alt
bass in measure 52 su
passage in this way.)
related overtone sca
comprise an altered
G| melodic-minor an
^"Throughout "Ondine
sense of root-progressio
mm. 24-25, 43-52, 58-62
via the direct transposit
use root movements that
mm. 31-36.
G, B, and C|> which can be understood as a Djt dominant

with a raised fifth degree (or, alternately, as the raise
seventh, ninth, and third degrees of A7). In measur
(Example 25), these common tones often remain in
register across modal shifts, creating vivid effects."*0
Example 25. Sketch of Ravel "Ondine, " mm. 43-52.
Notice that although many of the overtone sc

themselves incomplete, they are incomplete in differe
suggesting that Ravel was indeed thinking in terms
rather than smaller sets. Measures 46 and 48, for exam
individually involve incomplete C# melodic-minor scale
taken together they form a complete collection. (The B
minor collection in measure 51 is also complete.)
The next phrase begins in measure 53 with a series of
chord progressions that center around D minor. At me
(Example 26), we reach a bravura passage, in which the
plays a series of minor-third related triads that m
complete octatonic scale. The right hand colors those t
^For example, Ct, Dl, G, and B in mm. 43-44, and A, G, Ct,

m. 51.
172 Integral
other scales: first, t

(beats 2-3), and then
maximal intersection between the diatonic and octatonic
collections (beat 4).
Example 26. Ravel, "Ondine, " m. 58.
As in measures 38-41, the melody (here in the left hand)

seems to determine the harmonic movement, remaining within a
single scale while the accompaniment modulates by way of
common tones. Thus, for example, the E-minor chord on the
second beat is a member of two distinct collections - the
horizontal octatonic collection in the left hand, and the vertical B
harmonic-major collection at beats 2-3.
This fourth phrase builds to a striking climax in measures 67-
68, a series of minor-third related dominant-tonic progressions
whose roots outline a symmetric augmented scale: Bm9-D13-
Gm9-Bl>13-Dfm9-Ft13. Qohn Coltrane later used a very similar
progression, on the same roots, in "Giant Steps".)41 The passage
settles on B melodic-minor, whereupon follows a long diatonic
passage, a brief recapitulation, and coda. This music uses the
scales in ways that are familiar from the earlier parts of the piece.
Coltrane seems to have taken the "Giant Steps" progression from

Slonimsky, who was in turn no doubt influenced by Ravel. See David Demsy,
"Chromatic Third Relations in the Music of John Coltrane," Annual Review of
Jazz Studies 5 (1991): 145-180. (Note that Coltrane's progression substitutes
major seventh chords for Ravel's minor ninths.)
C Conclusion
Tonality is often described as a relationship between

and chords belonging to a single scale: in composing a
go with a (major) I-ii-V-I progression, the student
music is taught to use pitches drawn from one diatonic
Minor-mode harmony, however, is invariably polys
modal mixture and the use of secondary dominant chor
the scalar density of tonal harmony. Impressionist com
jazz musicians continued this process, regularly using
the locally diatonic scales, as well as (more sporadically)
three scales derived in Section I-B. The result is a f
blend of middleground diatonicism and local chrom
music in which the qualities of "tension" and "releas
products both of shifts between different scalar collect
background movement among the regions of a single,
scale. Listening to Ravel's "Ondine" or to a sophist
musician improvise over standard tonal changes, on
curiously hybrid sound - a dense and difficult chromat
still seems rooted in elementary principles of tonal voic
One might conclude that the "common practice p
not necessarily end with the nineteenth century. The sc
in Section I, coupled with the rules of "chord-scale com
discussed in Section II, represent a substantial addit
tonal system which is not the creation of any single m
Though the expanded system is theoretically elegant,
over a number of years, in the hands of a number of
Debussy, Ravel, Stravinsky, Bart6k, Messiaen, Theloni
Charlie Parker, John Coltrane. All of these have explor
of the seven non-chromatic scales, like mountaineers cl
same mountain from different sides, often unaware of
progress. In recent decades, their explorations have cry
the vocabulary of the working jazz musician. To this e
least, we do have a genuinely "common practice." A
extent, tonality is not a relic of previous times, b
something that continues to change and grow.
174 Integral
Appendix A: Jazz ped
I. Scott Reeves [fro

Cliffs: Prentice-Hal
ChordsScales
1. major, lydian,
major 7th, major pentatonic, major
major 6th
major 9th pentatonic a perfect 5th above the root
2. major 7thA5, major lydian, major pentatonic a major 2nd above

7th/tll,majorl3th/tll the root
3. major 7th/|5 lydian augmented [i.e., overtone]*2
4. minor 6th, minor 1 3th dorian, minor pentatonic a major 2nd above
the root, minor/added 6th pentatonic
5. minor 7th, minor 9th, dorian, aeolian, minor pentatonic, minor

minor 11th pentatonic a perfect 5th above the root,
minor/added 6th pentatonic
6. minor/major 7 harmonic minor, ascending melodic minor
7. minor 7xhr 5, locrian, minor pentatonic a perfect 5th above

half-diminished 7th the root,43 minor pentatonic a major 2nd
below the root, locrian 1 2, minor/added 6th
pentatonic a minor third above the root
8. minor 9thA5, locrian §2, minor/added 6th pentatonic

half-diminished 9th a minor 3rd above the root
9. dominant 7th, mixolydian, major pentatonic/added sixth

dominant 9th, pentatonic a perfect 4th below the root
dominant 13th
TiTiis is the lydian mode with a raised fifth degree.

^his scale conflicts with the chord, and may represent an error. "Perfect
fourth" may be intended.
10. dominant 9thr 5 whole-tone, lydian dominant
11. dominant 9th/| 5 whole-tone
12. dominant 7th/|9, diminished (half-step),

dominant 7thA 9 diminished/whole-tone [i.e., altered]
13. dominant 7th/#9^5,

diminished (half-step), diminished/whole-
dominant 7thA 9* 5 tone, major pentatonic an augmented 4th
above the root
14. dominant 7th/l9l5,

diminished/whole-tone, major pentatonic an
dominant 7thA 9l 5 augmented 4th above the root
15. diminished 7th diminished (whole-step)
II. David Baker [from How to Play Bebop, Vol. 1 (Bloomingto

Frangipani, 1985)].
Major Family
Chord Type Scale Form
Major- 1 3 5 7 9 Major 12 3 4 5 6 7 8
Major <M)13579lll Lydian 123*45678

Major (|4i5)l 31579*11 Lydian Augmented 12 3 §4 §5678
Major hfo) 13 5 79 11 13 Augmented 1 §2 3 5^671
Major 13 5 7 9 Diminished 1 bb^NIS 6^7 8
Major 13 5 7 9 Harmonic Major 1 2 3 4 5 *6 7 8
Major 13 5 7 9 Blueslb»134|45l>78
Major 13 5 7 9 Minor pentatonic 1^34 5^7 8
Major 13 5 7 9 Major pentatonic 12 3 5 6 8
176 Integral
Minor Family
Minor, tonic (I) Function Dorian 12b 4 5 6^7 8

Natural minor 1 2 h 4 5 ^7 8
Phrygian 1^2^34 5^6^7 8

Ascending melodic minor
12^345678
Harmonic minor 1 2^34 5^67 8
Minor pentatonic 1 *3 4 5 >7 8

Blues lh N34#4 5^7 8
Minor 7th (II) Function Dorian 12^3456^78

Ascending melodic minor
12^345678
Harmonic minor 1 2 1>3 4 5 *6 7 8
Minor pentatonic 1^345^78

Blues lh te 4 145^7 8
Diminished (start with whole
step)4412b4|4i5678
Dominant Family
Dominant 7th unaltered Mixolydianl23 4 5 6l>7 8

135^79 Lydian Dominant 1 2 3 §4 5 6 ^ 7 8
Major pentatonic 12 3 5 6 8
Minor pentatonic 1 ^345^78

Blues lh N34#45^7 8
lhis scale conflicts with the chord, and reflects Baker's tolerance for
playing "outside."
Dominant Family (continued)
Dominant 7th 111 Lydian Dominant
1 35^79#11 1231456^78
Dominant 7th * 5, §5 or both WholeToncl2 3l4|5l6

13^5^7; 1315^7; 13(^515)^7
Dominant 7th fo) Diminished
135^9 ll>2bte 1456^78
Dominant 7th 1 9 Diminished 1 l'2bl13i4 5 6^78
135^719 Diminished whole tone [i.e., altered]
1^2bl|3»4»5»68
Dorian 12b456^783
Blues ^3^34*45^78
Minor pentatonic 1^345^78
Dominant 7th ^ 9 and i 9 Diminished 1 h h N3 *4 5 6 h 8

Diminished whole tone
l'-2l'3ll3i4i5i68
Minor pentatonic 1'345'78
Bluesl''3l134|45l'78
Dominant 7th * 5 and * 9 Diminished
ihh ^3 145 6 h 8
Diminished whole tone
ll'2l'3'l3»4«5t68
Minor pentatonic 1'345'78
Blues 1 1-31134 #4 5^7 8
178 Integral
Dominant Family
Dominant 7th Diminished scale
bandl>9 13^5.^9 ll>2l>3tei456l>78

#5and#9 13#5^7#9 Minor pentatonic
band§9 13^5^719 1^345^78
I5and^913l5^9 Blues lb'l34|45t78
Half-Diminished Chords
Half-diminished 7th Locrianlbb^^^S

(*7) Lx)crian|2 12^34^5^6^78
or
Minor 7th fr 5) Diminished (start with whole step)

lb^7 12b4|4l5678
Bluesll'3l134|45''78
Diminished Chords
Diminished 7th Diminished scale
(°7) (start with whole step)

1^56 12b4|4i5678
III. Mark Levine [from The Jazz Piano Book (Petaluma:

Music, 1989)].
Levine's list works the opposite way from the previous two. Chapter Nine
book, entitled "Scale Theory," presents all the modes of four scales- di
overtone, octatonic, and whole-tone - along with the chords that correspo
each mode. (He gives rules for harmonic major and minor scales on pag
without mentioning the symmetric augmented scale.)
Scale Mode Chord
Diatonic Ionian C major 7

(Levine uses Dorian D minor 7
C major) Phrygian Esusl>9,F/E,E-7ona

iii_vi-ii-v
Lydian Fmaj+4
Mixolydian G7, Gsus
Aeolian A minor moving to F
Locrian B half-diminished
Melodic Minor minor-major Cmin/maj7

(Levine lists the unnamed DsJ>9
modes of C mm, Lydian augmented E^maj7+5
in ascending order, Lydian dominant F7+11
starting with C) unnamed no standard symbol

(Fmin/maj7 over C?)
half-diminished^ A half-diminished
altered46 B7alt
Diminished half step-whole step Dominant 7th * 9 on root
whole step-half step

Diminished on root
Whole-tone Dominant 7th sharp five,

or Dominant 7th M 3
^Levine also gives the name u Locrian »2."

^jevine also gives "diminished whole-tone."

Structure: A Link Between Impressionism and Jazz1 Dmitri Tymoczko

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The Consecutive-Semitone Constraint on Scalar

Structure: A Link Between Impressionism and Jazz1

The diatonic scale, considered as a subset of the twelve

of the diatonic scal

A. The four "locally diatonic" scales

The formation of the ascending melodic minor scale h

(Al) the interval between any two consecutive scal

(A2) no three consecutive degrees should be jo

Let us further restrict the concept of scale by stipulating that a

that two scales are "

The "overtone" scale is

Since the overtone scale contains every permissible three-interval sequence

locally diatonic scales and traditional diatonic mus

More precisely: the two criteria ensure that melodies compos

B. Extending the four-scale system

Many common scales, such as the pentatonic and the harmonic

(Bl) the interval between any two consecutive scale degrees

(B2) no three consecutive degrees should be joined by

Unfortunately, this produces a "scale explosion." Instead of a

(B3) A scale cannot be a subset of any larger scale that meets

The reasoning here is that large, scale-like subsets will have

already mentioned, there are three new kinds

%he name "harmonic major** originates, I believe, with

C. The seven scales as m

One might think t

(Cl) A set cannot contain consecutive semitones; and

(C2) A set cannot be a subset of a larger set that meets

Interestingly, this new pairing of constraints produces exactly

in contexts where composers may not have been th

Example 1. Large, non-chromatic chords

HThis, in turn, is due to the fact the major/minor triad, the

We can thus use scal

Table 1. Classification of triadic progressions

Triad 1 Triad 2 Interval Between Parent Scale

^Measured upwards, from the root of triad 1 to the root of triad

II. Scales in Practice:

unaltered dominant-seventh chord, since the fifth of t

for II7 chords that d

21 Please refer to the app

{C, D, E, F#} and "octatonic tetrachord" (or OT

Example 3. The chromatic representations ofV, simplified.

The neatness of this representation suggests that the scales

the standard mix

^ee the transcription of aKo-Kow in Ken Rattenbury's Duke Ellington:

Example 4. Ravel, String Quartet, measures 22-25.

Example 5. Ravel String Quartet, measure 32

^Ravcl uses unadulterated "altered" scales in his "Ondine." See the a

Here, then, in just a

B. Two jazz solos

1. Bud Powell s solo on "Collard Greens and Black-Eyed Peas

Bud Powell recorded Oscar Pettiford's "Collard Greens and

Example 8. Pettiford, "Collard Greens and Black Eyed Peas "

Bud Powell, piano; George Duvivier, bass; An Taylor, drums. The

The break in measu

Example 9. Pettiford, "Collard Greens and Black Eyed Peas'*

In measure 28, we find another altered scale over the G

but I doubt that this reflects Powell's thinking.) There

Example 10. Pettiford, " Collar d Greens and Black Eyed P