Anyone know about music scales?

Question

1)Does every scale have the same amount of notes in it and the same amount of steps? 2)If I play in the scale of A major for example, does that mean that all of the notes in that scale are available to be used in the composition and that all other notes that are not in the scale are excluded and would ruin the piece if they were there? 3) If I were to compose my own piece in a particular scale, does that mean I have to use all the notes in that scale at least once, or can I just pick a few of the notes from the scale that I want to use? 4) Does using a scale mean that I can just take whatever notes happen to be in that scale and arrange them any way I want to and they will end up sounding reasonably good?
5) Are there songs that use all the notes that exist? 6) Does the scale apply to the song as a whole, or just to individual progressions within the song? Are all the progressions in a song related somehow, or can there be multiple progressions using more than one scale?

Answer 1

Let me take them one at a time.

1) Your tradition scales such as majors and minors all have 8 notes. There are many others though that don't, pentatonic, blues, ect. Every scale type has a different amount of steps. Thats what makes them different. However, within each scale type the steps are the same. For example all major scales are based on the following steps WWHWWWH (whole and half steps) All natural minor scales are based on WHWWHWW.

2) No. In a song the harmonic structure is based on chord progressions. Although the song is in the key of A different chords would temporarily take you to different keys. A simple progresson would be A - D - E - A. Each chord would represent a new scale that is available. Even with that you not restricted to just the tones of the scale. Those tones are going to sound the best but the others can be used a passing tones from one scale tone to the next. You wouldn't want to make those tones the main notes in your song.

3) Again, you song would not be based on just one scale. It would move from one scale to the next. This bring up a variety of available notes that would make your song more interesting. Go to a music store and buy a song book. On the top ot the staff are guitar chords. These chords are the harmonic structure of the song. For each chord there are corresponding scales. Also, just like question 2, you can use any note you want. What matters is how you use it. If it's not a tone in the chord, or especially if it's not in the scale you would only want to use it in pasisng.

4) Yes, but remember you have to change scales/chords. The best notes of the scales are going to be the notes of the chord. An A scale is composed of A-B-C#-D-E-F#-G#-A. The A chord is only A-C#-E. The other notes will work but tend towards passing tones. Any other notes should only be passing tones.

5) I don't think so, although some 20th century music sure sounds like it.

6) It applies to the song as a whole in letting you know what key it is in. Based on the key a performer can make assumptions as to the chords that will be used. It directly is applied to each chord progression. The chords are typically based of the key of the song. Example, key of A you'd expect chords built off each tone of the A scale. However, you can use just about any other chord. When you do that it temporarily or permanantly takes you to a different key. This is called modulations.

It sounds like your very interested in trying your hand at writing a song. I'd reccomend buying a song book that you like. Then use the chord progression from one of those songs to establish your structure and then write a new melody and harmonies based on it. You can't publish it because of the copied chords but you can learn from it and have fun making your own music. After you do that then you can experiment with your own chord progressions.

Answer 2

Whew! Complicated question. I'll answer as best as I can. I've got a master's degree in music. I'll try not to confuse you even more! To answer all of your questions would take a whole book. Therefore to get a good grasp on the basics of music theory, I'd suggest that you buy a beginner theory book at your local music store, such as Alfred's Theory. I believe this is a helpful book/workbook that starts right at the beginning. Once you get into it, all of your questions will seem much easier to answer!
Good luck!
1.) No, not all scales have the same number of notes. Major and minor scales all have 7 different notes, 8 if you count the top repeating note. "major" and "minor" just means it is a different structure. Some scales, called pentatonic scales, only use 5 notes. A chromatic scale uses ALL 12 notes.
2.) A composition is not necessarily based on the "scale." It is based on a "key," which has more to do with the underlying harmonic structure of a piece. therefore, whether or not a piece sounds "good" will have more to do with whether or not your melody notes "go with" the chords. They are intertwined and should be composed together rather than separately.

Answer 3

As someone else said, a piece is written in a key not a scale. Short answer to parts 1-4 is no. Yes, some songs use all the notes either by using a twelve-tone scale or by modulation and/or accidentals. In tonal music the progressions are related. There is music called "atonal" that does not have a center and progressions may be random.

It sounds like you want to compose but don't have any theory background. Try composing your piece first: write down your notes, have them played (either by an individual, a group or electronically) so you can hear what it sounds like, and then determine what key, if any, your piece fits in.

Answer 4

To add to what the others have answered: When you are composing, you are using primarily the notes in chords of the particular key you've chosen. This is especially important if you are writing more than one part. You can assign each part a note of the key and they will fit together.
You do not have to stick to the notes in the key all the time. This what accidental notes are for. For example: if you are in the Key of A but you want to use a C natural, you would put a natural sign in front of the C so that the player or singer knows to change it. I like to think of it like this: the key signature is like traffic light that tells you what to do. The accidental is like the traffic cop who steps into the middle of the intersection and tells you to stop even though the light is green. Like the cop, the accidental supercedes the key signature, but if the accidental doesn't appear in the next measure, (or the cop steps out of the intersection,) everything returns to normal.
There are songs that use every note. These are called chromatics which means you use every 1/2 step. An example of a song that does this is "Flight of the Bumblebee."
You can also change Key signatures in the middle of a piece. In Baroque music, it was very poplular in some movements to start in a major key, change to the minor of the same key name and then return to the major key or vice versa. When you want to change the key, you use chord progressions to make the transition from one key to the next.

Answer 5

in major scales, each scale has the same amount of steps. 7 notes, 5 whole steps, 2 half steps.

you only want to use the notes available in A major when in that key. otherwise it will sound "bad".

you dont have to use all the notes.

if you have notes in A major, if you arrange them in any coherent pattern with rhythm, it will sound "melodic". the notes in the scale are also used to build chords.

not sure what you mean in number 5

you can use any scale and "modulate" to other keys (scales). So you can go to A Major to C Major etc etc in differnet parts of the song. You hear this all the time in Pop music, just pick up some Jessica Simpson or other crappy teen pop.