• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Your Favorite Scale?

NoiseNinja

NoiseNinja

Experimental-psychedelic-ambient-noise-drone
Inactive
Feb 23, 2011
6,258
5,534
Denmark
soundcloud.com
#1
I realize you have to play the notes that fits the music you happen to play, but what is the scale that you enjoy the sound and mood/character of the most and loves to noodle, jam in, and eventual to use when composing music, the most?

Mine absolutely has to be the Dorian Scale, love that somewhat folkish/medieval character of it that also can get quite jazzy, depending on how you chose to combine it's notes, to me there is something very warm and organic to it, an almost ancestral familiarity (I guess sort of solemn in a very down to earth and grounded way), that makes me feel good, although it is also lends it self to more melancholy moods.

Another top favorite of mine is the Double Harmonic Scale, also called the Byzantine Scale, which is pretty close to the Phrygian Major Scale, also called the Flaminco Scale or the Spanish Scale, but has an even stronger oriental character, which to me gives it sort of a mystical and slightly psychedelic vibe, beside obviously leading the thought onto Indian, but especially Middle Eastern, music.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Beff Juckley, k_hardy, dbsfgyd1 and 2 others
#4
Nashrakh said:
Whenever I compose, I go straight to Harmonic Minor. Love the augmented second interval. Double Harmonic is thus a close second, but I'm a minor guy.
Click to expand...

I like the Harmonic Minor Scale too, which also got that oriental character that I love about the Double Harmonic Scale, though far from as pronounced.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Nashrakh
#14
NoiseNinja said:
I realize you have to play the notes that fits the music you happen to play, but what is the scale that you enjoy the sound and mood/character of the most and loves to noodle, jam in, and eventual to use when composing music, the most?

Mine absolutely has to be the Dorian Scale, love that somewhat folkish/medieval character of it that also can get quite jazzy, depending on how you chose to combine it's notes, to me there is something very warm and organic to it, an almost ancestral familiarity (I guess sort of solemn in a very down to earth and grounded way), that makes me feel good, although it is also lends it self to more melancholy moods.

Another top favorite of mine is the Double Harmonic Scale, also called the Byzantine Scale, which is pretty close to the Phrygian Major Scale, also called the Flaminco Scale or the Spanish Scale, but has an even stronger oriental character, which to me gives it sort of a mystical and slightly psychedelic vibe, beside obviously leading the thought onto Indian, but especially Middle Eastern, music.
Click to expand...
I’m not super partial to any of them. But one scale that sticks out a bit is the f# blues scale (F#,A,B,C, C#,E, F#) mainly because back in the 90s when I was learning the first two rage against the machine records by ear. I was basically beginner level bass player back then. A lot of that old rage music didn’t use typical major/minor scales and just seemed weird to me at the time because at that point I had just started playing bass but I had been playing trumpet for several years and for Trumpet we mainly played basic major and minor scales for the first few years. So at first I looked at Rage lines as having all these accidentals. Then I had to learn blues scales as part of my bass audition for my high school jazz band and when I learned the f# blues scale In particular it was a lightbulb moment (that’s basically the RATM scale) well for several of their songs anyways. And once you learn the blues scale pattern all over, rage against the machine basslines start to make a LOT more sense.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back