Definition of Jazz scale
A jazz scale is any musical scale used in jazz. Many "jazz scales" are common scales drawn from Western European classical music, including the diatonic, whole-tone, octatonic (or diminished), and the modes of the ascending melodic minor. All of these scales were commonly used by late nineteenth and early twentieth-century composers such as Rimsky-Korsakov, Debussy, Ravel and Stravinsky, often in ways that directly anticipate jazz practice. Some jazz scales, such as the eight-note bebop scales, add additional chromatic passing tones to the familiar seven-note diatonic scales.
Related terms
Ditonic scale
A ditonic scale is a musical scale or mode with two notes per octave. This is in…
Tritonic scale
A tritonic scale is a musical scale or mode with three notes per octave. This is in…
Tetratonic scale
A tetratonic scale is a musical scale or mode with four notes per octave. This is in…
Neapolitan scale
In music, the major Neapolitan scale and the minor Neapolitan scale are two musical…
Major and minor
In Western music, the adjectives major and minor may describe an interval, chord, scale…
Major second
In Western music theory, a major second (sometimes also called whole tone or a whole…
Saptak
Saptak means "gamut" or "the series of seven notes". It denotes the set of swaras i.e…
Supertonic
In music, the supertonic is the second degree of a diatonic scale, one whole step above…
Relative key
In music theory, relative keys are the major and minor scales that have the same key…
Frequently asked questions
What is Jazz scale?
A jazz scale is any musical scale used in jazz. Many "jazz scales" are common scales drawn from Western European classical music, including the diatonic, whole-tone, octatonic (or diminished), and the modes of the ascending melodic minor.