5. Scales are the basis for any melody

Scales are the next major rudiment in music.

Scales are the raw material for melodies. Any melodic musical passage with a singable tune relies on a scale for its form.

A scale is a sequential collection of notes with a specific pattern of tones and semitones.

This pattern determines the sound of the scale and the way it’s used in songs.

Different scales bring different moods, emotions and characteristics to a piece—and allow for different melodic possibilities.

The two basic scales are the major and minor, The major scale follows the pattern tone-tone-semitone-tone-tone-tone-semitone. 

The minor scale follows the pattern tone-semitone-tone-tone-semitone-tone-tone.

But that’s only the beginning. There are plenty of different scales out there, each with its own unique melodic signature.

Scales have just as big an impact as chords when it comes to forming a song’s sonic identity.

Scales and chords are the main rudiments you need to understand to start making music.

We go through the most useful types of scales and how to apply them in our series of articles on scales.