6/1/2023 0 Comments Chromatic scale definition![]() Your fingers (and your brain) will automatically know what to play in between. Also, if you look at a passage, see that it is totally chromatic, then you only need to read the first note, the last note, and the rhythm. ![]() If you have practiced playing chromatic scales, it will be easy for you to play those passages in your music. Pianists, you should learn to play chromatic scales with both hands in several ways both hands moving together, both hands moving in opposite directions, and starting each hand on different notes! You might be able to really annoy people if you start with one hand on C and the other hand on D! Or C#!īesides annoying people, you will frequently find chromatic passages in more advanced music. But playing chromatics is important! You should practice playing multi-octave chromatic scales starting on every note. Well, you probably don’t need to care much about all the math involved, unless that really interests you. If you look at the standard frequency for any pitch (like A = 440), multiply that by 1.0595 and do that 12 times, you will end up with double the frequency, or the pitch of the note an octave higher than your starting note. Using physics and math, including logarithms, they took the twelfth root of 2 to get an interval frequency of 1.0595. So, they were looking for a way to have the exact same frequency interval between each half step within an octave. Frequency of a pitch doubles from one octave to the next. Way back in the 1700’s great minds decided that the scale should be divided into 12 equal steps per octave. Need a review of half-steps and major scales? Check these out: Half-Steps and Whole-Steps and Major Scales Derivation: Here is what this looks like on a keyboard: Chromatic Scale from C to C As we go lower, we use flat signs, like this: When we go higher with a chromatic scale, we use sharps. If you start with a C and play a chromatic one-octave scale you will play these notes: A chromatic scale goes from any given note through all twelve half-steps up one full octave. What are those, you ask? Well, keep reading and you will find out! Chromatics Definition:Ĭhromatics refer to a series of notes moving up or down by a series of half steps. The musical effect of the chromatic scale is an edgier tonality and closely associated with 20th-century classical music and progressive jazz musical styles.Two new terms for you today – chromatic and enharmonic. Typical western music uses an octave or the eight notes that consist of “do-re-mi-fa-sol-la-ti-do.” A chromatic scale consists of these eight notes, but also all the additional half or semi notes. It adds an additional dimension but without changing the center key. The term was used because the scale adds color, emotion, or embellishment to the notes of the minor and major scales. To play the chromatic scale on a piano, you must play all the white keys and all the black keys one after the other in an ascending or descending order.Ĭhromatic comes from the Greek word, “chroma,” which means color.It adds color and emotion to the minor and major scales.A chromatic scale consists of all the 8 notes of an octave and all the half-step notes.It is arranged in an ascending or descending order. ![]() 0 Shares Pronunciation: kroe-MA-tik What is Chromatic?Ī chromatic scale is a 12-pitch scale, each being a semi note or half-step, which are above or below the last note.
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