Has anybody ever heard of a b5-only scale/mode?

[Synesthesia]

So I was diddling with scales and such, and I realized that I love the b5 because of the tension it creates. But I was thinking of what would happen if I made a scale with just a b5....no 4, no 5.

Looks like so

1 2 3 b5 6 7 8va

or in the case of C major,

C D E F# A B C

Have you ever you ever heard of/seen this anywhere, and does it have a name?

[Homebake]

i barely even think of modes and scales these days as "scales and modes". it's too much effort to constantly think of them all with separate names and try to categorize them.

if i was playing with that scale you mentioned, i'd just see it as "C major with a b5". what i'm trying to say is, when i'm aiming for a sound, say i want to change key, i just think about what intervals i need to change rather than a whole scale, it's a lot easier and you get more "into" what's going on melodically.

[MattyG]

Not sure what to call this one, but if I was to be pedantic about your note naming the 'flat 5' in C is G flat, not F sharp even though they are the same note (enharmonic equivalent). F sharp would be a 'sharp 4' or augmented fourth in C.

Back to the scale - it could be viwed a few ways:

*A hexatonic (six tones) C Lydian scale, and the various modes that can be derived, such as a Hexatonic A Dorian (no 7th)

* C6/7/9#11 arpeggio
* Cmaj9 #11 arp
* Cmaj9 b5 arp

whatever, I'm sure there are more - all you need to concern yourself with is the relevance of it's tonality and how you can use it

[rob777vdy]

Originally Posted by MattyG

Not sure what to call this one, but if I was to be pedantic about your note naming the 'flat 5' in C is G flat, not F sharp even though they are the same note (enharmonic equivalent). F sharp would be a 'sharp 4' or augmented fourth in C.

Back to the scale - it could be viwed a few ways:

*A hexatonic (six tones) C Lydian scale, and the various modes that can be derived, such as a Hexatonic A Dorian (no 7th)

* C6/7/9#11 arpeggio
* Cmaj9 #11 arp
* Cmaj9 b5 arp

whatever, I'm sure there are more - all you need to concern yourself with is the relevance of it's tonality and how you can use it

bloody hell.thats like something from open university,hats off to you matty very very clever.

[Synesthesia]

Thanks MattyG, I really am only concerned with how to use it and how it sounds, I'm just curious to the name. And my bad on the F#, I don't know what I was thinking!

[eviltwin]

how about the whole tone scale?
1,2,3,4#,5#,6# (b7)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whole_tone_scale

[rastachild]

i agree with matty in regards to it being a hexatonic lydian (in which case you would go with f#, but then that would function as a #4).

as far as its usage, some players will opt to utilize a mode/scale and omit a certain note to break up the 'scalar' sound of the parent scale, produce or force an unusual interval (in this case the augmented 2nd between the #4 to the 6) or, in this particular case, create tension that does not easily resolve (since the 5th would be omitted, the #4 would not be able to resolve as it typically does and would 'hang' out there).