Similar to the way that chords define the harmonic structure (notes playing together) of a piece of music, scales define the melodic structure (notes in sequence) of music by specifying which notes it contains.

Sometimes a whole song uses notes from a single scale, but it is often more useful to work with a series of scales or key centres, each of which corresponds to a chord in the song.

Scale Types

As with chords, a particular scale (eg.  Eb Major) is made up from its root note (Eb) and scale type (Major).  A scale type specifies a number of notes, each of them a particular interval from the root, or starting note.

There are many different scale types, each with a different sound or mood.  By far the most common scale type in western music is the Major scale.  When played in sequence, the notes of the Major scale make the famous do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-do sound.

The Major scale is widely used even in harmony, where its note positions are the basis for naming the degrees of a chord type.  It also forms a related series of scale modes, such as Dorian or Mixolydian, which contain the same interval pattern, but starting at a different note.

In Songtrix, you can view and manage the available scale types in the Workspace Options.

Scales Track

Songtrix has a complete understanding of scales, and provides the Scales track where you can enter the key centres of your song.

The Scales track can be linked to the Chords track, so it is filled automatically with compatible related scales for the selected chords.

The Scales track makes no sound output during playback, but it assists the development of the song by showing scale guides and reharmonizing notes in the Melody, Riff and Bass tracks.  It can also influence the generation of style arrangements.