Yo scale
Scale used in Japanese music
The yo scale is a pentatonic scale used in much Japanese music including gagaku and shōmyō. It is similar to the Western dorian mode, but does not contain all notes. The yo scale is used specifically in folk songs and early popular songs and is contrasted with the in scale. The in scale is described as more 'dark' while the yo scale is described as 'bright' sounding.
It is defined by ascending intervals of two, three, two, two, and three semitones. An example yo scale, expressed in western pitch names, is: D - E - G - A - B. This is illustrated below.
The Ryūkyū scale appears to be derived from the yo scale with pitches raised.
More recent theory emphasizes that it is more useful in interpreting Japanese melody to view scales on the basis of "nuclear tones" located a fourth apart and containing notes between them, as in the min'yō scale used in folk music, and whose pitches are equivalent to the second mode of the yo scale:
In India's Carnatic music, this scale corresponds to Udayaravichandrika.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Yo scale”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Min'yō scale.png by Created by Hyacinth (talk) 13:13, 21 June 2009 using Sibelius 5., Public domain
- D Yo scale.png by The original uploader was Ds13 at English Wikipedia., Public domain
- Yo scale on D ascending & descending.png by Hyacinth at English Wikipedia, Public domain
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