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Piano Board => Student's Corner => Music Theory => Topic started by: Petter on June 17, 2008, 09:13:17 PM

Title: Which piano pieces cotains samples of wholetone scale runs and octatonic scales?
Post by: Petter on June 17, 2008, 09:13:17 PM

Debussy and Messiaen, maybe Ravel? But what pieces? Anyone know?

Title: Re: Which piano pieces cotains samples of wholetone scale runs and octatonic sca
Post by: slobone on June 17, 2008, 09:18:42 PM

Well, there's plenty of whole tone in Debussy of course. And Thelonius Monk starts off his solo version of Ruby My Dear with a descending whole-tone run.

Octatonic, what would that be? What notes?

Title: Re: Which piano pieces cotains samples of wholetone scale runs and octatonic sca
Post by: Petter on June 17, 2008, 09:23:42 PM

Half/whole diminshed scales.
 Know any partical debussy piece? I´m ashamed to admit I haven´t listened much to his music. 

Title: Re: Which piano pieces cotains samples of wholetone scale runs and octatonic sca
Post by: general disarray on June 17, 2008, 09:25:08 PM

I liked this subject a whole lot better when it was listed under "Performance."

Title: Re: Which piano pieces cotains samples of wholetone scale runs and octatonic sca
Post by: Petter on June 17, 2008, 09:27:11 PM

Quote from: general disarray on June 17, 2008, 09:25:08 PM

I liked this subject a whole lot better when it was listed under "Performance."

What about this topic? No one looks here though...

Title: Re: Which piano pieces cotains samples of wholetone scale runs and octatonic sca
Post by: piano_ant on June 17, 2008, 09:51:42 PM

Cloches à travers les feuilles

Images Book II

Pretty much a counterpoint study in the whole tone scale. I love this piece....

Title: Re: Which piano pieces cotains samples of wholetone scale runs and octatonic sca
Post by: slobone on June 18, 2008, 04:03:37 AM

Quote from: Petter on June 17, 2008, 09:23:42 PM

Half/whole diminshed scales.

I still don't know what that is, pardon my ignorance. What notes please?

Title: Re: Which piano pieces cotains samples of wholetone scale runs and octatonic scales?
Post by: Petter on June 18, 2008, 08:11:31 AM

Cheers, Piano_Ant, much appreciated

Quote from: slobone on June 18, 2008, 04:03:37 AM

I still don't know what that is, pardon my ignorance. What notes please?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octatonic_scale

These scales, I should have called them whole/half I guess.

Title: Re: Which piano pieces cotains samples of wholetone scale runs and octatonic sca
Post by: slobone on June 19, 2008, 03:03:19 AM

Oops, yeah, I should have recognized the name, Stravinsky used them a lot. Try looking at his Sonata, though I couldn't say offhand if he uses them in it.

Or the piano arrangements of Petroushka or Rite of Spring.

Title: Re: Which piano pieces cotains samples of wholetone scale runs and octatonic scales?
Post by: keyofc on July 09, 2008, 08:20:50 PM

There's a really simple piece called "The Bear"
I forgot who wrote it.
If you're just trying to get familiar with it
Also, Storms on Saturn in Faber book 2, I think
both are based on whole tone scales.

Octotonic?  I don't know about that one!

Title: Re: Which piano pieces cotains samples of wholetone scale runs and octatonic sca
Post by: ramseytheii on July 11, 2008, 02:57:07 AM

There is a passage in Liszt's first Mephisto Waltz which has a difficult octatonic run in both hands, it is at the end of the Poco allegretto e rubato section, before the next Presto.  Actually octatonic figurations aren't that uncommon relatively speaking in Liszt, because the notes make up interlocking diminished chords, and Liszt was the prince of diminished chords.

Walter Ramsey