scale

[sharonlovespiano]

What kind of (tone) scale is the following one:

C  Db  Eb  F  G  Ab  B  C

I think it has a name or something.. It looks like c minor with a lower d, but I don't know, it can be everything...
Thanks!

Sharon

[counterpoint]

In which context does this scale appear?

[sharonlovespiano]

In which context does this scale appear?

Just the notes Ligeti uses in the melody of 'fanfares'

[mcgillcomposer]

What kind of (tone) scale is the following one:

C  Db  Eb  F  G  Ab  B  C

I think it has a name or something.. It looks like c minor with a lower d, but I don't know, it can be everything...
Thanks!

Sharon

Hi Sharon,

This mode has been used in great amounts during the 20th century. It is known as the Neapolitan Minor. Evidently, the term Neapolitan comes from the flattened second degree; I think the 'minor' aspect is obvious.

[mknueven]

Mcgill,
that's interesting - is the neapolitan scale usually used in the harmonic minor?

[mcgillcomposer]

You often see it used as a variant, simply because it is so close to the harmonic minor; however, more often than not, the modal character that lies so distinctly in the flattened second degree is preserved.

[tompilk]

this is when i wish i understood theory...

[mknueven]

as a variant?
meaning it varies in how it's used?