Scale Theory Mini-Course
In February and March 2013 I ran an online course called Introduction to Scale Theory with Appplications, in which I gave an elementary introduction to some of my theoretical interests aimed at practical musicians. I recorded three video lectures, which ended up being rather long, and ran Q&A sessions on reddit. This page preserves that information, so that if you missed it you can follow the course at your own pace. You can also contact me for in-person or Skype lessons covering this kind of material. I am also happy to run this course, or one like it, for groups of students.
Lecture 1: Foundations
The difference between a pitch, a note and a pitch class. The function of octave equivalence. Pitch class numbers. Two equivalent definitions of "scale". Transposition invariance of scales. Interval sequences. Modality and the definition of "mode".
Video playlist
Reddit discussion thread
Lecture 2: Classification
Binary representations of scales. Inversion and complementation as binary operations and their musical significance. How many scales are there? Classification by equivalence relation: cardinality, interval composition, modality and symmetry. Metrics on scales: Hamming distance and edit distance.
Video playlist
Reddit discussion thread
Lecture 3: Analysis
"Harmonization" of a scale from the root as a way to determine sound and likely applications of an exotic scale. Some basic notions from chord-scale theory. Applications of subsets and supersets of scales; generalisation of these ideas to the "spectra" of a scale.
