How to Select the Right Music Scale for your Song
Scales are varying sets of musical notes. There are six different types of scales depending on the number of notes in them. Each scale is primarily used in different types of music, and you’ll notice that when playing certain scales, it will have a ‘sound’ that you may associate with a particular type of genre. You can figure out how many notes are in the scale based on the name. For example, Octatonic is an eight note scale (many people know this but ‘octa-’ means eight such as an octopus, a creature with eight limbs). Monotonic is a one-note scale (‘mono-’ meaning one, such as monochromatic, meaning one color).
There are many different types of music scale and it can be a bit daunting trying to select the correct one for your piece. Each scale has something slightly different to offer. For example, if you want your music to sound more ‘happy’ you may benefit from selecting a major scale (of which there are twelve). If you want the song to sound a bit more somber (or perhaps even more romantic, depending on how you use it) you may want to select a minor scale. If you don’t want to make any musical mistakes regardless of which notes you play, choose the pentatonic scale.
One of the most important things to do when selecting your scale is to base it around the cords you are using. You’ll want to select a scale that has the notes of the cord in it. In that way, it won’t sound off. Perhaps one sure fire way to get the sound you want is to just play around with the scale and see how it sounds and if said sound matches what you envision.