Pentatonic (from other Greek. Πέντε - five and other Greek. Τόνος - tension, tension; tone) - a five-stage interval system , all sounds of which can be located in pure fifths and / or quarts (see fifth circle ), for example, up the fifths: do - salt - re - la - mi.
Content
General characteristics
In contrast to the diatonic , the pentatonic scale does not contain halftones , hence its other name is “anemitone” (that is, “without gray ”, from the Greek negative prefix dr. Greek ἀν and dr. Greek ἡμιτόνιον - halftone). The term “anhemitonic scale” is used in English-language science for a non-grayscale scale; in modern Russian science, scales of this type are often generalized by the term [1] [2] .
A zero-tone scale is represented in five different ways:
Pentatonic - a self-contained and complete interval system; five-stage angemiton scale should not be interpreted as diatonic with “missing” steps. For the reason that the pentatonic scale is not per second (does not consist of tones and midtones), the use of school terminology to indicate the step size of the intervals (“second”, “third”, “quart”, etc.) is a problem. For example, to call the second stage of scale No. 3 (in the musical example above) “second” (since this is the second stage) would mean confusing the reader, since in this scale the second stage is a little third higher than the first. Instead of “step-by-step” terminology, terms that designate an “absolute” value (interval volume) are preferred - according to the example of ancient Greek harmonics , for example, instead of “third” - half -tone (or “hemiditon”), etc. Latin terms “second”, “third” ”And others formed in the European Middle Ages to denote the steps of a diatonic tono-grayscale scale, usually counting from bottom to top, for example, secunda [vox] meant the second sound from the bottom, the second from the bottom of the diatonic scale.
Angemiton pentatonic can be incomplete, or “oligotonic” ( Greek ὀλίγος ; insufficient, small) , mainly in the form of three or four-sound scales (sometimes three-sound interval systems are called “tritonics”, four-sound “tetratonics”). Angemitonic oligotonics are classified as pentatonic, since they do not form five-stage systems and, therefore, contradict the definition.
Reliance on the primary (quarto-fifth) relationship of sounds indicates the antiquity of pentatonic. It underlies the traditional ("folk") music of the Chinese , Vietnamese , Mongols , Turkic peoples (Bashkirs, Tatars, Chuvashs, etc.). The music of the Andes is based primarily on pentatonic. Pentatonic is also found in the musical folklore of Europe and in the most ancient strata of the Russian folk song (especially in the so-called calendar ritual songs).
Since the 19th century, academic composers have used pentatonics as a special paint ( modalism ) to give the music an archaic aroma (for example, A.P. Borodin in the song “Sleeping Princess”), oriental color (Lullaby of elephants from Claude Debussy ’s Children's Corner), natural beauty and purity (the play "Morning" from the suite "Peer Gynt" by Edward Grieg ).
In Chinese Culture
Five basic tones (the so-called sheng五 聲 or yin五音: gōng 宫, shāng 商, jué 角, zhǐ 徵 and yǔ 羽), along with a 12-step chromatic system , form the basis of Chinese music theory. In the Confucian tradition, they were attributed a magical effect on society, where the gong corresponded to the sovereign, the shan to the ministers, the jue to the people, the ji to deeds, and the yu to material resources (宮 為君 ， 商 為 臣 ， 角 為民 ， 徵 為 事 ， 羽 為物 - “ Sho yuan ” 說 苑, chapter “Xu wen” 脩 文)
Other meanings of the term.
Pentatonic is also called any five-stage scale, which are complete interval systems (in contrast to the pentachords of incomplete diatonic). Among them:
- halftone pentatonic (for example, ah-c'-e'-f '), common in Japanese traditional koto music;
- tempered pentatonic scale (octave scale is divided into 5 relatively equal parts, such as, for example, the Indonesian , which cannot be expressed in European notation);
- mixed (e.g. ah-d'-e'-f).
Notes
- ↑ For example, in books: Angemitonics as a music system. - M.: Soviet composer, 1990; Anemitonics in modal and tonal systems. - Kazan, 2002.
In the journal: Academy of Music . - 1999. - No. 3-4. - S. 37.
In the textbook: Kholopov Yu. N. Harmony. Theoretical course. - Ed. 2. - St. Petersburg.- M., 2003. - S. 42 et passim. - ↑ The six-stage, whole-tone (in the literature, also “whole-toned”) scale, which is also non-halftone, however, is not called “anemitonics” (see Symmetric modes ).
Literature
- Hirschman J.M. Pentatonic and its development in Tatar music. - Moscow, 1960.
- Kvitka K.V. Selected works in two volumes. - M .: Soviet composer, 1971-1973.
- Starostina T. A. Ladovaya systematics of the Russian folk song // Harmony: Problems of science and methodology. - Sat articles. - Vol. 1. - Rostov-on-Don, 2002. - S. 85-105.
- Kholopov Yu. N. Harmony. // Theoretical course. - St. Petersburg.- M., 2003.
- Kholopov Yu. N. Harmony. // Practical course. - Parts 1, 2. - M., 2003, 2005.
Links
Japanese folk tune "Sakura" (an example of a half-tone pentatonic scale)