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Compiling global examples of music in the ‘Scottish’ Pentatonic Scale

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1-2-4-5-6

(C-D-F-G-A)

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• Scottish Pentatonic: Sounds •

Real-world examples of the scale in action:

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• General: 

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• India: Matches the swaras of Raag Durga, a famous Hindustani form named after Maa Durga, the Mother Goddess (who, according to Hindu lore, was created to slay the buffalo demon Mahisha; and is usually depicted riding a lion or tiger, with each of her ten arms holding a different divine weapon). Also congruent with the rain-bringing Shuddha Malhar, as well as Jaldhar Kedar (interestingly, all three of these ragas call for a strong treatment of shuddha ma: the 4th degree).

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—T (origin)—

Artist (inst)

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Q

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• Scottish Pentatonic: More •

Features, classifiers, quirks, etc…

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[analysis: coming soon]

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—Classifiers & Quirks—

• Modes: Pentatonic set (Major Pent.; Suspended Pent.; Phrygian Pent.; Scottish Pent.; Minor Pent.)
• Quirks: Anhemitonic; Atritonal; Maximal; Reflectional symmetry (imperfect: ♮6; detached: none)
• Names: Scottish Pentatonic, Major Pentatonic Type 2, Ritusen Pentatonic (Western); Durga (Hindustani); Suddha Saveri (Carnatic) [n.b. I deliberated for a long time over what to call this scale: e.g. some title it the ‘Mixolydian Pentatonic’ due to its modal equivalence with the Mixolydian (i.e. both are formed by rotating their underlying major scale into its 5th degree) – but to me, its 1-2-4-5-6 tone-set lacks the Mixolydian’s characteristic ‘♮3 & b7’ combination. Others refer to it as the ‘sus4 Pentatonic’, but this is awkwardly close to the more-established ‘Suspended Pentatonic’ from the same mode-set. I eventually settled on ‘Scottish Pentatonic’ to avoid these ambiguities (and for its pleasing syllabic rhythm): although most real-world instances of the scale share no direct connection to Scotland…]

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n.b. For more detailed geometric and mathematical analysis, refer to this scale’s entry in Ian Ring’s fantastic Exciting Universe of Music Theory project (for which I am an occasional ‘raga consultant’)

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