You Are Reading the First 6 FREE Chapters (470 pages)
Scales of Chords: Circular Harmonic Scales
When you use scales of chords {circular harmonic scales), such as the one in Figure 57 above, you will not simply go round the circle clockwise, without skipping any chords, without doubling back, without grabbing chords from outside the circle.
A scale of chords—a circular harmonic scale—is not some formula that you have to adhere to rigidly, any more than a diatonic scale is a rigid formula. A circular harmonic scale is just a scale, like a melodic scale. If you use scales of chords intelligently, your music will improve.
Both melodic and harmonic scales provide coherent frameworks that enable you to write music of infinite variety without sacrificing unity. Ultimately, that’s why songwriters and composers use scales of any description, melodic or harmonic.
Your brain—and the collective brain of your audience—has evolved to reject tonal confusion and accept the tonal order (founded on simple frequency ratios) inherent in the octave, diatonic scales, the triad, and the scales of chords, the harmonic scales.