In music theory, the flamenco mode (also Major-Phrygian) is a harmonized mode or

scale Scale or scales may refer to: Mathematics * Scale (descriptive set theory), an object defined on a set of points * Scale (ratio), the ratio of a linear dimension of a model to the corresponding dimension of the original * Scale factor, a number ...

abstracted from its use in

flamenco Flamenco (), in its strictest sense, is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura an ...

music. In other words, it is the collection of pitches in ascending order accompanied by

chords Chord may refer to: * Chord (music), an aggregate of musical pitches sounded simultaneously ** Guitar chord a chord played on a guitar, which has a particular tuning * Chord (geometry), a line segment joining two points on a curve * Chord ...

representing the pitches and chords used together in flamenco songs and pieces. The

key signature In Western musical notation, a key signature is a set of sharp (), flat (), or rarely, natural () symbols placed on the staff at the beginning of a section of music. The initial key signature in a piece is placed immediately after the clef a ...

is the same as that of the

Phrygian mode The Phrygian mode (pronounced ) can refer to three different musical modes: the ancient Greek ''tonos'' or ''harmonia,'' sometimes called Phrygian, formed on a particular set of octave species or scales; the Medieval Phrygian mode, and the moder ...

(on E: no accidentals; on C: four flats), with the raised third and seventh being written in as necessary with

accidentals In music, an accidental is a note of a pitch (or pitch class) that is not a member of the scale or mode indicated by the most recently applied key signature. In musical notation, the sharp (), flat (), and natural () symbols, among others, m ...

. Its modal/ tonal characteristics are prominent in the

Andalusian cadence The Andalusian cadence (diatonic phrygian tetrachord) is a term adopted from flamenco music for a chord progression comprising four chords descending stepwise – a iv–III–II–I progression with respect to the Phrygian mode or i–VII–VI– ...

The exact chords depend on the song form (''

palo Palo may refer to: Places * Palo, Argentina, a village in Argentina * Palo, Estonia, village in Meremäe Parish, Võru County, Estonia * Palo, Huesca, municipality in the province of Huesca, Spain * Palo, Iowa, United States, a town located wi ...

'') and

guitar chord In music, a guitar chord is a set of notes played on a guitar. A chord's notes are often played simultaneously, but they can be played sequentially in an arpeggio. The implementation of guitar chords depends on the guitar tuning. Most guitars ...

positionsFernández, Lola (2005). ''Flamenco Music Theory: Rhythm, Harmony, Melody, Form'', p.77. . since chord voicings in flamenco often include nontriadic pitches, especially open strings.Tenzer, Michael (2006). ''Analytical Studies in World Music'', p.97. . It is characteristic that III, II, and I appear as dissonant chords with a minimum of four tones (for example

seventh chord A seventh chord is a chord consisting of a triad plus a note forming an interval of a seventh above the chord's root. When not otherwise specified, a "seventh chord" usually means a dominant seventh chord: a major triad together with a mino ...

s or mixed third chord). Since the

tetrachord In music theory, a tetrachord ( el, τετράχορδoν; lat, tetrachordum) is a series of four notes separated by three intervals. In traditional music theory, a tetrachord always spanned the interval of a perfect fourth, a 4:3 frequency pr ...

beginning on the tonic may ascend or descend with either G-sharp or natural (Phrygian tetrachord), the mixed-thirds clash between the major third degree (G) in the

melody A melody (from Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combina ...

and the minor third degree (G) in the accompanying

harmony In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. Howev ...

occurs frequently and is characteristic of the flamenco esthetic, as with the

blues scale Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narra ...

on a

major chord In music theory, a major chord is a chord that has a root, a major third, and a perfect fifth. When a chord comprises only these three notes, it is called a major triad. For example, the major triad built on C, called a C major triad, has pitche ...

This tetrachord may be copied in the second, producing a D and allowing an

augmented sixth chord In music theory, an augmented sixth chord contains the interval of an augmented sixth, usually above its bass tone. This chord has its origins in the Renaissance, was further developed in the Baroque, and became a distinctive part of the mus ...

on the second degree: B⁷⁵/F.Fernández (2005), p.79.

Lou Harrison Lou Silver Harrison (May 14, 1917 – February 2, 2003) was an American composer, music critic, music theorist, painter, and creator of unique musical instruments. Harrison initially wrote in a dissonant, ultramodernist style similar to his ...

composed a "Sonata in Ishartum" (1974 or 1977), which has been arranged by Tolgahan Çoğulu (2001), part of his ''Suite''. In early scholarship regarding a Babylonian cuneiform inscription tuning tablet from the eighteenth century BC, "Ishartum" was equated with the modern Phrygian, but now it isconsidered equivalent to the Ionian mode/major scale. Çoğulu's arrangement, at least, is the white note mode on E in Pythagorean tuning, as follows (): F, C, G, D, A, E, B (F, C, ''G''), or E (1/1), F (256/243), G (32/27), A (4/3), B (3/2), C (128/81), D (16/9), E (2/1), with G being 81/64.Çoğulu, Tolgahan (Apr 14, 2010). "The piece is in "Pythagorean Tuning" with pure fifths."

References

{{Scales Flamenco Modes (music) Heptatonic scales Tritonic scales

See also

References