The ''iwato'' scale is a

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

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 ...

that is similar to the Locrian mode (spelled 1 b2 b3 4 b5 b6 b7), seventh mode of the major scale, different in that it has no 3rd or 6th notes, thus making it pentatonic. Its spelling is therefore 1 b2 4 b5 b7. It is used in traditional

Japanese music In Japan, music includes a wide array of distinct genres, both traditional and modern. The word for "music" in Japanese is 音楽 (''ongaku''), combining the kanji 音 ''on'' (sound) with the kanji 楽 ''gaku'' (music, comfort). Japan is the world ...

for the '' koto''. It is a mode of the

Hirajōshi scale ''Hirajōshi'' scale, or is a tuning scale adapted from shamisen music by Yatsuhashi Kengyō for tuning of the ''koto''. "The ''hirajoshi'', ''kumoijoshi'', and ''kokinjoshi'' 'scales' are Western derivations of the koto tunings of the same n ...

References

Further reading