Most popular music is made using the two most common western scales: the major, and the
natural minor. So the best way to make your melodies stand out is to use a non-western scale,
like the one we’re gonna reveal in this video. But first… tea!
Hello revolutionary music makers, I’m Kate Harmony, this is Ray Harmony, and welcome
to Hack Music Theory. This channel helps you make great music that stands out, so you can
move and grow your audience. And if you’re new to our channel, we’ve got a free book
for you, which you can download at the link below. Alright, it’s time to open your DAW
to hack music theory.
THE THEORY
Italian-Iranian crossover group NAVA just
dropped their new Persian-inspired electronic track “Ritual”. This song jumps out at
you from the hundreds of new releases, because those were made using the major or minor scale,
whereas this song was made using a non-western scale. This scale is common in the traditional
music of many non-western countries, like Iran and India, but it’s exceptionally rare
in the West. When we do use this scale though, we call it the Phrygian dominant (or Phrygian
major), but it has many non-Western names that predate these.
Now, there’s a couple characteristics that make this scale sound exotic to us (which
we’ll get to in a minute), but the main characteristic is the combination of the ♭2
and the 3. For example, in C Phrygian dominant, to get that exotic sound, you need to play
the ♭2 (D♭), the 3 (E), and obviously the root (C). On the other hand, if you want
a melody that stands out but does not sound exotic, then change the chord under the D♭
in your melody to a B♭m, for example. This results in your listeners not hearing the
D♭ as a dissonant ♭2, but instead as a beautiful ♭3 in the context of that B♭m chord.
This is actually the method we used in last week’s lesson about Grime bass lines,
so we’ll stick that video at the end of this one,
then you can learn how to use the Phrygian dominant in a Western style.
You’re gonna love how versatile this scale is!
THE HACK
Alright, now you’re gonna learn how to use this theory to make your own version, and
what you see on the screen right now is our version that we made earlier. So, start by
setting up two bars of 4/4, with your grid set to 1/16 notes, and your tempo set to 120 BPM.
NAVA uses C Phrygian dominant, so we’ll use it too.
Step 1. The Scale So, what notes are in this exotic scale? Well,
in C Phrygian dominant, the notes are: C D♭ E F G A♭ B♭. Now, as we mentioned earlier,
there’s a couple reasons this scale sounds exotic to Western ears. Firstly, there’s
a super rare three-semitone interval between adjacent degrees of the scale (D♭ and E),
whereas in the standard Western scales and modes, there’s usually one or two semitones
between the degrees. And secondly, the Phrygian dominant has a ♭2, which only occurs twice
in the Western modes (in Phrygian and in Locrian), so that’s already rare. But, that’s only
half the story. Both Phrygian and Locrian are minor (as they contain a ♭3), whereas
Phrygian dominant is major (as it contains a 3), and as you now know, that magic combination
of ♭2 and 3 is exactly what makes this scale sound so exotic.
Step 2. The Melody Right, now that you’re familiar with this
exotic scale, it’s time to use it to write your melody. So, start your first phrase by
playing the root note (C) to establish the home, then play around with all those beautiful
semitone steps that naturally occur in this scale, in other words: C to D♭, E to F,
and G to A♭. And for your melody’s second phrase, start on the root note again, but
an octave higher this time (for variation, and to extend your melody’s range). Then,
cascade down through the scale, perhaps ending with that exotic combo of ♭2 and 3. And
for the rhythm of your melody, use a wide variety of note values to keep it fresh, and
don’t be scared to throw in a 1/32 note for some extra spice.
And if you need more help writing melodies, then use the Melody Checklist (in our Songwriting & Producing PDF).
It’s the ultimate list of dos and don’ts for writing great melodies. The link is below.
Lastly, for maximum exoticness, we’re playing our melody over a bass line that’s inspired by a drone,
which is when you play one note continuously. For extra interest though, we added some other
notes to our bass line, and if you wanna check out what we did in our bass as well as all
the other tracks, then download our lesson pack, which includes the multitrack MIDI file,
a PDF guide, and the final WAV (the link is below).
Alright, now let’s have a listen to our exotic melody! But just before the final playthrough,
if there’s an artist you’d like us to hack, let us know in the comments below. And
remember, if you wanna learn how to use the Phrygian dominant scale in a Western style,
then keep watching cos we’ve got a video on that coming next. Just click it when it
pops up in a few seconds, and we’ll meet you there!