The Geography of Musical Scales.

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Finding peace in pentatonic places.

It’s thought that pentatonic scales are the most ancient of all the musical scales. Regardless of whether that’s true or not, it’s worth paying attention to these five-note scales because of their unique consonance. You see, they contain two fewer notes than the scales we’re used to hearing, so they have a spaciousness that no other scales have. It’s that characteristic which makes pentatonic scales sound so peaceful.

Those two extra notes we use in seven-note scales create semitone intervals, which cause tension. But it’s precisely those tense semitones that add the excitement, which we love. So as you can see, there are pros and cons to both. Five-note scales are peaceful, but lack excitement. Seven-note scales are exciting, but lack peace. And by the way, if intervals are new to you, read my free book to learn all the basics.

What got me thinking about this topic is a brilliant book that I just finished reading. It’s called The Geography of Thought: How Asians and Westerners Think Differently... and Why by the psychologist Dr Richard E. Nisbett. It’s one of the most insightful books I’ve ever read. It’s full of fascinating psychological studies jointly conducted by American and Chinese researchers.

The results are extremely nuanced, obviously, but I’ll oversimplify them here for the purpose of brevity. The “eastern” mind is built on a cultural foundation of collectivism, which originated in Confucianism. The “western” mind is built on a cultural foundation of individualism, which originated in Ancient Greek philosophy. Over the last two and a half thousand years, these two geographical areas developed vastly different mindsets, which in turn created vastly different societies.

Before I continue, though. It’s vital to acknowledge that both mindsets have pros and cons. The book is crystal clear on that, as well as what those pros and cons are. That’s why you should read the book for yourself.

Now, when it comes to the music that these two different mindsets invented, things get even more interesting. In the west, our music has traditionally been more complex. The scales have more notes, and therefore more tension. Western musicians also invented counterpoint, where individual melodies are played simultaneously. While these layered melodies create harmony, which is beautiful, they also create tension. How perfectly does that reflect western individualism?

And in the east, their music has traditionally been simpler. The scales are pentatonic, so they have fewer notes, and therefore less tension. Not only that, but they don’t layer melodies either, as that would create competition between them. If two musicians play together, they play the same melody, or very similar melodies. How perfectly does that reflect eastern collectivism?

You can think of these two different approaches in terms of a choir. In the east, they would all sing the same (or similar) pentatonic melody. In the west, the choir would be divided up into different ranges, and each group would sing a different melody. For a breathtakingly beautiful example of this, listen to the Renaissance composer, Palestrina. And for an equally beautiful example of the eastern mind’s music, listen to the album Emerging Lotus by the pipa player, Liu Fang.

In these stressful times we’re living in, I invite you to find peace in pentatonic places by making music using the major or minor pentatonic scales. For the major, if you begin on C as your root, the scale is C, D, E, G, and A. For the minor, if you begin on A as your root, the scale is A, C, D, E, and G. As soon as you start playing around with these pentatonic scales, you’ll feel in your body exactly how peaceful they are. And for extra peace, keep your song instrumental. If you want to know why, check out my previous essay/episode titled This Is The Only Pure Music.

And if you’re not making music yet, then you can begin your journey right now by reading my free book 12 Music Theory Hacks to Learn Scales & Chords. It only takes about half an hour to read, then you’ll have a solid foundation of the basics. And if you’re already making music but wanna improve, then I’ve got 30 free PDF tutorials for you. They’re step-by-step musical “recipes” that you can follow to instantly make better music.

Ray Harmony :)


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CREDITS
© 2025 Revolution Harmony
Music by Ray Harmony, based on the music theory from GoGo Penguin "Everything Is Going to Be OK":    • How to Write a Bass Line with Harmony  
Vinyl video by Matthias Groeneveld
Thumbnail photo by SAM LIM