Scale Library
RESERVOIR includes more than 100 scales organized by tradition and theoretical origin. Each scale includes a description of its cultural context and compositional character.Western Modes
| Scale | Intervals | Character |
|---|---|---|
| Major | 0 2 4 5 7 9 11 | Bright, resolved — foundation of tonal harmony |
| Natural Minor | 0 2 3 5 7 8 10 | Melancholic, introspective — Aeolian mode |
| Harmonic Minor | 0 2 3 5 7 8 11 | Raised 7th creates V-i cadence in minor |
| Melodic Minor | 0 2 3 5 7 9 11 | Jazz melodic minor — minor third, major upper tetrachord |
| Dorian | 0 2 3 5 7 9 10 | Raised 6th — sweet, jazzy. Modal jazz foundation |
| Phrygian | 0 1 3 5 7 8 10 | Lowered 2nd — Spanish, flamenco character |
| Lydian | 0 2 4 6 7 9 11 | Raised 4th — bright, dreamy, floating |
| Mixolydian | 0 2 4 5 7 9 10 | Lowered 7th — blues-rock dominant character |
| Locrian | 0 1 3 5 6 8 10 | Diminished — unstable tritone from root |
| Harmonic Major | 0 2 4 5 7 8 11 | Major with lowered 6th — common in classical and jazz |
Pentatonic & Blues
| Scale | Intervals | Character |
|---|---|---|
| Major Pentatonic | 0 2 4 7 9 | Universal folk consonance |
| Minor Pentatonic | 0 3 5 7 10 | Blues foundation |
| Blues | 0 3 5 6 7 10 | Minor pentatonic + blue note |
| Major Blues | 0 2 3 4 7 9 | Major-keyed blues variant |
Symmetric Scales
| Scale | Intervals | Character |
|---|---|---|
| Whole Tone | 0 2 4 6 8 10 | Debussy — floating, no gravity |
| Chromatic | 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 | All 12 pitches |
| Diminished (Whole-Half) | 0 2 3 5 6 8 9 11 | Octatonic — Stravinsky, Bartók |
| Diminished (Half-Whole) | 0 1 3 4 6 7 9 10 | Half-whole diminished |
Jazz & Extended
| Scale | Intervals | Character |
|---|---|---|
| Bebop Dominant | 0 2 4 5 7 9 10 11 | Mixolydian with chromatic passing note |
| Bebop Major | 0 2 4 5 7 8 9 11 | Major with chromatic passing tone |
| Bebop Dorian | 0 2 3 4 5 7 9 10 | Dorian with chromatic passing tone |
| Super Locrian | 0 1 3 4 6 8 10 | Altered scale — diminished whole-tone |
| Dorian b2 | 0 1 3 5 7 9 10 | Second mode of melodic minor |
| Lydian Augmented | 0 2 4 6 8 9 11 | Third mode of melodic minor |
| Acoustic | 0 2 4 6 7 9 10 | Fourth mode of melodic minor — Lydian dominant |
| Mixolydian b6 | 0 2 4 5 7 8 10 | Fifth mode of melodic minor |
| Locrian #2 | 0 2 3 5 6 8 10 | Sixth mode of melodic minor |
European Extended
| Scale | Intervals | Character |
|---|---|---|
| Phrygian Dominant | 0 1 4 5 7 8 10 | Fifth mode of harmonic minor — flamenco |
| Double Harmonic Major | 0 1 4 5 7 8 11 | Two augmented seconds — Hungarian Gypsy |
| Hungarian Minor | 0 2 3 6 7 8 11 | Harmonic minor with raised 4th |
| Hungarian Major | 0 3 4 5 7 9 10 | Eastern European folk |
| Neapolitan Minor | 0 1 3 5 7 8 11 | Lowered 2nd in harmonic minor |
| Neapolitan Major | 0 1 3 5 7 9 11 | Lowered 2nd in melodic minor |
| Enigmatic | 0 1 4 6 8 10 11 | Verdi’s enigmatic scale |
| Prometheus | 0 2 4 6 9 10 | Scriabin’s mystic chord scale |
Japanese Scales
| Scale | Intervals | Character |
|---|---|---|
| Kumoi | 0 2 3 7 9 | Classical koto — ethereal, serene |
| Iwato | 0 1 5 6 10 | Darkest Japanese pentatonic — Amaterasu’s cave |
| Hon-Kumoi-Joshi | 0 2 3 7 8 | Yatsuhashi Kengyo koto tuning — wabi-sabi |
| Kokin-Choshi | 0 2 3 6 7 9 10 | Modern koto — literary aesthetic |
| Banshiki-Cho | 0 2 3 5 7 9 10 | Gagaku court music — Heian period |
| Naka Zora | 0 2 6 7 11 | ”Middle sky” — tritone tension |
| Shimo-Chidori | 0 1 5 7 8 | Winter plovers — contemplative |
| Noh | 0 2 4 6 9 | Noh theatre — jo-ha-kyu aesthetic |
| Sho | 0 2 3 5 7 9 | Dorian-like extension |
| Han-Nakazora-Choshi | 0 2 3 6 7 9 11 | Variant koto — tritone heptatonic |
| Karigane-Choshi | 0 3 5 7 9 11 | Wild geese — autumn landscapes |
| In | 0 1 5 7 10 | Dark Japanese mode — introspective |
| Nohkan Flute | 0 2 5 7 10 | Bamboo flute — eerie, otherworldly |
Indian Ragas
| Scale | Intervals | Character |
|---|---|---|
| Raga Yaman | 0 2 4 6 7 9 11 | Evening — serene beauty, devotion |
| Raga Bilawal | 0 2 4 5 7 9 11 | North Indian major — bright, pure |
| Raga Khamaj | 0 2 4 5 7 9 10 | Evening — sensuous, romantic |
| Raga Kafi | 0 2 3 5 7 9 10 | Midnight — monsoon romance |
| Raga Bhairavi | 0 1 3 5 7 8 10 | Morning — pathos, devotion |
| Raga Todi | 0 1 3 6 7 8 11 | Morning — devotional depth |
| Raga Marwa | 0 1 4 6 9 11 | Sunset — spiritual renunciation |
| Raga Purvi | 0 1 4 6 7 8 11 | Sunset — quiet mysticism |
| Raga Lalit | 0 1 4 6 7 9 11 | Pre-dawn — devotional intensity |
| Raga Hindol | 0 4 7 9 11 | Spring — love festivals |
| Raga Hamsadhwani | 0 2 4 7 11 | Swan song — bright, joyful |
| Raga Dhani | 0 2 3 7 10 | Pentatonic raga — sitar-derived |
| Raga Gunakali | 0 1 7 8 11 | Sparse — austere, meditative |
| Raga Jog | 0 4 7 8 9 | Evening — nostalgia, melancholy |
East Asian (Other)
| Scale | Intervals | Character |
|---|---|---|
| Gong (Major Pentatonic) | 0 2 4 7 9 | Chinese pentatonic mode |
| Zhou Hexatonic | 0 1 3 4 6 7 | Chinese hexatonic |
| Chow Tetratonic | 0 3 5 7 | Chinese tetratonic |
| Pyongjo | 0 2 5 7 9 | Korean court music pentatonic |
| Gyemyeonjo | 0 3 5 7 10 | Korean folk pentatonic |
Southeast Asian — Gamelan
| Scale | Intervals | Character |
|---|---|---|
| Pelog (12-TET) | 0 1 3 7 8 | Javanese Pelog approximation in 12-TET |
| Slendro (12-TET) | 0 2 5 7 10 | Javanese Slendro approximation in 12-TET |
West Asian — Maqam, Makam, Dastgah
| Scale | Intervals | Character |
|---|---|---|
| Maqam Hijaz | 0 1 4 5 7 8 11 | Arabic — augmented 2nd between 2nd and 3rd |
| Maqam Nahawand | 0 2 3 5 7 8 11 | Arabic minor with raised 7th |
| Maqam Bayati | 0 1.5 3 5 7 8 10 | Arabic — quarter-tone neutral 2nd |
| Maqam Rast | 0 2 3.5 5 7 9 10.5 | Arabic — neutral 3rd and 7th |
| Maqam Saba | 0 1.5 3 4 5 7 8 10 | Arabic — distinctive descending feel |
| Makam Hicaz | 0 1 4 5 7 8 10 | Turkish makam |
| Dastgah Shur | 0 1.5 3 5 7 8 10 | Persian — quarter-tone foundational mode |
| Dastgah Segah | 0 1.5 3 5 6.5 8 10 | Persian — neutral 3rd, lowered 5th tendency |
East African
| Scale | Intervals | Character |
|---|---|---|
| Ethiopian Ambassel | 0 1 5 7 8 | Ethiopian Orthodox liturgical mode |
| Zimbabwean Nyamaropa | 0 2 4 5 7 9 10 | Mbira tuning approximation — Shona music |
Synthetic
RESERVOIR includes a substantial bank of synthetic scales drawn from the mid-20th-century jazz-modal tradition — systematic constructions built from triads, quartal stacks, diminished cycles, major-seventh intervals, and hexadic mutations of the supra-diatonic system.Mono-Quality Triads (8 scales)
Five-, six-, and seven-note scales constructed from consecutive triads of a single quality (major, minor, diminished, augmented) stacked in various cycles.Quartal Formations (8 scales)
Scales built from perfect and augmented fourth intervals — Quartal, Quartal Triads, Quartal with Neighbors, Mixed Quartal Augmented, Quartal Diminished, Quartal Nine Tone, Inverted Quartal, and Quartal Upper Neighbors.Diminished Variations (6 scales)
Scales derived from diminished structures with chromatic interjections and subscriptions.Major 7th Interval Variations (8 scales)
Scales exploring major-7th intervals with varying numbers of subscripted and superscripted tones.Consecutive Major Sevenths (5 scales)
Scales from stacked major-7th intervals with chromatic additions.Hetero and Bi-Quality Triads (5 scales)
Scales combining triads of different qualities — major with quartal, quartal with minor, diminished with quartal, augmented with quartal, and bi-quality (major+minor) tetrachords.Tertian Patterns (4 scales)
Stacked-third constructions — Tertian Chord, Tertian Patterns, Interpolated Tertian, Tertian Etude.Mutated Hexadic Scales (8 scales)
Six-note scales from mutations of the supra-diatonic system.Intervallic Hexadic (4 scales)
Six-note scales generated through intervallic mutation procedures.Compact Hybrids (3 scales)
- Phrygian-Suspended Pentatonic (0 1 5 7 10)
- Blues-Locrian Hexatonic (0 3 5 6 10 11)
- Compact Tetratonic (0 2 5 6)
Other Synthetic
- Morphic (0 1 3 7 8 10 11) — synthetic heptatonic with chromatic clusters
- Infra-Diatonic (0 1 3 4 6 8 10) — Greek enharmonic genus in 12-TET
- Greek Pentatonic, Archaic (0 1 4 5 7) — Phrygian-flavored pentatonic
Microtonal — Just Intonation
| Scale | Description |
|---|---|
| Septimal JI 12-Tone | Septimal just intonation. Powers of 2, 3, and 7 only. |
| JI Tonality Diamond | 12-tone subset of a 43-tone Tonality Diamond. |
| 11-Limit Diamond | Tonality Diamond extended to 11th harmonic. |
| Just Major | Ptolemaic just major scale — pure 5-limit ratios. |
| Just Minor | Just minor scale — pure 5-limit ratios. |
| Pythagorean | All ratios from stacked pure fifths (3/2). |
| Septimal JI 7-Limit | 7-limit JI with septimal intervals. |
| Slendro JI | Javanese Slendro — near-equidistant pentatonic (~240 cents per step). |
| Pelog JI | Javanese Pelog — unequal heptatonic with characteristic narrow intervals. |
Microtonal — Historical Temperaments
| Scale | Description |
|---|---|
| Werckmeister III | The most common Baroque well temperament (1691). |
| Kirnberger III | Near-equal with pure C–E major third (1779). |
| Quarter-Comma Meantone | Renaissance standard — pure major thirds. |
Custom Scale
Set thecustomPitchClasses parameter (0–4095) to define any combination of the 12 pitch classes. Each bit represents a pitch class: bit 0 = C, bit 1 = C#, …, bit 11 = B. For example, 2741 (binary: 101010110101) = C Major.