Middle Eastern Scales
 

I know that there are probably myriads of threads regarding this kicking around, but I didn't feel like searching.

I am actually trying to find some examples of eastern scales, and also suggestions on good bands who use them; that way I can learn the scale, AND learn how to play it correctly (E.G. so that it sounds eastern).

If anyone has the time or inclination to tab some generic examples, I would appreciate it.

Harmonic Minor is what you want. Opeth and Nile use them a lot.

Harmonic Minor only has oneArabian "gap" as I like to call it



Harmonic Minor
------------------
------------------
------------------
-------------1-2---
------0-2-3----------
0-2-3---------------




I don't know what it is but i really like it
--------------------------------------
--------------------------------------
--------------------------------------
------------------------8-9-<11-12-14>-----------
--------------6-7-9-10---------------------
-0-1-4-5-7-8--------------------------------



<>= optional

Here is an exotic scale website I have printed out and used since the late 90s:
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Sty...itar/xotic.html

Here's another cool site I just found:
http://home.swipnet.se/freakguitar/scales.html

Also, don't forget it's perfectly cool to make your own scales up and derive modes from them!

The first six notes are from the Phrygian Dominant scale. That's a brilliant Middle Eastern scale. Just ascending it sounds makes me feel like I have discovered the archeological find of the century in Egypt.
The rest is scalar nonsense though, however sounding good.



There's it sorted into key, of course I'm not saying you have to play it like this, I just retained the Phrygian Dominant key.

i had a feeling it wasn't actually a reall scale because there are two ways to take the scale from the same root EX:


----------------
---------------
-----------------
--------------
-----------6-7-9-10-------
1-4-5-7-8-----------------


or


------------------------
----------------------
------------------------
-----------------------
----------------------
-0-2-3-6-7-9-10-12-13-16


:p :p -------------


i still really like it. it sounds sweet when all the notes are played slowly and there are elephant skin drums being punded by cannibals in the background. sorry... i was listening to die rache

it realy depends on how you use the scale, theres isnt 1 arabic gap init, the whole thing is arabic when used right, it can also be compeltely classical, spanish, and many more.

ur right but if it didn't have that 0-1-4-5, it wouldn't have any middle east flavah

I guess I need to use them right, because they don't sound too arabic to me when I play them, yet I know harmonic minors through and throughout. Any suggested (specific) music I should listen to in order for me to get a collective "feel"??

It's not so much the scales (note choices and intervals) but the way you play them. Middle eastern music uses a lot of decoration and ornamentation. On guitar, this means lots of fast trills, hammer-ons and pull-offs.
Also, there are very few chords in that music - if any. Try a bass drone on the root note, and just twiddle away on random scale notes.

A more exotic arabic(ish) scale is the Double Harmonic, which is probably what JOAMdude was trying to get at above. It's like a major scale with b2 and b6, or phrygian dominant with a maj7. Here it is with an E root (E-F-G#-A-B-C-D#-E):

-------------------------------0-1-4------------
-------------------------0-1-3------------------
---------------------1-2------------------------
--------------1-2-3-----------------------------
-------0-2-3------------------------------------
0-1-4-------------------------------------------

its the way you play, instead of going up and down the strings, try sliding to make big steps in notes like 10/14, lots of hamers and pulls. bigger steps make it sound kinda arabic to in some points. also wich helpt me to soudn araic, play kinda nervous, like as if you dont know what note to hit next.. lol kinda hard to explain but that works for me

Thanks for the info. What are some good bands that are either Arabic, or have some good Arabic tonalities??

nile maybe?? its not realy arabic, more egyptian, but it might help a bit.

I'm working with this right now and am really liking it. Thanks.

JonR.
That is more or less the scale i was trying to convey
but there is a nonsense scale shape that i like to use cuz it sounds great


0 H W+H H and if you keep repeating it





----------------------------
-----------------------------
------------------------------
-----------------------3-4--------
--------------1-2-4-5----------------
-------0-2-3-------------------------
0-1-4--------------------------


It sounds really cool even if it doesn't make any musical sense

Rudra have good Eastern tonalities. They come from Singapore and sing about Vedic mysticism.

http://www.rudraonline.org/Albums/discography.htm

keep this thread alive

That looks alot like a phrygian Dominant scale. If you want a cool sounding middle eastern scale that is what you're looking for. Listen to the album rust in peace by megadeth, and you will hear alot of phrygian stuff, especially in marty friedman's leads.

Also listen to Miserlou by Dick Dale. That song is pretty much a straight phrygian scale except that at the end of the scale, he plays the last note half a step flat.

Here's a tab of the scale in the key of A.

e|-----------------------------5-6-9--|
B|-----------------------5-6-8--------|
G|-------------------6-7--------------|
D|-------------5-7-8------------------|
A|-------5-7-8------------------------|
E|-5-6-9------------------------------|


Someone correct me if I'm wrong....

hungarian minor?

what the hell is that?