diatonic scale

/ˌˈdaɪəˌtɑnɪk skeɪl/

Other forms: diatonic scales

Definitions of diatonic scale

1. noun

   a scale with eight notes in an octave; all but two are separated by whole tones
   types:

   mode, musical mode

   any of various fixed orders of the various diatonic notes within an octave

   Gregorian mode, church mode, ecclesiastical mode, medieval mode

   any of a system of modes used in Gregorian chants up until 1600; derived historically from the Greek mode

   Greek mode

   any of the descending diatonic scales in the music of classical Greece

   major diatonic scale, major scale

   a diatonic scale with notes separated by whole tones except for the 3rd and 4th and 7th and 8th

   minor diatonic scale, minor scale

   a diatonic scale with notes separated by whole tones except for the 2nd and 3rd and 5th and 6th

   type of:

   musical scale, scale

   (music) a series of notes differing in pitch according to a specific scheme (usually within an octave)