musical scale

/ˌmjuzəkəl skeɪl/

Other forms: musical scales

Definitions of musical scale

1. noun

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

   types:

   gamut

   the entire scale of musical notes

   diatonic scale

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

   chromatic scale

   a 12-note scale including all the semitones of the octave

   gapped scale

   a musical scale with fewer than seven notes

   pentatone, pentatonic scale

   a gapped scale with five notes; usually the fourth and seventh notes of the diatonic scale are omitted

   mode, musical mode

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

   type of:

   musical notation

   (music) notation used by musicians