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Glite Dictionary
gapped scale

gapped scale

9.9
A musical scale with fewer than seven notes that leaves out some notes from the usual scale
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : escala incompleta
  • The folk song is built around a gapped scale that omits certain notes from the standard major scale.

Examples

  • Many East Asian musical traditions use a gapped scale rather than a full seven-note scale.

  • Students learned to recognize the sound of a gapped scale in traditional melodies.

  • A gapped scale can create a unique sound.

  • Many composers use a gapped scale in their works.

  • Many East Asian musical traditions use a gapped scale rather than a full seven-note scale.

  • The folk song is built around a gapped scale that omits certain notes from the standard major scale.

  • Students learned to recognize the sound of a gapped scale in traditional melodies.

Synonyms

scale
vsgapped scale
  • Specialized
49 4.3

A series of musical notes ordered by pitch

is a reduced set created by leaving out notes from the common seven-note pattern
musical scale
vsgapped scale
  • Specialized
1 3.2

A set of notes ordered from low to high that form a basic pattern for melodies

is a smaller set made by omitting notes from the usual seven-note pattern

How Many

diatonic
  • Specialized
1 8.0
gapped scale
  • Specialized
9.9
pentatonic
  • Specialized
1 7.2

Surface Forms

gapped scale singular
gapped scales plural

Morphology

gapped + scale

The meaning 'a scale with missing notes' is directly derivable from combining 'gap' (a missing space or omission) with 'scale' (a sequence of musical notes); the adjectival form 'gapped' simply indicates that the scale contains gaps. This composition follows transparent English word-formation patterns and would be predictable to a B1 learner who knows the constituents.

Etymology

Gapped scale comes from the picture of a scale with missing steps, where the word gapped shows empty places instead of notes. So a gapped scale means a musical scale that 'leaves out' some of the usual 'seven notes'.