Teaching Modern Music, Part 1: Non-Traditional Scales

I recently came across an interesting discussion in a piano teachers’ forum about teaching modern music. How can we inspire students who are more comfortable with pop music to listen to (and to play) pieces that use contemporary sounds?

It’s true that the majority of our students are most familiar with the melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic language of Western European classical music and pop music. However, you might be surprised by how many non-traditional sounds appear in the music of popular genres and even in current teaching pieces!

With that in mind, I’m launching a new blog series that highlights popular music incorporating contemporary elements, alongside my own works for students that introduce modern sounds in an approachable and engaging way.

By sharing these listening examples with our students and having them study accessible pieces that use contemporary elements, we can create a frame of reference that makes it possible for us to introduce students at any level to the vibrant colors and interesting sounds found in modern music.

First up, we will be exploring pieces using non-traditional scales: meaning scales outside of the standard major and minor that our students are most familiar with.

Keep reading to learn more…

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Your students are probably very comfortable with major and minor sounds. Not only do we drill major and minor scales on a regular basis in our lessons, they also make up the foundation for Western harmony, and therefore are found in most of the standard repertoire that we teach.

However, did you know that your students are likely already familiar with the sound of many non-traditional scales? These scales are often found in video games, pop, and film music due to their distinctive sound. Here are some examples of non-traditional scales:

• The modes: the Lydian, Dorian, Phrygian, and Mixolydian modes in particular can be found frequently in pop music, jazz, and folk songs.
• The pentatonic scale: both the major and minor pentatonic scales are used often in folk songs, blues, and rock music. 
• The blues scale: the addition of a flatted fifth to the minor pentatonic scale creates this jazzy scale found often in blues, pop, and rock music.
• The whole tone scale: this colorful scale made up of only whole steps evokes a dream-like quality, and is sometimes used in film music to depict scenes in outer space or underwater.
• Non-Western scales: there are a variety of scales using augmented intervals that are common in world music. For example, the Phrygian Dominant scale is found often in flamenco and Arabic music, and the closely-related Double Harmonic scale is found in Indian classical music.

Let’s look at some specific examples of pop, video game, and film pieces that make use of these scales! These pieces will give students a good idea of the "flavor" of each scale.

Saria's Song from "The Legend of Zelda"
​Lydian Mode (major with a raised fourth)

Theme from "Halo"
​Dorian Mode (minor with a raised sixth)

How It's Done from "KPop Demon Hunters"
​Phrygian Mode (minor with a lowered second)

Clocks by Coldplay
Mixolydian Mode (major with a lowered seventh)

Calm 1 from "Minecraft"
Major pentatonic scale

Rolling in the Deep by Adele
Minor pentatonic and blues scales

Mystic Forest 1 from "Mario vs. Donkey Kong"
Whole Tone Scale

Paul's Dream from "Dune"
​Double Harmonic scale

For more in-depth explanations of these scales with examples of them being used in video game music, the following YouTube videos are excellent resources:

• 8 Bit Music Theory has a whole series of videos discussing the modes, with examples of their use in video game soundtracks HERE.
• Cadence Hira has a video explaining uncommon scales using examples from Nintendo music, including all of the ones on my list above (plus a few more). You can watch that HERE.

Now that your students have become familiar with the sounds of these non-traditional scales, let's look at some repertoire at a variety of levels that incorporate these sounds!

I have linked my own teaching pieces in the following list, however I encourage you to leave a comment below if you have a suggestion for a favorite teaching piece that uses a non-traditional scale.

Elementary Pieces
​Click on the cover images to see and hear the music.

Whole Tone Scale

Lydian Mode

Minor Pentatonic Scale

Several pieces in this collection explore non-traditional scales: Star Crossed (Major Pentatonic Scale), Alias (Blues Scale), Forest Magic (Lydian Mode), Dragon Dance (Phrygian Mode).

Late Elementary to Early Intermediate Pieces
​Click on the cover images to see and hear the music.

Whole Tone Scale (found at the climax of the piece)

Phrygian Mode

"Snowfall at Lake Geneva" is a gentle, descriptive piece that uses the minor pentatonic scale to evoke the sound of gently falling snow.

Available as part of the "Destination: Adventure, Book 1" collection found HERE. 

"Siren's Song" creates an eerie sound through the use of the Phrygian Dominant scale.

​Available as part of the "Mission: X, Volume 2" collection found HERE.

Intermediate Pieces
​Click on the cover images to see and hear the music.

Blues Scale

Mixolydian Mode

"The Golden Pavilion" features the major pentatonic scale and challenges students to play in the key of F# major, using only the black keys on the piano.

Available as part of the "Destination: Adventure, Book 3" collection found HERE. 
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Finally, for adventurous intermediate students, here is a piece that uses the 12 tone scale! "Prelude in 12 Tones" is an example of serialism, in which all twelve notes of the chromatic scale are used equally, appearing in the same order (called a "tone row") throughout the piece.

Available as part of the "Preludes to Mastery, Volume 2" collection found HERE.
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What do you think? Do you have any favorite pieces that use non-traditional scales that you enjoy sharing with your students? Let us know in the comments!

In Part 2 of this series, we will be exploring pieces that use contemporary harmony! Stay tuned...