View source for Yo scale

{{Short description|Scale used in Japanese music}}
The '''''yo'' scale''' is a [[pentatonic scale]] used in much [[Japanese music]] including [[gagaku]] and [[shomyo]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080313144427/http://www.uwgb.edu/ogradyt/world/japan.htm ''Japanese Music'', ''Cross-Cultural Communication: World Music'', University of Wisconsin – Green Bay].</ref> It is similar to the [[Dorian mode|Dorian]], but does not contain [[Minor scale|minor]] notes. The ''yo'' scale is used specifically in [[folk music|folk songs]] and early [[popular music|popular songs]] and is contrasted with the [[in scale|''in'' scale]] which does contain minor notes.<ref>Titon, Jeff Todd (1996). ''Worlds of Music: An Introduction to the Music of the World's Peoples'', p.372. {{ISBN|0-02-872612-X}}.</ref> The ''in'' scale is described as more 'dark' while the yo scale is described as 'bright' sounding.<ref name="New">Chris Hiscock, Marian Metcalfe (1999). ''New Music Matters 11-14'', p.49. {{ISBN|978-0-435-81091-7}}.</ref>

It is defined by ascending [[Interval (music)|interval]]s{{clarification needed|date=June 2017}} of two, three, two, two, and three [[semitone]]s. An example ''yo'' scale, expressed in western pitch names, is: D - E - G - A - B.  This is illustrated below.

The [[Ryūkyū scale]] appears to be derived from the yo scale with pitches raised.<ref name="Composing"/>

[[File:D Yo scale.png|400px|thumb|center|Yo scale on D with auxiliary notes (F) & (C) ({{audio|Yo scale on D.mid|Play}})]]

[[File:Yo scale on D ascending & descending.png|thumb|center|400px|Yo scale on D, ascending and descending<ref name="New"/>]]

More recent theory<ref>{{nihongo|Koizumi, Fumio|[[:ja:小泉文夫|小泉文夫]]|Koizumi Fumio}} (1974). {{nihongo|''Nihon no Ongaku: Rekishi to Riron''|日本の音楽：歴史と理論}} (Japanese Music: History and Theory), 76. Tokyo: [[National Theater of Japan]].</ref> emphasizes that it is more useful in interpreting Japanese melody to view scales on the basis of "nuclear tones" located a [[perfect fourth|fourth]] apart and containing notes between them, as in the '''''[[min'yō]]'' scale''' used in folk music, and whose pitches are equivalent to the second mode of the ''yo'' scale:<ref>Titon (1996), 373.</ref>

In India's [[Carnatic music]], this scale corresponds to [[Udayaravichandrika]].

[[File:Min'yō scale.png|400px|thumb|center|''Min'yō'' scale on D,<ref>Susan Miyo Asai (1999). ''Nōmai Dance Drama'', p.126. {{ISBN|978-0-313-30698-3}}.</ref> equivalent to ''yo'' scale on C,<ref name="Composing">Minoru Miki, Marty Regan, Philip Flavin (2008). ''Composing for Japanese instruments'', p.2. {{ISBN|978-1-58046-273-0}}.</ref> with brackets on fourths ({{audio|Min'yō scale.mid|Play}})]]

==See also==
* [[Japanese mode]]
* [[Japanese musical scales]]
* [[Hirajōshi scale]]

==Sources==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
*Hewitt, Michael. ''Musical Scales of the World''. The Note Tree. 2013. {{ISBN|978-0957547001}}.

{{Scales}}

[[Category:Pentatonic scales]]
[[Category:Japanese traditional music]]
[[Category:Anhemitonic scales]]
[[Category:Atritonic scales]]


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