Greek Scales

These tables are a companion to the handout we got at Lark.They should be useful on their own, as well. They show the names of the scales and the relative importance of each with respect to traditional Greek music.

Major ScalesPage Name Value Base Chords Notes of the scale

8 Hijaz Highest I, iv, vii

1 2 . . 3 4 . 5 6 . 7 . 8G Ab . . B C . D Eb . F . G

9 Hijazskiar Highest I, II, iv

1 2 . . 3 4 . 5 6 . . 7 8G Ab . . B C . D Eb . . F# G

11 Houzam High I, IV, V 1 . . 2 3 4 . 5 6 . . 7 8

12--- (for bouzouki)

Lowest --- 1 2 . . 3 . 4 5 6 . . 7 8

13 Major High I, IV, V

1 . 2 . 3 4 . 5 . 6 . 7 8C D E F G A B CD E F# G A B C# DBb C D Eb F G A Bb

14Sengah (uncommon)

LowI, iv, V/Vaug/V7

1 . . 2 3 4 . 5 6 . . 7 8

16 Rast (up) MediumI, IV#dim,V/V7

1 . 2 . 3 4 . 5 . 6 . 7 8

17 Rast (down) Medium I, II, iv, V 1 . 2 . 3 4 . 5 . 6 7 . 8

The page numbers refer to the handout. The name of the chord is phonetic -- its what you hear when Georgios calls out the scale (Georgios provided the spellings, so they should be written similarly elsewhere). The value indicates the frequency of use. ("Importance" is a better title, but I needed a shorter word.) The base chords are the ones that generally form the basic structure of the tune. They are shown here using uppercase roman lettering (IV) for major chords, and lowercase roman for minor chords (iv). The handout lists many substitutions, as well. See below for an explanation of the symbols on the handout.

Notes:

Hijazskiar is the same as Hijaz, except for having a major 7th instead of a minor 7th.

The notes in the Houzam scale are the same as those in the Sengah scale. The difference is in the chords that are used for accompaniement. In particular, the IV chord is major in Houzam, but iv (minor) in Sengah. 

Rast is a major version of the melodic minor. It uses a major 7th going up, but a minor 7th coming down.

Minor ScalesPage Name Value Base Chords Notes of the scale

18 Diatonic Minor High i, iv, v

1 . 2 3 . 4 . 5 6 . 7 . 8C D Eb F G Ab Bb CF G Ab Bb C Db Eb F

19Harmonic Minor

High i, iv, v 1 . 2 3 . 4 . 5 6 . . 7 8

20Melodic Minor (up)

High i, iv, v 1 . 2 3 . 4 . 5 . 6 . 7 8

21Melodic Minor (down)

High i, iv, v 1 . 2 3 . 4 . 5 6 . 7 . 8

22 Souzinak LowI, IVdim, VII

1 . 2 3 . . 4 5 . 6 7 . 8

23

Niaventi (difficult, beautiful, good to know.)

High

I, IV, V (see handoutfor IV/Vvariations)

1 . 2 3 . . 4 5 6 . . 7 8

24 Kiourdi (up) High i iii, VII 1 . 2 3 . 4 5 . . 6 7 . 8

25 Kiourdi (down) High i, iv, v 1 . 2 3 . 4 . 5 6 . 7 . 8

26 Sabach Highi, IVaug, VII

1 . 2 3 4 . . 5 6 . 7 . 8

27 Ousak Highest i, iv, vii

1 2 . 3 . 4 . 5 6 . 7 . 8C Db Eb F G Ab Bb CG Ab Bb C D Eb F G

Notes:

Some of the scales are considered major, others minor, depending on whether the major 3rd is present in the scale. For example, in Hijaz and Hijazskiar, the classical "major 3rd" (B) is present in the scale. The Ousak scale, on the other hand is a minor scale. (When Georgios calls out a scale, he'll say "G Hijaz" or "G Minor Ousak".) 

Ousak (the most important minor) is the same as the diatonic (western) minor, except for having a flatted 2nd. It is also the same as the Hijaz scale (the most important major), except for having a flatted 3rd, as compared to that scale.

Chord Notation Used in the Handout

Chords are indicated using RE-MI-FA-SOL-LA-SI-DO, where:

RE is the root note, and other notes ascend through the major scale. Plus (+) indicates a major chord. Minus (-) indicates a minor chord. A flat (b) or sharp (#) before a note shows how that note compares to the major

scale. For example, MI is a major 2nd (a whole step) from RE. So bMI indicates a minor second (a half step).

Other notation is fairly standard. E.g. "dim" = diminished, "aug" = augmented