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Is the pentatonic universal? A few reflections on pentatonism

Authors(s): Tran Van Khe
Source: The World of Music, Vol. 19, No. 1/2, UNIVERSALS / LE PROBLÈME DES
UNIVERSAUX (1977), pp. 76-84
Published by: VWB - Verlag für Wissenschaft und Bildung
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Tran Van Khe

Is the pentatonic universal?

A few reflections on pentatonism

A melody based ori pentatonic structure always seems to be a "Chinese"

tune or at least " exotic " to the average Western listener. According to
the authors, the pentatonic scale was Chinese, Mongolian or Gaelic *.
The late Rumanian musicologist, Constantin Brailoiu, in his remarkable
article, " Sur une mélodie russe ", pointed out that the " pentatonic " - a
term which he prefers to several other nomenclatures such as " 5-note
scale " " scale of five tones ", " pentaphone ", " pentaphonic ", " penta-
phony " - exists not only in China but also in almost all of South East
Asia, in Japan, Bali, Oceania, Australia, India, South West Asia, in Turkey
and in the Arab countries, among the Eurasian pastoral tribes, among
Black Africans, Berbers, American Indians, and in Europe: Scotland, Ireland,
among the Celts in general 2.
Brailoiu added: " Furthermore, people have sought and found or thought
they found the pentatonic in the music of antiquity: in Greek music, in
which Gevaert and Helmholz, followed later with splendid intrepidness
by Riemann, Sachs and many others, already found " obvious traces " also
in the Jewish, Assyrian and Egyptian music, in Gregorian Chant, in the
works of the Minnesingers " s. Elsewhere he devoted an important article
to a study of the use of the pentatonic in the music of Claude Debussy.
Professor Jacques Chailley, in his course on the formation and transfor-
mations of the musical language, has shown examples of the pentatonic
in the Gregorian Chants (among others, the Gloria of the 7th Mass), in
the non-liturgical music of the Middle Ages (" Gace brulé ", " Chatelain
de Conci "), in modern music (" Scotch " Symphony of Mendelssohn,
" Etudes on the Black Keys " of Chopin, the pastoral theme of Liszt's
" Preludes "), some examples of the pentatonic scale used as an artifice
or for local colour (Kettleby's " Persian Market "), or, on a higher plane,
the Chinese March of Igor Stravinsky's " Nightingale ", the opening theme
of Gabriel Fauré's " La Bonne Chanson the motive of the Song of the
Quails, of the " Roses of Ispahan several preludes of Debussy, such as

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 " Danseuses de Delphes ", " Voiies etc., " Mother Goose " L'Enfant
et les Sortilèges " of Maurice Ravel, to cite only these examples from
among many others 5.
The sound recordings collected by ethnologists and " ethnomusico-
logists " in the course of their missions in different corners of the world
extend more and more the list of countries in which one encounters the
pentatonic scale. One would be tempted to conclude that the pentatonic
is universal. Personally, we have come upon the pentatonic scale in all
the countries we have visited on the five continents. But it exists
especially in folk music while in art music or the more learned tradition,
one hears more sophisticated and varied scales in which there are more
than five degrees.
This is true in the countries of Central, Southern and Western Asia.
But in Eastern and South Eastern Asia, the pentatonic scale is most
frequently used in both the art music and folk music.
When one examines closely the pentatonic scales used in the Asian
countries, one notices that they are not formed or "reconstituted" in
the same way, and that they are not all anhemitonic, that is, not using
semi-tones; one finds that the intervals and succession of intervals are
not the same, that behind the apparent heptatonic music one discovers
a pentatonic structure with two auxiliary degrees added to the five prin-
cipal tones, and that the presence of six degrees in an octave does not
signify a hexatonic scale but rather two pentatonic scales, one succeeding
the other. If one adds to the concept of scale the idea of " modes ", other
specific characteristics of a pentatonic scale can be observed *.

Formation of pentatonic scales

The formation varies from country to country and sometimes from
composer to composer. According to Brailoiu, " the principle of consonance
has served as the basis for a good number of hypotheses on the genesis
of the pentatonic " 7.
He also pointed out the concept of the " cycle of fifths ", which several
other musicologists have also referred to in examining the question of
pentatonism 8.
If one takes as a point of departure the F, which is approximately the
sound given by the fundamental pipe of Chinese tradition, the Huang jong
(the yellow bell), the successione of ascending fifths and descending
fourths gives us the following notes:

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 Using the five first notes we have the scale F-G-A-C-D, which is the
Chinese Gong scale from which other pentatonic scales are derived.

Koisumi Fumio questions the validiy of this Chinese theory9 and

explains the formation of the Japanese pentatonic scales through the
conjunction of tetrachords 10;

In the Thai-Khmer tradition, the frequently used pentatonic scale is for-

med, according to David Morton, from a theoretically seven-tone equi-
distant system. Since the octave is divided into seven equal intervals,
each of then measures 1200 cents = 171 cents 3/7. According to
7
David Morton, five of the seven pitches " are selected and used as the
basis of a composition It is a pentatonic pattern " that sounds like the
Chinese pentatonic ". Morton gives to the 7 degrees of the Thai scale the
numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, as Constantin Brailoiu did for the pentatonic.
Only the notes 1 , 2, 3, 5, 6 are important; " 4 and 7 are used only as
passing tones " n.

Tempered scale:
C D EF G A BC
200
cents

Thai-Khmer Scale:
C D-flat E-flat F-sharp G-flat A-flat B-flat C
171
cents

In Indonesia and especially in Java the pentatonic scale of the Slendro

is of a specific type. This scale, studied by Jaap Kunst 12 is a theoretical
scale obtained by dividing the octave into equal intervals. Each interval
would have the value of 1200 cents = 240 cents

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 Slendro scale:

240 cents

In actual practice, one has not found example of Slendro with five
strictly equidistant intervals; but the intervals between the degrees are
very close to 240 cents. In this part of South East Asia one has observed
that equalization is the basic principal followed in forming scales.
In India there are many Râgas whose modal scale is pentatonic. But
the pentatonic is considered to be a defective aspect of a normal scale
of 7 notes. For example, the scale of the Râga Malkaus, an evening
Raga is:
komal komal komal
Sa ga ma dha ni sa
C E-flat F A-flat B-flat C

This is the scale in which the tones ré komal (D-flat)

and pa (G) are absent 1S.
In various folk musics, the singers and instrumentalists are little
concerned with theoretical speculations. But the musicologists who study
the pentatonic and " pre-pentatonic " scales, as Brailoiu calls them ,4t
consider that the " pre-pentatonic " systems are older than the pentatonic
ones. The pentatonic represents a stage in the development of the scales
of an " archaic type " 15.

Anhemitonic and hemitonic Pentatonics

The pentatonic which we have been speaking about up to now is anhemi-

tonic, that is, without semi-tones, whether in this aspect:
C D E GA C
1T 1T 1T1/2 1T 1T1/2
or

CDFGAC
1T 1 1/2T 1T 1T 1 1/2T
But there exist in Japan some pentatonics which use semi-tones, or hemi-
tonic pentatonics:
C D-flat F G A-flat C
1/2T 2T 1T 1/2T 2T
with a rising scale different from the descending in the mode In
(Ascending) (Descending)
C D-flat F G B-flat C- C A-flat G F D-flat C

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The scale of Okinawa is also a hemitonlc pentatonici
CEFGBC
1/2T 1/2T
similar to that of the Djorai minorities of the High Plateaux of Central
Viet Nam.
The Vong cô scale in Viet Nam, expressing sadness, is also a semi-tone
pentatonic:
CEFGAC
1/2T

One should also mention other pentatonics which present intervals

which are a little greater than a semi-tone but lesser than a whole tone,
as, for example, the pentatonic heard in Sunda (Indonesia) 17 or in
Ethiopia l8. The two principal tunings of the Koto are made according
to the following hemitonic pentatonic scales:

Hirajoshi:
C D E-flat G A-flat C
1/2T 1/2T

Kumoijoshi:
C D-flat F G A-flat C
1/2T 1/2T

Various aspects of the pentatonic

The pentatonic is not, after all, just that "Chinese scale ", "defective "
in relation to the diatonic scale and one which can be reduced to a simpli-
fied pattern of C D E G A. In the Chinese tradition it is a complete
scale in itself which is presented in five different aspects - aspects used
in sense of aspects of the octave 1#.

Aspects:
Gong: C D E G A C
Shang: D E G A C D
Kio: E G A C D E
Zhi: G A C D E G
Yu: A C D E G A

The last two " scales ", Zhi and Yu, are very widely used in both art
and folk music.
In Japan the anhemitonic and the hemitonic pentatonics used in the
Court music as well as in music for Koto and folk music have the following
" aspects ":

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 Ryo: C D E GAC
Hirajoshi: C D E-flat G A-flat C
Ritsu: CD F G A C
Kumoijoshi: C D-flat F G A-flat C
Yo-Sempo: (ascending) CD F G B-flat C
(descending) CD F G A C
In Sempo: (ascending) C D-flat F G B-flat C
(descending) C D-flat F G A-flat C
In Viet Nam, the main pentatonic scales of the Kinh people, of Mongolian
race, number about ten 20, while those of the minority groups, as far
as we know, consist of around a dozen.

Pentatonic or heptatonic
In addition to the five main degrees which are given specific names
in Chinese music, there are also two other auxiliary tones which have
no names:

CDEF GAB C
Gong Shang Kio (Bian Zhi) Zhi Yu (Bian Gong) Gong
The auxiliary degrees, Bian Zhi and Bian Gong 21 have no individual
existence but use the name of the neighboring higher note which they
" modify " or into which they " transform themselves They are always
less frequently heard than the principal tones; they play only a decorative
role, they add variety and are often recognizable through " hesitant into-
nation " 22.
One frequently encounters 7-note scales in Chinese, Japanese and
Vietnamese music. But the seven notes are not of equal importance.
In Japanese Court Music (Gagaku) the seven degrees of the scale bear
the Chinese names, though pronounced à la japonaise:
Japan: Kyu Sho Kaku (Henchí) Chi U (Henkyu) Kyu
China: Gong Shang Kio (Bian Zhi) Zhi Yu (Bian Gong) Gong
The scales of the six cho or jo (" modalities ", according to Robert
Garfias, and " tonalities ", according to Shigeo Kishibe) of Japanese Ga-
gaku music are heptatonic, according to Professors Hisao Tanabe2*
and Shigeo Kishibe 24, while, according to Fumio Koizumi 25, they are,
rather, pentatonic or have a pentatonic character. In our opinion, we
should take into account the behaviour of the Bians, those auxiliary
degrees, to judge if á given melody is heptatonic or not: in many cases
the heptatonic character may be only superficial while the pentatonic
structure is extremely clear.

Metabole

Often, an auxiliary tone replaces a principal tone and itself becomes

the principal tone of another pentatonic system; this movement from

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one pentatonic system to another with or without a return to the original
system is called metabole26.

In this beginning of the song Sap cô phong, a gay song from the reper-
tory of the folk theatre of North Viet Nam, we note that the appearance
of the B-flat corresponds to the disappearance of the A, and vice versa.
Thus, the scale in this quotation is not C D F G A B-flat C, a
6-note scale, but instead, one finds in reality three pentatonic scales of
different natures:

C D (E) F G A (B) C D 'E F

Bars 1-8: F G A CD F
Bars 9-16: G B-flat C D F
Bars 17-21:
CD F G A C D

This is one example among many of " metabole " in Vietnamese music.
It is also used in many different ways in numerous folk songs.

Modal scale or scale and mode

In Vietnamese music and especially in its art music, each dieu (" mode ")
is characterized not only by a particular scale but also by a certain hierar-
chy in the degrees, with a fundamental " tonic " as a point of reference
and also by specific ornaments. Thus, for example, the " modes " Bac and
Ouang belong to the same modal system and have the same scale:
Ho Xu Xang Xe Cong Liu U Xang
CDFGA CDF

But in the mode Bac the notes Ho, Xang, Xe must be ornamented by
the technique mô (literally " pecking "), which corresponds to the " reverse
pluck ", while for the notes Xu and Công the rung (vibrato or tremolo) is
used. For the mode quang the the scale remains the same but the orna-
ments are reversed. For the other modes the pentatonic scales as well
as the specific ornaments are different. And a " mode " should be defined
by "other characteristics as melodic formulas, modal feeling, etc.27.
In quoting several articles and giving musical examples showing the

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 diversity of theories about the genesis of the pentatonic scales or about
the " aspects " of anhemitonic and hemitonic pentatonics, in pointing
out the existence of special pentatonics such as the Japanese Okinawa
scale or the Javanese Slendro, we wished to emphasize the complexities
involved in the problems of pentatonism.
There is not a sole pentatonic, a sole 5-note scale applicable to any
or all traditions but, rather, a large number of pentatonic systems which
vary according to ethnic origins, geographic regions and musical tradi-
tions. On the common basis of the pentatonic structure of the scale,
each people, according to its own genius, has contributed new elements
to enrich the musical language and to give an original note to its own
tradition.
The differences mentioned above only concern the sophisticated art
musics or arise from speculations of theoreticians. No one can demonstrate
in irrefutable fashion that the phenomenon of resonance, the cycle of
fifths or equalization are the origins of the formation of the pentatonic
scales. These are postulates which permit us to explain in our own way
the existence of the pre-pentatonic and pentatonic scales. The singers or
folk musicians all over the world are never concerned about questions
of melodic structures or the formation of scales. They sing or play instinc-
tively and, for them, the pentatonic is king. Even in those countries where
the art tradition has produced a large number of scales such as South
India with its 72 Melakarta, North India with the varied scales of hundreds
of Râgas, or Indonesia where the sound of gamelans can be heard all day
long, those gongs tuned according to the Slendro or the Pelog, or the
Moslem countries, whether Iran, Turkey or the Arab States, where subtle
intervals like the "neuter" third or "neuter" sixth flourish - even in all
these cultures, among the folk one hears mostly the pentatonic.
Don't you believe, as I do, after all of this, that the pentatonic pheno-
menon is truly universal?

i Cfr. Brailoiu, Constantin, " Sur une mélodie russe in " La musique russe ", Paris,
Presses Universitaires de France, 1953, vol. Il, p. 331.
s Ibid.
3 Ibid. pp. 331-332.
4 Cfr. Brailoiu, Constantin, " Pentatonismes chez Debussy dans Studia Memoriae Bela
Bartok Sacra, Budapest, 1959, Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae, pp. 377-417.
6 Cfr. Chailley, Jacques, Formation et transformations du langage musical, Paris, 1956,
Centre de Documentation Universitaire, pp. 120-128.
« In the framework of this article we limit ourselves to indicating a few problems which
we shall deal with more fully in a special study on the pentatonic scales.
7 Cf. Brailoiu, Constantin, " Sur une mélodie russe p. 337.
s Cf. Chailley, Jacques, Op. cit., pp. 75-86; Courant, Maurice, Essai historique sur la
musique classique des Chinois in the Encyclopédie Lavignac, vol. I, pp. 77-239; Danie-
lou, Alain, "Traité de musicologie comparée", Paris, 1959, Editions Hermann, pp. 67-68;
Sachs, Curt, " The Rise of Music in the Ancient World-East and West ", New York,
1943, W. W. Norton and Co., pp. 72, 77, 109; Tran Van Khé, " La musique vietnamienne
traditionelle", Paris. 1962, Presses Universitaires de France, pp. 195, 196, 201.

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» Cf. Koizumi, Fumio, " Nihon Dento No Kenkyu " (Study on the traditional music óf
Japan) Tokyo, 1958, Ongaku No Tomo Sha, pp. 200 and 250.
io Ibid. pp. 197-216.
11 Cf. Morton, David. The traditional instrumental music of Thailand , in The Musics
of Asia, Manila, 1971. National Music Councii of the Philippines, pp. 95-98.
12 Cf. Kunst, Jaap. Music in Java , vol. I, The Hague, 1973. Mārtiņus Nijhoff, pp. 13-16.
is Cf. Kaufmann, Walter. The Ragas of North Indi^ , Bloomington, 1968. Indiana
University Press, p. 535.
14 Cf. Braiioiu, Constantin. " Sur une mélodie russe ", pp. 365-386.
is Ibid. P. 369; Tu Ngoc. " Dieu thuc trong dan ea Viet Nam " (" Modes " in the folk
music of Viet Nam) in "Tap chi Nghiên cuu nghê thuât (Revue "Art Studies") Hanoi,
1974, Institute of Art, Ministry of Culture.
1« Cf. Koizumi, Fumio, Op. cit. pp. 204-207.
17 Disque Galloway, No. 6 B-600523 B, Sunda, traditional musics.
is Examples of tunings of the Ethiopian lyre recorded by the author, in particular the
Mbassé.
i» In Chinese music the word tiao is used to mean " system " or " mode ". But I avoid
using the term " mode " because it could lead to confusion. The word " aspect "
is provisionally used for want of a better term.
20 Cf. Tran Van Khé. Viet Nam ("Les Traditions Musicales"), Paris, 1967, Buchet-Chastel,
p. 46.
2i The word Bian written according to the Pin Yin system, is used today by the majority
of sinologists and replaces the word Pyen employed by Mr. Courant and popularized
by C. Braiioiu. We write it Bian to conform with new usages.
22 Cf. Braiioiu, Constantin. " Sur une mélodie russe ", p. 342.
23 Quoted by Koizumi, Fumio. Op. cit. p. 195.
24 Cf. Kishibe, Shigeo. "The traditional music of Japan", Tokyo, 1969, Kokusai Bunka
Shinkokai, pp. 23-24.
25 Cf. Koizumi, Fumio. Op. cit. p. 197.
2« This term in Greek music was used by C. Braiioiu in his article, " Un problème de
de tonalité (La métabole pentatonique) " in the book, " Mélanges offerts à Paul
Marie Masson ", Paris 1955, Richard Masse, pp. 63-73.
27 Cf. Tran Van Khé. "Les modes musicaux", in Encyclopaedia Universalis , Paris, 1968,
pp. 148-153.

Nineteen-century drawing illustrating a Javanese village festival

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