General guidance
On this page you can form individual heptatonalities based on your harmonic base, i.e. B/F#. Consider the following general guidance and then also the points given with specific pitch options. To remember your pitch selections, you may write them down. They are in half step numbers.
To select pitches to form individual tonalities, start by turning on your harmonic base drone loop. Take a moment to tune in and slow down. You may gently mix in individual harmonic base pitches.
Then, with the harmonic base drone running, one at a time and with moments of listening just to the harmonic base drone with individual harmonic base pitches and eventually other already selected ones in between, separately try out offered additional pitches. According to the guidance given for a specific group of offered pitches, determine which one or ones suit you best in the context of your harmonic base and eventually further already established pitch selections.
Interspersing some individual harmonic base pitches and any other already selected ones may help you see and hear more clearly. Take your time. Move slowly, one pitch at at time. Listen. Savor the sound. Trust your perception.
B/F# based heptatonalities pitch selection
Please consider the general instructions given above, as well as the specific points below.
As simple first pass, you could form a diatonic or clustered / melodic heptatonality, ignoring the pitch options in parentheses, which are for Reach / harmonic and tritone / blues heptationalities.
Or, if you have an individual pentatonality, you could expand on that one, which simplifies a lot.
Given harmonic base and its individual pitches 1+8
Upper pitch options for B/F# based heptatonalities — select two pitches -¦- for a diatonic or clustered / melodic heptatonality: 9+11, 10+11, 10+12 or -¦- for a Reach / harmonic heptatonality: (9+12) -¦- given a pentatonality w/lone 10, select one: 11/12 — w/lone 11: 9/10 — or w/any two, select no more
Lower pitch options — select three pitches (start with 4 and/or 5, then 2 or 3, and last 6 and/or 7) -¦- for a diatonic or clustered / melodic heptatonality: 2+4+6, 3+4+6, 3+5+6, or 3+5+7 or -¦- for a Reach or tritone / blues heptatonality: (2+4+7, 2+5+6, 2+5+7, 3+4+7, 4+5+6, 4+5+7, 4+6+7) -¦- given a pentatonality w/lone 4, select two: 2/3/5 + 6/7, or 6+7 — w/lone 5, two: 2/3/4 + 6/7 — or w/3+5, one: 6/7 — w/3+6: 4/5 — w/4+5: 6/7 — w/4+6: 2/3/5/7 — w/4+7: 2/3/5/6 — w/5+7: 2/3/4
B/F# based heptatonalities pitch selection results
A) Diatonic heptatonalities
1) Harmonic base with 2+4+6 and 9+11 — 1-2-4-6-8-9-11 — Phrygian
2) Harmonic base with 3+4+6 and 9+11 — 1-3-4-6-8-9-11 — Aeolian (natural minor)
3) Harmonic base with 3+4+6 and 10+11 — 1-3-4-6-8-10-11 — Dorian
4) Harmonic base with 3+5+6 and 10+11 — 1-3-5-6-8-10-11 — Mixolydian
5) Harmonic base with 3+5+6 and 10+12 — 1-3-5-6-8-10-12 — Ionian (diatonic major)
6) Harmonic base with 3+5+7 and 10+12 — 1-3-5-7-8-10-12 — Lydian
B) Clustered or melodic heptatonalities
1) Harmonic base with 2+4+6 and 10+11 — 1-2-4-6-8-10-11 — PhrygDorian
2) Harmonic base w/ 2+4+6 and 10+12 — 1-2-4-6-8-10-12 — PhrygIonian / NaBal (Neapolitan major)
3) Harmonic base with 3+4+6 and 10+12 — 1-3-4-6-8-10-12 — DorIonian (melodic minor ascending)
4) Harmonic base w/ 3+5+6 and 9+11 — 1-3-5-6-8-9-11 — IonAeolian / ClusterBal (melodic major)
5) Harmonic base w/ 3+5+7 and 9+11 — 1-3-5-7-8-9-11 — LydAeolian / HeptaNa (Lydian dominant)
6) Harmonic base w/ 3+5+7 and 10+11 — 1-3-5-7-8-10-11 — LydDorian / ClusterPro (acoustic scale)
C) Primary Reach or harmonic heptatonalities — with 9-12 or 2-5-6
1) Harmonic base with 2+4+6 and 9+12 — 1-2-4-6-8-9-12 — PhrygReach (Neapolitan minor)
2) Harmonic base with 3+4+6 and 9+12 — 1-3-4-6-8-9-12 — MinReach (harmonic minor)
3) Harmonic base with 3+5+6 and 9+12 — 1-3-5-6-8-9-12 — MajReach (harmonic major)
4) Harmonic base with 3+5+7 and 9+12 — 1-3-5-7-8-9-12 — LydReach / NaReach
5) Harmonic base with 2+5+6 and 9+11 — 1-2-5-6-8-9-11 — ReachMin (Phrygian dominant)
6) Harmonic base w/ 2+5+6 and 9+12 — 1-2-5-6-8-9-12 — ReachBal (double harmonic/Gypsy major)
7) Harmonic base with 2+5+6 and 10+11 — 1-2-5-6-8-10-11 — ReachMix
8) Harmonic base with 2+5+6 and 10+12 — 1-2-5-6-8-10-12 — ReachMaj
D) LoReachUp heptatonalities — with 2-4-7
1) Harmonic base with 2+4+7 and 9+11 — 1-2-4-7-8-9-11 — LoReachUpMin
2) Harmonic base with 2+4+7 and 9+12 — 1-2-4-7-8-9-12 — LoReachUp
3) Harmonic base with 2+4+7 and 10+11 — 1-2-4-7-8-10-11 — LoReachUpMix / LoCorMix
4) Harmonic base with 2+4+7 and 10+12 — 1-2-4-7-8-10-12 — LoReachUpMaj / LoCorMaj
E) ReachNa heptatonalities — with 2-5-7
1) Harmonic base with 2+5+7 and 9+11 — 1-2-5-7-8-9-11 — ReachNaMin
2) Harmonic base with 2+5+7 and 9+12 — 1-2-5-7-8-9-12 — ReachNaBal
3) Harmonic base with 2+5+7 and 10+11 — 1-2-5-7-8-10-11 — ReachNaMix
4) Harmonic base with 2+5+7 and 10+12 — 1-2-5-7-8-10-12 — RachNaMaj
F) ReachUp heptatonalities — with 3-4-7
1) Harmonic base with 3+4+7 and 9+11 — 1-3-4-7-8-9-11 — ReachUpMin (Hungarian Gypsy)
2) Harmonic base w/ 3+4+7 and 9+12 — 1-3-4-7-8-9-12 — ReachUp (double harmonic/Gypsy minor)
3) Harmonic base with 3+4+7 and 10+11 — 1-3-4-7-8-10-11 — ReachUpMix
4) Harmonic base with 3+4+7 and 10+12 — 1-3-4-7-8-10-12 — ReachUpMaj
G) LoloReach heptatonalities — with 4-5-6
1) Harmonic base with 4+5+6 and 9+11 — 1-4-5-6-8-9-11 — LoloReachMin
2) Harmonic base with 4+5+6 and 9+12 — 1-4-5-6-8-9-12 — LoloReach
3) Harmonic base with 4+5+6 and 10+11 — 1-4-5-6-8-10-11 — LoloReachMix
4) Harmonic base with 4+5+6 and 10+12 — 1-4-5-6-8-10-12 — LoloReachMaj (Ionian #2)
H) Locor or Cor Reach heptatonalities — with 4-5-7
1) Harmonic base with 4+5+7 and 9+11 — 1-4-5-7-8-9-11 — LocorNa / LocorMin
2) Harmonic base with 4+5+7 and 9+12 — 1-4-5-7-8-9-12 — LocorReach
3) Harmonic base with 4+5+7 and 10+11 — 1-4-5-7-8-10-11 — CorMix
4) Harmonic base with 4+5+7 and 10+12 — 1-4-5-7-8-10-12 — CorMaj / LoloReachLyd
I) Tritone or blues heptatonalities — with 4-6-7
O) Harmonic base with 4+6+7 and 9+11 — 1-4-6-7-8-9-11 — BlueMin
P) Harmonic base with 4+6+7 and 9+12 — 1-4-6-7-8-9-12 — BlueReach
Q) Harmonic base with 4+6+7 and 10+11 — 1-4-6-7-8-10-11 — BlueMix
R) Harmonic base with 4+6+7 and 10+12 — 1-4-6-7-8-10-12 — BlueMaj
Explanation and references — B/F# based heptatonalities
Heptatonalities have seven pitches per octave. The harmonic base consists of two pitches. Thus, to form an individual heptatonality, you need five further pitches. That is two in the upper and three in the lower part of the octave. Diatonic and clustered or melodic heptatonalities are composed of half and whole steps, while Reach or harmonic and tritone or blues heptatonalities further also include one or two Reach steps or augmented seconds.
A few exceptional heptatonalities present in the Tonalibus catalogue, e.g. PhrygBlue, MinBlue, NaUploReach, and regressives, are not included in the above offered options.
Upper to lower pitches and penta- to heptatonailities correlations
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