>This scale has a pentatonic core of C D E G A but F# and B can be also be present.
Then you got C Lydian mode. Nice minimalistic work anyway. Less is more.
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Thanks for listening and commenting. I see that the way I phrased my usage of scale makes it sound like I'm using a C Lydian but I'm not. I think when it comes to Japanese music theory it can be pretty confusing, and for me a bit hard to understand. This is mainly due to how Western theory often can't really explain Japanese music. From a Western perspective, you can call (almost) all of the Japanese scales penta scales and call it a day. This however, while right from one perspective, doesn't really explain the hows and whys of the Japanese music.
Here I used the C D E G A in the melody but C is not the fundamental tone (the tonal center), I should have written it as A C D E G. F# and B are never in the melody but in the chords. The melody itself has a fundamental tone and depending on what tone is the fundamental a certain chord is played by the sho. In all of these chords F# and B are present, I even used one with a G# if you can spot it :P
Scales =/= modes. Yes, I have the same notes as C Lydian but the harmonic context, the fundamental tone, and maybe most importantly, how it sounds is different to C Lydian.
There are many kinds of different "Japanese music" and they can behave differently and follow different rules and it can be a bit of a rabbit hole. I'm not following all the rules myself and there are many things that I am uncertain about and might have misinterpreted something. Here I choose a scale and applied the chords based on the melody.
Sorry for long comment and again thanks for listening!
>I see that the way I phrased my usage of scale makes it sound like I'm using a C Lydian but I'm not
>From a Western perspective, you can call (almost) all of the Japanese scales penta scales and call it a day.
Its really interesting thing with pentatonic all around the world or modes with the same notes. And they are really NOT THE SAME. But japanese music has its own kind of Lydian. And you can hear it while listening Legend Of Zelda OST or other japanese game composers. I've been thinking about this.
>The melody itself has a fundamental tone and depending on what tone is the fundamental a certain chord is played by the sho.
Oh, i read about this thing in traditional music. Its common in modal music. Dont know how say it in english correctly.
Thanks for informative comment! I'll listen again)
I hope my comment didn't come across as rude or anything, sometimes putting things in text can make it sound different compared to spoken.
This really can be one huge rabbit hole when it comes down to these scales. One of my sources explained the Japanese modal system divided into three groups of two; one similar to Mixolydian and the other similar to Dorian. I love the Legend of Zelda OST and many other Japanese game soundtracks and you mentioning the Lydian sound I can kinda agree. I'm gonna make sure to listen to some of the soundtracks again while thinking about the Lydian sound/feel :P
Also interesting is how there are many different kinds of traditional Japanese music each being very different from the other.