Octatonic scale scale" . The twelve tones of the chromatic scale are covered by three disjoint diminished seventh chords. The notes from two such seventh-chords combination form an octatonic collection. Because there are three ways to select two from three, there are three octatonic scales in the twelve-tone system. Each octatonic scale has exactly two modes: the first begins its ascent with a whole step, while the second begins its ascent with a half step (semitone). These modes are sometimes referred to as the "whole step/half-step diminished scale" and the "half-step/whole step diminished scale", respectively. Each of the three distinct scales can
Jazz scale Jazz scale A jazz scale is any musical scale used in jazz. Many "jazz scales" are common scales drawn from Western European classical music, including the diatonic, whole-tone, octatonic (or diminished), and the modes of the ascending melodic minor. All of these scales were commonly used by late nineteenth and early twentieth-century composers such as Rimsky-Korsakov, Debussy, Ravel and Stravinsky, often in ways that directly anticipate jazz practice. Some jazz scales, such as the bebop scales, add additional chromatic passing tones to the familiar diatonic scales. One important feature of jazz is what theorists call "the principles of chord-scale compatibility":