IDS: The Persian Scale

Today as part of my IDS project, I learned about the Persian scale.

The Persian scale is also known as the Raga Lalit, especially in Hindu Classical. It is very commonly learned among guitar players(which is why I decided to experiment with it) and is known for using an unusually large amount of half-steps.

The Persian scale is derived by taking the Locrian mode and raising the 3rd and 7th degrees. The Persian scale is, of course, used frequently in traditional Farsi music and music from the Persian region, and is also a favorite of guitar soloists because of how close it is to a chromatic scale (a scale with just half-steps) and therefore its ease to improvise with.

(This post is part of a series of entries into my Learning Journey for my IDS project in Music Composition.)

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