Pentatonic, Whole Tone, and Octatonic

Pentatonic Collections

Identify the collection used in each of the excerpts below as Major Pentatonic or Minor Pentatonic.

1) “Wanagi Wacipi Olowan. Song of the Spirit-Dance (Ghost-Dance Song),” No. 2. Native American Dakota Song. Transcribed by Natalie Curtis. [Image | mp3]

2) Alan Menken & Stephen Schwartz, “Colors of the Wind,” from the film Pocahontas (1995) [Image | YouTube: 0:23–0:47]

3) “Wanagi Wacipi Olowan. Song of the Spirit-Dance (Ghost-Dance Song),” Native American Dakota Song. Transcribed by Natalie Curtis [Image]

4) Phish, “Tweezer,” opening guitar riff [Image | YouTube: 0:00–0:30]

5) Traditional Scottish Folksong, “Skye Boat Song,” from the Netflix series, Outlander [Image | YouTube: 1:53–2:17]

6) Suzanne Collins, Jeremiah Fraites, Wesley Schultz, “The Hanging Tree,” from the film Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 (2014) [Image | YouTube: 1:00–1:22]

7) Traditional Irish Folksong, “Sloane” [Image]

8) Adele, “Someone Like You,” verse 1, from 21 (2011) [Image | YouTube: 0:13–0:57]

9) Benson Boone, “Beautiful Things,” chorus, from Fireworks & Rollerblades (2024) [PDF | Image | MuseScore | YouTube: 1:26–1:47]

10) Deep Purple, “Smoke on the Water,” verse 1 [Image | YouTube: 0:51–1:08]

11) The Who, “Baba O’Reilly,” verse 1 [Image | YouTube: 1:05–1:22]

12) Elton John, “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting,” verse 1 [Image | YouTube 0:13–0:25]

13) Oasis, “D’You Know What I Mean,” verse 1 [Image | YouTube: 1:05–1:17]

14) Percy Sledge, “When a Man Loves a Woman,” verse [Image | YouTube: 0:14–0:28]

15) Benson Boone, “Slow it Down,” verse, from Fireworks & Rollerblades (2024) [PDF | Image | MuseScore| YouTube: 0:08–0:32]

16) Benson Boone, “Beautiful Things,” verse 1, from Fireworks & Rollerblades (2024) [PDF| Image | MuseScore | YouTube: 0:05–0:33] (Note to instructors: Bb Major Pentatonic).

17) Beyoncé, “Texas Hold 'Em,” chorus, from Renaissance Act II (2024) [Image | YouTube: 0:11–0:39]

18) Rick James, “Super Freak,” verse 1, from Street Songs (1981) [PDF | Image | MuseScore | YouTube: 0:13–0:29]

19) Traditional Folksong (Taroko and Tayal Tribes), arr. Tsai Yu-Shan, “ Harvest Song,” mm. 1–10, from Three Taiwanese Indigenous Songs [PDF | Image | MuseScore | mp3]

20) Bruno Mars, “When I Was Your Man,” chorus, from Unorthodox Jukebox (2013), written by Bruno Mars, Philip Lawrence, Ari Levine, Andrew Wyatt [PDF | Image | MuseScore | YouTube: 1:01–1:29]

21) Alex Warren, “Ordinary,” verse and prechorus, from AW2* (2025), written by Adam Yaron, Alex Warren, CAL & Mags Duval [PDF | Image | MuseScore | Braille | YouTube 0:07–0:35]

22) Avett Brothers, “I and Love and You,” verse 1, from I and Love and You (2009), written by Seth Avett & Scott Avett [PDF | Image | MuseScore | Braille | YouTube 0:07–0:54]

Whole Tone & Octatonic Collections

Identify the collection used in each of the excerpts as Octatonic or Whole Tone.

1) Claude Debussy, "Voiles," mm. 1– 4, from Préludes (1909) [Image | YouTube: 0:00–0:14]

2) Stevie Wonder, “You are the Sunshine of My Life,” intro, from Talking Book (1973) [Image | YouTube: 0:00–0:15] * See just mm. 3–4

3) Alan Silvestri, “Billy,” from the film Predator (1987) [Image | YouTube: 0:18–0:47]

4) Thelonious Monk, “Four in One,” mm. 1–8 [PDF | Image | MuseScore | YouTube: 0:00–0:13]

5) Alexander Scriabin, Vers la Flamme (Toward the Flame), Op. 72, mm. 1–6 [Image | YouTube: 0:00–0:25]

Note: There's one pitch that doesn't fit into the collection. Which pitch is it?

Chinese 5-Tone Modes

Identify the collection used in each of the excerpts below as Gōng, Shāng, Jué, Zhǐ, or Yǔ mode. Be sure to listen to the examples as you ID them.

1) Traditional Song, China, "Kangding Love Song," mm1– 8 [Image | YouTube: 1:07–1:27]

2) Traditional Song, China, "Wedding Vow" [Image | YouTube: 0:20–0:54]

3) Traditional Song, China, "Cowboy" [Image]

4) Traditional Song, China, "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7" [Image]

5) Traditional Song, Shandong Providence, China, "The Bamboo Flute" [Image]

6) Traditional Song, China, "Song of Mount Ali" [Image | YouTube: 0:07–0:24]

7) Traditional Song, China, "Wǒ Hé Nǐ (You and Me)" [PDF | Image | YouTube: 0:07–1:12]

8) Traditional Song, China, "Shì Shàng Zhǐ Yǒu Mā Mā Hǎo" (Mom is the Best in the World), mm. 1–8 [Image | YouTube: 0:29–0:49]

9) Traditional Song, China, “Mō Lì Huā” (Jasmine Flower), mm. 1– 8 [Image | YouTube: 1:46–2:19]

Alternate Jianpu Notation (aligned with the systems above):

10) Li Yi-Ruo, “Kāng Dìng ” [Image | YouTube: 0:26–0:52]

11) Traditional Song: Shansi Province, China, "Welcome Spring" [Image]

12) Traditional Song: Hopei Province, China, "Poor Sze Bbei" [Image]

13) Traditional Song: Shinchiang Province, China, "The Vagabond's Song" [Image]

14) Traditional Song: The Suiyuan Province, China, “Rainbow Sister” [Image | YouTube: 0:10–0:28]

15) Traditional Song: The Szechwan Province, China, “Why Don't You Come Home” [Image]

16) Traditional Song: The Yunnan Province, China, “If the Rain Doesn't Fall” [Image]

17) Traditional Song: The Szechwan Province, China, “Cool Breezes” [Image]

18) Traditional Song: The Yunnan Province, China, “Gently Flowing Stream” [Image | YouTube: 0:24–1:16]

19) Traditional Folksong (Kansu Province, China), “Bad Faith,” mm. 1–6 [Image | MuseScore | mp3]

20) Jay Chou, “Blue and White Porcelain,” mm. 5–12 [PDF | Image | MuseScore | YouTube: 00:19–00:56]

More Examples

Ethan Iverson, Two Dozen "Blues Riffs” (See the article here)
Diverse Music Theory Examples: Modes - Scroll down to the bottom for Pentatonic collections (North American, Asian, and African)
Yale Musical Examples Database: See the "Harmonic/Scale" tab at the bottom.
Beth's Notes, "Pentatonic Songs" (an extensive list of folk songs with transcriptions for sight-singing or ID that use the major and minor pentatonic collection)

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