Composite Scale – Euler Tonnetz

    Every musician knows the situation: you play two chords and suddenly the search for the underlying key — and for additional harmonic possibilities — begins.
  

Why not use the Tonnetz as a tool for exactly that?

Two seventh chords a whole step apart generate the C major scale within the Tonnetz. Starting from any two harmonies, we can build our own “composite scale” for a chord progression. Once you understand how chords are organized inside the Tonnetz, harmonic structures can easily be extracted from virtually any scale. What may initially look like simple pattern recognition can quickly evolve into a genuine musical adventure.

Whether working with traditional scales or composite scales, possible note combinations and chord structures can be identified quickly and intuitively.

As an example, I’d like to show a few chords that can be extracted from a so-called composite scale.

In this case, I’m creating the scale from two harmonies related by semitone proximity: Em7 and Bmaj7

From this shared pool of tones, I derived several chords to create an impressionistic harmonic atmosphere.

Extracted Chord Material:

Em7 · Ebmaj7 · Bmaj7 · Emmaj9 · Gmaj7/#5 · Gm6 · Ebm · Dm · Gm · Bm · Eb augmented · D augmented · Gmaj7 · Em7b5 · E diminished

The selection of harmonies can easily be followed within the Tonnetz, with the goal of inspiring new melodic and harmonic ideas for individual chord progressions.

Hear more, discover more, and play more with the same notes.

→ Open Composite Scale Tool