Subset Scales on Piano: Create New Colours From Major and Minor Scales

A subset scale is made by taking a seven-note scale you already know, such as major, minor or a mode, and removing two or more notes so the remaining (often five) notes create a fresh sound for riffs, fills and melodies.

Video lesson by Jason Zac · Intermediate · 12 min

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What this lesson teaches

In this lesson Jason Zac of Nathaniel School of Music introduces an idea he calls subset scales. It is less a piano technique and more a general music concept, useful for any pianist who already knows major and minor scales and wants a different melodic colour.

Most scales we learn, like the major and minor scale, have seven notes. A subset scale is simply a scale derived from one of these: you knock off a couple of notes (or more) and use only what is left. Those limited notes can be used to create a riff, play a filler, build a catchy motif or just jam with a new sound.

Why use fewer notes?

• You highlight the notes that matter most to you, instead of always stressing the root, third and fifth.
• You can start your lines from a point other than the root.
• You get a unique, fresh sound.
• Your left hand and bass gain more freedom, because with fewer notes there is less chance of clashing.

Recap: the pentatonic scales

The pentatonic scales are the most familiar subset scales.

• Major pentatonic: take D major and remove the 4th and 7th. You are left with D E F# A B. All the intervals that remain sound resolved rather than dissonant.
• Minor pentatonic: take D minor and remove the 2nd and 6th. You are left with D F G A C.

Five more subset scales

The video shows each parent scale first, then the subset built from it. Each one matches a Carnatic raga.

1. Mixolydian subset (Savithri)

Mixolydian is the major scale with a flattened 7th. The subset uses 1, 3, 4, 5 and b7, leaving out the 2nd and 6th.

2. Major with a flat 6 subset (Jana Sammodhini)

Start from a scale that can be thought of as a minor scale with a sharpened third, which is the major scale with a flattened 6th. The subset uses 1, 2, 3, 5 and b6. It has a cool, mysterious sound.

3. Major subset (Hamsadhwani)

In Eb major, knock off the 4th and 6th. The subset is 1, 2, 3, 5, 7: Eb F G Bb D.

4. Lydian subset (Sunaadavinodini)

Lydian is the major scale with a sharp 4th. In Ab, the subset is 1, 3, #4, 6, 7: Ab C D F G.

5. Minor subset (Madhyamaavathi)

From E minor, the subset is 1, 2, 4, 5, b7: E F# A B D. Notice there is no minor third any more.

Harmony and the left hand

You do not have to play these scales over a drone. In general, the harmony you use can be pretty much the same harmony you would have used with the full parent scale. Because the subset has fewer notes, you can also try many more roots in the left hand, and even bass notes outside the scale, while still sounding consonant.

How to practise

1. Play the parent scale slowly so you hear its full sound.
2. Remove the notes for the subset and play just the remaining ones up and down.
3. Improvise short phrases that start on a note other than the root.
4. Add left-hand chords from the parent scale, then experiment with different bass notes.
5. Use a short subset phrase at the end of a bar as a fill, avoiding the notes you usually stress in the seven-note scale.

Questions about this lesson

What is a subset scale?

It is a scale made by taking a seven-note scale like major or minor and removing a couple of notes. The fewer notes left give a new, distinctive sound for melodies, riffs and fills.

Which notes are removed to make the major and minor pentatonic?

For major pentatonic, remove the 4th and 7th of the major scale. For minor pentatonic, remove the 2nd and 6th of the natural minor scale.

What chords can I play under a subset scale?

You can generally use the same harmony you would use with the full parent scale. Because there are fewer notes, you can also experiment with more bass notes, even some outside the scale, without causing dissonance.

How do subset scales relate to Carnatic ragas?

Many five-note ragas are subsets of Western scales. For example, 1 2 3 5 7 from the major scale matches Hamsadhwani, and 1 2 4 5 b7 from the minor scale matches Madhyamaavathi.

Practise it

• Solfa StudioPractise scales, solfège and swaras with visual and musical context.
• Melakarta SphereNavigate a three-dimensional map of the melakarta system.
• Piano classes at Nathaniel School of MusicLive online or in Bangalore, with a teacher.
• All free music apps40 practice tools for harmony, rhythm, ear training and more.

Related lessons

• How Scales Are Born From Chords (1 Chord, 2 Chords, 3 Chords)A triad is an unfinished scale: it gives you three of a scale's seven notes, so one chord leaves four notes open to choice, two chords narrow the options, and three chords usually decide the scale.
• How to Transpose to Any Key, Scale, Mode and Chord Progression on PianoTo transpose a melody on piano, first choose its tonic and scale, write each note as a scale-degree number (or swara), then rebuild those numbers in a new key, a new scale, a new mode or over a new chord, singing it before you play it.
• Improvise Over 7th Chords Using Pentatonic Scales (The Chord-Scale Trick)To improvise over seventh chords with pentatonics, play the namesake pentatonic for a safe sound, or start a pentatonic a perfect fifth or major second above the root of a major 7 or minor 7 chord, and a perfect fourth or tritone above the root of a dominant 7 chord, for jazzier colours.
• 15 of the Most Popular Chord Progressions on Piano (Major, Minor and Modal)Popular piano chord progressions in the key of F include I–vi–IV–V (F Dm Bb C), I–V–vi–IV and its rotations, ii–V–I, the minor i–bVII–v–bVI, the Andalusian i–bVII–bVI–V, the Dorian i–bIII–bVII–IV, the Mixolydian bVII–IV–I, the 12-bar blues, the Canon progression and the line cliché.