Sound & Hearing

Quick-Tempered Clavier

A scale is a collection of notes used to construct a piece of music. But not all cultures use the same scales. The music you're used to hearing sounds right to your ear because it's based on scales you've listened to all your life. To people of other cultures, the music you like may sound unfamiliar or jarring just as playing a familiar song in an unfamiliar scale may sound odd to you.