Musical Scales of the World

Beware the errors in mode names in this otherwise fine compilation of scales. The "Oriental mode" is defined as 1 b2 3 4 b5 6 b7 in every source I could find on-line. This is consistent with the common use of "Oriental mode" as the name for the fifth mode in Double Harmonic series of seven modes. Unfortunately, Hewitt calls this mode the "Persian mode" on page 105. Other sources (e.g., Wikipedia) define the Persian mode as 1 b2 3 4 b5 b6 7. On page 103, Hewitt incorrectly defines the "Oriental mode" as 1 b2 b3 4 b5 6 b7. I could find no other source that uses this nomenclature.

revised: boy oh boy are there a lot of mistakes in this book - either nobody proof-read this thing or something else must have happened here. At least get the whole-half indication right. Also needs page numbers in the index for it to really be a quick reference.I was looking for an encyclopedia type scales book for a while. I really like this one because it has the origins, some history and references in there as well. Not too much info just right not to get overwhelmed. Also a great refresher on the 'mood' of 'modes' , something we tend to neglect these days. Great resource - Thank you.

LOVE, LOVE,LOVE this book! It covers world scales and does it really well. Pretty much everything western, russian, some khlezmer, oriental and african. Due to the author's context, there is no coverage of micro tonal music but the ma'quam are mentioned in the context of being played on western instruments.Really, if you want to explore the depths of your instrument (any diatonic instrument.) this is a very fun and useful book. It's very helpful in expanding your musical horizons and just great wether you're studying, composing or noodling. (thinking about getting a second one to use as a loaner.)

I give it five stars because I can use it as a reference guide for writing music. Gives me a whole lot of scales or "writing material" to work with.

Very limited in scope.

Great book, the wide variety of scales makes this book a necessary resource for composers.

Well Organized and Easy to follow,present in a logical incremental order.I will recommend having this book to anyone who love creating music

Awesome piece of literature spanning continents for new ways of thinking about scales and modes! It was well worth the money.

Clear, informative and logically written - this book will inspire a lifetime of use for the continually evolving creative Musician - it is quite simply the best treatise on world scalar harmony I have yet read - period.Highly recommended!!!

Great book, ideal for reference and as a go to guide. Very comprehensive catalogue of scales.

I firstly purchased this book out of curiosity, now it has inspired me. Musical Scales of the World by Dr. Michael Hewitt is the kind of book that drags you in. It shakes up your mind and puts colour into it, it fuels the fire in the form of scales and modes, along with useful explanations for each of the scales/modes, and also contains some very! Interesting facts about how certain scales were discovered through musical experiments. I do not have a bad word to say about this book, it has encouraged me in many ways and I don't want to stop playing my instruments at any time of the day because it gets me, and can get you lost in the music. It gives you the tools to get in the workshop! You would not regret buying this book. 5 out of 5, time for some guitar!

This is a great book of ..well musical scales of the world. As a reference this 1st edition is useless though since there is no index, and the few page numbers in the table of contents designating the books various sections are ALL wrong. For example "Section 4: Greek Folk Music : Dromoi" is supposed to start on page 75 according to the ToC, in reality you have to flip through the book to page 112 to get to it. I use the book to seek inspiration from random scales, but if looking for information on a specific scale, its much quicker to just google it, rather than flipping through pages in this mess.5 stars for the content1 star for the abysmal table of contents---------------Average 3 stars

An extremely useful addition to the literature