The Algerian Scale is a scale which is frequently found in Algeria

Algeria

Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...

n, Arab

Arab

Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...

, Berber

Berber people

Berbers are the indigenous peoples of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are continuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River. Historically they spoke the Berber language or varieties of it, which together form a branch...

, and North African music. The frequent use of 1.5 steps in the scale helps create a sound which is commonly associated with Middle Eastern music.

It is also defined as an eleven note scale containing two augmented seconds. This was used by Jacques Ibert

Jacques Ibert

Jacques François Antoine Ibert was a French composer. Having studied music from an early age, he studied at the Paris Conservatoire and won its top prize, the Prix de Rome at his first attempt, despite studies interrupted by his service in World War I.Ibert pursued a successful composing career,...

 in Escales (1924) .

Examples in popular music

Black Metal

Black metal

Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure....

 band Keep of Kalessin

Keep of Kalessin

Keep of Kalessin is an extreme metal band from Trondheim, Norway formed in 1993. The group's early lineup consisted of Ghash on vocals, Obsidian C. on guitars and keyboards, Warach on bass, and Vyl on drums. They released two albums under this lineup: Through Times of War in 1997, and Agnen: A...

 has used this scale in some songs from their album Armada

Armada (album)

Armada is the third studio album by the Norwegian black metal band Keep of Kalessin. The album was originally released under Tabu Records, however a 2 vinyl set of the album was released on Back On Black. The release features the return of drummer Vyl, and new bassist Wizziac and vocalist Thebon.-...

.

Children of Bodom

Children of Bodom

Children of Bodom is a Finnish heavy metal band from Espoo. Formed in 1993, the group currently consists of Alexi Laiho , Roope Latvala , Janne Wirman , Henkka Seppälä , and Jaska Raatikainen...

 has also used this scale occasionally, for example, in the intro riff to their song "Hatebreeder

Hatebreeder

-Trivia:* The intro from the song “Warheart” is from the film Amadeus, Laiho’s favourite movie. The line is saying “From now on, we’re enemies. You and I.”.* The guitar solo of Black Widow is taken from a section a piece by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart...

".

External links

• Algerian Scale demonstrated for Guitar