Ritsu and ryo scales

thumb|300px|''Ritsu'' scale with secondary tones in brackets. {{audio|Ritsu scale on E.mid|Play}} E, F{{music|#}}, (G,) A, B, C{{music|#}}, (D,) <ref>Gillan gives just the five note scale: C, D, F, G, A. Gillan, Matt (2012). ''Songs from the Edge of Japan'', p.40. {{ISBN|9781409424048}}.</ref><ref>Malm and Asai give the scale with two additional secondary tones D, E, (F), G, A, B, (C). Malm, William P. (2000). ''Traditional Japanese Music and Musical Instruments'', p.68. {{ISBN|9784770023957}}, and Asai, Susan Miyo (1999). ''Nōmai Dance Drama'', p.159. {{ISBN|9780313306983}}.</ref> thumb|300px|''Ryo'' scale with secondary tones in brackets D, E, F{{music|#}}, (G/G{{music|#}}), A, B, (C/C{{music|#}}). {{audio|Ryo scale on D.mid|Play}}<ref>Malm, William P. (2000). ''Traditional Japanese Music and Musical Instruments''</ref><ref>Asai, Susan Miyo (1999). ''Nōmai Dance Drama''</ref>

The '''''ritsu'' and ''ryo'' scales''' are anhemitonic pentatonic scales -- five-note scales without semitones -- used in a type of Japanese Buddhist chant called shōmyō. The ''ritsu'' (律) scale is built up by intervals of major second, minor third, major second, major second, minor third, while the ''ryo'' (呂) scale is major second, major second, minor third, major second, minor third.<ref>Malm, William P. (2000). ''Traditional Japanese Music and Musical Instruments''</ref> A third, hybrid scale called ''hanryo hanritsu'' (半呂半律, literally "half-''ryo'', half-''ritsu''), is created by combining the ''ritsu'' and ''ryo'' scales; however, there is no agreed way to combine the two.<ref>Malm, William P. (2000). ''Traditional Japanese Music and Musical Instruments''</ref>

The ''ritsu'' scales do not fit exactly into the equal temperament prominent in Western classical music but ''ritsu'' is transposable to E and B, ''Ryo'' is transposable to D and G, and ''Hanryo hanritsu'' to A.<ref>Malm, William P. (2000). ''Traditional Japanese Music and Musical Instruments'' p.69.</ref> The ''ritsu'' scale is one of the six scales (along with the major and minor scales, the common pentatonic scale, and the common "blues" scale) that provide more consonant harmonic intervals than any other possible scales that can be drawn from the 12 semitones of equally tempered pitch.<ref>David Huron ''Music Perception'', Vol. 11, No. 3 (1994) pp. 289-305.</ref>

==Esoteric significance==

The ''ritsu'' scale is the voice of the male phoenix, yang, being, the voice that ascends from above and is inhaled breath, emerging from the ''ki'' while the ''ryo'' scale is the voice of the female phoenix, yin, nothingness, the voice that ascends from below and is exhaled breath, emerging from the breath; probably indicating that ''ritsu'' is vertical and ''ryo'' is horizontal.<ref>Zeami, Motoyiko (2011). ''Zeami'', p.121. {{ISBN|9780231139595}}.</ref>

==Sources== {{reflist}}

Category:Pentatonic scales Category:Anhemitonic scales