Scale Reference

All tracks in Sonic Byte use minor keys for their dark character.

Natural Minor Scales

D Minor (Tracks 1 & 8)

D  E  F  G  A  Bb C  D
1  2  b3 4  5  b6 b7 1

Common bass notes: D2, F2, G2, A2, Bb1
Common melody notes: D4, F4, G4, A4, C5, D5

E Minor (Track 2)

E  F# G  A  B  C  D  E
1  2  b3 4  5  b6 b7 1

Common bass notes: E2, G2, A2, B2
Common melody notes: E4, G4, A4, B4, D5

A Minor (Track 3)

A  B  C  D  E  F  G  A
1  2  b3 4  5  b6 b7 1

Common bass notes: A1, C2, D2, E2, G2
Common melody notes: A4, C5, D5, E5, G5

F Minor (Track 4)

F  G  Ab Bb C  Db Eb F
1  2  b3 4  5  b6 b7 1

Common bass notes: F2, Ab2, Bb2, C2
Common melody notes: F4, Ab4, Bb4, C5, Eb5

C Minor (Track 5)

C  D  Eb F  G  Ab Bb C
1  2  b3 4  5  b6 b7 1

Common bass notes: C2, Eb2, F2, G2, Bb2
Common melody notes: C4, Eb4, F4, G4, Bb4, C5

B Minor (Track 6)

B  C# D  E  F# G  A  B
1  2  b3 4  5  b6 b7 1

Common bass notes: B1, D2, E2, F#2
Common melody notes: B4, D5, E5, F#5

G Minor (Track 7)

G  A  Bb C  D  Eb F  G
1  2  b3 4  5  b6 b7 1

Common bass notes: G2, Bb2, C2, D2, F2
Common melody notes: G4, Bb4, C5, D5, F5

Sonic Pi Note Names

# Octave notation
:c2   # C in octave 2 (bass range)
:d3   # D in octave 3 (low mid)
:a4   # A in octave 4 (middle)
:e5   # E in octave 5 (high)

# Sharps and flats
:fs4  # F sharp
:bf3  # B flat (also :bb3)
:cs2  # C sharp
:ef4  # E flat (also :eb4)

Common Intervals

Dark vs Bright Intervals

Darkest (use for tension):

• Minor 2nd (1 semitone)
• Tritone (6 semitones)
• Minor 6th (8 semitones)

Dark but stable (main vocabulary):

• Minor 3rd (3 semitones)
• Perfect 4th (5 semitones)
• Perfect 5th (7 semitones)
• Minor 7th (10 semitones)

Avoid in dark music:

• Major 3rd (sounds happy)
• Major 6th (sounds warm)
• Major 7th (sounds jazzy)

Chord Construction

Minor Triad

# D minor chord: D F A
play [:d4, :f4, :a4]
# or
play chord(:d4, :minor)

Minor 7th

# D minor 7: D F A C
play chord(:d4, :m7)

Power Chord (5th)

# D5: D A (no third - neither major nor minor)
play [:d3, :a3]

Bass Note Relationships

When writing bass:

Safe jumps:

• Root to 5th: Strong, powerful
• Root to 4th: Moving, transitional
• Root to minor 3rd: Dark color

Avoid:

• Root to major 3rd: Sounds too happy
• Large jumps without purpose

# Good bass movement in D minor
bass :d2; sleep 1
bass :a2; sleep 0.5   # Fifth - strong
bass :g2; sleep 0.5   # Fourth - movement
bass :f2; sleep 1     # Minor third - dark
bass :d2; sleep 1     # Return to root

Melody Tips by Key

D Minor

• Emphasize: D, F, A (minor triad)
• Use Bb for darkness
• Resolve to D

G Minor

• Emphasize: G, Bb, D
• Use Eb for extra darkness
• The Bb-A-G resolution is powerful

E Minor

• Emphasize: E, G, B
• The F#-G movement is classic
• Resolve descending to E