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enigmatic scale

Verdi's enigmatic, elusive

What color?

Verdi's "enigmatic" scale (R b9 3 #11 #5 b7 7): a sequence of unusual intervals, a floating, elusive sound. Pure exploration, for getting off the beaten path.

Origin & history

The scala enigmatica was born in 1888 as a composition challenge posed in an Italian music journal. Combining a minor second with augmented fourths, it has no clear tonal function — hence its name.

Listen

• "Ave Maria" (Quattro pezzi sacri) — Giuseppe Verdi

Which chords to play it on?

Outside the functional consensus: this is an exploration color. Lay it over a vamp or a held chord to tint your improvisation with an unexpected flavor, rather than inside a cadence.

Try it in a real chart

Paste a chord chart into the tool: Pentania tells you, chord by chord, when this scale fits — and what other colors are open to you. Open the tool →