The musical style, sound and general character of a song is strongly affected by its musical scale and mode, even if we are unaware of these. One of the most distinctive features of the Seto leelo is the use of the unique and ancient one-three-semitone scale. Unfortunately, this has become quite rare in the 21st century and nowadays singers tend to use the common European major and minor diatonic scales. The one-three-semitone scale sounds quite strange to modern ears, and singing songs in this ancient scale can prove a real challenge. The scale itself, however, is not very complicated, and by learning the system and with plenty of practice it can be mastered.

Four scales

The Seto polyphonic singing tradition comprises four main scales: 1) the one-three-semitone scale, 2) the anhemitonic scale, 3) the anhemitonic-diatonic scale, and 4) the diatonic scale. Both the one-three-semitone scale and the anhemitonic scale are very old. The one-three-semitone scale, especially, is associated with the oldest song types. The anhemitonic-diatonic scale is somewhat newer, and the diatonic scale is the most recent type of scale used in the Seto leelo. A remarkable feature of the Seto leelo is that some melodies can be sung in different scales; for example, an old song type – pöörä ääl – occurs in all four scales. Some of the newer melodies, however, are always diatonic.

The “old scale” or one-three-semitone scale

This is the most ancient and unique scale of the Seto leelo (Järvelaul 1936, Põllulaul 1995, Põllulaul 2006, Hähkämine). The name of this scale refers to the interval between the notes, which varies regularly between approximately one and three semitones – D-Eb-F#-G-A#-B, for example (D-Eb equals one semitone, Eb-F# three semitones, F#-G one semitone, and so on). One-three-semitone melodies are only found in Setomaa and in a few villages in southern Russia. It is therefore possible that this scale is a remnant of an ancient musical style that was common for the Finno-Ugric people who once lived between present-day Setomaa and Mordva. Western musical notation is not well suited to the one-three-semitone scale, but if transcribed the notation would look like this:

Sometimes the scale can also be notated D-Eb-F#-G-Bb-Cb (d-es-fis-g-b-ces), but the use of A#-B for the last two notes is more common and more logical. The peculiarity of this ancient scale lies in its symmetrical structure: one semitone and three semitones alternate regularly. The harmonies that occur between different voices are also symmetrical, so that there are two whole tones – i.e. a major third – between the notes that sound together (if three notes sound together, then there are two major thirds).

The one-three-semitone scale can also contain fewer than six notes. The narrowest form consists of three notes only: F#-G-A#. Conventional musical notation shows only the approximate intervals. With the one-three-semitone scale the semitones are not equally tempered, and the precise pitch of the note can vary even within the same song. Such variation is shown in notation by means of sharps and flats, while smaller deviations are also indicated with arrows above or in front of the notes (Järvelaul 1936). Nowadays the upper notes of the scale tend to be sung slightly lower, so that instead of the one-three-semitone scale what we hear is something close to the modern harmonic minor scale D-Eb-F#-G-A-Bb. The exact pitch of the A# in the one-three-semitone scale, however, can vary from singer to singer: sometimes it is sung lower, so that it is close to A natural, while in other cases it is sung higher (Hähkämine 2006).

Anhemitonic and diatonic scales

The anhemitonic, anhemitonic-diatonic and diatonic scales, although differing in age and origin, overlap so much that they can be represented in one scheme.

The archaic anhemitonic scale - a scale without semitones (E-G-A-B) - occurs mainly in solo songs and in the torrõ part of some melodies. The killõ can also sing within the limits of the same scale, i.e. without semitones (Järvelaul 1999). A similar scale is also characteristic of the older songs of the Erzya and Moksha peoples, and it is possible that it derives from some very ancient cultural contacts. However, the killõ usually adds the note C to this scale, and it thus becomes anhemitonic-diatonic: E-G-A-B-C (Hällülaul 1991). In some performances, the third (E-G) may be filled with a vague F, so that the lowest part of the line becomes E-F-G (Ilolaul).

Older Seto men’s songs are mostly in the diatonic scale E-F-G-A-B-C. This is not related to the Western major-minor system, but is considerably older - possibly over a thousand years old. The sound of the men’s song is rendered unique by the fact that the scale allows the use of the perfect fifths E-B and F-C, which are the most important intervals of this style (Miihi praasnigulaul, Hällülaul 1972).

The present day Seto leelo is characterized by a complete seven-note diatonic scale, for example D-E-F#-G-A-B-C, which is associated with the Western major scale (in this case G major) (Vanaimäkene). Although anhemitonic and diatonic scales are well-known in the traditional music of many nations, they still have a special sound in the older Seto leelo choirs. The specific sound is caused by certain definite deviations from equally tempered tuning, caused mainly by the impact of the one-three-semitone scale: the killõ slightly raises the note A (Pulmalaul, Vihmakõnõ velekene), while the lead singer and torrõ can sing the note E slightly lower (Vihmakõnõ velekene). If the scale consists of E-G-A-B-C, the note A is often lowered (Hällülaul 1991), and the scale approaches the one-three-semitone scale E-G-Ab-B-C.