The tendency tones
Wave 2. The other four degrees — ^2, ^4, ^6, ^7 — are the restless ones. You don't learn them as pitches. You learn them by where each one wants to go. Play one over the drone, feel the pull, sing the resolution — that's how you name it.
The four pulls
| Degree | Pulls to | Feels like |
|---|---|---|
| ^7 (ti · Ni) | ^1, up a half step | the strongest pull of all — it aches upward, almost unbearable to leave hanging |
| ^4 (fa · Ma) | ^3, down a half step | sags, gives way, wants to drop |
| ^2 (re · Re) | ^1, down a whole step | leans home, mild — a gentle slope |
| ^6 (la · Dha) | ^5, down a whole step | melancholy; falls into ^5 |
Two of them (^7, ^4) move by a half step — those pulls are sharp and urgent. Two (^2, ^6) move by a whole step — gentler. That half/whole difference is a big clue to which is which.
The drill
- Resolve it. Play a random tendency tone. Don't name it yet — sing its resolution first. Then name the tone from where it went.
- ^7 vs ^4. Both half-step pulls. ^7 goes up to home; ^4 goes down to the colour note. Play one, sing the resolution, say which.
- ^2 vs ^6. Both whole-step pulls, both downward. ^2 lands on home (done); ^6 lands on ^5 (bright, not done). Tell them apart by where they land.
Try it
Try
Drone on G. Play F♯ (1st finger, E string) and just hold it against the drone — feel how badly it wants to move. Let your voice give in and slide up to G. That unbearable-to-hold quality is ^7; you'll know it anywhere now. Then do the same with C (^4) — hold it, feel it sag, let it fall to B.
The usual mistake
Trying to identify a tendency tone by its pitch or its interval from ^1, the way you might a stable tone. They're too easy to confuse that way. Identify them by motion — hold the note, feel the pull, sing where it resolves, and name it from that. A tendency tone that isn't allowed to move barely has an identity.