Theory: Bipolar Scales and Chords

What do we call a scale that seems to be half of one thing and half of another? It's as if the scale can't make up its mind about what mood it is in.
We can ask ourselves the same question about chords that seem to be totally different things and yet somehow or another work together.

[@bearfoxwolf]

Lol - the imagery I had was "split personality" and it occurred the first time I heard the supposed "melodic minor" scale performed. I heard it talking "I'm a minor scale. No wait, I'd rather be a major scale - yep, I'm a major scale." Then going down again the "official" way the character said "Nah, it's minor all the way." Well, that's certainly a mixed up fellow. If teachers could hear their students' thoughts. :D

[@garydlloyd7718]

I never personally had that thought because scales for me are so much linked to chords. So for me jazz minor totally synchronizes with the idea of a Im chord and a V7 chord.

[@aldeayeah]

my favorite bipolar scale is mixolydian flat 6 (lower half of major, upper half of natural minor) it shows up time and again in many songs i like, too it's a mode of jazz minor, like super locrian and lydian dominant

[@garydlloyd7718]

That's a good point. It also shows up frequently in the music of Bach. All these scales are universal from the point of view that they have been used for more than three centuries and yet they are still being used right now.