The five tones are gong, shang, jue, zhi and yu, often described as a rough parallel to do, re, mi, sol and la in Western notation — an approximation that helps a newcomer hear the stepwise shape, not a fixed equivalence. Much traditional Chinese music is built on five-tone scales, and the term wuyin ("five tones") was sometimes used to mean music in general. This is a simplification rather than a rule covering all Chinese music: five-tone scales also occur in many other musical traditions, Chinese music uses other pitches as well, and a scale alone does not describe the style of any particular period, region or tradition.
- Gong (宫) - roughly do
- Shang (商) - roughly re
- Jue (角) - roughly mi
- Zhi (徵) - roughly sol
- Yu (羽) - roughly la
Five-tone scales are common in many musical traditions, and a scale on its own does not describe the style of any one period, region or tradition. Treat this tool as a way to hear how five tones relate to each other, not as a model of Chinese music as a whole.