Can a musical scale be registered as a musical work in its own right?

Almost everywhere in the world, musical works that are performed in public are registered with copyright collecting societies in order to receive royalties for such use. Authors can register their rights for their compositions, song lyrics, and even for arrangements of existing works. In Germany, GEMA (Society for musical performing and mechanical reproduction rights) is responsible for the registration and administration of such rights; in Austria, it is AKM; in Switzerland, SUISA; and in the U.S., several organizations: ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC. These copyright collecting societies also represent the interests of authors from other parts of the world within their respective countries.

In the world of music, there is an almost limitless variety of ideas and possibilities, styles, and opportunities to make and listen to music. Ultimately, however, everything is based on the same notes, which are combined into chords, melodies, and rhythms—perceived by each person differently as more or less beautiful. The basic framework for melodies and harmonies consists of scales, which simply arrange notes in an ascending or descending sequence. For example, in Nina Simone’s 1959 song “My Baby Just Cares For Me,” a simple scale appears right at the beginning: a descending sequence of seven notes in A major played on the piano.

This might lead one to wonder: Can a musical scale be registered as an original musical work with a copyright collection society? Most people would probably answer off the cuff: No, you can’t register such a “commonplace” musical concept as your own idea.

This was the question posed in early 1985 by the then-relatively unknown German songwriters Hugo Egon Balder and Jacky Dreksler. Since they suspected that GEMA would not accept a simple scale, they wrote the song “The Scale Song,” in which the scale played in C major was incorporated, accompanied by English lyrics: “Yes, from now on you go to jail, playing the diatonic scale.” And they couldn’t believe it themselves: After three weeks, GEMA sent them confirmation of the work with a work number, thereby certifying both the composition and the lyrics for them. They saw this as an opportunity to sue the creators of countless works in the years to come if they, too, used simple scales—whether in their entirety or in part—after that point; they could already picture themselves living a life of luxury.

Encouraged by this, the two authors decided to register other musical trivialities with GEMA—and they submitted the piece “The Pause,” which actually contained no notes at all, only rest symbols. However, the copyright society apparently caught on to their scheme and responded with a very humorous letter stating that this work could unfortunately not be recognized, as it was not a musicalized pause and all the sheet music had been lost, which an expert had already searched for in vain.

In another letter sent shortly before, GEMA stated that the registration for “The Scale Song” must be considered invalid, as the melody was identical to an existing work, the author of which still had to be identified.

The two gentlemen had clearly gone too far and were very upset that, in the end, they were left with no registration at all—but with the realization that you cannot claim as your own anything that is part of the public domain.

One could, for example, imagine trying to have a mere sequence of the same note repeated over and over protected as one’s own work. Such sequences of notes are not uncommon, and sometimes a single note has been played more than 20 times in a row, especially in accompaniments. Such an endeavor would also very likely be rejected by the copyright collecting societies.

 

Source: “Find The Liar, Mittermeier,” Season 2, Episode 4, March 26, 2026, BR Fernsehen—available in the ARD media library, starting at 34:34

/ULE