nonatonic scale

Older Klingon music was based on a nonatonic scale - that is, one made of nine tones. Each tone has a specific name, comparable to the "do, re, mi" system used in describing music on Earth. The nine tone names are (the first and ninth, as with Earth's "do", being the same) (1):

1	yu
2	bIm
3	'egh
4	loS
5	vagh
6	jav
7	Soch
8	chorgh
9=1	(yu)

Side note

Technically, if according to KGT "the first and ninth, as with Earth's "do", being the same" in the klingon scale, then the scale would be an octa-tonic scale (greek "octa" = 8). A nonatonic scale would have nine pitches per octave, plus the repeated first one. For comparison, the Western Major scale is a heptatonic (not an octatonic) scale since it has seven pitches, the eighth being a repeat at the octave of the tonic pitch

Compare:

• In a heptatonic scale, hepta means 7, so we have 7 steps + the last one: 1 do, 2 re, 3 mi, 4 fa, 5 sol, 6 la, 7 si, (do)
• In an octatonic scale, octa means 8, so we have 8 steps + the last one: 1 yu, 2 bIm, 3 'egh, 4 loS, 5 vagh, 6 jav, 7 Soch, 8 chorgh, (yu)
• In a nonatonic scale, nona means 9, so we have 9 steps + the last one: 1 yu, 2 bIm, 3 'egh, 4 loS, 5 vagh, 6 jav, 7 Soch, 8 chorgh, 9 [??], (yu)

References

1 : Klingon For The Galactic Traveler, p. 72