naAYT paso at ee LESSONS men 3 Advanced eer Scale Concepts Ss lala Leese The Complete Resource for Applying = Pr mC Ta A cr POT eae Me] Ce = a | De Tet BelkadiPRIVATE LESSON Advanced Scale Concepts and _ Li for’ ‘The Complete Resource for Applying Pentatonic, Harmonic Minor, Melodic Minor, Whole Tone, and Diminished Scales by Jean Marc Belkadi ISBN 0-7935-9288-7 Pa ia.-Leonarp: ce onal Copyright Secured All Rights Racorves No pat is putteaton or by any mane without te peTable of Contents About this book About the audio The Pentatonic Scale Major and Minor Pentatonic Scales The Dominant Pentatonic Scale Altered Pentatonic Seales The Major Lydian Pentatonic Scale The Minor Lydian Pentatonic Scale The Harmonic Minor Scale Construction of the Harmonic Minor Modes First Mode—Harmonic Minor Second Mode—Locrian #6. Third Mode—tonian #5 Fourth Mode—Dorian#4.........0.... Fifth Mode—Phrygian #3... . 20.2.0 Sixth Mode—tydian #2... 0.2.00... se eee Seventh Mode—Altered +7 Additional Ideas for Harmonic Minor The Melodic Minor Scale Construction of the Melodie Minor Modes First Mode—Melodic Minor Second Mode—Dorian b2 Third Mode—Lydian Augmented . . Fourth Mode—Lydian +7 Fifth Mode—Mixolydian b13 Sixth Mode—Locrian #2 Ai Seventh Mode—Altered (Super Locrian) The Whole Tone Scale The Whole Tone Scale in a Tonal Context. . The Whole Tone Scale in a Modal Context Additional Whole Tone Ideas The Diminished Scale The Diminished Scale in a Tonal Context Diminished Arpeggios and Polytonalities Diminished Variations in a Modal Context . Acknowledgments About the Author Guitar Nolation Lesend: CD Track 14 58 9-14 15-18 . 19-23 24-25 26-27 . 28-29 30-31 - 32-33 . 34-35 36-38 - 39-45, 46-47 48-49 50-51 52-53 54-55 56-57 58-60 61-68 69-76 77-84 85-91 92-95 96-99About this Book his book should be a, source of inspiration and information, helping you to incorporate all T the following scales and modes into the modern music of today. The examples in the book do not follow a specific order of difficulty; you can jump in anywhere and work with the licks you like best. The guitar techniques and sounds are varied throughout the book. | encourage you to begin playing these examples slowly to work on the articulation and phrasing of the lines. It is impor- tant to sing every line you are playing—first slowly and then faster. You will develop a great ear this way. Select your favorite examples and play them over different chord progressions, different rhythm sections, and different guitar sounds in order to achieve multiple feels for each idea. To help you remember your favorite lines, play them as much as you can. Another simple trick is to keep them in a notebook with your comments or to tape them on.a recorder. Finally, always keep your inspiration alive by trying to create your own lines. About the Audio Throughout this book, the numbers in the audio symbols (4) indicate the CD track number where each example will be found on the accompanying CD. Each example is played at full tempo, and most are repeated at half speed. In addition, short introductory phrases (which are not transcribed in the examples) are sometimes included to pro- vide a better sense of context and to maintain an improvisational feel.The Pentatonic Scale ny scale having five notes within an octave is called a pentatonic scale. The number of A pentatonic scales is unlimited, though major and minor pentatonic scales are the most popular in Western music. Despite their popularity, these scales are not always easy to rec- ognize—especially in jazz. In improvisation or composition, they can create nice melodies, or add dissonance and an- gular sounds to a song. Through different styles of music such as jazz, rock, fusion, and others, this section explores the various sounds and possibilities of five of the most popular pentatonic scales: major and minor (which are the same scale beginning at different points), dominant, al- tered, major Lydian, and minor Lydian. MAJOR AND MINOR PENTATONIC SCALES The major and minor pentatonic scales are closely related in exactly the same way that major and minor scales are—they are the same scale starting in different places. Major Pentatonic — 1 2 3 6 6 1 = = 4 5 7 — A Minor Pentatonic Because of this similarity, these two scales are interchangeable: a minor pentatonic scale may be substituted for a major pentatonic scale a minor 3rd up, and a major pentatonic scale may be substituted for a minor pentatonic scale a minor 3rd down. Pentatonics Using Fourths Over aC minor groove, here’s an example using the C minor pentatonic/E> major pentatonic scale in fourth intervals. cm ° a= " Here’s a D minor pentatonic idea with continuous fourth movement. You can see how cre- ative these can be (try to play over different chords like C minor or E>#11). This one's played over a D minor groove. eo ™, ‘oPMinor and Major Pentatonic with Chromaticism Fig. 3 uses a group of three notes in fourths to move downward chromatically, resolving to B minor pentatonic/D major pentatonic. Fig. 4 has many chromatic notes added. Notice that every downbeat has a diatonic note from A minor pentatonic/C major pentatonic. THE DOMINANT PENTATONIC SCALE The dominant pentatonic scale is essentially a major pentatonic scale with ab7th instead of a 6th (1-2-3-5-47). © Dominant Pentatonic 12-10 Over E7, you can play F# dominant pentatonic. These notes belong to the E Lydian 7 scale, which is the fourth mode of the B melodic minor scale (for more on this scale, see Part 2 of this book).Dominant Pentatonic with Chromaticism Fig. 7, played over F#7, uses an F4 dominant pentatonic scale with string skipping and tap- ping. G is the additional chromatic note. ? By ee B + ———— The next figure uses string skipping with an E> dominant pentatonic scale. B and D are the additional chromatic notes here. ALTERED PENTATONIC SCALES When you alter the notes of a minor pentatonic scale, you obtain the altered pentatonic scales. The most common one takes the minor pentatonic scale and lowers the >7th down to the 6th.Let's try this scale over a Cm7—B’7 progression, but you can try this shape over different chords. Be sure to find the most comfortable fingering for yourself. do ow 27 = = == =s === THE MAJOR LYDIAN PENTATONIC SCALE ‘The major Lydian pentatonic scale is a major seventh arpeggio with the addition of the #4th (from the Lydian scale). The first example uses A major Lydian pentatonic (the notes belong to an E major scale) over a B13/F# chord. This line uses the B major Lydian pentatonic scale (from the F# major scale) over a C#13 chord. Notice the two double stops at the end with the added 9th (C#).Major Lydian Pentatonic with Chromaticism The following figure uses AP major Lydian pentatonic with a chromatic note (GP). THE MINOR LYDIAN PENTATONIC SCALE The minor Lydian pentatonic scale is a minor-major seventh arpeggio with the addition of the 44th (from the Lydian scale). This scale fits perfectly with Dorian, harmonic, melodic, or natural minor. Our first minor Lydian pentatonic example is in Bb over the progression Bbm-Bbm(maj7) and uses string skipping. Bhm Bm(maj7) The next phrase, played over a Cm-Cm(maj7) progression, is a pedal tone pattern using string skipping. This is an excellent exercise for your technique.= | 2 5 7T — $ 2 é “1 é a ! A 090 W908 0 9 0 | 9 0 0-9 1 — —= Over an Em(maj7) chord, here's a pattern in three octaves that uses two and three notes per string. Poi : f 4 tl — A B Minor Lydian Pentatonic with Chromaticism Over a Bbm(maj7) funk groove, here’s a B> minor Lydian pentatonic line using three notes per string with Gb as a chromatic note. Darrin, a = Cs pentatonic over an Em(maj7) chord with B> and G power chords (which don’t belong to the E minor Lydian pentatonic scale). Reo Em(maj7) } i Fig. 23 plays a melody with octaves to create a nice effect. This phrase uses E minor Lydian | |The Harmonic Minor Scale he harmonic minor scale has a distinctive, identifiable sound. It can be heard in Latin Tees Asian music, jazz (bebop), and in rock since the eighties. In tonal and modal music, triads and arpeggios from this scale can be developed and mixed with chromaticism. This section will help you learn the harmonic minor scale through the use of its seven modes. You will be playing over chord changes that characterize the sound of each mode. By playing different intervals and triads over various musical styles (including Tango, Salsa, Samba, Mambo, Calypso, Bossa Nova, Chacha, Reggae, Techno, House music, and jazz), you will gain a comprehensive understanding of the harmonic minor modes. The examples are played over sta- tic chords or, in some cases, chord progressions. CONSTRUCTION OF THE HARMONIC MINOR MODES Below is the C harmonic minor scale. It can be thought of as a C minor scale with a. major seventh (B) instead of a minor seventh (BP). C harmonic minor ; iE 7 i ia ie a The following table illustrates the modes of the C harmonic minor scale, along with their as- sociated seventh chords and Upper extensions. scales seventh chord upper extensions C harmonic minar Gmimaj7) Sth 11th 13th SSS — 5 = “ Nr Tw Ta a = D Locrian *6 Dm7'5 both Lith 13th ts = —_———— — = Ly Yu me ve 4B toniants BHT Sth Eth 13th . ae : m im “@ 7 F Dorian #4 Oth = Filth 13th = =. = 3 : oy ma ta GPhrygian'3 fom tno asm SS =e 3 . Me le ™ T 2 T 1 Ab Lydian #2 ben Abmaj7 toh filth 13th a [ bon bith B Altered 7 bi a oth Lith 13th im we 1 wm 12 13In summary, each note of the harmonic minor scale can be harmonized and serve as the basis for its own unique mode with its own unique sound. QS SS nn Abmaj7 BT “Bb, 2 " 26 ° my ian Po, ta ty FIRST MODE—HARMONIC MINOR This example demonstrates that a scale motif repeated in three octaves can create a melodic effect, 2 Anos) Harmonic Minor with Chromaticism This line adds a chromatic note (F) over a Gm(maj7) chord D> coveair S=S— SECOND MODE—LOCRIAN £6 This example is over the chord progression Dm7>5-A>(# 11)/D, which implies the C harmonic minor scale. There is a lot of intervallic movement through the use of string skipping. > Dmit5/F AeiyDLocrian 46 with Chromaticism Here the chord progression is Fm7>5/B>—Bbmaj7#11/F with the chromatic notes E and A. THIRD MODE—IONIAN #5 For this third degree of the scale, the chords are E>maj7#5~Ab maj7#11/Eb. Don't forget that for certain phrasing situations, you are not always obligated to pick every note. This is the case in this example. Avmaj7#1 i Jonian# 5 with Additional Chromaticism This is a Bb harmonic minor scale with displaced octaves and a chromatic note (BA). This example uses string skipping. Try and sing the intervals. } Démaj7#11 Gmaj HIE FOURTH MODE—DORIAN #4 The chord progression in Fig. 30 is Em7—F#/E. Although this is an idiomatic scale pattern, pay attention to your fingering. } Em? PE peer eee 15 — 412-44 1 PUR EUR MEH eT 7 i paste eater 415Fig. 31 has a Bm7-C#/B progression, which implies F# harmonic minor. The matic notes. are chro- Bm? pct the-te 00 ff 2p ote 5 eS 3 = ro T 967-910 war 6 A 697 FIFTH MODE—PHRYGIAN 43 This mode is commonly used in rock styles. This figure uses sixteenth note triplets over Bm7> 5iE-G8°rE. e BmPSE GHIE eee _ ee | Phrygian ®3 with Chromaticism This one is a Bm(maj7) arpeggio with string skipping over a C3m7>5/F8—A#°/FE progression The A and F are chromatic notes. food Chm srt AIR 1518191015 171514 SIXTH MODE—LYDIAN #2 For this Tango feel, the chord progression is Ebmaj7-E>°. Phmaj? Be b—4 ye F ——— ; SS ———— = T = = We 40. a) 20 10-414 10-14 e fiLydian #2 with Chromaticism Fig, 35 uses the sixth mode of the B harmonic minor scale with chromatic notes (F and A) over a Gmaj7-G° progression a " et i #8 Sa att po: ora SEVENTH MODE—ALTERED 7 Fig. 36 uses the seventh mode of C harmonic minor over a B° chord. The example uses a @m(maj7) shape—watch out for the string skipping at the resolution of the ptirase! Altered 7 with Chromaticism Fig. 37 uses the seventh mode of F harmonic minor over an E° chord with the chromatic note A. We have a very exotic sound in this example, using the chromatic notes F#, A, E>, and B, which add a nice color to the scale. This makes the F harmonic minor scale sound close to a syn- thetic scale. pre — —— 2 8-7-8 10-14 10-41 Se 19-19-10 aADDITIONAL IDEAS FOR HARMONIC MINOR Over Ab, this example uses the D> harmonic minor (middle eastern sounding) scale with chro- maticism from above and beneath the chord tones of the Ab triad, > fig hee bere SSS Here we have an F harmonic minor scale, which makes C7 (the chord on this track) the fifth degree, with E> and G> as chromatic notes. Notice how the example outlines a G>7 arpeggio, which doesn't belong to F harmonic minor, but is a tritone substitute for C7. Sometimes your ear brings you into unknown territory where you play things you normally would not. That is the magic of music and the reward for your time spent studying. Don’t always be too analytical and try to enjoy the music when this “mystery” of music produces intriguing sounds. This example is an intervallic G harmonic minor pattern over a C6/9-C7sus4 progres- sion. Don’t ask why—just open your ears, play it, and sing it. cs CTsus4 Over C6/9-C7sus4, this example shows G harmonic minor moving in contrary motion. We start with a6 interval (C-F#), then the E goes down and the F# ascends, both using the G har- monic minor scale. Pay attention to the string skipping. 18Fig. 44 uses a sliding, first finger B harmonic minor pattern on the high E string over an open B techno groove. Fig. 45 uses an F harmonic minor scale over an open F “house” groove. This line can be dou- bled an octave above using an octaver pedal for a nice effect. SS = ———— st —— Sa ee = 49@ Melodic Minor Scale T he melodic minor scale and its modes are commonly used in jazz (bebop, free-jazz, and fus 1) sion) as well as pop and other contemporary styles—they are frequently heard, for exam- ple, on typical “spy movie” soundtracks. These scales may also serve as compositional and improvisational tools for the investigative musician. This section demonstrates each of the melodic minor modes through a series of musical ex- amples using a variety of rhythmic backgrounds. Each sub-section begins with diatonic examples followed by examples with added chromatic notes. The rhythm section in the following examples will cover a variety of musical styles including traditional jazz, contemporary jazz, fusion, funk, R&B, and rock. CONSTRUCTION OF THE MELODIC MINOR MODES Below is the C melodic minor scale. It can be ‘thought of as a C major scale with a minor third (Eb) instead of a major third (E); a C Dorian mode with a major seventh (B) instead of a minor seventh (BP); or a C natural minor scale with a major sixth (A) and major seventh (B). ‘C melodie minor ‘The following table illustrates the modes of the C melodic minor scale, along with their as- sociated seventh chords and upper extensions. as event chord. — upperentesions 4 Enslac niner CoS Sse : a D Dorian ’2 Lith th eo = 8 = OT amt EP Lydian #5 : maj 75 Oth Htth 13th 3 ste — SSF a F Lydian 7 FT both 11th 13th z SSS = Se] G Mixolydian 13 GT oth With 13th eS ee ‘A Loorian #2 Am75 oth 11th 13th SS pe Se ‘ +a) to