June 23, 2006
The pentatonic scale is an ancient scale that occurred independently in many cultures. It is such an extremely prevalent scale that it is worth a little deeper look into it. Whether you are a beginner or a pro, the pentatonic scale has something to offer. (continued)
First, a few definitions are in order. There are major and minor pentatonic scales, but the C major (C, D, E, G, A) has the same notes as A minor (A, C, D, E, G), so there are just 12 to learn. The major one contains the root, 9, 3, 5, b7 while the minor one has the root, m3, 11, 5, b7. [Note that there are other scales called pentatonic just because they have 5 notes, but to me these are not true pentatonic scales.]
And now for some hopefully interesting perspectives! The pentatonic scale can be built by taking any 5 adjacent notes from the circle of fifths and arranging them into a scale sequence. If we start with E and take 5 notes from the circle of fifths, we get E, A, D, G, C. These notes can be re-arranged into the C major or A minor pentatonic scale. Thus the scale is based on the interval of the 5th which in turn comes from the overtone series.
In contrast, the major scale is built by taking any 7 adjacent notes from the circle of fifths. But by taking only 5 notes from the circle of fifths, you end up with no half steps or tritones in your scale. This makes for a scale with virtually no tension, “avoid notes”, or leading tones. It is a mellow, resolved and open sounding scale.
A typical application of the pentatonic scale is to play the A minor pentatonic scale over an Am7 chord. This is useful for establishing the tonal center from which to build, but quickly gets boring if that’s all we play. When using the pentatonic scale in this way, keep in mind the simplicity of it, then build into some more interesting harmonies (e.g. by adding B and F# to get the dorian mode, or a passing tone like G#).
Another application is playing over a major II-V-I where the major pentatonic based on the V fits nicely over the whole progression. For a more colorful example, try playing F# major pentatonic over C7alt - This tritone substitution trick picks up on ALL the color tones! Who says pentatonics have to be boring?
Lastly, it is worth noting that the blues scale is just a pentatonic scale with a passing tone added. Just add an Eb to C major or A minor pentatonic scale to get the respective blues scales.
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June 23, 2006
Major scales and pentatonic scales can be expressed entirely as perfect fourths. For example B, E, A, D, G, C, F is the C major scale as perfect fourths. (continued)
For an interesting effect, try playing that sequence of notes over a Dm7 chord. If your instrument has the range, you can play the sequence completely as stacked fourths. For a different effect, you can play up thee notes, then drop down an octave for the next 3 notes and so on. Let us know about your favorite use of fourths.
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June 23, 2006
Listen to the new demo songs from the Summit 2V1 jazz band and vote for your favorite! Click “Read more” below to hear the songs and take the survey.
mp3 links:
Friday Night At The Cadillac Club
Pools
Ramblin’
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June 23, 2006
I bought this book from Mr. Levine after taking one of his jazz theory classes at the Stanford Jazz Workshop a few years ago. Even though I am now a sax player, I started out on keyboards and I felt that it was important for me to know more about what the piano player was doing within the context of a jazz group. Besides the stuff specific to the piano, most of the information covered transfers nicely to any instrumentalist wanting to play jazz.
The whole experience of attending the Stanford Jazz Workshop and continuing to study The Jazz Piano Book has done nothing short of change my musical life! I feel that I have a much deeper understanding of what is going on in jazz harmonies. (continued)
The book starts with a good review of intervals, major modes, and the II-V-I, then launches into voicings. Then, there is a large section on Scale Theory that does an excellent job of unraveling the mysteries of how melodies and chords arise from scales. We see how the major scale provides a solid foundation, while the melodic minor (or jazz minor) and diminished scales are the key to many of the colorful harmonies of modern jazz. Many other scales are also covered.
After that, there is even more about voicings, a section on Latin Jazz, Comping, and a huge discography of recommended listening material.
Throughout the book are tons of notated examples – many from specifically sighted jazz recordings, so you have something solid to relate to.
As is generally the case with books from Sher Music Co., this one is of the highest quality and I highly recommend it.
The Jazz Piano Book
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June 23, 2006
The diminished scale is an important scale used frequently in jazz. It is very harmonically colorful since it has 4 half-steps and 4 tritone intervals. We’ll cover the whole-half and half-whole step types and their associated chords. (continued)
Diminished scales are composed of alternating half and whole steps (or whole and half steps). This structure leads to there being only three unique scales to learn:
Dim Scale 1: C, D, Eb, F, F#, Ab, A, B
Dim Scale 2: C#, Eb, E, F#, G, A, Bb, C
Dim Scale 3: D, E, F, G, Ab, Bb, B, C#
Diminished scales are associated with diminished chords and dominant 7(b9) chords. There is sometimes confusion about whether to play the H-W scale or the W-H scale along with a given chord. The scale that goes with a diminished chord ascends with the WHOLE step first, while the scale that goes with a dominant 7(b9) chord ascends with the HALF step first.
Examples:
The scale for Cdim is C, D, Eb, F, F#, Ab, A, B
The scale for C7(b9) is C, Db, D#, E, F#, G, A, Bb
This assures that you get the major 3rd, dominant 7th, and b9 while playing over the C7(b9) chord (and not while playing over the Cdim chord).
The dim scale has some special properties. It is a symmetrical scale, meaning it is made out of a repeating pattern so there are less than 12 unique ones. Anything that is played in the dim scale can be shifted by a minor 3rd and still be in the scale. We often hear soloists taking advantage of this shifting property.
Also see Improvising Over Dominant 7 (b9) Chords
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June 23, 2006
Dominant 7(b9) chords are a colorful variety of dominant chords that can be used in place of regular dominant 7 chords (e.g in a V-I). They are part of diminished scale harmony and we use the second mode of the diminished scale that starts with the half step in the ascending direction. This 8-note scale contains the root, b9, #9, 3, #11, 5, 13, b7.
The diminished scale is not as hard to use as it might seem. There are only 3 diminished scales, and because they are symetric, anything you play can be shifted by minor 3rds.
Let’s take a look at the scale for C7(b9) as an example. The notes are C, C#, Eb, E, F#, G, A, and Bb. Because of the symetry, we can find 4 major triads (C, Eb, F#, and A) that we can play over the chord. This gives us something familiar and easy to play, and they sound pretty cool exept the C triad which is kind of boring because it lacks color tones. (continued)
The triads other than the one based on the root are called upper structures. Piano players often play these upper structures over the cord in various arpaggios and they work equally well for soloing.
Going a step further, we can play any of these triads with their dominat 7th and/or b9 - you get the idea.
Many colorful licks can also be drawn from the 4 half steps contained in the scale. Inverted, these give us some tasty major 7th intervals that we can play with. Try playing Bb-C#-E-A in an ascending or descending line. This contains an A triad, along with major 7th and tritone intervals. Of course this too can be shifted by minor 3rds for more variations.
Keep in mind also that dominant 7 (b9) chords are tension chords, so you should feel tension while soloing over them and resolve to the next chord. This is pretty cool once you get the hang of it!
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June 23, 2006
This is just your basic CDEFGABC scale, however it is important to know all the modes.
Modes:
I : Ionian (or just major)
II : Dorian
III : Phrygian
IV : Lydian
V : Mixolydian
VI : Aoelian or Natural Minor
VII : Locrian
(continued)
Chords in key of C:
I : CMaj7
II : Dm7
III : Em7
IV : FMaj7
V : G7
VI : Am7
VII : Bm7(b5) a.k.a. half diminished
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June 23, 2006
The II-V-I is a common chord progression that creates tension and relief, which in turn creates a sense of forward harmonic motion. In the key of C major, it goes something like this: Dm7-G7-CMaj7. These are simply the diatonic chords based on the second, fifth, and first degrees of the C major scale.
The Dm7 has medium tension. Moving to the G7, tension is increased due to the unstable sound of the tritone interval formed betweeen the 3rd and 7th of this chord. Lastly, the CMaj7 chord sounds completely resolved.
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