Question: What scale should I play?
Answer: Play what you hear
Question: What if I don’t hear anything?
Answer: Don’t play
PLAYING BY EAR
Many
jazz musicians play entirely by ear. When they improvise, they play the
notes they ‘hear’ (this means hearing the note in your head before you
play it). Musicians who play by ear will still make mistakes - they may
‘hear’ a note but not know what it is and make an incorrect guess.
Hearing
notes in your head can be challenging when you play on your own. It is
usually much easier with a piano or guitar playing chords. Listening to
the sound of each chord helps the improviser to ‘hear’ notes they might
want to play - typically these notes will be from the chord (or the
voicing of that chord) but a good ‘ear’ player can also imagine notes
not actually being played.
The
skill of playing by ear is very important for a jazz musician (and
perhaps should be for any musician). Developing the ability to listen
and make sense of what you hear can take a long time.
PLAYING FROM SCALES
Musicians
who play by ear often have little or no knowledge of theory but they
happily use all sorts of scales in their improvising. They know the
sounds they want but not necessarily what the sound is called. Knowing
the sound of a note or a scale is vital for good improvising. The names
are not essential but can be of great use when studying the music.
Playing
(and singing) scales is an excellent way to develop the ear. It helps
improve intonation (playing in tune) and technical fluency on the
instrument.
Many
jazz musicians use scales in a highly conscious way when they play.
Studying the relationships between chords and scales can be very
helpful.
Most
scales have seven notes, not counting the octave note (occasionally a
few less, or a few more). Chords can range from three notes (or even
two?) up to seven or eight.
A
chord with only three notes (typically a ‘triad’ structure build from
root, third and fifth) allows for many different scale possibilities. To
make a seven note scale, four additional notes would be needed.
eg C triad C E G
C major scale C D E F G A B (C) = C major
C mixolydian C D E F G A Bb (C) = F major
C lydian C D E F# G A B (C) = G major
C lydian dominant C D E F# G A Bb (C) = G melodic minor
C mixolydian b9 b13 C Db E F G Ab Bb (C) = F harmonic minor
C lydian #9 C D# E F# G A B (C) = E harmonic minor
C harmonic major C D E F G Ab B (C) = C harmonic major
C diminished (half whole) C Db Eb E F# G A Bb (C)= C diminished (half whole) or Db diminished (whole half)
(aka C 8-note dominant)
A chord with four notes (typically root, third, fifth and seventh) would need three extra notes to create a seven note scale.
eg C∆ (C major seven) C E G B
C major scale C D E F G A B (C) = C major
C lydian C D E F# G A B (C) = G major
C lydian #9 C D# E F# G A B (C) = E harmonic minor
C harmonic major C D E F G Ab B (C) = C harmonic major
Chords
with five, six or seven notes (chords with ninths, elevenths,
thirteenths etc) need little or no extra help to make a scale
eg Dm9 D F A C E
D dorian D E F G A B C (D) = C major
D aeolian D E F G A Bb C (D) = F major
D dorian #4 D E F G# A B C (D) = A harmonic minor
eg Dm11 D F A C E G
D dorian D E F G A B C (D) = C major
D aeolian D E F G A Bb C (D) = F major
eg Dm13 D F A C E G B
D dorian D E F G A B C (D) = C major
eg G13#11 G B D F A C# E
G lydian dominant G A B C# D E F (G) = D melodic minor
Chords
are sometimes notated as ‘slash chords’. Information before the slash
mark denotes a chord structure, and the note after is a single bass
note. Here is an example F∆ #11 / D (This chord could also be notated as Dm13
- see above). Slash chords typically give most of the information
needed to construct a chord (my example above gives all seven notes).
Question: If a chord has less than seven notes how do I find the other notes to make a scale?
Answer: Use your ear (and perhaps a bit of common sense … ) Remember there are usually only one or two possibilities - try them out
Look forward to seeing you on Friday
Cheers Mark
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