DIATONIC EXERCISES
If you are used to practising scales, the following exercises can replace a large part of your normal scale practice. They are more interesting than plain scales and will help with technique and harmonic understanding as well as being useful to use in improvisations at times.
To sustain interest it is recommended that instead of practising in all keys (which should be an ultimate goal), for the first few weeks you should limit your practice to four keys. These are the major keys of C, Bb, F and E and where appropriate the related minor keys of Am, Gm, Dm and C#m. Initially minor scales should be the harmonic minor and melodic minor. The melodic minor should be the same descending as ascending, with major sixth seventh intervals or in other words the same as a major scale but with a minor third. (See appendix A for suggested key practice schedule). These keys can be used as part of a daily routine, but other keys will be practised as necessary for specific tunes or chord sequences. Were indicated some of the exercises should be practised using modes.
The ranges of the exercises should be adapted to suit your instrument, if possible extend the range to cover two or three octaves.
Ideally once you know an exercise in one key you should be able to transpose it in your head to the other keys. Even if this means you play it slower, this is better than writing the exercise out in different keys.
Ex 1
Practice in major and minor keys. Be aware of the scale degree of the first note of each group of four (C=1, D=2, E=3 etc.)
Variation:
Ex 2
Practice in major keys. Be aware of the chord name and scale degree for each rising arpeggio. This is an extremely useful exercise for becoming familiar with four note (7th) chords and their harmonic relationship.
Ex 3
Practise in major and minor keys. When using bebop phrasing tongue the first quaver and slur from second quaver to crotchet:
The following exercises use non chord notes either as suspensions (the diatonic note above the triad chord note) or non chord notes a semitone lower than the chord notes. The lower notes are very useful to learn as they can be used a neighbour note or “secondary leading note”.
Ex 4 (major)
Whether major or minor, these exercises always use the diatonic note above the chord note and the semitone below.
Ex 4 (minor)
Ex 5 (major)
Practise major and minor. The note below the chord tone is always a semitone lower.
Ex 5 (minor)
Ex 6
