Tip: Continuous Scale Exercise

Here’s a scale exercise you might especially helpful if you’re interested in improvisation, especially modal improvisation. This exercise uses three different modes of the major scale (with a couple of chromatic alterations) to create the feeling of a I-iv-V-I progression in Bb minor.

The striking thing about this exercise is the way it communicates the feeling of the underlying chords using only stepwise movement. Hearing the changes is a piece of cake when you play arpeggios, but using scales to hear the changes requires some understanding of how modes work. I hope this exercise helps build that understanding for you.

These are all eighth notes, except for the last note, which is a half note.

|------------------|----------------8----|
|------------------|----------6-7-9------|
|------------------|------6-8------------|
|-------------6-10-|-8-10----------------|
|-------6-8-9------|---------------------|
|-6-8-9------------|---------------------|

|-6------------------|---------------------|
|---9-7-6------------|---------------------|
|---------8-----6----|---------------------|
|------------10---10-|--8-6----------------|
|--------------------|------9-8-6----------|
|--------------------|------------9-8-6----|

|-----------------|----------------5-|----|
|-----------------|------------7-6---|----|
|-----------------|--------6-8-------|----|
|-----------------|-6-8-10-----------|----|
|---------6-9-8-9-|------------------|----|
|-5-6-8-9---------|------------------|----|

|-6-8-9-8-6----|
|--------------|
|--------------|
|--------------|
|--------------|
|--------------|

Thanks for reading.

Copyright © 2010 Darrin Koltow

This first appeared in the Guitar Noise News – December 1, 2008 newsletter. Reprinted with permission.