1. Select a song that uses chords found by harmonising the natural minor scale. Here is a typical example reminiscent of songs like Bill Withers 'Ain't no sunshine
when she's gone:
4
4 Am | Am | Am | Am | Em | Dm | Am | Am ||
2. Have the student play the rhythm part until they are familiar with it and then ask them to play along to it improvising using the natural minor scale of the key the song is in.
3. Select one or two other songs – be sure to avoid anything that uses a dominant chord type for the fifth – this rules out most minor key songs which are actually based on the harmonic minor scale rather than the natural minor. Peter Green's Black
Magic Woman and Bob Marley's I shot the sheriff are good examples of natural mi-
nor based songs.
4. Repeat this exercise, if possible getting your student to look at minor songs they know and deciding whether they are based on the natural minor scale or not.
Objective 3. Student able to harmonise the harmonic minor scale. Methods:
1. Using manuscript paper, have the student write out the harmonic minor scale of A minor. They should do this using an accidental to restore the seventh note to its natural state (G#).
2. Now have them draw in the rest of the notes to harmonise the scale taking care to put accidental # signs in front of every G that occurs.
3. The result should look like this diagram.
4. Now get them to analyse each chord and write its name beneath. They should have:
Am Bdim C+ Dm E F G#dim Am
5. Draw to their attention that only the III V and VII chords differ from the series harmonised on the natural minor scale. Of these the V is the most significant. 6. Choose a song or two that is harmonised on the harmonic minor scale and have your student play through the rhythm an also improvise lead to using the harmonic minor scale.
7. Pick various minor key chord sequences at random and have your student de- cide which of the two scales the sequence is based on.
Lesson plan 40:
SPECIFIC REMEDIES
Problem: Student confusing the terms 'minor' with 'flat' or 'sharp'
Surprisingly common phenomenon. The student is asked to play Bb and plays Bm, or is asked for the note C# and plays the chord C minor.
Probable cause(s): The student is already dealing with chords although they have not
yet properly understood the naming of notes. As chords are made up of notes this is
out of sequence.
Solution(s): Go back to Lesson plan 31 (Note names) and repeat it from Objective 1. onwards. Have the student name notes up and down strings, using sharp names when ascending, flat names when descending. Have them do this again and again, week after week if necessary until they can do it like a typical child of 6 can count from 1-10 . There is absolutely no point whatsoever in proceeding any further with music theory until this is down cold.
Then return to chords. Point out that every chord symbol has two main parts – a root note which will be one of the seventeen note names: A A# Bb B C C# Db D D# Eb E F F# Gb G G# Ab and a chord type description such as: m, min, m7, 7, 9, maj9, 7#9, 9b13, dim, aug, +, -7, m7b5, sus4, sus9#11. To begin with the student should be made to listen to and identify by ear the three principal chord types: major, minor and dominant seventh. They can then appreciate that most other chords are extensions of these basic types.
Problem: Student confusing root note with key note
A root note is the name after which any chord is named and forms the first part of the chord symbol. A key note is the first note of the scale from which a melody, or harmony is constructed. Intervals descriptions can refer to notes referenced against either. Very confusing for the unwary!
Probable cause(s):
Music works in two dimensions. You hear the notes C and G played simultaneously – that is a harmonic V – the vertical dimension. You hear the notes C and G played one after another that is a Melodic V – the horizontal dimension.
The classic confusion arises when evaluating a harmonised scale. You harmonise the scale of C major C D E F G A B C – these represent degrees I – VIII in a diatonic series – a horizontal view. Now you build a chord on step III by taking E G and B (selected by leapfrogging along the horizontal arrangement of notes) and piling them up verti- cally. At this point you have left the horizontal dimension where everything was de- fined relative to the Key note C and entered the vertical dimension above the note E.
So you now evaluate the notes E G and B relative to the root note E and this means applying the key signature of E major and thinking (horizontally!) along the scale of E major!
Thus the notes E G B whilst having the relationship III V VII in the key of C are re- evaluated as I bIII V which is how they stand in the key of E major (the G would be G# normally so hence the bIII). As I bIII V is the formula for a minor triad we know that these notes form a minor chord – Em.
Solution(s): First make absolutely sure the student knows their seventeen note names and understands how they relate to each other. Next do a really thorough job on the construction of the major scale so that they are very conversant with the basic interval names and numbers. Test them over and over. Then tackle the subject of har- monising scales as set out in the lesson plans above making sure the student is made aware of the two dimensional use of interval names. Test. Test. Test. Testing builds the students confidence and really lets you know where they are in terms of their true comprehension of these complexities!
Problem: Student having problems with letter names.
Student gets confused every time they try and think about what is next after the note G or G#.
Probable cause(s): This is simply a question of alphabet. For years they have been used to going A B C D E F G H I J K..etc.. Now suddenly they're being asked to loop round the first seven letters only: A B C D E F G A B C D E F G A B ..etc..
Solution(s): When I get people with this problem I get them to recite the alphabet from A – H but tell them to stop halfway through pronouncing the letter 'H': Ay Bee Cee Dee Ee Eff Gee Ay- (ch) it's silly – but like most memory tricks, it's the silly things that help people remember.
Problem: Student unable to use CAGED system. Student just doesn't seem able to use the C-A-G-E-D system to find notes or patterns on the guitar fretboard.
Probable cause(s): This is almost always down to it being half-taught. It is not enough to simply explain the C-A-G-E-D system – the student has to learn it off by heart and be able to play the CAGED octave patterns fluently, up and down, starting on any note anywhere on the fretboard.
Solution(s): If necessary re-check the students understanding of the system. Then have them play it through several times in C. Then C#, D, D#, E, F … and so on right round the chromatic scale. Then pick a note at random and say 'Play me every F# on the fretboard or every Bb or whatever note you have picked. Make sure they can work right from open notes up to the dusty end of the fretboard without undue hesi- tancy.
Problem: Student confused about major scales. Appears unable to work with them or remember them or learn them.
Probable cause(s): Students may confuse major scales with minor or pentatonic scales as these are more often used to improvise in rock music.
Solution(s): Go back over the theory lessons from Lesson Plan 31 (names of notes) onwards. Make especially sure that the terms Tone (Whole step) and Semitone (Half-
step) are well understood. Then drill the student on the major scale formula: Tone
Tone Semitone Tone Tone Tone Semitone, until they can do it in their sleep.
Then work through the lesson plan on key signatures (Lesson plan 35) and underline the fact that a major scale contains all the letter names (always one of each) and is then modified by the key signature.
Problem: Student unable to work out key signatures.
You have been over the circles of fourths and fifths and explained the basics of stand- ard notation to them, yet they still have problems calculating key signatures.
Probable cause(s): Almost certainly this is down to earlier levels being rushed through too quickly. Key signatures are very hard to grasp unless the student is very clear on note names, the chromatic scale and major scale construction. It is also fairly essential that they have grasped the basics of standard notation.
Solution(s): Retread from Lesson plan 31 (note names) onwards. Take care to ask the student for lots of applications at each stage. Have them work with pen and paper as well as on the fretboard and , if at all possible, a keyboard as well.
Problem: Student confused about the whole subject of minor scales.
You have been through the lesson plans on minor scales, but the student just doesn't seem able to unravel them one from another, goes blank when you ask them the dif- ference between the natural, melodic and harmonic minor scales.
Probable cause(s): One possibility is that your student has run into a common mis- comprehension about the meaning of the word 'minor'. In daily use the term 'minor' is used to mean pretty much the opposite of the word 'major'. In music, however, the word has several different definitions. In the context of 'minor scale' the word 'minor' simply means 'containing the minor (or flatted) III interval', that is to say that there are a whole bunch of scales (natural minor, melodic minor, harmonic minor, dorian mode, phrygian mode, minor pentatonic, blues scale) all of which can be con- sidered of more or less equal importance. The one thing they all have in common is the use of the minor (or flatted) III. Each of these scales has different applications in each of the various musical genres. In terms of understanding music theory they are better considered as altered major scales rather than 'opposite to major scales'.
Solution(s): Have a chat with your student about their understanding of minor scales and check to see if the cause is as outlined above. If so, then a free form discussion about scales and their applications should help resolve the issue. If this is not the problem it is probable that the student failed to completely grasp some essential point about the major scale, chromatic scale or note naming. A good general rule to follow is that confusions always show up later than when they are instilled. This means
that the problem is always at a more basic level of the subject than the level at which it manifests. My approach is nearly always to check the students understanding from the bottom up. It never does any harm to revise basics, and if they are solid on these, they will take a matter of seconds to prove that to you> In so doing, you will only help strengthen their confidence and certainty in their knowledge.
Lesson plan 41:
KEY-SPECIFIC IMPROVISING