Scales Chords 4 Beginners

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SCALES!

5

Scales: What & Why?! 6

How to Learn a Scale! 9

How to Play the Scales! 12

Major scales! 13 Melodic minor! 18 Harmonic Minor! 21 Aeolian Mode! 24 Dorian Mode! 27 Pentatonic minor! 33

Blues scale (minor) ! 36

Blues scale (major)! 38

Whole tone scales! 40

Whole tone (cont) ! 42

CHORDS!

43

Major chords! 44 Minor chords! 44 Major 7 chords! 45 Minor 7 chords! 46 Dominant 7 chords! 46

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Scales: What & Why?

Iʼve made it relatively easy for you by presenting all these scales as written down music. I hope this will be a great reference for you, but ideally you need to be able to learn all these scales, especially if you ever intend to learn to do any jazz, pop, rock or blues improvisation. At first this can be a bit of a daunting task, but after a while if you know a scale in one key, there is no reason why you canʼt play it in any key. OK, the fingering is very difficult in some keys, but nobody expects that part of it to be easy.

However the important goal is to understand the sound of a scale, so that you can imagine the notes in your head, just like you can imagine a tune and be able to whistle it or sing it in the shower. Ideally you should learn to sing these scales as well as play them. Not got a very good voice? Donʼt worry, because (A) you donʼt need a good voice for this part of the learning

process and (B) it will get better anyway. The important thing is that learning to sing the scales as well as play them will help to train your ears, which will help you to both learn the scales and (this is the good bit) be a much better player all round.

What makes one type of scale different to another?

Intervals and the pattern of intervals.

Intervals are the distances (in pitch) between the different notes. Just as a melody is made up of

different intervals, so are scales - in fact I encourage you to think of a scale as a tune. But, I hear you ask, isnʼt a scale just a series of notes going up in steps, then down again? Yes it is, but we donʼt use all of the steps of a staircase (although there is one exception to this that you neednʼt worry about for now) but the staircase is a useful analogy:

Imagine a staircase made up of twelve steps, however for the scale analogy you think of each step as a half step (the musical terminology is a semitone) . So we can either go up that staircase in twelve half steps (semitones) or six whole steps (whole tones).

Wrong!

We can make life a bit more interesting than using either every step or running up two at a time. We can use different combinations of whole and half steps. It is those different combinations of whole and half steps (or whole tones and semi tones) that make one type of scale different to another.

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The Major Scale

Remember, we think of each step of the staircase as a half step (half a tone) and two steps of the staircase as whole step (whole tone) so as you can see for the major scale we start with two

whole tones, then one half tone, then three whole tones and finally a half tone to finish.

We can use a shorthand method to describe this Pattern of wholes and halves.

Whole = W Half = H

So we call this:

WWHWWWH (The “WH” pattern)

You may find it easier to remember if we split this into two: WWH WWWH

If you learn the guitar, you can think of the frets of the fingerboard as steps of the staircase. But itʼs very worthwhile to get hold of a keyboard or piano and see how this works on the keyboard.

As I mentioned previously you donʼt need to be a great singer, and you donʼt need to be a concert pianist to benefit from singing scales and playing them (however slowly) on a keyboard as well as on your saxophone.

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Minor Scale

Remember, whatever key you are in, the pattern is always the same for each type of scale. For the major scale itʼs WWH WWWH.

Letʼs now see how this applies to a minor scale, in this case the 1_{melodic minor. There are}

different types of minor scale as you may know, for now but to understand the big main difference between a minor scale and a major scale, we just need to look at one of them. The melodic minor is the same as the major, but with one difference, the 3rd note is one step lower.

This means our pattern of whole/half tones is now

WHW WWWH

On the keyboard:

These differences in interval between the 1st (root) and the 3rd note are what defines a scale as major or minor. The interval from the 1st and 3rd in a major scale is called a major 3rd, and in a minor scale, guess what? a minor 3rd.

Weʼll go into then theory of that later on, for now just to get an idea of the very different (and significant) flavours of major and minor, try playing those notes on the keyboard together. First play a C and E together, then play C and Eb. You will hear a very different quality: the major 3td can sound strident or triumphant, the minor tends to sound sad or wistful.

1_{In classical music, the melodic minor is different ascending and descending. When used in jazz itʼs the same}

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How to Learn a Scale

If you take a quick glance at all the scales in this book, you may wonder how you will ever be able to play them all, let alone learn them by heart.

Well, memorising them is the easy part, once youʼve got over the initial hurdle of hearing the “WH” pattern for each type of scale, e.g. whether the scale is WWH WWWH, WHW WWWH or whatever. It doesnʼt take long to understand and be able to identify those intervals so that you can not only recognise them, but picture in your head the sound and whether you move by one half step or two half steps (a whole tone).

The next thing is be able to play them in every key, whether or not you can memorise them. Obviously some scales have fingerings for notes that are more difficult than others, and unless you know all the fingerings for all the notes, you arenʼt going to be able to play the scales at all, let alone from memory so make sure you are familiar with the fingering for every note.

It may be too daunting to memorise a whole scale at once, so I suggest breaking a scale down into smaller chunks. We do this in three stages, like this:

Stage 1

First play the first three notes. Play them up and down, both in one go and separately up and down:

C

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D

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E

œ

D

œ

C

˙

C

œ

D

œ

E

œ Œ

E

œ

D

œ

C

œ

Œ

1 & œ

2 œ

3 œ

2 œ

1 ˙

1 œ

2 œ

3 œ Œ

3 œ

2 œ

1 œ

Œ

Say the note names to yourself, but now do it again and say the note numbers:

C

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D

œ

E

œ

D

œ

C

˙

C

œ

D

œ

E

œ Œ

E

œ

D

œ

C

œ

Œ

1 & œ

2 œ

3 œ

2 œ

1 ˙

1 œ

2 œ

3 œ Œ

3 œ

2 œ

1 œ

Œ

This is especially useful for a variety of reasons, for now it will help with the learning process. You will get to think of how the intervals between 1 and 2, and between 2 and 3 are both whole tones, and these numbers of course will apply whatever key you happen to be in.

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Sooner or later you will be able to know the notes you should play even if your fingers arenʼt yet accustomed to the fingering.

Moving on, we take the next chunk:

Stage 2

This takes a little more thought as we are starting on note 3:

E

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F

œ

G

œ

F

œ

E

˙

E

œ

F

œ

G

œ Œ

G

œ

F

œ

E

œ Œ

3 & œ

4 œ

5 œ

4 œ

3 ˙

3 œ

4 œ

5 œ Œ

5 œ

4 œ

3 œ Œ

And if you remember your WWH WWWH, the note your are starting on (the 3rd note of the scale) goes up a half step to the 4th and then a whole step to the 5th. Once you feel

comfortable with the numbers, keep thinking the intervals to yourself as well and try to “hear” the difference between the half tone and the whole tone.

You probably know whatʼs coming next, yet another chunk. Well, youʼd be wrong. First we are going to put together the first two chunks we just learnt and really get our heads round the first five notes:

Stage 1 & 2 together

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2 _œ

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Stage 3

Now that we have put together stages 1 and 2, we just need to complete the scale. Think back to our WH pattern:

WWH WWWH. We are going to start from the 5th note; WWH WWWH and so we play from that note, two whole notes and a half to finish off onto the last note, which is of course the root note again, same as the 1st but an octave higher.

A quick look at the keyboard again:

We have covered C D E F G as two chunks: WW and HW, then put them together as WWHW Here is the final chunk of our C major scale:

G

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A

œ

B

œ

C

œ

B

œ

A

_œ

G

_˙

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5

6 _œ

7 œ

8 œ

b œn

7

6 _œ

5 _˙

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Thatʼs it! Now put the whole scale together:

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D

œ

E

œ

F

œ

G

œ

A

œ

B

œ

C

œ

C

œ

B

œ

A

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G

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F

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E

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D

_œ

C

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1 & œ

2 œ

3 œ

4 œ

5 œ

6 œ

7 œ

8 œ

7 œ

6 œ

5 œ

4 œ

3 _œ

2 _œ

1 _œ

And donʼt forget to also think the numbers:

C

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D

œ

E

œ

F

œ

G

œ

A

œ

B

œ

C

œ

C

œ

B

œ

A

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G

œ

F

œ

E

_œ

D

_œ

C

_œ

1 & œ

2 œ

3 œ

4 œ

5 œ

6 œ

7 œ

8 œ

7 œ

6 œ

5 œ

4 œ

3 _œ

2 _œ

1 _œ

By thinking not just the note names, but the numbering system and the “WH” patterns, you may think your life is a bit more complicated, but both of these will gradually help as you progress, so that instead of learning the musical language of scales as if it is just a random list of words, you will start to think in whole sentences that actually become easier to remember and will certainly be a great help when learn some of the basics of improvising and progress onto the next books in the Taming the Saxophone™ series.

How to Play the Scales

I have specifically not set out out any different ways to play the scales, (e.g. over the entire range or up to the 9th note before descending) as different teachers and syllabuses use

different methods. These are purely for reference: you can adapt them to fit in with the way your teacher has advised.

One very important thing:

Donʼt rush them. It is more important to play with an even tempo than it is to play fast. Once you are sure you can play evenly (and in time with a metronome) at a certain tempo, then you can gradually set a higher speed, but each time do make sure that you are playing evenly and not stumbling or slowing down the tempo over the harder fingering passages. If one part of a scale is difficult (e.g. over the break between octaves) then practise just that one part as a sparate “chunk” before playing the entire scale.

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Major scales

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Major scale (cont.)

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Major scale (cont.)

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Melodic minor

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Harmonic Minor

WHW WHW

+

_H

Note there is an bigger than usual interval between the 6th and 7th steps, this is an augmented

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Aeolian Mode

WHW WHWW

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Dorian Mode

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Dorian (cont.)

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Pentatonic minor

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Gm

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Pentatonic minor (cont.)

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Blues scale (minor)

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Blues scale minor (cont.)

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Blues scale major (cont)

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Whole tone scales

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D7+

œ œ œ# œb œ

œ œ œ œ œ œ œb œ# œ œ w

n bbbbb

& bbbbb œ

Db7+

œ œ œn œn œb

œ œ œ œ œ œb œn œn œ œ w

_{nnnn b}

& b œ

C7+

œ œ œ# œb œ

œ œ œ œ œ œ œb œ# œ œ w

_{n ####}

&

#### œ

B7+

œ œ œ# œn œ

œ œ œ œ œ œ œn œ# œ œ w

nnnn bbb

& bbb œ

Bb7+

œ œ œn œb œ

œ œ œ œ œ œ œb œn œ œ w

_{nnn ##}

&

## œ

A7+

œ œ œ# œn œ

œ œ œ œ œ œ œn œ# œ œ w

nn bbbbb

& bbbbb œ

Ab7+

œ œ œn œn œ

œ œ œ œ œ œ œn œn œ œ w

_nnnnn

& œ

G7+

œ œ œ# œb œ

œ œ œ œ œ œ œb œ# œ œ w

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Whole tone (cont)

&

#####44 œ

F#7+

œ œ œn œn œ

œ œ œ œ œ œ œn œn œ œ w

nnnnn bb

& bb œ

F7+

œ œ œn œb œ

œ œ œ œ œ œ œb œn œ œ w

nn ###

&

###

_œ

E7+

œ œ œ# œn œ

œ œ œ œ œ œ œn œ# œ œ w

nnn bbbb

& bbbb œ

Eb7+

œ œ œn œb œ

œ œ œ œ œ œ œb œn œ œ w

nnnn #

&

#

_œ

D7+

œ œ œ# œb œ

œ œ œ œ œ œ œb œ# œ œ w

n bbbbbb

& bbbbbb œ

Db7+

œ œ œn œn œ

œ œ œ œ œ œ œn œn œ œ w

nnnnn b

& b œ

C7+

œ œ œ# œb œ

œ œ œ œ œ œ œb œ# œ œ w

n ####

&

####

_œ

B7+

œ œ œ# œn œ

œ œ œ œ œ œ œn œ# œ œ w

nnnn bbb

& bbb œ

Bb7+

œ œ œn œb œ

œ œ œ œ œ œ œb œn œ œ w

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Iʼm going to assume by now you know what a scale is, and many of you know what chords are, but itʼs probably worth having a little look here at how they are related. If you can get access to a keyboard for this section you will get a much better understanding of the concept.

This is not an easy concept if you havenʼt studied music theory before, so I suggest you read carefully, play the examples at the keyboard (it doesnʼt matter how slowly, you donʼt need to be a concert pianist, just follow the diagrams)

Major chords

Here is a C major scale with scale degrees shown as numbers:

1

& œ

1

œ

3

œ

3

œ

5

œ

chord: C

_˙˙˙

3

œ

5

œ

chord: C

_˙˙˙

min 1

& bbb œ

œ

3

œ

5

œ

7

œ

chord: C

_www

w

min7

And do the same thing:

1

& œ

œ

3

œ

5

œ

chord: C

_˙˙˙

3

œ

5

œ

chord: C

_˙˙˙

min 1

& bbb œ

œ

3

œ

5

œ

7

œ

chord:

www

w

C min7

We now have a chord of C minor (chord symbol = C min or sometimes just Cm - but note that the “m” must be lower case). Note that there are various different types of minor scale which are in common use, this one is called a natural minor.

œ

3

œ

5

œ

chord: C

_˙˙˙

1

& œ

œ

3

œ

5

œ

7

œ

chord: C

_www

7

œ

chord:

www

w

C min7

Using the C major scale again, we count up from the root missing out the alternate degrees of the scale and we get a 4 note chord in C major. This is called a C major 7 (Cmaj7). This is sometimes denoted with a triangle - C∆7.

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Minor 7 chords

Letʼs do the same with our C minor scale:

œ

3

œ

5

œ

chord: C

_˙˙˙

1

& œ

œ

3

œ

5

œ

7

œ

chord:

www

& bbb œ

œ

3

œ

5

œ

chord: C

_˙˙˙

min 1

& bbb œ

œ

3

1

& œ

œ

3

œ

5

œ

chord: C

_˙˙˙

1

& œ

œ

3

œ

5

œ

7

œ

chord:

www

w

C maj7 1

& œ

&

3

œ

5

œ

chord: C

_˙˙˙

min

& bbb œ

œ

chord:

www

w

C min7

As you can see the 1, 3 and 5 make up a C major chord, but be careful not to call this a C major 7.

Whenever you see a chord symbol with just the “7” and no minor or major, it is a dominant 7 type chord with the flattened 7th.

But donʼt be fooled into thinking that the 7th note will therefore always have a flat symbol. In this case we are thinking of a C chord in the key of C. But if we are in a sharp key, ie a key with one or more sharpened notes, such as the key of G then the 7th note of the major scale is always a sharpened note. So when the note is flattened, it has a natural symbol to show that the

sharpened note (F# in this case) has been flattened by a semitone:

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1

&

#44 œ

This chord can be used in two main ways:

In the example above we have a C7 chord and we still in the key of C but have just flattened the 7th degree. The Bb doesnʼt normally fit in the key of C, but this chord is very frequently used in blues, where the flattened note gives the chord some “colour”.

A more traditional use in western music would be to use this chord as a chord in the key of F, in which case the Bb is already in the key signature.

F1

& b44

_www

w

7

As you can see the key signature is now F and this time instead of counting the notes of the chord from the 1st (or “root”) note of the key (F), we are counting the C chord notes up from fifth note of the F scale, which is of course C the root of the chord C. That is because in any key a chord can be built on any degree of that key. In this case our dominant chord is built on the 5th degree of F (F - G - A - Bb - C) so although C is the 5th degree of the key of F, we still call it the root (or 1st degree) of the chord of C. More of this later.

Some Important Terminoloy

Chords that have all their notes in the key signature (as with a C7 when it is the fifth chord in F) are called diatonic chords. If one or more notes a chord has one are not in the key signature we call the a chromatic chord.

What you have just learnt is some very basic theory in regard to playing rock, pop, jazz and blues, however I included one of the more advanced concepts than you would not normally get at this stage of learning about chords, the idea of chromatic chords. The reason Iʼve chosen to do this is that blues and rock music, although on the face of it a simple form of music, very often

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uses the type of chromatic alteration I showed you above (often called blue notes, more about those later).

Very often people learn conventional classical harmony, in which at a basic level a dominant chord always functions a diatonic chord, ie the fifth chord of a key, and not as a chord that has just had a note changed to make it sound bluesy.

I have done this for a reason. Very often people want to start off learning blues. In some respects it is very simple and a good starting point for beginners as it can be a lot more

rewarding than trudging through the usual old beginner tunes that you get in some tutors, but if your knowledge of music theory is based purely on elementary classical harmony, then it can be confusing when you find that not only are the rules broken, but if you try to apply the rules, you get taken in completely the wrong direction.

So if you are a complete beginner to the idea of improvising with and chords I every strongly recommend that you read this chapter again, ideally with a piano or other keyboard so that you can not only get these basic concepts internalised, but also (and more importantly) understand

how they sound.

One final thing about chords. On a keyboard or guitar the notes can be played simultaneously. This is not possible on a saxophone (with a few exceptions using a very advanced technique), so when saxophone players play chords, they are played one note after the other - arpeggios.