Chromatic Scales:
Vitamin C of a Musical Vocabulary
ascorbic
acid (əˈskôrbik)
noun
a vitamin found particularly in
citrus fruits and green vegetables. It is essential in maintaining healthy
connective tissue, and is also thought to act as an antioxidant. Severe
deficiency causes scurvy. Also called vitamin C.
Vitamin ‘C’ maintains the connective
tissue of human body cells. In the
same way, the chromatic scale connects chordal ideas, distant keys, and atonal
episodes.
Examples of all the above can be
found in almost any extended piece of music, written or improvised, classical
or jazz.
Sadly, the chromatic scale is treated
by most as a given; once learned, seldom practiced, instead of never practiced
enough.
I give you here ways and means to
acquire control of this overlooked treasure in the following exercises.
An example of my thoughts on the
chromatic scale:
To play a 2-octave scale from ‘x’
note to ‘y’ note, the groups of 4, or 3, or 5, or 6, etc. should be determined,
counted, and marked.
This way the scale will be executed
with precision, instead of beginning and hoping for the best.
I’ll offer methods to do this.
My information however, can have the
effect of a prescription for Castor Oil:
I was once giving a lesson to a
university student, a saxophone major, explaining my ideas on chromatic scale
practice, having her play my etudes.
All of a sudden she burst into tears, slammed her book closed, and
rushed from my office, crying: “I’m a junior in college; I don’t have to
practice the chromatic scale anymore!”.
The more fluent you become in the
control of the chromatic scale, the more valuable it’ll become; you will want
to use it more and more, in writing music and in improvisation, not to mention increased
ability acquired in reading music more precisely.
So, whether a beginner, playing your
instrument as a hobby, or earning your living as a classical, commercial, or
jazz musician, you need to always explore and practice the chromatic scale,
---- even if you’re a junior in college.
Exercises:
Begin practicing the scale for only
one octave, ascending and descending, dividing it into triplet groups, groups
of 4, and groups of 6. Tiplets
will begin each group with a note of a diminished 7th chord, groups
of 4 with notes of an augmented triad, and groups of 6 with the notes of a
diminished 5th interval.
Each musician can go on from here to find organizing ideas of his own.
More Exercises to follow; please check back soon. Errol
I’m not inferring that while a jazz
musician is playing his solo, he’s calculating this way, of course not;
I’m explaining how to work in the
practice room, where you internalize these processes, so when performing, your
intuitive subconscious will effortlessly add them from your deep creative pool.
