In it, tyler larson demonstrates how you can use the diminished scale in your blues lead work to create a decidedly differentand very coolsound. To develop technique and ear training while learning basic patterns for improvisation timeline. Exploring the diminished scale, halfwhole diminished scale, diminished triads, 4 note perstring diminished scale, exploring the phrygian dominant scale, exploring the mixolydian b6 scale, exploring dominant and concludes with a lick he calls left to follow. The half stepwhole step dimin ished scale the halfwhole diminished scale is what we call a symmetrical scale, meaning it is based on a repeating pattern of specific intervals. These modes are sometimes referred to as the whole stephalfstep diminished scale and the halfstepwhole step diminished scale, respectively. Then pick one of the 10 diminished patterns and take it into the practice room for a week. But rememberyou dont have to do everything at once.
If you ask a group of musicians about what to play over an altered dominant chord youre likely to get a number of answers. Diminished patterns jazz piano diminished scale patterns. Half whole diminished scales pdf the halfwhole diminished scale is an 8 note symmetrical scale. It accompanies the jamtracks with addional information such as the key. The two licks below use notes of both minor and major pentatonic scales. Howand whyto use diminished licks in blues solos guitar world. Here are some 5 useful licks that use the diminished scale. This is really advantageous, because it opens a whole range of possibilities. Remember, you can and should combine several scales in your solo for variation. Firstly, you will learn the theory of the diminished scale. Diminished scale synonyms, diminished scale pronunciation, diminished scale translation, english dictionary definition of diminished scale. C ocarina g ocarina click on the score to view exercises for any scale.
This pdf shows which chords can be used with each of the licks. Dim7 chords are not as commonly used as minor, dominant or major chords, but when they do pop up, they have a tendency to handcuff beginning improvisers. Using minor and major pentatonic together effectively minor and major pentatonic work great together in major keys and can say a lot more than if you were to just use one scale. When applied to a dominant 7 it includes several nice extensions and chromatic notes. Because each and every note could be the starting point. All of the exercises in this book are in the same key. This is a real signifier of the blues and it will help give your diminished licks a bluesy flavour. Barry harriss sixth diminished scale heres a great excerpt from a barry harris workshop where he introduces an interesting diminished concept, which he jokingly calls his personal scale. The half diminished the half diminished chord a minor seventh chord with a flattened fifth occurs as a fournote chord on the seventh degree of the major scale, on the second degree of the harmonic minor scale and on the sixth and seventh degree of the ascending form of the melodic minor scale. Diminished scale coloring book, slick licks that stick. Diminished scale guide for guitar jamie holroyd guitar. Bluesy diminished guitar licks lesson an easy pentatonic. This seven note sequence uses the second mode of the a hw diminished scale so therefore its caled a bb wh diminished scale.
The video is a bit pianofocussed so i thought it might help some guitar players to have. You can even think of the minor 6 diminished scale as an altered scale when you use it this way. In this lesson, i take you through the mixolydian scale in a blues context. Modify the exercises to fit different rhythmic contexts. Diminished scale definition of diminished scale by the free. Dealing with diminished scales naturally leads to diminished chords. But what you might not realize is that most of these altered approaches are describing the same scale. Also, we can simplify and summarize all 12 diminished scales to just 3 scale types. A whole stephalf step diminished scale applies to diminished chords. Tone semitone tone semitone tone semitone tone in the same way that we studied in the diminished chord, diminished scale repeats itself each one and a half tone. The diminished scale is derived out of two interlocking 4tone diminished seventh chords giving us those eight separate tones that produce altered.
Ive written out in full the what i play at the start of the video, which. Check out my free video lessons on my free lessons page. This is why we refer to it as a symmetrical scale, because the repeating interval pattern takes you back to the note that you started on. Diminished scale descending the use of a halfstep wholestep diminished scale over the dominant chord is very common in bebop. Major triad workout, minor 6th diminished scale arpeggios 12 keys and more.
The 3 bars mentioned above are the most obvious choices for using the diminished scale in a iivv blues. T he diminished scale is a symmetrical scale that is built by alternating whole steps and half steps. Will you need to understand diminished intervals to complete your knowledge of chords and scales. The d halfstepwholestep diminished scale would be used with d7alt, f7alt, ab7alt and b7alt chords. It is to be used as a source of amorphous practice material that should be personalized and developed by the player. Start by visualizing and ingraining the minor third relationship of the diminished chord tones in every key there are only 3. Although any of them can be used in a solo they are intended to teach your fingers how to move through the scale pattern without sounding like you are practicing a scale. Jul 04, 2008 a diminished scale is a 8 tone scale that has intervals that alternate between wholesteps and halfsteps. By joining the patreon community you are in the company of 200 others supporting. Rusty goes even deeper with a series of explorations. It is a symmetrical scale in that it follows a distinct pattern of steps, those being whole step, half step in a repeating pattern, not to be confused with the dominant diminished scale which follows a half step, whole step pattern. Diminished arpeggios are also widely used in jazz music.
This is not a very common scale, and it is primarily used in jazz music and work well together with alternate seventh chords. Lastly, you will learn how to play licks from the diminished scale. These are not lessons, but supplements to my lessons. The half stepwhole step diminished scale the halfwhole diminished scale is what we call a symmetrical scale, meaning it is based on a repeating pattern of specific intervals. The halfwhole diminished scale is an 8 note symmetrical scale. Minor 6th diminished scale arpeggios 12 keys is a 26 page mini ebook of arpeggio exercises in all keys, based on the eight note scale system originally termed the bebop scale by jazz education pioneer, the late david baker, and noted pianist educator barry harris, who coined it the 6th diminished scale. The exercises of this last file are in diminished scale of a.
Using minor and major pentatonic together effectively. The scale alternates half and whole steps until the scale starts again. Using the c major 6 diminished scale, start with a unison, and then as you move up and down the scale stepwise, fill in the voicings between the outer voices. One easy way of conceptualizing the diminished scale is to know that.
As i mentioned in the previous section, every scale has to relate to a chord, so i just want to give you a brief explanation of how and when you can use a diminished chord, and its relation to the diminished scales we talked about. We also have another lick of the week that uses the diminished scale. Diminished chords and the blues the ethan hein blog. The diminished scale is a type of 8note symmetrical scale. Dominant diminished scales diminished blues the dominant diminished scale consists of eight notes, and therefore belongs to the category of octatonic scales. The arpeggio should start a half step semitone above the root note of the dominant chord i. Barry harriss sixth diminished scale cochrane music. Apr 08, 2016 10 diminished patterns and a lifetime of work. A fun way to get familiar with moving voicings up and down the major and minor 6 diminished scales is to practice playing voicings in contrary motion. Heres a great excerpt from a barry harris workshop where he introduces an interesting diminished concept, which he jokingly calls his personal scale. The blues is a good entry path for beginner guitarists. Because of their symmetry, there are only 3 diminished scales and only 2 whole tone scales. Combining the minor pentatonic and halfwhole diminished scales is one of herrings favorite musical strategies, so if you aspire to emulate his. Major scale patterns, diminished scale patterns, and exercises for improving your saxophone tone, technique, and jazz improvisation.
Combining minor and major pentatonic scales guitarhabits. Many people first learn to improvise using major and blues scales, and so we are used to learning scales that have a different scale for. Guitar arpeggio handbook bonus lessons arpeggiobased guitar licks that you can apply in the context of your. However, theres one crucial piece of additional music vocabulary you need to fully inhabit blues tonality, and thats diminished chords to make a diminished chord, you start on any note, go up a minor third, then another, then another.
Jun 22, 2018 are your blues licks and solos sounding tired. This pdf lesson includes a number of diminished scale patterns along with a discussion of the theory needed to understand the application of diminished scale material. Now lets combine the notes of the minor pentatonic and major pentatonic scale and create some soloing ideas. From melodic minor scales to diminished patterns, and even tritone substitutions. This scale is great for using in finger exercises because it is symetrical. The diminished scale is an important scale used in jazz but can also be used in blues. In order to benefit as much as possible from these. Learn the most popular and less common heavy metal guitar scales, when to. Each of these scales can be used for material over the 4 dominant 7th chords, and the 4 diminished chords in which it is related. Whole stephalf step diminished scales are the same configuration of notes except that you start the scale with a whole step rather than a half step. Traditionally used as a diminished scale, so it has all the tense, unresolved.
This is one of many useful diminished patterns for improvising, used a lot by. There are only 12 keys which means that there are only 3 diminished scales. To help you take these scale fingerings from the technical side of your practice routine to the improvisational side, here are 2 common dominant diminished scale licks that you can work in 12 keys and add to your jazz guitar solos. It would seem to follow there are 12 of any other type of scale, one for each chromatic note. A curious reader asked a question about it, so we answered. Note that the top four notes of this scale are the same as the straight dominant scale the bit you have to work on is the bottom f our notes. The diminished scale, also known as the whole half scale, is an eight note scale with a numeric formula of 12. Dominant diminished scales diminished blues overview with. If you start builiding different triads in the scale youll find that we have four triads in the scale. I dont always want it to sound like im playing diminished, or beckoning karlos borloff in a horror flick. This sequel video goes further in depth about how to play one of the diminished licks from part 1 over 8 different chords. This scale is used to solo over diminished seventh chords. Of course you can play the diminished halfwhole over every dominantseventh chord, but if you do this in a simple blues progression, you will stop sounding bluesy.
With the combination of the key, tempo, chord progressions and scales suggestions to use, you will be making solos in no time. The dominant sound of a g7 from the diminished scale could be written as a g7b9b5. In the case of this scale, a 12 step interval followed by a whole step interval. This lick shows you one way you might use the scale in a bluesy, rockabilly kind of context. A diminished scale, b diminished scale and c diminished scale a diminished scale type b diminished. Secrets of the diminished scale learn jazz standards. You should know right away if a triad sounds major, minor, diminished or augmented. Feb 26, 2017 diminished scale licks and runs part one. It is symmetrical, unlike the major scale, and this alone gives it a certain mystery. How to use the diminished scale in jazz bass practice diary 29.
Its the same scale just starting on the second degree. This is a nice chord scale derived from wh diminished. Want to make your lead work sound different from what every other blues player is doing. It is a symmetrical scale in that it follows a distinct pattern, constructed from a repeated sequence of intervals major second, minor second. I shall tell you how i first became interested in this type of music and why i am so fascinated with it, so.
Guitartonemaster is an online backing track archive which makes learning scales, modes, licks easier. You could play these licks over a iivv blues progression where a7 is. Here are some free pdfs used to supplement my free video lessons. The diminished scale is built upon two diminished seven chords. Scale combining through hybrid scales in this lesson here, we take a look at another way to combine scales that differs from the type of scale combining you see in this lesson here.
For instance a diminished scale interval map would be w h w h w h w h. Secondly, you will learn efficient fingerings for the scale across the guitar neck. Diminished scale rockabilly lick anyone can play guitar. The pdf for this lesson is available through patreon in the patreon fb group. The half stepwhole step diminished scale chris juergensen. Diminished licks are often used in metal, most often when a classical sound is required. Diminished scales are symmetrical and repeat in minor 3rds meaning that 1 diminished scale is actually 4 diminished scales. This means that the scales are constructed using a repeated pattern of half and whole steps. Diminished scale is a symmetric scale created by the sequence. Combine these techniques with your traditional pentatonic phrases to diversify your options as a. Bluesy diminished guitar licks lesson an easy pentatonic escape plan. Playing a minor 6 diminished scale beginning a halfstep higher than the root of a dominant 7th chord covers the root, 3rd, minor 7th, and all of the commonly used altered tones. This is not a very common scale, and it is primarily used in jazz music and work well. Practice now the diminished scale in this base download the file.
The diminished scale is different from the dominant diminished scale, which alternates half and whole steps and is used to solo over dominant 7b9 chords when first exploring diminished scales on guitar, it is easy to confuse these two scales. Diminished scale training the tonality of this baking track is in d minor. It is also a socalled symmetrical scale since the intervals are consistent. Both types of diminished scale are derived from the 3 diminished pitch collections. Jazz standards for jazz guitar pdf sheet music, tabs, chords and soloing. The diminished scale is a great option for when you want to bring a slightly more unusual flavour to your soloing.
This lesson will help you build licks that move smoothly between the two scales, in a blues context but you can use what you learn in any style. Join pianogroove pro to access all downloads and learning resources. There are two subcategories of the diminished scale. In conclusion, you will know everything you need to know about this cool scale by the end of this class. By joining the patreon community you are in the company of 200 others. Learn how the best jazz improvisers use diminished patterns in their. Practice daily, working towards memorization in 3 keys. You could play these licks over a iivv blues progression where a7 is the i chord, d7 iv chord and e7 v chord. Use the licks you have learned and combine them with your own melodic. Mixolydian is one easy way to merge major and minor pentatonic and can give your blues guitar licks a real sweetness. This means that for example an a diminished scale contains the same notes as a c diminished scale, an e flat diminished scale, and a g flat diminished scale. Composite scales simply combine the notes of 2 or more scales. Apr 28, 2015 did you know that any diminished lick can work over 8 different chords.
If you learn the standard fifteen chords and the blues scale, youll be well on your way. Apr 25, 2015 we also have another lick of the week that uses the diminished scale. In these diminished scale diagrams, any of the white circles can be considered to be the root tonic note of the scale. More commonly used by jazz players, the halfwhole diminished scale and diminished 7th arpeggio are right at home in a blues setting, and well be discussing ways to use them over a 12bar blues. The example licks below demonstrate how diminished arpeggios can be incorporated into phrases formed from other scales. For the exploration of the bass it is fun to play with because it is another symmetric scale, so you can move little licks around within it. The thing i like most about using the halfwhole diminished scale is that i can keep from sounding like i am playing cliches. All products music pdf ebook jazz improvisation jazz theory and technique jazz exercises. The diminished scale is used to solo over diminished 7 dim7 chords. This is similar with the diminished scale also, because the notes that are for example in the e diminished scale are the same notes that are in the g diminished scale, in the b flat diminished scale on the d flat diminished scale. The scales and patterns shown in this lesson are based on the halfwhole versions of the diminished scales.
Evolutionary voicings, part 1 howard rees jazz workshops. Jun 17, 2019 diminished licks metal diminished licks in jazz. When you consider its exotic sound, the mystery grows. Aug 10, 2012 more commonly used by jazz players, the halfwhole diminished scale and diminished 7th arpeggio are right at home in a blues setting, and well be discussing ways to use them over a 12bar blues. When using the diminished scale on a g7 dominant we use this scale, which is sometimes referred to as a b diminished scale. It produces a very cool jazz sound by a quite unexpected means. I demonstrate using it for fun shedding with a delay pedal as well as with a. Aug 15, 2001 the diminished scale can be very useful.
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