This short instructional video lesson will teach you one method for improving your scale practice sessions and your piano technique. It will also hopefully help you make practicing scales more fun.
If you are interested in taking a private Skype lesson, please email me at JazzPianoConcepts@gmail.com.
I have received some questions about which scale is the proper scale to use for the different types of chords found within the song All the Things You Are. Here you go:
Minor 7: Dorian
Dominant 7: Mixolydian (Same as Major with flatted 7th)
Major 7: Ionian (your normal major scale)
Diminished: Whole–Half Diminished Scale
Half Diminished: Locrian #2, the sixth mode of melodic minor
This is an incredible exercise that will really help you develop the ability to take solos and hear the movement between chord changes. Since I’m not completely happy with how I explained it in the video, here is a breakdown of how works:
Click here for sheet music: Jazz Improv Exercise Parts 1 and 2
First, figure out the correct scale to use over each chord in the song. For minor 7 chords, the scale will be the Dorian scale of that key (for example, if you have an F minor chord, the scale will be F Dorian).
Play through the song slowly with a metronome and play each scale starting from the root, or the first note. For steps 1-4, keep a steady stream of 8th notes without stopping.
Once you have mastered step 2, you must begin connecting the scales without starting on the first note at each chord. Ex. You have 2 measures, the first one being an F minor chord, and the second one being a Bb minor chord. For the first measure, you play an F Dorian scale. However, when you reach the 2nd measure, don’t jump and start by playing a Bb, play the next closest note that is in the Bb Dorian scale.
After being comfortable with fluidly moving between scales, you may start skipping notes in the scales so that you are playing larger intervals.
Finally, you can begin rhythmically leaving notes out so that you are not simply playing a stream of 8th notes. You may also begin adding chromatic notes, or leading tones.
This may seem a little complicated, so when I have some free time, I may make a new video that answers any questions that might arise.
