scale workouts

8/20/2019 Scale workouts

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WEEKLY WORKOUT

CHORDSCALES

BY SCOTT NYGAARD



© 2015 Stringletter WEEKLY WORKOUT: Chord Scales 2

Most guitarists learn the fingerboard through scale practice. If you’ve done very

much of this you’ve probably realized that, while scales are great finger exer-

cises and give you a basic sense of where the notes are on the fingerboard, if you

don’t combine your finger work with some mental muscle you’re not going to know

how to use those scales when it comes time to making music. (You’ve probablynoticed that very few pieces of music consist of long strings of scales.) So, in addition

to practicing scales, it’s good to remind yourself of the function of the individual notes

of those scales. One way to do this is by practicing “chord scales”—the appropriate

scale for each chord in a song’s progression. In this Weekly Workout we’ll do that with

the chords to the first eight bars of the jazz standard “Autumn Leaves.” Now before

you jazzophobes turn the page, let me point out that the first half of this progression

is basically Am–D–G–C (a vi–V–I–VI progression in the key of G) and the second half

is a ii–V–i in the key of Em, two basic progressions nearly anyone can relate to.

Chord ScalesLearn the function of the individual notes in scales

by matching them to the chords in your favorite songs

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WEEK FOURWe could continue our progression of scales by starting the next batch of chord scales

on the seventh and running up to the 13th, but I’ll let you do that yourself if you

want. In this workout we’re going to use some of this chord-scale work to create a

few single-note lines that would work as solo lines to “Autumn Leaves.” The first half

of the first measure of Week Four’s workout is a motif that begins with a slightly syn-

copated three-note ascending scale fragment starting on the third of the chord, and

this is followed in the second half of the measure with a three-note descending scale

fragment that begins on the ninth. This motif is repeated for the D7 chord, although

you’ll notice that the descending scale fragment is an octave lower. Measures 3 and 4

continue the rhythmic motif and basic idea but start the ascending phrase on the fifth

and the descending phrase on the 11th. Measures 5, 6, and 8 begin the first phrase on

the third and the second on the ninth, but the rhythmic idea has changed, and mea-

sure 7 begins the first phrase on the fifth and the second on the 11th with the same

rhythmic idea as measures 5, 6, and 8. This may seem like a complicated, overly intel-

lectual way to create simple melodic lines, and it is. But, once again, doing this con-

sciously is a way to keep from starting every melody on basic chord tones like the

root and third.

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EXTRA CREDITThe workout in Week Four is too mathematical sounding to be something you’d want

to play all the way through in a solo. So this extra credit uses some ideas derived

from chord scales but varies them enough to sound more like real solo lines. Example

1 consists of some scale-based lines that begin on the third, seventh, fifth, or 11th, asindicated between the staffs. Once you’ve learned the function of the notes in the

scales you’re playing, you can use this knowledge in numerous ways. For example,

suppose you’ve come up with the melodic line notated as the first two bars of

Example 2. Do a simple analysis of the notes in the melody (shown between staffs)

and you’ll see that this melody consists of the root, seventh, third, ninth, fifth, and

11th of Am7, followed by the third and ninth of D7. If you want to re-create this mel-

ody over different chords, you just need to play the appropriate intervals when you go

to the next chord, as I’ve done in measures 3–4 over the Gmaj7 and Cmaj7 chords,

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measures 5–6 over the F#m7b5 and B7b9 chords, and measures 7–8 over the Em7

chord. You’ll notice that I’ve shifted octaves a few times and changed the rhythm of

the phrases to make them a little more varied. The only modification I’ve made in the

order of notes is on the Gmaj7 chord, where I swapped the fifth and 11th so the mel-

ody didn’t linger on the 11th of the Gmaj7 chord.

I hope these exercises not only give your fingers and brain a workout, but also give you

some ideas for creating solo lines. Try this with some of the other songs and chord progres-

sions you play and your knowledge of the fingerboard should increase exponentially.

I hope these exercises not only give your fingers and brain a workout, but also give you

some ideas for creating solo lines. Try this with some of the other songs and chord progres-

sions you play and your knowledge of the fingerboard should increase exponentially. 2.






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