Why Should I Bother Learning Scales?
Vložit
- čas přidán 25. 08. 2022
- FREE PDF to follow along to the video - openstudiojazz.link/why-bother
Adam Maness explains how learning the modes of the major scale can simplify everything from learning tunes, to improvising and learning chords.
Explore Open Studio, the #1 online jazz community: openstudiojazz.com - Hudba
“Secondary dominant chords carve a path to the diatonic 7th chords”. Couldn’t have said it better myself! Great lesson Adam.
You guys are the Angels of spreading out Jazz & music harmony to the world and feed the planet with it to achieve peace & paradise on Earth!
Two Kings:Adam and Jonny🌹🌹🌹🌹
You two are the best teachers online. Jonny's course is amazing
From the man himself! The best jazz piano teachers I could have ever asked for. Thanks guys, keep doing what you do!
Tenor sax my main instrument. Some years ago I was introduced to Stan Getz, had time for one question: "Stan, what's the best way for me to become a better tenor player." He said, "Play the piano." Now I'm age 79, play several instruments (piano included) and do my best to help fellow musicians. I have a friend with a history playing classical piano literature - now learning jazz piano - this video is all-encompassing yet concise and worth sharing! Thank you for your art and instruction!
Adam is one of the best educators out there.
Adam… I could listen to you for eight hours straight talking about this stuff! … and then some! 😁👏👏
Couldn't agree more. Thanks Adam!
As a jazz guitar player, it's great to see this stuff coming from Adam and the universal language of jazz, I'm sending these to my keyboard buddies...
Love this video, Adam! My acronym for remembering mode names used to be IDPLMAL = I Don’t Particularly Like Modes A Lot. Now I do! ❤
Good one. 😊
Great acronym
that's not a bad one :).... I got mine form Venus Theory, which is " I Do Pot Leave Me Alone, Locrian" :D
and now I always know the names of the modes, I just need to learn how to use them :D
Hi
I’m borrowing your acronym but altering one word
I DO particularly like……
Thank you!
Best way to learn is to actually learn why there are different modes. Its all how the different relation and intervals are created and sound depending on from which degree of the the major scale you center around. D dorian for exemple will if compared to a major scale structure get a major 6th instead of flat/minor sixth (if playing all keys from C major). D is a minor chord in and therefore it would otherwise be played in D min scale of 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7. But if keeping all keys/notes from C major scale it derives Dorian, which create the scale 1 2 b3 4 5 6 b7.
i gotta say man i love music theory but a couple years ago got to a point where i felt like i had a decent enough grasp to write basic songs and put it down until just this past week. I started watching various videos on this channel and it has reignited my love again. Thank you!
dude, my piano teacher told me this but I didn't understand it at that time, today, I finally understood what he meant after all these years, THANK YOU
LIGHTBULBS!
That these videos are available long after they are made is SUCH A GIFT to those of us who can't show up in real time. And I'm guessing there are a ton of us out here who are so hungry for exactly what you are serving up with empathy and joy. YEAH.
Thanks so much, Adam! You expertly cleared away the unnecessary BS so I can now focus on the most important elements of harmony! Well done!
So far I only watched to minute 6. I think the student who was asking why is that not just C major, as opposed to Mode X, meant something like this. Take E Phrygian for example. That’’s E to E on the white keys. But you are not going to play E to E when you are improvising. You are going to play some melody that comes out of your head. You can say the notes came from E Phrygian. But those are the same notes as B locrian or F Lydian. So once you are not playing E to E what makes it Phrygian? What information does it add to say “I’m playing E Phrygian,” as opposed to “I’m playing a song that is in C major and right there I’m playing over the E minor chord.” Or to ask it another way, if you leave out the “left hand,” no bass note or chord, and have just the melodic line that you think of as having a Phrygian sound, and I listen to that excerpt, how do I know it’s E Phrygian and not G mixolydian or any of the other C major modes? I guess I would not know, so calling it E Phrygian, when you don’t actually play a scale in order, must mean playing in C major while there is a temporary tonal center around E, usually established by an E minor chord in the left hand? Or is it something else / more? I’m left with the same question as your student. Perhaps I need to practice playing the modal scales more, and maybe I’ll start to hear a “Phrygian feel?”
I have some of the same confusion. You say "...if you leave out the 'left hand,' no bass note or chord...", which makes me think two things:
* 99% of the time, obviously, the listener has "the left hand" (the song's key center) bouncing around their heads--it's often very hard for the listener to lose that context, so the notes of a Phrygian scale that sound so distinctly "Spanish" in a Phrygian modal-jazz piece just sound like "tension notes" in a major-key ballad.
* If you are listening to, say, a solo sax player on the sidewalk blowing over chord changes, the player is choosing which notes land on strong beats, and which don't. That can shape the listener's perception of both the chord being played during that short passage, and possible even give the impression of a new key center / tonic (say a change from Bb Ionian to D Phrygian, where the scale notes don't change, but the tonic does).
If the sax player plays a lick over a minor chord that mostly emphasizes non-chord tones, it might be heard as mere "tension" if preceded and followed by licks that clearly establish the minor chord using chord tones on strong-beats. If they ignore the chord tones long enough (never emphasizing them), the changes get fuzzy very quickly, and the casual listener loses the thread (though this could be just another way to create tension and release, when the song comes back into focus).
One thing I've read over and over is that most seasoned players rarely think about chord scales once they've internalized a composition, if they use this framing at all. Older generations focused more on learning vocabulary and letting their ear guide them. And some people really dislike the chord-scale framing altogether, and recommend other routes. As Ethan Iverson has written on this subject, hard-core beboppers loved their chromatic, snaky licks that depart constantly from chord scales, and likewise blues licks that give solos so much flavor often depart from chord scales.
Further to this - if the various modes are basically the C major scale, but starting on different keys, isn't this lesson just "If the song is in C major, just improvise using the C major scale, and you'll automatically be playing in the various modes as the chords change"? Or is it as Jazz Time commented above, the way you might emphasise certain notes depending on which chord the left hand is playing?
I'm going to watch this again and try to understand it a little more when I'm in front of the keys :)
Being conscious of the mode informs, among other things, Your choice of leading tones and notes used for enclosures.
Good question, same here.
I still don't really understand Modes, but this video will go a long way toward explaining them to me. Once I've watched it about 20-30 more times. Thanks.
Adam I NEEDED this! I can play scales and modes but I need serious help not just falling into playing on the major scales when improvising. I love how your channel helps us find ways to understand and utilize these methods for ourselves, so THANK YOU!
Dude! I just love your lessons more and more! So much great stuff - even stuff I already "know" - you organise and explain so well as to reshape my way of understanding it; and, all with such a happiness and joy coupled with patience. Thanks, man. Certainly, to me, your lessons are so worthwhile. 🌟
Every lesson is an eye opener for me. You guys are great teachers.
Wow been watching CZcams and trying to understand chord movements in jazz songs for months. This is the first time coming across this channel and first timeI’ve seen it laid out so clearly. Your enthusiasm and production value goes a long way too in making it easily digestible. Subscribed and looking forward to what else is on this channel.
You are an amazing communicator. This had exactly the effect you describe on me. So many of your videos have answered these questions that have held me back for years. Not just that, your enthusiasm actually compels me to actually sit at the piano and play. Will definitely be looking into your other courses. Genuinely thank you 🙏🏻
Excellent! This has really made sense of secondary dominants for me. Of course I’ve encountered them in the tunes I play, but until now I never understood how they fit into the whole scheme of things. You laid it out in a way that shows it is beautifully simple. Thanks for an excellent video.
When you know what you’re doing, you have a very clear way to communicate it to be understood! That’s my friend Adam! Adam is the best teacher out there. I’m watching this in my bed and feel like I can get on the piano and play this concept all over the keys. We LOVE YOU Adam!!
Awesome video, this practicing secondary dominants is really helping me get the cadences under my fingers (guitar). Great pedagogy Adam, awesome at bringing people along.
I’ve never been able to fully grasp this stuff until now. Thank you so much! You explain things in a manner that is easy to understand. Instant sub!
Wow! Such beautiful sounds Adam, you make it seem so easy.
@1:29 Andy's group of notes 😂 I absolutely love it. I hope Andy will bless us with his own theory compendium "Andy's groups of notes, sometimes played at the same time Vol 1".
This was even extremely helpful for me as a guitarist. Thanks so much for this lesson. Definitely expanded my horizons, options and understanding.
Brilliant stuff. Lately, things have been unlocking, and you and Open Studio are no small part of that. Thank you!
This seminar was worth its weight in Gold.Thanx for your very clear explanation and demonstration of this relationship between diatonic chords,secondary dominant chords and the jazz modes. You have demystified for me a very important subject which for many years has been a mystery to me and a source of much confusion. So thanx Adam for tying together all the dots!!! Once I was blind,but now I can see!! Praise the Good Lord(and Adam:)
this information is so incredibly useful, and what is really amazing is that I've been studying your "genius chords warmup" booklet from your course and you never mention in the workbook about the Phrygian dominant scale! this was the missing link that I didn't understand until this CZcams video. The phrygian dominant scale has the flat nine and the flat 13 and so of course that explains why you wanna play the respective secondary dominant with those alterations too.
This is the best music channel I've ever watched. Awesome stuff!
“Adding a 5 chord.” 5-1 progression… his my brain understands… love your lessons… thank you… best wishes, health, joy and wellbeing… 🥂
Terrific video. I am an Open Studio customer and have been studying the Jazz Scales for Beginners series, and this is an extremely helpful supplement! Thanks Adam👍
I find your lessons so helpful. Your explanations clear up a lot of grey areas for me. When it comes to harmony, pianists are the go-to guys. Even though I know most of this, and flat 9 flat 13 chords have become obvious to me, the explanations are clear and concise.
I’m a guitar player, and this has helped me more than any guitar video ever has. Very informational and digestible, thank you!
I’m old. Now I get it, decades on. Thanks.
Loved the lesson - very well explained. Thanks Adam.
This whole vid was “game-changing” much appreciated guy!
That was a very well done lesson, very informative and well paced. Thank you.
I think a lot of the confusion over the modes of, say, the C major is caused by not explaining the context. For example, the scale comprising the white keys is only dorian when played over the ii chord (i.e. d minor). Over a c major chord the white keys comprise the ionian/major scale. Similarly the white keys only comprise the lydian mode when played over the IV chord (f major) or mixolydian over the V chord (g major).
Thank you so much for that explanation.!!! Now this otherwise totally opaque tutorial is stating to make some sense. So glad I read the comments, otherwise I'd have wasted my time.
Brilliant lesson. Thank you.
And the heaven’s opened up…
You are correct that this information and the way you expressed it, is at this time, for me , a way to put many puzzle pieces in place and help answer how the heck do folks know what notes sound good to play while using what seemed like every possible note outside the present key.
I am very grateful
And will replay this again and again and work to absorb all I can
And have some fun
I cannot express how amazing you all are and so generous in sharing
and innovative ideas n approach. Phenomenal !! And your joy comes through !!!
Is there a place to donate, to chip in and support, like an alternative to lessons for now. That could become ,, in a simple, direct way , right???
Serendipity is all around you and the crew
Cheers
Cheryl in Oregon
Wow! You just unlocked secondary dominants for me! Great lesson! Thanks!
Excellent explanation - it's not new for me but it solidifies the knowledge and partly clarifies stuff I have learned only from books, stuff where I was not 100% sure about due to that self learning reason. Now, explained again and much better by a professional musician, very skillful teacher and not least important, very nice human being, I gain confidence and trust in the stuff I have learned plus some new valuable information.
I ❤ the Open Studio lessons and the You'll Hear It Podcast.
Big fan from Germany 🎶
One the greatest lesson of all time! Thanks millions
Adam : you offer some of the most brillant lessons. Just this : looking at the modes of one scale is fine, but you can also think of 7 modes for each key instead of 7 steps of one scale. Thank you maestro !
I really love this man ... Has help me a lot in my Jazz piano Journey
Great lesson Adam, thank you !
So clear and understandable. Another great video. Thanks!
Thanks for posting this lesson! Saved! Will refer back to this often!
Thank you so much, you have cleared my thinking and given me food to chew on.
Thank you so much for all your episodes!!!!
awesome lesson - thanks Adam
wonderful and very useful lesson.....thank you!!!
this is the most perfect video i have ever found for where I am at. God bless you and have a wonderful day
Truly an eye opener❤
Well you've got me super stoked as well ... and going to the keyboard. Like this is the first time I hear of secondary dominants ... Whoa! Thank you thank you!!! 🙏🙏
Great vid Adam! Thanks
Been poking at piano for 40 years, played with theory a bit. This blew my mind. Thank you.
A well articulated explanation of what chord scale will sound good when playing over secondary dominants.
It's amazing that this is free
Nailed it!
Looking forward to part 2!
🇨🇦
Thank you so much for sharing this
Great Video Adam , Thank you
Awesome! Your emoting knowledgeable information! I’ve watched this video 3 times now, I’m trying to digest this topic! Thank you
Love that it’s so circular and every chord can form or morph into each other.. all intricate and interconnected, , like the natural world around us and within us
Holy
This is exactly what I didn't know I was looking for! thank you!
very good explanation about the modes, because you provided the examples using them
Beautiful, man! Just beautiful!
Thank goodness for this info!!
LOVEE - Lil B
He presented this information so clearly that I'm going to share this with my father who I'm trying to teach some intermediate music theory to. For more advanced musicians, I find another useful thing is knowing how each mode is formed relative to each other. If you put the modes in the order of 4-1-5-2-6-3-7, then one note is flatted to make the next mode. So if you flat the sharp four of Lydian, you get Ionian. Then if you flat the seventh of Ionian, you get Mixolydian. Then if you flat the third of Mixolydian, you get Dorian. The sequence of notes that are flatted each time goes 4-7-3-6-2-5, which is basically the opposite direction through the circle of fifths as the order of the modes. Knowing how each relates directly to the major scale or natural minor is arguably more practically useful- i.e., Dorian is the major scale with a flatted third and seventh, or a natural minor scale with a raised sixth.
Love your lessons, thanks for these!
For me, this school is one of the best in the world. I wish I could ever be there. Grettings to Adam.
THANK YOU !!!! That 2ndary Dom is MIND BENDING!!!
Fantastic video!
While scholarly and well done, I tried to glean what I could from "Cutting the Changes" by Antonio Garcia. I wasn't ready for it. Epic video, Adam! Cleared up so much, thank you!
Really informative and entertaining at the same time.
I like your vids. Thanks. THanks for sharing the info.
Thanks so much! Great job.
excellent tutorial (like always) - thank you very much
Thanks for the vid, took Gary Burton's improvisation course some years ago which required a working knowledge of 10 specific scales in the beginning; the 7 modes along with diminished, Lydian b7, and altered. As the modes got darker (Locrian the darkest) the harder it was to create logical melodies (at least for me). Rest of the known scales (pentatonic, blues, harmonic, etc.) were only added after demonstrating proficiency with the original 10 scales.
Open Studio is awesome
He feels the colors 🎉 that's why he teaches so well.😊
Thank you, Maestro 🌹🌹🌹🌹
Oh yeah! Gotta love the modes!
Very Nice. You mentioned harmonic minor once and I'm glad because It's worth mentioning that Phrygian dominant is a mode of the harmonic minor scale...Most beginning piano students when learning scales do learn Harmonic Minor ( along with natural and melodic ) without learning how it is so very often used functionally to color a V - i cadence, etc...
For some players, it might make more sense to think harmonic minor in these situations.
You're amazing. Seriously. Thank you, really!
Wow so much to take in. I’m not a jazz guy but I am an aspiring composer and this really gave me a lot to think about. I’m going to have to watch this on a loop until I can internalize all this. Looking forward to the follow up. I’ll be taking notes lol.
Great presentation. Being comfortable with the diatonic chord sequence is the golden ticket to transposition too. The relationships between the chords are the same, regardless of what key one is in. So when the vocalist says they need it "down a third," if you've done some diatonic homework, it's a snap to apply the same chord relationships to the new key signature. It's a bit of shedding to get there, but the payoff is huge. TIL: "phrygian dominant." So that's what the kids are callin' it. Dig your vids.
GREAT video!!!
Thank you very much Adam :)
Really well explained.....as usual 👏 👌
I conceptually prefer “What group of notes do I use to create melodies at this moment in time” to “What scale do I play over this chord.”
Yeah, I'm with you on that one. In this case, semantics matter and get a student right to the heart of improvisation from the first lesson.
Well Jerry...the notes D E F G A B C is in fact a "group of notes" and also a "scale" and even an "arpeggio" and each one of these approaches is extremely valuable depending on the specific needs of an individual student. Mr. Maness addresses your point specifically at 1:18 which makes me wonder if you even watched the video or were paying attention.
holdsworth also said the exact same thing, strongly agree^
You can even transcend that. What you end up is “i’m going to come up with something that fits, and i’m not going to use notes that are close together necessarily, just like writing a song by humming it in your head.” Don’t get stuck in the instrument, use your brain!
@@danpetersonmusicthe point is for it to be dynamic. If you think of it as a shape, you aren’t free to remove notes, add notes, and move notes around dynamically
lotta gems in that explanation
Yes please do a follow up from where you left off. Really would like to know the the next steps. wonderful video….
OMG! I have only a vague idea of what you are talking about, but I can tell I need to know it in order to advance in the direction I want to go with my music.
Thanks, so very much.
It seems overwhelming. How do I go about leaning and being fluent with these scales?
Thank you SO MUCH
Sir appreciate your work its quiet interesting so much knowledge you offload... please wish could hear more on another clip about the difference between diatonic dominant and secondary dominant🇿🇲❤️
U freakin blew my mind. This is a game changer!
Loved the Adam Keeley sonic reference.
this is awesome!
Best way to learn is to actually learn why there are different modes. Its all about how the different relation and intervals are derived and sound depending on from which degree of the major scale you center around.
Take D dorian for example, if compared to a major scale structure and chord progression, II chord would be a D min, and thus a D min scale maybe would be used over it. But if keeping all C major scale notes, but playing from D, D Dorian will derive, and it will differ from D minor in the way that it gets a major 6th instead of minor 6th (if keeping all keys from C major). D is a minor chord in and therefore it would otherwise be played in D min scale of 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7. But if keeping all keys/notes from C major scale it derives D Dorian, which create the scale 1 2 b3 4 5 6 b7.
Why does this matter, because you wont be wanting to play in just C major scales. So to learn the modes, you have to grasp what notes are deviating from a major/minor scale (ioanian/aelioan scale).
So the basis with the modes, is that D to D over C major scale, will have get slightly different intervals in comparison to a minor scale.
C Ioanian = maj scale
D Dorian = min scale but b6 raised to 6
E Phrygian = min scale with a flat 2
F Lydian = maj scale but raised 4th
G Mixolydian = maj scale but with b7
A Aeolian = natural minor scale
Locrian = minor/diminished, b2 and b5
holy damn. I taught myself how to play and never could really grasp the concept of, where should i start when it comes to soloing? and this totally blew my mind - like literally; I have to keep re-watching this to drill it into my brain and build my muscle memory!!!! TYSM~