Practice Log: bebop scales revisited
Today was the bebop melodic minor scale — as always, recalling Barry Harris — RIP.
- in contrary motion — that is, the left hand ascends while the right hand descends (and vice-versa)
- in all 12 keys.
Some keys were definitely harder than others. D was a hard key. There were others, which I should note next time around.
From the Wiki (link above) I note:
- this scale has all the notes from both the harmonic and melodic minor scales. (Kinda nifty?)
- the fully diminished chord on the II of the scale has a strong dominant function.
Symmetry
Meditating more on that diminished chord on the II of the scale, I note:
- for the bebop major scale
- I can walk the entire scale alternating between the
I Major 6
andii full diminished
- I can walk the entire scale alternating between the
- for the bebop melodic minor scale
- I can walk the entire scale alternating between the
I minor 6
andii full diminished
- I can walk the entire scale alternating between the
In both cases I can think of this, equivalently, as either:
- move each note up the scale, or
- simply taking the next inversion of the alternate chord.
This begins to have huge power once I start doing, like, “drop 2 voicings” (and of course this is the tip of the iceberg that Barry Harris showed in some of the videos I’ve seen on YouTube).
I think that this symmetry is a big deal in his system.
Man, so many ways to look at this stuff.