During workshops I often refer to the harmonized scale as being the basis for much of my solo playing . When I use the term “ harmonized scale ” I watch the eyes of participants glaze over because the term itself sounds complicated and unattainable . However , if you were able to complete the exercise above you have just played a harmonized scale ! A good take away lesson from this is not to be scared of intimidating musical titles simply because they ’ re not yet in your vocabulary … remember , you just expanded your vocabulary to be able to intelligently include the word “ harmonized scale ” in less than 1000 of my words !
So far we ’ ve dealt with just two harmonized notes which , by themselves , can make your playing much more interesting . Before moving on , experiment on your fingerboard finding different combinations and position of the root and major / minor third notes in the chart above . In addition to introducing new options to use the two-note harmonized scale , this exercise will help cement in your mind the position of particular notes on the fretboard which , up to this point , you might have only treated as part of visual chord shapes .
Now , to fully develop the concept we need to add one more harmonized note to the mix which will result in not only a harmonized scale of complete chords , but infinite possibilities for your music as well . The note we ’ ll add is a fifth away from the root note . So , if the root note is C , the fifth tone is G ; if the root is D , the fifth is A , etc . While playing just the root and the fifth will sound okay , adding the proper major or minor third will make the scale below come to life .
For examples , on tenor play G the open G string , E ( second fret on the D string ) and C ( third fret on the A string ). On plectrum , play G on the open G string , C ( first fret on the B string ), and E ( second fret on the D string ). Hopefully these look and feel familiar as they are the basic first position shapes of a C major chord – and the first degree of a fully harmonized C scale . As noted earlier , harmony is “ chordal accompaniment to a melody .” With thousands of songs using the root , third or fifth of a corresponding chord as melody notes , having a working knowledge of the other notes that make up those chords provides a solid basis for handily providing harmony to someone else ’ s lead .
The root note of the second degree of the C scale is D . While I could name the notes and frets , simply play a D minor chord at the second fret , noting the name of each note and understanding that those notes correspond to either the root , major or minor third and fifth tones seen in the chart above . Now , do the same with E minor at the fourth fret , F at the fifth fret , G at the seventh fret , and A minor at the ninth fret . While the chart above and an upwardly moving scale pattern on the fingerboard finds you making what should be a familiar progression of major and minor chord shapes , you ’ ll now find yourself at the 11 th fret with something different . While music theorists call this a B diminished , to make the thought process easier , I think of it as a G7 without the root . That said , keeping the F in chord makes for awkward fingering on the tenor ( so I substitute G for F in this instance ) with no great damage to the harmonic progression . If you haven ’ t yet made the connection yet , the “ harmonized scale ” that might have terrorized you at the beginning of this article is basically a specific progression of the same major and minor chords you ’ ve probably been using for a long time .
While playing a harmonized scale is nice , as a scale is rarely used as the melody of a song what is the value of knowing the harmonized scale ?
18 ALL FRETS SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2020