Dorian Scale Workout
Lesson time: (1min 40sec)
Ollie Weston's workout for your Dorian scales and minor-seventh chord tones, played over a G minor 7 backing track so you can mix scale and chord tones across the keys.
Course preview
This lesson is part of the course Exploring Jazz Saxophone: Part 1 - Getting Started
Watch a preview of the full course below.
Lesson transcript:
Dorian Scales and Minor Seven Chord Workout
Here's a workout for your Dorian scales and minor seven chord tones.
Practice Overview
Just like the major seven exercise that moved between all 12 keys, you have the same opportunity to practice your minor patterns. The backing tracks provided will be very useful for practicing your scales, as well as some of the patterns and phrases I introduce in this chapter.
Exercise Structure
I'm going to play 16 bars of G minor 7. During this exercise, I will:
- Perform some quarter notes
- Play some eighth notes
- Mix up the scale
- Mix up the chord tones
This approach will give you a really good workout and help your fingers move comfortably through the G Dorian scale.
Count in:
1, 2, 1, 2, 3, 4.
Then, the track will move on to B flat minor.
Practice Tips
- Try to organize your practice to incorporate different keys.
- You could start with a different track each time.
It's really about your time and how much energy you've got to commit to learning in 12 keys. If you can manage it, it would be super beneficial!
About the instructor
Since graduating from the Leeds College of Music (BA Hons) and the Guildhall School of Music (Post Graduate Diploma in Performance), Ollie has built a busy and varied career in music. As a saxophonist he has performed in live and studio settings with artists as diverse as Amy Winehouse, Tim Minchin, Bonobo, Frank Turner, the London Jazz Orchestra, the Hackney Colliery Band, the Ambient Jazz Ensemble and the Nelson Riddle Orchestra. He is also the co-leader of the jazz quartet 'Time Is Of The Essence', and composes and arranges material for this and other ensembles. Ollie is active in music education, currently as course leader for the jazz department at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama (junior school), where he runs jazz ensembles, big band and theory classes. He has written a series of 'Exploring Jazz' books for Schott Music that are published worldwide and feature on exam syllabuses in the UK. Ollie has also run workshops for Oxford University, Pro Corda Strings and BABSWE, as well as the Guildhall School of Music summer schools. In his Exploring Jazz Saxophone courses, Ollie takes you from getting started right through to soloing confidently over songs and chord sequences, building the improvising skills that put a real jazz player's vocabulary at your fingertips. read more