Exploring Major, Mixolydian, and Dorian Scales

Having done major seventh chords, seventh chords, and minor seventh chords, I think it's quite useful to be able to play them next to each other and just hear the contrasts between them.

Exercise with the Metronome

I'm just going to play with a metronome this time. This exercise involves playing up and down:

• A major scale
• A Mixolydian scale
• A Dorian scale

This will really speed up your fingers and your speed of thought to be able to access these quickly.

Setting Up the Metronome

So here they are with the metronome. If you're finding the quavers fast, you can start with crotchets.

I'm just going to set up my metronome again and talk a little bit about where I've set it and which beats it's on:

• Here's the metronome.
• I'm trying to hear that as beats two and four of my bar.

If you see people clicking along with their fingers to jazz music, or audiences clapping along, they usually focus on beats 2 and 4.

1. Count: 1, 2, 3, 4.
2. Feel the click, like a really strong snare drum hit on a drum beat.

Practicing Crotchets

Here are crotchets for the same exercise:

• 1, 2, 3...

I'm putting a subtle stress on beats 2 and 4 to bring out that strong emphasis, whether it's by the metronome, the snare drum, or the finger clicks, whatever stress you've got.

Conclusion

This is a really good exercise to play without a backing track. Explore 12 keys, and it will really speed up your fingers and your brain in accessing these major, Mixolydian, and Dorian scales.