Gammes - Grade 8

Grade Eight Technical Exercises: Scales, Arpeggios, and Chord Voicings

Hey, how's it going? This is James, and we're here doing the grade eight technical exercises. We're talking about scales, arpeggios, and chord voicings today.

Congratulations!

We've reached the end of the road. Congratulations! This is the hardest exam technically, and also the one that probably has the most complex harmony and concepts involved.

Scales Overview

In terms of scales, we actually haven't got that much to deal with today. We only need to focus on two types of diminished scales:

• Half Whole Diminished Scale
• Whole Half Diminished Scale

Understanding Diminished Scales

Now, diminished scales, if you don't know, are based on alternating patterns of tones and semitones:

• Whole Half Diminished Scale:

  • Tone, Semitone, Tone, Semitone, Tone, Semitone, Tone, Semitone

• Half Whole Diminished Scale:

  • Semitone, Tone, Semitone, Tone, Semitone, Tone, Semitone, Tone

The Challenge: Speed and Articulation

The challenge for these scales is, of course, the speed. We're looking here at 176 BPM. Sometimes you'll be asked to play staccato as well, or maybe even in a swung feel.

Performance Techniques

You could be asked to play a staccato swung feel on a diminished scale, which can be quite intimidating. I'm going to demonstrate the half whole diminished scale in two ways:

1. Straight
2. Swung Staccato

Articulation Tips

Playing things with two different types of articulation can be quite intimidating. However, it's just a matter of taking it nice and slow, focusing on:

• Staccato: Make each note individual.
• Straight: Get that nice bounce.

When we swing, we're using triplets, which can be thought of as "did it, did it, did it".

Stylistic Interpretation

There is a bit of stylistic interpretation here. While this will be fine for the exam, it may sound a bit rigid if you're playing in a swing or jazz context. Finding your own style of swing can enhance the sound, but it's totally up to you.

Keep Practicing!

The same can be said about these other diminished scales. These two exercises are fairly tricky, but keep going, keep at it, and you'll get it in no time!