The hromatic Scale (all half steps) # # E F F# # A A# B OR: b Eb E F b Ab A Bb B # # E F F# # A A # B & # # # # # b E b E F b A b A B b B & b n b n b n b n b n The Major Scale The formula for the major scale is: / / Scale E F A B / / Scale A B E F# / / Scale E F# A B # / / Minor Scales E F A B & W W / W W W / & # A B E F# W & # # W / W W W / E F# A B # W W / W W W / There are several minor scales, but bluegrass primarily uses to. The Aeolian minor scale, hich can be derived from playing the major scale notes starting on the th note, often referred to as the th degree. A minor (Aeolian Mode) built from the th degree of the major scale A B E F A / / Also used, but less common than the Aeolian is the orian minor, hich can be derived from playing the major scale notes start on the nd degree of the major scale. minor (orian mode) built from the nd degree of the major scale E F A B / /
Here is the minor scale in each mode. Note the difference in the th degree. Minor Aeolian: This scale is derived from the Bb scale A Bb Eb F / / Because this scale is derived from the Bb major scale, you might expect to see a mix of m and Bb chords in a tune using this scale, such as heyenne. Minor orian: This scale is derived from the F scale A Bb E F / / Because this scale is derived from the F major scale, you might expect to see a mix of m and F chords in a tune using this scale, such as Kentucky Mandolin. Mixolydian Mode A very common mode in bluegrass is the mixolydian mode, hich is the scale based on the th degree of the major scale. Here the 7th degree of the scale is a half step loer. A B E F / / Tunes like Old oe lark and Little Maggie use this mode Intervals Interval Type istance to b minor nd fret to major nd frets to Eb minor rd frets to E major rd frets to F perfect th frets to F# diminished th frets to perfect th 7 frets to # minor th 8 frets to A major th 9 frets to Bb minor 7th frets to B major 7th frets to octave frets Intervals are the distance beteen to notes. Being able to play by ear assumes that one can recognize ho far aay a second note is from the first note. While it isn t important to be able to name the interval, it is important to be able to play it on your instrument. Each note of the scale has it s on unique color. One should relate to these by the numbered position in the scale. This allos one to think of melody ithout being specific to a key. E F A B 7 If a note is not a scale tone, but one of the in-beteen notes such as a Bb in the key of, it can be thought of as an altered note of the scale, in this case a flatted 7th note.
hord onstruction Theory hords are built from the notes of the scale of the root of the chord. A major chord ould be built on the st, rd and th notes of the scale as shon. major chord E F A B E major chord A B E F# B major chord E F# A B # F# A & # A minor chord ould be built on the st, flatted rd and th notes of the scale as shon. b minor chord Eb F A B Eb minor chord A Bb E F# Bb minor chord E F A B # F A & m m m b b A 7th chord ould be built on the st, rd, th and flatted 7th notes of the scale as shon. b7 7 chord E F A Bb E Bb 7 chord A B E F B F 7 chord E F# A B F# A & 7 7 7 b # hord Progression Theory The sequence of chords in a song is called the hord Progression. To find hich chords fit together from a music theory perspective, e look at the harmonized scale. Harmonized Scale Building chords by harmonizing the scale ith the rd and th gives the naturally occurring chords for any given key. Here are the and harmonized scales and the resulting chords. By referring to their number position in the scale, e can talk about chords irrespective of the key. It is costumary to use Roman numerals for this hen ritten, ith the major chords capitalized. The most common chords progressions in bluegrass are comprised of I, IV and V chords. These are the only naturally occurring major chords in the harmonized scale. The minor chords are infrequently used in bluegrass. dm em F am bdim & I ii iii IV V vi vii & # am bm em f# dim I ii iii IV V vi vii
Traditional bluegrass differs from most music styles in that e most often use major chords. So e ill find the A major chord (the II major chord) in the key of more often than A minor. We also use a Flatted 7th chord (b7) frequently, hich falls outside the harmonized scale concept. In the key of, this ould be an F chord. Some songs use the major chord, hich ould be E, in the key of. As bluegrass has progressed through the years, e find more songs using the minor chords from the harmonized scale. Here are the most common chords often used in traditional bluegrass in the eight standard keys : The three common major chords Often used other major chords Key I IV V Key II b7 VI A F E A A E A B F# Bb Bb Eb F Bb Ab B B E F# B # B # F Bb A A E B E E A B E F# # F F Bb F Eb The ircle of ths can be used to determine hich chords are likely to occur in any key. hoose a key center, and the IV chord ill be on the counter-clockise side and the V chord ill be on the clockise side. The flat 7 chord ill be counter-clockise to positions and the II (major) chord ill be positions to the clockise side. Likely minor chords ill be those nearest to the key center. The ircle of Fifths F # B m m Am Em Bm # E m F#m # A A Fm B m #m E m # F# #m #m # B # E
Harmony Singing The standard ay to harmonize a melody in bluegrass is to add a baritone part underneath the melody and a tenor part above. When the melody note lands on a chord tone, the baritone ould be the closest chord tone underneath, and the tenor ould be the closest harmony above. Because the baritone part is underneath the melody, the note a th above the melody is shon here one octave loer, so that it no resembles a bluegrass baritone part. tenor & # baritone lead scale When the melody is passing through non-chord tones, the harmonized scale can be useful for determining the correct harmonies. The overriding factor hen choosing harmonies is alays the song s chord progression. If a lead singer is singing a note, for instance, the harmony notes ould depend on the chord that accompanies it. Shon belo are the melody (enlarged) and the harmony choices for a chord verses a chord. & # Here is the verse to I ll Fly Aay harmonized ith a standard trio. Here e can see the combination of thirds, hich are noteheads touch each other, and fourths, hich have a small gap beteen the noteheads. I'll Fly Aay & # Some bright morn - ing hen this life is o'er I'll - - - fly a - ay 9 & # To that home on od's cel-est-ial shore I'll - - - fly a - ay Sometimes voices are stacked in a non-standard fashion, such as hen the baritone part is sung above the melody (called high baritone) so the lead is on the bottom. Also, sometimes the tenor part is placed belo the baritone (called lo tenor) so the lead is on top. In four-part bluegrass singing, (usually gospel songs) a bass part is added. Usually the bass ill sing the root of the chord and occasionally alk similar to a string bass run.
Beyond Melody: oncepts for Improvisation Floing Scales: To make scales flo naturally requires careful placement of the notes. The notes that fall on the beats should generally be chord tones, ith the other scale notes falling beteen the beats. We can accomplish this by skipping the 7th scale note, resulting in alternating chord and non-chord tone sequences like this: Arpeggios: A mix of arpeggios ith scales is very common. It s very important to kno ho to arpeggiate over any chord. Here is an example of mixing arpeggios ith scales: Scale Patterns: As chords change, the floing scales need to adjust to the ne chord: Sometimes e can use scale manipulations in various patterns such as this guitar example: & # b 7 b7 V T A B # & # & # n
Blues: Blues is a fundamental part of bluegrass. Rather than practicing a textbook blues scale, I find it s best to learn a sequence I refer to as blues moves as shon here: & # b b n n b7 b b n b b b7 b As is shon here, a b, b and b7 are added notes. Rather than replacing the natural rd, the b often resolves to the rd, as shon above. The b is most often played as part of a chromatic passage connecting the and the. Often the nd and th degree scale notes are left out of blues passages. Here is a typical melodic blues passage as played on a banjo: V T A B b # b n b b b b7 b 8 8 n n b n b b b7 b b b b n hromatics: hromatic passages are a progressive ay of soloing here the notes in beteen the scale are included, giving a jazzier sound than traditional bluegrass. It has been popularized by people like fiddler Vassar lements, guitarist Tony Rice and mandolinist Adam Steffey. & # n # # n b n b n Licks: Many improvisors rely upon an assortment of identifiable licks that they can insert at the proper place. Most often this ould be during the th line of a bluegrass song, hen it s less common to play the melody. Here is a mandolin example: T A B & #!! b n 7 n b b n b } } b n n } 7 } 7