Augmented Scale Reality
An exploration of the enigmatic hexatonic Augmented Scale system.
"Augmented Scale Reality" (100 pages)
The 6 note (hexatonic) symmetrical “Augmented Scale” has been, historically speaking, somewhat of an enigma to practitioners of modern improvised music. While it has shown up in the works of several noted late 19th, as well as early 20th century classical composers, noted examples of its usage in jazz have been limited to but a handful of the most common “cliches”.
Oliver Nelson's line from the bridge of his composition “Hoe Down”, John Coltrane's “One Down, One Up”, as well as several examples from various Michael Brecker solos, are the usual suspects. There are many other examples, to be sure, but because of the scale's ethereal nature, they may not have been so clearly or immediately recognized as such.
Ethereal, mysterious or enigmatic? These terms have been commonly used to describe the sound and feel of the Augmented Scale, most likely due to the unsettled, symmetrical nature of the Augmented Triad itself.
Unlike its symmetrical cousins, the Diminished and Whole Tone Scales – the Augmented Scale possesses no tritone, making its tendency toward traditional resolution potentially vague.
Although the Augmented Scale possesses these somewhat ambiguous qualities, it nevertheless has a strong melodic and harmonic character, unique to itself. Its successful usage takes a certain amount of practice and patience, before one can “hear” the scale in context with the usual Major and minor harmonic systems. That's where the exercises in this book come in.
The exercises and sequences found in these pages have been organized according the inherent interval, triad and seventh chord configurations which make up the Augmented Scale system.
The goal here is to internalize the different shapes and configurations of the Augmented Scale in sound and feel so that one is eventually comfortable enough to know instinctively which scale sounds best over a particular chord type, and how it might be resolved.
Special attention was given to the playability, musicality and connectivity of the exercises & patterns, resulting in smooth resolutions as well as great sounding lines & sequences.
The Table of Contents contains interactive links, so that clicking a page name or number will take you to that page. Likewise clicking on that pages title header will take you back to the TOC.
All pages are fully printable, meaning you just can print a single page to work on, or the whole book.
It's up to you!
The 6 note (hexatonic) symmetrical “Augmented Scale” has been, historically speaking, somewhat of an enigma to practitioners of modern improvised music. While it has shown up in the works of several noted late 19th, as well as early 20th century classical composers, noted examples of its usage in jazz have been limited to but a handful of the most common “cliches”.
Oliver Nelson's line from the bridge of his composition “Hoe Down”, John Coltrane's “One Down, One Up”, as well as several examples from various Michael Brecker solos, are the usual suspects. There are many other examples, to be sure, but because of the scale's ethereal nature, they may not have been so clearly or immediately recognized as such.
Ethereal, mysterious or enigmatic? These terms have been commonly used to describe the sound and feel of the Augmented Scale, most likely due to the unsettled, symmetrical nature of the Augmented Triad itself.
Unlike its symmetrical cousins, the Diminished and Whole Tone Scales – the Augmented Scale possesses no tritone, making its tendency toward traditional resolution potentially vague.
Although the Augmented Scale possesses these somewhat ambiguous qualities, it nevertheless has a strong melodic and harmonic character, unique to itself. Its successful usage takes a certain amount of practice and patience, before one can “hear” the scale in context with the usual Major and minor harmonic systems. That's where the exercises in this book come in.
The exercises and sequences found in these pages have been organized according the inherent interval, triad and seventh chord configurations which make up the Augmented Scale system.
The goal here is to internalize the different shapes and configurations of the Augmented Scale in sound and feel so that one is eventually comfortable enough to know instinctively which scale sounds best over a particular chord type, and how it might be resolved.
Special attention was given to the playability, musicality and connectivity of the exercises & patterns, resulting in smooth resolutions as well as great sounding lines & sequences.
The Table of Contents contains interactive links, so that clicking a page name or number will take you to that page. Likewise clicking on that pages title header will take you back to the TOC.
All pages are fully printable, meaning you just can print a single page to work on, or the whole book.
It's up to you!