A New Way to
Practice Scales
Fig. 1
44 & oeoeoeoeoe# oeoe# Fig. 1
oe# oeoe# oen oeoeoe
BY MARY HALVORSON
Mary Halvorson has been called “NYC’s
least-predictable improviser.” In addition to
her own trio and quintet, Halvorson also co-leads a chamber-jazz duo with violist Jessica
Pavone and the avant-rock band People. She
is an active member of bands led by Anthony
Braxton, Taylor Ho Bynum, Tomas Fujiwara,
Curtis Hasselbring, Ingrid Laubrock, Marc Ribot,
and Tom Rainey among others. For more information, visit maryhalvorson.com.
46
˙
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57
Fig. 2
44 & oeoeoeoeoe# oeoeoeoeoen oeoeoe
Fig. 2
64
875
75
oeoeoe b oeoe oeoeoeoeoe n oeoeoe
CHOPS: Intermediate
THEORY: Advanced
LESSON OVERVIEW:
• Unlock the secrets of the
Nohkan flute scale.
• Learn how to use octave
displacement when
practicing scales.
• Create angular phrases by
combining open strings with
fretted notes.
4
˙
567
765
58
85
8
8
&oe b oeoe b oeoe oeoeoeoeoe n oeoeoe
5
678
876
58
85
8
8
&oe b oe b oe b oe b oe n oeoeoeoeoe b oeoeoe
5
567
765
58
85
8
8
oeb oeoeb oeb oen oeoeoeoeoeb oeoeoe
575
689
986
68
86
oeb oeb oeb oeb oen oeb oeoeoeoeb oeoeoe
56865
CLICK HERE to hear
sound clips of
these examples.
68
86
5
68
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678
876
69
96
9
9
Fig. 3 Fig. 3
˙
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865
97
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Last year I picked up a copy of Yusef Lateef’s wonderful book, Repository
of Scales and Melodic Patterns. I was over-
whelmed by the seemingly endless supply
of interesting material: pages upon pages
of unusual scales, patterns, and exercises.
My first instinct was to get out my guitar
and read through the book cover to cover,
however I quickly realized I wasn’t going
to absorb much of the material skimming
through it. Instead I decided to take the
opposite approach—depth. By zoning in on
one simple scale or pattern in the book and
creating my own exercises based on that
scale, I was able to extract a huge amount
of information from one simple source,
while simultaneously absorbing it into my
vocabulary in a personal way.
This exercise has many purposes. You
cover ear training, technique, getting your
44 & oeoeoe oe n oeoeoe b oeoe b oeoe b oeoe b oeoe b oeoeoe n oe b oe b oeoe b
5
5
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4
765
85
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765
85
8
86
85
8
86
&
oeoeoeoeb oeb oeb oeb
8
oeoe b oeoe b oeb oeoe
oeoeb oeoeb oeoeb oeb oeb oeb oen oeb oen oeoe
865
6
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6
987
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96
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&oe b oe b oeoeoeoe b oeb oe b oeoe n oe n oeoe oe b oeoe b oeoeoeoeb oeoe b oe n oeoeoe
75
643
875
75
75
