tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7411573.post120002990412909966..comments2024-01-11T06:01:18.741-05:00Comments on Fallenmonk: Nothing Muchfallenmonkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17652766170343957948noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7411573.post-80853083767247375772012-11-03T01:00:44.892-04:002012-11-03T01:00:44.892-04:00Scales underpin keys; pieces of music since about ...Scales underpin keys; pieces of music since about 1650 or thereabouts are written in keys. Their implications were different to composers of different eras, but today it has become convenient to teach students scales because they occur, in whole or in part, in so very many actual pieces of music. Major scales all have the same interval pattern (starting on the note name of the key, e.g., F Major starts on an F, but has the same interval sequence as C Major). Minor scales come in three flavors at least, harmonic and two kinds of melodic (ascending and descending), and owe a lot to an earlier period of music in modes not keys.<br /><br />You practice your scales. I do, too, with just a slight twist: I pick a key, play the scales a couple of octaves up and down, play the I, IV and V (or i, iv and V [sic!]) chords characteristic of the key; finally, I improvise scale fragments up and down to a chosen harmonic pattern, doing my best to make everything fit evenly and voice-lead smoothly. Accompanists especially need to know scales and keys and contexts for everything; it's part of the trade. And it really does get easier with time!Steve Batesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7411573.post-8870860596146149812012-10-30T22:29:01.137-04:002012-10-30T22:29:01.137-04:00FM, I bet Steve Bates would know the answer to tha...FM, I bet Steve Bates would know the answer to that last question.karmanothttp://adgitadiaries.blog-city.comnoreply@blogger.com