Lesson with Smartyy

Smartyy has some basic knowledge on scales and chromatic function, he listens to a lot of jazz since his father is a jazz artist so that is to me the main idea of how to play jazz, listening and copying so you can expand your vocabulary when improvising..

Suggestions before I give you an assignment:

1-Listen to sax players!!, they really know how to breathe and since you are going to be doing this on piano it is important for you to leave spaces in your writing as well as in your playing...

2-Learn your circle of fifths (sharps) and fourths (flats) really well... smartyy if you dont know what i am talking about let me know but i assume you do...

3-Record yourself, we will be working mainly on a notation program such as finale or sibelius, or any sequencer as long as it contains midi data, but it is also important that you record yourself while practicing or composing.. jazz is a complicated art and requires a lot of sonority...

4-If you are also interested in writing jazz tunes and pieces, for me it is very very VERY important that you listen to at least one of these composers "Franz Schubert, Liszt or Chopin" but, mainly their IMPROMPTUS... those were written for piano, and since it was the romantic period it is just the perfect example of what could have come from... we are going to write music improvising also.. that means, no AABA form or harmonic Tricks.. although we are going to cover some of them so you can learn the rules..

Smartyy i will give you an assignment.. tell me how would you like to work... Any sequencer?, finale, Sibelius?, PDF?

Im using Finale or LOGIC (midi sequencer), so I would rather work on them but if you can't its fine..

sorry it took me awhile to reply.

-I know my cycle of Fourths, and I do believe the Cycle of Fifths is the same but backwards, but I don't know either very well. You could ask me "What scale comes after Bb in the Cycle of Fourths?" And I would answer "Eb" But I couldn't answer right off the top of my head.

-I do listen to a lot of sax players, that basically all I have in my music library.

-I do.. occasionally.. record myself, especially when playing with my dad

And I have listened to Chopin, I have a few of his books. I wish a had his Impromptu book though.. his were amazing.

Also I use Rosegarden to write stuff and listen to MIDI files. I have Finale but I have never used it since it's on my dad's computer, so I don't know if it works.
I wouldn't also mind using PDFs as well.. makes it eaier for me, since i'm a visual learner.

-Smartyy!

great: So lets start now...

We are going to start with basic Modes while we get used to learning keys...

Modes are variated scales that are related to a scale.. depending on the scale and degree of the scale you are in...

a Major scale (tonal) can be studied in many ways..

C major is the best example...

1,2,3,4,5,6,7 (all white keys in a piano)

between C and D there is a whole step.. because C and D share C#...

E to F dont share anything so there is a half step in between..

I guess you know all of this but I want to make sure that is explained well before we go on...

So, a mode would be, if we start a scale from a degree.. lets say the 2nd degree of C is D (or second note of the scale)... so if we start a D scale without changing the key, we would still have C major but starting with D.. that is called D dorian

Dorian would be 1, 2, b3, 4, 5, 6, b7

notice how we use flat numbers but in classical writing there are no flats, it is just a way of saying that if we had to play a 3rd note starting on D, it would be F... and F is a minor third if we think in D...

this is how it would be if we are in the key of C:

C = C, D, E, F, G, A, B = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 Ionian
D = D, E, F, G, A, B, C = 1, 2, b3, 4, 5, 6, b7 Dorian
E = E, F, G, A, B, C, D = 1, b2, b3, 4, 5, b6, b7 Phrygian
F = F, G, A, B, C, D, E = 1, 2, 3, #4, 5, 6, 7 Lydian
G = G, A, B, C, D, E, F = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, b7 Mixolydian
A = A, B, C, D, E, F, G = 1, 2, b3, 4, 5, b6, b7 Aoelian
B = B, C, D, E, F, G, A = 1, b2, b3, 4, b5, b6, b7 Locrian

dont get confused with scales... a D scale contains F# and C#, so a D mode in C does not contain any accidental...

the circle of fifths are perfect fifth intervals starting with C

so..

C does not have accidentals

the 5th of C is G

G contains F#... how do we know that??

we start by going from C.. so after that... whatever comes after would have an additional note that is previous to the previous note... I know it sounds complicated but it is not

This would be a circle: F, C, G, D,

so, G has a C previous, you dont change that but the previous to the previous would be F... so now you need an F#

so, D, has a G previous, we dont change that but the previous to the previous would be C, so now we add F# and C#... and so on..

Circle of fifths:

C (___)
G (F#)
D (F#, C#)
A (F#, C#, G#)
E (F#, C#, G#, D#)
B (F#, C#, G#, D#, A#)
F# (F#, C#, G#, D#, A#, E#)
C# (F#, C#, G#, D#, A#, E#, B#)

right now i want you to focus on the circle of fiths and later on we will work on 4ths..

learn the circle of fifths...

so... your assignment would be the next:

I have attached a PDF and .MUS (finale file).. and a MIDI file... check out the PDF first if you cant open it in finale...

in the PDF I use the C scale through the whole circle of fifths... it starts going to C# instead of C when the circle hits D..

I also added what C is as a mode in every tonality (or Key or scale, however you want to call it)

So, write on Midi or Finale, the D scale using it through the whole circle of fifths the same way i did with C major.. and when you are done.. do all the other ones until C#

dont use flats, unless your sequencer dont let you use sharps for some reason.

if you can, write here or anywhere else, what function is the scale doing

example D in the key of G would be the fifth degree, therefor it should be called a D mixolydian

smartyy are you alive? lol... let me know if its too much material.. if it is then we will do it part by part and i can give you assignments on key signatures and stuff like that...