Category Archives: Beginner

Blues basics 4 – pentatonics and approach notes

Aside 31 March, 2016 Søren Ballegaard

I have divided the pentatonic scale into small groups around the roots of the blues chords. These groups i will use to approach the roots in the blues, its simpler than it sounds 🙂

I have devided the pentatonic scale into groups.

the groups are associated with the roots of the chords in the blues. The D, G and A.

Ill apply the groups and use them to target the root of the next bar.
in the following example i play the root of the chord on beat one. In the bar before I approach the one with the group belonging to the coming root.

You can see that the root is on the one of each bar and leading to the root I use the notes in the group of the coming root. Leading towards bars with the root D I use F and C as approach notes, leading to a G bar i use A and F and leading to an A bar i use the approach notes C and G. All connected through the groups beloning to the root.

You see in the above example that I in the first bar leading to the second bar, on the four, apply F leading to the G of the second bar. Bar two to three i connect with the approach note C in the group of D. On the ninth bar i apply the G leading to the A. The rule would be that i look in the coming bar for the root and backwards i apply the group beloning to the coming bar.

In the next example i only use the approach note from above. The notes would be F to D, A to G and C to A.

Its clear that the notes are upper approach note in the groups.

This exercise is only applying the notes below the root.

C to D, F to G and G to A. Playing towards the target note which in this case is the root.

This way of practising playing towards a target note is quite simple and easy to get used to.
When soloing in jazz music its common practise that you always play towards a target note to get a clear melodic line.

I go on to the next exercise where i change the approach notes. I dont play only one direction anymore but pick the approach note freely, above or below.

The most important to understand in this lesson to do this a lot, to get this way of playing into your ears and fingers.

in the coming exercise i play the approach note as an eight note so, keeping the same rhythm in the whole exercise but changing which approach note i use, above or below.

You can always add more rhythm which the next exercise will illustrate.
Playing two eight notes approach and melodically choosing the above or the below lying note.

The more notes and rhythm you add before the target note the more complicated it gets of course.

In my next video ill get into more more examples where i use more approach notes.

Let me know if you have questions about this.
I hope that these videos inspires you as much as they inspire me.
Enjoy and have fun playing 🙂

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Beginner, Blues, Pentatonic scales

Blues basics 3 – applying the pentatonic scale chord groups in blues examples

Aside 24 March, 2016 Søren Ballegaard

Still playing the (basic) blues!
In this video lesson i give examples in how to apply the, in earlier videos, mentioned groups in a blues solo.

I have made some examples of how you can play the blues using the pentatonic scale divided into groups around the roots of the chords of a basic blues.

Example one – played two times

In these examples i stay inside the groups and in most bars I start the line on the root note.
I start the first bar with the D group – root D one below C and then again the D, second bar i play the root G twice and the note below, the F. third bar – D and switch between the root and the note below C. ending the first four bars with not beginning on the root but answering to the third bar with starting on the note below C thrice and ending on the D.
Fifth bar I do not start on the first beat but on the second beat G F G, the pattern from the very first bar, continuing on the sixth bar repeating the pattern from the fifth bar, but placed on the first beat, as an answer to the fifth bar. The seventh and eights bar I build together in a continuing string of notes D C D C D C D C, getting into the feel of playing longer eight note lines. In the ninth and tenth bar i repeat a pattern in the A group – A A G A but add a tail ending in bar nine on a C and bar ten on a G leading the way towards bar eleven, a rhtymical pattern on the two and four – kind of bass pedal like on the root D and bar twelve A.

Example two:
The lines in this bar is more in continuation of each other, which means that the lines grow longer and are not individually placed but mostly answers or follow up on the previous line.
I also slowly move away from always beginning on the root. Fx. i can start the D group on F or C also, a line on the G group can be started on the F or the A, and in the A group i can start on the G or the C for example.
important to know is that you can start a line on these other notes but due to our limited material the starting note fx the F on a D does not mean that the F really sounds like D. Consider it more a leading tone towards D. The D is still nessesary to make the D bar sound like D.

I begin with a rhytmical pattern on the one and three F D – F D on the second bar i start on the two of the bar playing all the notes of the G group, G F G A, the third bar play as quarter notes F D and end with eight notes C D. The fourth bar where i place two D´s as eight notes on the three sounds like an upbeat for the fifth bar where i continue with the quarternote pattern G G G – eightnotes G F – which i answer on the sixth bar on the second beat F G A G. In the seventh and eight bar i play a line in the group of D which definitely goes over the barline – On two and four i play D D which leads on to the second bar of D – F D and moved rhythmically F D. On the ninth bar i play a standard blues lick A C A C, kind of a shout which gets its answer on the tenth bar G A G A and ending with another answer A G, leading towards lower lines on the elleventh bar D D D C, going even lower ending on the twelvth bar with the shouth from bar ten A C A C as eight notes.

example three:
I now fully play eight note lines, in the bar but also extending the lines over the barlines, which is one of the goals with these exercises. Further i also change from only stating on the regular beats to also start a line on the off beats which gives the lines a more jazzy feeling.

Bar one, i start on the lower note of the D group playing around the Root, C D F D leading towards bar two answering with the G group G F G F G, ending the sentence on bar three and four with a long eight note line over the barline playing around the D – C D F D C D—over the barline to bar four C D. Start a new sentence over the next four bars|G|G|D|D|in bar five, playing the G as off beats in bar five, continuing over the barline to bar six with playing around the G A G F G A G F leading down to the D and still continuing the line in eight notes D C D C D C D C ending in bar eight with an answer to it all leading toward the last D – D F C D. In bar nine i jump into a blues line in quarter notes, as an opposite of the eight notes just played before, A group – C A G continuing on bar ten A C G A ending bar ten leading towards bar 11 with a G going to the F D on bar eleven, Repeating the F D changing it rhythmically, ending on bar twelve with C A C A ready to start fresh on a next round 🙂

I really enjoy making these videos and it inspires me to practise my self, i hope it inspires you to do the same!
Enjoy and have fun playing 🙂

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Beginner, Blues, Pentatonic scales

Blues basics 2 – outlining the chords w/ pentatonic scale

Aside 17 March, 2016 Søren Ballegaard

This video is intended for the beginning improviser. I talk about the blues form and how you can easily apply a pentatonic scale and still outline the basic chord progression.
This is the second video in the series.

In the pentatonic scale of D minor, the notes D F G A C D, i find all the notes of the roots of the simple blues form.
on the first degree a D, on the fourth degree the G and on the fifth degree the A.

As you see the first bar is a D, second bar is G third and fourth bar is a D, in the fifth and sixth bar you have G, seventh and eights bar is D, ninth and tenth bad is A, the elleventh bar is D and the twelth bar is A.

I divided the pentatonic scale into three groups, one around each root of the basic blues scheme.

The groups consists of the root + one note from the pentatonic above the root and one note below the root.

The D group is root D + F above and C below, G group is root G + A above and F below, A group is root A + C above and G below.
These notes are all diatonic notes to the D pentatonic scale.

I will now slowly start improvising with these groups over the blues. This means that i actually outline the roots of the chords but still stay within very simpel and understandable material.

To learn the groups well you can play the following exercises.

You should try to learn these exercises by heart to be able to play it when you hear it and not when you see this on paper.

You can play these exercises using a metronome to also practise your timing while leaning these groups.
The is the group of G
set the metronome on fx. two and four.

The group of A
metronome on 2+4 a bit faster.

Start slowly with the metronome in a slow tempo and get the notes into your ears and fingers.

The groups are defined by the roots of the blues.
The D group is root D + F above and C below, G group is root G + A above and F below, A group is root A + C above and G below.
Sourrounding the roots with the closest by diatonic notes of the D minor pentatonic scale.

Ill play a few more examples so you can see how to get on with this concept and use it yourself in youor solos.

The first example:

This example plays a steady rhythm on all bars and applys root of the group and the note below the root. fx. on D group the D and the C. Play through the form many times till you have this very firmly in your ears and fingers.

In the next exercise i change the rhythm and the note choice.

I now play the group root + the note above, fx in the G group i play the G and the Bb.

Try to lear the groups by heart and play as much as you can over the blues with the groups till its firmly planted in your ears and in your fingers.

I wish you very much good luck with this and hope to see you back soon.
Enjoy and have fun playing 🙂

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Beginner, Blues, Pentatonic scales

Blues basics 1 – outlining the chords w/ pentatonic scale

Aside 10 March, 2016 Søren Ballegaard

This video is intended for the beginning improviser. I talk about the blues form and how you can easily apply a pentatonic scale and still outline the basic chord progression.

Ill play the D blues and apply the Dminor pentatonic scale to the blues.

The notes are D F G A C D
To get the scale in your fingers and ears and down to the saxophone you should definitely play the scale over the whole range of the horn.
From low D to the high F and back to the low D

Keep exercising the scale until you master it on the saxohone but als able to hear and recognize it.

The next exercise is playing the pentatonic scale from every step of the pentatonic scale from the D going 7 notes up and back to the D. Continuing from the F and 7 notes up and back. repeating this from every step of the scale.

If you can play it up you can also play it down:

These exercises trains your fingers but also your ears to hear the scale.

To play the blues you also need the form of the blues. I made a very simple blues scheme to practise on.

I use only the first, fourth and the fifht degree of the blues. First degree D7, fourth G7 and fifth degree A7.
The first chord is a D7 chord, then follows a G7, then two times D7.
In the 5th and 6th bar you find two times a G7 chord and there after in the 7th and 8th bar we have again two times D7.
The 9th and 10th bar we have the A7, in the 11th bar we have the D7 and ending in the 12th bar with a A7.

You can practise the form by only using the roots of the chords. Play the roots for four beats each follying the progression of the form

When you have gotten used to the roots of the chords playing them without music you should try applying music, pick a simple playalong track of the blues.

play this a couple of times so you get used to the sound of the music.

You can of course change the ocatve of the root. Try to improvise with what octave you play the root in.
I play the following round written down and there after I improvise two rounds woth playing the roots in different octaves.

+ two rounds improvised:

With this exercise i can explore the different sounds of the roots in different octaves and i can learn the how the chords of the blues move. Play these exercises intensly to learn this by heart, when you improvise you do not have time to check papers, the music has to come directly from your ear and be channeled directly to your saxophone.

When this is learned you can start applying different rhythms to the root notes of the blues.
Start change the rhythm and fool around with the different possiblities of rhythm in the bar, still playing only the root.
I made a little exercise of this. I have written out one chorus of blues and thereafter i will continue to improvise for two more choruses.

I continue for two more rounds:

i only use 8th notes in this exercise because i want to have that nice swing feel which is one of the most important factors in jazz. more advanced rhythmic patterns like triplets and 16th notes figures can be applied later. Now its time for the basics of the blues.
Listen to count basis, duke ellington, sammy nestico bigband music to get this feeling.

I hope you can use the notes,
Enjoy and have fun playing 🙂

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Beginner, Chords, Diatonic approach, II-V-I, Music theory, Scales

Diatonic approach 3 – diatonic 7th chords

Aside 8 February, 2016 Søren Ballegaard

In this video lesson I talk about the different 7th chords on a II-V-I in Dmajor.

I start with the scale of Dmajor, the scale has two sharps with the notes D-E-F#-G-A-B-C#.

I strongly recommend that you learn the scale, the notes and how it sounds on the saxophone.
Here is an exercise how to learn the scale even better.

The exercise start on the low D going to the high E, going back down to the low C# and ending on the low D.
This extends the exercise to almost the whole range of the saxophone and you develop your technique likewise. You can put any form to your exercises but make sure the meaning of the exercise stays intact, technique, speed, extremities of the horn etc.

This lesson will further discuss the diatonic 7th chords on a II-V-I in Dmajor. On each note of the Dmajor scale you have a chord that consist of 4 notes. I will play those chords.

Dmaj7 on the D – D-F#-A-C#, Em7 on the E – E-G-B-D, F#m7 on F# – F#-A-C-E, Gmaj7 on G – G-B-D-F#, A7 on A – A-C#-E-G, Bm7 on B – B-D-F#-A, C#ø7 on C# – C#-E-G-B.
All these 7th chords are very important tools to use in a solo, but also gives you an overview of the scale and the functions.
I will now play an exercise to get to learn the diatonic 7th chords better.
This exercise have a written out rhythm in it and is fitting in a 4-bar period.

You can make up any exercise in this matter pplaying the 7th chords going up or down, or both as long as the exercise fits whatever purpose you want to achieve.

The next exercise is the 7th chords going up but with no break in between, big breath!

This exercise you can easily play as 8th notes as here, but you can also play it as 16th notes with the metronome on the 1 of the bar, training the 7th chords and your timing.
You can also play the chords going down instead of up.

You can also try this exercise playing one chord up – one chord down. Looks like this.

Ill play this exercise faster to give an example of that you need to know this material very well.

The II-V-I in Dmajor have three different chords Em7 – A7 – Dmaj7.
Out of these chords you can find other diatonic 7th chords which also spells out the function of the II-V-I.
I extend the chords of the I-V-I to Em11 – A9 – Dmaj9

The first chords is Em11.

On the Em11 – E-G-B-D-F#-A, you find three different 7th chords.
On the first degree of the Em11 you will of course find the Em7 – E-G-B-D.
On the third degree of the Em11 you have a Gmaj7 chord – G-B-D-F# and on the 5th degree of the Em11 you have a Bm7 – B-D-F#-A.

On the dominant function of the II-V-I – the V, A9 – A-C#-E-G-B, we have two 7th chords, the A7 – A-C#-E-G and the C#ø7 – C#-E-G-B.

On the dominant function, A9, and on our tonic function, Dmaj9, we only have twho chords because if we get higher we get to the fourth degree of the chord which clashes very much with the third degree of the A9 – a D against the C# and the Dmaj9 – a G against a F#.

The root, our tonic function Dmaj9 – D-F#-A-C#-E we also have two chords, Dmaj7 – D-F#-A-C# and F#m7 – F#-A-C#-E.

Get to know these chords and functions well, they are very valuable in your soloing, transcribing solos of others and generally understanding music and what´s happening.

Fx. you dont always have to play up or down the Dmaj7 chord on Dmaj7 but you can easily use the F#m7 chord up or down. On the A7 you can use the A7 of course but also consider the C#ø7 chord which gives another sound. On the Em7 chord you even have three possibilities which are the Em7, the Gmaj7 and the Bm7 chord, check them all out.

Example 1 – II-V-I in Dmajor.

I start on the high D going down the Em7 chord, jumping up to the C#, going down the scale jumping down to the middle B playing up the Bm7 chord dragging over the Em7 (Bm7 chord) over the barline to A7 playing a small bebop lick going down the A7 scale to the C# of the Dmajor running up the C#ø7 chord of the A7 on the Dmaj7 approaching via the B+D, on top the C# going down the Dmaj7 7th chord ending on the C#.

Example 2 – II-V-I in Dmajor.

Starting on a Em11 chord in triplets going up to the A approaching the G through the A+F#, further approaching the F# on the A7 via G+E, jumping down to the low C# running up the C#ø7 chord ending high on a D+F# approaching the E, goiong down the scale to hit the C# on the Dmaj7 chord, jumping down to the D to play the Dmaj9 chord up approaching the D via E+C#, running from D up the Dmaj9 chord.
hint: check my video on diatonic approach notes here

Example 3 – II-V-I in Dmajor.

Going up the Gmaj7 chord of the Em9 approaching, through the F#+A, the G, going down the scale and via the D+B approaching the C# of the A9, playing the whole A9 chord in a triplet figure up to the high D of the Dmaj7, further up to the high F# going down the scale to the C#, jumping down playing the F#m7 up jumping to the A using a Coltrane line 5-3-2-1 on the Dmaj7 ending on the C#.

I hope you enjoyed the video and hope to see you back soon.

Check out my other videos

Beginner, Chords, Diatonic approach, II-V-I, Music theory, Scales

Diatonic Approach 2 – diatonic triads

Aside 26 January, 2016 Søren Ballegaard

In this video I talk about how to use diatonic triads in Gmajor.
Further i present the triads in the Gmajor scale and a II-V-I in G.

Diatonic triads is a strong tool which you can use in your soloing. Further by knowing the diatonic triads you get more overview of the theory of what you are playing. You get to know where all the chords are from and you attain flexibility in you improvisation.

The material we will work on is the G major scale:

Diatonic means that you are only using notes that are in the scale, so no notes outside the scale.

You would want to know your material by heart and also over the whole range of the saxophone.
The next exercise will help you with this.

The triads of the scale are each on one of the notes of the scale. This means you get 7 different triads in a major scale:
on the note G in the scale you have a Gmajor triad, on A you have a Aminor triad, on B you have a Bminor triad, on C you have a C major triad, on D you have a D major triad, on E you have a E major triad, on F# you have a F# diminished triad.

here is an exercise how to get this into your fingers:

This exercise is written to cover the whole range of the saxophone. Its important that you have flexibility with all material over the whole range of the saxophone because when you improvise you never know how you react to what is happening around you in a band. Maybe you need those high or low notes.

The exercise i just played was written with a little pause in between the triads, the next exercise is not,big breath!

This exercise without the pause in it will save you time when you practise, a very small amount but everytime you play the exercise you save this time, which you can use to practise more.

You can play the triads both up and down, like in the next exercise, first triad going up second triad going down:

The exercises mentioned here are free to use anyway you want, play the triads up, down, cluster them in groupings etc.
Its important that you know your material well to get more freedom in your soloing. Learn the names of the triads, make you own exercises, learn the triads over the whole range of the saxophone.

Ill now present the material of a II-V-I in G major – Am9 – D7(9) – Gmaj7(9).
There are different triads on each of these chords which i will explain in the following exercise:

The first chord, the Am9 with the notes A-C-E-G-B consists of three triads, the Aminor triad on the first degree of the Am9 chord A-C-E, the Cmajor triad on the third degree of the Am9 triad – C-E-G and the Eminor triad on the fifth degree of the Am9 chord – E-G-B.

The next chord in our II-V-I is the D7(9)

We begin with the complete D7(9) chord – D-F#-A-C-E. The triads of this chord is Dmajor triad on the first degree – D-F#-A. On the third degree of the D7(9) chord we have the F# diminished triad – F#-A-C and on the fifth degree we have the Aminor triad – A-C-E.

The last chord of our II-V-I is the Gmajor 9 chord – G-B-D-F#-A.

The three triads on the Gmaj9 chord are: on the first degree, Gmajor triad – G-B-D, on the third degree, the Bminor triad – B-D-F# and on the fifth degree there is the Dmajor triad – D-F#-A.

One of the best ways to get this material into your fingers is naturally to play the above mentioned exercises but as soon as you know the material just a bit start to get it into live material like lines you make and play, licks etc.

I have made some examples of lines that uses the diatonis triads, the first line:

I start playing a Eminor triad down ending on a B going up the Cmajor triad. Using diatonic approach notes G and E to hit the F# on the D7 chord. Playing down the scale from F# to D jumping down to a F# playing up the F# diminished triad running down the scale from C to A. Jumping up to a D on the Gmajor9 shord playing down the Bminor chord ending on a E on Gmajor9.

The next example:

I start with a Eminor triad on the B jumping down to play the triad up, playing the scale down from a till E. Jumping on to the D7(9) dragging the Aminor triad to the D7(9) in a triplet playing it down. I use the diatonic approach notes G and E to get to the F# playing down the scale. eight note rest on Gmajor9 playing the Bminor triad down ending on an A repeating the Bminor triad ending on the low D approaching the end F# with a E – A to F#.

The third example:

I play up the Aminor triad with a triplet figure, ending on the high G going down the Cmajor triad using a diatonic approach over the barline G – E to F# of the D9 playing down the Dmajor triad, jumping to the high B playing down the scale extending the F# over the barline playing down the Bm triad jumping up to the F# going down the scale to pull over a D across the barline to end on a Bm triad going down ending on an E.

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