Color Tones with Rick Beato

*** When studying from Beato, it's important to know that the base line is a major
scale. By flat, he means minor.

- Most color tones are half-step away from a chord tone.

MAJOR SCALES
- In a Major Scale: The 4th, 2nd, and 6th are color tones. These are also the
major extensions, such as the 9th and 11th degrees. Color tones that are half step
away have more tension and work better. Thus, the 6th or 13th does not work as
well, in a major scale. You can sit on the 9th, but the 11th wants to resolve down.

- The #4 is also a color tone -- it's from the lydian scale. It has a strong pull
to go up to the 5th.
- The #5 is al so a color tone. The #5 going to the 6th sounds great. It's called
the Lydian Augmented Sound. This tone is more advanced, and more nuanced. A good
voicing for this is playing the Root-3rd-7th, and then adding a #5. I love this
sound. It's very Harold Budd.
- You can also have a #9. This comes from the Lydian #9. The #9 sounds like a m3.
But you need to have the M3 in there to get the right sound. Beato says you need to
play over that chord to make the note work.
- #5 and #9 are more modern sounding.

MINOR SCALE
- Natural Minor Scale: 1-2-b3-4-5-b6-b7. A natural minor scale can be anything
that has a b3 and P5.
- Color Tones: 9, 11, b13. These correspond to the 2nd, the 4th, and the b6 (or
the 6th).
- The 9th over Am sounds great. So does the b6.
- The b6 is a half-step that wants to resolve to the 5th.
- You could pedal a Am chord and just alternate between the 9, 11, b13.
- The color tones want to resolve to the closet chord tones. But as a composer, I
can prevent that from happening. But these tones -- you can either longate them or
the can resolve to the nearest scale tone down/up a whole step.
- You can also use a 6. Which would be to #6 on the minor scale. This is a Dorian
sound. This natural 6 is nice pushing up to the b7.
- You can also #7 in a minor scale. THis will essentially, give you a M7. The M7
gives you a minor-major 7th chord. Stairway to Heaven used this.
- You can have a b9 or b2. This is the Phrygian sound.
- Commmon Color Tones for Minor Scale: 9, b9, 11, 13, b13, 7
- Other color tones -- all tones out of the normal minor and major. A b5 is from
the Lorcian Mode. It's a color tone.

HALF-DIM CHORDS
- From the Locrian - 1-b2-b3-4-b5-b6-b7. The color tones are the b9, 11, b13(b6).
- The sound of m11, b5 is beautiful. It's sounds like a jazz sound.
- You can try natural 9, instead of a flat 9. And you can transition between a b9
and 9.
- Any chord with a 1-b3-b5-b7 is half-diminished.
- 1-b3-b5-bb7 is a fully diminished chord.

DOMINATE CHORDS: 1-2-3-4-5-6-b7 -- basically a major chord with a b7.

-The color tones for Dominate Chord is 9, #9, and b9, #4 (or this can also be the
b5), #5, 13, b13 or this can be a #5).
- Dominate-Diminished Scale -- A7 with a b9: 1-b9-#9-M3-#4-P5-13-b7. PLAY THIS!
- Mixolydian scale gives you a dominate chord sound.
- Altered Dominate Scale: 1-b2-b3-b4-b5-b6-b7. b4 is really a M3. THe b5=#4, b6=#5
or b13. This is used in jazz and rock.
- Dominate-Diminished Chord -- Adim7 + Bbdim7
- Adim7 = A-C-Eb-F# (1-#9-#4-13)
- Bbdim7 = Bb-Db-E-G (b9-3-5-b7)
- These are the two parts of the scale.