spoon-fed music lesson

here it is guys.

there are only 12 notes. then they repeat.

C C# D Eb E F F# G Ab A Bb B repeat C
these are all 1/2 step apart called a chromatic scale

the major scale is awkward mathmaticaly

WWHWWWH
CDEFGABC
but sounds "normal"

eventually, you'll need to know all 12 keys and all the scales pertinent to each...but here's the shortcut
to "comprehending" which is the first real hurdle.
Reason: you have to recognize 3rds, 5ths ect... to read a chord spelling...inversely when someone calls
out a chord, you have to know what notes are in it. This is the foundation to that ability.

instead of starting on the hopscotch major scale, look at it mathmaticly...because you already deal in
mathmatics everyday with money and measures and such. Transfer that ability to this.

so:
start with the whole tone scale...there are only 2 of them
C D E F# G# A# (C)
C# D# F G A B (C#)

the interval between each/all notes is 1 whole step (two 1/2 steps).
(play C [skip C#] play D...ect...)

by learning these 2 scales, you've learned all 12 because 6 X 2 = 12

next add another 1/2 step between intervals. three 1/2 steps between intervals
(play C [skip C#/D] play Eb...ect...)
C Eb F# A
C# E G Bb
D F Ab B

there are only 3 of these because 4 X 3 = 12

The key is to listen to these patterns and absorb it by ear til you recognize these like you do the words
in your native spoken language. Write it out, but the main thing is to get it in your ear.

so far the only thing you have to comprehend at this point is the concept that:
A. there are only 12 notes...no more.
B. you can count by:
1's
1 2 3 4 5...
by 2's
2 4 6 8...
by 3's
3 6 9 12 ...

and by grasping this theoretical concept, you can trust that it's possible to count by 4's, 5's ect...without
actually knowing the particulars...but you HAVE the concept.

Chromatic scale.
look at it as the full range of possibilities.
everything you do after that is merely a pattern placed over the range of possibilities. mentally extend
(repeat the notes) the chromatic scale into a big empty palette like a piano keyboard layout.

Major scale
we dabble here for a second because tradition dictates our language of the structure.
Understanding that the pattern is W W H W W W H, replace the letters with numbers (degrees of the
scale)

C D E F G A B (C)
12345678

and each degree has yet another name applied to it based from the root.

now go back to the chromatic scale

C-octave
B-Major 7th (M7)
Bb-dominant 7th (b7)
A- 6th
Ab/G#-raised 5th/b6th (+5)
G-5th
F#-raised 4th/b5 (+4)
F-4th (sus4)
E-Major 3rd (3)
Eb-minor 3rd (b3)
D-Major 2nd (M2)
C#-minor 2nd (m2)
C-root

# means go up 1/2 step

b means go down 1/2 step
+ means raise the specifc note 1/2 step
M means "normal"
m means drop the specific note 1/2 step
augment means expand the distance
diminish means shrink the distance

go back to the major scale

CDEFGABC

we build chords by skipping notes...the tension created by the skipped notes vs. the sounded notes are
what give us the "colors" of the sound.
a "normal chord" is
1357
CEGB

the upper structures are made by taking the notes you skipped and using them above the normal
range.
the 2nd becomes the 9th
4th becomes the 11th
6th becomes the 13th
CDEGABC

so a C13 is spelled
CEGBDFA

same notes used differently.

A C13 chord is only the major scale expanded over 2 octaves

Now go back to the original concept of attacking the chromatic scale by playing mathmatically
understandable and balanced intervals...which is why (after chromatic 1/2 steps) we start with the
whole tones...it skips every other note leaving each sounded note as a mathmatically reasonable
idea...each note being exactly one whole step apart ...different from the church/traditional starting point
of Major scale, but logicly easier.

The point is the traditional approach assumes you know M3rd from m3rd in all keys and is the hurdle
that kills most folks right out of the gate.

I want you to understand intervals first. Once you have that, the rest falls into place.

whole tone scales (only 2 because starting on any other note falls into either one or the other of these
scales...by learning 2, you know all 12)
C D E F# G# A# (C)
C# D# F G A B (C#)

extend them the full range of the horn, and get to where I can yell out any note, and you can fall into
the proper scale effortlessly.

Now back to the chromatic scale.

look at the second thing.
play C
skip 2(C# & D)
play Eb
skip 2 (E & F)
Play F#
skip 2 (G & G#)
play A

C Eb F# A
these are all m3rd intervals between notes.
there are only 3 of these "scales" (4 X 3 - 12)
C Eb F# A
C# E G Bb
D F Ab B

(then Eb is a repeat of the first form...ect...)

this is a diminished tetrad

diad means 2 notes

triad means 3 notes
tetrad means 4 notes
pentad is 5 notes
sextad is 6 notes
septad is 7 notes

by learning
C Eb F# A
you've learned
C dim,
Eb dim,
F# dim, and
A dim.

more on this later...just grab the form and concept for now...and memorize the m3rd intervals from
these patterns...all the way up and down the range of the horn.

back to the chromatic.

next interval is Major 3rds.
play C
(skip3 C# D Eb)
play E
(skip F F# G)
play G#

C E G# (C)
major 3rds.

where this is all heading is:

when I say motorcycle, you think Triumph/BSA/Norton/BMW/HD/Hondamahazuki ect...

when I say WW II
you think Hitler/D-Day/Japan/BIG Bomb ect...

same thing in music... one thought will immediately generate a doz. others related. this is the "magic
process" in improvization.

C E G# (C) are M3rd intervals apart.

C E G is a M triad.
C E G# is an augmented because you raise the 5th.
by learning this one item, you've learned
C+
E+
G#+ chords.

now look at C E G#
it's also contained in the original whole tone scale
C D E F# G# A# (C)
so whole tones are related to augmented chords

there are 4 of these

C E G#
C# F A
D F# A#
Eb G B
3 X 4 = 12
by learning these 4 forms, you've learned all 12 augmented chords, and all 12 M3rd intervals.

now you can instantly recognize all major or minor basic chords by applying either the Maj or min
interval patterns you've memorized,..even tho you haven't yet dabbled in all 12 keys...that has to be
done at some point, but it can wait a bit yet. You know Maj and min intervals.

(disclaimer: this doesn't come overnight, no one expects it to)

there is really no such thing as a teaching process...there is only a learning process. the "teacher" can
only lay it out, it's up to the "student" to pick it up and internalize it.

4ths.
(ascending)
C F Bb Eb Ab Db Gb/F# B E A D G (C)

notice if you do
C F Bb
then instead of playing that next Eb up, drop it down an octave then play up
Eb Ab Db
drop the Gb down an octave then play up
F# B E
drop down...
ADG

same notes but by doing this the first note in each series spells out a diminished (C Eb F# A).
This is the concept of patterns over patterns,

now do 4th intervals ascending by chromatics

CF
C# F#
DG
Eb Ab
EA
F Bb
F# B
GC
ect...

do ascending 4ths dropping down by chromatics

CF
BE
Bb Eb
AE
ect

do ascending 4ths followed by descending 4ths over ascending chromatics

CF
F# C#
DG
Ab Eb
EA
Bb F
ect...

patterns over patterns.

next interval is tri-tones or b5ths (+4ths)

C [c# d eb e f] F# [g ab a bb b] C
splits the octave exactly in half.
I call it the "which way did they go" interval
notice tri-tones are also contained in the whole tone scale
C D E F# G# A# C
so tri-tones are related to whole tones, augmenteds and thus Major 3rds.

If you call that F an 11th instead of the 4th...you got raised 11ths.
(remember the mc=Triumph/BSA/HD/BMW thing)

C F# C
C# G C#
D Ab D
Eb A Eb
E Bb E
FBF
F# C F#

STOP. notice that at this point the whole thing just inverts on itself.

because the next interval 5ths is merely an inverted 4th.

C up to F is a 4th interval
C down to F is a 5th interval

at this point go back and look at that circle of 5ths key signature thing.
flats= C F Bb Eb Ab Db Gb
sharps= C G D A E B F#

one direction is 5ths...the other direction is 4ths. but they over lap at Gb/F# and you can fudge a spot
or two either way as in Db=C# or Ab=G#
while you're dabbling with these 5ths...cememt the key signature circle of 5ths concept in there
reeeaaalllll goooooood...it's important.

OK. 5th intervals are

C G D A E B F# C# G#/Ab Eb Bb F (C)

there's always that crossover point where sharps turn into flats because...
just because.

CG
C# G#
DA
Eb Bb
EB
FC
F# C#
GD
Ab Eb
AE
Bb F
B F#
(C)

do (make up) some patterns over patterns to grasp these 5ths.

+5ths

C to G# is a raised 5th
G#/Ab to C is a M3rd interval

whole tone scale

C d e f# G# a# (C)

raised 5ths (augmented 5ths) related to whole tones, M3rds

C G# E (C)
inverted augmented triad ( C E G#)

C G# E (C)
C# A F (C#)
D A# F# (D)
Eb B G (Eb)

6ths
C up to A is a 6th
A up to C is a min 3rd interval
this is what they mean when they say the relative minor of the key of C is Am (A-)
(-means minor)
more on that later

notice C to A (6th) is contained in the dim tetrad

C Eb F# A
invert the dim tetrad and you have ascending 6ths
C A F# Eb
C# Bb G E
D B Ab F

b7ths (dominant 7ths)

C to Bb
dom 7th is one whole step below the octave.
thus related to whole tones

M7ths
C to B
1/2 step below octave
M7ths are back to the original chromatic scale.

when you did the original couple of things (up to tri-tones), you were already doing the last few things
only inverted. The reality is you only had to do a few fresh excercises then comprehend the concept of
how things invert back on itself.

That in a nutshell is the language and mathmatics of it.

Major scale/Modes

WWHWWWH
CDEFGABC
12345678
Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do
Do, a deer, a female deer
Joy to the world

W W H W W W H patten over the spectrum of possibilities...start on any chromatic note (key), but it's
still the same sounding pattern.

This is where you learn the Major scales in all keys (on your own) and collect all that crap from other
"normal" books in your collection.

Major vs. minor is all about the 3rd...which is why we started with whole tone/M3 and dim/m3rd) so you
can ID that note quickly

Major chord is
1 3 5 M7
CEGB
the full color of this rascal (Joe Viola/Berklee) is: C E G B D F# A (more on that later)
1 3 5 M7 9 #11 13
May sound unusual, but let your ears absord fresh thoughts

Church Modes
start on the root, and it's Major (M7)
CdEfGaBC

construct a scale starting on the second degree, and it's a minor, called a Dorian Mode
DEFGABCD
1 2 b3 4 5 6 b7 8

start on the 3rd it's minor called Phrygian

EFGABCDE
1 b2 b3 4 5 b6 b7 8

start on the 4th it's Major called Lydian

FGABCDEF
1 2 3 #4 5 6 M7 8

start on the 5th it's Major called Mixolydian

GABCDEFG
1 2 3 4 5 6 b7 8

start on the 6th, its the natural minor (A is a m3rd below the octave/root) mode is Aeolian
ABCDEFGA
1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7 8

start on the 7th and it's diminished called Locrian...(Triad only ... doesn't include the bb7 normally used
to complete the though
t...full dim would be
B D F Ab (1 b3 b5 bb7)
...leaving the A natural(b7th)leaves us with a half dim
(1 b3 b5 b7)
BCDEFGAB
1 b2 b3 4 b5 b6 b7 8

if it weren't for that hop-scotch W W H W W W H pattern, we wouldn't have to deal with this...but this is
the hand we're dealt...and what separates us from the animals...

the whole point is using those notes readily recognized in the C Maj scale, but using different starting
points, that same scale turns into a whole rainbow of colors. What you want to do is be able to function
from all sorts of perspectives...you see a rock, and you can anchor a boat with it, use it as a pillow,
throw it as a weapon, build a shelter with it,
study it for chemistry/age, race it down a hill, polish it to seduce women, ect...it's all the same
rock...just different perspectives.

Philosophy and Science

"For what does it profit a man if he should gain the whole world but lose his soul"

"what good is it to do know this gobble-de-gook...when the reality is you're sitting amongst a handful of
drunks busking for pennies at some corner dive?"

You may have all the knowledge in the world under control, but there's few who take that journey with
you to share in your victory...far better to play fun "money notes" in functional communication than to
be the Wizard of Oz in pretentious isolation. Walking into a bank to get a loan with a bag full-o-boast
& chops don't secure that loan in the real
world.

But...here's the forms and full colors of each:

Major
CEG
full color
1 3 5 M7 9 #11 13
C E G B D F# A

minor
C Eb G
full color
1 b3 5 M7 9 13
C Eb G B D A

dom 7th
C E G Bb
full color
1 3 5 b7 b9 9 #$9 11 #11 b13 13
C E G Bb Db D D# F F# Ab A

min 7th
C Eb G Bb
full color
1 b3 5 b7 9 11
C Eb G Bb D F

min 7th(b5)
C Eb Gb Bb
full color
1 b3 b5 b7 b9 9 11 b13
C Eb Gb Bb Db D F Ab

dim 7th (full dim)

C Eb Gb Bbb(A)
full color
1 b3 b5 bb7 M7 9 11 b13
C Eb Gb A B D F Ab
[putting these 2 dim scales together makes a W step/H step scale...
C D Eb F F# Ab A B]

After all's said and done, the best practice is to learn tunes and grab licks with your ear...it's a audial
language that transfers thoughts and emotions...being literate in the written math/science is a huge
advantage over those who ain't...but it still comes down to funneling all that into a useful form that is
transferable to folks who haven't made that
journey...the object is to give them an ecapist moment in exchange for the transfer their money into
your pocket...and of course the joy of art for art's sake...beyond that is frivilous egotism...unless you
just like to run for the adrenline rush...but don't think for a moment it means anything.

Nobility is a self induced state transfered by voodoo hypnotism to weak minds who crave idols ...you still
have to wipe your chin when you slobber...remember that...it will be the biggest challange you
encounter.

...and the world is full of hustlers and ho's.

watch where you step.