Having Fun with Pentatonic Scales

Earlier this month I spent some time with five-note scales, AKA pentatonic scales. I sort of felt rejuvenated after doing so. When you just have five notes, each note becomes vital; an entity in itself. It's less about what notes you have to work with or the succession you play them in, and more about how you play those notes and the feeling you have while doing so.

Pentatonic scales are conducive to improvisation - playing original, unpredictable phrases of your own invention, in free rhythm. Just playing around with these notes makes pleasing sound combinations. You can hop around however you like.

The pentatonic scale is sometimes referred to as the black key scale since if you play only the black keys of a piano keyboard you will be playing in a pentatonic scale. Playing within pentatonic scales can cause your music to take on an Eastern feel, as the pentatonic scale is the most frequently used type of scale in the music of the Far-East. It is also used in Native American flute music.

To create the most common type of pentatonic scale you simply remove the 4th and 7th notes from the 7-note major scale.  In the key of C (C, D, E, F, G, A, B) you remove the 4th note F and the 7th note B to create a five note scale with the notes C, D, E, G, A.

From this five note scale of C, D, E, G, A you can create four other modes:

D, E, G, A, C (transposed to C that would be C, D, F, G, Bb)

E, G, A, C, D (transposed to C that would be C, Eb, F, Ab, Bb)

G, A, C, D, E (transposed to C that would be C, D, F, G, A)

A, C, D, E, G (transposed to C that would be C, Eb, F, G, Bb)

These modes can go by different names in different cultures:

C, D, E, G, A = Ryo in Japan, Tizita Major in Ethiopia.

C, D, F, G, Bb = Yematebela Wofe in Ethiopian music. Slendro in gamelan.

C, Eb, F, Ab, Bb = Shegaye in Ethiopian music. Man Gong in China.

C, D, F, G, A = Ritsu in Japan. Ambassel (Major) in Ethiopia.

C, Eb, F, G, Bb = Minyo in Japan, used in Shakuhachi flute music. Also called Batti Minor in Ethiopia.

Some other more unusual pentatonic scales include:

C, Db, F, G, Ab = Kumoi in Japan. Ambassel (Minor) in Ethiopia.

C, Db, F, Gb, Bb = Iwato in Japan.

C, Db, F, G, Bb = Han Iwato in Japan.

C, Db, F, Gb, A = Anchihoye in Ethiopian music.

C, Db, Eb, G, Ab = Balinese Pelog pentatonic.

C, D, Eb, G, Ab = Hirajoshi in Japan, Tizita Minor in Ethiopia. Distinctive use of semitones. 

C, D, F, G, Ab = Kokin Joshi in Japan.

C, D, Eb, G, A = Akebono in Japan.

C, D, Eb, G, Bb = Pygmy scale.

C, Eb, F, G, Bb = Batti Minor.

C, Eb, F#, G, Bb = Batti Minor 4# in Ethiopia. A variant of Batti Minor/Minyo.

C, Eb, F#, G, B = Batti Minor 4/7# in Ethiopia. Like the Hungarian minor mode minus two notes.

C, E, F, G, B = Rhukuan in Japan. A unique scale from Okinawa. Also called Batti Major in Ethiopia.

C, E, F#, G, B = Batti Major #4 in Ethiopia. A variation of the Batti Major mode. Also the "Chinese" scale.

C, E, F, G#, B = Batti Major #5 in Ethiopia. Also called Bacovia in Romanian music.

C, E, F, A, B = no name Japanese mode. (one of the Kumoi modes)

C, E, F#, A, B = no name Asian scale.

Note that Hirajoshi, Kumoi Joshi, and Iwato are all modes of the same basic pentatonic scale.

Pentatonic scales are a reminder that your instrument can be a spiritual tool to reach enlightenment and that playing is a form of meditation. Total absorption in the task is perhaps a more noble achievement than advancement to a higher technical skill level. 

Under the watchful and critical eye of a master one may practice the writing of Chinese characters for days and days, months and months. But he watches as a gardener watches the growth of a tree, and wants his student to have the attitude of the tree - the attitude of purposeless growth in which there are no short cuts because every stage of the way is both beginning and end. (Alan Watts, The Way of Zen, Zen in the Arts)

Dandelion Puff: Constructing and Deconstructing a Melody

The A-Part (similar to Venus In Furs)

On Monday morning I sung a melody into my phone's voice recorder that in hindsight bears some resemblance to the Velvet Underground song Venus In Furs. I didn't give myself a chance to work on this melody until Wednesday morning when I had about ten minutes to review it before leaving for work. During those ten minutes I was able to locate and transcribe the musical notes on a keyboard based on the intervals I had sung.

The musical notes I happened to choose were: G G G C D C D Bb G.

I don't think in terms of chords or harmony, but I do think in terms of scales - the major scale specifically. So as soon as I transcribe notes like this I like to find out which major scale(s) they might conform to.

By analyzing the notes in this little melody I came to the conclusion that these notes could fit into either the Bb major sale (Bb C D Eb F G A) or the F major scale (F G A Bb C D E). Using numeric scale notes, my G G G C D C D Bb G melody was either 6 6 6 2 3 2 3 1 6 or 2 2 2 5 6 5 6 4 2. (It wasn't until I started writing this post that I realized it could also be Eb major as well: Eb F G Ab Bb C D.

The B-Part (loosely based on the 12/29/19 Bathtub Gin jam)

I like for my tunes to have at least two alternating sections. So after transcribing this melody I tried out a sequence of notes based on something that Trey Anastasio played during Bathtub Gin on 12/29/19 that I had already been messing around with by ear. 

In recent years Trey has developed a knack for landing on simple, fleeting melodies during "Type II" improvs. Phish songs like Light, Ghost, Tweezer and Carini are prime places for these. Just beyond eleven minutes into this version of Bathtub Gin, Trey - prompted by Page - comes up with an interesting melody of this sort. It only goes around for a few bars but it was enough for me to make note of it and by New Year's Eve I was playing my own thing based on that sound.

The musical notes I used for this melody were: G Bb C D, G Bb C F D, F D C D C Bb C G.  

Note that all of the notes from my first melody (G C D and Bb) are found in this B-part melody. That was a happy coincidence. The only additional note in the B-part melody was F, but that note is found in both the Bb major scale and the F major scale that I spoke about above. So just like in the A-part, my scale here is ambiguous (to me at least). It could still be either B-flat or F. (or, as I realize now, E-flat).

The thing about these little melodies that Trey happens upon during Phish jams is that they sound great in the context of the jam, but after being isolated it is sometimes difficult to find something to pair them with. They almost paint themselves into a corner. That had been the case with this Bathtub Gin melody. I had been sitting on it for a week without successfully coming up with something to go with it. But as soon as I matched it up with my "Venus In Furs" style A-part it seemed to jive.

Transposing the A-Part

I started playing these A and B parts together and instantly knew that I had a new tune. The parts fit well together. The only thing that nagged at me was how both melodies were using a lot of the same notes, and/or were living under the same piano keys or banjo frets. I wanted a bit more flavor there. Then I remembered how I had analyzed my A-part melody to discover that the first note of the melody (G) could either be note 6 of the Bb scale or note 2 of the F scale. 

So what if I assume for a moment that the scale I'm in is Bb, but move my A-part melody from starting on note 6 of that scale (G) to note 2 of that scale (C)? Now the notes in my A-part melody switch from G G G C D C D Bb G to C C C F G F G Eb C. Boom! I'm definitely not in the key of F anymore but all of these notes still fit into the key of Bb! Remember that B-flat major scale is Bb C D Eb F G A. The only note I'm not using is the 7th one: A.

My tune was basically done and ready to be recorded at this point. I had an A-part and a B-part, and each conformed to the same major scale: the B-flat major scale in this case. But, even cooler, I wasn't really even hovering around the note Bb as the tonal center for much of the tune. It's got more of a minor feel, meaning that in music theory it's probably more like the G aeolian or C dorian scale. That's getting a little heavy for me though. I only think in terms of the major scale.

About Those (Mississippi) Half-Steps

This is basically the process I go through almost any time I write a tune. My A-parts and B-parts (or C-parts) often come from different, unrelated sources. In order to pair them I try to put them into the same universe. Unless I am purposefully trying to write something "out", "blue" or exotic, I otherwise like for my A-parts and B-parts to each utilize notes from the same major scale. The same universe, if you will. In this case that universe was the notes of the Bb major scale: Bb C D Eb F G A. It's all relative though, man.

A neat thing to know about the major scale is that it's mostly whole steps. There are only two places in the whole scale where notes are going to be directly adjacent on your fretboard. These are called semi-tones or half-steps. These half-steps are always between notes 3 and 4 of the scale, and between notes 7 and 1 of the scale (or 7 and 8 of the scale in music theory, if I'm not mistaken, but I don't think about it that way). In the Bb major scale the half-steps are found from A to Bb (7 to 1) and from D to Eb (3 to 4). Anywhere else in the scale is a whole step.

Me, I'm A Part of Your Circle of Friends

I like to think of a scale as being continuous. 

Bb C D Eb F G A Bb C D Eb F G A Bb C D Eb F G A Bb C D Eb F G A Bb C D Eb F G A Bb..... and so on.

You can also start on any note of the major scale. That is when a scale is called a mode.

G A Bb C D Eb F G A Bb C D Eb F G A Bb C D Eb F G A Bb C D Eb F G A B C D Eb F G..... and so on.

Once you get going both of the above sequences start to look pretty darn similar. In fact, they quickly become exactly that same. If you start getting too loopy you might get lost. That's OK because the half-steps can bring you back whenever you want. The half steps in your melody are the guideposts, the major clues helping to provide direction. (My tunes don't have definitive chords as far as I'm concerned. I only hear and think in terms of melody, so my scale knowledge and where this melody falls within the major scale is all I have to go on. For example I know that an Eb chord in this scale contains the notes Eb, G and Bb. No duh, right? I just have no idea if or when that or any chord should be used under the melody, nor do I care. If I really had to think about it I would conclude that any number of scalar notes could be used to harmonize with the melody note, each with their own peculiar coloring. Who can say which one sounds better than the other? I don't have a preference.)

Name That Tune

I already expected my next tune title to be either Fungie (after the Dingle dolphin) or Dandelion (after the bard character in the Witcher). I went with Dandelion, which became Dandelion Puff.

To re-cap, Monday I hummed a melody that is similar to Venus In Furs. Wednesday morning I transcribed that melody. Wednesday evening I paired it with a stray melody I had played by ear the prior week based on something I heard during the Phish 12/29/19 Bathtub Gin. Once paired together I realized that the intervals being used allowed for one of the parts to be shifted to different notes within the same universe, or scale. After that, done!

Here's a recording made last night over a quick drum machine "beat" that I spent mere seconds assembling. I used a baritone ukulele because I like the way it sounds on that instrument.

***

Know the Chords, Hear the Changes...or Not

In the 9 years that I’ve been playing music I’ve never fully believed in the concept of chords being a predetermined order of stacked notes that you then solo over. I don’t think I hear music this way, which may be why I was initially drawn to the single-note melodies of traditional Irish music despite having no cultural or social connection to that type of music. In Irish traditional music it seems that melody comes first and harmony/chords are a non-essential modern add-on.

Traditional Irish music is great, but I really want to play music that is not tied to any tradition, style or genre. Music that is completely free of those connections. So, then the question becomes how do you extend this concept of melody first into the realm of free improvisation?

For one thing I never know what the chords changes are to a song – I can’t really hear “right” from “wrong” in this way – and the idea of having to be aware of the chord changes and basing my selection of improvised notes on this knowledge seems restrictive. If I play a “B” note why does that have to be a G-major chord to meet someone’s idea of what sounds “good”? Couldn’t you pair that B note with the notes in a B-minor chord, or an E-minor chord, or any combination of notes that somehow complements that B note? And can’t you change it every time? 

Then I read about Ornette Coleman - the great melody writer and improviser - and how he had dispensed with chord sequences in his compositions and instead used melody as the basis for improvisation.  This gave him the freedom to take those melodies in any direction he wanted at whatever length, pitch and speed felt right.  Knowing about this makes me feel a lot better and when I listen to Ornette's music I hear something similar to what I have in mind or hoped could be done.

I won't pretend to even begin to understand what Ornette Coleman was doing or how he heard and interpreted music, but knowing that such an important figure in the history of jazz did not rely on predetermined harmonic structure gives me some confidence that you can effectively improvise melodically without concern for the underlying or implied chords.  Now I just need to find other musicians who want to practice this type of playing.  Hello?  Anyone?  Is there anybody out there?  Maybe an upright bassist or a cello player is reading this?  I'm sending out smoke signals.

  

Is Music Theory a Science or a Religion?

Duh, it's a science.

Penn Jillette has said:

"If every trace of any single religion were wiped out and nothing were passed on, it would never be created exactly that way again. There might be some other nonsense in its place, but not that exact nonsense. If all of science were wiped out, it would still be true and someone would find a way to figure it all out again."

What Penn said is true and I feel the same way about music theory. It's just an attempt to explain what is already going on. The existing vocabulary we've been given to describe music is absolute, but it's not for everyone. It covers more than most of us need to know.

Which is why if you're feeling confused by music theory, I challenge you to find your own way of interpreting it. Try and really get to the essence of what this terminology is attempting to convey and then imagine that all existing knowledge of music theory has been wiped out and put those same concepts in your own thoughts or words.

I have sort of done this myself by applying a notation system that views all 12 "keys" universally as equals, and all 7 notes of the major scale as a sequence of diatonic numbers based on a tonal center, and the five remaining "blue notes" as raised or diminished diatonic number sounds ("dive" for a flat five note and "rive" for a sharp five note, for example).

This way of analyzing the notes of a universal scale makes it easy to transcribe.  Perhaps think of it like this:  most melodies in the key of C-major/ionian or its relatives (D-dorian, F-lydian, G-mixolydian, etc.) use only the white keys of a piano keyboard.  When they do use use a black key it is a "blue note".  In other words, some note in the major scale has been sharpened or flattened.

Now imagine if you could transpose the sound that comes out of the keyboard so that the white keys were A-B-C#-D-E-F#-G#-A and so on.  The same song played the same way would now come out in "A" instead of in "C".  If that melody in C had a "flat" 7th note that made B change to Bb, that same melody in A would mean that the "flat" note makes G# change to G natural. (G natural doesn't seem "flat", does it?!).  I would just call this note "dev" [diminished seven] regardless of key.  These are the building blocks of seeing it more universally.

As soon as you can start thinking of music theory in a way that (correctly) applies your own personal meaning to it, you'll understand the existing science that is music theory a whole lot better.

Five Questions with DeadPhish Orchestra's Paul Murin (High Country Guitar)

Paul Murin

Paul Murin is the guitarist for DeadPhish Orchestra, a tribute band that bridges the gap between the music of Phish and The Grateful Dead. He is also the creator of High Country Guitar, an online resource for guitar players interested in improvising and composing. His formal study has included the Jazz and Commercial Music program at the Lamont School of Music at the U. of Denver, where he graduated in 2002.

These qualifications mean that Paul knows as much about the music of Phish and the guitar playing of Trey Anastasio as anyone not named McConnell, Gordon, Fishman or Anastasio. Plus, he is approachable and affable. So, fortunately, he was happy to answer the following Phishy questions.

How does Phish’s improvisation differ from jazz improvisation? How is it similar? 
Well, if you're talking about the classic, bebop style of jazz improv, which most true jazz musicians are familiar with (and I, by the way, do not consider myself a jazz musician at all, although I have studied jazz fairly extensively), then I would say it's a LOT different. Jazz is very sophisticated, harmonically--chords tend to be complex, and there are usually a lot of them in a typical jazz piece. Phish's harmony tends to be much simpler, more in the vein of rock, blues, etc., and more static harmony and mode-based as opposed to improvising over a long series of chord changes.

However, jazz did take a turn for the simpler (largely thanks to Miles Davis) starting in the late '50s, and even more so in the 60's and 70's. The crazy-complicated chords of the bebop era got scrapped, and improvisation became more modal, and more groove-based. Here, I do think you could draw some parallels in Phish's improv style, and I would imagine the guys in Phish would cite much of this music as being influential. But Phish's influences come from a lot of places, and this is only one of them. 

Are there specific songs or performances that exemplify Phish’s improvisational style(s)?
I would look to some of their best-known jams as being exemplary. Like the 2013 "Tahoe Tweezer" or the "Tweezer > Prince Caspian" from the Magnaball Festival this summer. I guess some people call these "Type II" jams, though I'm frankly not 100% certain what that means, exactly. The jams start with the key and groove of the song, but before long they stretch out into different feels, and different keys and modalities. And they may or may not return to the original feel. 

I have noticed some interesting chord progressions in some of their newer songs--Waiting All Night has a really interesting chord progression for Trey's solo, as does Wingsuit and Halfway To The Moon. So it seems to me like they are trying to explore some new improvisational territory. 

Compositionally, are there any traits or themes you’ve noticed in Phish’s written music that you’d like to point out?
Off the top of my head, one thing that I see frequently in Trey's older compositions is that a melody will be cycled through several different keys. It happens in David Bowie, Golgi Apparatus, Squirming Coil, Foam, etc.--the same melody played in several different keys. Sometimes there will be slight variations, making things less predictable. 

Another "trick" that you see is that phrases will sometimes be odd lengths. Normally stuff happens in twos, fours, etc., but in Mango Song, for example, each phrase is 5 measures long. And in Runaway Jim, the phrases of the guitar solo are 3 measures long. Again, I think this makes things a little less predictable. 

As a musician, what is the biggest thing you’ve learned by listening to Phish?
They taught me that it's worthwhile to get as good as you can at your instrument, and to never stop learning and improving. 

How might one go about incorporating some of Phish’s writing style and improvisational techniques into his or her own music?
That's actually a tough one--I was in a band in my 20's that was heavily influenced by Phish in our songwriting, and when I listen to it now, it mostly just sounds like second-rate Phish to me. So you do have to be careful, if you're influenced by Phish, not to make that influence too direct. Instead I would recommend reading up on the guys in the band and looking at the music that influenced them. Absorb some of that stuff, as well as the other music that you love. Study it all (at least a little bit), learn to play as much of it as you can. And as you do that, hopefully your own voice develops out of it.

Notating Tunes as Numbers from the Major Scale

In David Reed's book Improvise for Real he uses a numeric method to notate melodies based on the major scale.  This method of writing out music doesn't require a key signature or sharps or flats; it sees all scales as relative, as equals. (The only time a sharp or flat is needed is when a note lies outside the major scale and is therefore "sharper" or "flatter" than the 7 notes of the major scale).

When you write out a melody this way it shows where the notes are found within the (universal) major scale, making it easier to play it in any key on your instrument.  It also allows you to notice patterns or commonalities that you might not otherwise notice when you segregate tunes by key.

For example, I noticed the occurrence of a sharpened 5th note in several of the Caribbean melodies I've been learning, especially those with a minorish sound.  This may be an indication of a dominant 3rd chord which creates tension that is ultimately released by the 6 chord (a minor chord), in much the same way that the naturally dominant chord (the 5 chord) creates tension that is then resolved when it goes to the 1 chord.  In other words, 5 is to 1 as 3 is to 6.

To provide an example of this numeric notating I have chosen Old Joe Clark because it is both simple enough and weird enough to be good fodder for analysis.  Old Joe Clark is what old-timers call a "modal" tune, which basically means that its tonal center is based on a note other than note 1 of the major scale.  However, the notes of the major scale are still 100% present in Old Joe Clark...it just places more emphasis on notes 2 and notes 5 of the major scale than note 1, as you can see in the numeric transcription below.

Old Joe Clark numeric transcription

The melody to Old Joe Clark begins with notes 2, 3, 4, 3 and 2, 1, 7 of the major scale.  If you were placing this in the G-major scale (which is where Old Joe Clark typically resides, believe it or not) those notes would be A, B, C, A and A, G, F#.  I interpreted the melody as starting on note 2 of the major scale because that interpretation allows for all the notes to lie within the major scale.  The height of the number shows whether the melody is going up or down.  As Reed says, this helps avoid confusion when the melody crosses the octave line.

The brilliant thing about notating the melody in this way is that it makes all keys relative, so with a little practice you could just as easily play Old Joe Clark in any of the 12 keys simply by knowing where the notes of each of the major scales fall - in any position - on your instrument.  I am thinking of adopting this notation method for many of the tunes I am learning.  It provides significant insight into the construction of melodies.

Transposing from Major to Phrygian (Rakes of Mallow in Ionian and Phrygian)

Most fiddle tunes are either in Ionian (AKA the major scale, mode 1), Dorian (AKA "modal", AKA "minor", mode 2) or Mixolydian (AKA "modal", mode 5), and sometimes Aeolian (AKA "minor", mode 6).  You don't see many in Phrygian (mode 3), Lydian (mode 4) or Locrian (mode 7), if at all. So, I wondered what it would sound like to transpose* a tune from major/Ionian - the most common and normal sounding of all keys - to Phrygian - a weird, exotic minor mode.

*Is there a more proper term than "transpose" for when you move a melody from one mode to another?

For this experiment I chose the Irish tune Rakes of Mallow because a) it's in the key of G, b) it's a relatively simple tune and c) it was the first tune I thought of!  To do this I had to get the music theory part of my brain working.  I knew that Phrygian was the mode starting on the 3rd note of the major scale, so in other words the G-major scale from B to B (B-C-D-E-F#-G-A-B) would be B-Phrygian.

Rakes of Mallow in G-major

Rakes of Mallow in G-Phrygian

I then made note of those intervals and transposed from B-Phrygian to G-Phrygian.  Those notes are G-Ab-Bb-C-D-Eb-F-G. (FYI: these are the same notes as the Eb-major scale starting on its 3rd note).  I suppose another way of looking at it is, to go from Ionian to Phrygian you flatten the 2nd, 3rd, 6th and 7th notes of the major scale.  I already had Rakes of Mallow written out in mandolin tab in G-major.  Based on that, I wrote it out in G-Phrygian, making sure to convert every A to Ab, every B to Bb, every E to Eb and every F# to F.  Those mandolin tab transcriptions are included above.

Another interesting thing to point out is how the chords changed.  Knowing that the G-Phrygian mode is really just the Eb-major scale starting on its 3rd note, I know that the G-Phrygian mode would use the exact same chords as the Eb-major scale.  (The I chord in Phrygian is the III chord in Major, the II chord in Phrygian is the IV chord in Major, and so on).  Using that logic, I think I wrote out the correct chords in the G-Phrygian version of Rakes of Mallow.

Rakes of Mallow is easy to play in G-major but very difficult and unusual feeling in G-Phrygian, partly because on a tenor banjo in the Irish tuning of GDAE you don't get to use any open strings when playing this melody in G-Phrygian.  (I bet if I had put it in B-Phrygian it would have been much easier because those are the same notes as the G-major scale).  But, I will say that by putting it in the Phrygian mode - with its half step between the 1st and 2nd notes of its scale - the tune takes on an almost Greek or Klezmer sound.

Listen and see what you think!

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Characteristics of the Different Musical Keys

Some say that each musical key evokes a different feeling. For example...

C major

The most translucent. Innocent, pure and naive, like the whispers of children. As fresh and natural as an untouched virgin. Stark naked and elementary.

C minor

The sorrow of love lost hangs heavy and faint, echoing the despondent yearning of vacant souls.

Db major

A purple sonorous sinking ecstasy. Witnessing the changes of the moon, howling internally beneath outward silence. Breaths taken become invisible, then vanish into consequences.

Db minor

A bleeding bestial intercourse with the celestial mountain. Dashed hopes of enlightenment.

D major

The smell of victory, proudly yellow and magnificent. An exultation of mirth basking in the wake of its many accomplishments.

D minor

The feminine whims of an orthodox gloom. Gathering platelets and filtering plasma.

Eb major

Dreaming of the cherished sinews. Unforgiving in its nature of brutal adherence.

Eb minor

Anxious dismay of the darkest woe. Hesitating when it should advance, persisting when it should fail. The realm of the phantom.

E major

Crying out an exultation of unfulfilled pleasure. Its intent is your sky blue. Magnificent splendor. Rising above the arguments of the day.

E minor

An uneasy grumbling abated only by the reciprocation of its flame. Attracted to grief, nostalgic for the beefing.

F major

Comfortable in its own skin yet easily agitated. In accord with the deep red luxury of existence.

F minor

Thrilling, chilling and ready to attack. Not satisfied with its position. Looking for the proxy.

F# major

Climbing the forged signature embedded in its foundation. Decisively subjugating the copycats. Responding savagely to fancied slights.

F# minor

Dog bitten but well dressed. Speaking to audience of foiled firebrands.

G major

Blooming in isolation but not out of touch. Thankful for the immortal bond. Projecting agreeable satisfaction.

G minor
Resentful of its missed opportunities. Biting at will. Acting out at predestined schema.

Ab major

Corpse-like with infinity reflected in its pupils. Scanning the horizon for any signs of decay.

Ab minor

Confined to a sticky steam bath until it can no longer gasp or blow. Escaping to even greater panic.

A major

A fulfilled promise returned to its point of origin. Affirming the ever-present state of serenity.

A minor

The clerical order belies a hidden delicate center. It is and isn't what it seems to be.

Bb major

In command of its ethos and optimistic of the future. No need to let go, no need to remain.

Bb minor

A living, mortal thing. Cloaked in the shadow of the eventide. Surrounded by expressionless self-destruction.

B major

The strongest intensity composed of blatant indignation. At every turn the task is omnipresent.

B minor

The key of restraint, expectant of the allotted portions. Losing nothing because it hasn't acquired.

Are You A Sharp Person or Do You Like to B Flat?

People who play music that is most often in sharp keys tend to think of those keys as being the easiest. Those who play wind instruments prefer flat keys. Piano players fall right down the middle with their attraction to the key of C (all white keys - no flats or sharps). What it boils down to is the keys that people are most comfortable playing in are those where the chords or scales are easiest (most common) on the instrument(s) of choice in that style or genre. That might be D for Irish, E for The Blues or Bb for Trumpet Rock.

I don’t want to be one of those people who sees G as being easy but Eb as being hard, for example. I want to see them as equals. When working on an arrangement or interpretation of a tune I’m mindful of running it in different keys, different octaves, different positions and different fingerings. Was that an Irish jig, a free jazz freakout or a downstairs mixup? Who knows? Who cares???

Basically, I am striving to play stuff in as many different ways as I can think of, while understanding the “similarities” of each different way. I can easily spend a whole evening doing this with just one tune or one or A-part or even one phrase. As a result, I am having more fun than ever before practicing/playing music.

The Four Types of Chords - Major, Minor, Dominant and Minor-Flat-5

I have heard people say that there are only three – or maybe four – different types of chords (major, minor, dominant...) but I never really understood this until I started reading the book Improvise for Real by David Reed.  What I’ve written below is in my own words from my own perspective, but it’s based on what I am learning in David’s fascinating book. (anything said incorrectly is my doing!).

A Major Chord is like the notes 1 – 3 – 5 – 7 of the major scale.  (notes 4 – 6 – 1 – 3 also follow this same pattern).

A Minor Chord is like notes 2 – 4 – 6 – 1 of the major scale.  (notes 3 – 5 – 7 – 2 and notes 6 – 1 – 3 – 5 also follow this same pattern).

A Dominant Chord is like notes 5 – 7 – 2 – 4 of the major scale.

A Minor-Flat-5 Chord is like notes 7 – 2 – 4 – 6 of the major scale. 

this image has nothing to do with this article!

I like to think of these patterns as miniature scales to be plucked as single-notes, rather than as a stacked grouping of notes to be strummed simultaneously.  Within these chords are the intervals of a half step, a whole step, a minor third (a whole + half step) and a major third (a whole + whole step).

To get a better sense of the differences between these chords, play a G note on your instrument and assume that it is note 1 or note 4 of the major scale.  Now play notes G – B – D – F#.  That is the sound of a major chord.

Now play a G note on your instrument and assume that it is note 2, note 3 or note 6 of the major scale.  Then play notes G – Bb – D – F.  That is the sound of a minor chord.

Now play a G note on your instrument and assume that it is note 5 of the major scale.  Then play notes G – B – D – F.  That is the sound a dominant chord.

Now play a G note on your instrument and assume that it is note 7 of the major scale.  Then play notes G – Bb – Db – F.  That is the sound of a minor-flat-5 chord.

Does that make sense?

For the dominant chord you played G-B-D-F.  You can also play that arpeggio starting on different notes of the chord, such as B-D-F-G or D-F-G-B or F-G-B-D.  You can also in reverse/descending order: F-D-B-G.  Each of these inversions conveys the sound of the dominant chord.

Try applying this same inversion formula to the major, minor and minor-flat-5 chords.

The Dual Roles of the Notes Used in Irish Traditional Music

The majority of Irish session tunes use the notes found in either the D-major or G-major scale, even when the tonal center is E, A or B. 

For example…

The note D is usually going to be either the 1^st note of the D scale or the 5^th note of the G scale.  It’s not unusual for a tune to have D as its tonal center but be using the G scale (i.e. Tatter Jack Walsh, Rakish Paddy, Star Above the Garter).  More on this later.

The note E is either the 2^nd note of the D scale or the 6th of the G scale.  Without going too far down the path of chords, which is a loose concept in Irish music, those two chord E-minor/D-major tunes like Cooley’s Reel and Swallowtail Jig can be thought of as using the II chord and the I chord of the D-scale, with the II chord (E-minor) being the “home” chord and the I chord (D-major) being the “away” chord.  That’s better than thinking of the E-minor chord as the I chord and the D-major chord as some kind of flattened VII chord.

The note F# is either the 3^rd note of the D scale or the 7^th note of the G scale.

The note G is either the 4^th note of the D scale or the 1^st note of the G scale.

The note A is either the 5^th note of the D scale or the 2^nd note of the G scale.  Those “two chord” A-minor/G-major tunes like Mist Covered Mountain and Congress Reel are using G-scale notes (A-Dorian), just like how those E-minor/D-major tunes are using D-scale notes (E-Dorian). 

The note B is either the 6^th note of the D scale or the 3^rd note of the G scale.  You occasionally have tunes like Musical Priest or Connaughtman’s Rambles that have B as the tonal center for portions of the melody, and/or modulate from B to D.  That’s usually an indication that B is acting as the 6^th note of the D scale.

The note C does not reside in the D scale, but it is the 4^th note of the G scale.  When you encounter a tune like Tatter Jack Walsh which resolves to D but has that prominent C-chord, you’re actually working within the G-scale.  The D-major chord in Tatter Jack Walsh, even though it is the “home” chord, is acting as a V chord, while the C-major chord, even though it can be seen as the “away” chord, is functioning as a IV chord.  These are characteristics of D-mixolydian, which is simply the G-major scale starting on its 5^th note.

The note C# is the 7^th note of the D scale.  It does not exist in the G-major scale, proper. However, C# does seem to be one of those notes that can sometimes be used in place of a C-natural note in a modal tune at the discretion of the melody player.  The presence of a C# in a tune like The High Reel is an indication that it is in A-mixolydian - the same notes as the D scale – meaning that the C# is serving as the 7^th note of the D scale.

This is kind of a hard concept to describe, but it gets clearer the more you think about it.  Basically, most tunes use either the D scale (resolving to either the 1^st note D, the 2^nd note E, the 5^th note A or the 6^th note B) or the G scale (resolving to either the 1^st note G, the 2^nd note A, the 5^th note D or the 6^th note E).  It’s also worth noting that the tonal centers D, E and A show up in both the D and G scales, and that both scales use all the same notes except for C or C#.  

Closed Position Scale Fingerings for Tenor Banjo

I took some lessons a while back from Dennis Elliott, who is one of the best stringed-instrument teachers in the Richmond, VA area.  Fiddle, mandolin, guitar, bass, bluegrass, jazz, classical, theory - Dennis knows it all!

Dennis really helped me understand scale patterns by teaching a closed position scale fingering method for mandolin.  In a nutshell, this was basically:

Scale notes 1-2-3-4 (and 5-6-7-1) use a "whole-whole-half" pattern w/ fingers 1,2,3,4.
Scale notes 2-3-4-5 (and 6-7-1-2) use a "whole-half-whole" pattern w/ fingers 1,2,3,4.

Scale notes 3-4-5-6 (and 7-1-2-3) use a "half-whole-whole" pattern w/ fingers 1,2,3,4.

Scale notes 4-5-6-7 use a "whole-whole-whole" pattern w/ fingers 1,2,3,4.

This works great for mandolin, but on tenor banjo some of those stretches and reaches are damn near impossible to do.  So, I kind of ignored that method for tenor banjo since for Irish music you usually play in first position utilizing open strings, and I prefer a cello/guitar fingering of one-finger-per-fret.

But, to play in closed positions up the neck on tenor banjo you do need to figure this kind of thing out.  Just this morning I searched and found an archived 2010 forum topic on Banjo Hangout on 'Scale Fingerings for Tenor' where Andrew Roblin added a comment that happened to summarize Buddy Wachter's approach to this tenor banjo fingering dilemma.  I've indicated in red text where this fingering approach differs from what Dennis showed me for mandolin.

Scale notes 1-2-3-4 (and 5-6-7-1) use fingers 1,2,4,4*
Scale notes 2-3-4-5 (and 6-7-1-2) use fingers 1,2,3,4.

Scale notes 3-4-5-6 (and 7-1-2-3) use fingers 1,1,2,4.

Scale notes 4-5-6-7 use fingers 1,2,4,1 -- the last note in that 4-5-6-7 pattern is on the next higher string.

Roblin explained that in Buddy's method he slides with only the 1st and 4th fingers, and avoids whole steps between the middle finger and the ring finger because it is too awkward.  Further analysis may be needed to figure out work arounds for all of the potential occasions when a whole step might fall between fingers 2 and 3.

*I'm assuming that 1,2,4,4 would be Buddy Wachter's fingering pattern for closed scale notes 1-2-3-4. In Andrew's explanation of Buddy's technique, this is the only closed position example he left out.

Mnemonic for Remembering Music Modes - I Don't Punch Like Muhammad Ali

When I transcribe a melody I try I like to determine which of the 7 "church" modes it might be using based on the notes I am hearing. There is a mnemonic for remembering these modes - I Don't Punch Like Muhammed Ali.  I learned it in an online music theory class taught by the University of Edinburgh Reid School of Music.

In other words, that's I (Ionian) Don't (Dorian) Punch (Phrygian) Like (Lydian) Muhammad (Mixolydian) A (Aeolian) li (Locrian).  Since there are two modes that start with L I try and remember that Locrian comes last.  Another one that works is I Don't Play Loud Music Any Longer.

So what do these modes mean?  I like to think of them in terms of the major scale.  Let's use the C-major (Ionian) scale since it doesn't have any sharps or flats.

Ionian = the notes from the major scale starting on the 1st scale degree: CDEFGAB.
Dorian = the notes from the major scale starting on the 2nd scale degree: DEFGABC.
Phrygian = the notes from the major scale starting on the 3rd scale degree: EFGABCD.
Lydian = the notes from the major scale starting on the 4th scale degree: FGABCDE.
Mixolydian = the notes from the major scale starting on the 5th scale degree: GABCDEF.
Aeolian = the notes from the major scale starting on the 6th scale degree: ABCDEFG.
Locrian = the notes from the major scale starting on the 7th scale degree: BCDEFGA.

Using the above scenario, if a tune doesn't have any sharps or flats but has G as the tonal center, then it's G-Mixolydian.  If if doesn't have any sharps or flats and you feel like D is the tonal center, then it could be D-Dorian.

I used this same methodology when transcribing a melodic portion of the Phish song Horn this week. In the first 30-seconds of the instrumental section that begins after the lyrics are done, I only heard a flattened note once - a Bb - that I treated as an accidental. The rest of the melody was using notes from the C-major scale, although the tonal center of the melody was either G or D. It definitely wasn't C. So I determined for now that the first several bars of of that 2-minute end section of Horn are using either the G-Mixolydian or D-Dorian mode.

More often than not melodies do have lots of sharps (or flats!), so to determine the mode you have think in terms of scale intervals - whole steps, half steps...that kind of thing. As you are transcribing a melody, determine its tonal center.  The tonal center is the root note; the note it wants to keep going back to. Once you have the tonal center you can determine the scale/mode based on the other notes being used. For example, a tune using the notes G,A,B,C,D,E,F# with an emphasis on E it would be in E-Aeolian (E-minor).

Once you have the tonal center established, it's really important to pay attention to where the 3rd and 7th scale degrees fall. Is the 3rd major or minor?  Is the 7th scale degree flattened? Where those two scale degrees fall plays a big part in determining a tune's mode.

Phish Music Theory Discussion

Phish in the practice room, Las Vegas, NV, 10/31/14

On Halloween day, I took a look at the forum on Phish.net, a Phish fan site, to see if there were any leaks about what Phish’s Halloween set would be later that night.  As usual, the secret was well-kept, but I did find this interesting thread about Phish’s use of music theory, started by a user named DownWithDaBreeze.

Here are some of the responses.  LOTS of good information here!:

GhostBuster

It's fairly easy to pick up a shift from a major key to minor or vice versa. A good example is almost every Ghost in 3.0. The song itself is in A minor and the jam starts off there but then goes into a major key. My favorite example is 12/31/10, check out the video below - the change from major to minor happens just around 6:45. If you can't pick it up as it happens, listen to part of the jam in the beginning and then skip towards the end, it’s night and day.  The way this usually works is knowing about relative minor keys, which are keys that have the same key signature (or set of notes) as a corresponding major key so that Ghost jam's minor key is A and relative major key is C.

Now picking up between keys (like from A major to E major) is a bit more difficult for me to do because the feel of the sound doesn't change like from a major to minor shift, just the tones change, however it’s not too hard to pick up. I can usually pick up a key change because it just sounds different. A great example is Tweezer (in A) vs. Tweezer Reprise (in D).  There’s some difference other than the key like tempo, but basically Reprise is more energizing because it’s in a higher key. But this is hard to figure out usually I don't know what key(s) they switch to unless I'm very familiar with the song or I have my guitar in front of me.

kipmat

Mike takes advantage of the relationship between A minor and C major by playing the C note while Trey and Page are still in A minor, and this creates tension in the jamming, which is resolved by Trey and Page following Mike to C major.  It sounds different because of the notes they are choosing to emphasize in the scale (creating that tension), and also because changing the emphasis of the notes will affect other aspects of the music, like volume, timbre, or rhythm (Fishman isn't playing notes, but he listens to the others so well that he will change what he plays to follow the key changes). Since '97, whenever the band changes keys mid-jam, it's almost always Mike's bass note "substitutions" making it happen. 

Some popular examples:
- Wolfman's Brother from Slip Stich & Pass - song starts in Bb (B flat) major, modulates to G minor
- the 7/29/98 Riverport Gin - main song and Trey's solo are in C major, Mike's solo is in A minor, which morphs into A dominant (A7)

Another of Mike's modulation "tricks" is to start playing a perfect 4th above or below the starting note. 
- the 6/3/11 Clarkston DWD starts in A dominant, but the "A Love Supreme" jam happens once the band modulates up to D dominant.
- Golden Age from 7/18/14 Northerly Island is in C dominant, but the band quickly modulates to G dominant and stays there for about 10 minutes of goodness.

GhostBuster 

To really explain it we have to get into the modes.  Trey is basically a master of the modes and switching between them which I believe he is doing in this Ghost, and most Phish songs really.  I’m still a novice when it comes to these, but I understand them to some extent.  So for that Ghost they are in the key of C major which has 7 modes each with a root note based in the C major scale, each mode has the same notes as the C major scale, only the root note is different, as are the intervals between notes that are used to build the scale. THIS is what really gives them their unique sound. So in the Ghost, Trey (and I assume the rest of the band) starts off the jam using the A Aeolian mode, which is the same as the natural minor scale.  A is the 6th note in the C major scale and Aeolian is the 6th mode, this is also why A is the natural minor to C major, the 6th note in any major scale is the natural minor/aeolian mode. Then as @kipmat pointed out which I hadn't noticed Mike starts focusing on the C note - signaling a shift to the C Ionian mode which is the same as the major scale. 

This stuff is definitely confusing and I still struggle with incorporating it into my playing. But shifting from one mode to another is a great and impressive skill to have. It can allow for changes that are smooth and not so obvious, Like in this Ghost, while there is a definite switch between sounds as they go from A Aeolian to C Ionian the transition is very smooth and somewhat subtle if you aren't looking for the change. 

popsgordon123

To put it more simply C Major (or C Ionian as it is called modally), D Dorian, E Phrygian, F Lydian, G Mixolydian, A Aeolian and B Locrian all contain the same notes. No matter what you do with these modes they will also always contain the same notes. Now the difference between them is the "tonal center" which is the first note of the mode (ex. D dorian the tonal center is D) and this note is what gives them their unique sound. Some of these modes give a more minor sound (Dorian, Phrygian, Aeolian, Locrian), some will have a major sound (Ionian, Lydian) and some a dominant sound (Mixolydian). Phish sometimes utilizes multiple modes which they vamp on (Reba) and sometime will only play over one for a prolonged period of time (Ghost). The way that Phish modulates is by shifting their tonal center as has been stated before, but also they will change modes using the same tonal center but a different modal structure (ex. in Ghost they often modulate from C major to C mixolydian, which is accomplished by flattening the 7th scale degree of C major in the case B becomes Bb). Playing modally is one of the easier methods of improvisation, but to be good at it you have to listen to the other members of the group and rely on insinuating chord changes rather than actually changing chords (Page does this most often by changing the inversion of the chord he is playing, thus emphasizing a different note in the chord).

zound 

One thing I wanted to bring up - traditional western musical theory is not the only way to master complex musical forms (as found in the Phish). Don't take it for granted that this is the only approach to music even though it works for a ton of people, it's also important to do some experimenting around how your mind best retains and processes information. Perhaps you work better with visual patterns on the fretboard, or 'hear' scales/chords/modes instead of assigning them a theoretical equivalent.

The one piece of the puzzle that never lets up is that it's a ton of work to build up the mad skillz you need to write/improvise/groove on a high level. Find your system and stick with it for years, push yourself to do a ton of ear training and improvising with other musicians. Phish plays the way they do because of their work ethic and commitment to creative music, not because they have mastered theory (OK maybe there is a teeny bit of natural talent in the mix as well...).

Lephty

I'm at a cheapass hotel in Vegas right now, so I can't get the above video to stream, but I do know that a lot of Ghost jams end up in D mixolydian. The jam starts in A dorian, which has the exact same notes as D mixolydian (both are derived from the G major scale--G A B C D E F# G). As mentioned above, it's pretty much Mike's bass line that determines the actual mode--when he starts hanging more around the D than the A, the "color" of the jam changes. Trey & Page will pick up on it and respond by playing phrases around the D instead of the original A minor--although they're still basically using the same 7 notes.

The jam could most definitely wind up in C major too, which is indeed the relative major of Am (there's a world-class Tweezer from Auburn Hills ‘97 that comes to mind that does exactly this). The only difference, in this case, would be that the mode has an F in it instead of an F#. Obviously these guys have been doing this long enough and have good enough ears to pick up on a subtle change like that. And they don't have to pick up on it instantly--some ambiguity is totally fine while they all feel around for something to lock in on.

I don't normally come straight out and plug my website here, but the "modes workshop" and the lessons on the CAGED system on my website are pretty much exactly what you're looking for. Also there are a ton of Phish tabs & lessons. FYI you'll have to register to get to the lessons but registration is free & instant and I promise I won't spam you.  HighCountryGuitar.com

mattbillionaire

This sort of combines the stuff that @kipmat and @popsgordon123 said above.

In most Phish's jams, you can break it down to 2 basic ways that they tend to modulate between modes: relative modulation & parallel modulations. There are countless books written on this stuff, but I'll try to trim it down to just one post on .net.

Relative modulations are when the root note changes, but the pool of notes in the scale stays the same (I.E. A Dorian -> D Mixolydian).
Most people learn the modes the way it sounds like @ghostbuster is getting into it. Learn the major scale (let's use C major as an example). When you start that same scale on D instead of C, you end up playing a D Dorian scale... different root chord (D minor vs C major), same pool of notes for the scale. That's the basic idea of relative modulation. Using 3.0 Ghosts as an example, it's pretty common (especially this past summer) for the band to use a relative modulation to go from the type 1 funk vamp into type 2 bliss territory. They start the jam out in A Dorian (A, B, C, D, E, F#, G) to kick off the type 1 portion. They move into the bliss section by jumping up to D Mixolydian (D, E, F#, G, A, B, C). They haven't changed the pool of notes, but by moving up to D, the root chord moves from A minor to D major, giving it that happy and uplifting feeling. As a side-note... relative modulation is also the basis for the chord scale theory of jazz improv, which a lot of improv methods fall back on. If you play guitar/bass, knowing the relative modes is essential to opening up the fretboard and getting out of those box scale shapes on the root.

Just to break down the relative modulations farther, here's how it would work across the 7 modes using the same pool of notes from the generic 2014 Ghost example above. The first note in each mode is the root, but the individual notes are all the same.

G Ionian: G, A, B, C, D, E, F#
A Dorian: A, B, C, D, E, F#, G
B Phrygian: B, C, D, E, F#, G, A
C Lydian: C, D, E, F#, G, A, B
D Mixolydian: D, E, F#, G, A, B, C
E Aeloian: E, F#, G, A, B, C, D
F Locrian: F#, G, A, B, C, D, E

Depending on the goal of the jam, Phish could modulate to any of those modes simply by changing the root chord (just build the triad from the notes to find the appropriate root chord... Mixolydian would be D, F#, A... D major). Each mode is going to have a different feel even though the notes are the same. It's the tonal center (root chord) that is making them sound different.

Parallel modulations happen when the root note of the scale stays the same, but the pool of notes in the scale changes (I.E. C Mixolydian -> C Dorian). Parallel modulations can be a little harder for a band to pull off without it sounding completely jarring. This is because of the fact that you're changing the pool of notes that you're working with. One of the more common ways Phish does this is when Trey leads the band from a major-sounding Mixolydian jam into a bluesy Dorian jam. There are plenty of DwD's that dive from D Mixolydian into D Dorian as soon as Trey lays down a big blues riff. There are countless other times where the band slips back and forth between parallel modes without being so up front about it, so the above was just one example. 

I think the idea of modulating between parallel modes is where people tend to feel like they're getting in over their heads with this stuff. It can be daunting to try to think about what notes you'd need to change to modulate between 2 parallel modes. Look at how we tend to learn them. We go in order of appearance in the Ionian scale, and we end up jumping all over the place as far as adding sharps and flats goes. I'll use C major as the starting point for simplicity.

C Ionian: C, D, E, F, G, A, B
C Dorian: C, D, Eb, F, G, A, Bb
C Phrygian: C, Db, Eb, F, G, Ab, Bb
C Lydian: C, D, E, F#, G, A, B
C Mixolydian: C, D, E, F, G, A, Bb
C Aeloian: C, D, Eb, F, G, Ab, Bb
C Locrian: C, Db, Eb, F, Gb, Ab, Bb

Seriously... it's hard to think of a logical way to think of modulating on the fly when it just looks like a jumble of flats and sharps being added. As soon as someone told me to reorganize the modes into the circle of 5ths instead of learning them in the traditional order, the lightbulb turned on in my head. So if we reorganize the list above starting with the Lydian mode, the list will be set up in order most uplifting sounding mode at the top to the darkest mode at the bottom. The biggest advantage to looking at it this way is that you only have to change one note at a time as you go down the list.

C Lydian: C, D, E, F#, G, A, B
C Ionian: C, D, E, F, G, A, B (flat 4th)
C Mixolydian: C, D, E, F, G, A, Bb (flat 4th, 7th)
C Dorian: C, D, Eb, F, G, A, Bb (flat 4th, 7th, 3rd)
C Aeloian: C, D, Eb, F, G, Ab, Bb (flat 4th, 7th, 3rd, 6th)
C Phrygian: C, Db, Eb, F, G, Ab, Bb (flat 4th, 7th, 3rd, 6th, 2nd)
C Locrian: C, Db, Eb, F, Gb, Ab, Bb (flat 4th, 7th, 3rd, 6th, 2nd, 5th)

NOW it starts to make some logical sense, because you can start to look at modulations by changing only one note at a time. Moving between adjacent modes keeps the thought process to a minimum because you're only changing one note. More importantly, it keeps the modulation from sounding too jarring, because you're not changing a bunch of notes at once. It's also easier for the band as a whole to slip from one mode to another if they only have to change one note. As a bonus, if Phish is jamming in Dorian, the band can make a pretty educated guess that any parallel modulation is going to be to Aeolian or Mixolydian. That cuts the likely options down considerably, which is pretty helpful in improv. This is also one reason why Phish jams are so heavily based on Dorian and Mixolydian. It's a very easy and smooth way to make a parallel modulation between major and minor based modes. 

There are plenty of other ways Phish keeps jams interesting, some of which go way over my head, but relative/parallel modulation is a BIG one. When you hear key changes in a jam, it's most likely a relative modulation or a parallel modulation to one of the adjacent modes in the list that was reorganized by the circle of 5ths.

Flavaham

Some good stuff in here for sure. I'll second Lephty's site. Lots of good stuff on there.

Some people started getting into modes a bit. There's a lot of mud in how they can be presented though. For starters, I might back off on that and go first to chord tones. Learn chords EVERYWHERE on the neck. Almost every Phish tune has a progression that they improvise over. If you can grab chord tones from each one then you're good to go. The non-chord tones don't matter at that point as far as scales/modes. Any note is fair as long as there is resolution to a chord tone. 

Start simple. Just chord tones. Maybe stay in one position on the neck. Once you are comfortable there, challenge yourself to shift up a few frets and find some more chord tones. You don't have to play a ton here. Just make sure you are choosing the right notes! Once you're comfortable with all of this, start to grab a note that is one fret above or below a chord tone and go back to the chord tone. Hear that resolution! Next, look for common tones between changes and notes that will be a whole step apart. Use the note between the whole step as a chromatic passing tone. It can go on quite a bit from here. You can approach any chord tone from a half step above or below it. I can't think of any exceptions off hand.

These are some things that I've done to try to get into the theory of it. You'll start to hear the functions of each chord and where each note wants to resolve. You'll want to know where the chords are diatonic (belonging to the same scale) and when two chords are derived from different scales, but if you've got the chords down, the scales can be less important (sometimes).

As I said, most of their tunes are progressions. Take ACDC Bag. The chords are A C D C F A G. Don't worry about a scale. Just play the notes from each chord. Sample In a Jar - A C G D A E Em D. Right away you can figure that the A and C chords are not diatonic because A (major) has a C# in it. C major does not. (Obviously, because it's C!). However, C G and D all come from the same scale. So, if you want, you can use a G major scale over all of these, but you really want to emphasize chord tones still. G D and A can also come from the same scale (D major or a relative mode depending on root emphasis). This gives you two options for scales over the G and D. Next, D A and E come from the A major scale. More options there. E and Em obviously don't come from the same scale but Em and D can. The first E (major) is linked to the chords above it. The Em has more in common with the chord that follows, D. That's from D major or E Dorian. Maybe a little confusing at first but when you've done this stuff for years and years it gets a lot easier.

At Last! Phonetic/Numeric Names for All Twelve Musical Notes

There are phonetic solfège names for all 12 musical notes.  These are hard to intuit and differ when ascending vs. descending.  For example:

Ascending = doh, dee, ray, ree, mee, fah, fee, sol, see, lah, lee, tee, doh.

Descending = doh, tee, tay, lah, lay, sol, say, fah, mee, may, ray, rah, doh.

You may have noticed that each of these scales contains "doh, ray, mee, fah, sol, lah, tee, doh" and "doh, tee, lah, sol, fah, mee, ray, doh".  This is the major or Ionian scale, made familiar by the Sound of Music.  The five notes that fall in between these major scale notes are the ones that get the different names going up and going down,depending on whether they are being flattened or sharpened.  (Whenever you're using a scale other than that major scale, you're going to have one or more of these other notes in the scale.)

I think I've finally come up with a handy dandy, easy to grasp alternative to the more conventional method.  Here goes:

Use the major scale as the home base and assign a numeric name to each note.  So "doh, ray, mee, fah, sol, lah, tee, doh" becomes "one, two, three, four, five, six, sev, one", and "doh, tee, lah, sol, fah, mee, ray, doh" becomes "one, sev, six, five, four, three, two, one".  That seems easier to understand and remember, especially when descending.

Let's use the C-major scale as an example.  The notes are one (C), two (D), three (E), four (F), five (G), six (A), sev (B), one/eight (C).  When you need to raise (AKA "sharpen") any of those notes, use a word that rhymes with the note number you are sharpening and add an "r" sound in front of it (r for "raised"). Raised two (D#) = roo, raised four (F#) = ror, raised five (G#) = rive, and raised six (A#) = rix.  (Note: you probably wouldn't raise the one - you would diminish the two; you probably wouldn't raise the three because that's already four, and you probably wouldn't raise the sev because that's already one, but there may be situations that call for this).

When you need to diminish (AKA"flatten") any of those notes in the major scale, use a word that rhymes with the note number you are flattening and add a "d" sound in front of it (d for "diminished").  Again, in the key of C major, diminished two (Db) = doo, diminished three (Eb) = dee, diminished five (Gb) = dive, diminished six (Ab) = dix, and diminished sev (Bb) = dev.  (Note: diminished four is the same as three, diminished one is the same as sev).

More often than not, you're going to be flattening/diminishing notes in the major scale rather than sharpening/raising them.  However, the Lydian scale contains a raised four: one, two, three, ror, five, six, sev, one.  For an exotic example of a scale with flattened/diminished notes, try playing the Greek Hitzaz scale (a scale I just learned about this morning).  The Hitzaz scale contains a flattened two, flattened six and flattened seven:  one, doo, three, four, five, dix, dev, one.  That large scalar interval between doo and three - Db to E in the scale of C - is what gives the Hitzaz scale a distinctive, Mediterranean sound to our Western ears.

Once you understand this concept, you'll have a phonetic/numeric name for any note in any melody, based on its relation to the "one".  The benefits of defining it this way are endless.  It's as if you didn't have a name for the colors red, orange and pink, but now suddenly do.  When you have a word for red it becomes more tangible and distinct from orange and pink.

Numeric Solfege - Another Way of Naming the Notes in a Scale

What is easier to grasp musically?  The notion of "three, five, one" or "mi, sol, re"?

Numbers seem more innate than the do re mi solfege syllables, especially when trying to recite the do ti, la backwards or remember the one-syllable solfege terms for the five accidental notes that - when added to the major scale - make up the chromatic scale.  Some type of numeric solfege could make the names of the 12 potential notes in a scale more easily understood.

The nice thing about solfege is that it consists one-syllable sounds that roll off the tongue for singing and ear training.  Numbers may not be quite as singable, but all numbers between 1 and 8 are also one syllable except for seven, but you can drop the second syllable and make that number “sev” to keep with the one syllable consistency.  But, what names do you use for the five accidental notes  Obviously, flattened-third and flat-five won't do.

Try this.  All accidentals in the major scale can be thought of as flattened notes.  The word “diminished” is kind of another word for “flat”.  So, to keep the one syllable numeric theme, instead of saying flattened-third (b3) or flat-five (b5), you can simply say “dee” for flat-third (diminished three) and “dive” for flat-five (diminished five).  There is no “D” sound in any of the numbers between one and sev, so by adding a “D” sound to the name of the flattened note it makes it clear that it is a flattened version of the number it rhymes with.

By that logic, the whole chromatic numeric scale looks like this:

one, doo, two, dee, three, four, dive, five, dix, six, dev, sev, eight*

*Or one again instead of eight, if you prefer.  
The "one" would always be the note that you've identified as the root/tonal center.

If you were to start with C as your one, it would look like this:

One	C
Doo	C#
Two	D
Dee	Eb
Three	E
Four	F
Dive	F#
Five	G
Dix	G#
Six	A
Dev	A#
Sev	B
Eight	C

This numeric system is built around the major scale, but because it provides a recognizable name for any possible note in relation to the “one”, you can use it for any scale.  For example, the minor pentatonic scale is 1, b3, 4, 5, b7, 1.  

If you use solfege, you might think of the minor pentatonic scale as la, do, re, mi, sol, la (and , actually, there are benefits to this way of thinking).  But, based on the system described above, the minor pentatonic scale would be considered one, dee, four, five, dev.  Using one-syllable numbers does not seem as abstract as other alternatives.