Essential Scale Studies for Improvisation

Kendor Music, Inc.
Essential Scale Studies for Improvisation
A Comprehensive Approach for All Instruments

At the core of any outstanding player’s technique is a firm grasp of the intervallic relationships that make up the language of jazz. When we speak we put words together to make phrases and sentences to express our ideas. On the bandstand intervals and short melodic phrases must be strung together in a cohesive manner to create a complete musical thought in the form of an improvised solo. Older musicians describe this process as “telling a story.”

The scale studies presented in this text have been designed to serve as a solid base of patterns and devices for beginners, as well as a reference source for more advanced players. It is also hoped that the sequence in which these ideas are introduced will function as a model for further individual exploration.

Beginning with an examination of diatonic intervals found in major scales, the text proceeds to permutations of seventh chord arpeggios, chromatic variations and the possibilities inherent in other types of scales; each study building on the ideas of those preceding. Taken as a whole, these exercises can help shape a personalized musical vocabulary and should prove fundamental to the development of all improvisers.