Practice session: attacking harmonic minor modes

Scale studies

Hm1 scales in all keys
Aeolian scales in all keys
Thoughtful scale runs: C Hm1 over III∆#7 — i#7 progression
Scale dissection: F Hm1 over moving Fm7 arpeggios
Scale dissection: Bb Hm1 over moving Bm#7 arpeggios

Currently rehearsing a new piece for recording!

Session timing: 1h 30m

Bass day (1h 45m)

Finally a bass session! 😃

Warm-up

Be My Love in C
- Basic Latin (1-5, 3rds, some chromatic passages)

Scale studies

Harmonic minor in all keys
Harmonic minor dissection (bass variation): figure #1 — sheet music coming soon
Harmonic minor dissection (bass variation): figure #2

Reading

Hrabe etude #7

Pick + technique

Famous blues lines by Larry McCabe — figure #5 (C, D)

Observations

If there’s one thing in this multiverse that can make me instantly get back on my track and feel great again — it’s sight reading on bass. I was missing it so badly!

Piano day (1h 30m)

Modal studies + intervallic left hand patterns

Harmonic minor mode 1 (C, F)
- Progression: i#7 — III+ — iv — V7
- LH pattern: 1-5-10-#7-5^i#7 | 1-#5-10-7-1’^III+ | 1-5-10^iv | 1-5-10^V7

Shells + intervallic left hand patterns

Moving shells (same chord in 7-3-5 and then in 3-7-9 octave higher) + standard broken 10ths (1-5-10) with occasional 6ths ← another KILLER exercise!

Bass day (1h 30m)

Walking bass / Chord tones
- R-3-5-7 permutation in all inversions around the cycle of 4ths
Hacking Harmonic minor
- Improv around the cycle of 4ths using all key intervals (P5, P4, M7, m6, m3, M2)

Piano day (1h 50m)

Modal studies
- Harmonising Harmonic minor (as if it was not already harmonic enough — IT’S NOT FUNNY DAD — I know — okay let’s change the topic)
  - Hm1 (key of C), shells 7-5-3, 3-7-9, 7-3-6
  - Hm3 (key of C), shells 7-5-3, 3-7-9, 7-3-6
  - Improv with “blanket scale” over Hm3 (A Harm. minor over 3rd mode of C)
Left hand
- Stride patterns: recap 2-octave jumps with 7-1-3 and 1-3-7 kind of stuff
- Rolling tenths
Jazz voicings
- Voice leading patterns (A — B, A — A, etc.) while switching between different scale degrees (Dan Haerle, “The Jazz Language”, Chapter 7)

Observations

I must say I’m finally starting to like Harmonic minor. It was really weird at the very beginning, because of the rather unique chord qualities: minor / major 7th, augmented major 7th and fully diminished, not to mention two m7b5’s. It’s a really harsh sound, and while the scale itself is beautiful, the modes that it produces sound at first kinda ugly. But that’s where the power of modal approach comes in. Just because you don’t like minor / major 7th chord as your I (the Roman numeral, lol), doesn’t mean it sucks. It simply means you should try and start on another degree and see if you will like the new progression. I decided to start on III, which makes the 3rd mode of Harmonic minor. I like the sound of augmented major 7 chord, and I like how it falls into the pure minor IV (i. e. II in the 3rd mode). Now we’re talking! Instead of unsure and a bit intoxicated Cm/M7 to Dm7b5, I have beautiful, complex and fragile, unexpected and really otherworldly Cmaj7#5 to Dm7. Wow! So yeah. That’s how you get to love the stuff that makes you feel uncomfortable at first.