Tag: Phrygian

Piano day (1h 30m)

  • Improv + scale studies
    • 2-octave Phrygian scales in all keys
      • With both hands
      • In harmonic thirds + 1-5 shells in LH
  • Left hand + technique / speed
    • Intervallic patterns
      • 1-5-10 (m & M)
      • 1-5-9-10-1-5-6-4 (M)
      • Combined with A-B shells in RH (7-3-5 to 3-7-9 around the cycle of 4ths)
  • Interpreting pop tunes
    • Katy Perry — Lost (verse)
      • LH
        • Intervallic patterns: 1-5-9-10, 1-5-6
        • Shells: 1-5
      • RH
        • Shells & voice leading
        • Inversions

Piano day (2h)

  • Improv + scale studies
    • 2-octave Phrygian scales in all keys
      • With both hands
      • In harmonic thirds in RH + roots in LH
      • In harmonic thirds + 1-5 shells in LH
    • Applying Phrygian scales to minor chords (around the cycle of 4ths)
  • Voicings
    • Chromatic side-slipping (moving all chord tones one semitone above or below and back to add tension) — Lesson 8 from “Improvisation for Keyboard Players”
  • Left hand + technique / speed
    • Intervallic patterns
      • 1-5-10 (m & M)
      • 1-5-4
  • Interpreting pop tunes
    • Damon Albarn — Hostiles (verse)
      • Intervallic patterns (10ths)
      • Inversions
      • Voice leading (switching shells in RH)

Piano day (1h)

  • Improvisation
    • Quick recap of the blues scale in all keys (2-octave runs over minor shell chords in LH)
  • Modes
    • Chords of the Dorian mode: cycling progressions around 12 keys w/ voice leading (using shells)
      • i — IV7
      • i — v
    • Cycling Phrygian progressions
      • i — bVI▵7

Bass day (1h 30m)

  • Chord tones
    • Harmonising Phrygian scale with 7th chords — all inversions, playing to the click, with pauses between chords
      • E Phrygian
      • B Phrygian
      • F# Phrygian
    • Harmonising major scale with 7th chords — all inversions, no pauses
      • C
      • F
      • Bb
      • Eb
  • Walking bass lines
    • Dominant 2-octave bass line around the cycle of 4ths

Observations

Although I intentionally focus only on a couple of things, and it pays of, as I’m getting better real quick, I’m starting to feel that my practice gets a little bit boring. Need to get some new stuff in.

Piano day (1h 30m)

  • Blues pentatonic scale in RH over 12-bar blues chord progression in LH: C-, F-, Bb-, D#-, G#- — 30m
    • 1 — 6, 1 — 5, 1 — 4, 1 — 3
    • 2-octave scale | 1-octave scale 8va | % | 1st pattern | % | 2-octave scale backwards
  • ii — V — I’s in major keys in shell voicings (7-3-5 — 3-7-9 — 7-3-5) through the cycle of 4th  (Dan Haerle, skill 40) — 40m
    • Slowly without click
    • With click at 80bpm quarters
  • Scales — 20m
    • All Phrygian scales around the circle of 5ths starting on E at 82bpm
    • All Dorian scales around the circle of 5ths starting on D at 82bpm

Observations

Applying Rich Brown’s idea from yesterday’s Q & A where he showed how he makes pentatonic scale practice less boring by playing interesting patterns, like doubling up some notes or playing additional scale degrees. It works! Otherwise taking 12-bar blues around the whole cycle could be pretty boring!