Stews Lessons: Exercises: #4

This exercise is very simple. It's actually just a scale. The whole tone scale. The whole tone scale is a synthetic scale composed entirely of whole steps. If you remember a tune called "Up, Up, and Away (in My Beautiful Balloon)", there's a keyboard riff played in the chorus with a strange, unresolved quality. It's a whole tone run.

Alright, begin on the first fret of your lowest string. Play it with your first finger. While you hold that down, play the note a whole step above it. Holding both of those down -- if your hand will let you -- play the note a whole step above *that*. So far it should sound like the beginning of a major scale. BUT...

Next, holding down the second and third notes you played, finger and sound the one at the second fret of your next higher string. then play the whole step above that. If your bass is tuned with a low B string, you have just played C - D - E - F# - G# (or F - G - A - B - C# if your bass is strung with an E as its lowest note).

It gets stranger.

Play the first, third and fifth fret notes of your next string up. On the next string you'll play the notes at the second and fourth frets. By now I'm sure you see a pattern emerging. On a traditionally tuned 4 string you'll end up playing F - G - A - B - C# - D# - F - A - B (and you can tack on a C# at the end of your ascent if you like. On a traditionally tuned (if you can apply that phrase) 6 string, which stays in 4ths all the way across the neck, you'll wind up with C - D - E - F# - G# - A# - C - D - E - F# - G# - A# - C - D - E as your climb.

Now for the descent. This is a bit trickier, but not to play: just to keep it straight in your head. You're still going to alternate playing 3 notes on one string and 2 on the next, BUT... you will shift to a slightly different approach. You will play *ascending* notes on each string while you are *descending* the order of the strings.

For example, once you have played your last note of the climb and you're ready to move back down the neck, switch. That is you're going to play 3 notes on the string where you're fingers are resting, BUT you're going to play them as if you were going to start the exercise again. If you're on a 6 string, you should have just played the D and the E on your 2nd and 4th frets. Now you're going to play C# - D# - F, *in that order*! When you shift to the next string, you're going to play the notes at the 2nd and 4th frets (which should be A and B on a 6), again *in that order*!

It sounds silly, but if you play them so that the notes are descending as you're moving lower and lower across the fingerboard, then you're not getting a stretch. Cool? Cool.

		Home > Lessons > Exercises > #4 #4 This exercise is very simple. It's actually just a scale. The whole tone scale. The whole tone scale is a synthetic scale composed entirely of whole steps. If you remember a tune called "Up, Up, and Away (in My Beautiful Balloon)", there's a keyboard riff played in the chorus with a strange, unresolved quality. It's a whole tone run. Alright, begin on the first fret of your lowest string. Play it with your first finger. While you hold that down, play the note a whole step above it. Holding both of those down -- if your hand will let you -- play the note a whole step above that. So far it should sound like the beginning of a major scale. BUT... Next, holding down the second and third notes you played, finger and sound the one at the second fret of your next higher string. then play the whole step above that. If your bass is tuned with a low B string, you have just played C - D - E - F# - G# (or F - G - A - B - C# if your bass is strung with an E as its lowest note). It gets stranger. Play the first, third and fifth fret notes of your next string up. On the next string you'll play the notes at the second and fourth frets. By now I'm sure you see a pattern emerging. On a traditionally tuned 4 string you'll end up playing F - G - A - B - C# - D# - F - A - B (and you can tack on a C# at the end of your ascent if you like. On a traditionally tuned (if you can apply that phrase) 6 string, which stays in 4ths all the way across the neck, you'll wind up with C - D - E - F# - G# - A# - C - D - E - F# - G# - A# - C - D - E as your climb. Now for the descent. This is a bit trickier, but not to play: just to keep it straight in your head. You're still going to alternate playing 3 notes on one string and 2 on the next, BUT... you will shift to a slightly different approach. You will play ascending notes on each string while you are descending the order of the strings. For example, once you have played your last note of the climb and you're ready to move back down the neck, switch. That is you're going to play 3 notes on the string where you're fingers are resting, BUT you're going to play them as if you were going to start the exercise again. If you're on a 6 string, you should have just played the D and the E on your 2nd and 4th frets. Now you're going to play C# - D# - F, in that order! When you shift to the next string, you're going to play the notes at the 2nd and 4th frets (which should be A and B on a 6), again in that order! It sounds silly, but if you play them so that the notes are descending as you're moving lower and lower across the fingerboard, then you're not getting a stretch. Cool? Cool.