One of the piano scales enjoyed by the pros as an alternative to the major scale as most of us know it will be acknowledged here. This scale really can add some “juice” while improvising over those major 7th chords. What’s great, too, is if you’re already familiar with the traditional major scale, you’ll find this one easy to get used to.
The scale being referred to here is the Lydian mode. Let’s investigate…
We’ll start by illustrating the traditional major scale. The C Major scale will be used here:
C D E F G A B C
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1
We have the foundation we need here. Look at the 4th degree of the scale. In this case, it is the F. Okay, play the C Major scale starting and ending on this note, as we have illustrated here:
F G A B C D E F
Here we have the F Lydian scale (or mode). Again, this is one of those piano scales that you will use for added flavor when playing those major 7th chords. Let’s listen to this scale as you play it with your right hand while playing an Fmaj7 chord with your left.
You will notice that this scale varies from the traditional F Major scale in only one respect – that 4th of the scale is raised (the B is not flat in this case). So, an easy way to arrive at a Locrian scale is to play the traditional major scale that starts on the same root and simply raise the 4th degree a half step.
Play that scale again while playing the chord with your left hand. This time, pay particular attention to how that B natural sounds with the chord. How does it sound to you? However you describe this is right for you. Perhaps you might say that the raised 4th makes for a bit of a “mysterious” kind of effect.
An interesting characteristic of the Lydian mode is that there are no avoid notes. An “avoid” note is considered to be a tone in the scale that doesn’t really sound all that wonderful when held for a long duration while playing the chord. To confirm this for yourself, play the chord with your left hand and slowly play the traditional F Major scale (F G A Bb C D E F). Notice that, when you arrive at the Bb, there is a certain dissonance that you may not consider all that pleasing to the ear. Next, play the Lydian mode (with that B natural) and listen to the difference!
Please consider exploring this very popular Lydian mode in other keys, too. You’ll find that it will very likely become one of your favorites!
Remember,
Always…
ALWAYS…
PLAY WITH PASSION!
Musically,
Dave
www.PianoAmore.net
www.ProProach.com
One of the best piano improvisation tips that I ever had been exposed to was that of “going outside the chord.” I mean, when most of us first learn to improvise, we are encouraged to utilize the actual chord tones of the chord we are playing. By the way, this is good advice. That said, you can add even more dimension to your use of those chord tones when you consider using those “other” notes.
Notice that the first four eighth notes are simply those “other” notes… yes, the chord tones from Amin7… and the following four eighth notes consist of only chord tones from Gmin7.
When it comes to piano scales for improvisation, the pentatonic is one you will want to have fun with in all keys. Now, we already acknowledged the major pentatonic scale. Let’s look at it here, specifically the C pentatonic scale:
Of the many piano scales that you will want to familiarize yourself with is the Dorian mode. Let’s take a look at this special scale, which you will find yourself using frequently while improvising on piano.
One of the most valuable piano improvisation tips one can learn to implement is that of overusing a concept to the point of it becoming part of one’s nature. Perhaps we can more easily understand this if we equate this to the language that we speak, since music is a language in itself. When we learned to say a certain word like, “Wow!” we found many places within our conversations to implement it to the point of it becoming natural to do.
As a follow-up to our recent introduction to 12 bar blues piano, let’s take a look at another scale that you will want to be familiar with. We already mentioned one, which is the blues scale. The other scale that you will want to have a handle on when it comes to improvising over those dominant 7th chords is the Mixolydian scale.
When it comes to playing cocktail piano, of the many piano improvisation tips I could offer, a favorite to promote that is most conducive to getting satisfying results is using chord tones. However, this approach can take on a more mature flair when your mind set is that of combining chord tones with thinking and playing in a linear fashion as well.
As you have fun with different piano chord progressions, one that is easy and yet conducive to achieving some interesting sounds on those keys is shown here:
Among the piano improvisation tips that you could be offered, one you’ll want to not overlook is that of playing patterns. The possibilities are endless. If you’ve never experimented with patterns, there’s no time like now to get started, so let’s do it!
A piano improvisation handbook for beginners that will serve as a starting point for those who feel as though they would like some encouragement in this area is available. This guidebook is brief and is accompanied by a short video that demonstrates the easy approach presented. If you have felt inspired to improvise on piano but wish you had an easy way to get your feet wet, you are likely to find this one quite eye-opening (and ear-opening).