Symmetrical Scales For Jazz Improvisation

Much ink has been spilled on the study of symmetrical scales, producing many method books which at best offer a superficial examination of this broad subject. Regrettably, the few studies that do exist focus on the more familiar symmetrical scales such as the diminished and whole-tone scales. Olivier Messiaen, a distinguished French composer, penned The Technique of My Musical Language, which outlined his own system of symmetrical scale organization as it related to his compositional approach, and thus this system is limited in its usage for more general application. My book is the first of its kind, to my knowledge, to institute a complete system whereby one can examine all the possible symmetrical scales, and hence serves as a companion volume to my former book, The Complete Thesaurus of Musical Scales. This book is intended for musicians, composers and music teachers (and their students), to stimulate their creative impulses towards the exploration of symmetrical scales, as a reference guide and/or a source of inspiration. Although this study focuses on the application of symmetrical scales as they correspond to jazz improvisation, the concepts introduced in my book can be applied to many styles of music and realized on any instrument. I hope that this publication will act as a catalyst to your individual development as a musician. Bon Voyage!

Haerle presents the scales used in improvisation and explains applications. Scales shown in all keys and treble and bass clefs include blues, ionian, dorian, phrygian, locrian as well as whole tone, chromatic, augmented and many more. Great aid to memorizing.

With content ranging from theory and history to practical exercises, examples, études, and play-along tracks, this book offers the most comprehensive guide ever written for this esoteric and traditionally obscure scale. Simply put, it reveals the last big secret of jazz fusion’s avant-garde. According to which music theorist believes he first discovered it, this scale has been known variously as Messiaen’s mode 3, Slonimsky’s Tcherepnin Scale (honoring his colleague), and Tcherepnin’s own name for it— the 9-note augmented or nonatonic scale. The nine notes of the double-symmetrical augmented scale have fascinated and crucially influenced legendary musicians like John Coltrane, Allan Holdsworth, Mark Turner, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Nelson Veras, Tim Miller, Gary Thomas, and Jerry Bergonzi, among many others. Coltrane’s historic composition, “Giant Steps,” can be directly attributed to his familiarity with the nonatonic scale. With this book by Berklee College of Music honors graduate, Xabier Oró, you’ll know the secret too. Includes access to online audio.

Surprisingly, few studies have been made that address the possibilities of musical scales. This book is, to the best of my knowledge, the first of its kind to establish and examine a complete system of all conceivable scales. My intention is that this book be used as a reference tool for all musicians, as it provides a complete dictionary of all possible scale configurations.

More than a pattern book, this lays out the theory behind the use of pentatonic scales in jazz, and follows with transcribed solos and exercises. Still a favorite after 14 years, this book has become a standard in the field.

" ... Written to organize, codify, and demonstrate useful information which has proven to be helpful in learning to play improvised solos in the jazz idiom ... [for] the prepared player with some experience, who is looking for a deeper and more complete understanding of chord progressions and tune structures ... intended to provide information and insight to the serious player for the purpose of helping him of her develop more consistency in accomplishing the ability to play interesting, convincing jazz solos."--Preface

The principle of this book is not passing theoretical interest, but an effective guide to musical life and how non-diatonic synthetic scale formations can be expanded to the fullest extent. Over the years, I had been asked to write my two-octave and multi-octave synthetic scales book in conjunction with my "The Complete Thesaurus of Musical Scales." This work will lay out the structural guidelines of the synthetic scales and give some examples of how the derived lines can be used in a jazz context. This book is sending out my strong message that seemingly useless scales, listed in "The Complete Thesaurus of Musical Scales," can be injected readily into regular scale usages by building them with octave displacement of synthetic formations. Explore synthetic scale formations by finding your own formulae. Good luck!