RE: [Harp-L] Re: reading music

["Jerome P." <jersimuse@xxxxxxxxx>]

Concerning usual scales, like the major one, one not even need the
intervals, the ear works perfectly (well, it should work).
Concerning the other ones, especially the non symmetric ones like the
altered scales, then wow !! If you could learn and practice them in all keys
without writing anything, not even the intervals, you're very lucky, and far
too clever for me!
My neurons would have collapsed long before the 5th note of the very first
scale :-)

-----Message d'origine-----
De : sheltraw@xxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:sheltraw@xxxxxxxxxxxx] 
Envoyé : jeudi 3 février 2011 20:22
À : Jerome P.
Cc : harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
Objet : Re: [Harp-L] Re: reading music

Hi Jerome

> Last but not least, in modern Jazz, you may need some very specific
> scales, like altered scales, half diminished, diminished, whole tone
> scales ... I don't think you can learn these scales just by ear, they
> are too far from the basis of our musical culture. You need to practice
> them a lot to hear them, you need to hear them to play them. So at the
> end, I don't think one would be able to play with these scales without
> a learning experience through written music (or through tabs at
> least).

I learned scales without learning to read conventional notation or tabs.
All you have to do is learn the intervals. For example:

(1) All major scales have the following ordered intervals: whole step,
    whole step, half step, whole step, whole step, whole step, half step.
(2) Whole tone scales: All whole tone intervals.
(3) Diminished scales: whole step, half step, whole step, half step, whole
    step, half step, whole step, half step.

Etc.


Cheers,
Daniel