In the previous video I showed you a cool exercise to improve your dominant scales:
The Mixolydian, the Lydian b7, and the half diminished, by starting on the major scale and
then transforming it to get all these other scales i just mentioned. Well today, I want to show you
another excellent exercise with a similar approach, but this time, our goal is to learn the altered
scale. "If you're new to mDecks music, we create music books and apps, piano arrangements and we discuss:
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So subscribe and hit the bell, and join us for exclusive access to our ever expanding library
of music resources." The altered scale is another excellent scale you can use over dominant chords.
By the way, you will also be learning the melodic minor
in the process. Remember, the altered scale is just the seventh mode of the melodic minor. So we'll be
using this property to get to the altered scale. So start by playing the C major scale...
Then transform it into the C melodic minor. To do
this, we only have to change the 3 for the b3...
Now play both...
Now play the exact same notes as the melodic minor, but start on the last note (B).
You could also think of this as starting the scale a half step below the root.
That's a B altered scale. As I mentioned before, the altered scale is the seventh mode
of the melodic minor. So B altered has the same exact notes as C melodic minor.
Now play the C melodic minor and then B altered...
Now that you've played both C melodic minor and B altered, it's really important that moving forward,
you try not to relate these colors to one another. It's really important that we get
B altered to sound like its own unique and separate texture, not as a derivative of melodic minor.
The approach of seeing the altered scale as a mode of melodic minor was merely a step to get you to
the correct note grouping. It's imperative that we get B altered to sound like, well... B altered!
And one of the best ways to do this is to add some context. And a really good context to apply
this to, would be a 5 1. So in the case of our example if B is the V then, E would be our target.
So here all we did was play an ascending B altered scale,
and then resolved it with a leap down to the 3rd of the E chord (G#), or you could do this...
A descending B altered scale with a built-in resolution.
So now, repeat this process in all keys: Choose any major scale...
Flatten the third to turn it into melodic minor...
Start on the seventh degree of that melodic minor scale to get the altered...
And play the altered skill both ascending and then descending on top of a 5-1 progression...
And to make this process a whole lot easier, we've included a pdf for exclusive members,
that has everything you need in order to do this in all keys. If you're not currently a member, you
can become one by clicking on the join button or on the link provided. You can also check out
our channel for more awesome content. As always, thanks for watching and we'll see you next time.