The C Melodic Minor Scale

This bass lesson is an excerpt from my recently released book, Bass ala Melodic Minor Modes.

In most Western Music, the Major Scale is where most of our music is derived from, so when focusing on a different scale, it is important to see what in that scale is different.

Let’s look at the C Major Scale:

As you can see, numerically, we have 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.

Let’s look at a C Melodic Minor Scale and see what is the difference:

The difference between these two scales is just one note. However, that one note makes a huge difference. That “b3” changes everything!

My goal is to make this book easy to practice. Again, we will use the 80/20 Principle. I want you to practice ‘just” the exercises for C Melodic Minor for as long as it takes to master. Let’s get the “sound” and the “fingerings” of the scale down first.

This one skill of mastery will be more valuable to you when it comes time to move forward.

Another tip I would like to suggest: if you have a keyboard, it is great to have the chord playing in the background as you go through the exercises.

To “hear” is most important. This is what the chord would look like:

As a bass player, one of our prime functions is to articulate chords. I like to think of each scale in two octaves built in thirds. This way 3 things are accomplished:

1 – We learn the notes in two octaves and become more con?dent with our neck.

2 – We hear the intervallic relationships in a systematic way

3 – The 80/20 Principle shows itself by accomplishing more in less time.

Grab your copy of Bass ala Melodic Minor Modes at Amazon.com

David C Gross has been the bassist for a lot of folks. He has written 14 bass books and 3 instructional videos, hosts “The Notes From An Artist Radio Show” on www.cygnusradio.com Monday nights 8 PM EDT, and the “Notes From An Artist” podcast available on iTunes, Spotify and all podcast platforms.

NFAA brings you behind the scenes with individuals who forged a timeless musical canon – spanning rock, jazz, funk, blues, folk, country, and permutations thereof. Listen to stories and anecdotes hitherto untold and relive more than a few chronicles that have become lore with a fresh vision. It’s the soundtrack of our lives. Celebrate the past, live in the present, and anticipate the future – take Notes From An Artist

You can contact David @ www.thebassguitarchannel.com/contact for more information regarding his online lessons and world-renown correspondence course.