Would anyone happen to know how to play the modes of the melodic minor scale diagonally? I know how to play the major scale and it's modes diagonally, but i'm having trouble applying it to melodic minor.:confused:

You realize you are talking about only one note difference. Major scale 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and MelMi 1, 2, b3, 4, 5, 6, 7. Take a little time and work it out. So for C Major scale and its modes. Change all the E's to Eb in all the fingering you know now. Then spend a little time tweaking so they feel right for your hand. Do it yourself and you will learn a lot more in the long run.

Still need help search TB for "Bass Cheat Sheet" I believe MelMi is on the cheat sheet. Or get a copy of the book _The Bass Grimoire_ by Adam Kadmon. Every scale you could ever want and more. Book will last you a lifetime.

thanks. i got it now. i knew there's only one note difference but i wasn't thinking about it that way.

thats not right though. on the way up, you still have the leading tone, but on the way down you flat both the 7th and the 6th so its just minor coming down. melodic minors the only one that changes depending on the direction your moving

Diagonal scales?

Could anyone please explain for the ignorant?

thats not right though. on the way up, you still have the leading tone, but on the way down you flat both the 7th and the 6th so its just minor coming down. melodic minors the only one that changes depending on the direction your moving

well.. that's the "correct" way of playing a melodic minor scale. however, in jazz (which is really what we're talking about, especially if we're talking modes and such, which you won't hear a classical musician mentioning very often..) the melodic minor scale is played the same way up and down. also called "ascending melodic minor" or commonly "jazz minor". If we were to create modes from the "correct" melodic minor scale, we would need two different sets - one for the scale in it's ascending form, and one in it's descending form.

for those who are interested, the melodic minor modes are (in order)

Jazz Minor (ascending melodic minor)
Dorian b2
Lydian Augmented
Lydian Dominant (lydian b7)
Mixolydian b6
Locrian #2
Super Locrian (altered scale)

the names can differ depending on what text you're reading/where you live, the ones not in the brackets are the names i use.

all the best,
Andy

ps. i have never heard anyone use the tearm "playing the modes diagonally".. very weird haha

Diagonal scales?

Could anyone please explain for the ignorant?


Seconded :confused:

OK, I get the "diagonal" thing, it's a good name for it actually...

...consider that there are 2 components to playing different pitches on the strings of a Bass guitar:

1) Playing different strings (E-A-D-G, ascending in pitch)

2) Fretting (a particular string) at differnt frets (each fret "up" the fingerboard results in a different pitch; for example --> on the E-string, starting from an open E, moving up fret-by-fret, we have E-F-F#-G-G#-A-A#-B-C-C#, etc..)

...I guess you could call the 1st component the "Horizontal" component (altering pitches by plucking different strings)

..and then you could call the 2nd component the "Vertical" component (the "vertical" direction being from the open string up through the frets, 1st fret, 2nd fret, 3rd fret....---> Xth fret, depending on how many frets your fingerboard has)

Now, you COULD play any scale VERTICALLY ONLY, just playing one string and fretting appropriately.... but it's a hinderence, coz one you'd have to change L.H. positions every 4 notes....RATHER than do that, we have a higher-pitched string to switch to; if we were starting out on the E-string, we could continue on the A-string, thereby avoiding a shift in Left-Hand position...

...so in the case of playing, say, a 2 octave scale - we can't reach all the notes within a single L.H. position (I'm assuming 4 strings here), so we need to play at least the higher parts of the (2-octave) scale in a differnt position to the lower parts...

...You'd still utilize all strings, but your L.H. would ALSO move "up" the neck (towards the higher frets) to have access to all the notes....

===> and THAT would be called playing a scale "diagonally" :)


..

this is what I meant by diagonal scales.
http://www.adamnitti.com/lessons.shtml

thats not right though. on the way up, you still have the leading tone, but on the way down you flat both the 7th and the 6th so its just minor coming down. melodic minors the only one that changes depending on the direction your moving
thats not right either though

your right about it changing on the way up and being the natrual minor on the way down...

the melodic minor is the same as the natrual minor except it is sharped on the 6th and 7th scale degrees on the way up...on the way down, the 6th and 7th are not flatted, but they are natruled(spelling?).

eh... enharmonics.. who really cares?

to be honest it is much easier for most people to think of a major scale and flatten the third in the ascending form. IMO as long as your getting the right notes to start off with, you can get into spelling the scales enharmonically later.

Not saying you're wrong, just that neither of you are.

this is what I meant by diagonal scales.
http://www.adamnitti.com/lessons.shtml
Thanks! That's a great site and it's now bookmarked!

I'm going to start working on my scales in that fashion and see how it goes. It does seem to offer a more direct route to doing runs which require the full length of the fretboard than the more standard approach I've been accustomed to in which I only change position every other string.