Double Bass Diminished and augmented scales

[Chip2447]

I've been playing upright bass for twenty plus years in bluegrass bands. I'm ashamed to admit it but the breadth of my knowledge is pretty much exhausted once I get out of a I-IV-V progression and very seldom past the fifth fret. The guys I'm playing with now are doing some really great swing stuff which uses a lot of diminished chords and I just don't know what to do. I've been able to fake it OK by playing major-scale half runs off the root note of the chord but it sounds really thin to me. Is there an on-line tab resource someone could direct me to that illustrates diminished and augmented scales?

 

[sforzato]

I would suggest that you start with learning the harmonic minor scale. It is just like the natural minor but with a raised 7th.
So in the key of A minor it would go A-B-C-D-E-F-G#-A.
If you played this scale starting on the C (or third of the scale), it would fit perfectly over a C augmented chord. Or play the arpeggio C-E-G#. Or a mix of both
If you played it starting with the G# (or the 7th of the scale) it would fit over a G# diminished chord. Or play the arpeggio G#-B-D-F
I don't think or play that way. But it is a great place to start and after a while you will start hearing what sounds good and what sound you like.
Look up diminished scales and augmented scales I bet you can find a lot just with a simple google search. Or try the whole tone-half tone scale; it is self defining.
Good luck

 

[J. Montgomery]

The Jamey Abersold 'red book' is available as a free download, it'll cover that . . . and more

http://www.jazzbooks.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=FQBK&Store_Code=JAJAZZ

 

[251]

I've been playing upright bass for twenty plus years in bluegrass bands. I'm ashamed to admit it but the breadth of my knowledge is pretty much exhausted once I get out of a I-IV-V progression and very seldom past the fifth fret. The guys I'm playing with now are doing some really great swing stuff which uses a lot of diminished chords and I just don't know what to do. I've been able to fake it OK by playing major-scale half runs off the root note of the chord but it sounds really thin to me. Is there an on-line tab resource someone could direct me to that illustrates diminished and augmented scales?

Stay calm. There are only 2 diminished scales, Half/Whole (H/W) & Whole/Half (W/H). Both are minor intervals linked tail to head. So you can play both/either as "diminished pentatonic" by playing minor intervals from the Root; |Root|b3| then |b5|6| then |8av|#9. Look at the melody to choose H/W or W/H if you decide to play other notes in the scale. Don't worry if it sounds dissonant. Creating dissonance is probably why the Diminished scale was used in the 1st place.

 

[Bijoux]

another way to think of the diminished scale is thinking of it as the scale that creates tension over the phrase. so it usually substitutes the dominant chord.
think of B diminished as being the same as G7(b9) when it precedes a CMaj or Cmin chord.
Think of starting the G7 chord starting on the 3rd. (as a bass player you probably don't even have to get to the (b9).

so what would read as: G7 Cmin
now reads; Bdim Cmin