The Intervallic Approach

By
Adam Nitti
 Contents
Major Scale Based Intervals ................... 3
Intervallic Sightreading......................... 8
Making Patterns Musical .................... 13

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 Major Scale Based Intervals

This time around we'll look at different ways of playing intervals

that are built into the major scale. Before we do that, however, let's
talk about the major scale in general, to gain a clearer
understanding of the theory behind it.

If you have ever taken any music classes or studied any music
theory books, chances are you have been introduced to the term,
"major scale." A scale, in general, is a series of notes that are used
together to create a specific sound or tonality. The MAJOR scale can
be thought of as the basic foundation from which most other scales
are constructed. The major scale consists of seven different tones,
each separated by either a half step or a whole step. (From here on
out, we will refer to these seven tones as SCALE TONES.) A half
step spans a distance of two frets on your fretboard, while a whole
step spans three. The specific order of these intervals is what gives a
major scale its distinctive sound.

All major scales utilize the same scale-building formula in their

construction. In other words, the major scale's sound is specifically
created by a set order of half steps and whole steps. In the following
diagram, W represents a whole step, and H represents a half:

scale degree: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1

distance: W W H W W W H

Every major scale, regardless of what note it starts on, has this
same construction.

An INTERVAL is the distance between two notes. They come in all

shapes and sizes. The major scale, as we have seen, is composed of
intervallic half steps and whole steps. Intervals generally have
names that contain a numeric distance, such as a 2nd, 3rd, 4th, or
5th. These distances are based on assigning a number to each scale
degree, or member note of a scale.

For example, let's look at the notes in an F major scale:

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Notice that the number under each scale degree represents its
placement in the scale. F is the 1st note of the scale, G is the 2nd, A
is the 3rd, and so on:

F G A Bb C D E F

12345671

Each interval's name is based on the distance in scale degrees from

the lowest pitch to the highest pitch. For example:

Just as the major scale can be thought of as our "default" scale, these
intervallic shapes can be considered our "default" shapes for 2nds,
3rds, 4ths, 5ths, 6ths, 7ths, and octaves. However, their sounds can
be described more specifically with respect to music theory. The
following chart gives the names for the default and modified
qualities of intervals of the major scale:

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Notice that the number under each scale degree represents its
placement in the scale. F is the 1st note of the scale, G is the 2nd, A
is the 3rd, and so on:

F G A Bb C D E F

12345671

Here are some basic intervallic shapes based on the construction of

the major scale:

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6
As the chart suggests, intervals of a 4th, 5th, or octave in their
default state would be referred to as "perfect" intervals, while
intervals of a 2nd, 3rd, 6th, or 7th would be considered "major".
Notice that a major interval can be lowered twice before becoming a
diminished interval. As we delve deeper into intervallic exercises
and combinations, these terms will become clearer and more
meaningful.

Practice playing these intervals all over the neck, keeping in mind
that the most important thing you can do with these is memorize
their sounds. Intervallic awareness will make you a much more
keen player, because your ears will be trained to recognize the
actual "shapes" of the sounds you hear. You will then find it easier
to transcribe lines, compose, and improvise more effectively. Have
fun!!!

* * *

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 Intervallic Sightreading

Let's face it. If you want to be a complete musician, you need to be

able to read music. I know it's a hassle sometimes, but we need to be
familiar with the language of music if we wish to speak it. Those of
us who cannot read are forced to be excluded from certain gigs we
might otherwise really enjoy. How many of you sweat when the
dude on the other end of the phone finishes giving you the gig
details and then interjects, "Uh, you can read, right???" What I have
found is that many of us already know the notes on the staff, but
we need a little bit of a jump start to get us sight reading at a
reasonable rate of speed. Here is a neat concept I utilize often which
can help you when you are in those "on-the-spot" sight-reading
situations. However, before I move on, let me stress one major point:

THE BEST WAY TO PRACTICE SIGHT-

SIGHT-READING IS TO SIGHT-
SIGHT-
READ AS OFTEN AS POSSIBLE.

Sounds obvious, right? Well, it's important to understand that

your sight reading just doesn't improve overnight. It's a very
progressive process, and that's why you must try to challenge
yourself constantly in order to make the task easier. If I don't read
for a long time, I get rusty. Many of you have also discovered this
for yourselves, and it's no fun knowing you are out of shape!

Okay. With all that out of the way, let me now present you with a
little shortcut that might give you the confidence to try to tackle
that chart you've been afraid of for so long... It focuses on sight
reading using your familiarity with INTERVALLIC SHAPES.

The conventional way to read music works like this:

1. You see a note on the staff

2. You associate that note with a pitch and duration

3. You identify the location of that pitch on the instrument

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4. You play the note for the length of its duration

5. You move on to the next note and start over at #1, above

Although not a very scientific explanation, the steps I have

mentioned pretty much exemplify the challenge of sight-reading.
The mastery of steps 1 through 5 will make you a great reader.
However, in my opinion the concept of identifying pitches with a
specific location on the instrument is one of the most challenging,
when faced with it in real time (i.e., in a performance situation).
Here is where a knowledge of intervallic shapes can give you a great
advantage.

Let's first identify some basic intervallic shapes on a staff that you
should be familiar with:

Each interval's name is based on the distance in scale degrees from

the lowest pitch to the highest pitch. For example:

2nd: C(1) D(2)

3rd: C(1) D(2) E(3)

4th: C(1) D(2) E(3) F(4)

5th: C(1)D(2)
C(1) E(3) F(4) G(5)

etc.

These intervallic distances correspond directly to intervallic shapes

on your bass. Here are some intervallic distances based on the major
scale: (In the following figures, the lowest line is the lowest pitched
string on your bass.)

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Using intervallic shapes, you can play the correct pitches by
instead identifying them as a series of intervals. The music is
interpreted in terms of distance within a scale pattern. Using this
method, you take the following steps to set yourself up for
accelerated reading:

1. Identify the key signature for the piece of music

2. Choose a scale pattern within that key that includes all of the
notes in the selection

3. Read the piece intervallically based on the notes included in your

hand position (If you encounter accidentals, simply modify the
interval by raising or lowering the pitch specified by the accidental)

Okay! Now let's try to demonstrate the entire process, from start to
finish. Here's a musical example that we'll use to tie all of this stuff
together:

Step 1: Identify the key signature In this case we have three sharps,
so the key center is A major or F# minor.

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Step 2: Choose a scale pattern that includes all notes in the selection
To do this, we need to first identify the lowest and highest notes in
the selection to figure out the total range. In this one, the lowest note
played is an F# 2 octaves below middle C, which is the 2nd fret E
string (or 7th fret on a low B string). The highest note is an F# an
octave higher (the pitch equivalent of 4th fret D string, 9th fret E
string, etc.)

Since A major/F# minor is the key center, it would be best to choose

from any of the A major-based modes (A Ionian, B Dorian, C#
Phrygian, D Lydian, E Mixolydian, F# Aeolian, or G# Locrian).
Any one that includes all of the notes in the selection would be
sufficient. Let's use F# Aeolian for our example. Our fingering for
our hand position would look like this, with the lowest note in the
pattern lined up with the lowest F# in the piece (2nd fret E string,
etc.):

Fortunately, there are no accidentals, so we can stay completely

within our chosen scale pattern when playing the selection.

Step 3: Read the piece intervallically

Now you will play the pitches as a series of intervals, from left to
right. Here's the information as it corresponds directly to the
notated music:

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Described verbally, the intervallic reading of the first eight notes
would go like this:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
up a up a down down up a up down
Start
3rd 3rd a 3rd a 2nd 3rd 2nd a 2nd

F# A C# A G# B C# B

Note: For you theory buffs, keep in mind that these intervals are
generically
generically named, and therefore NOT ASSUMED to be major or
perfect intervals. They are played with respect to the Aeolian mode,
and that is why I haven't specified their qualities. This allows the
method to be compatible with all scales.

The rest of the music would be completed like this:

Keep in mind this method is much more difficult to use if you are
dealing with large numbers of accidentals, chords, or very large
intervallic jumps within the music. I have found that this concept
seems to work great with things like walking bass lines or other
linear patterns. Once again, this is a method designed to assist you
in your sight reading; do not use this method to completely replace
conventional methods!

* * *

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 Making Patterns Musical

Hello again, folks! This latest installment from my "Deep

Thoughts" column will offer some insight on how to become a more
melodic player simply by modifying some of our approaches to
practicing scale patterns.

At one time or another, each of us has probably been introduced to a

scale pattern. For many of us, the major scale was the first scale we
learned on the bass. Here are a couple of fingerings for it:

Here is what a one octave C major scale looks like on a staff in an

ascending and descending fashion:

Now play the C major scale, as it appears on the staff. Notice how
the notes connect together in a rigid, orderly, and step-wise fashion.
Sounds like you're playing an exercise, right? It should. That's
because any scale simply played up and down its range is purely
technical in nature. In other words, a scale is like an alphabet. It's
made up of several key components that get combined together in
different ways to give us unique words and phrases. Each note in a
scale is like a letter from the alphabet. Without the scales, we can't
communicate musically. However, just as with the English
language, the larger our vocabulary, the better we are able to speak!
The players with the largest vocabularies posses the most distinct
and memorable musical voices. These are the players who have
created their own STYLE. All that having been said, the obvious

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question becomes, "How do I keep my scale patterns from just
sounding like exercises when I use them in a tune???"

For most of us, how we practice determines how we play on the gig.
If we are continually working on our scales at home by just doing
ascending and descending forms like the example demonstrated,
above, we are doing nothing but reinforcing that "exercise-like"
sound in our playing. Our hands will naturally go for that stale
succession of notes that screams out the words "SCALE
PATTERNS" to our audience! To break out of that, you need to force
your mind and hands to do things they are not used to. By
adopting much more unique and creative approaches to practicing
your scales, you enlarge your vocabulary and become more
spontaneous a player... In order to develop this, however, we need to
learn some (you guessed it) NEW patterns!

Each of the following exercises can be used with just about any
scale or arpeggio pattern. They are categorized into 2 main groups:
SEQUENCING exercises, and INTERVALLIC exercises. For each of
these exercises, we'll use a 3 note per string major scale pattern
which utilizes the following fingering:

We'll start this pattern on the lowest C note on the lowest string on
your bass for each exercise to give us the largest range of notes per
pattern. For example:

For 4 string bass: start on the 8th fret of the 'E' string.

5 string bass: start on the 1st fret of the 'B' string.

6 string bass: start on the 1st fret of the 'B' string.

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SEQUENCING EXERCISES

A sequence is simply a predetermined number of notes taken from

a scale played in order. For example, in a one octave major scale
where the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 represent the 7 degrees of
the scale, an ascending pattern for sequenced 4's would look like
this:

SEQUENCED 4's:

1-2-3-4, 2-3-4-5, 3-4-5-6, 4-5-6-7, etc.

(Notice that the commas separate each sequence of 4 notes played

in succession.)

On a staff using a C major scale as the example, the same pattern

would look like this:

Sequenced musical approaches are very melodic and cyclical in

nature, and their focused sound is a result of the smaller distances
between notes. Jaco Pastorius consistently utilized sequenced
approaches through pentatonic and modal scales in his soloing
style.

Here's another example using sequenced 3's:

SEQUENCED 3's:

1-2-3, 2-3-4, 3-4-5, 4-5-6, 5-6-7, etc.

Here is the same example as it would appear on a staff using a C

major scale, again:

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The sequencing approach gives us the following exercises:

INTERVALLIC EXERCISES

Intervallic exercises, as the name suggests, are based on intervals.

An interval is the distance between any 2 notes. These exercises
take a predetermined interval and apply it to each note of the scale,
in order of the scale degrees.

For example, an ascending pattern for intervallic 3rds would look

like this:

INTERVALLIC 3rds:

1-3, 2-4, 3-5, 4-6, 5-7, etc.

(Notice that the commas separate each interval of a 3rd played in

succession.)

Here is the same example as it would appear on a staff using a C

major scale:

Here's an example using intervallic 5ths:

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INTERVALLIC 5ths:

1-5, 2-6, 3-7, etc.

Here it is on the staff:

Intervallic exercises exhibit a much more 'open' sound than the

sequences, due to the fact that they utilize larger distances between
the notes. This less-focused sound is very melodic in nature, and
makes for some of the most interesting musical ideas.

The intervallic approach gives us the following exercises:

Try working these into your practice routine and you will see some
really neat ideas begin to take shape in your improvisation. After
you have developed and mastered some of these exercises, you will
want to start blending different approaches. Some of your best
musical ideas will come from hybrid pattern approaches, which mix
your scales, sequences, and intervallic patterns together. We'll talk
more about that in part 2 of this series. Until next time...have fun,
and keep practicing!!!

Remember: The idea is to apply these ideas to scales and other

musical forms in order to inspire ideas that are more MUSICAL in
nature. What you end up playing on the gig is directly related to
what you spend your time practicing in the "woodshed." Therefore, it
is vitally important to get out of the monotony of a stale practice
routine and start to replace old habits with new ideas. Hopefully,

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these concepts will inspire some new lines in your bass playing,
and give you a little more of an edge in your usage of scales.

In this installment, I will be introducing some new approaches to

working your scale patterns that build off of the sequences and
intervals presented to you last time around.

NOTE: If you haven't checked out my last article, "Making

Patterns Musical, Part 1," you might want to do so before
continuing. Part 1 outlines and explains the concepts that evolve
into the material provided in this installment.

HYBRID APPROACHES

Hybrid approaches combine two (or more) different elements from

our sequences and intervals and incorporate them into unique
musical patterns. Examples of hybrid approaches might combine 2
different intervallic shapes, 2 different sequences, or even a
mixtures of a sequence and an interval into one pattern. They are
great to use in your playing, because their abstract and very
unique sound.

HYBRID INTERVALLIC APPROACHES

Once again, let's use our major scale reference pattern as the basis
for our examples, utilizing a 3 note per string approach to cover as
many notes as possible in one position:

Now let's go over an assortment of hybrid patterns which we will

use over a G major scale. (Remember that these can be applied to

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any other scale or mode; just transfer the fingerings to your new
scalar pattern and position.)

Note: In each of these exercises, the numbers represent the scale

degrees, or ordered positions of the notes in the pattern. Keep in
mind that using a 3 note per string approach will give you 12 total
notes in a single position for a 4 string, 15 notes total for a 5
string, and 18 notes total for a 6 string bass. These notes are
numbered by their placement in a scale.

INTERVALLIC 3rds/6ths

In this exercise, an interval of a 3rd is followed by a 6th, and then

the cycle starts over again:

1-3, 2-7, 3-5, 4-9, 5-7, 6-11, 7-9, etc.

(Notice that the commas separate each interval played in

succession.)

Here is the same example as it would appear on a staff using a G

major scale:

INTERVALLIC 5ths/3rds

In this exercise, an interval of a 5th is followed by a 3rd:

1-5, 2-4, 3-7, 4-6, 5-9, 6-8, 7-11, etc.

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INTERVALLIC CONSECUTIVE 3rds

The 'consecutive' nature of these types of exercises lies in the fact

that the intervals chosen are stacked. In other words, the top note of
the 1st interval is the bottom note of the 2nd interval, and so on.

In this particular example, a third is stacked on top of a third. Those

of you who are familiar with harmonic concepts will notice that this
could also be looked at as a triad exercise:

1-3-5, 2-4-6, 3-5-7, 4-6-8, 5-7-9, 6-8-10, 7-9-11, etc.

INTERVALLIC CONSECUTIVE 5ths

This is a 5th stacked on top of a 5th:

1-5-9, 2-6-10, 3-7-11, 4-8-12, 5-9-13, 6-10-14, 7-11-15, etc.

Note: Many of the following patterns cannot be played in a single

3 note per string position on a 4 string bass. To play them through
the scale, you will have to shift your fingerings.

INTERVALLIC CONSECUTIVE 2nds/5ths

This is a 5th stacked on top of a 2nd:

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1-2-5, 2-3-6, 3-4-7, 4-5-8, 5-6-9, 6-7-10, 7-8-11, etc.

HYBRID SEQUENCING APPROACHES

These examples will mix 2 different sequencing ideas together.

These ideas are not as abstract sounding as the intervals, mainly
because they have more of a scalar approach. They could be thought
of as sounding a little smoother than the hybrid intervals.

SEQUENCED 5's/3's

This pattern utilizes a sequence of 5 followed by a sequence of 3:

1-2-3-4-5, 2-3-4, 3-4-5-6-7, 4-5-6, 5-6-7-8-9, 6-7-8, 7-8-9-10-

11, etc.

(Notice that the commas separate each sequence.)

SEQUENCED 3's/4's

This pattern utilizes a sequence of 3 followed by a sequence of 4:

1-2-3, 2-3-4-5, 3-4-5, 4-5-6-7, 5-6-7, 6-7-8-9, 7-8-9, etc.

SEQUENCED 6's/3's

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This pattern utilizes a sequence of 6 followed by a sequence of 3:

1-2-3-4-5-6, 2-3-4, 3-4-5-6-7-8, 4-5-6, 5-6-7-8-9-10, 6-7-8, 7-8-

9-10-11-12, etc.

IMPORTANT: For brevity, each of the preceding exercises has

outlined only the ascending versions of the form. However, it is
vitally important that you work them in both ascending and
descending directions on the bass. To play the descending forms,
simply play the patterns backwards from highest range to lowest.
You don't want all of your ideas to come out on the gig only going
in one direction!

BI-DIRECTIONAL APPROACHES

Notice that in each of the exercises presented so far, each pattern has
had both an ascending version and a descending version, moving
from left to right on the staff. Bi-directional approaches mix both
ascending and descending movements into both versions, making
for some really neat sounding ideas. This exchange of both
ascending and descending movement within a pattern is what I
like to call "contrary motion." Here are some examples:

BI-DIRECTIONAL INTERVALLIC 3rds

1-3, 4-2, 3-5, 6-4, 5-7, 8-6, 7-9, 10-8, etc.

Notice that each 3rd played is followed by another 3rd moving in

an opposite direction. Here is what it looks like on a staff:

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BI-DIRECTIONAL INTERVALLIC 6ths

1-6, 7-2, 3-8, 9-4, 5-10, 11-6, 7-12, etc.

BI-DIRECTIONAL SEQUENCED 3's

1-2-3, 4-3-2, 3-4-5, 6-5-4, 5-6-7, 8-7-6, 7-8-9, 10-9-8, etc.

BI-DIRECTIONAL SEQUENCED 4's/INTERVALLIC 3rds

1-2-3-4, 5-3, 4-5-6-7, 8-6, 7-8-9-10, 11-9, etc.

BI-DIRECTIONAL CONSECUTIVE INTERVALLIC 3rds (whew!)

1-3-5, 6-4-2, 3-5-7, 8-6-4, 5-7-9, 10-8-6, 7-9-11, 12-10-8, etc.

I hope you enjoy working through these exercises. Obviously, these

are just the tip of the iceberg here. You can use any of your favorite
approaches and mix them together to come up with some really neat

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sounding musical approaches. One bit of advice, though; don't try
to tackle all of these at once. Focus on only a few at a time, and
work on their mastery through ALL of your scales and modes
before moving on. Otherwise, you might not see these ideas "rear
their heads" in your soloing ideas quite as quickly as they could.
Be patient, use a metronome, and track your progress daily. The
rewards are well worth it!

* * *

-Adam Nitti heads the bass department at the Atlanta Institute of Music. He
has recorded or performed with such players as Victor Wooten, Dave Weckl,
Mike Stern, and Peter Erskine, and currently has 2 solo CD releases out on
Renaissance Man Records. Adam is also a clinician and endorsee for SWR,
Curbow, and D'Addario. Check out his official website at:
http://www.adamnitti.com.

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