Why Does This STUPID Exercise Sound SO GOOD?

Check out more lessons on Scale Running in Adam's NEW Jazz Scales for Beginners - openstudiojazz.link/jazzscale...
Adam Maness teaches an annoying, but extremely effective, scale running technique for piano, bass and all other instruments.
00:00 Introduction
01:53 Pre-written Scale Running
06:15 1. Linear
09:13 2. 3rds Allowed
11:08 3. All Intervals
13:19 4. Substitutions
16:47 5. Break the Chain

[@jackmocherman1296]

From 17:55 -18:24, absolutely filthy, nothing could possibly stand as a stronger testament to the method than that example. Loved this approach, very well taught with some incredible playing Adam! Thank you!

[@andrewde2161]

Man simply one of the best jazz educators on KZbin. Thankyou for all you do!

[@CWBella]

Great video! Thanks for reinforcing the slow practice aspect of it; really let’s you get it into your ears and hands.

[@nezkeys79]

Love this guy. He's a great teacher always watch the full videos

[@peterspy8867]

I play bass, but you just gave me an idea on how to practice modes in the future 😊Thank you!

[@dmcmusik]

So glad I stuck it out until the end! You were so right about it!!

[@EasyEnglishGrammar]

Love this guy! I'm desperate to learn everything Adam teaches, but I get my "ians" all "mixoed!" Would love to be able to "riff off" the vocab as well as play them!

[@DJazium]

This is a great exercise. Definitely going to run through this on a bunch of different tunes! Thanks!

[@kevinrobertandrews]

Awesome!!! Def adding this to my practice routine ☺️

[@sliverhandsonbasses]

Point is these exercises are mind-blowing and boring, or, they’re mind-blowing BECAUSE they’re boring. Boredom is probably the most underrated psychological resource we have to unlock our musicality. That’s the reason why -no matter how masterfully they know an instrument - even the most acknowledged players keep coming back at some basic drills, from time to time. It’s like re-learning your musical identity, in my (humble) vision...

[@Smoothenbolly]

you are absolutely right

[@liquensrollant]

I love the ideas in here. Is the aim to do all 5 steps in one practice routine, or to build up over many sessions, only advancing when completely comfortable with the last step?

[@DARKLYLIT]

Great exercise and fantastic playing. Thanks man! :)

[@rdettwyler]

Oh my, oh my. I had the epiphany at 1:25. Blessings on you for sharing your gifts. I am sending you hearty handshakes from across the void, as it were. Thanks, man. (I'm nearly 66 and just figuring this out)

[@SimonBrileyMusic]

love all your content guys so helpful and knowledgeable thank you thank you

[@DThompson55]

THIS IS FUN !!!! SUCH GREAT PRACTICE !!!

[@Thetonetemple.]

Adam, this is incredibly helpful. In terms of keeping the melodic landscape linear and similar to the changes. This information is incredibly helpful. I think and I have other friends that also think it would be pleasant if you didn’t put down what you’re doing like you do. Saying that it’s stupid and boring and horrible is not helpful or encouraging or helpful or ego free. We like you and what you share !!!!!

[@genofgod]

It doesn't start off fun, but when you get there... As all good things... This statement has just changed my life.... Thank you

[@lawrencetaylor4101]

I think I'll come back to this lesson when I have more chops. I understood the idea, but I think there is something I need to work on first.

[@huguesbuzydeb4320]

Thank you Adam 👍

[@rumpelRAINS]

Great video!

[@MichelleHell]

I play guitar and am mostly self-taught. I've sort of come up with my own "theory", but its not quite scale running. Every scale has either a C or C#, so if I reference any scale as the mode that starts on either of those then I can play chord changes in one position by changing the mode. Practicing C dorian, C phrygian, C lydian, etc. is playing chord changes. I can play more freely because its easier knowing where the next closest note is than having to shift hand positions.

[@sonnyobrien]

This would be insanely confusing when improvising and is not practical. You want to reduce the brains computation. Its easier to think Eb major than C mixolydian when a change occurs. Its easier to think Bb major than C dorian. You have to make two computations when a change occurs: whats the chord? Whats the mode relative to the chord? And then what happens when you need to change register? I encourage you to think in terms of scales, chords and arps, not modes, as modes are for modal music not functional harmony

[@paulpayet9237]

thank youu i needed this !!

[@gabrielmirandamartinez8451]

Great stuff!!

[@johnmitchelljr]

Thank you.

[@lucaslieberman7625]

That sounds so good!!! ahhhh

[@Isaacmellojr]

Amazing way to start a video!!!

[@winstonsmith8240]

I sort of knew this. Now I do. Subscribed. 👍

[@patrickrichard5948]

This is absolutely ridiculous. I love it.

[@suchadameedee2954]

Great☺️. A PDF would have been the cream on the top 😉

[@TheAdmonbaseel88]

Bravo. I like it.

[@DaddySantaClaus]

my guitar teacher taught me to go up the scale to the 7th and down the arpeggio back to the root or next chord root in triplets, from beat two after playing the chord on beat 1

[@mglickman13]

ty! ☺

[@bassmart902]

Aeolian with b6 (Ab) against perfect 5th (G) creates a tension tone. Music at its core is tension and release.

[@theperfectambiance]

I'm SO GLAD I FOUND THIS!!

[@devanjackson509]

This kind of practice is critical to understanding harmonic rhythm.

[@Reztilba]

muchas gracias - merci beaucoup - c'est fun !

[@sandstorm9305]

There’s a reason some things are annoying - they work so well that they are overused and therefore become annoying

[@AdamKrukowski]

sounds like Bach's Fugues , awsome!

[@breakfastplan4518]

Damn, Adam looks like hes been in 'Dad' mode and got zero sleep! Great video! XD

[@boobsax]

You should discuss the music of Chet Baker and Gerry Mulligan and any of the music without a harmony instrument,piano or guitar. Being piano players you have piano players disease. 🤪The fact that you have all these notes and 10 fingers leads you to this place where you just have to use all the notes. Music is really just the rresonancebetween the bass note and the melody note. Play all your scales with just a base note and see how they sound. You don’t need a piano player or a guitar player to play those notes it’s about the linear motion. Music is linear at it’s core . Notice on a lot of Paul Desmond‘s playing with Dave Brubeck how Brubeck lays out for Desmond‘s solo allowing Desmond to fool around with his Middle Eastern scales. A great example is Ravel‘s Bolero for different scales in modes over the same base note. I’m sure all the scales have a name but it doesn’t really matter. It’s about the sound not what we call it.

[@MH-il1lk]

This is genius!

[@brothercaleb]

The nuts and bolts off bebop 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

[@iansantora31]

Essential for bass playing

[@sleepyd1231]

how do i know scales/modes to use over chords. I understand diatonic notes. I don;t understand the accidentals.

[@tradingwithwill7214]

Love these (I'm a guitarist). I call it Locrian natural 2

[@lukasalihein]

Locrian Natural 2 is the 6th mode of melodic minor isn't it?

[@Arycke]

@@lukasalihein yes.

[@daisiesofapril8343]

This is great. A perfect jazz lesson well taught. Don't think it's stupid, though. I think, rather, it's completely essential. But these type of words are just for marketing I imagine.

[@NizJazzBTC]

What's the benefits of the first exercise? Linking chord scales easily?

[@francisrichard5282]

Is the fact you play only the root allows you such a freedom in substitutions and breaking the rules? What about doing the practice with voicings in the left hand?

[@nealgrindstaff8651]

11:22, Coltrane would like a word.

[@MrDalsegno88]

i have a question. at 5.49 the Dmin7b5 says it has a locrian scale underneath, but really with the flats of Eb major in play is the scale still locrian ? or is it still just Eb major. also with, for example the g7 is the phrygian dominant scale a phrygian dominant of the G7 the Eb or something else ? because the phrygian dominant of g7 in reality is completely different to what is written, help me understand please

[@sabana7564]

the phrygian dominant of G is a b2,b6,b7/ That is what he has written. As for the Dmin7B5: the D locrian scale has a: b2 b3 b5 b6 b7. which would result in Ebmaj because it is the seventh mode of Eb.

[@nezkeys79]

I imagined those notes in the bass clef lol

[@edithgarcia1966]

Thanks for this beautiful class. I have one question: which o e is the Phrygian Dominant scale? Thanks again.

[@cosimobaldi03]

It's the fifth mode of harmonic minor, and also the third mode of harmonic major

[@Patrick_Bruno]

@@cosimobaldi03 A scale cannot be mode of both the harmonic minor and the harmonic major as these 2 scales are different (i.e. they are not a mode of each other). Check "harmonic major scale" on Wikipedia, if you need to.

[@cosimobaldi03]

@@Patrick_Bruno yeah it's true, i visualized the harmonic major wrong... You would need a major scale with a #5 and a natural 6, not a b6 and a perfect 5, for It to be a mode of the other two scales

[@bryanalfonso5700]

That was a lot of ground covered in 20 minutes!!

[@nadiakuznetsova2526]

Adam you are so funny 😁

[@Trevoke]

This looks like it'll be quite useful in a lot of ways! I'm only missing one thing from this, which is -- which scale are we choosing here, as an explosion of chords? if I understand correctly, we're taking a declination of the current scale, starting from the root of the chord? So if I'm in C minor and my chord progression is i-IV-vi-III-i , with no key change, I'll always be working off of C minor, but I'll be doing ionian, then lydian, then aeolian, then phrygian, then ionian again? Is that right? And in the case of something like a "Maj7b5", the flat five is in the chord but may not be diatonic to the mode, so if it's not in the mode then I shouldn't use it, at least at first, is that correct?

[@Danielshay]

The chord is what decides the mode, so if you have a maj7b5 you can play lydian. (Then it would be #4 not b5). I've never seen that chord before. I saw dominant 7b5, where you play either the Diminished scale or the Altered. But never Maj7b5. Hope it helps.

[@Trevoke]

@@Danielshay It does, thank you.

[@user-rf6yl7vw1u]

thanks for great lesson. why did he use the chord Bmin7 on bar 4, in the final chapter? i understood why he used the chord A7 on bar 8, because A7 is tritone substitution chord of Eb7. but i cant understand the chord progression VIIm7b5 - bVIm7 - VIm7.

[@Doomsdayhzl]

It’s just a chromatic approach to the Cmin7 in the next measure.

[@markcameron-smith]

Not sure if this will help...but this would be how I would justify it... E7 is tritone of Bb7 (which is 5 of Eb). Eb is relative major of Cmin so E7 can resolve to Cmin. Bmin is the corresponding 2 of E7 (5). The progression he uses skips the 5 (E7).

[@mrquick6775]

@@markcameron-smith Bmin is the 2 of Amaj7!

[@markcameron-smith]

@@mrquick6775 oops, thank you. I meant 2 of the corresponding 5. I'll edit that. Cheers.

[@mrquick6775]

@@markcameron-smith That’s what I thought you meant so no prob.. 😁

[@jeffreydelisle7337]

Ok good, interesting. Sounds great. However, how do you select g Phrygian over g minor, which has2 key tones or g major, or g augmented, etc? Ah, I see…you can select from among the scales which contain the chord, irrespective of the original key. So one really has to know all keys and modes a chord can fit in.

[@georgeabraham7256]

Ever read HP Lovecraft's "The Music of Erich Zann".. what is he playing??

[@chrisharrison809]

Rad. Melodic minor would be a good deep dive. Melodic minor vs harmonic minor vs ascending only and “classical melodic minor” and minor 6th dim, the super scale of both melodic and harmonic minor.

[@robertpowell9618]

Also some mixing of outside notes can be great for your ear. Harmonic Major or Lydian Augmented over the Eb, Altered or Diminished Scales over the Half Diminished chord, as well as mixing different Pentatonics that are more uncommon. Adam is great because he encourages inspiration.

[@breakfastplan4518]

Yeah.... No. Gotta PAY $$$ to have that information handed to you lol XD

[@BaronEvola123]

I didn't "get" (see,?hear?) the purpose harmonically the A7sus4 substitution in measure 8 going to the Ab chord in measure 9. Chalk it up to my v.rg.n jazz ears, but if someone could explain it perhaps....

[@recorr]

because it's modal ?

[@eddyaceti6576]

Shouldn't G phrygian mode start on a G note? B Dorian start on a B note? etc... Am I reading this wrong? If the last bar is meant to be G-mixo then shouldn't that be derived from C-scale which doesn't have a Db in it.

[@5pqrt5t3r6]

4:39 exercise zero 7:52 exercise 1

[@teach-learn4078]

Didn’t really understand this. First example was the major scale except in the G, ok, that was dominant… that seems like the most basic improv strategy, I don’t get, as opposed to doing what? As opposed to playing only chord tones I guess? I suppose I’m approaching this as much more of a noob with this question. Never studied improv formally, isn’t this what everyone does? Hmmm

[@eboone]

Misspelled aeolian

[@costasyiannourakos6963]

You can't tell to a break layer, that breaks are boring!!! If you do find them boring, you keep away from breaklaying!! As simple as that!!!

[@terrykosowick594]

Why would you call this a stupid exercise? To me, it is a fundamental, common sense kind of practice that will benefit all improvisers. I was not familiar with that Bm7 substitution. Interesting.

[@kennethreed8746]

Because it takes all musically out

[@pippon9626]

I think they feel the need to call it stupid because scale exercises are kinda looked down on in some jazz circles, seen as inferior to practicing changes and lead tones, transcription etc. I think it's just counter culture due to the fact that in some other circles, chord-scale theory is taught as the be all-end all, even when it's a hassle. As an example, when i was a beginning improviser, i was taught to think of all ii-V's as ii-dorian, then V-mixolydian, then I-ionian, when i might've learned stuff a bit quicker if i was told to learn the tune really well, then learn arpeggios over the changes, and which notes lead where. Chord-scale can be pretty heavy theoretically, and limit your approach when you're actually practicing. Not saying that I agree with this, all exercises can have their place as long as you know why you're doing them, and I don't see any point in knocking down on someone else's approach. Just that I've seen this anti-scale sentiment quite a bit.

[@paxwallace8324]

People don't understand practicing scales are an act of humility. Besides like all (practice in the Buddhist sense) you don't do it to get more different or better you just do it. Metronome on.

[@ninovasev]

like the face hahhh

[@auraofdeath423]

IT'S NOT STUPID, WHAT YA MEAN?

[@KUSILE]

Isn't this that anime/j-pop progression?

[@victorarnez7250]

So offensive to hear one of the exercises that helped me so much called STUPIED! I know, i'm too sensitive.

[@OandASBG289]

Bruh…..

[@Bobby007D]

You have to teach YOURSELF how to play (music), the guitar. Or you could use some method or no-method.?

[@drumtwo4seven]

You're rushing Put the metronome on WHOLE NOTES and lock into it eventually you'll be able to play right on the beat or by conscious choice behind or Infront of the beat Don't use quarter notes use whole notes

[@mohitoness]

It’s true if one has the patience to be almost chant like slow your mind figures out the working of the matrix in the background. Do it slowly til u sweat out of exertion then take a two hour break. Then try play the changes

[@esmondselwyn7676]

So why don't you also transcribe your own creative examples drawn from this source....?!?

[@MarkTarmannPianoCheck_it_out]

blah blah blah

[@goph999]

you talk too much