The Thing About The Augmented
The augmented scale is one of the four primary scales, following the fantastic four primary chords that exist. If you remember the principle that states:
'Notes form Scales'
‘Scales form Chords’
'Chords form Patterns'
'Patterns for Songs'
‘Scales form Chords’
'Chords form Patterns'
'Patterns for Songs'
You will understand why I call it one of the four primary scales.
As we know, the augmented is a symmetrically built scale. Symmetric is the word used to describe scales (and chords) where more than one root will result in the same set of notes. There are several different types e.g. Whole tone scale, Diminished scale, augmented scale, half diminished scale, two-semitone tritone scale.
The symmetric scales are rarely used for whole melodies or prolonged periods of improvising, because their regular intervals do not fit well with the Major scale or with any of the minor scales. However, they can be effective when improvising for adding brief passages of tension. They also play a useful role for improvising over a key change, since they can partially fit with two different Major or minor scales at the same time.
Challenges most students face with scale manipulation or harness is the remembrance of the intervals/distance between notes [the scale sequence generally]. That can be rather frustrating for lots of them, and they seem to settle for the easier ones they have managed to grasp like the major scale, but this causes improvisations and runs to sound rather stale, and it hampers creativity and variety in performance.
In this article, I want to speak briefly on how a student can easily remember the notes of the augmented scale.
Firstly, like mentioned earlier, the augmented scale is a symmetric scale, meaning that the interval relationships between scale degrees are repeated to create a symmetrical pattern. It is a hexatonic scale – that is, it only has six tones. Other scales like it are the Whole Tone Scale, Prometheus Scale, Blues Scale, Tritone Scale, etc.
As we know, the augmented is a symmetrically built scale. Symmetric is the word used to describe scales (and chords) where more than one root will result in the same set of notes. There are several different types e.g. Whole tone scale, Diminished scale, augmented scale, half diminished scale, two-semitone tritone scale.
The symmetric scales are rarely used for whole melodies or prolonged periods of improvising, because their regular intervals do not fit well with the Major scale or with any of the minor scales. However, they can be effective when improvising for adding brief passages of tension. They also play a useful role for improvising over a key change, since they can partially fit with two different Major or minor scales at the same time.
Challenges most students face with scale manipulation or harness is the remembrance of the intervals/distance between notes [the scale sequence generally]. That can be rather frustrating for lots of them, and they seem to settle for the easier ones they have managed to grasp like the major scale, but this causes improvisations and runs to sound rather stale, and it hampers creativity and variety in performance.
In this article, I want to speak briefly on how a student can easily remember the notes of the augmented scale.
Firstly, like mentioned earlier, the augmented scale is a symmetric scale, meaning that the interval relationships between scale degrees are repeated to create a symmetrical pattern. It is a hexatonic scale – that is, it only has six tones. Other scales like it are the Whole Tone Scale, Prometheus Scale, Blues Scale, Tritone Scale, etc.
Above is the C augmented scale. We can see that the interval between notes from a consistent pattern, which makes it easy to identify.
The beauty of this scale is that you only have four of them to master.
Huh! Excuse me Harold, can you say that again?
Yes! You really only have four of them to master all through the keyboard. Strange is it? Let us take a look at the C augmented chord
The beauty of this scale is that you only have four of them to master.
Huh! Excuse me Harold, can you say that again?
Yes! You really only have four of them to master all through the keyboard. Strange is it? Let us take a look at the C augmented chord
The augmented triad cannot be extended except the pattern be altered. Now notice the notes in the chord, C E G#, all have the same augmented scale. The only difference is where the scale starts from, but it maintains the same notes. Remember, symmetric is the word used to describe scales (and chords) where more than one root will result in the same set of notes, and this scale is symmetric in nature.
Performing some mathematical formula, we have 12 unique notes on the keyboard. We have seen that 3 of them share the same augmented scale, leaving 9 notes. When you divide 12 by 3, you have 4, meaning that four selections of augmented triad chords all share the same scale with their individual notes.
C E G#
Db F A
D F# A#
Eb G B
Each of the notes in these chords share the same scale where more than one root results in the same set of notes.
So back to our target in this post. How does a beginner master the scale easily aside from the usual intervals? And how can he use it in his performance?
Well, let us look at the C augmented scale again
Performing some mathematical formula, we have 12 unique notes on the keyboard. We have seen that 3 of them share the same augmented scale, leaving 9 notes. When you divide 12 by 3, you have 4, meaning that four selections of augmented triad chords all share the same scale with their individual notes.
C E G#
Db F A
D F# A#
Eb G B
Each of the notes in these chords share the same scale where more than one root results in the same set of notes.
So back to our target in this post. How does a beginner master the scale easily aside from the usual intervals? And how can he use it in his performance?
Well, let us look at the C augmented scale again
In line with a thought pattern I started a while back, 'Family affair' and 'Complexities of the Major scale', We will use these to easily identify the scale. Pay attention.
Key C is the first note on the C Major scale. It is also the third note on the Ab Major scale.
How does that help?
Combine the chord of your C major 7: C E G B, with that of your Ab Major 7: Ab C Eb G.
Key C is the first note on the C Major scale. It is also the third note on the Ab Major scale.
How does that help?
Combine the chord of your C major 7: C E G B, with that of your Ab Major 7: Ab C Eb G.
There! You have your augmented scale in both keys.
You know that the C augmented scale has exactly the same notes as the Ab/G# augmented scale right?
Look at the augmented triad of both chords:
You know that the C augmented scale has exactly the same notes as the Ab/G# augmented scale right?
Look at the augmented triad of both chords:
Same notes arranged differently in an inversion. Funny right?
So here's the thing. If you want to remember the scale, just pick out the individual notes of both Major 7 chords, and there you have it. A very strange but easy way to remember your scale for usage. Just think of any key, locate another key which makes it the third degree, combine their respective Major 7 chords, and you have the augmented scale for both keys. Or even better, when you think of the augmented triad, the two boundary notes (first and last notes in the chord) are the keys you want to focus on e.g C and G#/Ab
More to come. See you later.
So here's the thing. If you want to remember the scale, just pick out the individual notes of both Major 7 chords, and there you have it. A very strange but easy way to remember your scale for usage. Just think of any key, locate another key which makes it the third degree, combine their respective Major 7 chords, and you have the augmented scale for both keys. Or even better, when you think of the augmented triad, the two boundary notes (first and last notes in the chord) are the keys you want to focus on e.g C and G#/Ab
More to come. See you later.