This week we have a major scale exercise that should help with your many different parts of your musicianship.
Practising The Cycle of Fourths
In this exercise, we are going to play the major scale through the cycle of fourths (C major, F major, Bb major etc), whilst staying in the same position on the neck. We are also going to include every note of the scale we can find in that position, so that means going above or below the root in some cases.
Remember:
- Stay in the first position (the highest fret you should be using is fret 6)
- Keep a steady rhythm and don’t start too fast
- Utilise every note in the scale that is available to you in the first position
- Start on the root, go up to the highest scale tone you can reach then descend the scale to the lowest tone and finally return to the root
How Will This Benefit Me?
Utilising every available scale tone in a single position will help you break out of the linear ‘root to octave’ pattern that many players fall into. This is because it forces you to think of the scale from different perspectives and puts more emphasis on learning the notes instead of just patterns.
Doing the exercise around the cycle of fourths helps you understand the ordering of keys and what fingering pattern you can assign to each key. This will also improve your reading as you will be able to align your fingers in a position that naturally works for the key.
Mark I miss your Fender Jazz bass but those Sims Super Quads are genius , wonder if I can fit them on my Fender MIM Jazz , also I need a neck like your Fender with the binding and quarter inch wider fretboard.
The Banger Lady moved out thank God so no more holding back , full blast slap-pop anytime now , I’m free to practice…
Thanks for your great lessons , I think your the best online instructor ever.
I`m taking Mark`s Slap Bass course and I love it. He takes you through the steps in a logical way while not being overwhelming. Mark is truly a great teacher and an amazing player. These courses are a bargain when you consider what private lessons would cost you and how many of us would have access to such a great teacher? Very few.
Mark thanks for this new lesson I like the major scale circle of 4ths
You are putting out so much great stuff, I think my brain is going to explode!!!
jeff. Melbourne Florida
Implementing this exercise on a six string bass covers a lot of notes, keeps you busy.
Indeed it does ! :)
Thanks for a great lesson, Mark. I’m going to add this to my daily practice routine.
This REALLY helped me. It breaks up your thinking. We all know A-G and that knowledge stands in the way for learning the places on the fretboard.
Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou!