Octatonics and courses dealing with Octatonic Scales, Chords, Tetrads and Bebop Scales by Bruce Arnold for Muse Eek Publishing Inc.
Octatonics Series is a groups of books written by Bruce Arnold dealing with Octatonic (eight note) scales. This is a vast subject that is seldom covered by other music publishers and is long overdue. I will be adding the various courses to this page over time.
The first series of books will cover: Bebop Scales 124 Bebop Scales, Segmenting Bebop Scales, Segmented Bebop Scales with Approaches, Octatonic Chords and 495 Octatonic Chord Scales.
Two of the most commonly used octatonic scales are the diminished and symmetrical diminished scales. These two scales are some of the most useful scales in an improvisers toolkit. But there are many more eight note scales such as the passing diminished scales, Bebop scales and others that are useful to create a unique sound.
There are 495 possible eight note scales. Some of these octatonic courses deal with all 495 scales while others look at a subset (124) scales that I’ve found useful. Bebop scales are also covered in this series. It is common to use about 10-15 Bebop scales but if you follow the logic of Bebop scale production there are actually more like 124 Bebop scales that can be useful in improvisation and composition!
The study of the diatonic chords of octatonic scales is also a subject seldom covered. I’ve created a book of the diatonic 3 and 4 note chord voicings covering 124 octatonic scales. Learning these chords will really help you hear, retain and use octatonics in a more creative and musical way.
Many of the courses contain music examples written on a music staff and include midi files so you can hear the examples, while other courses just contain lists of scales either as degrees and/or pitch class sets. See each specific course for a list of contents.
Purchase on Bruce Arnold’s Patreon Page
This course works with 124 Bebop scales but is also an overview of future courses. Bebop scales are some of the most commonly known octatonic scales and are one of the techniques used by jazz musician to create a “Bebop Sound.” They are used in a very specific way so they are in a special class of eight note scales.
Most musicians are familiar with a small subset of Bebop scales. This course looks at the common Bebop scales as well as many more. You can see from the Table of Contents below that many aspects of Bebop scales are covered as well as an introduction to some of the future courses which cover; Segmenting Bebop scales and Segmenting Bebop scales with Approaches.
The other courses mentioned above will really help you to see all the applications of Bebop scales and are very important concepts to grasp their full potentials. Overall this is a great course to get started learning Bebop Scales, understanding their use and seeing future ways that you can practice and apply them.
Bebop Scales
Common Bebop Scales
Course Breakdown
29 Octatonic Scales
Seventh Chords Continued
124 Bebop Scales
Chromatic Modes of Bebop Scales
Bebop Scales and Chords They Work Over
495 Eight Note Scales with Prime Form
How to Practice with this Course
Segmenting Bebop Scales; an introduction
Approaching Bebop Scales; an introduction
Going Beyond Bebop Scales
Diatonic Chords of Eight Note Scales; an introduction
Chord Tones and Available Tensions
Passing Diminished
Chords Derived from an Eight Note Scale; an introduction
Application of Eight Note Scales; an introduction
As you can see from the TOC this course goes explores Bebop Scales on a very deep level. It also includes references to Pitch Class Set Theory so that you can see how all scales are related back to the 29 Eight Note Scale Prime Forms.
95 Page PDF
All 495 Eight Note Scales in all keys with midi files.
Jam Tracks V1 (MP3’s of 10 chord types in all 12 keys)
Purchase at Bruce Arnold’s Patreon Page
Segmenting Bebop scales is a crucial part of using these scales effectively. As you learned in the “124 Bebop Scales” course, Bebop scales are eight note scales where there is an added note, usually from a common seven note scale. When musicians apply Bebop scales they tend to gravitate towards the segment of the scale that contains the added note because otherwise the Bebop effect is lost.
In this course you will be working with the additional folders for the ascending and descending segments of each Bebop scale. These files present the segmented Bebop scale in 12 keys for all 124 Bebop Scales. I’d recommend starting with the more common Bebop scales which are listed on page 2. I would learn to segment two or three Bebop scales before moving on the “Segmenting Bebop Scales with Approach Notes.“
You will quickly find that not only do these segmented Bebop scales give you a strong “Jazz Sound” but they also help your understanding of time and groove. In the traditional way of using these scales you need to put the chord tones of the Bebop scale on the beat. This takes a while especially if you have never thought of playing scales this way.
The meat of this course is found in the segmentation of the Bebop scales found in the additional files with this course. Being able to segment a Bebop scale means you know the scale in a much deeper way. Being able to start in 4 different places within the scale will prepare you for the next course “Segmenting Bebop Scales with Approach Notes.”
Segmenting Bebop Scales
Common Bebop Scales
Course Breakdown
124 Bebop Scales
Bebop Scales and Chords They Work Over
How to Practice with this Course
Segmenting Bebop Scales Examples
Conclusion
ISBN: 978-1-59489-289-9
Purchase at Bruce Arnold’s Patreon Page
“Segmenting Bebop Scales with Approaches” is very similar in written content to the “Segmenting Bebop Scales” course. The main difference is the inclusion of 11,904 PDFs and Midi files for the exercises and an explanation of approach notes. Although the application of Bebop scales with approaches is very similar to the directions used for the “Segmenting Bebop Scales” course, one of the crucial differences is how this course will change your ability to play over chord changes and more importantly, how it will change your phrasing.
The use of approach notes with these segmented Bebop scales requires a whole new set of skills which will become apparent as you read through the course. If you haven’t worked with approach notes previously you will find this will be a pretty step learning curve especially when you start applying these figures within real music.
I spent many years working on the similar rote exercises as found in this book. I also spent a lot of time applying these figures to jazz standards. Most of the chord progressions I used were from the Bebop lexicon; songs such as “Confirmation,” “Donna Lee,” and Rhythm Changes. It is also a great idea to play these progression in all 12 keys.
You will quickly find that not only do these segmented Bebop scales with approaches gives you a strong “Jazz Sound” but they also help your understanding phrasing in a whole new way. By anticipating the segmented Bebop line you create a whole new way to phrase. More on this in the course.
With the addition of this course you now have three method books that you can use to get a deeper understanding of Bebop scales and two different ways to play them, with and without approaches.
It’s also important to do some ear training with these segmented Bebop Scales. My teachers had me play but also sing these segmented Bebop scales with approaches all in one key. So for instance, if you were playing these over “Donna Lee” you would sing all the segmented scales in the key of Ab. This will not be easy for most musicians but will really ingrain the information and help improve your key retention.
Segmenting Bebop Scales with Approaches
Common Bebop Scales
Approach Notes
Course Breakdown
124 Bebop Scales
Bebop Scales and Chords They Work Over
How to Practice with this Course
Segmenting Bebop Scales with Approaches
Conclusion
Jam Tracks V1 (MP3’s of 10 chord types in all 12 keys)
ISBN: 978-1-59489-290-5
Go to Order Page– $24.99
Buy on Bruce Arnold’s Patreon Site
The best way to start this course is to pick an octatonic scale and learn it on your instrument. Sing it over a drone, and explore the chord voicings for the scale. The symmetrical diminished or diminished scale will of course be on of the first scales students work on because it is so prevalent in contemporary music. It will give you a sense of improvement quickly, and that will encourage you to take things further.
On the first few pages I’ve presented a lot of ways you could approach this course and a series of lists that can help explore eight note scales and the chords that can be used with them.
This course looks at 495 octatonic scales, their internal structure, which chords they can be played over and much more information to help you organize your study. These 495 possible eight note scales can be reduced down the 29 prime forms using pitch class set theory that can be helpful when you are organizing how these octatonic scales interrelate. I’ve include references to these throughout this course. The pitch class set theory information is by no means crucial to working with this course but over time you will see its usefulness. If you want to learn more about pitch class set theory and how it can be used by an improvising musician I recommend the “Sonic Resource Guide.”
Included in this course is a list of compositions by various composers who have used octatonic scales. I highly recommend listening to this music to give you ideas and inspiration. You should also check out the music and improvisations of guitarist Alan Holdsworth. His use of octatonic scales in his compositions and improvisations is one of the reasons his music sounds so unique.
This course also contains a list of the two tetrad (4 note) chords that form the complete eight note scale. This list shows the Two Tetrad combinations for the 29 possible pitch class sets. This list comes from the “Sonic Resource Guide” which I highly recommend if you want to dig deeper into all scales. The Two Tetrad list can be used to find two four note structures that contain all the notes of an eight note scale. In any case these chord structures will help to give you the “octatonic sound” and get past some of the common pitfalls.
It’s also important to do some ear training with these segmented Bebop Scales. My teachers had me play but also sing these segmented Bebop scales with approaches all in one key. So for instance, if you were playing these over “Donna Lee” you would sing all the segmented scales in the key of Ab. This will not be easy for most musicians but will really ingrain the information and help improve your key retention.
Read More about 495 Eight Note Scales in All 12 Keys at Bruce Arnold’s Blog
Composers and Musicians that have used Octatonic Scales
495 Eight Note Scales
How to Work with this Course
“Derivative” Composition
Chords and Available Tensions
Ways to Implement Diatonic Octatonic Chords
495 Eight Note Scales with Prime Form
Diatonic Chords of Eight Note Scales
Diatonic Chords of the Key of C
Conclusion
Jam Tracks V1 (MP3’s of 10 chord types in all 12 keys)
ISBN: 978-1-59489-292-9
Add digital copy to cart – $24.99
Buy on Bruce Arnold Patreon Site
I recommend working with this course in tandem with the Bebop Scale Courses or the 475 Octatonic Scales book. Learning to hear the harmony for eight note scales in crucial to using them musically. I’ve also included some very useful information on how you might approach using not only the chords but the eight note scales in a musical way and some of the pitfalls that you might encounter.
This course takes a subset of the 495 possible eight note scales and looks at diatonic chords found in 124 octatonic scales. Some of these scales have been chosen because they are commonly used, like the diminished scale. Others are typical Bebop scales while others are scales that I have found interesting, but are also part of other courses I’ve created such as the series of books on Bebop scales.
This course looks at the 3 and 4 note chords derived from these 124 octatonic scales in several ways. The 3 note diatonic chords are grouped by root, 1st and 2nd inversion, while the 4 note chords are grouped by root, 1st, 2nd and 3rd inversion but also include these voicings ascending through each eight note scale. In all of these cases you will find all 3 and 4 note chord voicings in all keys so it’s a quite a large resource that makes it very easy to organize and dig into the chords quickly.
Midi Files are included for all exercises so you can listen to these chord voicings. I would highly recommend singing through these voicings and singing the scale over these voicings as an ear training exercise. This will really help to ingrain the sound of the chords.
Read more about this book, other eight note scale and Bebop Scale books and more at Bruce Arnold’s Blog.
Composers and Musicians who have used Octatonic Scales
Diatonic Octatonic Chord Voicings
Course Breakdown
Ways to Implement Octatonic Chords
Two Trichords from an Octatonic Scale
Two Tetrads from an Octatonic Scale
29 Octatonic Scales
124 Octatonic scales Used in this Book
Bebop Scales and Chords They Work Over
495 Eight Note Scales with Prime Form
Chords and Available Tensions
Chords Derived from an Eight Note Scales
Conclusion
ISBN: 978-1-59489-291-2
You might find the “Music Education Genealogy Chart” located on Bruce Arnold’s artist website interesting. You will clearly see the historic progression of pedagogy that is the basis for Muse Eek Publishing Products. Great musicians throughout history have been studying the ideas presented by Muse-eek.com which derives its content from a a lineage that stretches back to Scarlatti!
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