Collectible Guitar JulAug16 | Page 42
FRETBOARD
LESS TRAVELED
HEXATONIC SCALES (WHEN 5 IS NOT ENOUGH AND 7 IS TOO MANY) Rich Severson
GŒ„Š13
Sometimes blues and rock guitar players are
turned off when learning major scales. They
just sound so…. HOKEY MAJOR. The modes
might offer more useable sounds, but they are
so . . .NOTEY. Pentatonics are working for you,
but you’ve . . .WORN THEM OUT. Maybe a
hexatonic approach is just what you need.
Rich Severson
1
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are plenty of six note scales out there with
the Blues Scale and the Whole Tone scale. I
want to give you a practical approach to
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One way you might look at hexatonic scales is
spelled G Bb C D F and add a C# between C
and D. Now you have G Blues: G Bb C C# D
E F. This is a well-established Hexatonic scale.
4
1
2
4
1
2
4
1
and subtracting a note.
4
Major Hexatonic (do re mi). I call it the Do Re
Mi Major Hexatonic because it’s the first three
4 5 7
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5
C seems to make it sound less like a scale.
5
3
1
3
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3
3
2
1
4
4
3
1
4
3
1
3
3
1
4
7
5
8
3
1
4
7
5
10
14 15
12
4
4
2
2
2
7
5
5
3
5
A‹7
5fr
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"A" Dorian Hexatonic Lick
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"A" Dorian Hexatonic = MINOR 7th sounds
3
1
2
4
2
1
3
1
3
⁄
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2 4
2
2
3
7
5
4
4 5
4
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4fr
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& œ œ#œ
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"D" Mixolydian Hexatonic Lick
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the
two
surrounding
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works well.
Experiment with your own creations. If you
The combinations seem endless when you
come up with some cool and useable Hexatonic
consider the modes of major and minor scales.
scales, let me know about it!
Labeling them, as far as I can tell, is not set in
‘Till next time...
Jul Aug 2016
7
9 7
7
added the chord they will sound good over.
42
9 7
7
5 7
notes,
more.
1
5
5
Here are some scales I like to use. I’ve also
is
1 3 1
14
8 10
7
4 5 7
Remember,
less
1 3 1
"D" Mixolydian Hexatonic = DOMINANT 7th sounds
which makes Hexatonic unique sounding.
sometimes
3 1
CollectibleGuitar.com
8
9
5
the term “Hexatonic” after the parent scale
between
5
7
7
D9
stone so call them whatever you want. Adding
Eliminating one note causes a wider interval
5
3
Some define a “G” Major Hexatonic scale as G
A B C D E, which I don’t like as much.
˙.
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œ#œ œ œ œ
œ
œ
#œ œ œ
œœœ œ
6
Here's a lick/sequence you can use
3
12
notes of a G and a D scale. I really like the way
the scale sounds over a Gmaj7. Removing the
1
2 5 7
5
to create G A B D E F# which could be called
3
4 7 9
5
10 12 15
Let’s take the G major scale - G A B C D E F#
and eliminate a note. I like to remove the C
1
7
2 3 5
Another concept is taking a seven note scale
3
Apply this sequence to the other scales
1
by taking a five note scale and adding another
note. Take the G minor Pentatonic, which is
2
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5
5
3
4
4
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3
5
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defining them and using them in your playing,
and even creating your own your own scales.
3
3
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œ
œ
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3
Major Hexatonic (Do Re Mi) = MAJOR 2sounds
3
Hexatonic simply means a six note scale. There
funny names, but the two most common are
Try this fingering
1
1
7
5