When in Doubt, Write it Out

Steve Raybine:


Blog #62:


When in Doubt, Write it Out


"When it doubt, write it out," is one of my Raybineisms.' During a recent music lesson with one of my saxophone students, I asked him to write out certain modes and scales that jazzers use for improvisational purposes. What he discovered, was that he was confused as to the intervallic design of the modes and scales I requested from him. This scenario brings us to the importance of my saying, "When in doubt, write it out."


During the course of my evolution in jazz and especially during the formative years of my development, I spent endless hours writing out modes; scales; chords; patterns; etc. This process helped me crystallize my understanding of the theoretical principles that govern jazz improvisation. For many musicians, writing things out identifies what they do- and do-not know in exacting detail. It is a viable and helpful process that illustrates the strengths and weaknesses of their understanding of jazz theory and harmony. As regards my sax student, his assignment for the following week was to write out all the modes and scales (in all keys) correctly in order to eradicate his errors and to increase his understanding of their intervallic design.


In summation: if you are having difficulty remembering the vast amount of modes; scales; chords; etc., that are integral to the jazz lexicon vocabulary, take the time to write them out in all keys as often as you need to in order to learn them quickly and accurately. Remember, "When in doubt, write it out," may be the answer that you've been looking for in order to gain a deeper understanding of the core ingredients of jazz theory and harmony. Good luck and good writing.




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