• An Introductory Lesson On The Hexatonic Scale

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    Welcome to this introductory lesson on the hexatonic scale.

    The hexatonic scale is one of the scales every serious jazz or gospel pianist must be familiar with, especially those at the intermediate and pre-advanced skill level.

    In addition to learning what the term hexatonic scale means, we’ll also be focusing on two variants of the scale.

    Let’s get started!

    “What Is A Hexatonic Scale?”

    A scale consists of a melodic progression of notes in ascending or descending order with a fixed distance between successive tones.

    For example, playing all the notes on the keyboard from C to C:

    …produces the C major scale, which is a melodic progression of notes that can be played in ascending or descending. Of course, the distance between the successive tones are fixed.

    Hexatonic Scales — Described

    Although there are so many ways to classify a scale, scales are classified according to the number of notes per octave.

    When a scale consists of six notes per octave, such a scale is said to be hexatonic. The term hexatonic can be broken down into:

    Hex which means six

    Tonic which means tones

    So, the hexatonic scale is simply a six-tone scale.

    Two Common Hexatonic Scale Types

    Although there are several varieties of the hexatonic scale, there are two hexatonic scale types that we’ll be focusing on in this lesson and they are as follows:

    The major hexatonic scale

    The minor hexatonic scale

    Check them out!

    The Major Hexatonic Scale

    C major hexatonic scale:

    Db major hexatonic scale:

    D major hexatonic scale:

    Eb major hexatonic scale:

    E major hexatonic scale:

    F major hexatonic scale:

    Gb major hexatonic scale:

    G major hexatonic scale:

    Ab major hexatonic scale:

    A major hexatonic scale:

    Bb major hexatonic scale:

    B major hexatonic scale:

    The Minor Hexatonic Scale

    C minor hexatonic scale:

    C# minor hexatonic scale:

    D minor hexatonic scale:

    Eb minor hexatonic scale:

    E minor hexatonic scale:

    F minor hexatonic scale:

    F# minor hexatonic scale:

    G minor hexatonic scale:

    G# minor hexatonic scale:

    A minor hexatonic scale:

    Bb minor hexatonic scale:

    B minor hexatonic scale:

    Final Words

    The major and minor hexatonic scales can be used in addition to the natural major and minor scales. Especially in time-signatures that are divisible by three: or in triplets.

    See you in the next lesson.

     

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    Onyemachi "Onye" Chuku is a Nigerian musicologist, pianist, and author. Inspired by his role model (Jermaine Griggs) who has become his mentor, what he started off as teaching musicians in his Aba-Nigeria neighborhood in April 2005 eventually morphed into an international career that has helped hundreds of thousands of musicians all around the world. Onye lives in Dubai and is currently the Head of Education at HearandPlay Music Group and the music consultant of the Gospel Music Training Center, all in California, USA.




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