THEORY OF THE MONTH

Theory of the Month MASTER MINOR-TRIAD MELODIC STRUCTURES

Joe Hubbard takes us through three ways to exploit this useful theory

nderstanding chord tones is essential for any bassist, because when you resolve your lines, you’re aiming to land on a chord tone. Many of us understand this concept, but are aware of very few ways to develop the melodic vocabulary needed to create interesting lines. In this lesson, I’m going to show you how to take a minor triad and dissect the melodic possibilities in root position, 1st inversion, and 2nd inversion.

The three notes in the minor triad can be arranged six different ways: These different

The three notes in the minor triad can be arranged six different ways: These different arrangements are called permutations

arrangements of the three-note melodies are called permutations. To organize them, if we take the number sequence 1-2-3 and systematically rearrange how these notes appear from 1-2-3 all the way to 3-2-1, we will end up with six different melodic structures to play with: 1-2-3, 2-1-3, 3-12, 1-3-2, 2-3-1 and 3-2-1.

Most music teachers only recommend practicing 1-2-3 and 3-2-1 in root position when playing arpeggios. With that in mind, if we then add 1st and 2nd inversions to this it creates an entirely different solution. Until next time, practice smart, work hard, and play creatively.

EXERCISE 1

The first thing to notice is that all of these exercises are written in 3/4 time with eighth-note triplets. In position, play the exercise as written, and then start moving up and back down the fingerboard in half-steps. This will acclimatise you to being able to hear and feel the exercise efficiently. As you move up and down, verbalize the triads by saying C minor, Db minor, D minor, and so on: Then do a round where you say the notes in each triad out loud as you play in time. EXERCISE ONE

EXERCISE TWO

EXERCISE THREE

EXERCISE 2

In this exercise, we’re doing the same thing but this time in 1st inversion. The number permutation system will be exactly the same as in Exercise 1. You’re simply thinking about the first, second, and third notes of a given melody and rearranging them in six different note arrangements. As well as verbalizing the chord names and note names, try to name all the note functions—b3-5-root, for example.

EXERCISE 3

This exercise follows the same procedure as the previous two examples, but this time we’re playing the note permutations from the second inversion, which starts on the fifth of the chord. Relevantly to the previous two exercises, practice this by moving up and down in half-steps. Start slow, and play it with feeling!