Thoughts as you review
I’ve pointed out before that no written exercises are perfect. Music is in some ways very mathematical. The intervals follow specific, repeatable patterns. That is, they are repeatable until you get to the ends of the range of your instrument. How do you repeat a pattern after that?
The simple answer is, you don’t, exactly. But if you get too bogged down in the pattern, you’ll lose sight of the reason for these exercises. Think of it as learning to speak a language. You don’t merely want to memorize sentences; you want to understand the meaning of the phrases you’re using and you want to learn to use them in sentences to convey those meanings.
For instance, if you look at the F# pentatonic scale exercise, you’ll see that sometimes the pattern doesn’t repeat in a way that sounds musical as you play it. This one was modified a bit – to sound somewhat musical as you play it, so you get familiar with the sound and the feel of the scale.
Again, don’t worry too much about it. Just work with these exercises as guides to gaining a musical familiarity with the scales, the contents of their notes and the like. The end goal is to be able to play in these keys and scales both off the page and from memory, by ear.
Review: C minor scales and 3rds
Review the C minor scale and the scale in intervals of 3rds over the entire range of your instrument.
Do: C and F# “pentatonic” scales and 3rds
Work on the C and F# pentatonic scales in intervals of 3rds over the entire range of your instrument.
Review: Db Arpeggio Exercises
Review these exercises with the goal of eventually being able to them in different patterns, different rhythmic patterns and the like.
Do: Bb Arpeggio Exercises
