Bass Player, August 1998

DEEP SIX
by John Myung

Warming Up Backwards

     Hello fellow bassists!  First I`d like to thank Bass Player for inviting
me to write this column.  It`s not the kind of thing I'd normally do, but I see 
it as a rare opportunity to share some of the things I`ve learned along my musical
journey.
     While on tour I've been asked what I do for warm-up exercises.  Those include 
playing scales, and here`s how I practice them.
     One way to look at building a three-octave scale is by connecting the first 
six notes of each major-scale mode.  When you build a scale this way the order of 
the modes is backward.  The normal order of the major-scale modes is Ionian, Dorian,
Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, Locrian.  But when you apply the backward 
modal approach the order is reversed: You`ll play the first six notes of the Ionian,
followed by the first six of the Locrian, then Aeolian, Mixolydian, Lydian, Phrygian, 
and Dorian.  Ex. 1 through Ex. 7 apply the backward modal approach to C major.  Play 
the descending part of the scale the same way you went up.  It might be confusing at 
first, so practice the scales until you can visualize each mode's shape and how they 
interconnect; by then you'll know the territory.


Ex. 1

C Ionian
      -----Ionian-----  -----Locrian------  -------Aeolian--------
      |              |  |                |  |                    |
C-------------------------------------------------------------------------------12--|
G--T----------------------------------------------------------------12--14--16------|
D--A----------------------------------------------------12--14--15------------------|
A--B------------------------------7--8--10--12--14--15------------------------------|
E--------------1--3--5--7--8--10----------------------------------------------------|
B-----1--3--5-----------------------------------------------------------------------|