A great way to move up and down the neck of the fingerboard is
the use of “harmonized scales.” The use of harmonized scales for this
purpose was discussed in details in Volume 4 of the Flatpicking Essentials
course. Here I’ll give a brief overview and provide a new example of
using these scales in the flatpicking standard “Whiskey Before
Breakfast.”
A harmonized scales
consists of a scale played in conjunction with harmony notes that
relate to that scale. Most commonly, diatonic major and minor thirds
are used. If the two notes are played simultaneously, they are
referred to as “double stops.” In our examples here we are going to
alternate playing the scale note with its harmony note, or play the
two notes in conjunction with a drone note. The diagram below shows a
G scale and the harmony notes that work with it to form a harmonized
scale. The tab below demonstrates how you might use this scale to
move in an ascending manner up the fretboard. The first example just
employs the harmonized scale. The second example inserts a G note
drone.
In the “Whiskey Before Breakfast” example that follows,
I’ve used a different type of harmonized scales at the end of each of
the A and B parts. In measure 7 I used a descending harmonized scale
to move from the 10th fret down to the 3rd fret. In measures 15 and
16 I used an ascending harmonized scale to move from the 7th fret up
to the 15th fret. In measures 21 through 24 I used a descending
harmonized scale in conjunction with a D note drone. Finally, in
measures 29 through 32 I used a three note harmonized scale (chords)
to move from the 10th fret down to the 3rd fret.
