A Simple Major Melody: Exploring Diatonic Enclosures and Descending 6ths
I’ve been working on a little melodic exercise that I think you’ll find really useful. It’s a simple major melody utilizing an enclosure and diatonic 6th and is grouped in 5. Here’s how it works:
- A diatonic enclosure of the 3rd (upper and lower neighbor tone)
- A descending diatonic 6th
- This outlines the 3rd to the 5th of each chord/mode in the major scale
- Is grouped in 5 (a melody of five 8th notes)
The basics:
I’ve included a PDF that shows the 5-note melody in B Major, descending by diatonic step.
It’s a great starting point to get familiar with the pattern.
Taking it further:
In the video, I’m demonstrating two things:
- Singing the melody
- Playing it on my instrument
I’m doing this in concert A, and I’m playing the melody as triplets grouped in 5. This creates a really interesting rhythmic displacement which could potentially work over any chord in that key center. That is, in the Key of concert A the entire melody could work over just B – 7 or E7 or D Maj 7 #11 etc…
The harmonic context:
You could use any harmonic context from the 7 major modes.
In this example I’m playing the melody over a bass and drums drone on the 4th scale degree of the key. This implies a concert D Lydian sound, which gives the exercise a unique sound.
Why this exercise is valuable:
- It helps you internalize the sound of diatonic enclosures
- It improves your ability to hear and play descending 6ths
- It strengthens your understanding of how melodies relate to chord tones
- The rhythmic grouping challenges your sense of time and phrasing
- It helps you learn to think modally in one key and play melodies through modes.
I’ve found this exercise to be incredibly helpful in my own playing. It’s simple enough to grasp quickly, but has enough depth to keep you engaged as you explore different keys and contexts. Give it a try and see how it fits into your practice routine. Start slow, focus on the sound, and gradually increase the tempo as you get comfortable. Remember, the goal is to internalize these sounds so you can use them naturally in your improvisation so singing the material is key.
~ Enjoy
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Once you can play this and sing this well in one key you could try to sing and play it over drones on each of the degrees of the scale. You could do that through all keys and modes and scale types or just try to use it over a standard jazz progression. Vary the rhythm and use space and phrasing to make the material more musical and personal.
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