Symmetrical by DESMONDWYSON via flickr

During a recent lesson, a student of mine hit me with the following question “Master (no, people don’t really call me this way…), what do I play over a Major 7th #5 chord?”. I then proceeded to demonstrate the usual suspects, i.e., the melodic and harmonic minor scales from the bIII degree… and the symmetrical augmented scale. “Master, master, what is this? What is THIIIIIS?!”, exclaimed my student. “This, my young apprentice (no, I don’t call my students this way either), is the symmetrical augmented scale”.

So, here’s the rundown on this scale! We’re looking at this (all examples are in the key of C):

Mmmmm… Notice that this is a 6-note scale, a hexatonic scale. The symmetrical part comes from the repeating sequence of intervals used to build it: minor 3rd, minor 2nd, minor 3rd, minor 2nd, and so on.

Being a symmetrical scale, you will find interesting things in the intervals between each and every note.

Pay attention on exactly which degrees of the scale certain intervals occur.

Likewise, there’s a wealth of triads to be found in this scale…

… as well as tetrads (7th chords):

If you have read my previous articles, you know that I have a particular interest in patterns (though patterns are NOT everything!). If you haven’t read those articles, please check out my website www.edouardbrenneisen.com, particularly the article dealing with new approaches to scale practice. Due to its particular symmetrical architecture, this scale lends itself particularly well to playing patterns. Here are a few for you!

Here are a few general observations on this scale and on the provided patterns:

• Like all symmetrical scales, this one has really no “handles”, which makes playing it a little unsettling at first;
• Like all symmetrical scales, it only has a number of possible transpositions (the C symmetrical augmented scale has the same notes as the E and Ab symmetrical augmented scales);
• The suggested patterns are only starting points – find your own!
• All patterns that you like should be played as retrograde, inversion and retrograde inversion of the original pattern;
• I really like playing alternate fingerings with this scale!

Now, I am not gonna tell you exactly on what chords you can play this scale. However, since you have borne with me this far, I have included a few pages of one of my compositions. This string quartet, “The Next Step”, deals only with the 6 notes of the symmetrical diminished scale (at least for the included pages). Incidentally, “The Next Step” bears a number of fortuitous similarities with John Coltrane’s seminal jazz standard, “Giant Steps”. Its title of course – a sheer coincidence, but also its 3 tonal centers, separated by a major 3rd. The actual pitches of these tonal centers are the same, too! However, “The Next Steps” owes more to John Adams’ “On the Transmigration of Souls” than to “Giant Steps”. You can listen to this piece on my website, www.edouardbrenneisen.com , in the “Classical” section. I hope you find as much interest in this scale as I did!

Click here to download this entire lesson as a PDF, including one of Eduoard’s original compositions, “The Next Step”.