HOW TO USE THE DICE AND PLAY THE FIRST GAME

 

 

 

 

 

 

         The first die in the set has twelve sides, each with one note from the chromatic scale on it.   You will roll this die to determine the KEY of the scale, chord, or exercise you will practice.

         The eight-sided die is used to determine what SCALE you will practice.   It can be used with the twelve-sided die to randomly select a key and a scale. Refer to chapter two in the book for detailed descriptions of the scales and their construction.

 

EIGHT-SIDED DIE ABBREVIATION TABLE
Side
Abbreviation
Scale
1
MAJ
Major
2
NM
Natural Minor
3
HM
Harmonic Minor
4
MM
Melodic Minor
5
JMM
Jazz Melodic Minor
6
WT
Whole Tone
7
W 1/2
Whole-Half Diminished
8
1/2 W
Half-Whole Diminished

 

 

 

 

         The addition of the six-sided die provides infinite variations to the exercise.   The following table shows two examples of how the six-sided die is used in the basic form of the game. The Games For Advanced Technique section of the book (p. 26-31) lists more difficult substitutions.   Refer to the following chapter Scales (p. 6-19) for detailed descriptions of the scales and their respective thirds and arpeggios.

SIX-SIDED DIE VARIATIONS
Roll

Play
1, 2, or 3
Scale
4, 5, or 6
Arpeggio
1 or 2
Scale
3 or 4
Arpeggio
5 or 6
Broken Thirds

The goal of the basic game:

        Someone proficient at the basic dice game should be able to do the following from memory:

  1. Play all scales (major, natural minor, harmonic minor, melodic minor, jazz melodic minor, whole-tone, whole-half diminished and half-whole diminished) in sixteenth notes, the full range of your instrument at a tempo of quarter note = 100 bpm.
  2. Play all scales in thirds in sixteenth notes, the full range of your instrument at a tempo of quarter note = 100 bpm.
  3. Play the arpeggio of all scales in sixteenth notes, the full range of your instrument at a tempo of quarter note = 100 bpm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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