If you're like me, you might think practicing scales is boring. Since I was around the age of 18, I've added improvisational "enhancements" to my scales to make them more musically enjoyable to me. If you're learning how to improvise, or if you want to test your improvisational skills, I think this could be a useful exercise for you. For this exercise, you can either prepend or append improvisations to your scales. My personal preference is to append improvisations as scale endings or modulations.
This example video demonstrates two traditional unenhanced scales followed by two enhanced scales. The first of the enhanced scales adds an "ending" to the scale that's in the same key as the scale. The second of the enhanced scales demonstrates an improvisational modulation from one scale to the next. For example, once the G scale ends, the improvisational element finds its way to the V chord of the following D scale (ie: A chord) and immediately continues up the D scale without stopping.
When adding improvisational enhancements to your scales, vary the improvisations from scale to scale without repeating them. Challenge yourself to invent a new ending or modulation for every scale.
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