The simplest ideas are often the most powerful — and ascending a scale from the root of each chord is one of the most effective ways to get the sounds of a progression genuinely into your ears and under your fingers.
What you'll get out of this lesson
You will learn the Ascensions exercise: a structured way to practise climbing the relevant scale over each chord in a progression, starting from different scale degrees. This builds both fluency and fretboard awareness at the same time.
The basic pattern
The starting point is simple: go to the root of each chord and ascend seven notes of the relevant scale. Over a ii-V-I in E♭, that means ascending F Dorian from F on the F minor 7, B♭ Mixolydian (or B♭ Altered if you're ready) from B♭ on the B♭7, and E♭ Major from E♭ on the E♭ major 7. Always aim to end on the 7th of each scale — it is rhythmically satisfying and trains your ear to hear that important colour. Practise this in as many positions and keys as you can before moving on.
Ascending from different scale degrees
Once the basic pattern is solid, the real work begins. Instead of always starting on the root, you ascend seven notes beginning from a different degree of the scale — and crucially, you use the same starting degree for every chord in the progression. Work through the following starting points:
- 1–2–3–4–5–6–7
- 2–3–4–5–6–7–1
- 3–4–5–6–7–1–2
- 4–5–6–7–1–2–3
- 5–6–7–1–2–3–4
- 6–7–1–2–3–4–5
- 7–1–2–3–4–5–6
Practise the bold patterns first — starting on the 1st, 3rd, and 5th means you are beginning on chord tones, which tends to yield the most musical-sounding results immediately. Once those are comfortable, fill in the rest.
Start off with taking this through and starting on every chord tone: play up from the root on every scale, play up from the 3rd on every scale, up from the 5th, up from the 7th — and then go up from the 9th, the 11th, and the 6th.
Extending the exercise
The same ascending framework works with pentatonics (the rhythm changes to groups of five), arpeggios including 9th arpeggios, and — when you're ready — with the B♭ Altered scale on the V chord. Think of it as copy-pasting the same ascending pattern over each chord, adapting the scale to suit the harmony. This is what "playing over changes" actually looks like in practice.
Taking it further
Once you have this exercise running smoothly over the ii-V-I in E♭, take it to other keys and then to longer progressions: a blues, a rhythm changes, eventually a full 32-bar standard. The goal is not just to know the scales but to have the ascending patterns so deeply internalised that they become musical building blocks you can call on instinctively.
Your homework
This week, master Ascensions over the F minor 7 — B♭7 — E♭ major 7 progression starting on the root of each chord. Once that is reliable, begin working through the chord-tone starting points (1st, 3rd, 5th) in at least two different positions on the neck. NOTE: this exercise should be practised for months to master it — be patient with it.