A scale exercise with up and down movement in 3rds

I thought I’d share a quick scale exercise that’s based on 3rds but using a bit of up and down motion to make it more musical.

The basic approach is to play a note, then the note a 3rd above that, then the next scale note and then the note a 3rd below. Start again from the note a 3rd above the original starting note. Effectively the pattern is 1, 3, 4, 2, then 3, 5, 6, 4, then 5, 7, 1, 6, etc. Rinse and repeat, and reverse.

Example in A major using the Ionian mode:

• Start with the root (A).
• Play the note a major 3rd above (C#).
• Play the next scale note (D).
• Play the note a minor 3rd below that (B).
• Start again from the note a major 3rd above the original root (C#).