Scale Colour System Book

Being the primary purveyor of private bass instruction on the Bass Gear Magazine staff – as well as someone who considers himself to be fairly visually oriented in the conceptualization of ideas – I was the logical reviewer to take a (somewhat) educated look at Alex Lofoco’s new bass and music theory demystifying tome, Scale Colour System, Bass, Vol 1 – Scales. He has also published a similar title for guitar.

Mr. Lofoco takes a novel approach in laying out repetitive fretboard shapes and fingering combinations according to color (or colour, as the Italian author has chosen to craft his messaging using the tools of British English orthography and convention). For example, whenever the single-string fingering pattern that occurs between the 6^th degree and octave of the major scale is used – index, ring finger two frets ahead of index, pinky one fret ahead of ring – this specific shape is colored yellow. This helps to identify the same fingering scenario in different contexts, such as in the first three notes of the Aeolian mode. Other familiar shapes are given other colors. Patterns throughout the book are consistently provided for both one finger per fret (1FpF) and stretched, – or three notes per string – methodologies.

The book is divided into sections that begin with an explanation of the color system, along with some basic elements of music theory and intervallic relationships between notes, and progress through chapters on each one of the natural modes; the modes based on the harmonic and melodic minor scales, pentatonic scales, symmetrical scales – such as the two flavors of diminished, whole-tone, and chromatic – and finally includes a glossary and bibliography in the back. As you might expect, the printing makes excellent use of color, and the layout is relatively clean, easily legible, and digestible. The individual sections do a good job of establishing a template that is repeated in successive chapters with new subject matter, for ease of comparison between sections/scales, and seemingly aiding in the reader’s overall comprehension.

Being a self-professed visually-oriented learner, I applaud the effort to color-code common fretboard shapes for ease of recognition and execution. When I listen to music or think of a melody, I typically “see” it in my mind’s eye laid-out on a fretboard – actually quite similar to how the illustrations in this book depict. I’m sure this is the case for many others, as well. However, I found the data presented to have the most value when it applied to single-octave note sequences, rather than expounding across the entire fretboard, as is done frequently throughout the book. Personally, seeing a whole fretboard completely covered in colored rectangles was visual overkill for me, and I felt it may muddy the waters for other readers. My favorite elements were the one-page synopses of single-octave fretboard shapes in their corresponding color sequences and fingering charts; I could definitely see myself putting a few of these up on the wall for my students’ (and my own) benefit.

The quality of the publication itself is very good, with the strong color choices reproduced well by the printer and a spiral binding for ease of flipping open to a specific point for prolonged study. There are, however, a number of spelling or grammatical errors that detract slightly from a perception of greater quality. As an American reader, these few oversights – taken together with the British orthographic usage – admittedly contributed to a bit of detachment from the material presented.

My feeling after making my way from cover to cover is that Scale Colour System is perhaps best used as an excellent reference resource, rather than instructional guide; something to check into when circumstances dictate in order to rediscover a finer point of harmony, refresh the memory on a fingering pattern, or learn an alternate one for an uncommon scale, and to get a new, color-based perspective on the fretboard, itself. I came to this conclusion in part because of the way in which the information is offered, but also in part to what struck me as somewhat excessive formality of the language used in the body of the text, at times. I felt that a more accessible approach would benefit a student who’s actually learning these concepts for the first time and may be grasping for a foothold in what can be very dense material.

Additionally, there isn’t really any consideration given to the why and where aspects of the material, in that there’s no discussion of when it might be appropriate to use – for instance – a super Locrian tonality in a given context, or a description of the feeling created when employing the Dorian or altered Phrygian modes over an expected Aeolian/minor scale passage or ambiguous minor chord. Those elements being crucial to the instructive component of harmony studies, in my view, the information that is included really lays out better as a referential asset for fretboard geography. The author has informed us that two follow-up volumes are in the works: Vol. 2 – Arpeggios & Chords, and Vol. 3 – Mechanics & Techniques.

It’s not easy to reinvent the methods used to teach modal theory, stringed-instrument scalar fingerings, or conceptual components of harmony – some of which have probably been in use way, way too long. Alex Lofoco has succeeded in offering what appears to me to be a completely novel approach and methodology, and it’s specific to the bass guitar. Nitpicking editorializing aside, that’s an admirable feat and something worthy of notice, without any doubt. For highly visual learners, this could be exactly the kind of presentation needed to clarify and humanize the sometimes daunting, expansive fretboard, and may help with understanding the interrelation of modes and various theoretical and harmonic devices. If you think you may be one of these people and you’re having trouble with comprehension in these arenas, I’d certainly recommend taking a look at Scale Colour System to see if it aligns with your learning style.