Why Does This STUPID Exercise Sound SO GOOD? 

you are absolutely right

This would be insanely confusing when improvising and is not practical. You want to reduce the brains computation. Its easier to think Eb major than C mixolydian when a change occurs. Its easier to think Bb major than C dorian. You have to make two computations when a change occurs: whats the chord? Whats the mode relative to the chord? And then what happens when you need to change register? I encourage you to think in terms of scales, chords and arps, not modes, as modes are for modal music not functional harmony

Locrian Natural 2 is the 6th mode of melodic minor isn't it?

@@lukasalihein yes.

It's the fifth mode of harmonic minor, and also the third mode of harmonic major

@@cosimobaldi03 A scale cannot be mode of both the harmonic minor and the harmonic major as these 2 scales are different (i.e. they are not a mode of each other). Check "harmonic major scale" on Wikipedia, if you need to.

@@Patrick_Bruno yeah it's true, i visualized the harmonic major wrong... You would need a major scale with a #5 and a natural 6, not a b6 and a perfect 5, for It to be a mode of the other two scales

the phrygian dominant of G is a b2,b6,b7/ That is what he has written. As for the Dmin7B5: the D locrian scale has a: b2 b3 b5 b6 b7. which would result in Ebmaj because it is the seventh mode of Eb.

The chord is what decides the mode, so if you have a maj7b5 you can play lydian. (Then it would be #4 not b5). I've never seen that chord before. I saw dominant 7b5, where you play either the Diminished scale or the Altered. But never Maj7b5. Hope it helps.

@@Danielshay It does, thank you.

Also some mixing of outside notes can be great for your ear. Harmonic Major or Lydian Augmented over the Eb, Altered or Diminished Scales over the Half Diminished chord, as well as mixing different Pentatonics that are more uncommon. Adam is great because he encourages inspiration.

Yeah.... No. Gotta PAY $$$ to have that information handed to you lol XD

It’s just a chromatic approach to the Cmin7 in the next measure.

Not sure if this will help...but this would be how I would justify it... E7 is tritone of Bb7 (which is 5 of Eb). Eb is relative major of Cmin so E7 can resolve to Cmin. Bmin is the corresponding 2 of E7 (5). The progression he uses skips the 5 (E7).

@@markcameron-smith Bmin is the 2 of Amaj7!

@@mrquick6775 oops, thank you. I meant 2 of the corresponding 5. I'll edit that. Cheers.

@@markcameron-smith That’s what I thought you meant so no prob.. 😁

Because it takes all musically out

I think they feel the need to call it stupid because scale exercises are kinda looked down on in some jazz circles, seen as inferior to practicing changes and lead tones, transcription etc. I think it's just counter culture due to the fact that in some other circles, chord-scale theory is taught as the be all-end all, even when it's a hassle. As an example, when i was a beginning improviser, i was taught to think of all ii-V's as ii-dorian, then V-mixolydian, then I-ionian, when i might've learned stuff a bit quicker if i was told to learn the tune really well, then learn arpeggios over the changes, and which notes lead where. Chord-scale can be pretty heavy theoretically, and limit your approach when you're actually practicing. Not saying that I agree with this, all exercises can have their place as long as you know why you're doing them, and I don't see any point in knocking down on someone else's approach. Just that I've seen this anti-scale sentiment quite a bit.

It’s true if one has the patience to be almost chant like slow your mind figures out the working of the matrix in the background. Do it slowly til u sweat out of exertion then take a two hour break. Then try play the changes