Target
Symbols
U♭ chromatic above · Uᴅ diatonic above · L♯ chromatic below · Lᴅ diatonic below · T target
Two-note enclosures
8 formulas · One note above and one below the target, in both orders, with chromatic and diatonic neighbours.
01
U♭ – L♯ – T
ra – t – d
C♯ – B – C
02
L♯ – U♭ – T
t – ra – d
B – C♯ – C
03
U♭ – Lᴅ – T
ra – t – d
C♯ – B – C
04
Lᴅ – U♭ – T
t – ra – d
B – C♯ – C
05
Uᴅ – L♯ – T
r – t – d
D – B – C
06
L♯ – Uᴅ – T
t – r – d
B – D – C
07
Uᴅ – Lᴅ – T
r – t – d
D – B – C
08
Lᴅ – Uᴅ – T
t – r – d
B – D – C
Why am I practising this?expand
- What it teaches
- How to surround any target note with approach notes from above and below before resolving to it.
- Problem it solves
- Lines that always land straight on chord tones sound plain and predictable.
- Physical skill
- Enclosures demand small, accurate half-step fingerings and clean voicing of the resolution note.
- Theory reinforced
- Approach notes are diatonic or chromatic neighbours; only the final note needs to be a chord tone.
- Improvisation
- Enclosures delay resolution, create tension and let you target any chord tone from any direction.
- Ear training
- Train the pull of each neighbour note into the target, above and below.
- Common mistakes
- Accenting the approach notes instead of the target, or rushing the final resolution.
- Recommended tempo
- Start in eighth notes at 50–60 BPM on one target, then move the shape through all twelve.
- Increasing difficulty
- Apply one enclosure to every chord tone of a ii-V-I, then displace it rhythmically by one eighth note.
- Mastered when
- You can enclose any requested note, from either side, in any key, without hesitating.
How to practise it
- 01Choose a target note and sing the enclosure in sol-fa before playing it.
- 02Play the shape slowly, accenting only the target.
- 03Move the same shape through the cycle of fourths.
- 04Apply it to the third and seventh of each chord in a progression.