About Scarpology
Welcome to the World of Improvisation
The world of improvisation is right there in your hands but how do you get from point A to point B?
Scarpology breaks apart, explodes and reassembles the elements of jazz harmony on the fretboard into a systematic approach that gives you a boost into what seems to many newbies as the world of the privileged elite.
Yet, it’s really simple to make a start, continue to learn for a lifetime, and never get bored in the world of music improvisation. The door is open to everyone.
Scarpology starts simply with a set of two-finger patterns. These are connected to each other harmonically and provide a skeletal framework that covers the entire fretboard.
After two fingers have command of a scarp, we move to three fingers and later to four. This enables the player to easily shift to any key, to improvise, to accompany, to fit in with any musical genre.
Scarpology (the Book)
Scarpology is available as a book and comes in both digital and print format. The print version is highly recommended! But there also is a digital version at a greatly reduced price. Read more about the book here. Or purchase a copy below.
Scarpology as Online Training
Ten years passed and the book has developed a following. With the evolution of learning management systems (LMSes), there are online training modules available which currently are selectively under development for an online learning experience.
How Scarpology Came to Be
Hi, my name is Steve Horn. I’m a musician and author and creator of this website. After decades of music study and performance, it became apparent to me that there was a big chunk missing in my musical life. I was severely handicapped when it came to playing in all twelve keys. I was also limited in playing the full range of any of my instruments. I relied heavily on open strings and played mainly using only two or three fingers. This handicap came from focusing on a handful of music genres that I loved and had immersed myself in for years, but one day I felt a deep lacking… a need to expand my capabilities. I had to swallow my pride as a veteran musician and set out on a journey of exploration. I needed to break free of many restrictive attachments that were deeply seated in my comfort zone.
I had studied music composition and theory and had played a wide range of styles on various wind and stringed instruments, coming to focus on mandolin and mandolin family instruments.
Scarpology is born… or perhaps reborn.
What an adventure it was to uncover such a system: mapping out the fretboard, segmenting and connecting these segments in a way that enables players to break free of their attachments and burst out of their confines.
A New Concept with a Couple of New Terms Applied
This system deploys a new concept, a cross between a scale and an arpeggio. The term coined to describe this is “scarp” and the study of scarps we call “Scarpology”.
Now, few know there already exists a somewhat obscure use of this term and the discovery coming afterward, comes as a serendipitous connection. Prior to all this work, the term scarpology referred to the study of a person’s character through the appearance of their shoes. So together we walk on a path of discovery and today we can enjoy both meanings of the term Scarpology.
