jazz scales

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Onechordscaleoptionfor+7thchordsisthewholetonescale:[1]

CDEFGA/B Play.

Augmenteddominantseventh(+7th)chord:CEGB Play.

JazzscaleFromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Ajazzscaleisanymusicalscaleusedinjazz.Many"jazzscales"arecommonscalesdrawnfromWesternEuropeanclassicalmusic,includingthediatonic,wholetone,octatonic(ordiminished),andthemodesoftheascendingmelodicminor.AllofthesescaleswerecommonlyusedbylatenineteenthandearlytwentiethcenturycomposerssuchasRimskyKorsakov,Debussy,RavelandStravinsky,ofteninwaysthatdirectlyanticipatejazzpractice.[2]Somejazzscales,suchasthebebopscales,addadditionalchromaticpassingtonestothefamiliardiatonicscales.

Oneimportantfeatureofjazziswhattheoristscall"theprinciplesofchordscalecompatibility":theideathatasequenceofchordswillgenerateasequenceofcompatiblescales.Inclassicalmajormodeharmony,chordstypicallybelongtothesamescale.(Forexample,aIiiVIprogressioninCmajorwilltypicallyuseonlythenotesoftheCdiatoniccollection.)Injazz,afourchordprogressionmayusefourdifferentscales,oftenastheresultofchordalalterations.Forinstance,inCmajor,ajazzmusicianmayaltertheVchordGBDFwithaflattenedfifth,producingGBDF.Animprovisermightthenchooseascalecontainingthesefournotes,suchasGwholetone(GABCDF),Goctatonic[orsymmetricdiminished](GABBCDEF),oramodeofeitherDorAmelodicminorascending(GABCDEForGABCDEFrespectively).IneachcasethescalecontainsthechordtonesGBDFandissaidtobecompatiblewithit.Thisnotionof"chordscalecompatibility"marksafundamentaldifferencebetweenjazzharmonyandtraditionalclassicalpractice.

Anavoidnoteisanoteinajazzscalethatisconsidered,injazztheoryandpractice,toodissonanttobeplayedagainsttheunderlyingchord,andsoiseitheravoidedorchromaticallyaltered.[3]Forexample,inmajorkeyharmonythefourth,andthus11th,isanavoidnoteandthuseithertreatedasapassingtoneoraugmented(raisedasemitone).[4]Avoidnotesareoftenaminorsecond(oraminorninth)aboveachordtone[5]oraperfectfourthabovetherootofthechord.[6]

[One]cangetagoodsenseofthedifferencebetweenclassicalandnonclassicalharmonyfromlookingathowtheydealwithdissonances.Classicaltreatsallnotesthatdon'tbelongtothechord(i.e.,thetriad)aspotentialdissonancestoberesolved....Nonclassicalharmonyjusttellsyouwhichnoteinthescaletoavoid["whatissometimescalledanavoidnote"](becauseit'sreallydissonant),meaningthatalltheothersareokay.[6]

Contents

1Modesofthemajorscale2Bebopscales

12/4/2015 JazzscaleWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

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Patternofwholeandhalfstepsinthemajorscale

3Modesofthemelodicminorscale4Symmetricdiminished/Octatonicscale5Wholetonescale6Pentatonicscales7Bluesscale8Harmonicminorscale9Altereddominantscale10Sources11Furtherreading12Externallinks

Modesofthemajorscale

Thenumberofscalesavailabletoimprovisingmusicianscontinuestoexpand.Asmoderntechniquesandmusicalconstructionsappear,jazzplayersfindtheonestheycanputintocompositionsoruseasmaterialformelodicexploration.Prominentexamplesarethesevenmodesofthediatonicmajorscaleandaddednotescales.

I Ionianmode CDEFGABC (associatedwithCMajor7chord)

ii Dorianmode CDEFGABC (associatedwithC6orC713chord)

iii Phrygianmode CDEFGABC (associatedwithCsus49)

IV Lydianmode CDEFGABC (associatedwithCMaj711chord)

V Mixolydianmode CDEFGABC (associatedwithC7chord)

vi Aeolianmode CDEFGABC (associatedwithC713chord)

vii Locrianmode CDEFGABC (associatedwithC75chord)

Compareeachofthemodestothemajorscaleforcluesastothesubtledifferencesbetweenthem.Ionianisbasedonthe1stdegreeofthemajorscale,Dorianonthe2nd,Phrygianonthe3rd,etc.

CIonian CDEFGABC (associatedwithCMajor7chord)

DDorian DEFGABCD (associatedwithD6orD713chord)

EPhrygian EFGABCDE (associatedwithEsus49chord)

FLydian FGABCDEF (associatedwithFMaj711chord)GMixolydian GABCDEFG (associatedwithG7chord)

AAeolian ABCDEFGA (associatedwithA713chord)

BLocrian BCDEFGAB (associatedwithB75chord)

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Amelodicminorascending Play.

Bebopscales

Bebopscalesaddasinglechromaticpassingtonetothe7notemajorscale(IonianandMixolydianmodes).Theaddedpassingtonecreatesan8tonescalethatfitsrhythmicallyevenlywithina4/4measureofeight8thnotes,thusmakingitusefulinpracticing.Whenan8thnotebebopscalerunstartsonthebeatfromachordtone(Root,3rd,5thor7th)theotherchordnoteswillalsofallonthebeats.Asaresultallofthe"nonchordtones"willfallontheupbeats(the"ands"whencounting"oneandtwoandthreeandfourand")andbecomepassingtones.

Therearetwocommonlyusedtypesofbebopscales:

Dominantbebopscale,whichaddstheraised7thtoMixolydian:Ascending:12345677(8)Descending:87665432(1)

Majorbebopscale,whichadds5toIonian:12345567(8)

NOTE:AdominantbebopscaleworkswelloveranentireiiV.

Modesofthemelodicminorscale

Agreatdealofmodernjazzharmonyarisesfromthemodesoftheascendingformofthemelodicminorscale,alsoknownasthejazzmelodicminorscale.[7](seejazzminorscale)Thisscaleisessentiallyadiatonicmajorscalewithaflattedthird,forexampleCDEFGABC.Aswithanyotherscale,themodesarederivedfromplayingthescalefromdifferentrootnotes,causingaseriesofjazzscalestoemerge.[7]

ModesofCascendingmelodicminor:

i ascendingmelodicminor T,2,3,4,5,6,7

(associatedwithCmaj7orC6chords,functionsasaiminor)

II Phrygian6(orDorian2) T,2,3,4,5,6,7

(associatedwithC7sus9chord,functionsasadominant)

III Lydianaugmented(Lydian5)T,2,3,4,5,6,7

(associatedwithCmaj7+5chord,functionsasaI+)

IV Lydiandominant(also,"Lydian7")(alsoknownasMixolydian4)

T,2,3,4,5,6,7

(associatedwithC711chord,functionsasadominantnotgoingtoI)

V Mixolydian6(ormelodicmajororsimply"fifthmode")

T,2,3,4,5,6,7

(associatedwithC713chord,functionsasadominant)

vi Locrian2(alsoknownas"halfdiminished"scale)T,2,3,4,5,6,7

(associatedwithC75,whichfunctionsasaiichordinminor)

VII SuperLocrian(also"altereddominantscale",or"alteredscale")T,2,3,4,5,6,7

(associatedwithC7913chord,functionsasadominant)

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DiminishedscalesonE,D,andD,ascending

WholetonescaleonB Play:{B,D,E,F,G,A,B}.

Itshouldbenotedthatthenamesofthesescalesarevariationsofthenamesusedforsomeofthemodesofthediatonicmajorscale,forexamplethePhrygianNatural6,thesecondmodeofthemelodicminor,isnamedsobecauseitisthesameasthePhrygianmodeofthemajorscaleexceptwitharaised(i.e.,6)sixth.

Symmetricdiminished/Octatonicscale

Therearetwotypesofsymmetricdiminishedscales.Thesescalesaresometimescalledoctatonicscalesbecausetheycontaineighttones.Theyarebasedonaseriesofalternatinghalfstepsandwholesteps.Onetypestartswithahalfstep(HWHWHWHW),andonestartswithawholestep(WHWHWHWH).

Becauseoftherepetitionoftheintervalpatternafteronlytwonotes,eachnoteinthescalecanbearootinanothersymmetricdiminishedscale.Forexample,theCsymmetricdiminishedscaleofthehalfstepfirsttype,iscomposedwiththesamenotesasthehalfstepfirsttypeEscale,andthewholestepfirsttypeDscale:

Csymmetric(half,whole)diminished Play:CDEEFGABC

Esymmetric(half,whole)diminished:EEFGABCDE

Dsymmetric(whole,half)diminished:DEEFGABCD

Allthreearecomposedwiththesamegroupofnotes:CDEEFGABCDEEFGAB

Infact,allsymmetricdiminishedscalesarecomposedwithonlythreegroupsofnotes.

Wholetonescale

Thewholetonescale,consistingexclusivelyofwholesteps,isoftenusedonV7+5chords(G7+forexample).

Pentatonicscales

Twopentatonicscalescommontojazzarethemajorpentatonicscaleandtheminorpentatonicscale.Theyarebothmodestoeachother,respectively.

Themajorpentatonicscalebeginswithamajorscaleandomitsthefourthandtheseventhscaledegrees.TheCmajorscaleis(C,D,E,F,G,A,B),sotheCmajorpentatonicscaleis(C,D,E,G,A):

Cmajorpentatonicscale Play.

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Bluesscaleasminorpentatonicplusflat5th/sharp4th Play.

Theminorpentatonicscaleusesthesamenotesasthemajorpentatonicscale,butbeginsonthesixthscaledegreeofthecorrespondingmajorscale.Continuingtheexampleabove,AisthesixthscaledegreeofCmajor,sotheAminorpentatonicscalewouldbe(A,C,D,E,G):

Aminorpentatonicscale Play.

Thenomenclature,"minorpentatonicscale,"minorisemployedinthesenseofrelativekey,asthediatonicAminorscaleistherelativeminorofthediatonicCmajorscale.

Theminorpentatonicscalereplacesthe2ndscaledegreewithanaugmented4followedbythefifthandiscommonlyknownasabluesscale.

Jazzimprovisers,particularlybassistandguitarist,usethesescalesinanumberofinterestingways.Forexample,overBbMaj7#11,onecanuseamajorpentatonicbasedonthe2ndscaledegreeofBb(CDEGA)toimply9,3,11,13,and7respectively.Similarly,overafullyalteredF#7chord,onecanusethesamemajorpentatonic,thistimebasedonthetritone(CDEGA)toimply5,13,7,9,and9.

Bluesscale

Bluesscalesalsocomeinmajorandminorvarieties.

TheAminorbluesscaleisACDDEGAascendingorAGEEDCAdescending.Thedifferenceintheupanddownversionsisonlyinitsenharmonicspelling,i.e.EvsD.

TheCmajorbluesscaleisCDDEGACascendingorCAGEEDCdescending.

NotewellthattheCmajorbluesscaleanditsrelativeminor,theAminorbluesscale,bothcomprisethesamenotes.Theydifferonlyinwhichnoteisnominatedastheroot.

Guitaristsoftenmixthemajorandminorpentatonicstogetheralongwiththebluesscale.Thedorianandmixolydianmodesaresimilartothiscombinationandtheycanalsobeusedinthesamecontext.

Bluesscaleasachromaticvariantofthemajorscale Play.

WinthropSargeantdescribesthejazzscaleastheabovescale,definedas,"adefiniteseriesoftoneswithinanoctaveusedasthebasisofamusicalcomposition,"compiledinsteadfrommultiplecompositionsandimprovisations(accordingtoStearns:"agreatmanyjazzrecords")andishypothesizedasdisplayingtheinfluenceofAfricanmusic.[8]TheEandBarebluenotes.[9]

Harmonicminorscale

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Aharmonicminor Play.

AltereddominantscaleonC.

Theharmonicminorscaleisalsoofvaluetomanyimprovisors,asitprovidesanalternativecolorformanycommonchordsandchordprogressions.AnexampleisCDEFGABC.TheCharmonicminorscalecanbeusedonthechordsofapieceinCminor,especiallyontheminoriiV7ichordprogression.

Altereddominantscale

Thealtereddominantscale,alsolooselycalledthealteredscale,issonamedbecauseallthescalemembersthatcanbealteredrelativetothebasicdominantscale(theMixolydianmode),withoutlosingthedominantquality,arealtered.Thescaleincludesbothalteredninths(raisedandlowered),andbothalteredfifths(raisedandlowered).StartingonC,itcontainsthenotes:C,D,E,F,G,AandB.ThealteredfifthscoincideenharmonicallywiththesharpeleventhandtheflatthirteenthwhichwouldalsobeconsideredalteredrelativetotheirMixolydianforms.Thetonic,majorthird(asadiminishedfourth),anddominantseventhareretainedasessentialtothedominantquality.

Thescalecanalsobeunderstoodasamodeoftheascendingmelodicminorscalestartingfromthe7thscaledegree.ForaC7chord,theCmelodicminorscalestartingfromB(Cenharmonically)producestheCaltereddominantscaleenharmonically.

Thisscaleisalsocalledthesuperlocrianscale,asitisindeedreminiscentofalocrianscalewithaflattened4th,butitisusuallyregardedasthatofmajorquality.

Anothernameforthisscaleisthediminishedwholetonescalebecausethefirsttetrachordisthatofa(half,whole)diminishedscaleandthesecondtetrachordiswholetone.Thebebopscaleisusedmostoften.

Sources

1. Hatfield,Ken(2005).JazzandtheClassicalGuitarTheoryandApplications,p.121.ISBN0786672366.2. Tymoczko,Dmitri(1997)."TheConsecutiveSemitoneConstraintonScalarStructure:ALinkBetween

ImpressionismandJazz",Integral11:13579.3. Humphries,Carl(2002).ThePianoHandbook,p.262.ISBN0879307277.4. Humphries(2002),p.128.5. Nettles,Barrie(1987).Harmony1.BerkleeCollegeofMusic.p.34.6. Humphries(2002),p.126.7. Baerman,Noah(1998).CompleteJazzKeyboardMethod:MasteringJazzKeyboard,p.34.ISBN088284

9131.8. Sargeant,Winthrop(1946).Jazz:HotandHybrid.NewYork,Dutton.ISBN.citedinMarshallWinslow

Stearns(1970).Thestoryofjazz,p.278.ISBN0195012690.9. Dr.Metfessel,MiltoncitedinStearns(1970),p.278.

Furtherreading

12/4/2015 JazzscaleWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jazz_scale#Modes_of_the_melodic_minor_scale 7/7

Yamaguchi,Masaya.2006.TheCompleteThesaurusofMusicalScales,revisededition.NewYork:MasayaMusicServices.ISBN0967635306.

Externallinks

CommonJazzScalesandHowtoApplyThem(http://www.thejazzresource.com/music_scales.html)NicolasSlonimskyThesaurusofScalesandMelodicPatterns,acompleteguidetocreatingscales,arpeggios,chordsandmelodicpermutationsbasedonnonfunctionalconcepts(http://books.google.com/books?id=RiYPAAAACAAJ)JerryBergonziInsideImprovisation,aseriesofinstructionalbookscoveringpentatonics,hexatonicsandothertypesofjazzscales(http://www.jerrybergonzi.com/books.htm)DavidLiebman(JameyAebersoldpublications)aseriesofinstructionalbookswithlivedemonstrationsonhowtoutilizevariousscalesinjazzimprovisation(http://www.jazzbooks.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=SRCH&Search=David%20Liebman)JazzScalesonGuitarFretboarddiagramswithlabelledscaletones(http://www.fretjam.com/jazzguitarscales.html)Basicscalesuggestionsforanyjazzchart(http://www.jazzscalesuggester.com)

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Categories: Jazztechniques Musicalscales

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