Theory2
FromFundamentalsofJazzImprovisation:WhatEverybodyThinksYouAlreadyKnow
Dr.MarkWatkins
DirectorofJazzStudiesBrighamYoungUniversity–Idaho
©2010byMarkWatkinsMaterials herein are provided for personal use. No part may be reproduced without
written permission from the author.
ModalBorrowing
Someofthe“alteredchords”usedinjazzwhileinbothmajorandminormodesarederivedfrommodalborrowing.Thisconceptinvolvestheuseofchordqualitiesindicativeofonemodewhileinanother.Forexample,thedominantchordinmajor(G7inthekeyCmajor)naturallycontainstheleadingtoneB‐natural).Thistoneisnecessaryforthedominant’sactivequalityanditsfunctiontoresolvetotonic.Intheminormodedominantdoesnotcontaintheleadingtone(B‐flatratherthanB‐naturalinthekeyofCminor).Inminor,theleadingtoneisborrowedfrommajorinorderforthedominanttofunction.Inothersituations,chordqualitiesareborrowednotforthenecessityoffunctionbutforthequalityofsound.Thehalf‐diminishedsoundisviiøinmajorbutiiøinminor.The9thinthemajormodeismajorwhilethe9thinminorisminor.Thus,theiiV7progressioninmajorisminor/minor(ii7)andmajor/minor(V7)whileinminorthenaturalqualitiesarehalf‐diminished(iiø)andmajor/minorflat‐9(giventheborrowedleadingtoneasexplainedabove).Ifoneisinthemajormode,thequalitiesnormaltominorcanbeborrowedcreatingan“altered”progression:iiøV7(flat‐9)I.Becausehalf‐diminishedisafunctionofviiøinmajor,itisoftenwrittenasminor7flat‐5toshowafunctionofsupertonic(ii).Theexamplesbelowdemonstrate.MajorModeChordFunctions
MinorModeChordFunctions
iiV7IinMajorQualitiesthatoccurnormallyfromkeysignatureare:ii=minor/minor7,major9;V=major/major7,major9;I=major/major7,major9.
iiøV7(b9)iinMinor
Qualitiesthatoccurnormallyfromthekeysignatureare:ii=half‐diminished7,minor9;V=minor/minor7,minor9;i=minor/minor7,major9.Theminor9onsupertonicisnotcommon.Useofthehalf‐diminishedwithoutthe9thoruseofthemajor9borrowedfromthemajormodeispreferred.Thedominantchordwithoutalterationdoesnotcontaintheleadingtone.Useofthemajor3rd(leadingtone)borrowedfromthemajormodeisconsiderednormaltotheminormode.Tonicsometimescontainsamajor7thinlieuoftheminor7thbutnotacommonassumption.
Minor(MajorBorrowing)
Major(MinorBorrowing)
MinoriiøV7(b9)i#1:blanketing
Theharmonicminorscalebsedontoniccanbeusedonallchordsoftheprogression.Modeterminologycanbeappliedwhenscalechoicesstartondifferentdegreesthantonic.Forexample,whenoneplaystheharmonicminorscalestartingonthesecondscaledegreeitisreferredtoasthe2ndmodeoftheharmonicminor.ThisappliestosupertonicintheiiøV7(flat‐9)iprogression.Likewise,the5thmodeoftheharmonicminorappliestoV7(flat‐9).Theharmonicminorstartingontonicincludesthemajor7thandcanbesuperimposedonimelodically,usuallyinpassing,eveniftheminor7this7thinthechord(harmonyinstrumentswillnotplayboth).
MinoriiøV7(b9)i#2:scalespecific
Notechoicesmorespecifictothechordsincludelocrianandlocriansharp‐2oniiø,diminished½‐step1st(octatonic)onV7(flat‐9),anddorianorharmonicminoronidependingonwhich7thisintheharmony.Locrianincludestheminor9th,whichworkswellmelodicallybutisn’toftensustained.Locriansharp‐2workswellwhenthemajor9thisincludedwiththeiiøandoftenwheniiøisborrowedinamajorkey.Theminor9thofiiøisthesamepitchastheminor3rdoftonicwhenintheminormode.Themajor9ofiiøisthesamepitchasthemajor3rdoftonicwheninthemajormode.Thediminishedscaleisasequenceofwholestepsandhalfsteps.Iftonicisfollowedbyahalf‐stepratherthanawholestep,theflat‐9isplayedfollowedbysharp‐9,major3,sharp‐11,theperfect5th,major6,andminor7.Harmonicminorcanbeplayedmelodicallyoneitherminor/major7orminor/minor7.Dorianisusedwheniisminor/minor7.Locrian,locriansharp‐2,anddiminished½‐step1st(octatonic)willbeexplainedinmoredetailintheirrespectivesectionsofthistext.
MajoriiøV7(b9)I
MoreModes
Major,dorian,andmixolydianmodeshavebeenexaminedabove.Therearemanyadditionalchordqualitiesusedinjazzimprovisation.Othermodesofthemajorscale,modesoftheharmonicminor,andmodesoftheascendingminorhelpusfindpitchcollectionsthatrepresentspecificalteredsounds.Modesdonotalwaysrepresentchordqualitiesinadirectlylogicalmanner.Theiridentificationhelpsusproceedfromthefamiliartotheunfamiliar.Forinstance,ifonehaslearnedpatternsanddevelopedmusclememorywithmajorscales,thesamepatternsandmusclememoryfacilitatedorianandmixolydianorminoranddominant.Oneworksforthree.Thesameistrueformodes(scales)basedonotherfoundationalscaletypes.Asintheexamplesillustratedformajor,dorian,andmixolydian,thefollowingmodescanbetransposedtoanykey.LydianandLocrianLydianandLocrianaremodesofthemajorscale.AsintheDorianandMixoluydianscalespreviouslystudied,tertianharmoniesbuiltonthescaledegreesofthemajorscalegeneratedifferentchordqualitiesandscalesstartingonthescaledegrees,proceedingstepwise,generatevariousmodes(scales).
Thechordbuiltonthefourthscaledegree,whenextendedbeyondthe7th,ismajorsharp‐11.ThemodeislabeledLydian.
Thechordbuiltontheseventhscaledegreeofamajorscaleishalf‐diminished.Themode/scalestepwisefromseventhtoseventhisLocrian.
HarmonicMinorSimilartotheuseofdorianandmixolydianinamajoriiV7I,the2ndand5thmodesofharmonicminorcanbeusedonaminoriiøV7(flat‐9)Iprogression.
HarmonicMinor,possibleuseonminortonic:
2ndModeoftheHarmonicMinor,possibleuseonsupertonic(iiø):
5thModeoftheHarmonicMinor,possibleuseondominant,V7(b9):
AscendingMelodicMinorSeveralmodesoftheascendingmelodicminorareusefulinrealizingalteredchords.
AscendingMelodicMinor,possibleuseonminortonic(i):
4thMode,LydianDominant,useondominantsharp‐11,V7(#11):
6thMode,LocrianSharp‐2,useonhalf‐diminishedmajor9,iiø(∆9):
7thMode,SuperLocrian,DiminishedWhole‐Tone,orTheAlteredScale,useondominantchordswithanycombinationofaltered5thsand9ths:Enharmonicspelling,pitchesbasedonmode:
Theoreticalspelling,basedonchordtones:
WorksheetPacket#7:HarmonicMinor
Historically,thisscaleisderivedfromharmonicusageratherthanmelodic,primarilytheadditionoftheleadingtonetodominantchordsintheminormode.ComposersintheBaroqueandClassiceraspreferredtonotuseaugmented2ndintervalssuchasfoundbetweenthe6thand7thintheHarmonicMinorScale.However,thisintervaliswhatmakestheHarmonicMinorScalesointerestingtomodernears.Whenusedonaminortonicchord,theleadingtoneisalsoaninterestingcolorandisusedinthechordorasamelodicpitchevenwhentheminor7thisintheharmony.
HarmonicMinorcanbeappliedtoaminoriiøV7(flat‐9),i(∆7)progression.TheHarmonicMinoroftonicisplacedonallthreechords.Tobemostaccurate,the2ndmodematchesiiøandthe5thmodematchesV7(flat‐9).
ScaleWriteallscalesuptothe9thanddown.Donotusekeysignatures.Includeaccidentalsascendinganddescending.ModesWritescalesstartingonthedegreeappropriatetothechord.AscendingoniiøandV7(flat‐9).Ascendinganddescendingontonic.
ChordsAppropriatechordandarpeggioswillbecoveredinanothersection.PatternsApatternexercisewillberequiredinasubsequentsection.
HarmonicMinor
Example:
ModesofHarmonicMinor
Example:
WorksheetPacket#8:Half‐diminishedLocrian(7thmodeofMajor)/2ndmodeofNaturalMinorandLocrianSharp‐2(6thmodeof
AscendingMelodicMinor)Therearetwophilosophiesinregardstothehalf‐diminishedchordinjazz.1. Useoftheøsymbolforfunctionofviiinmajor;useofiimin7(flat5)forfunctionofsupertonic.Thenaturalchordqualityofviiinthemajormodeishalf‐diminished.Thischord(viiø)canbeusedasasubstituteforV7(dominant).Half‐diminishedchordsmayalsofunctionassupertonicinanalterediiV7Iprogression.Inordertoavoidconfusion,theøsymbolisusedwhenfunctioningasdominantandthemin7(flat5)symbolusedwhenfunctioningassupertonic.Inessence,half‐diminishedisviiandnaturaltomajorwhilethesupertoniciiisanalteredminor.TheideaisforviiøtosignalaV7Isituationandiimin7(flat5)tosignalaiiV7Isituation.2. Useoftheøsymbolforfunctionofiiinmajorasborrowedfromminor;useofviiºwhenvii
substitutingforV7.Thenaturalchordqualityofiiintheminormodeishalf‐diminished(ø).WhenviiøisusedasasubstituteforV7itisalmostalwaysalteredtobecomefullydiminishedviiº.UseofviiøinaV7functionisweakandquiterare.Thediminishedsymbol(º)signalsaV7Isituationwhilethehalf‐diminishedsymbol(ø)signalsanalteredor,rather,borrowedfromtheminormodeiiV7Isituation.LocrianandLocrianSharp‐2containaminor3rd,diminished5th,andminor7th.Thescalesareidenticalexceptforthe9th.Locrianincludesaminor9thandLocrianSharp‐2amajor9th.Tosome,thesoundoftheflat‐9onhalf‐diminishedchordsisnotdesirable.Evenso,theflat‐9intheLocrianscaleworkswellmelodically.Locrianisthe7thmodeoftheMajorScale.
Locrianisthetraditionalterminologyandmeansforidentifyingthehalf‐diminishedchord/scalerelationship.However,thereanothermeans.Half‐diminishedisusedinjazzasafunctionofsupertonic:iimin7(flat5)oriiø.Thisisthenormalqualityofsupertonicintheminormode.Whenusedinmajor,thequalityisbeingborrowedfromminor;inthiswayofthinkingitisnotanalteredsupertonicnorisitsderivationfromthe7thscaledegree(half‐diminishedinmajor=Locrianmode).Therefore,ifonethinkssupertonic(secondscaledegree)andappliestheminorkeysignatureoftonic,alltherightnotesfallintoplace.Inotherwords,ratherthanthinkingLocrian,whichbelongstomajor,think2ndmodeofNaturalMinor.
Amajor9thonahalf‐diminishedchordisaninterestingtonecolorandnotuncommon.Themajor9thintheLocrianSharp‐2Scalefitsthischordandcanbesustained.LocrianSharp‐2isthe6thmodeofAscendingMelodicMinor.Inanalterediimin7(flat5)V7altIprogression,themajor9thofalterediimin7(flat5)isthesamechordtoneasthemajor3ofI.ThiscanbeaunifyingoptionwhenborrowingoralteringtheiiV7inmajor.
ScaleWriteallscalesuptothe9thanddown.Donotusekeysignatures.Includeaccidentalsascendinganddescending.ArpeggioWriteallarpeggiosuptothe9thanddown.Donotusekeysignatures.Includeaccidentalsascendinganddescending.ChordsTwochordconsiderationsareapplied.Inminorkeys,half‐diminishedwithoutthe9thiscommon.Inmodalborrowingcontextswheretonicismajor,themajor9thworkswellonthehalf‐diminishedchord.Writechordvoicingsasintheexamplegiven.KeepvoicingscenteredaroundmiddleC.Playallchordsonthepiano,listen,becomefamiliarwiththesoundofthejazzvoicing.Playthecompanionscaleandarpeggio.PatternsNopatternsareincludedforthisconcept.
Scale:Locrian(7thmodeofMajor)
Example:
Arpeggio
Example:
Chord:7th(no9th)
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Scale:LocrianSharp‐2(6thmodeAscendingMelodicMinor)
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Arpeggio:Half‐diminishedMajor9
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Chord:Half‐diminishedMajor9th
Example:
WorksheetPacket#9:DominantFlat‐9
DominantFlat‐9chordsareanaturalproductoftheminormode.InDminorthekeysignaturehasoneflat.Ifonestacksthirdsstartingonthe5thscaledegree(A)thetonesareA,C‐sharp,E,G,andB‐flat.(Remember,the3rdofadominantchordalwayscontainstheleadingtonewhetheritisintheminorormajormode.)Noticethatthe9thisflattedwhencomparedtothe9thinthemajormode.
AscalethatrepresentsthesoundoftheDominantFlat‐9chordistheDiminishedScalestartingwitha½‐stepinsteadofawhole(aswouldbecorrectforadiminishedchord).Thiscreatesaneight‐notescale.BartoklabeledthisastheOctatonicScale.ItismostcommonlycalledtheDiminishedScale(1/2‐steporwholestep1st)becauseeveryothernote,nomatterwhichpitchonestartson,makesadiminished7chord.
Thisscaleissuccessfulindepictingthesoundofbothflat‐9andsharp‐9chordswithnoalterationsofthe5th.Thereisalsoasharp‐11.Thisisnottheflat‐5duetothefactthatthescaleincludestheperfect5th.
ThereareatleastfourreasonsfortheprevalenceoftheV7(b9)chord/scaleinjazzimprovisation:
1. Itsounds‘cool.”FormorethanhalfacenturyjazzmusicianshavebeenimprovisingwiththeDiminished(½‐setp1st)orOctatonicscale.Nomattertheorderofnotes,whenplayedinajazzstylethisscalecontinuestosoundcontemporary.
2. Thereareonlythreetranspositionsofthescale,makingonescalesuccessfulinfourkeys.3. Itisasymmetricalscale.Symmetricalscaleslendthemselvestopatternwork.4. TheDiminishedscalecanbeusedonatleastthreechordqualities:dominantflat‐9,
dominantsharp‐9,anddiminished.ScaleWriteallscalesuptothe9thanddown.Donotusekeysignatures.Includeaccidentalsascendinganddescending.
ArpeggioWriteallarpeggiosuptothe9thanddown.Donotusekeysignatures.Includeaccidentalsascendinganddescending.ChordsWritechordvoicingsasintheexamplegiven.KeepvoicingscenteredaroundmiddleC.Playallchordsonthepiano,listen,becomefamiliarwiththesoundofthejazzvoicing.Playthecompanionscale,arpeggio,andpattern.PatternsSeveralexamplesaregivenwiththechordmostappropriatetothepatternincluded.Findtwopatternsthatarespecifictothequality(major).Sourcesmightincludeatranscription,a
jazzimprovisationtextbook,Aebersoldplay‐a‐longseries,abookonjazzpatternssuchasJerryCoker’sPatternforJazz,areputableprofessional(i.e.AaronMiller,RyanNielsen,MarkWatkins,JayLawrence,KeithPhillips,JustinNielsen,oravisitingguest).
Includetheappropriatechordsymbolandpatternsource.Addpatternstothelogtoincreasevocabulary.
ScaleExample:
Arpeggio
Example:
Chord
Patterns(treble)
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Patterns(bass)
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WorksheetPacket#10:AlteredDominantTheAlteredScaleisalsoknownastheSuperlocrianScaleandtheDiminishedWholeToneScale.
ThetermSuperlocriancomesfromitsplacementasthe7thmodeoftheAscendingMelodicMinorScale.TheLocrianScaleisthe7thmodeofmajorthusthe“super”distinguisher.NoticethattheAlteredScaleandtheSuperlocrianscalecarrythesamepitchesenharmonically.
DiminishedWhole‐toneterminologycomesfromthescale’scombinationofDiminishedScale(1/2‐step1stversion)andWhole‐toneScaleproperties.Thefirstpartofthescaleproceeds:half‐step,whole‐step,half,wholetotheflat‐5(sharp‐11).DiminishedScale½‐step1st:
Whole‐toneScale:
Thenextpartoverlapsstartingonthe3rdandproceedsbywhole‐steptotheoctave.Alterationsofboththe9thandthe5thareincluded.
ScaleWriteallscalesuptothe9thanddown.Donotusekeysignatures.Includeaccidentalsascendinganddescending.ArpeggioWriteallarpeggiosuptothe9thanddown.Donotusekeysignatures.Includeaccidentalsascendinganddescending.ChordsWritechordvoicingsasintheexamplegiven.KeepvoicingscenteredaroundmiddleC.Playallchordsonthepiano,listen,becomefamiliarwiththesoundofthejazzvoicing.Playthecompanionscale,arpeggio,andpattern.
ScaleExample:
Arpeggio
Example:
Chord
WorksheetPacket#11:iiøV7(b9)i(∆7)
ReviewthechapteronModalBorrowingbeforeproceedingthroughthefollowingexercises.ChordProgressionsWritechordvoicingsasintheexamplegiven.KeepvoicingscenteredaroundmiddleC.Playallchordsonthepiano,listen,becomefamiliarwiththesoundofthejazzvoicing.PatternCreationFivealteredprogressionsareindicated.Determinewhichmode/scalebestfitsthechord.Composeamelody/improvisations/pattern.
ProgressionExample:
PatternCreation
Exercise1:
Exercise2:
Exercise3:
Exercise4:
Exercise5:
WorksheetPacket#12:Diminished
TheDiminishedScaleisasymmetricalscaleoflimitedtransposition.Itproceedswhole‐step(W),half‐step(H),W,H,W,H,etc.
Thisconfigurationcanonlybetransposedthreetimes;thereareonlythreeDiminishedScales.Whenonestartsonanyofthediminishedchordtones(one,flat‐3,flat‐5,diminished7),itcanbeappliedtothatkey.Forexample,adiminishedchordonDis:D,F,A‐flat,C‐flat.ThescalesonDis:D,E,F,G,A‐flat,B‐flat,C‐flat,C‐sharp,andD.
OnecanstartonFandproceed:F,G,A‐flat,B‐flat,C‐flat,C‐sharp,D,E,andFappliedtoanFdiminishedchord(F,A‐flat,C‐flat,E‐doubleflat).
Thepitchesofthescalearethesame.ThisappliestoA‐flatandC‐flat(B)diminishedchordsaswell.
Thus,theD,F,A‐flat,andC‐flat(B)DiminishedScalesconstituteoneofthethreeDiminishedScales.ThesameprocessappliestoC,E‐flat,G‐flat,andB‐doubleflat(A)asagroupsharingoneDiminishedScaleandtoE,G,B‐flat,andD‐flat(C‐sharp).Extensionsondiminishedchordscanbeachievedbyaddinganynotethatisawhole‐stepaboveachordtone.Thesetoneswillcreatecolorwithoutunduedissonance.
Everyothernoteisaleadingtonetoachordtoneprovidingforwardmotion.
ScaleWriteallscalesuptothe9thanddown.Donotusekeysignatures.Includeaccidentalsascendinganddescending.ArpeggioWriteallarpeggiosuptothe9thanddown.Donotusekeysignatures.Includeaccidentalsascendinganddescending.ChordsWritechordvoicingsasintheexamplegiven.KeepvoicingscenteredaroundmiddleC.Playallchordsonthepiano,listen,becomefamiliarwiththesoundofthejazzvoicing.Playthecompanionscale,arpeggio,andpattern.PatternsNopatternexercisesaregivenduetothefactthattheyarethesameasthepatternsappliedtotheDominantAltered9worksheets.
ScaleExample:
Arpeggio
Example:
Chord
WorksheetPacket#13:DominantAltered5th
Oneofthemostcommonscalesassociatedwithalterationsofthe5thondominantchordsistheWhole‐tonescale.Thisincludesflat‐5andflat‐9withnoalterationofthe9th.
TheWhole‐tonescaleisasymmetricalscalewithlimitedtransposition;meaning,thereareonlytwoWhole‐tonescales.Duetoitsdivisionintomajorsecondswithnohalf‐stepsoraugmentedintervals,thereisnostrongpullormotiontoanyparticularnote.Thefollowingexampleshowstheflat‐5andsharp‐5chordsbasedoneachscaledegreeofaWhole‐toneScale.Therelatedscalefollowsthechordsandiswrittenwiththetheoreticallycorrectspelling.TherearesixscaleexamplesrepresentingasingleWhole‐tonescalestartingoneachofitssixscaledegrees.
Thesamecanbedoneforthe“other”Whole‐tonescalestartingonC‐sharp,E‐flat,F,G,A,andB.ScaleWriteallscalesuptothe9thanddown.Donotusekeysignatures.Includeaccidentalsascendinganddescending.ArpeggioArpeggiosinthisexercisearealldominantsharp‐5.Dominantflat‐5couldhavebeenappliedtodemonstratetheprinciple.Writeallarpeggiosuptothe9thanddown.Donotusekeysignatures.Includeaccidentalsascendinganddescending.
ChordsChordsinthisexercisearealldominantsharp‐5.Dominantflat‐5couldhavebeenappliedtodemonstratetheprinciple.Writechordvoicingsasintheexamplegiven.KeepvoicingscenteredaroundmiddleC.Playallchordsonthepiano,listen,becomefamiliarwiththesoundofthejazzvoicing.Playthecompanionscale,arpeggio,andpattern.PatternsSeveralexamplesaregivenwiththechordmostappropriatetothepatternincluded.Findtwopatternsthatarespecifictothequality(major).Sourcesmightincludeatranscription,
ajazzimprovisationtextbook,Aebersoldplay‐a‐longseries,abookonjazzpatternssuchasJerryCoker’sPatternforJazz,areputableprofessional(i.e.AaronMiller,RyanNielsen,MarkWatkins,JayLawrence,KeithPhillips,JustinNielsen,oravisitingguest).
Includetheappropriatechordsymbolandpatternsource.Addpatternstothelogtoincreasevocabulary.
Scale:WholeToneExample:
Arpeggio
Example:
Chord
Patterns(treble)
Examples:
Patterns(bass)
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WorksheetPacket#14:Sharp‐11Concepts
LydianandLydianDominantaremodenamesforscalesthatapplytoshar‐11chords,majoranddominantrespectively.Lydianisthe4thmodeoftheMajorScale;thatis,thekeysignatureoftonicbutstartingonthe4thnoteofthescale.Forexample,GLydianusesthesamekeysignatureasDmajor.OnecanalsoconsidertheLydianscaleasmajorwitharaised4th.
LydianDominantisthe4thmodeoftheascendingmelodicminorscale.AscendingMelodicMinorinGisG,A,B‐flat,C,D,E,F‐sharp,G.The4thmodeinthiskeystartsonCandproceedsC,D,E,F‐sharp,G,A,B,C:samepitches.OnecanalsoconsidertheLydianDominantscaleasdominant(myxolydian)witharaised4th.
ScaleWriteallscalesuptothe9thanddown.Donotusekeysignatures.Includeaccidentalsascendinganddescending.ArpeggioWriteallarpeggiosuptothe9thanddown.Donotusekeysignatures.Includeaccidentalsascendinganddescending.ChordsWritechordvoicingsasintheexamplegiven.KeepvoicingscenteredaroundmiddleC.Playallchordsonthepiano,listen,becomefamiliarwiththesoundofthejazzvoicing.Playthecompanionscale,arpeggio,andpattern.
Scale:Lydian4thmodeofMajor
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Arpeggio:MajorSharp‐11
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Chord:MajorSharp‐11
Scale:LydianDominant4thmodeofAscendingMelodicMinor
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Arpeggio:DominantSharp‐11
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Chord:DominantSharp‐11
WorksheetPacket#15:Pentatonics
Pentatonicshavebeenusedinmuchofthefolkmusicoftheworldforcenturies.Theyaregroupsofanyfivedifferentpitches.InWesternartmusictwotypeshavebecomecommon.TheMajorPentatonicscaleiscomprisedofscaledegrees12356oftheMajorScale.
MinorPentatoniccanbefoundbyoneoftwoways.Itisrelatedtomajorsimilarlytorelativeminor.Frommajor,usescaledegrees61235inthatorder.Forexample,CMajorPentatonicisCDEGA.MinorPentatonicisACDEG.
Thesecondwaytodetermineminorpentatonicisthroughalterationofthemajorscale,asfollows:1,flat‐3,4,5,flat‐7.
TheMinorPentatonicwithanaddedflat‐5constitutestheBluesScale.
TheMajorPentatonicwithanaddedflat‐3isalsoaBluesScale(i.e.CMajorPentatonicwithanaddedflat‐3isC,D,E‐flat,E‐natural,G,A).Thisisthesameas“the”BluesScalestartingonthe6thscaledegreeoftonic.
MajorPentatonicandthevariousbluesscalescanbeusedonanydominantchord.MinorPentatoniccanbeusedonanyminorchord.
TheMinorPentatonicworksonasus4chordifonestartsonthe5thscaledegree.Forexample,onCsus4startonGandplaytheGMinorPentatonic.ThisisthesameasplayingtheMajorPentatonicstartingontheminor7th.Thepitchesofthesetwopentatonicscalesarethesameasthechordtonesofa9sus4chord.
Thepentatonicscale’sstrongmelodicsoundcreatesamomentumthatsometimesallowstheimprovisertoblanketlinesovervaryingchordsequences.ScaleWriteallscalesuptothe9thanddown.Donotusekeysignatures.Includeaccidentalsascendinganddescending.ArpeggioWriteallarpeggiosuptothe9thanddown.Donotusekeysignatures.Includeaccidentalsascendinganddescending.ChordsWritechordvoicingsasintheexamplegiven.KeepvoicingscenteredaroundmiddleC.Playallchordsonthepiano,listen,becomefamiliarwiththesoundofthejazzvoicing.Playthecompanionscale,arpeggio,andpattern.PatternsSeveralexamplesaregivenwiththechordmostappropriatetothepatternincluded.Findtwopatternsthatarespecifictothequality(major).Sourcesmightincludeatranscription,
ajazzimprovisationtextbook,Aebersoldplay‐a‐longseries,abookonjazzpatternssuchasJerryCoker’sPatternforJazz,areputableprofessional(i.e.AaronMiller,RyanNielsen,MarkWatkins,JayLawrence,KeithPhillips,JustinNielsen,oravisitingguest).
Includetheappropriatechordsymbolandpatternsource.Addpatternstothelogtoincreasevocabulary.
Scale:MajorPentatonicExample:
Scale:MinorPentatonic
Example:
Sus4Chord
Patterns(treble)
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Patterns(bass)
Examples: