# Melodic Minor & Altered Scale



## stuglue (Sep 2, 2011)

Hi guys,

Thought i'd pass on this handy info which will enable you to traverse these scales easily. The good thing to know is that this approach is easy to understand and should open up how you visualise these scales.

For the purpose of this example i'll keep it in the key of C
In jazz the most common chord progression is the II V I, which is Dm7, G7 and Cmaj7, i'll tag on the VI chord to give the progression evenness in terms of numbers, so we'll have A7 (theoretically it should be Am7 but the A7 gives a stronger pull to Dm7) Dm7, G7 and Cmaj7 ( this progression really is just a series of V - I cadences).
Ok so thats the typical progression - how do we use the Altered or melodic minor scale over these chords? Well, the application of these scales will be over the unsettled dominant 7 chords 
What are we using the altered and melodic minor scales to achieve? well they are perfect for adding that "outside" sound to our solos. This is because the relationship between the chord (G7) and the scale throws up some very "out" notes. Lets take a look
First the chord tones of G7 - G the root, B the major 3rd, D the perfect 5th and F the minor 7th - G,B,D,F

So in jazz you'll often hear teachers say over the dom 7th chord play the 7th mode of the melodic minor scale. The 7th mode of the melodic minor scale is called either Altered scale or Super Locrian.
Lets look at the notes - G,Ab,Bb,B,Db,Eb,F 
What we have is the important chord tones (G,B,F) and four outside chord extensions (Ab which is the b9 interval) Bb (which is the #9 interval) Db (which is the b5 interval) and Eb (which is the #5 interval).

Now if like me you are used to major scale 3 note per string patterns you'll no doubt want to learn this scale over the neck. What we can do is use the major scale as the basis to memorize this scale and the process is simple.
Quick recap - when on a dom7th chord we can use the altered scale to solo with for out there sounds. So G7 we could use G altered ( G,Ab,Bb,B,Db,Eb,F)
I want you simply lower the root note of this scale to Gb - hey presto instant major scale (Gb to be precise)
So the rule of thumb is - to create an altered scale all you have to do is sharpen the root note of a major scale by a semi tone and you've got the altered scale
Heres an example - II V I in the key of G. Am7 - D7 - Gmaj7
So over the D7 chord we take the Db major scale and sharpen the root note up a semi tone, instant D Altered scale.

My old guitar teacher taught me that over the V chord you could play a melodic minor over the chord but starting the scale a semi tone above the root of the chord (over G7 you'd play Ab Melodic Minor which is the exact same notes as the G altered scale which I mentioned previously).
Now when I play the melodic minor scale I can see it looks incredibly similar to the Dorian mode except that the melodic minor has a major 7th degree whereas the dorian has a minor 7th. 
So to create a melodic minor scale we can take the dorian mode and sharpen the 7th degree up a semi tone. This is essentially the same process as I mentioned with the sharpening of the major scale to create an altered scale. 
I've found with this thinking that i've learnt the altered scale a lot quicker than treating it as an entirely new scale.
Hope this helps


----------



## stuglue (Sep 2, 2011)

Just thought i'd add more to this.
From the G altered scale you can derive our favourite scale, the pentatonic
How is this possible? Well lets analyse the notes of the G altered scale and see if we can identify any pentatonics from it.
The notes - G,Ab,Bb,B,Db,Eb,F
Now i've tried to create our friend the minor pentatonic starting on each degree of the scale. The only one i've found that is a minor pentatonic is Bb.
The notes of Bb minor pentatonic are
Bb,Db,Eb,F,Ab
Now we are all familiar with the sound of the minor pentatonic in a rock context but just try all your favourite minor pentatonic licks transposed into the Bb minor pentatonic whilst playing them over the G7 chord, its a whole new sound. The reason for this is that the minor pentatonic chord notes take on a different sound when they are super imposed over the G7
The notes of the Bb minor pentatonic over G7 give us, Bb (#9 interval)
Db (b5 interval) Eb (#5 interval) F which is already in the G7 chord (its the 7th) and finally the Ab note (b9 interval)
I think just trying the minor pentatonic up a minor third from which ever dominant 7th chord you are playing over is a great introduction into the altered scale.


----------



## in-pursuit (Sep 2, 2011)

I believe in your first post you meant to write Bb is the minor 3rd interval, where you instead wrote #9. and also you mention Eb as the #5 when it's actually a minor 6th.


----------



## K3V1N SHR3DZ (Sep 2, 2011)

in-pursuit said:


> I believe in your first post you meant to write Bb is the minor 3rd interval, where you instead wrote #9. and also you mention Eb as the #5 when it's actually a minor 6th.


----------



## SirMyghin (Sep 2, 2011)

in-pursuit said:


> I believe in your first post you meant to write Bb is the minor 3rd interval, where you instead wrote #9. and also you mention Eb as the #5 when it's actually a minor 6th.



You do understand what enharmonic means right? this is a contextual thing. As you are playing these notes over a chord, he is treating them as the relative embellishments.


----------



## tuneinrecords (Sep 3, 2011)

Interesting. Whenever I learn a new scale I like to compare it to other scales I already know. It's so much easier. Thanks for the info. I'm gonna try it out right now.


----------



## stuglue (Sep 3, 2011)

glad you found it useful. It helps if you write down these scales as a fretboard diagram.


----------



## tuneinrecords (Sep 3, 2011)

Yes, I was just thinking that! haha! I was playing the jazz minor and in the second octave I was thinking now where is that flatted 3rd? My fingers can zip right through the major scale but if I'm altering some tones I have to slow down. I think it's best to just get the repetition going with the fretboard chart and intervals and get it all muscle memorized.


----------



## Trespass (Sep 3, 2011)

in-pursuit said:


> I believe in your first post you meant to write Bb is the minor 3rd interval, where you instead wrote #9. and also you mention Eb as the #5 when it's actually a minor 6th.



In jazz, the assumption is that everything you are going to be playing will be over the seventh (From a vertical harmony point of view, you are playing extensions). Your solo is a new melody, that pitch wise, usually sits above the chords beneath it. So I might spell out C dorian as

C - 1
D - 9
Eb - b3
F - 11
G - 5
A - 13
Bb - 7

These directly relate to chord tones and spelling out chords in diatonic thirds.

The altered dominant scale/super locrian whatever you want to call it basically already features common tense extensions in the structure of the scale. These are what he is spelling out.

In the context of a G7 chord, assuming the piano player or bass player plays the major third (B) and/or minor seventh (F)* as part of their improvisation for that bar, and you play this scale, you will be playing a #9 (Bb) against the major 3rd of the lower end of the harmony. Remember, extensions occur above the sevenths, are spelled in diatonic triads and then may be altered. 

Therefore in harmony it is possible to have both a major and "minor third" (really #9) in one chord. G B D F A# (Bb) is a G7#9. The lower major third serves to denote chord function (together, with the b7, it makes a dominant chord) while the upper "minor third" (#9) serves only as a color - It provides extra tension in resolving to tonic minor chords.

***Even if no one in the band improvises a line that contains the major third or minor seventh (possible if the bass is pedalling, pianist/guitarist/vibist is laying out, playing certain voicings [like stacked 4ths]) it's presence is usually implied.


----------

