Over a ii - V - I in C major, a beginner jazz musician might play notes from C major scale over all 3 chords:
Dm7, G7 and C maj 7 are all built from C major scale so playing C major scale over all 3 chords will sound consonant. However, playing the same scale over 3 chords in a row means there’ll be no changes in scale for you to emphasize with your melody, and you’ll be left with a bland sounding solo.
So to make things sound interesting we need to change the scales at some point. It’s fine to play the same C major scale over the first and last chords (Dm7 & C maj 7) as
long as we change things up for the chord in-between (G7). Playing a new scale over the V chord is the simplest solution to break up the Dm7 and C maj 7 chords.
There are several dominant 7 jazz scales used by professional jazz musicians to create a shift in harmony over a ii - V - I. In this chapter I’ll explain 4 exotic scales, starting with the simplest (least number of note changes), progressing up to the most complex (maximum number
‘mixolydian scale’) - hence the name ‘lydian-dominant’.
When you play this scale over the V chord in a ii - V - I it creates just one note change - which is its #4:
So if I were playing this scale over G7 in our Dm7 - G7 - C progression, I’d emphasize the C - C# - C note change in my solo:
This scale is implied when you see a G7#11 chord symbol.
whole-tone scale The tone scale is a 6 note scale, each note a whole-tone apart:
It has a lovely dreamy sound and was featured by impressionist composers like Debussy (or in films when someone goes into a day dream).
Playing this scale over the V chord in a ii - V - I creates 2 note changes - which are its #4 & #5:
So if I were playing this scale over our Dm7 - G7 - C progression, I’d emphasize the C & D to C# & D# change (and back again) in my melody:
You’ll also have to change the chord symbol to G7#5 so that your chord fits with the new scale.
diminished scale This is an 8 note scale based on a repeating interval pattern - half-step - whole-step - half-step - whole-step, etc:
It gets its name because it fits naturally over a diminished 7 chord (C Eb Gb A), but it actually fits over many chords including the minor 7 (C Eb G Bb), half-diminished (C Eb Gb Bb), and dominant 7 chord (C E G Bb).
Playing this scale over the V chord in a ii - V - I creates 3 note changes - which are its b9 #9 #11:
So if I were playing this scale over Dm7 - G7 - C, I’d make sure I emphasized either the A B to Ab Bb change, or the C to C# change in my melody:
This scale is implied when you see chord symbols like G7b9, G7#9, G7b9#11.
And if you ever forget which way the half-step / whole-step pattern goes (as I used to do), just remember you should have a b9 and #9 over your V chord.
altered scale And finally there’s the altered scale - this scale is similar to the diminished scale, it has the same notes up till the
#4 but then changes for the 5th and 6th:
It gets its name because it has the maximum number of altered notes possible when playing over a dominant 7 chord. So it has a normal root, major 3rd and minor 7th as needed for it to represent a dominant 7 chord, but
then every other note is altered - it has a b9 and a #9, a
#11 and a b13.
Playing this scale over the V chord in a ii - V - I creates 4 note changes - which are the altered notes:
So if I were playing this scale over our Dm7 - G7 - C progression, I’d emphasize either the A B to Ab Bb change (as I did playing the diminished scale), or the C D to C# Eb change in my melody.
Since it’s a lot of brain work to recall a scale that has b9
#9 #11 b13 in any key, the short cut is to think of the altered scale as a melodic-minor scale starting from the b2nd of the dominant chord. So instead of thinking
‘G altered scale’ over G7 - I think ‘Ab melodic-minor scale’.
Incase you’re new to the melodic-minor scale, here it is built from C - it’s a minor scale with a major 6th and 7th:
To give another example, over C7, instead of thinking ‘C altered scale’, I’d think ‘Db melodic-minor scale:
The other benefit to thinking of the ‘melodic-minor scale built from the b2’, is guides you naturally towards the simply playing these notes alone will create all the color and sophistication you need - you’ve got the b9 #9 #11
and b13. So this is another reason I prefer to think of the altered scale this way - the first notes that spring to mind are the interesting ones.
And if this is still too much brain work, you could simplify things further and just aim to play the 4 notes of a minor 6 chord built off the b2 of the dominant 7 chord. So
scale - either play the b13 instead, or don’t play any 5th in your voicing, so that your chord fits with the new scale.
practice tip
Improvise over a ii - V - I trying out each of the 4 dominant scales over the V chord. Stick with literal chord voicings in the left hand (1 3 5 7) and aim for the changing notes in your right hand melody.
related video: ‘exotic dominant 7 scales
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iiiiiiiiii’iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
P A R t f o u r
j a z z
S T Y L E S
walking basslines 67
bossa nova 7 1
cuban salsa 76
R’n’b piano 81
wa l k i n g
b a s s l i n e s
Walking bassline’s are a good way to inject energy into your playing. Traditionally they’re played by a bass player but sound equally effective in the left hand of a solo piano arrangement. In this chapter I’ll explain how to write a walking bassline over any chord progression.
TARGET NOTES
The goal of a walking bassline is to play the root of each chord on the first beat the chord’s played (usually beat 1 or 3). So the first step is to write out the root note of each chord - these are your ‘target notes’:
Now you just have to fill in the notes in-between.
LEAP
VSSTEP
As with melody, there are just 2 ways a bassline can change note - by leap or by step:
• When moving by leap (gaps of a 3rd or more), the idea is to leap between chordal tones of the accompanying chord (1 3 5 7), and not just random notes. Like this:
• When moving by step (half-steps / whole-steps) the idea is to use notes from the scale (whichever scale the current chord outlines), and not just random notes.
Remember - bassline, chord and melody are built from the same scale, so when writing a walking bassline, use the scale outlined by the chord - if there’s a major 3rd in the chord, use a major 3rd in the bassline. If there’s a minor 7th in the chord, use a minor 7th in the bass, etc - just as you would when playing a solo in the right hand. Each time the chord changes, so does the scale - so you’ll be playing from a different scale with each new chord. Here’s a walking bassline that moves by step:
CHROMATICISM
Sometimes you’ll reach your target note early - you find that you’re only a whole-step away from the target note but still have an extra beat to fill. How could you stall things for one extra beat?
How about bridging the gap between your current note and the target note, by passing through the chromatic note in-between? ‘Chromatic’ means moving by half-step, taking you out of the scale you’re supposed to be in.
Breaking out of scale so you can move by half-step is a good solution when you arrive at your target note too soon:
Sometimes I’ll approach a target note chromatically even though the bassline is further away from the target note:
And sometimes I’ll precede a target note by playing a chromatic note either side of it, like this: