Back to dominant chords and scales! The Chordsīecause scales and chords are just two sides of the same coin, we are going to start with extended chords. We have written in-depth about diminished harmony a number of times if you are interested. That is as far as I’m going to discuss diminished chords or the whole-half diminished scale in this article because the focus of this article is on dominant chords and scales rather than diminished. The whole-half diminished scale is useful to make melodies over a diminished chord, not a dominant chord. If you played each chord tone sequentially by half-steps and whole steps instead of stacking thirds, then you have a diminished scale! The chord tones are: Left-Hand: 1 b3 b5 bb7 Right-Hand: 7 9 11 b13 To emphasize the continuity of the chord tones over the course of two octaves (see diagram below). W H W H W H W H (alternating whole-steps and half-steps) Diminished scales can be used over diminished chords if you start with a whole step (the whole-half diminished scale) instead of with a half-step. It is also worth mentioning that, while we are primarily discussing dominant chords in this article, there is also a diminished scale that can work over a diminished chord. An Aside: Diminished chords and the Whole-half Diminished Scale
To be clear, scales are good for note choices to help make melodies, but we aren’t just playing scales when we improvise! We don’t improvise scales we improvise melodies! These scales are just tools for you explore some hip note choices in your melodies, especially over dominant chords. It’s the 7th mode of melodic minor, just as Locrian is the 7th mode of the major scale. The Altered Scale is actually a mode of melodic minor. (you can also have the 5th, although it’s a “secret” hidden note that isn’t generally played in the scale) (also known as the Super Locrian, Diminished Whole-Tone, and Dim-Whit scale!) H W H W H W H W (alternating half-steps and whole-steps) The two ultra-hip scales frequently used over dominant chords are: The Half-whole Diminished Scale Understanding these scales can unlock lots of great ideas in your playing! These are two of the most used scales in modern jazz. These two scales, the half-whole diminished scale and the altered scale, are actually very similar, differing only by one or two notes (there is an extra note in diminished scale). We are going to talk about two scales you can use if you want to play something “hip!” The mixolydian and the mixolydian bebop scales work well, but sometimes you want something a little more modern sounding. Makes perfect sense now.When you are soloing over a dominant chord, you can choose notes from several different scales in your improvised melodies. I've known this tip for years but never realized the root, major 3rd and flat 7th elements of this chord combined with all the other notes being altered. The website explains: "This scale has existed for a long time as the 7th mode of melodic minor." That makes it even easier to learn and play, just play over the melodic minor chord 1/2 step above the dominant 7th altered chord you're after. The root is there to tell you what chord it is, the third tells you if it's major or minor and the flat 7th tells you it's going to resolve to something. This is (in my humble opinion) the perfect answer. "comprises the three irreducibly essential tones that define a dominant seventh chord, which are root, major third, and minor seventh and that all other chord tones have been altered." Today I found a website that gave what I consider the perfect answer. but no one has been able to answer this question to my satisfaction - why is the altered chord called the altered chord? In other words, what is altered in the scale of the altered chord that makes is so unique, it takes the name "altered chord"? Lots of scales and chords have alterations to some notes so that can't be the answer. I've been playing and studying vibes for about 20 years.
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