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Melodic Minor Mayhem

By André Bush

Many guitarists use the melodic minor scale for soloing. In the jazz world, melodic minor is viewed as a major scale with a lowered 3 (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7). This scale yields an amazing series of chords and modes that sound hip and are easy to use -- once you become familiar with some basic techniques.

We can start this journey by learning to use the melodic minor scale to play over the minor-key cadence of IIm75-V7alt-Im7. Here's the plan:

  • Over the IIm75, we'll improvise using the melodic minor scale that starts a minor third (three half-steps) above the chord root.

  • Over the V7alt, we'll improvise using the melodic minor scale that starts one half-step above the chord root.

  • Over the Im7, simply arpeggiate chord tones or play a straightforward natural minor scale (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7) starting from the chord root.

    The changes. Dealing with offset melodic minor scales is tricky, so we'll take small steps. For simplicity, let's use the same progression in each example: Em75-A7alt-Dm7 -- the IIm75-V7alt-Im7 cadence in the key of D minor. We need two melodic minor scales -- one for playing over Em75 and one for A7alt. (See "FYI: Altered Dominants" for details on the latter chord.)

    The note pools. For Em75, we need to find the melodic minor scale a minor third above E (the chord root). This is G melodic minor. For A7alt, we want the melodic minor scale located a half-step above A. That's B melodic minor.

    This chord/scale relationship works because each offset melodic minor scale contains the chord tones of its target harmony. It's easy to correlate G melodic minor with Em75:

  • G melodic minor: G, A, B, C, D, E, F, G

  • Em75: E (1), G (3), B (5), D (7)

    It's a bit trickier to spot the relationship between B melodic minor and A7alt, but all becomes clear when you use enharmonic spelling:

  • B melodic minor: B, C, D, E, F, G, A, B

  • A7alt: A (1), C or D (3), E (5), F (5), G (7), B (9), C (9)

    We're jammin'. You can apply bluesy phrasing to melodic minor lines, as in Ex. 1. Scott Henderson and John Scofield are two players who often use melodic minor this way. Lay back -- rushing this phrase will make it sound contrived.

    For a bebop flavor, try Ex. 2. This is the type of line you'd expect to hear from more traditional players. Think of Wes Montgomery and Grant Green, or even such contemporary guitarists as Russell Malone and Peter Bernstein.

    Indicative of modern jazz styles, Ex. 3 uses wide intervallic leaps. For this line, use plenty of overdrive. Mix these intervals with the figures in Ex. 1, and you'll begin to connect with such '70s fusion masters as John McLaughlin, Pat Martino, and Larry Coryell.



    Listen to Example 3
    1802_EX3.WAV (for Windows)
    1802_EX3.AIF (for Macintosh)

    FYI: Altered Dominants

    When you see an altered dominant chord -- such as C7alt -- the "alt" indicates that you can modify a basic dominant-7th construction (1, 3, 5, 7) by raising or lowering the 5, or adding a lowered or raised 9. (If you're ambitious, you can even include an altered 5 and an altered 9.) This gives you considerable freedom, either as a rhythm player or soloist, because you can incorporate different combinations of 5, 5, 9, and #9 in your grooves and lines. Common C7alt guitar voicings include C75 (C, B, E, G) and C75 (C, B, E, G) -- both played on strings 6, 4, 3, and 2 -- as well as C79 (C, E, B, D) and C79 (C, E, B, D), played on strings 5, 4, 3, and 2.

    -- Andy Ellis

     
    Audio Version Available

     
    San Francisco-based ANDRÉ BUSH melds jazz, R&B;, and blues on his Invisible City. This CD features jazz heavyweights Steve Smith on drums and David Liebman on soprano saxophone. For more info, visit www.andrebush.com, or e-mail Bush at andrebush@aol.com.

     
    PHOTO: STEVE JENNINGS

     

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