 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Jazz scale" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(October 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Ajazz scale is anymusical scale used injazz. Many "jazz scales" are common scales drawn fromWestern European classical music, including thediatonic,whole-tone,octatonic (or diminished), and themodes of the ascendingmelodic minor. All of these scales were commonly used by late nineteenth and early twentieth-century composers such asRimsky-Korsakov,Debussy,Ravel andStravinsky, often in ways that directly anticipate jazz practice.[2] Some jazz scales, such as the eight-notebebop scales, add additionalchromatic passing tones to the familiar seven-note diatonic scales.
One important feature of jazz is what theorists call "the principles ofchord-scale compatibility": the idea that a sequence of chords will generate a sequence of compatible scales. In classical major-mode harmony, chords typically belong to the same scale. For example, aii–V–I progression in C major will typically use only the notes of the C diatonic collection. In jazz, a four-chord progression may use four different scales, often as the result of chordal alterations.
For instance, in C major, a jazz musician mayalter the V chord, G7 (G–B–D–F), with aflattened fifth, producing the chord G7♭5 (G–B–D♭–F). An improviser might then choose a scale containing these four notes, such as the G whole tone scale, the G octatonic scale, or a mode of either D or A♭ melodic minor ascending. In each case, the scale contains the chord tones G–B–D♭–F and is said to be compatible with it. This notion of "chord scale compatibility" marks a fundamental difference between jazz harmony and traditional classical practice.
Anavoid note is a note in a jazz scale that is considered, in jazz theory and practice, toodissonant to be emphasised against the underlying chord, and so is either avoided, used as a passing tone or chromatically altered.[3] For example, in major-key harmony the 4th, and thus the 11th, is an avoid note and is therefore either treated as a passing tone or is augmented (raised a semitone).[4] Avoid notes are often a minor second (or a minor ninth) above a chord tone[5] or a perfect fourth above the root of the chord.[6]
[One] can get a good sense of the difference between classical and non-classical harmony from looking at how they deal with dissonances. Classical treats all notes that don't belong to the chord (i.e., the triad) as potential dissonances to be resolved. ... Non-classical harmony just tells you which note in the scale to avoid ["what is sometimes called an avoid-note"] (because it'sreally dissonant), meaning that all the others are okay.[6]
The number of scales available to improvising musicians continues to expand. As modern techniques and musical constructions appear, jazz players find the ones they can put into compositions or use as material for melodic exploration. Prominent examples are the sevenmodes of thediatonicmajor scale and added-note scales.
| Mode | Name | Scale on C | Associated chord[7] |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | Ionian | C–D–E–F–G–A–B–C | Cmaj7 (9, 13) |
| II | Dorian | C–D–E♭–F–G–A–B♭–C | Cm6 or Cm7 (9, 11, 13) |
| III | Phrygian | C–D♭–E♭–F–G–A♭–B♭–C | Cm7 (♭9) |
| IV | Lydian | C–D–E–F♯–G–A–B–C | Cmaj7♯11 (9, 13) |
| V | Mixolydian | C–D–E–F–G–A–B♭–C | C7 (9, 13) |
| VI | Aeolian | C–D–E♭–F–G–A♭–B♭–C | Cm7 (9, 11) |
| VII | Locrian | C–D♭–E♭–F–G♭–A♭–B♭–C | Cm7♭5 or Cø7 (11,♭13) |
Compare each of the modes to the major scale for clues as to the subtle differences between them. Ionian is based on the 1st degree of the major scale, Dorian on the 2nd, Phrygian on the 3rd, etc.
| Name | Scale | Associated chord[citation needed] |
|---|---|---|
| C Ionian | C–D–E–F–G–A–B–C | Cmaj7 (9, 13) |
| D Dorian | D–E–F–G–A–B–C–D | Dm6 or Dm7 (9, 11, 13) |
| E Phrygian | E–F–G–A–B–C–D–E | Em7 (♭9) |
| F Lydian | F–G–A–B–C–D–E–F | Fmaj7♯11 (9, 13) |
| G Mixolydian | G–A–B–C–D–E–F–G | G7 (9, 13) |
| A Aeolian | A–B–C–D–E–F–G–A | Am7 (9, 11) |
| B Locrian | B–C–D–E–F–G–A–B | Bm7♭5 or Bø7 (11,♭13) |
| This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved.(July 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Bebop scales add a singlechromatic passing tone to theseven-note major scale (Ionian and Mixolydian modes). The added passing tone creates an eight-note scale that fits rhythmically evenly within a4
4 measure of 8 eighth notes, thus making it useful in practicing. When an eighth note bebop scale run starts on the beat from a chord tone (i.e. theroot,third,fifth orseventh) the other chord notes will also fall on the beat. As a result, all of thenonchord tones will fall onupbeats.
There are two commonly used types of bebop scale:
A great deal of modern jazz harmony arises from themodes of the ascending form of themelodic minor scale, also known as thejazz melodic minor scale.[8] This scale is essentially a diatonic major scale with a lowered third, for example A-B-C-D-E-F♯-G♯-A. As with any other scale, the modes are derived from playing the scale from different root notes, causing a series of jazz scales to emerge.[8]
| Mode | Name | Scale on C | Associated chords[citation needed] |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | Ascending melodic minor | C–D–E♭–F–G–A–B | Cmmaj7 (9, 11, 13) or Cm6 chords |
| II | Dorian♭2 or Phrygian♮6 | C–D♭–E♭–F–G–A–B♭ | Cm7 (♭9,♯9, 13) chord |
| III | Lydian augmented | C–D–E–F♯–G♯–A–B | Cmaj7♯5 (9,♯11) chord |
| IV | Acoustic scale, Lydian dominant, Mixolydian♯4, or Overtone | C–D–E–F♯–G–A–B♭ | C7 (9,♯11, 13) chord |
| V | Aeolian dominant, Mixolydian♭6, Descending melodic major, or Hindu | C–D–E–F–G–A♭–B♭ | C7 (9,♭13) chord |
| VI | Half-diminished, Locrian♯2, or Aeolian♭5 | C–D–E♭–F–G♭–A♭–B♭ | Cm7♭5 (9, 11,♭13) |
| VII | Altered scale, Super Locrian, or Altered dominant scale | C–D♭–E♭–F♭–G♭–A♭–B♭ | C7 (♭9 or♯9,♯11,♭13) chord |
| This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved.(July 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Sometimes called theoctatonic scale because it contains eight tones, the diminished scale is composed of a series of alternatinghalf andwhole steps. There are two types of diminished scales, one starts with a half step and the other starts with a whole step. The two scales aremodes of one another.
Because of the repetition of the interval pattern after only two notes, each note in the scale can be theroot in another symmetric diminished scale. For example, the C diminished scale of the half-step-first type, has the same notes as the half-step-first E♭ diminished scale as well as the whole-step-first D♭ diminished scale. All three are composed of the same eight pitches: C–D♭–E♭–E♮–F♯–G–A–B♭–C.
Because of thesymmetry of the diminished scale, there are only three distinct diminished scales (shown to the right). The others are all modes of these three.
The whole tone scale, consisting exclusively of whole steps, is often used on V7♯5 chords. Since they are symmetrical, there are only two distinct whole tone scales.
| This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved.(July 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Two pentatonic scales common to jazz are themajor pentatonic scale and theminor pentatonic scale. They are bothmodes of one another.
The major pentatonic scale begins with amajor scale and omits the fourth and the seventhscale degrees. The minor pentatonic scale uses the same notes as the major pentatonic scale, but begins on the sixth scale degree of the corresponding major scale. In this nomenclature,minor is employed in the sense ofrelative key, as the diatonic A minor scale is the relative minor of the diatonic C major scale.
Jazz improvisers, particularly bassist and guitarist, use these scales in a number of interesting ways. For example, over B♭maj7♯11, one can use a major pentatonic based on the 2nd scale degree of B♭ (C–D–E–G–A) to imply 9–3–♯11–13–7, respectively. Similarly, over a fully altered F♯7 chord, one can use the same major pentatonic, this time based on the tritone (C–D–E–G–A) to imply♭5–♭13–♭7–♭9–♯9, respectively.
The termblues scale refers to several different scales with differing numbers of pitches and related characteristics. The six-note blues scale consists of theminor pentatonic scale plus a chromatic passing tone between the 4 and 5. This added note can be spelled as either♭5 or♯4. Guitarists often mix the major and minor pentatonics together along with the blues scale.
Another common blues scale has nine notes (shown to the right). Winthrop Sargeant defines this scale as "a definite series of tones within an octave used as the basis of a musical composition," compiled instead from multiple compositions and improvisations (according toStearns: "a great many jazz records") and is hypothesized as displaying the influence ofAfrican music.[9] The E♭ and B♭ areblue notes.[10]
| This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved.(July 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
The harmonic minor scale is also of value to many improvisors, as it provides an alternative color for many common chords and chord progressions. The A harmonic minor scale can be used on the chords of a piece in A minor, especially on the minorii–V–i chord progression.
One of the most common uses of the harmonic minor scale is its fifth mode (phrygian dominant scale), which is a frequently used over dominant chords.
| This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved.(July 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
The altered dominant scale, also called the altered scale, is so named because all the scale members that can be altered relative to the basic dominant scale (theMixolydian mode), without losing thedominant quality, are altered. The scale includes both altered fifths (♭5 and♯5) and both altered ninths (♭9 and♯9).
The altered fifths coincide enharmonically with the♯11 and the♭13 which would also be considered altered relative to their Mixolydian forms. The tonic,major third (as adiminished fourth), anddominant seventh are retained as essential to the dominant quality.
The scale can also be understood as a mode of the ascending melodic minor scale starting from the 7th scale degree. For a G7 chord, the A♭melodic minor scale starting from G produces the G altered dominant scale.
This scale is also called thesuper-Locrian scale, as it is indeed reminiscent of aLocrian scale with a♭4, but it is usually regarded as that ofmajor quality. Another name for this scale is the diminished whole-tone scale due to its resemblance to the lower part of thediminished scale and the upper part of thewhole tone scale.
