Welcome to Jazztheorylessons.com, the best place to find lessons on jazz theory and improvisation. If you are looking to learn jazz theory then our free jazz lessons will help you. We will be adding new and interesting jazz theory lessons each week. Our site is here to make learning jazz theory fun and interesting. We have lessons on scales, jazz chords, modes, arpeggios and jazz repertoire. Have you ever wondered how we find out which scales to play over which chords? This article should help you. A recent comment on the site asked the question of
“How do you know which scales go with which chords?”
This is a really problematic area for many new jazz players but it need not be. The idea of finding which scale to use over which chord is actually fairly simple but confuses a lot of people. I will do some more articles on this topic in the future. For now let’s take a look at how we find out which scales to play over a simple dominant 7 chord.
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Welcome to the third part in our guide to intervallic sequences. Playing through these interval sequences will improve your jazz technique and aural skills as well as making scale practice more interesting. So far we have covered the 3rd interval and also the 4th interval.
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The Japanese In Sen Scale was made popular in jazz by John Coltrane and McCoy Tyner. The In Sen scale is sometimes called the Japanese pentatonic scale and it is found naturally in the major scale and the melodic minor scale. For example the E In Sen scale can be found in C major scale and D melodic minor scale.
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In this lesson, we are going to be taking a look at the exotic sounding mixolydian b6 scale. The mixolydian b6 scale is the fifth mode of the melodic minor scale and is commonly used to play over 9b13 chords or as an interesting and unusual scale choice over a dominant seven chord.
You don’t really hear the mixolydian b6 scale too often but it is an interesting scale that can be exploited to create some interesting and unusual jazz lines. As the name implies, the mixolydian b6 scale is simply a mixolydian scale with b6 note. You can see the mixolydian b6 scale as a mixolydian #5 scale and obviously it can work well over a 7#5 chord.
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In this scale lesson we will be learning more about the fifth mode of the major scale, the mixolydian mode. The mixolydian mode is a commonly used scale and is frequently heard in all kinds of music ranging from jazz to country to rock.
The mixolydian mode is simply a major scale with a minor seventh. The mixolydian mode is used specifically to play over standard dominant seventh chords. I have written out the notes of the mixolydian scale below.
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Welcome to this lesson on the harmonic minor scale and how you can use it in your own playing. The harmonic minor scale is an important scale in all kinds of music and like the major scale, it has seven unique modes. There are only two commonly used modes of the harmonic minor, the harmonic minor scale and the phrygian dominant scale. To me the harmonic minor scale has a very powerful and classical sound to it and that is probably due to the scales widespread use in classical music. The harmonic minor scale is used quite often in jazz and so it is definitely an important scale to learn.
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Welcome to this lesson on the jazz melodic minor scale. Chances are if you have listened to a lot of jazz then you will have heard the melodic minor scale used quite often. The melodic minor scale is an essential scale for all jazz players to learn. In this lesson I will show you the notes of the melodic minor scale, the chords of the melodic minor scale and how you can use the melodic minor scale in your own playing. The most common use for the melodic minor scale is to play over minor major 7 chords. The more adventurous jazz player might also try playing it over minor 7 chords for added tension.
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