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Melodic Minor Chord Applications

This document discusses three common applications of the melodic minor scale in jazz guitar. The applications are: 1) Using melodic minor a 5th above the chord to create a Lydian dominant sound. 2) Using melodic minor a half step above the chord to create an altered dominant sound, which produces the same notes as the altered scale. 3) Using melodic minor to create a Phrygian natural 6 sound over ii-V-I or susb9 chords by playing the second mode of melodic minor. Examples are provided to demonstrate each application.

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Didik Setiawan
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319 views

Melodic Minor Chord Applications

This document discusses three common applications of the melodic minor scale in jazz guitar. The applications are: 1) Using melodic minor a 5th above the chord to create a Lydian dominant sound. 2) Using melodic minor a half step above the chord to create an altered dominant sound, which produces the same notes as the altered scale. 3) Using melodic minor to create a Phrygian natural 6 sound over ii-V-I or susb9 chords by playing the second mode of melodic minor. Examples are provided to demonstrate each application.

Uploaded by

Didik Setiawan
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Do You Know These 3 Melodic Minor Applications?

The Melodic Minor scale is one of the most important scales to practice when
learning jazz guitar. (http://jamieholroydguitar.com/50-essential-jazz-guitar-
licks)

At first glance, the melodic minor scale and its modes seem to be applied to
chords that are rarely seen or used.

This article aims to solve this problem by breaking down three different
melodic minor applications and demonstrate how they can be used over
common chord sequences.

A firm grasp and understanding of the melodic minor and its modes is
recommended.

But, even if you don’t know the modes of the melodic minor scale, you should
still be able to take something musical and interesting from this lesson.

Melodic Minor Application #1 – Lydian Dominant

The first melodic minor application demonstrates how a common melodic


minor pattern can be used to create a Lydian dominant sound.

The Lydian dominant scale is the fourth mode of the melodic minor, and
therefore contains the same notes as its parent melodic minor scale.

Because of this, jazz guitarists use their melodic minor licks up a 5th rather
than have a different set of Lydian Dominant licks.

To use a melodic minor lick over a Lydian dominant chord, think of the
melodic minor scale up a 5th.

For example, if the chord chart said G7#11, think D melodic minor.

The melodic minor lick below is an example of this in action over a static
dominant 7#11 chord. The chord in context is D7#11 and the lick comes
thinking A melodic minor.

Though thinking “melodic minor up a 5th” might seem tough at first, it is a great
way to work on theory skills and get twice as much mileage from the melodic
minor scale.
Melodic Minor Application #2 – Altered Dominants

Perhaps the most common melodic minor application is playing over altered
dominant chords, particularly in ii-V-I situations.

To use the melodic minor scale over a dominant 7th chord, think of the
melodic minor scale a semi-tone up.

For example, if the chord in context is G7, think of Ab melodic minor.

This substitution will produce the same notes as the altered scale, which is
the 7th mode of the Melodic Minor scale.

The lick below is an example of this substitution in action.

The chord progression is a minor ii-V-I, and over the G7, Ab melodic minor is
used.

Melodic Minor Application #3 – Phrygian Natural 6

The final melodic minor application in this article is used for creating a
Phrygian sound, either over a ii-V-I or a static susb9 chord.

The Phrygian Natural 6 or Dorian b2 is the second mode of the melodic minor
scale.

This short lick demonstrates how to connect this scale in a ii-V-I example.
Note the smooth voice leading between the scale of the ii chord (A-7) and C
melodic minor over the V chord (D7).

I hope this article has helped you demystify the melodic minor scale and how
it used in practical music settings.

For further melodic minor study check out my article and video lesson called 1
Melodic Minor Every Jazz Guitarist Should Know.
(http://jamieholroydguitar.com/melodic-minor-scale-shape)

About The Author

Jamie Holroyd is a UK based educator, author, and performer as well as the


founder of www.jamieholroydguitar.com, a free website with lessons to help
students across the globe play jazz and blues guitar.

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