Introduction
As we have already learned, a Mode is a scale created by establishing a new root note within a pre-existing scale. We are already familiar with the Modes of the Major Scale, but we can create modes from any pre-existing scale. In Jazz, the modes of the melodic minor scale are very widely used. The melodic minor scale is exactly the same as the Major scale except that it has a ♭3.
All the Melodic Minor Modes are detailed in the below table along with their related chords.
Melodic Minor Modes
| # | Mode Name | Degrees | Notes from C | Chord | Avoid Notes | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | Jazz Melodic Minor | 1 2 ♭3 4 5 6 7 | C D E♭ F G A B | CmMaj7 | None | Chord not found in Major harmony |
| II | Dorian ♭2 | 1 ♭2 ♭3 4 5 6 ♭7 | D E♭ F G A B C | Dm7 | E♭ | Not used |
| Dsus♭9 | None | V7 of G Major | ||||
| III | Lydian Augmented | 1 2 3 #4 #5 6 7 | E♭ F G A B C D | E♭Maj7#5 | None (Maybe C) | Already dissonant |
| IV | Lydian Dominant | 1 2 3 #4 5 6 ♭7 | F G A B C D E♭ | F7#11 | None | None |
| V | Mixolydian ♭6 | 1 2 3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7 | G A B C D E♭ F | G7♭13 | C | Not used |
| CmMaj7/G | None | Rarely used | ||||
| VI | Half-Diminished | 1 2 ♭3 4 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7 | A B C D E♭ F G | Am7♭5 | None | None |
| VII | Altered Scale | 1 ♭2 ♭3 ♭4 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7 | B C D E♭ F G A | Bm7♭5 | C & E♭ | Not used |
| B7alt | None | Used often |
Note the following:
- The first mode of the melodic minor scale is…the melodic minor scale. In Classical music, you play the ‘true’ melodic minor scale ascending and the natural minor scale descending. But in Jazz, we play the ‘true’ melodic minor scale both up and down, and call it the Jazz Melodic Minor Scale. The associated chord is the CmMaj7 chord – which is not found in Major scale harmony.
- The Dorian ♭2 mode is generally reserved for the Phrygian Chord (D7sus♭9). While it can be played over a m7 chord, the ♭2 would be an avoid note.
- The Lydian Augmented mode (‘Lydian’ because of the #4 and ‘Augmented’ because of the #5) is played over a Maj7#5 chord, but can also be played over a regular Maj7 chord.
- The Lydian Dominant mode (‘Lydian’ because of the #4 and ‘Dominant’ because of the♭7) is played over a V7#11 chord, but can also be played over a regular V7 chord.
- The Mixolydian ♭6 mode is rarely used in Jazz. It can be used over a V7♭13 chord, but is generally reserved for a ImMaj7/V chord.
- The Half-diminished mode is used over a half-diminished chord. It is an oft-used alternative to the Locrian mode.
- The Altered mode is used over a V7alt chord (or just a regular V7). This is a VERY widely used scale that’s worth exploring in a little bit more depth.
Altered Scale
One of the most widely used scales in Jazz is the Altered Scale. It is played over a V7 chord and is an interesting scale because every note that can be altered, is altered. Below is a comparison of the Altered Scale to the standard Mixolydian Scale:
| Degree | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | ♭7 |
| C Mixolydian (F Major) | C | D | E | F | G | A | B♭ |
| Degree | 1 | ♭9 | #9 | 3 | ♭5 (#11) | ♭13 (#5) | ♭7 |
| Altered Scale | C | D♭ | E♭ (D#) | F♭ (E) | G♭ (F#) | A♭ (G#) | B♭ |
- You can’t alter root, 3rd or 7th without changing chord tonality or quality – but you can alter every other note
- Notice there is no ♮5th
The full associated chord is C7♭9#9#11♭13, but this is quite a mouthful so the chord is usually just shortened to C7alt. This just means ‘Play an altered C7 chord’. It can be any altered C7 chord – C7♭9 or C7#9#11 or C7♭9♭13 or anything else – but a good proxy chord is C7#9♭13.
Avoid Notes
It’s also generally accepted that the melodic minor scale modes do NOT have avoid notes. This means you can all the notes of the scale over any of the chords, and that all the chord voicings are completely interchangeable. That is, the CmMaj7 chord (C, E♭, G, B) can be used as a voicing for any chord in the key of C melodic minor just by changing the bass note.
As we have learned already, in order to play a chord we have to include, at a minimum, the 3rd and 7th of that chord (the root and the 5th can be omitted). We also have to omit any ‘unavailable tensions‘ or ‘avoid notes’.
For example, the only reason an FMaj9#11 (F A C E G B) cannot be a G13 (G B D F A E) is because the FMaj7 contains a ‘C’, which is an unavailable tension or avoid note from the point of view (POV) of the G7. Otherwise the two chords share many notes in common.
| Chord Voicing | F | A | C | E | G | B |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| POV of FMaj7 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 9 | #11 |
| POV of G7 | 7 | 9 | ♮11 (Avoid Note) | 13 | 1 | 3 |
Interestingly, if you omit the 5th from both chords (which is allowed), you get the exact same notes. So, a 5th-less FMaj9#11 = a 5th-less G13.
- FMaj9#11 (no 5th) = F A ( ) E G B
- G13 (no 5th, no 11th) = G B ( ) F A ( ) E
This means, the only reason one chord cannot be a different chord is because avoid notes and guide tones exist. But if you have no avoid notes (like the melodic minor scale), then every chord can be any other chord in that key.
This means when you are playing in melodic minor harmony, you don’t play the chord individually so much as you play the whole key all at once.
V7 Chords
Also notice that two V7 chords can be derived from the melodic minor scale.
- IV – F7#11
- VII – B7alt
These V7 chords are a tritone apart from each other – they can therefore be tritone substituted for each other.
Scales over Chords
So, summarising what we know so far, we can play the following Major and Melodic Minor modes over the following chords:
- CMaj7
- C Ionian = C D E F G A B
- C Lydian = C D E F# G A B
- C Lydian Augmented = C D E F# G# A B
- Cm7
- C Dorian = C D E♭ F G A B♭
- C Aeolian = C D E♭ F G A♭ B♭
- CmMaj7
- C melodic minor = C D E♭ F G A B
- C7
- C Mixolydian = C D E F G A B♭
- C Lydian Dominant = C D E F# G A B♭
- Altered Scale = C D♭ E♭ F♭ G♭ A♭ B♭
- C Mixolydian♭6 = C D E F G A♭ B♭
- Cm7♭5
- C Locrian = C D♭ E♭ F G♭ A♭ B♭
- C Half-Diminished = C D E♭ F G♭ A♭ B♭
So, for example, if we had the below chord progression, we could improvise over it using the following scales (the related keys are also listed):
| Chord Progression | Bm7♭5 | G7 | CMaj7 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Major Modes | B Locrian | G Mixolydian | C Ionian |
| Major Key | C Major | ||
| Melodic Minor Modes | B Half-diminished | G Altered | C Lydian Augmented |
| Melodic minor Key | D melodic minor | A♭ melodic minor | A melodic minor |
And this: