Learning to Play Jazz Blog
The Altered Scale in Jazz Improvisation
The altered scale (sometimes abbreviated as "alt" in chord progressions) is a handy scale to know. It offers all of the possible alterations to the dominant seventh chord: b9, #9, #11, b5 and b13.
The alt scale is the seventh mode of the melodic minor scale. The F alt scale (above) is the seventh mode of the Gb melodic minor scale (below).
One way to learn the notes of the alt scale is to think of it as the first five notes of the h/w symmetric dominant scale and the last four of a whole tone scale.
In his solo over the changes to "In Your Own Sweet Way," from his 2004 Sunnyside release, "The Night's of Bradley's," Kirk Lightsey plays a lick that fits nicely over the F alt scale.
To see this lick in action, watch the Improvising Over In Your Own Sweet Way course.
The "Improvising Over . . ." series of courses provides insight into how to improvise over the chord changes to important tunes in the jazz repertoire. Based on a transcription of a master musician improvising over the changes to a standard jazz tune, each course describes how the soloist uses chord tones, arpeggios, chord scale passages, approach patterns and other improvisational techniques to develop their solo.
The Dave Brubeck standard, "In Your Own Sweet Way," presents a challenge to improvisors: how to solo over a progression that spans a wide range of keys at a fast tempo. It starts in G minor, moves to Bb, Gb, D, C and then Db in it's thirty-two bars.
Kirk Lightsey sheds some light on this problem in his recording of the tune on his 2004 Sunnyside release, "The Night's of Bradley's." Watch as the transcription of his solo is analyzed for the four components of melodic construction and gain insight into his improvisational concept to inform your own approach to soloing over this tune.