In Deep With The Jazz Melodic Minor Scale

Still not Holdsworth. But consider this Holdsworth-adjacent, as it covers one of his favoured scales, the jazz melodic minor. This scale is a favourite of many jazz and fusion players, but as with so many things in music, it is fundamentally extremely simple. The jazz melodic minor is simply a major scale with a b3, as shown below:

R – tone – 2 – semitone – b3 – tone – 4 – tone – 5 – tone – 6 – tone – 7 – semitone – R

I've specified the jazz melodic minor as opposed to what is normally described as the melodic minor, as the classical definition of melodic minor specifies R 2 b3 4 5 6 7 when ascending, R 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7 when descending... now, when you've got your foot up on the monitor and you're going for it mid solo, that strikes me as the type of unnecessary complexity which in practice you can really do without.

As with every scale, the melodic minor has it's own modes. We'll use the key of A as our start point.

A jazz melodic minor:

A – B – C – D – E – F# - G#

R – 2 - b3 – 4 – 5 – 6 - 7

B Dorian b2 (aka Javanese or Phrygidorian)

B – C – D – E – F# - G# - A

R -b2- b3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - b7

C Lydian Augmented (aka Lydian #5)

C – D – E – F# - G# - A – B

R – 2 – 3 - #4 - #5 - 6 – 7

D Lydian Dominant

D - E – F# - G# - A – B – C

R – 2 – 3 - #4 - 5 – 6 – b7

E Mixolydian b6 (aka Hindu or Myxaeolian)

E – F# - G# - A – B – C – D

R – 2 - 3 – 4 - 5 – b6 – b7

F# Locrian nat 2 (aka half-diminished or Aeolocrian)

F# - G# - A – B – C – D - E

R - 2 - b3 – 4 – b5 – b6 – b7

G# Superlocrian

G# - A – B – C – D – E – F#

R – b2 – b3 – b4 – b5 – b6 – b7

When you harmonise this scale, there's a whole world of fun to be had. At triad level we get these:

i chord – Am (A C E)

ii chord – Bm (B D F#)

III chord – C augmented (C E G#)

IV chord – D (D F# A)

V chord – E (E G# B)

vi chord – F# diminished (F# A C )

vii chord – G# diminished (G# B D)

Extending out to the level of sevenths, things get even more interesting:

i chord – Ammaj7 (A C E G#)

ii chord – Bm7 (B D F# A)

III chord – C maj7#5 (C E G# B)

IV chord – D7 (D F# A C)

V chord – E7 (E G# B D)

vi chord – F#m7b5 (F# A C E )

vii chord – G#mmaj7b5 (G# B D F#)

So a 12 bar would look like this:

// Am / % / % / % / D / % / Am / % / E / D / Am / E //

A melodic minor Stand By Me (I vi IV V) would go:

// Am / % / F# dim / % / D / E / Am / % //

Our old friend, the I-V-vi-IV becomes this twisted creature:

// Am / E / F#dim / D //

And you jazzers out there (we'll dial in some sevenths for you guys), the ii-V-I is now:

// Bm7 / E7 / Ammaj7 / % // - and that's a VERY tense and spooky chord to try and resolve to!

As I mentioned with the harmonic minor a few moths ago, mapping these scales using the six note box/ transition note method across three octaves gives some fantastic and accessible patterns to try, and reworking conventional chord sequences or pentatonic licks to include some of the jazzy sophistication of the melodic minor is a great way to expand your playing and push you to a new level. So don't be put off by the jargon, dive in and give it a try!