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!

In Deep With The Harmonic Minor Scale

So, back in January I laid out a practice schedule for the year that would include me investigating and studying a variety of new ideas to kick myself out of a rut, and included in that variety was the harmonic minor scale, something I've long been more or less familiar with but never really looked into. So in the spirit of self improvement, I'm presenting my findings...

First off, what is the harmonic minor scale? It's a seven note scale built from these intervals:

R – 2 – b3 – 4 – 5 – b6 -7

We can view this as a natural minor scale with a natural 7^th, and you can see the minor 3^rd gap between the b6 and 7^th gives it an eerie, “haunted house” vibe. Classical music makes heavy use of this scale – in fact, in many classical guitar syllabi, the harmonic minor is taught before the minor pentatonic (you crazy classical fools!). However, popular music tends to favour the natural minor, which is in itself a mode of the major scale.

(The difference between a scale and a mode? The modes of the major scale are all re-arrangements of the notes of the major scale, and as the strongest, most straightforward tonality, the major scale is defined as the parent scale. With the harmonic minor, there is no way to rearrange the major scale notes to form the intervals of the harmonic minor, and it is the strongest and most straightforward of it's tonalities.. the modes of the harmonic minor are wondrous and obscure!)

Let's look at the A Harmonic Minor scale (it's the simplest to wrap your head around):

R – 2 – b3 – 4 – 5 – b6 -7

A - B - C - D – E – F – G#

Now, if we look at this modally, this is what we get:

A - B - C - D – E – F – G# - A Harmonic Minor

R – b2 – b3 – 4 – b5 – 6 - b7

B - C - D - E – F – G# – A - B Locrian #6

R – 2 – 3 – 4 – #5 – 6 -7

C - D - E - F – G# – A – B - C Ionian Augmented

R – 2 – b3 – #4 – 5 – 6 - b7

D - E - F - G# – A – B – C - D Dorian #4 (aka Romanian)

R – b2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – b6 -b7

E - F - G# - A – B – C – D - E Phrygian Dominant

R – #2 – 3 – #4 – 5 – 6 - b7

F - G# - A - B – C – D – E - F Lydian #2

R – b2 – b3 – b4 – b5 – b6 -bb7

G# - A - B - C – D – E – F - G# Ultralocrian

It's also worth taking a look at the results when you harmonise this scale:

i chord – A- C – E : Am

ii chord – B – D – F : B diminished

III chord – C – E – G# : C augmented

iv chord – D – F – A : D minor

V chord – E – G# - B : E

VI chord – F – A – C : F

vii chord – G# - B – D : G# diminished

This means that when you look at a simple 12 bar, you end up with :

// Am / % / % / % / % / Dm / % /

Am / % / E / Dm / Am / E //

I-V-vi-IV gets even more interesting: Am – E – Dm – F

Jazzers may be in for a shock – take a look at the ii-V-I.. Bdim – E – Am.

And then we can extend past triads to 7ths: 

i chord – A- C – E - G# : Ammaj7

ii chord – B – D – F - A : Bm7b5

III chord – C – E – G# - B : Cmaj7#5

iv chord – D – F – A - C: D m7

V chord – E – G# - B - D: E7

VI chord – F – A – C - E: Fmaj7

vii chord – G# - B – D - F : G# diminished7

Interestingly though, these chord sequences still have a (somewhat twisted) coherency and charm about them, and this is an excellent resource for players looking to write something new and different but not sure how to break out of a rut – tackling standard chord sequences in alternate tonalities is a great place to start.

Mapping out the modes using the three octave box/ transition technique covered in Progressive Guitar Training is a terrific exercise for both fingers and brain, and then there's improvisation... and once you've figured out how to be melodic with the Ultralocrian then... the sky is the limit!

Next month – a tribute to a lost legend, the incredible Allan Holdsworth. For those of you who aren't familiar, do yourselves a favour and YouTube him- and then see how long it takes you to pick your jaw off the floor!