Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
www.mattwarnockguitar.com When learning how to play jazz guitar, one of the scales and chords that will keep popping up is the 7alt chord and its related Altered Scale. While many of us might have heard of this scale before, or even learned a ngering for it on the guitar, there are often gaps in our knowledge and application of this important and fun to play jazz guitar melodic device. In todays lesson, well be looking at how you can build an Altered Scale, how you can play a few different ngerings for this scale on the guitar, how to apply it to your soloing and technical practice routine, as well as check out 5 of my favorite Altered Scale licks over common jazz chord progressions. So, before we grab our guitars, lets take a look at how an Altered Scale is built from an intervallic and modal standpoint.
So, if you wanted to build a B Altered Scale, you could play a C Melodic Minor Scale starting on the note B, producing the 7th mode of that scale, and thus building a B Altered Scale in the process. Here is a notated example of how the C Melodic Minor Scale can be used to build the B Altered Scale.
No matter which way you decide to use to build your Altered Scales, from an intervallic standpoint or by thinking of it as the 7th mode of the Melodic Minor Scale, the important thing is that you learn how to play this scale on the guitar, and have an understanding of how it is constructed and where you can use it in your jazz guitar solos.
And here is a 5th string root for that same C7alt scale, which has the same notes as the Db Melodic Minor Scale if you are thinking about it that way.
To practice these scales, here are 10 exercises that I like to do when working on Altered Scale ngerings on the guitar, or any scale for that matter, that will help get the sound of this scale into your ears and the shapes of this scale under your ngers.
Altered Scale Exercises 1. Practice one ngering, 6th string root for example, in one key at various tempos on the metronome. Repeat this for any other ngerings you are working on for this scale. 2. Take the same ngerings in the rst exercise and practice them in 12 keys at various tempos on the metronome. 3. Play the above exercises while singing the root of the chord that you are on. 4. Play a C7alt chord voicing on the guitar and then sing the related C Altered Scale. 5. Repeat exercise 4 in all 12 keys, singing one octave if you can and two-octave scales where possible. 6. Put on a C7alt backing track and improvise using one Altered Scale ngering, then the other, then both together over that chord, at various tempos if possible. 7. Repeat exercise 6 in all 12 keys. 8. Sing the root to a C7alt chord and improvise over that note using the C Altered Scale in various ngerings. Repeat this exercise in all 12 keys. 9. Play a C7alt chord and sing a solo over that chord using only the notes of the C Altered Scale. Repeat this exercise in all 12 keys. 10. Put on a major and minor key ii-V-I backing track and solo over the V7 chord using its related Altered Scale.
Try putting on a Dm7 G7 Cmaj7 backing track and soloing over the Dm7 and Cmaj7 chords as you normally would. Then, when you reach the G7 chord, treat it as a G7alt chord by playing the G Altered Scale over that measure in the progression, Ab Melodic Minor if you want to think about it that way. This sound, playing V7alt in a major key ii V I isnt for everyone. But, if you can work this tension into your lines, and properly resolve it, you will be able to bring a new level of melodic sophistication into your lines and solos.
You can see an example of this below, where G7alt is used in the second bar to sound the V7alt chord in the key of C minor.
Again, put on a Dm7b5 G7alt Cm6 backing track and practice soloing over this progression while using the G Altered Scale in the second measure, to sound the V7alt chord in the key. This sound is just as tense as the major key ii V I you looked at earlier, but for some reason since it is in a minor key, it resolves easily into the Im6 chord, and so it is slightly easier to apply as your ears will hear it as more normal right away, as opposed to the major key application which may take some time and practice to get to that point.
Altered Lick 1
Altered Lick 2
Altered Lick 3
Altered Lick 4
Altered Lick 5
As you can see, the Altered scale is not only an important sound to have under your ngers and in your ears, but it can be a fun scale to work on in the practice room from both a technical and improvisational standpoint. After checking out this scale in the woodshed, head on over to the Matt Warnock Guitar Facebook Page and share your thoughts on this lesson or ask any questions you may have regarding the Altered Scale, or anything jazz guitar for that matter.