The EASIEST Way to Learn The Altered Dominant Scale!
In this jazz guitar lesson, we learn how to play the altered scale. We’ll also analyze it’s functions over the harmony and learn an effective and easy method to help implement it over chord changes. We’ll also learn 3 BONUS ideas to quickly be able to improvise with this scale! After this video, You should be on your way to survive yourself by using the altered scale over the typical II V I progression. Please Enjoy!
About The method
The method is based around connecting scales over the changes. This method is a very effective way of deeply getting the right sound over the right chords at the right particular moment in time. It’s also a very common practice in studying Jazz, to go through a phase of playing stoic over a chord progression, with of course the goal to be able to let it all go again while mastering it. That long term goal is of course the actual freedom in improvisation but with the insight and skills to sound great and be able to express yourself personally.
Finding The Altered Scale
Now, the altered scale is what you get when you play the melodic minor scale from it’s 7th degree.
For a G7alt scale, we need a Ab-melodic Minor scale from it’s 7th degree, which is our G.
In the case of a G7alt chord, the notes are G, Ab, A#, B, C#, D#, F. Or 1, b9, #9, 3, #4, b13, b7.
How it works - step by step
Here’s how it’s application works very briefly over a typical II V I situation in C major.
In the video we will go into it deeply.
- First, we analyze the progression and know our degrees, so we know which scale goes where. The progression is Dm7- G7alt- Cmaj7. So we have D Dorian, G7 Altered, C major (Ionian)
- With the progression in mind, we play stoic 8th’s per measure, from the tonic of each chord.
- We can include some steps in between to play from let’s say the 3rd, the 5th, th 7th.
- Once we’re confident, we’ll try to connect the scale on the moment of the change, so D dorian goes into G7 alt into C ionian, but now without breaking our ascending or descending motion on the guitar and continuing it as a line.
- We then make it our own and less mechanical. Add musical variation, feel, and dynamics. In the video you’ll see examples of cool variations that are easy and sound nice!