In this post I'd like to address a really cool concept that was the subject of a recent private lesson that I taught. Many of my students who study improvisation and write their own music will often ask me "How do I figure out what Scale to play along with these particular chords?" When I'm asked this question, I usually introduce the student to the concepts of "Diatonic Harmony" and "Chords in Key" so that they can learn HOW to recognize the chords that are used to build progressions with each Key. These are music theory concepts that I teach all of the time, however the lesson that I taught recently (and the subject of this post) dealt with a little bit of a different twist. The student I was working with was trying to compose a melody for a new song but his entire melody was designed to be played over just a single chord. Instead of using an entire progression of chords, he wanted to build an "interesting" melody over the sound of just a single chord. Basically his question was "If I'm trying to play a melody over just this ONE CHORD, what notes can I use?"

This question opened up the door to the discussion of using MULTIPLE SCALES on top of just a single chord, which is exactly what this post is going to focus on. The first concept that I established with my student (which is true with ANY MELODY) is that a great melody must target the notes of the chord being played. By targeting the "Chord Tones", the melody will sound like it is "inside" of the chord. Once you've established what the individual chord tones are, you can begin to use a wide assortment of scales to create some variation in your melody.

 

Here's the example I worked out with my student:

 

He wanted to build a melody around the sound of a single chord, in this case an A Minor chord. The first thing that we established is that an A Minor chord contains the notes A C E. These three notes are the "Chord Tones" of the A Minor chord and MUST be included in the melody. From there, I gave him this list of Scales to work on to introduce some different "flavors" into his melody:

 

The A Minor Pentatonic Scale

The A Minor Blues Scale

The A Minor Scale (also known as the "Natural Minor Scale", the "Pure Minor Scale" or the "Aeolian Mode")

The A Dorian Mode

The A Phrygian Mode

The A Harmonic Minor Scale (also known as the "Classical Minor Scale")

The A Melodic Minor Scale (also known as the "Jazz Minor Scale")
The A Hungarian Minor Scale (also known as the "Egyptian Scale")

 

The important thing to understand about this approach is that ALL of these scales contain the notes A C E which are the chord tones of the A Minor chord. What this means is that no matter which scale (or combination of scales) is used, you still have to target the chord tones in the melody to be "inside" of the chord.

Here is the basic idea behind the method used for building each of the scales: Once you know that the notes A C E are the chord tones or "target notes" that will be used in the melody, then all you have to do is figure out what OTHER notes besides the chord tones you want to incorporate to build a melody that uses an entire scale.

 

If we map out the individual notes in our first scale choice (the A Minor Pentatonic Scale), we get this:

 

A Minor Chord Tones = A C E

A Minor Pentatonic Scale = A C D E G A

 

In the above example, the note names that are bold are the chord tones of the A Minor chord, and the notes that are underlined are the additional notes in the scale that are not part of the chord.

 

The Minor Pentatonic Scale is probably the most common scale choice for creating a melody on top of a Minor chord. The Minor Pentatonic Scale is the most common "Rock" scale but is also used extensively in Blues, Jazz, Funk, Country and many other styles. The important thing to notice with this scale is that three out of five of the notes are actually chord tones, so it's very easy to use this scale to build a melody that "fits" the chord.

 

Now let's map out the individual notes in our second scale choice (the A Minor Blues Scale):

 

A Minor Chord Tones = A C E

A Minor Blues Scale = A C D Eb E G A

 

Once again, the note names that are bold are the chord tones of the A Minor chord, and the notes that are underlined are the additional notes in the scale that are not part of the chord.

 

The Minor Blues Scale is also one of the most common scale choice for creating a melody on top of a Minor chord. The addition of the note Eb into this scale gives it that characteristic "Blues" sound. Many musicians refer to the note Eb in this scale as the "Blue Note". One important thing to remember is that even though it's called a "Blues Scale", this scale can be used to create a melody in any style of music, whether it's Blues or not. In this scale you will notice that three out of the six notes used are still chord tones, so it's still pretty easy to use this scale to build a melody that "fits" the chord.

 

Now let's map out the individual notes in our third scale choice (the A Minor Scale / A Aeolian Mode):

 

A Minor Chord Tones = A C E

A Minor Scale / Aeolian Mode = A B C D E F G A

 

Once again, the note names that are bold are the chord tones of the A Minor chord, and the notes that are underlined are the additional notes in the scale that are not part of the chord.

 

The Minor Scale (Aeolian Mode) is another common scale choice for creating a melody on top of a Minor chord. The overall sound or "mood" of this scale is dark, but it also has a very melodic quality. This scale is our first example of what is often called a "Diatonic Scale" because it incorporates all seven letters of the Musical Alphabet. This scale can also be used to create melodies in any style of music. One very important thing to notice in this scale is that there are now seven letters used but only three out of those seven notes are chord tones. With this scale there are now four notes that are NOT in the chord, and these notes introduce more "tension" into the melody. It is a little more challenging to use this scale to build a melody that "fits" the chord, but as long as you target the chord tones often enough, you should still be able to incorporate all seven notes into your melody.

Now let's map out the individual notes in our fourth scale choice (the A Dorian Mode):

 

A Minor Chord Tones = A C E

A Dorian Mode = A B C D E F# G A

 

Once again, the note names that are bold are the chord tones of the A Minor chord, and the notes that are underlined are the additional notes in the scale that are not part of the chord.

 

The Dorian Mode is another common scale choice for creating a melody on top of a Minor chord. The flavor or "mood" of this scale is dark but it also has a very jazzy quality. There's an old saying that I use when I want o play something jazzy over a Minor chord which is "When in doubt, Dorian". This scale is another example of a "Diatonic Scale" that incorporates all seven letters of the Musical Alphabet. You will notice that this scale actually isn't that much different from the Aeolian Mode, as a matter of fact, the only new note in this scale is the F#. I like to think of the F# used in this scale as being the note that provides the unique "sound" of the scale. Just like the previous example, there are seven letters used in this scale but only three out of those seven notes are chord tones. Because there are four notes that are NOT in the chord, there is tension found in the melodies created from this scale. As long as you target the chord tones often enough, you should be able to incorporate all seven notes into your melody and still have it "fit" the chord.

 

Now let's map out the individual notes in our fifth scale choice (the A Phrygian Mode):

 

A Minor Chord Tones = A C E

A Phrygian Mode = A Bb C D E F G A

 

Once again, the note names that are bold are the chord tones of the A Minor chord, and the notes that are underlined are the additional notes in the scale that are not part of the chord.

 

The Phrygian Mode is a less common scale choice for creating a melody on top of a Minor chord because it has a more "outside" or "dissonant" sound. The sound or "mood" of this scale is VERY dark, and melodies that are built from this scale tend to have a very ominous sound. This scale is also an example of a "Diatonic Scale" that incorporates all seven letters of the Musical Alphabet. You should notice that this scale actually isn't that much different from the Aeolian Mode, with the only new note in this scale being the Bb. I like to think of the Bb used in this scale as being the note that provides the unique "sound" of the scale. Just like the previous two examples, there are seven letters used in this scale but only three out of those seven notes are chord tones. There are four notes that are NOT in the chord which provide the characteristic tension that is found in the melodies created from this scale. Just remember to target the chord tones often enough to make sure that you are really nailing the notes that are "inside" of the chord.

Now let's map out the individual notes in our sixth scale choice (the A Harmonic Minor Scale):

 

A Minor Chord Tones = A C E

A Harmonic Minor Scale = A B C D E F G# A

 

Once again, the note names that are bold are the chord tones of the A Minor chord, and the notes that are underlined are the additional notes in the scale that are not part of the chord.

 

The Harmonic Minor Scale (also known as the "Classical Minor Scale") is a really interesting scale choice for creating a melody on top of a Minor chord. This scale is often associated with melodies that come from some of history's greatest composers (Haydn, Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, etc.) The sound or "mood" of this scale is distinctly "classical", but this scale can be used to create melodies in any style or context. Once again you'll notice that this scale actually isn't that much different from the Aeolian Mode, with the only new note in this scale being the G#. The addition of the note G# into this scale is what really provides that unique "classical sound". Just like the previous examples, there are seven letters used in this scale but only three out of those seven notes are chord tones. There are four notes that are NOT in the chord which provide the tension that is found in the melodies created from this scale.

Now let's map out the individual notes in our seventh scale choice (the A Melodic Minor Scale):

 

A Minor Chord Tones = A C E

A Melodic Minor Scale = A B C D E F# G# A

 

Once again, the note names that are bold are the chord tones of the A Minor chord, and the notes that are underlined are the additional notes in the scale that are not part of the chord.

 

The Melodic Minor Scale (also known as the "Jazz Minor Scale") is another interesting scale choice for creating a melody on top of a Minor chord. This scale is often associated with melodies heard in jazz music, but this scale can be used to create melodies in any style or context. The flavor or "mood" of this scale is not as dark as many of the other scale choices, and I like to think of it as a "Bright Minor" sound. You'll notice that this scale has two notes that differ from the Aeolian Mode, which are F# and G#. The addition of these two new notes (F# and G#) is what really provides that unique "jazzy" sound. Just like the previous examples, there are seven letters used in this scale but only three out of those seven notes are chord tones. There are four notes that are NOT in the chord which provide the tension that is found in the melodies created from this scale. Remember that you should ALWAYS target the chord tones in your melody, no matter which scale you are using.

Finally let's map out the individual notes in our eighth scale choice (the A Hungarian Minor Scale):

 

A Minor Chord Tones = A C E

A Hungarian Minor Scale = A B C D# E F G# A

 

Once again, the note names that are bold are the chord tones of the A Minor chord, and the notes that are underlined are the additional notes in the scale that are not part of the chord.

 

The Hungarian Minor Scale (also known as the "Egyptian Scale") is the least common and most "exotic" scale choice for creating a melody on top of a Minor chord. The flavor or "mood" of this scale is similar to the Harmonic Minor Scale but also has a "Middle-Eastern" quality to it. This scale has two notes that differ from the Aeolian Mode, which are D# and G#. The addition of these two new notes (D# and G#) is what really provides that unique "Mid-East" sound. Just like the previous examples, there are seven letters used in this scale but only three out of those seven notes are chord tones. There are four notes that are NOT in the chord which provide the tension that is found in the melodies created from this scale.

 

As you can see from this list of choices, my student now had MANY different options to consider when building his melody on top of the single A Minor chord. The most important thing is that no matter what scale (or combination of scales) he decided to use, his melody had to target the notes of the chord being played. Now it's your turn to try and create a melody using the sound of these scales! All of these scale can be found in the Advanced Chord and Scale Library for the Fretlight Lesson Player as well as in the Scale Library found in Fretlight Improviser - Good Luck!

 

Nate