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Am I right in thinking the suggested chord scales are not right for minor keys? In the case below, Dorian seems like it is wrong, the b6 should come from a Locrian scale to fit into Harmonic Minor, which is where the other 2 chords belong. Might be just me being naive, can anyone clarify? screenshot attached to explain what I mean. thanks!
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I'm going to reply to my own thread because I figured this out (I think). The exercise would make more sense, in terms of studying, if the I chord was a MinMaj7 as opposed to a Min6 chord. This way everything fits into Harmonic Minor.Quote:
Originally Posted by dancubas
(Also, I made a mistake - Locrian applies to the II chord, not the I.)
I am not sure I understand what you are trying to do—if you want the progression of chords to all have the same scale to practice over?Quote:
Originally Posted by dancubas
Hopefully you have figured it all out for yourself :)
MinMaj chords including Minor 6 chords are used with tonic Melodic Minor scale ... that is in C ... C D Eb F G A B C ..... major scale with a lowered thirdQuote:
Originally Posted by dancubas
The 2 most common chord scales for Im6 chords are Dorian and Jazz Minor.Quote:
Originally Posted by dancubas
The disadvantage of Dorian is that its b7 will clash with the maj 6th down in the chord voicing.
I.e. b7 is an avoid note on min6 chords.
The advantage of Jazz Minor is that the maj7 is an available extension.
Your ears can learn to play off of this chord either way.
Neither is 'right' or 'wrong'.
The most common version of Im throughout most of jazz's history has been Im6, especially in the bebop and pre-bop eras.
Im7 became more prevalent during the modal jazz era.
The scale most closely associated with a Im triad, especially in the Classical Period of classical music, is/was Natural Minor, aka Aeolian.
On Im(maj7), in jazz, the typical choices are Jazz Minor or Harmonic Minor.
Jazz minor has an advantage that the maj 6th scale degree works nicely as an extension.
Harm min has the disadvantage that the b6 is an avoid note.
But your ear might go either way, depending on the context.
It's usually not cool to overemphasize the b6 whereas it is very cool to lay into the maj 6th.
In jazz, and in classical too I suppose, on a Im triad, the typical choices are: nat min, dorian, mel min and/or harm min.
But even phrygian might work sometimes too.
So, no, the exercise isn't wrong.
The writer is just coming at it from a different perspective than you.
Also....
One can decide to use a single scale through an entire IIm7b5 V7b9 Im progression if one wants to.
The usual suspects for that would be the nat min or harm min scale built on the tonic of the key. i.e the root of the Im chord.
But that can get boring quickly.
The use of harm min through the IIm7b5 chord will involve a maj 13th which can be a little bit spicy sometimes.
E.g. On Dm7b5, in C minor, the C harm min scale has a B nat in it.
When you hear the B nat emphasized on the Dm7b5 chord it sounds like you've already arrived at G7 because of the tritone it creates with the chord's F.
It's not exactly an 'avoid note', but it's often treated as if it is.
And the use of the maj7 on Im can be a bit jarring too.
E.g. In the key of Cm, the B nat is usually used as a leading tone to the tonic or to the Im chord.
It's a bit anticlimactic if you're already on Im and can be confusing to the listener.
My default strategy is:
IIm7b5 - Locrian
V7b9 - Mixb2b6(add#2)
Im - Aeolian, Dorian or Jazz Minor (Harm min on a rainy day, maybe.)
Dm7b5 - D Locrian (aka C nat min)
G7b9 - G Mixb2b6(add#2) (aka C nat min with B nat added to it.)
Cm - Some sort of a "C minor scale".
Other strategies are:
IIm7b5 - Locrian #2 (Some call it Loc. nat 2.)
V7alt - Altered
Im6 - Mel Min
This strategy involves 3 consecutive jazz minor scales.
In C minor:
F mel min on Dm7b5
Ab mel min on G7alt.
C mel min on Cm6.
And there's lots of other ways to colour this progression too.
That's why jazz guys enjoy playing it so much.