Musicians Institute and Guitar World bring you a series of guitar lessons with some of the top guitar instructors around. In this video, Dean Brown gives a lesson on "Minor II-V-I and the Melodic Minor Scale."
I highly recommend the book "jazz guitar structures" by Andrew Green He shows you how to use for example, how one arpeggio shape can be used to solo over various chord types in the same progression including altered dominant chords. A an depth book that will vastly improve your soloing chops.
This is great! Your videos are excellent for teaching material. Many RU-vid "teaching" vids are just a stage for showing off chops but never really actually teach the subject at hand. Because it is too fast without an example. This stuff is so hip .Thank you for this.
@leopower7 if you harmonize the melodic minor scale you'll get a m7b5 chord on the sixht degree (Am7b5 is the sixht degree of C melodic minor scale, which he uses over it) and you get an altered chord on the seventh degree (D7#9 is the seventh degree of Eb melodic minor which he uses over it). Gm6 is the tonic minor chord and he uses G melodic minor. Let me know if this is helpful ^__^ if not ask again i'll try to be more complete in the explanation. Peace
The Am7b5 chord can be built from the 6th of the C melodic minor scale, C,D,Eb,F,G,A,B (notes as they are in third intervals; C-Eb-G-B-D-F-A), so starting from the 6th of melodic minor (A) and building a chord we have A C and Eb or a minor chord with a flat 5. One of the choices for building dominant chords is building a V chord from the 7th note of a melodic minor scale. In this example he uses the D7 built from the 7th note of the Eb melodic minor scale. D7#4,b6,b9,#9 alterations or D7alt
The C melodic minor contains the note B natural which it's not diatonic to any Gm tonic, but to G major; that gives you an Amø w/ a major ninth which I rather use when the ii/v is resolving to a major tonic, - like the first two bars of 'Night and Day' but that's just my preference - what he's showing here is more chromatic, cause you have to go for Bd by the time you resolve it - cool, but trickier.
@Yimmery XD in few words,every degree of the melodic minor scale gives origin to a type of chord.The sixht degree is a m7b5 so you have to find out which scale has A as its sixht degree(C melodic minor).The seventh degree is an altered dominant so you have to find out which scale has D as its seventh degree( Eb melodic minor).Gm6 is a minor tonic chord so you use the first degree of which scale? G melodic minor ^^. Every chord has its own color so he needs to be played with the appropriate scale
@leopower7 well, that might be because his approach is meant for advanced jazz guitarists. In the basic approach you would play this as 2nd. 5th and 1st mode of melodic minor (sharp 6) or harmonic minor (sharp 7) but he goes further using substitutes for chords (Cm#6 for Am7b5 and Ebm#6 for Dm7#9) and uses appropriate scales for that. Still if you do not go as far as that in understanding jazz theory it is enough to hear how good it sounds :)
@pizzagoing I think he meant to say C melodic minor. The note A isn't even diatonic in Cm but as the person above explained using the 6th mode of C meldoic minor would give you the A locrian nat9 scale which would obviously work over a Am7b5 chord which locrian is typically played over, I actually prefer the natural 9 sound over half diminished
this is great lesson, meshes nicely with what I"ve learned about SuperLocrian and Aeolian b5 scales. Nicely explained and all the audio examples were easy to follow................want more like this!!!!
@varulv234 Because it's a D7#9 and that's from melodic minor. so it's using different notes from that scales to create more tension for the resolution to the I chord
Actually the swing jazz was much better than the groove, I can listen to it 1 million times without getting tired, that's why I love jazz. Love the sound of that melodic minor.
You could play the D altered scale (also named superlocrian) over D7, because that'll give you the chord tones of D7 plus ALL the juicy altered notes: the b9, #9, b5 and #5. Some players (appently Dean's one of 'em) like to think of an altered scale as a Melodic minor scale starting one half step above the root (same 7 notes!), so Eb melodic minor over D7. I have always found that way of thinking much too complicated and have just learned the altered scale as it's own scale. Hope that helps!
I didn't even notice he didn't have inlays until I read some of the comments. It seems obvious where he was on the neck because he was calling out the notes, chords, and scales.
thinking in relative major can help simplify the improv process. Playing iim7-v7 in Bb major gets it done without too much complication. Keeping your thinking major vs minor is easier for most of us and lends itself to greater opportunities IMHO.
+Jeff Reed when Dean play D7, how can he play E flat minor?why?i know thats beautiful shape with that chord, but thats not connect each other, please can you help me to explain this?
Eb melodic minor over D7 gives us the Altered Scale (which is, intervallically speaking, 1. b9, #9 3, b5, #5, b7 - every possible alteration on a dominant chord), which serves to create as much tension as possible so that the resolution sounds stronger. Jeff Reid, these are all Melodic Minor scales, so the Relative Major trick won't work (unless you're used to thinking of a Lydian #5 as a major scale, that is!)
Sorry guys... Can somebody explain why B melodic min. over A half dimished ? it doesnt fit to me, but sounds perfect. Also E melodic Minor over D7/9#. I need some help here !!
Theyre modes of the Melodic Minor.Its C melodic minor over the Am7b5 to create the Locrian natural 2 sound(the 6th mode of C Melodic minor).Over the D7#9 its the 7th mode of Eb Melodic Minor(the D Altered Scale), and than the Tonic melodic minor for the Gm.But youre right, B melodic minor would be terrible over the A.
@NathanMantle Not sure it works that way... I don't know if eyesight improves as technique improves. I've been playing for a long time and I wouldn't mind the fret markers.
There are whole families of pentatonic scales. The traditional major and minor ones are great, but there are lots of other options. John Wheatcroft has a great video about this subject as well.
+Calle Bergstrom - what you've just suggested is the basis of modes, and what you get when that happens doesn't fit a Cmajor7 - you get Cmaj7+5, which you can also think of as E/C. The actual scale, relative to C, is normal except for the 5th, which simply isn't there. I've left a slightly more detailed breakdown of this in another comment here.
when you play D7, how can you play E flat minor?why?i know thats beautiful shape with that chord, but thats not connect each other, please explain me for more, thx u..
+Corent Sudibyo You can think of it as a tritone substitution. The tritone sub for D7 would be Ab7, and the chord tones are Ab(1) C(3) Eb(5) Gb(b7) Bb(9) Db(11) F(13) ..... Starting from the fifth of the tritone sub you get an Ebm7 arpeggio which explains why it works over D7. It is a great way to get some altered notes over that D7.
+Corent Sudibyo its called altered scale or super locrian..where in you use the seventh mode of the Eb melodic minor,u get D super locrian or D Altered that resolves to Gminor..he use Cmelodic minor to Am7b5 chord,that means he use the 6th mode of the C melodic minor mode called A Half diminished..
Only one tone from that triad is in D7 #9, F#. The other 2 notes, Eb and Bb help to imply an altered sound over the chord, as you now get a flat 9 and flat 13 in addition to the sharp 9 in the chord
@NoTrespassing2 I personally don't really like them (to play at least) because that damn upper cutaway always goes right into my chest while I'm playing sitting down.
It's to give you a few alterations . Also Eb is a minor to G major. If you don't understand that, get a guitar teacher or read some simple music theory books. It can take months or years to understand how to apply ideas to you guitar.
If you play an Eb Melodic minor scale over a D7 chord, that scale will give you the 'altered tensions/notes' necessary for you to have an 'D Altered Dominant' chord/line sound.
You can easily answer that kind of question yourself.Heres how: Write out an Eb Melodic Minor scale. Ask yourself what each note is in relation to D7. The Eb is the b9, the F is the #9 ( yeah, it’s the min 3, but not in this case), the Gb (F#) is the Maj 3rd, the Ab is the b5, the Bb is the #5, the C is the b7. So, you have a scale with the major 3 and b7, which defines the D7 chord sound, then you have ALL of the altered notes! What could be better for playing over...D7#9, D7b9, D7#5, D7b5, or combinations of those? There, I did all your work for you. But you should do that whenever you have a question like that. Gotta use your brain sometimes....Finally, what’s the formula to know? Answer: Play Melodic Minor one half step above the altered dominant chord...and remember, the D is the “root” sound, so it’s the 7th “mode” of Eb Melodic Minor.
@@mellodc Why the C melodic minor over the Am7b5? Especially, since Cmm gives you a B natural instead of a B flat for the G minor sound... for the key I thought we're playing in. Does B natural sound good over a Gmin? You seem smart, can you answer that o wise one?
Hi Honor , While what you say is true, remember that you aren’t playing Gmin yet, you are playing the ii half diminished. If you play CMelMinor, and also various arpeggios of harmonized CMelMinor, you will get the Ahalf dim sound with a natural 2 (B), then you can move your same or similar lick symmetrically up a min 3rd to Eb MelMinor which gives you D7 alt, which is what you might want before resolving to G minor. Try it and see how your ear reacts. It’s kind of a modern turn. Of course you can use A Locrian for A half diminished as well, but the CMM is often used. On the other hand, Charlie Parker never heard of modes, but used approach tones and bebop scales and chromaticism, so there are many different ways to improvise and speak the evolving language of improvisation. You can also just play blues in Gminor. I might do any of those things.
He never properly explains why he chooses the C minor scale over the A minor, or the Eb minor scale over the Dm-it's confusing. And then just to play the G minor scale of the G. Can anyone explain to me how you know which scale to play over any particular chord? It's not formulaic, is it? Because I like the Melodic Minor.
+ZP Pierce I think over the Aminor he uses Cminor scale because the Aminor chord he plays is an Amb5 (Aminor with a flat 5). Now, the Cminor triad has all the notes on that chord (G C Eb). Besides, if you take a look at that Amb5, you'll find that's an Cminor chord with an A on the bass. For the Gminor chord I think it's obvious. And for the Dm... well, I don't know but I think it's just because all the notes of the chord can be found on the Ebminor scale and probably also because most of the notes from the Ebminor scale belong also on the Gminor scale that you are aiming to. I'm not sure of this last point, but I think it's ok. Maybe someone can explain us...
It doesn't depend only on "the chord you're on", it depends also on the next chord and the last ones you played. Chords on a chord progression have a relation between them and that's what tells "what" you can play. Also, there's not just one thing to play, there are usually a couple of choices depending on what you want do, the atmosphere you want to create... Again, Cminor works well because a Cminor arpeggio (or chord, if you prefer) has the same notes as a Amb5. Check it on your guitar, you'll see it.I guess that, besides, Aminor has a modal relationship (probably a minor one) with Cminor. Just as the modes of the major scale.
He's got it right just doesn't explain it well. The trick is to use the melodic minor scale one half step above the altered dominant chord. The scale is called altered dominant, seventh degree of the melodic minor scale.
i feel like this is like the ultimate long way around learning this material.. can be so much easier. theres only 12 pitches that make up harmony in western music, so its a damn fact that a simple three chord progression like so shouldn't require that much thinking for the same results.
ok so i can play ii V i in one key.. he had no explanation for why you play eb minor over a d7#9 or C minor over the Am7b5. If you're teaching guitar you ought to give the student more than just a set of notes, scales and chords especially when they seem so counter intuitive.
mnn9ne i know im late but i hope this helps. When you have an altered dominant chord you could use the altered scale (7th mode of the melodic minor) so if you have a D7 b9, you could play Eb Melodic Minor and it’ll sound great.
The whole progression is in G minor but you are playing over D7 altered chord. On D7altered you play (in this example) D altered scale. D is the root of altered therefore the 7th of the parent melodic minor. The melodic minor with D as the 7th is Eb minor.
You could play A7alt to D7alt to Gm and this would be 2 5 1 in G minor but you would play Bb melodic minor, Eb melodic minor and at least G minor. It all depends on chord you are playing. You can also substitute dominants with other chords. eg. Dm7 B7 Cmaj7 and over B7 you do not think of C major. (You think as a destination only)
The actual function of the melodic minor is most fundamental on the 4 minor chord. Days of wine and roses in c would go to 4 minor-f minor- usually voiced as a b flat 7th. The f melodic minor- with natural 6th, and e natural-the major 7th note- is the "correct", or fundamental use of the melodic minor. In my view, you are ignoring gravity by playing a b natural, over an A minor 7th flat five. The context being discussed is a 2-5 to a minor tonic- g minor. What goes up must come down- why raise the b flat, a critical element in the context of g minor, to b natural, on the sub dominant chord? This creates confusion for the listener. Shoenberg called these tones "vagrant tones". Tones that wander around the park.
This is guy is good. But you cant explain guitar like this. it goes over peoples heads like crazy. You gota through in words like 3rd fret and 5th fret. LOL . Great sound and player. Props on his theory .
