Lessons - Guitar – The Most Important Scale Formulas (Guitar Tab)
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Chords
For clearance, this contribution is not a meant as a tab, but as a visual representation of the fretboard.
Though all the horizontal lines in this article correspont with the following principle:
e|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| B|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| G|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| D|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| A|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| E|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
Now lets's start:
GREGORIAN MODES
C Major Scale note-pattern -E-||-F-|---|-G-|---|-A-|---|-B-|-C-|---|-D-|---|-E-|-F-|---|-G-|---|-A-|---|-B-|-C-|---|-D-|---|-E-| -B-||-C-|---|-D-|---|-E-|-F-|---|-G-|---|-A-|---|-B-|-C-|---|-D-|---|-E-|-F-|---|-G-|---|-A-|---|-B-| -G-||---|-A-|---|-B-|-C-|---|-D-|---|-E-|-F-|---|-G-|---|-A-|---|-B-|-C-|---|-D-|---|-E-|-F-|---|-G-| -D-||---|-E-|-F-|---|-G-|---|-A-|---|-B-|-C-|---|-D-|---|-E-|-F-|---|-G-|---|-A-|---|-B-|-C-|---|-D-| -A-||---|-B-|-C-|---|-D-|---|-E-|-F-|---|-G-|---|-A-|---|-B-|-C-|---|-D-|---|-E-|-F-|---|-G-|---|-A-| -E-||-F-|---|-G-|---|-A-|---|-B-|-C-|---|-D-|---|-E-|-F-|---|-G-|---|-A-|---|-B-|-C-|---|-D-|---|-E-| 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 C Major Scale interval pattern -3-||-4-|---|-5-|---|-6-|---|-7-|-1-|---|-2-|---|-3-|-4-|---|-5-|---|-6-|---|-7-|-1-|---|-2-|---|-3-| -7-||-1-|---|-2-|---|-3-|-4-|---|-5-|---|-6-|---|-7-|-1-|---|-2-|---|-3-|-4-|---|-5-|---|-6-|---|-7-| -5-||---|-6-|---|-7-|-1-|---|-2-|---|-3-|-4-|---|-5-|---|-6-|---|-7-|-1-|---|-2-|---|-3-|-4-|---|-5-| -2-||---|-3-|-4-|---|-5-|---|-6-|---|-7-|-1-|---|-2-|---|-3-|-4-|---|-5-|---|-6-|---|-7-|-1-|---|-2-| -6-||---|-7-|-1-|---|-2-|---|-3-|-4-|---|-5-|---|-6-|---|-7-|-1-|---|-2-|---|-3-|-4-|---|-5-|---|-6-| -3-||-4-|---|-5-|---|-6-|---|-7-|-1-|---|-2-|---|-3-|-4-|---|-5-|---|-6-|---|-7-|-1-|---|-2-|---|-3-| 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 C Major Scale box-pattern (root on 8th fret of the low E-string) ---||---|---|---|---|---|---|-x-|-x-|---|-x-|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| ---||---|---|---|---|---|---|---|-x-|---|-x-|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| ---||---|---|---|---|---|---|-x-|---|-x-|-x-|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| ---||---|---|---|---|---|---|-x-|---|-x-|-x-|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| ---||---|---|---|---|---|---|-x-|-x-|---|-x-|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| ---||---|---|---|---|---|---|---|-R-|---|-x-|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Gregorian Modes:
Ionian (aka the Major Scale) 1-2-3-4-5-6-7: C to C
Dorian, 1-2-b3-4-5-6-b7: D to D (relative to Ionian that is 2 to 2)
Phrygian, 1-b2-b3-4-5-b6-b7: E to E (relative to Ionian that is 3 to 3)
Lydian, 1-2-3-#4-5-6-7: F to F (relative to Ionian that is 4 to 4)
Mixolydian, 1-2-3-4-5-6-b7: G to G (relative to Ionian that is 5 to 5)
Aeolian (aka Natural minor), 1-2-b3-4-5-b6-b7: A to A (relative to Ionian that is 6 to 6)
Locrian, 1-b2-b3-4-b5-b6-b7: B to B (relative to Ionian that is 7 to 7)
Most used to improvised on chords:
Ionian: Strongly inbedded in our Western cultural heritage as Major Key-Centre
Dorian: Use in i-IV progressions, lika Dm to G (or Dm to G7)
Phrygian: Use in a I-bII progression. like Em to F
Lydian: Use in a I-II progression, like F to G (most of the times it's F to G/F)
Mixolydian: Not really a progression, but when you pause on a dom7 chord for some time
Aeolian (aka Natural minor): Strongly inbedded in our Western cultural heritage as minor Key-Centre
Locrian: On a m7b5 chord, but it doesn't sound like anything on it's own in my opinion.
For me a m7b5 always lives in context within a progression, and most of the
time you'll hear a m7b5 as a 2nd degree (ii) in minor (ii-V-i > Bm7b5-E7b9-Am)
A minor Scale note-pattern (parallel of C Major) -E-||-F-|---|-G-|---|-A-|---|-B-|-C-|---|-D-|---|-E-|-F-|---|-G-|---|-A-|---|-B-|-C-|---|-D-|---|-E-| -B-||-C-|---|-D-|---|-E-|-F-|---|-G-|---|-A-|---|-B-|-C-|---|-D-|---|-E-|-F-|---|-G-|---|-A-|---|-B-| -G-||---|-A-|---|-B-|-C-|---|-D-|---|-E-|-F-|---|-G-|---|-A-|---|-B-|-C-|---|-D-|---|-E-|-F-|---|-G-| -D-||---|-E-|-F-|---|-G-|---|-A-|---|-B-|-C-|---|-D-|---|-E-|-F-|---|-G-|---|-A-|---|-B-|-C-|---|-D-| -A-||---|-B-|-C-|---|-D-|---|-E-|-F-|---|-G-|---|-A-|---|-B-|-C-|---|-D-|---|-E-|-F-|---|-G-|---|-A-| -E-||-F-|---|-G-|---|-A-|---|-B-|-C-|---|-D-|---|-E-|-F-|---|-G-|---|-A-|---|-B-|-C-|---|-D-|---|-E-| 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 A minor Scale interval pattern (parallel of C Major) -5-||-b6|---|-b7|---|-1-|---|-2-|-b3|---|-4-|---|-5-|-b6|---|-b7|---|-1-|---|-2-|-b3|---|-4-|---|-5-| -2-||-b3|---|-4-|---|-5-|-b6|---|-b7|---|-1-|---|-2-|-b3|---|-4-|---|-5-|-b6|---|-b7|---|-1-|---|-2-| -b7||---|-1-|---|-2-|-b3|---|-4-|---|-5-|-b6|---|-b7|---|-1-|---|-2-|-b3|---|-4-|---|-5-|-b6|---|-b7| -4-||---|-5-|-b6|---|-b7|---|-1-|---|-2-|-b3|---|-4-|---|-5-|-b6|---|-b7|---|-1-|---|-2-|-b3|---|-4-| -1-||---|-2-|-b3|---|-4-|---|-5-|-b6|---|-b7|---|-1-|---|-2-|-b3|---|-4-|---|-5-|-b6|---|-b7|---|-1-| -5-||-b6|---|-b7|---|-1-|---|-2-|-b3|---|-4-|---|-5-|-b6|---|-b7|---|-1-|---|-2-|-b3|---|-4-|---|-5-| 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 A minor Scale box-pattern (root on 5th fret of the low E-string) ---||---|---|---|---|-x-|---|-x-|-x-|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| ---||---|---|---|---|-x-|-x-|---|-x-|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| ---||---|---|---|-x-|-x-|---|-x-|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| ---||---|---|---|---|-x-|---|-x-|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| ---||---|---|---|---|-x-|---|-x-|-x-|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| ---||---|---|---|---|-R-|---|-x-|-x-|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
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PENTATONICS
C Major Pentatonic Scale note-pattern -E-||---|---|-G-|---|-A-|---|---|-C-|---|-D-|---|-E-|---|---|-G-|---|-A-|---|---|-C-|---|-D-|---|-E-| ---||-C-|---|-D-|---|-E-|---|---|-G-|---|-A-|---|---|-C-|---|-D-|---|-E-|---|---|-G-|---|-A-|---|---| -G-||---|-A-|---|---|-C-|---|-D-|---|-E-|---|---|-G-|---|-A-|---|---|-C-|---|-D-|---|-E-|---|---|-G-| -D-||---|-E-|---|---|-G-|---|-A-|---|---|-C-|---|-D-|---|-E-|---|---|-G-|---|-A-|---|---|-C-|---|-D-| -A-||---|---|-C-|---|-D-|---|-E-|---|---|-G-|---|-A-|---|---|-C-|---|-D-|---|-E-|---|---|-G-|---|-A-| -E-||---|---|-G-|---|-A-|---|---|-C-|---|-D-|---|-E-|---|---|-G-|---|-A-|---|---|-C-|---|-D-|---|-E-| 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 C Major Pentatonic Scale interval pattern -3-||---|---|-5-|---|-6-|---|---|-1-|---|-2-|---|-3-|---|---|-5-|---|-6-|---|---|-1-|---|-2-|---|-3-| ---||-1-|---|-2-|---|-3-|---|---|-5-|---|-6-|---|---|-1-|---|-2-|---|-3-|---|---|-5-|---|-6-|---|---| -5-||---|-6-|---|---|-1-|---|-2-|---|-3-|---|---|-5-|---|-6-|---|---|-1-|---|-2-|---|-3-|---|---|-5-| -2-||---|-3-|---|---|-5-|---|-6-|---|---|-1-|---|-2-|---|-3-|---|---|-5-|---|-6-|---|---|-1-|---|-2-| -6-||---|---|-1-|---|-2-|---|-3-|---|---|-5-|---|-6-|---|---|-1-|---|-2-|---|-3-|---|---|-5-|---|-6-| -3-||---|---|-5-|---|-6-|---|---|-1-|---|-2-|---|-3-|---|---|-5-|---|-6-|---|---|-1-|---|-2-|---|-3-| 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 C Major Pentatonic Scale box-pattern (root on 8th fret of the low E-string) ---||---|---|---|---|---|---|---|-x-|---|-x-|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| ---||---|---|---|---|---|---|---|-x-|---|-x-|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| ---||---|---|---|---|---|---|-x-|---|-x-|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| ---||---|---|---|---|---|---|-x-|---|---|-x-|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| ---||---|---|---|---|---|---|-x-|---|---|-x-|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| ---||---|---|---|---|---|---|---|-R-|---|-x-|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Major Pentatonic 1-2-3-5-6
minor Pentatonic 1-b3-4-5-b7
How does Pentatonics fit the Gregorian modes:
MAJOR PENTATONIC 1----2----3-------5----6------
Ionian (aka the Major Scale) 1----2----3--4----5----6----7-
Lydian, 1----2----3----#4-5----6----7-
Mixolydian, 1----2----3--4----5----6-b7---
MINOR PENTATONIC 1------b3----4----5------b7---
Dorian, 1----2-b3----4----5----6-b7---
Phrygian, 1-b2---b3----4----5-b6---b7---
Aeolian (aka Natural minor), 1----2-b3----4----5-b6---b7---
Note: Locrian does not fit within pentatonics because of the b5. The blues scale (1-b3-4-b5-5-b7) would not
be a solution either because of the natural 5.
A minor Pentatonic Scale note-pattern (parallel of C Major Pentatonic)
-E-||---|---|-G-|---|-A-|---|---|-C-|---|-D-|---|-E-|---|---|-G-|---|-A-|---|---|-C-|---|-D-|---|-E-|
---||-C-|---|-D-|---|-E-|---|---|-G-|---|-A-|---|---|-C-|---|-D-|---|-E-|---|---|-G-|---|-A-|---|---|
-G-||---|-A-|---|---|-C-|---|-D-|---|-E-|---|---|-G-|---|-A-|---|---|-C-|---|-D-|---|-E-|---|---|-G-|
-D-||---|-E-|---|---|-G-|---|-A-|---|---|-C-|---|-D-|---|-E-|---|---|-G-|---|-A-|---|---|-C-|---|-D-|
-A-||---|---|-C-|---|-D-|---|-E-|---|---|-G-|---|-A-|---|---|-C-|---|-D-|---|-E-|---|---|-G-|---|-A-|
-E-||---|---|-G-|---|-A-|---|---|-C-|---|-D-|---|-E-|---|---|-G-|---|-A-|---|---|-C-|---|-D-|---|-E-|
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
A minor Scale interval pattern (parallel of C Major)
-5-||---|---|-b7|---|-1-|---|---|-b3|---|-4-|---|-5-|---|---|-b7|---|-1-|---|---|-b3|---|-4-|---|-5-|
---||-b3|---|-4-|---|-5-|---|---|-b7|---|-1-|---|---|-b3|---|-4-|---|-5-|---|---|-b7|---|-1-|---|---|
-b7||---|-1-|---|---|-b3|---|-4-|---|-5-|---|---|-b7|---|-1-|---|---|-b3|---|-4-|---|-5-|---|---|-b7|
-4-||---|-5-|---|---|-b7|---|-1-|---|---|-b3|---|-4-|---|-5-|---|---|-b7|---|-1-|---|---|-b3|---|-4-|
-1-||---|---|-b3|---|-4-|---|-5-|---|---|-b7|---|-1-|---|---|-b3|---|-4-|---|-5-|---|---|-b7|---|-1-|
-5-||---|---|-b7|---|-1-|---|---|-b3|---|-4-|---|-5-|---|---|-b7|---|-1-|---|---|-b3|---|-4-|---|-5-|
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
A minor Scale box-pattern (root on 5th fret of the low E-string)
---||---|---|---|---|-x-|---|---|-x-|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
---||---|---|---|---|-x-|---|---|-x-|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
---||---|---|---|---|-x-|---|-x-|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
---||---|---|---|---|-x-|---|-x-|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
---||---|---|---|---|-x-|---|-x-|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
---||---|---|---|---|-R-|---|---|-x-|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MELODIC MINOR MODES
C Melodic minor Scale note-pattern ---||-F-|---|-G-|---|-A-|---|-B-|-C-|---|-D-|-Eb|---|-F-|---|-G-|---|-A-|---|-B-|-C-|---|-D-|-Eb|---| -B-||-C-|---|-D-|-Eb|---|-F-|---|-G-|---|-A-|---|-B-|-C-|---|-D-|-Eb|---|-F-|---|-G-|---|-A-|---|-B-| -G-||---|-A-|---|-B-|-C-|---|-D-|-Eb|---|-F-|---|-G-|---|-A-|---|-B-|-C-|---|-D-|-Eb|---|-F-|---|-G-| -D-||-Eb|---|-F-|---|-G-|---|-A-|---|-B-|-C-|---|-D-|-Eb|---|-F-|---|-G-|---|-A-|---|-B-|-C-|---|-D-| -A-||---|-B-|-C-|---|-D-|-Eb|---|-F-|---|-G-|---|-A-|---|-B-|-C-|---|-D-|-Eb|---|-F-|---|-G-|---|-A-| ---||-F-|---|-G-|---|-A-|---|-B-|-C-|---|-D-|-Eb|---|-F-|---|-G-|---|-A-|---|-B-|-C-|---|-D-|-Eb|---| 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 C Melodic minor Scale interval pattern ---||-4-|---|-5-|---|-6-|---|-7-|-1-|---|-2-|-b3|---|-4-|---|-5-|---|-6-|---|-7-|-1-|---|-2-|-b3|---| -7-||-1-|---|-2-|-b3|---|-4-|---|-5-|---|-6-|---|-7-|-1-|---|-2-|-b3|---|-4-|---|-5-|---|-6-|---|-7-| -5-||---|-6-|---|-7-|-1-|---|-2-|-b3|---|-4-|---|-5-|---|-6-|---|-7-|-1-|---|-2-|-b3|---|-4-|---|-5-| -2-||-b3|---|-4-|---|-5-|---|-6-|---|-7-|-1-|---|-2-|-b3|---|-4-|---|-5-|---|-6-|---|-7-|-1-|---|-2-| -6-||---|-7-|-1-|---|-2-|-b3|---|-4-|---|-5-|---|-6-|---|-7-|-1-|---|-2-|-b3|---|-4-|---|-5-|---|-6-| ---||-4-|---|-5-|---|-6-|---|-7-|-1-|---|-2-|-b3|---|-4-|---|-5-|---|-6-|---|-7-|-1-|---|-2-|-b3|---| 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 C Melodic minor Scalebox-pattern (root on 8th fret of the low E-string) ---||---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|-x-|-x-|---|-x-|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| ---||---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|-x-|---|-x-|-x-|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| ---||---|---|---|---|---|---|---|-x-|---|-x-|---|-x-|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| ---||---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|-x-|-x-|---|-x-|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| ---||---|---|---|---|---|---|---|-x-|---|-x-|---|-x-|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| ---||---|---|---|---|---|---|---|-R-|---|-x-|-x-|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Melodic minor Modes:
Melodic minor 1-2-b3-4-5-6-7: C to C
Dorian b2 1-b2-b3-4-5-6-b7: D to D (relative to Melodic minor that is 2 to 2)
Lydian Augmented 1-2-3-#4-#5-6-7: Eb to Eb (relative to Melodic minor that is b3 to b3)
Lydian Dominant 1-2-3-#4-5-6-b7: F to F (relative to Melodic minor that is 4 to 4)
Mixolydian b6 (Hindu) 1-2-3-4-5-b6-b7: G to G (relative to Melodic minor that is 5 to 5)
Locrian #2 1-2-b3-4-b5-b6-b7: A to A (relative to Melodic minor that is 6 to 6)
Super Locrian 1-b2-b3-b4-b5-b6-b7: B to B (relative to Melodic minor that is 7 to 7)
Most used to improvised on chords:
Melodic minor: Often used on tonic m6 chords
Dorian b2: Not often used
Lydian Augmented: Not often used
Lydian Dominant: Often used on 7#11 chords (backdoor dominants and/or tritone substitutions)
Mixolydian b6: Not often used
Locrian #2: Not often used
Super Locrian: Often used on altered 7th chords (7th chords altered by: b5(#11), #5(b13), b9, #9 >
respelling of 1-b2-b3-b4-b5-b6-b7 makes: 1-b9-#9-3-b5-b6-b7
#11 b13
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HARMONIC MINOR MODES
C Melodic minor Scale note-pattern ---||-F-|---|-G-|-Ab|---|---|-B-|-C-|---|-D-|-Eb|---|-F-|---|-G-|-Ab|---|---|-B-|-C-|---|-D-|-Eb|---| -B-||-C-|---|-D-|-Eb|---|-F-|---|-G-|-Ab|---|---|-B-|-C-|---|-D-|-Eb|---|-F-|---|-G-|-Ab|---|---|-B-| -G-||-Ab|---|---|-B-|-C-|---|-D-|-Eb|---|-F-|---|-G-|-Ab|---|---|-B-|-C-|---|-D-|-Eb|---|-F-|---|-G-| -D-||-Eb|---|-F-|---|-G-|-Ab|---|---|-B-|-C-|---|-D-|-Eb|---|-F-|---|-G-|-Ab|---|---|-B-|-C-|---|-D-| ---||---|-B-|-C-|---|-D-|-Eb|---|-F-|---|-G-|-Ab|---|---|-B-|-C-|---|-D-|-Eb|---|-F-|---|-G-|-Ab|---| ---||-F-|---|-G-|-Ab|---|---|-B-|-C-|---|-D-|-Eb|---|-F-|---|-G-|-Ab|---|---|-B-|-C-|---|-D-|-Eb|---| 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 C Melodic minor Scale interval pattern ---||-4-|---|-5-|-b6|---|---|-7-|-1-|---|-2-|-b3|---|-4-|---|-5-|-b6|---|---|-7-|-1-|---|-2-|-b3|---| -7-||-1-|---|-2-|-b3|---|-4-|---|-5-|-b6|---|---|-7-|-1-|---|-2-|-b3|---|-4-|---|-5-|-b6|---|---|-7-| -5-||-b6|---|---|-7-|-1-|---|-2-|-b3|---|-4-|---|-5-|-b6|---|---|-7-|-1-|---|-2-|-b3|---|-4-|---|-5-| -2-||-b3|---|-4-|---|-5-|-b6|---|---|-7-|-1-|---|-2-|-b3|---|-4-|---|-5-|-b6|---|---|-7-|-1-|---|-2-| ---||---|-7-|-1-|---|-2-|-b3|---|-4-|---|-5-|-b6|---|---|-7-|-1-|---|-2-|-b3|---|-4-|---|-5-|-b6|---| ---||-4-|---|-5-|-b6|---|---|-7-|-1-|---|-2-|-b3|---|-4-|---|-5-|-b6|---|---|-7-|-1-|---|-2-|-b3|---| 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 C Melodic minor Scalebox-pattern (root on 8th fret of the low E-string) ---||---|---|---|---|---|---|-x-|-x-|---|-x-|-x-|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| ---||---|---|---|---|---|---|---|-x-|-x-|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| ---||---|---|---|---|---|---|-x-|-x-|---|-x-|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| ---||---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|-x-|-x-|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| ---||---|---|---|---|---|---|---|-x-|---|-x-|-x-|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| ---||---|---|---|---|---|---|---|-R-|---|-x-|-x-|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Harmonic minor Modes:
Harmonic minor 1-2-b3-4-5-b6-7: C to C
Locrian #6 1-b2-b3-4-b5-6-b7: D to D (relative to Harmonic minor that is 2 to 2)
Ionian #5 1-2-3-4-#5-6-7: Eb to Eb (relative to Harmonic minor that is b3 to b3)
Dorian #4 (Romanian) 1-2-b3-#4-5-6-b7: F to F (relative to Harmonic minor that is 4 to 4)
Phrygian Dominant 1-b2-3-4-5-b6-b7: G to G (relative to Harmonic minor that is 5 to 5)
Lydian #2 (Lydian Blues) 1-#2-3-#4-5-6-7 Ab to Ab (relative to Harmonic minor that is b6 to b6)
Ultra Locrian 1-b2-b3-b4-b5-b6-bb7: B to B (relative to Harmonic minor that is 7 to 7)
bb7 = 6
Most used to improvised on chords:
Harmonic minor: Not often used on tonic chords within a jazz context, but in Metal it's more common
Locrian #6: Not often used
Ionian #5: Not often used
Dorian #4: Not often used within a jazz context, but cool to make a i-v (Fm-Cm) progression dreamy
Phrygian Dominant: Often used on 7b9 chords (That's the V7 within a minor progression)
Lydian #2: Not often used
Ultra Locrian: Often used on diminished 7 chords (a dim7 chord is nine out of ten times actually
an 7b9 chord is disguise. Within C minor; the V7b9 would be a G7b9, and the
upper structure of a G7b9 is a Bdim7 chord)
Note: within a minor chord progression the Vth degree is more often borrowed from Harmonic minor
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SOME EXTRA SCALES
These scales are actually less practically used then most people realize, but none the less they
could spice things up:
Whole tone scale: 1-2-3-#4-#5-b7 (use on augmented triads (C+), or 7#5 chords)
Diminished scale whole-half: 1-2-b3-4-b5-#5-6-7 (use on dim7 chords)
Diminished scale half-whole: 1-b2-b3-3-#4-5-6-b7 (use on altered 7th chords)
respelling of 1-b2-b3-3-#4-5-6-b7 makes: 1-b9-#9-3-#4-5-6-b7
Note: diminished scales mainly have a rhytmic advantage because they contain an even numbering
of notes (eight of them instead of seven), so in that way a cool run/lick fit's more naturally.
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