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Fusion Essentials – Jazz Harmony & Changes Playing

As well developed rock players I’m sure you’re familiar with the major scale and its diatonic
chords. If that information is not familiar let me recap for you. When we take the 7 notes of
a major scale and stack them in 3rd intervals we create chordal structures containing up to 7
unique notes, each with a specific harmonic function.

If we use a C major scale and stack up 3rds from each note in the scale to create three note
chords (triads) we get the following: -

C, Dm, Em, F, G, Am, Bdim

If we stack a further 3rd on top of these triads we get 7th chords – the basis for most jazz and
fusion chord progressions. From here onwards we will use 7th chords for the basis of our
harmonic development and leave triads behind.

Cmaj7 Dm7 Em7 Fmaj7 G7 Am7 Bm7b5

I II III IV V VI VII

Each of these 7th chords is labelled with a roman numeral to denote its place or degree
within the scale, Cmaj7 being chord I, Dm7 chord II, Em7 chord III, Fmaj7 chord IV, G7 chord
V, Am7 chord VI Bm7b5 being chord VII. You may have come across a similar concept in
Classical music theory where a lower case numeral represents a minor chord and an upper
case numeral a major chord. In Jazz harmony we don’t use this system, all chords being
referred to with upper case numerals.

Each of the diatonic chords within any given key can be played one after the other in any
order and the nature of diatonic harmony will produce a pleasing result for the ears. Within
jazz harmony some progressions carry more weight than others and progressions can be
divided into weak and strong root movements. Strong root movement is usually defined as
any root movement that moves up or down a semitone or up a 4th/down a 5th. The corner
stone of jazz harmony is the II-V-I progression where the II chord moves down a 5th or up a
4th to the V chord, which in turn moves down a 5th/up a 4th to the I chord of the key. In the
key of C major that would give us the following progression.

Dm7 – G7 – Cmaj7

Each root movement in this progression is classed as strong. Play the chord progression for
yourself – you’ll have heard it a million times before.

In this tutorial we are going to look at how we can expand and develop this basic chord
progression in order to give us a more modern and interesting harmonic palette from which
to improvise and play chordal accompaniment. We will also be looking at ways in which we
can add to our existing diatonic chords to push the boundaries of standard major scale
harmony.

Major and minor II – V – I progressions

II – V – I progressions can be categorised in two ways in that they can either lead to a
major7th chord or a minor7th chord. These are described as either major or minor II-V-I’s.

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The two progressions differ in more than their resulting I chord. A major II-V-I progression is
usually written as: -

Dm7 – G7 – Cmaj7

A minor II-V-I would be written: -

Dm7b5 – G7b9 or G7alt – Cm7 or CmMaj7

The G7b9 is a G7 chord with a flattened 9th interval whilst the G7alt means G7 ‘altered’
where the chord contains any combination of b9, #9, b5 or #5 intervals. These are just basic
progressions, however, and many, many alterations can be made to all of the chords in
both. In jazz harmony we can create a II-V-I progression leading to any major 7th or minor 7th
chord. Many standards are created solely with this progression in mind. Analyse some
standards such as Stella by Starlight, All the Things You Are, Blue Bossa and Autumn Leaves
to identify II-V-I progressions. Use the altered dominant PDF file for more info and voicings
for altered dominant chords.

The root movement of our progression is very easy to ‘see’ on the guitar and can be
visualised in the following two ways. Once the root movement is in place you simply need to
play the appropriate chord voicing from each root note.

II-V-I root movement

Often, tunes will be based on cyclical II-V progressions, based around the cycle of 5ths
where each II-V progression moves down a 5th in the cycle. It is very common for the I chord
to be omitted from the progression giving a quick cycle of II-V chords. This gives us the
sound of bebop and is a challenge to solo over, even for experienced jazz musicians. Here is
an example of a Cyclical II-V progression.

Dm7 – G7 – Cm7 – F7 – Bbm7 – Eb7 – Abm7 – Db7 – Gbmaj7

Cyclical II-V Progression

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Here, each root note moves down by a 5th keeping the motion cyclical.

Notice how the progression eventually resolves to a I chord at the end. I used 9 chords for
the V chord simply to add colour to the progression and give us good voice leading. (It
sounds more convincing when the top note of the chord remains the same.)

Another common II-V progression is to simply move this progression down in semitone
steps giving us,

Dm7 – G7 – Dbm7 – Gbm7 – Cm7 – F7 – Bbmaj7

Cyclical II-V’s in semitones

Each progression works due to the ‘strong’ sounding root movement contained within the
II-V progression. We can resolve anywhere we want along this motion by playing a I chord.

Of course, all of this could be repeated with minor II-V progressions. Check out the end of
Stella by Starlight for cyclical minor II-V chords.

There is a separate tutorial on soloing over II-V-I progressions.

Expanding our II-V-I (Secondary II-V’s)

So far we have produced just one II-V-I progression in each key but we can treat any of the
major or minor 7th chords within that key as a I chord. When we do this we simply figure out
which II and V chord would proceed our I chord in order to complete the progression. Let’s
do this for each major and minor 7th chord in the key of C. Our Major 7 chords are Cmaj7
and Fmaj7, our Minor 7 chords are Dm7, Em7 and Am7.

I Chord II Chord V Chord

Cmaj7 Dm7 G7
Fmaj7 Gm7 C7
Dm7 Em7b5 A7b9 or A7alt
Em7 F#m7b5 B7b9 or B7alt
Am7 Bm7b5 E7b9 or E7alt

Any of these progressions can be used within the key of C to add extra harmonic colour to
the existing chords. The nature of the II-V-I root movement means that our ears will follow
each progression without feeling like we’ve gone too far outside the original C major
tonality.

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These new II-V-I progressions vastly expand the harmonic palette of the original key and are
the basis of modern jazz harmony, moving beyond classical sounds. The new II-V
progressions are said to be Secondary II-V’s. Often the dominant 7th chord is referred to as a
secondary dominant and this term is used a great deal in jazz.

Here is a progression using these secondary II-V sounds in the key of C, leading to each
major or minor 7th chord in turn: -

Dm7 – G7 – Cmaj7 – Bm7b5 – E7alt – Am7 – F#m7b5 – B7alt – Em7 – A7alt – Dm7 – G7 –
Cmaj7

Secondary II-V’s in C major

You can think of each of these II-V sequences as a temporary ‘shift’ of key but essentially we
tend to think of all of this sequence as being from the key of C with some secondary II-V
sets. Notice that all the minor chords are preceded by the minor II-V progression containing
the m7b5 and the 7alt or 7b9 chord. Both of the major 7 chords are preceded by the major
II-V progression using a straight m7 chord and a straight dominant 7th chord. In bars 5,6 and
7 we have a cyclical progression moving down in 5ths, resolving down to the Cmaj7 I chord
in the final bar.

Expanding Further (Tri-tone Substitutes)

Once we have all of our II-V-I progressions in place we can start to expand further using a
system called Tri-tone Substitution.
Tritone Interval
A tritone, as the name suggests, is the interval of 3 tones or 6
semitones. On the fret board it resembles a power chord with
a flattened 5th. If we build dominant 7th chords from each of
these tri-tones we get two chords that share common tones.

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Tritone Dom 7th’s
Here we have A7 and D#7 dominant 7th chords. Both contain
the notes G and C# plus their respective root notes. If we put
any extensions on these two chords they will work over
either of the chords. This means that anytime we see a
dominant 7th chord in a progression we can substitute it for
another dominant 7th a tri-tone higher or lower. The only
rule to bear in mind is that if you start with an altered
dominant chord then your tri-tone substitute should be an
un-altered (no b9, #9, b5, #5) dominant chord such as a 9 or
13 chord (it can contain a #11 interval however.) Use your ears as a guide and make sure
your substituted chord fits with the melody if there is one.

Here are all the tri-tone substitute chords for our existing 7th chords in the key of C.
(including our secondary dominant chords)

Original V Chord Tri-tone Substitute Chord

G7 Db7 (can be altered)
C7 Gb7 (can be altered)
A7b9 or A7alt Eb7 (not altered)
B7b9 or B7alt F7 (not altered)
E7b9 or E7alt Bb7 (not altered)
Let’s take our original secondary II-V progression and put tri-tone substitutions in to the mix.
Here’s the original chord progression.

Dm7 – G7 – Cmaj7 – Bm7b5 – E7alt – Am7 – F#m7b5 – B7alt – Em7 – A7alt – Dm7 – G7 –
Cmaj7

Now with each dominant 7th chord substituted for another dominant 7th a tritone higher.
Dm7 – Db9 – Cmaj7 – Bm7b5 – Bb7 – Am7 – F#m7b5 – F9 – Em7 – Eb9 – Dm9 – Db7alt –
Cmaj7

Tritone Substitutes

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By using tri-tone substitutes we smooth out the root movement of the progression giving a
chromatic descending motion. This kind of voice leading is highly desirable in music.
Experiment with as many dominant 7th voicings as you know and use your ears to see what
fits and what doesn’t.

If you have an extension tone on your original dominant 7th chord, it can also be used on the
substituted dom 7th chord. For example, if we play a G7#5 chord we get a G7 chord with a
D# on top. If we then tri-tone substitute the G7 for a Db7 and keep the D# (Eb) extension we
get a D9 chord as shown here: -

Both of these chords contain exactly the same notes except

for their roots. This will work for any extension you care to
place on the original dominant 7th chord.

As mentioned previously, the best way to develop a good

grasp of this kind of substitution is to open a real book and
play through some tunes until you spot tri-tone
substitutions or find a tune with some standard II-V-I or II-V
progressions and try putting in some tri-tone substitutions
yourself. Eventually you’ll be able to perform this kind of re-harmonisation on the fly.

I-VI-II-V Progressions

Another very common progression used in jazz is the I-VI-II-V sequence. This introduces
chord VI, another Minor 7th chord into the progression and gives us more possibilities for
alterations. In the key of C out I-VI-II-V would appear as: -

Cmaj7 – Am7 – Dm7 – G7

We would solo over this progression using C Major, A Aeolian, D Dorian and G Mixolydian.
Whilst these scales all contain the same notes, by playing and visualising them from their
respective root notes we are more likely to outline the sound of the chord in question.
Often, in more modern jazz scenarios, the Am7 is changed into an A7 thus becoming the V
chord of the Dm7. As such it becomes a secondary dominant leading to the Dm7 chord.
Dominant 7th chords lend themselves to altered sounds much more than minor 7th chords so
changing the Am7 to A7 allows for more possibilities harmonically. Likewise, the Dm7 can be
changed into a D7 with or without alterations to produce a more modern sound. When we
alter the dominant 7ths we are essentially raising or lowering one of the extensions in the
chord by a semitone. Examples would be A7b9 where the 9th has been lowered by a
semitone. These alterations work for the standard II-V-I progression too and can be used to
give us a more contemporary sound or increase the level of dissonance (sometimes very
desirable) within our chord progressions to create added tension and release. An altered
dominant contains notes that are not diatonic to our original key centre and therefore give
us more tension. This tension sounds great when it resolves to a chord within the key. In the
next section we’ll see how we can string together sequences of altered V chords to create
lots of tension within our progressions.

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Here are some common I-VI-II-V progressions: -

I-VI-II-V Progressions

Sequential Dominant 7ths and Back-Cycling

If you’ve ever studied the circle of 5ths you’ll find this section familiar. The circle of 5ths
arranges every one of the 12 chromatic notes or keys in music into a circular diagram based
on intervals of 5ths. The diagram starts on the note C and moves round to G, then D, A, E
etc. Each time we move to the new key or note we have progressed up a perfect 5th interval.
A perfect 5th is the same as playing the root to 5th in a two note power chord. Try it with a C
power chord. You’ll find the root then the second note is G – up a 5th. Use this method to
work out your circle of 5ths. I have provided a diagram below for your convenience. I
recommend that you learn this. Let’s also map the circle out on the fret-board using the
lowest two strings.

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Notice the pattern the circle of 5th makes

on the fret-board. There are other ways
to play this sequence of notes and the
flat keys/notes are notated as sharps in
the tabbed version above. (eg: - Db
notated as C sharp)

The circle of 5ths is used in jazz and

fusion harmony all the time to create
progressions either within a key or as
sequences of dominant 7th chords. As
mentioned earlier in this tutorial, root
movement up a 4th or down a 5th sounds
very strong and creates a great sense of
forward motion.

Take a standard such as ‘All the Things You Are’ and you can immediately see the circle of
5ths in action.

The chord progression for the first few bars of ‘All the Things You Are’ is in the key of Ab and
goes as follows: -

Fm7 – Bbm7 – Eb7 – Abmaj7 – Dbmaj7 – Dm7 – G7 – Cmaj7

Look at the root movement for the first 5 chords and compare it to the circle of 5ths. We
could say that Dbmaj7 is our target chord and we move back through the circle from F
playing the relevant diatonic chord from the key of Ab major. Now check out the root
movement for the Dm7 – G7 – Cmaj7. Well that’s a II-V-I progression in the key of C (we’ve
changed key here from Ab to C) and the root movement goes backwards through the cycle
of 5ths from D to C again. Most jazz progressions are based on this kind of root movement
but things needn’t just stay diatonic to a key. Here we get into sequential dominant 7th
progressions and back-cycling, both common techniques in jazz harmony.

Let’s pick a target chord – in this case Cmajor7 at the top of our cycle. Now let’s have a four
bar chord sequence with C major 7 in the last bar and two chords in each of the other bars.
This means we need 6 extra chords leading to our Cmajor7 target chord. Each chord wants
to be a 5th away from the previous one to get our strong root movement. Working through
our circle of 5ths we get C as our target, preceded by,

G – D – A – E – B – F#

Let’s arrange those root notes in reverse order leading up to the Cmaj7 chord giving us the
progression - F# - B – E – A – D – G – C. Refer back to the circle of 5ths and you’ll see that
we’ve worked backwards from F# to C. Here’s the same thing on the guitar.

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Each of these root notes now needs a chord and commonly we use dominant 7ths. We use
these because they have more options harmonically for alterations and allow for more
harmonic freedom. For an even more modern sound you could combine other chord types
with the dominant 7ths. The important element here is the root movement giving forward
motion to the target chord – Cmaj7.

Let’s use some dominant 7th chords to flesh out the progression. Listen to the example and
check out how the forward motion of the root movement combined with the tension and
release of the altered dominant 7th chords gives a great sense of progression to the Cmaj7
chord at the end.

This technique is called back-cycling. To do it you need a target chord, then work your way
back through the cycle of 5ths playing as many chords as you need to harmonise say each
melody note or the number of chords of your choice. Let’s repeat the same idea but with a
simple melody now.

Here’s a very simple 2-bar melody in the key of C using an ascending C major scale.

Notice that we have our target Cmaj7 chord at the end and I’ve assigned root notes to the
other melody notes going back through my cycle of 5ths for each note. I’m now going to
harmonise each melody note using a dominant 7th chord with the melody note as my top
note.

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Back-cycling is a very common and effective method for harmonising a melody with a more
contemporary jazz sound. You’ll find it being used throughout the real book and in chord
sequences by many jazz and fusion musicians.

Other Ideas to try

Try using Maj7 chords built one fret lower than each of the Minor7 chords in a given key.
This would give us the following chords in the key of C major.

bIIMaj7 – Dbmaj7

bIIIMaj7 – Ebmaj7

bVIIMaj7 – Abmaj7

Try this chord progression to hear it in action: -

Cmaj7, Ebmaj7, Abmaj7, Dbmaj7, Cmaj7.

Notice how the Dbmaj7 acts almost like a V chord building tension before resolving back to
Cmaj7. When you solo over this progression you should use the Lydian mode over each
Maj7 chord. Bill Evans would use this progression for intros and endings of tunes in a major
key.

Experiment with progressions containing these chords and the others in C major. Use your
ears to find out what works and what doesn’t – what you like and what you don’t.

Try playing the 4th degree Major 7th chord as a Minor 6th or MinMaj7 chord instead. This
common substitution implies the Melodic Minor scale and any chords from that scale can be
used to create this effect. In the key of C major our IV chord is Fmaj7. We could substitute it
for an Fm6 or FmMaj7 chord instead. This would imply F melodic minor and any of the
chords from this scale could be used in place of the F chord.

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Chord-Scale Approach

As well as being able to play the chord progressions outlined in the first section of this
tutorial we need to know how to solo over them. One approach would be to use the notes
contained within each chord to play melodies and lines. This works well but over the years
jazz musicians have looked more and more at scales as a way to improvise over chords
rather than just using the notes of the chords themselves. One way of organising this
information is to use Chord-Scales. When analysing chords we can view almost every chord
in existence using just three common scale types and their modes. These are: -

The Major Scale

The Melodic Minor Scale

The Diminished Scale

When I improvise over chord changes these are the only scales I ever use. Of course, there
are other scales such as pentatonics, harmonic minor, whole tone scales and other
symmetrical scales, but for my purposes I tend to see everything as coming from the three
main scales outlined above. (I want to stress at this point that this is my approach and there
are many others that should be considered too – I’m not trying to sell this approach to you
as the best approach – rather just the one I use and one that seems to work.) Let’s look at
the approach in more detail.

For a long time now jazz and fusion musicians have viewed harmony from a different
perspective to the traditional classical point of view. Many of the approaches used are
similar but a system of harmony known as the ‘Chord-Scale’ approach came about in order
to understand and teach how to solo over the complex chordal structures and progressions
in jazz music. The classical point of view tends to be structured around a single key with
functional chord progressions leading to cadences at strong points within the music.
Modulations are prepared and tend to be confined to a limited number of related keys. Of
course, modern classical music is much more complex than this but tends not to rely on
harmony in the same way, often abandoning harmony all together in favour of other
musical attributes. This analytical approach doesn’t work so well for jazz or fusion for the
simple reason that most tunes change key so often that analysing them in this fashion is not
always useful.

When I analyse a chord chart and work out what I’m going to play over it I tend to analyse
everything on a chord by chord basis, rather than looking for key centres and playing the
relevant major scale over all the chords. The more complex the chord chart the more I’ll use
this method. When working out what I’m going to play I use the ‘Chord-Scale’ system and
it’s very simple to understand and allows for a much better understanding of what is
happening harmonically.

The approach basically states that the chords and scales that we play are essentially the
same thing. This makes sense from a traditional harmony perspective in that we already
know that chords are built from scales. The chord-scale idea goes a little further by saying
that the scale is the chord but played with all of its extensions (9th, 11th and 13th). Let’s look
at this idea in more detail,

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All standard scales contain 7 unique notes – let’s take C major as an example: -

C–D–E–F–G–A–B

If we stack up these notes in 3rds as we did at the beginning of the tutorial we get the
following arrangement of notes,

C = Root, E = 3rd, G = 5th, B = 7th, D = 9th, F = 11th, A = 13th C major Scale

C major Scale in 3rds

As you can see this gives us a Cmaj7 chord with the extensions 9th, 11th and 13th. Essentially
the scale is the same as the 7th chord with all of its extensions built in. Jazz harmony allows
for a lot more freedom than classical harmony – if you see a Cmajor7 chord in a chord chart
you can think of this as being a C major scale but harmonised in 3rds. It is entirely up to you
how many of those notes you choose to play in your chord voicing, the chord symbol is
simply telling you which scale to use and the extensions available to you. You can decide
which ones to use. As a guitarist you are more limited in your note choices because you
can’t play seven consecutive notes and fingerings often dictate which notes you can reach in
any one position of the fret-board.

Now, if we know what each scale implies in terms of 7th chord and extensions then we can
look at harmony in a much more open way. Often, jazz and fusion musicians will write a
tune just based on Chord-Scales moving from one Chord-Scale to another using their ears as
a guide to what works and what doesn’t. There are no hard and fast rules here unless we
are dealing with functional harmony and we’ll get onto that later.

Let’s look at each of the remaining major scale and melodic minor scale modes to see what
their Chord-Scale implies harmonically. In each case we’ll get a 7th chord with the three
extensions, 9th, 11th and 13th on top. Each scale will be analysed using its intervallic formula.
The formula describes how the intervals in the scale differ from the basic major scale. A b2
for instance means that the 2nd degree or note of the scale is a semitone lower than it would
be in a major scale.

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Major Scale - Chord Scales

Mode II Dorian – R, 2, b3, 4, 5, 6, b7 (minor7 chord)

Extensions - 9th, 11th and 13th

Mode III - Phrygian – R, b2, b3, 4, 5, b6, b7 (dominant 7sus4b9 chord)

Extensions - b9th, 11th and b13th

Mode IV - Lydian – R, 2, 3, #4, 5, 6, 7 (major7#11 chord)

Extensions - 9th, #11th and 13th

Mode V - Mixolydian – R, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, b7 (Dominant7 chord)

Extensions - 9th, 11th and 13th

Mode VI - Aeolian – R, 2, b3, 4, 5, b6, b7 (minor7b6 chord)

Extensions - 9th, 11th and b13th

Mode VII - Locrian – R, b2, b3, 4, b5, b6, b7 (minor7b5 chord)

Extensions - b9th, 11th and b13th

Melodic Minor Scale – Chord Scales

Mode I - Melodic Minor – R, 2, b3, 4, 5, 6, 7 (minorMajor7 chord)

Extensions - 9th, 11th and 13th

Mode II - Dorian b2 – R, b2, b3, 4, 5, 6, b7 (dominant 13sus4b9 chord)

Extensions – b9th, 11th and 13th

Mode III - Lydian Augmented – R, 2, 3, #4, #5, 6, 7 (major7#5 chord)

Extensions – 9th, #11th, 13th

Mode IV - Lydian Dominant – R, 2, 3, #4, 5, 6, b7 (dominant 7th #11 chord)

Extensions – 9th, #11th, 13th

Mode V - Mixolydian b6 – R, 2, 3, 4, 5, b6, b7 (dominant 7th b13 chord) – rarely used

Extensions – 9th, 11th, b13th

Mode VI - Locrian Natural 9 – R, 2, b3, 4, b5, b6, b7 – (minor7b5 natural 9 chord)

Extensions – 9th, 11th, b13th

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Mode VII - Altered Scale – R, b2 (b9), b3 (#9), b4, b5, b6 (#5), b7 - (dominant7th b5, #5, b9,
#9 chord) – altered chord

Extensions – b9, #9, b5 (#11), #5 (b13)

I use the diminished scale to play over Dominant13b9 chords and diminished chords. For
more information on the melodic minor scale and the diminished scale check out my other
tutorials, located here: -

http://www.tomquayle.co.uk/lessons.html

You’ll find charts for each of the modes of the major scale and melodic minor scale in the
Scales for Playing Over Changes folder within the tutorial download. Each scale is presented
over one octave using three different fingerings. Be sure to read the ‘Learning the
Fretboard’ PDF in order to use these fingerings successfully.

Let’s look at some methods for using these chord-scales for playing over the changes we’ve
been looking at.

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Introduction to Playing Over Changes

‘Playing over the changes’ is a term you’ll hear jazz and fusion musicians refer to all the time
in their musical endeavors. They often refer to ‘playing through’ or ‘on the changes’ or even
‘making the changes’, but what exactly do they mean? ‘Changes playing’ refers to the
improvisation of lines and melodies that outline the chord changes or harmony underneath
them. When someone is ‘playing over the changes’, you should be able to remove the
rhythm section or harmony and still be able to hear the chords flowing and changing. The
soloist’s lines will outline the sound of each chord as it passes.

Here I want to outline some of the methods you can use to play over changes and make
your lines sound more convincing as each chord occurs. I also want to help you develop an
ear for chord changes and be able to hear each chord/scale as it occurs in your music.

Before we set off on our explorations let’s put some foundations into place as to what
exactly should be played over each common chord type you may come across. We’ll be
looking at soloing over two types of harmony – Functional and Non-functional. Each
requires a slightly different approach but both will involve key changes – in other words,
chord progressions that modulate frequently. Let’s start with non-functional harmony.

Non-Functional Changes Playing

Non-functional harmony is based on the idea that every chord we play comes from a
different harmonic area. In other words, each chord is unrelated to the next. When using
non-functional harmony we don’t get progressions that sit in one key for very long. Often
this means we don’t have to do an in-depth harmonic analysis of a tune to be able to play
over it. We simply need to know which scale to play over each chord and we can tackle the
changes. Here is a list of each common chord type and the scale associated with that chord.
When you see each chord type use the scale listed starting from the root note of the chord.
All of these scales can be found in the ‘scales for playing over changes’ folder of the tutorial.

Maj7 (9,13) – Major/Lydian Scale

Maj7#11 (b5) (9, 13) – Lydian Scale

Min7 (9, 11, 13) – Dorian Scale (not Aeolian or Phrygian)

Dom7 (9, 11, 13, sus4) – Mixolydian Scale

Min7b5 – Locrian Scale/Locrian Nat9 Scale

Min7b6 (9b6) – Aeolian Scale

Minb6b9 (sus4b9) – Phrygian Scale

MinMaj7 (9, 11, 13) – Melodic Minor/Harmonic Minor

7sus4b9 (13sus4b9) – Dorian b2 Scale

Maj7#5 – (9, 13) Lydian Augmented Scale

7#11 – (9, 13) Lydian Dominant Scale

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7alt (b5/#5/b9/#9) – Superlocrian/altered scale

13b9 or 7b9 – Diminished scale (half whole)

Diminished chord – Diminished scale (whole half)

Any of the above chords could contain 9th, 11th or 13th extensions. This won’t affect the scale
type chosen. The other thing to bear in mind is that there is a LOT of fret board knowledge
required to play all of these scales well enough to tackle complex tunes but you can start
easy and work your way up.

There are many other chords than those listed above but you should be able to tackle most
standards or modern fusion tunes without much issue.

Let’s have a look at functional changes playing and then tackle some ideas for learning to
play over the chord progressions you may come across.

For non-functional progressions try more modern composers and bands such as Wayne
Shorter (Virgo, Infant Eyes), Herbie Hancock (Maiden Voyage) and Weather Report
(Havona).

Functional Changes Playing

Functional harmony relies on key centres and is usually based around soloing in a particular
key for a few bars or chords or a section before moving to other keys for a time. Unlike non-
functional harmony, we can always see defined key centres within functional harmony and
label each chord with a harmonic function within each key. In functional harmony we must
do a quick harmonic analysis of a tune before we can tackle playing over it. By doing a
harmonic analysis of the chords we are trying to establish what function the chord has in
the key – is it a I chord or a III chord or V chord etc? Are there any recognisable progressions
such as II-V-I’s or I-IV-II-V’s? Often you’ll find the same basic progressions popping up in
functional harmony but the rules can take a little longer to digest than with non-functional
harmony. We simply have to take more factors into consideration in functional playing.

When soloing over dominant 7th chords we can use the rules above for non-functional
harmony in the main. This means that when we see a particular type of dominant 7th chord
a certain associated scale should pop into our mind. The same holds true for the min7b5
chords we will see. We either play Locrian or Locrian nat 9 over them. But for the major and
minor 7th chords we must work out where they come from in the key as each key contains
two major 7th and three minor 7th chords. Use this chart to help work out which scale to play
over each chord.

Major 7 – Chord I in the key – play Major scale

Major 7 – Chord IV in the key – play Lydian scale

Minor 7 – Chord II in the key – play Dorian scale

Minor 7 – Chord III in the key – play Phrygian scale

Minor 7 – Chord VI in the key – play Aeolian scale

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Take your time to digest these rules and try to do some harmonic analysis of some
standards from a Real Book. If you’re interested in this kind of playing and don’t own a Real
Book of some kind, I urge you to go out and buy one as soon as you can. You’ll learn a
wealth of information from its pages. For functional changes tunes try standards such as All
the Things You Are, Stella by Starlight, Blue Bossa and How High the Moon. These rules can
be used to solo over all the progression in the first section of the tutorial as explained in the
accompanying video.

Methods for tackling changes playing

The first thing I did when I wanted to tackle changes playing was to take each chord type in
turn and become familiar with both the sound of the chord and its associated scale. I figured
that if I concentrated on too many chord types at once I wouldn’t be able to keep track of all
the changes flying by and would become stressed and frustrated. Let’s assume, for now
anyway, that we are dealing with just one chord type (we’ll start with minor 7 chords). I
would arrange two of those major 7 chords each with a different root note and record a
vamp with about 4 bars on each one. My goal would be to play convincingly over those two
chords and the ideas we will look at can be expanded exponentially to fit over even the
most complex of chords.

For now we will concentrate on playing over just two chords – Gm7 and G#m7. As you’ll
have noticed these two chords are a semi-tone apart and are non-functional. In other words
there is no one key that contains both chords so a functional analysis is useless to us. We
will be playing a Dorian scale over each chord therefore. Here are some methods that I used
to develop my ability to both hear and ‘see’ my way through this progression. (When you
are good at these methods expand up to three m7 chords, eventually ending up with all 12
minor 7th chords – a backing track has been provided for this purpose.)

1) Scale playing approach

The first approach we will tackle is the simplest one. Simply put we will play each scale
ascending or descending from the root note through one octave for each given chord. Once
we can do this from each root note we then apply the same idea but start from the 3rd of
the chord. We then repeat, but from the 5th and then 7th starting our scale from each chord
tone. Make sure that you practice both ascending and descending and only through one
octave. If you play 8 notes per bar through the octave then you will be playing a constant
Bach-like etude that will outline the sound of each chord as it goes by. Remember that this
is an exercise designed to help you both visualise the scales and hear the harmony. In no
way should you ever construct your solo this way!

2) The continuous scale exercise

This exercise works by playing the scale associated with the first chord continuously
ascending until we get to the next chord. Once we reach the 2nd chord we want to play the
nearest scale tone for the new chord to the last note we played for the 1st chord. We then
continue to ascend through the 2nd scale until we come back round to the 1st chord again.
This gives us a superb knowledge of where each scale segues into the next and allows us to
visualise the fret board in a more linear way. Let’s look at a quick example using the Gm7
and G#m7 lasting for a bar each. We’ll play ¼ notes giving us four notes on each chord.

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You can expand this exercise in many ways by changing the length of each chord, using
different sub-divisions for your scales (1/4, 1/8th, 1/16th notes etc), by changing direction
(ascending/descending). Use your imagination but above all start slowly and take your time
to minimise mistakes. If it takes you 5 minutes to work out where the next note is that’s
better than guessing and constantly getting it wrong and learning nothing.

This method should be used for any combination of two chords or more. If you are
struggling with a particular chord change then isolate the two tricky chords and work on this
method until you can see the scalic links between the two chords.
Continuous Scale Exercise

3) Ear training – hearing the chord/scale

This method involves playing the chord and trying to sing the scale from the root note up
one octave. Play each chord in turn and try to hear the notes within the scale. If you learn to
aurally recognise the sound of a chord and its related scale then you WILL start to hear lines
over the changes you are presented with. You don’t need to be a good singer; you just need
to be able to pitch close to the notes. Do this out loud – not in your head. That way you are
hearing the sound of each note in the air against the chord tones.

If you get stuck whilst doing this simply play the next note in the scale before you sing it.
Eventually your ear will ‘remember’ the sound of each scale.

4) Using the chord tones/arpeggios

This is a simple idea but requires a great deal of study to get down. Obviously if you play the
chord tones of each chord as an arpeggio you will automatically sound like the chord. The
challenge is to make this musical and interesting. This is often too safe and boring for most
fusion musicians. In other words it doesn’t contain enough tension and forward motion. As
a practice tool it is invaluable for both seeing and hearing your way through changes.

Start by playing just the root note of each chord as it passes by. Then try just the 3rd, 5th and
7th. When you are comfortable with that approach try two chord tones for each chord –
perhaps root then 3rd. Make each note a half note or two beats long giving you plenty of
time to think where the next note is. This needn’t be done in time if it is a struggle. Now
move onto 3 chord tones and then 4 per chord. At this stage you should start to improvise
and loosen up a bit, trying to create some lines or something more musical.

When you feel ready try improvising freely using the arpeggios of each chord. Try to be
aware of which chord tone you are on at all times and relate each note visually to the root
of the chord.

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5) Formula based approach

This is a superb method used by jazz musicians to hear their way through a series of chord
changes. This is usually used over functional chord progressions and allows us to mould a
phrase through each change – technically known as playing through the chord changes. As
with the arpeggio approach this allows our phrases to really outline the underlying harmony
as each chord passes.

The method works by picking a certain formula to play over each chord – for example 1, 2,
3, 5. Using this formula we would play the 1st, 2rd, 3rd, and 5th degrees of each chord/scale.
We do a harmonic analysis of the tune first and then use each chord’s associated scale to
figure out the relevant notes for each formula. Let’s look at an example using the first 8 bars
of a well-known standard – Autumn Leaves.

In the progression I analysed the first 4 bars as being in the key of Bb major. This gave me
the progression II – V – I – IV. I then based my formula playing around the appropriate scales

II – Dorian

V – Mixolydian

I – Major

IV – Lydian

For the Am7b5 I used a Locrian mode and for the two 7b9 chords I used the diminished
scale (half whole). The Gm7 was tackled with a G Dorian scale. Formula Based Approach

Once I have completed the harmonic analysis I then found the relevant notes from each
scale to complete my formula and played each note as a ¼ note.

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Again this method can be expanded in many ways by using different formulas, different
chords and different rhythms. Use your imagination.

6) Motivic Development

Our final approach for this tutorial is develop a small motif for our first chord and develop it
by changing only the notes needed to make it fit to the new chord. This gives us a thread
throughout our soloing that the listener can latch onto. This makes even the most complex
set of changes digestible by most people from a listening perspective. Try coming up with a
short 3 or 4 note phrase and visualise how it relates to the scale associated with the chord.
Now try to shift the motif keeping any notes that fit with the new scale and changing any
that don’t to fit. Do this with no rhythmic emphasis at first just making sure that you get the
notes right. For each new chord play the motif and then the chord so that you are hearing
the motif in context. As you develop make your motifs more complex or
rhythmically/technically challenging. This can also be a great way to trade phrases with
another player whilst trying to outline the changes and becomes very addictive when you
are good at it! I like to see changes playing like a puzzle. You need to solve the puzzle and
this can become uniquely addictive as a musical challenge.

This information should be seen as an introduction to the methods jazz and fusion players
use to tackle changes playing. I will produce a more in-depth tutorial in the future for each
of these methods within my ‘Practice Sessions’ series where you will be able to practice
these methods with me as I analyse progressions.

Until then I wish you luck with your Jazz Harmony and Changes Playing and hope you’re
enjoyed this tutorial and it will benefit you in your future playing and study.

All the best,

Tom – December 2011

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