Re: [Harp-L] II V I - the diminished scale

[Winslow Yerxa <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx>]

Another way to tie these four chords together is with the diminished scale.

C, Eb, F#, and A are all spaces three semitones apart, which outlines a diminihsed 7th chord.

But we don't sue the C diminished scale to play against them.

Instead, we use the Db diminished scale.

The Db diminished scale is the same as the E, G, and Bb diminished scales - each of them one semitone above the chord roots of C, Eb, Gb and A.

This scale contains aall the notes of all four 7th chords, plus some aditional notes. For instance, if you took this Db diminished scale and named the scale degrees relative to the roots of the C chord, you'd get

Root (C), flat 2 (Db) flat 3 (Eb), major 3 (E) raised 4 (F#), fifth (G), sixth (A), flat 7th (Bb). The same is true for chord roots Eb, Gb, and A.

By outlining any of the other three 7th chords over a C7, you get varying degrees of tone colors. You can also extend one chord upward or downward into any of the others to create all sorts of varied tone colors. Jazz musicians spend a lot of time figuring out ways to get cool sounds out of the diminished scale. 


Winslow Yerxa

Author, Harmonica For Dummies ISBN 978-0-470-33729-5

--- On Sat, 1/9/10, Richard Hunter <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

From: Richard Hunter <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] II V I
To: "michael rubin" <michaelrubinharmonica@xxxxxxxxx>
Cc: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
Date: Saturday, January 9, 2010, 1:42 PM

michael rubin wrote:
>Are you saying that during a C7, even if the rhythm player does not
>sub the actual chord with an Eb7, F#7 or A7, the melody player can jam
>using the Eb, F# and A mixolydian scale?

Basically, yes.  What this will do is introduce a lot of tension into the lines, because after all the scales are not the same, and some scale tones will be very dissonant.  

For example, related to a C7 chord, an A mixolydian scale contains the following scale tones:
A (6)
B (major 7)
C# (flat 9)
D (2)
E (3)
F# (#4)
G (5)

The third (C#-flat 9) and 6th (F#-sharp 4) notes are particularly dissonant, but frequently found in jazz lines.  

The key to using the dissonance, of course, is understanding where the dissonant tones resolve--what they point to.  As a general rule, dissonances resolve downwards.  But this rule is frequently broken.  

Regards, Richard Hunter

author, "Jazz Harp"
latest mp3s and harmonica blog at http://myspace.com/richardhunterharp
more mp3s at http://taxi.com/rhunter
Vids at http://www.youtube.com/user/lightninrick
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