IN THE WOODSHED
This month Charlie Griffiths shows how we can use arpeggios, Pentatonic scales, and modes to melodically navigate the minor II-V-I sequence.
Charlie Griffiths shows how to solo in different styles over a IIm7 V7-Im chord sequence.
Minor II-V-I progressions feature in jazz standards such as Blue Bossa, Stella By Starlight or Night And Day. This month we will look at a few different approaches to navigate this three-chord cadence, ranging from simple arpeggios, to Pentatonic as well as more advanced scales. We will stay in the key of A Minor throughout so in this lesson the three
Bm7b5- chords will be E7-Am7. Before we tackle playing through the three chords, let’s first look at each chord in isolation.
m7b5
The II chord is a and has the intervals 1- b3- 5- b7; this chord is also known as ‘half diminished’. You can see this as a Locrian mode chord (1- b2-b3- 4- b5-b6-b7), which is the Major scale played from the 7th degree; or as Locrian nat 2 (1-2- b3- 4- b5-b6-b7), which is Melodic Minor played from the 6th degree. Both scales are almost identical, the only difference being a 9 vs a b9 sound.
The V chord is a Dominant 7th (1-3-5-7), but can have additional extensions added to it, most commonly a b9 or a #9, but also a b5 or #5. In jazz circles these extra notes are known as ‘alterations’ and happily there is a scale that covers all of them called Altered scale. This is the same as Melodic Minor played from the 7th degree and gives us the intervals 1- b9-# 9-3- b5-# 5- b7. You might also hear this scale named ‘Superlocrian’.
Another V scale you could use here is Phrygian Dominant (1- b2- 3-4-5- b6-b7) which is the 5th mode of Harmonic Minor. So for an E7 chord you would essentially play A Harmonic Minor. Since the minor II-V-I is technically a Harmonic Minor progression, so this could be seen as the ‘correct’ scale choice, but it garners a more traditional jazz sound as opposed to the hipper Altered scale.
The I chord can actually be anything, even a maj7, as heard in the tune Night And Day, but typically we would resolve to a m7 chord, so either Aeolian (1-2- b3- 4- b6-b7) or Dorian modes (1-2- 4-5-6- b7) as well as Melodic Minor (1-2- 4-5-6-7) will work here.
Our five examples all reside in the modal system just explained but we can simplify things a bit to create more focused ideas. Our first step will be to arpeggiate through the three chords in their simplest form. Example 1 is played as straight eighth notes throughout and spells out the chord tones so you can see and hear where they live. The second example expands upon this, as well as substituting a Diminished arpeggio over the V chord for a sound.
For Example 3 we will use the Harmonic Minor scale over all three chords. This results in a cool Al Di Meola type lick and is a great option if you want a broad melodic sound to cover the whole progression.
In Example 4 we use a Minor Pentatonic based idea that evokes Scott Henderson. You will no doubt already have lots of Minor Pentatonic licks, so we can easily adapt one note to give it an ‘Altered’ sound over the V chord. Finally we will treat each chord as a specific mode in a Holdsworthian legato line.
As you can see there is no one approach and you can use these ideas to create your own licks as well as combine the concepts and, most importantly, let your ear guide you to what sounds cool to you.
NEXT MONTH Charlie looks at creating great riffs using Minor Pentatonic and Blues scale
YOU ALREADY HAVE LOTS OF MINOR PENTATONIC LICKS, SO WE CAN EASILY ADAPT ONE NOTE TO GIVE IT AN ALTERED SOUND