ALTERED SCALE SOLOING
Mike Stern continues his fascinating series describing how he uses various Altered scales to create exhilarating solo improvisations.
The Whole-Tone is a hexatonic scale, meaning that it has only six notes per octave (the best known hexatonic scale is the Blues scale, which adds the b5 to the Minor Pentatonic). The name of the scale explains exactly what it is – a series of pitches each a whole tone (two frets) apart.
This scale is often associated with the classical composer Claude Debussy, who used it in two famous pieces of music found in
Préludes, his first book of piano. In jazz, the pianist Thelonious Monk was known for incorporating Whole-Tone runs in his solos. Check out how it sounds in Monk’s tune Four In One. You should also listen to the intro to Wayne Shorter’s Juju, played by McCoy Tyner on piano, and John Coltrane’s One Down, One Up for other Whole-Tone examples.
To demonstrate the sound of the scale we’ll play over a II-V vamp in C Minor (Cm7-G7alt) using the G Whole-Tone scale. However, note that you can use the melodic ideas in this chapter even if you are playing over a one-chord Dorian type vamp. The tune Footprints by Wayne Shorter, for instance, has multiple bars of C Minor and sometimes, when playing over the C Minor section, I’ll imply the V7alt chord (G7alt) by playing the G Whole-Tone scale, even though it’s not actually written in the music.
Here are the notes of the G Whole-Tone scale and the intervals it highlights when played over a G7 chord.
G Whole-Tone scale:
G AB C# D# F
R 9 3 #11 #5 b7
Over a G7 chord, the G Whole-Tone gives us the root (G), 3rd (B) and b7 (F), plus the extended 9th interval (A). It also has the #11 and #5 Altered tones (C# and D#).
I hope you’ve enjoyed digging into these Altered scales and hearing the unique sounds that they can create. In my experience, the more you know, the more vocabulary you’ll have at your fingertips, and the more creative your playing will become. Also, it’s just more fun! Finally, always seek to play as much real music as you can with players who stretch your ability. As a musician you’ll grow much faster that way.
NEXT MONTH Ulf Wakenius shows how to play piano lines on guitar like Oscar Peterson
“Thelonius Monk was known for incorporating Whole-Tone runs. Check out how it sounds in his tune Four In One”