Etude 66-Two Melodic Minor Scales Organized Into 4ths

Here’s an easy way to use the rich contour of the melodic minor scale to organize melodic material into 4ths moving from dominant to tonic. Take a look at the example above.

In the first measure I create two four-note shapes based upon the diatonic 4ths found in both a C major scale, and in a D melodic minor scale. You’ll notice there is no C# in this measure (the 7th degree of the D melodic minor scale, which is a strongly “defining” note). But the first note in the 2nd measure is a Db, which both sonically and functionally implies the D melodic minor. It also is the first note of a new scale, Ab melodic minor. (So the Db functions as a common “pivot” tone between both scales.)

Of course it is the Ab melodic minor that is rich in altered harmonic tensions over the G7 chord (specifically, -5/#11, +9, -13, -9). Yet this scale is organized into 4ths, as well, in order to continue the general shape and direction of the melodic line. Again, there is a common “pivot” note in measure 3 (the B natural, which also functions enharmonically as Cb, the third of the Ab melodic minor scale).

In the 3rd measure the shape changes slightly, with a descending version of the C maj7 chord. Then the 4ths emerge again (with a little variation between the F# and G) until the end. The general color of the line is a bit on the “modern” side because of the 4ths, but has enough familiar harmonic elements in it so that it can function quite well in a bebop or post bop context.

If you’d like to explore the vast array of harmonic possibilities by applying melodic minor scales combinations over ii-V7-I, please consider my e-book, Melodic Minor Scale Jazz Studies: Tonal Organizations and Applications Over Dominant 7th Chords. Click the link below for a free, downloadable pdf of this etude:

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