internalizing melodic colors

Big name for simply stuff to shed eh? Internalizing the melodic resources simply revolves around figuring out what each of us needs to get our ideas across. As a jazz player, I want to have them all; major, minor, diminished, blues, every last one and them some in all 12 keys. Blues players dig the blue colors, thus the blues scale and it's myriad of different manifestations throughout all of the American styles, often played in principle guitar keys such as E, A and G. The rockers look mostly to the minor pentatonic colors for their pitches. This group of pitches goes way back in our histories and continues today to create powerful melodies, which when spiced with the blue notes by bending pitches and run through a stack of Marshals can really get the foot a tappin. E is often the key of choice as it relates well to the open strings of the guitar. In telling our stories in the folk traditions of the American peoples, we often use open chords on a guitar to motor the rhythm and harmony and create melodies from the major and minor scales to tell our stories.

So in regards to the internalization of the colors, if you want to play more bluesy, learn a few blues notes. Sound more jazzy, look to adding additional keys of your existing colors to better learn your instrument. Sound more primitive by moving to the minor pentatonic color, discover melodies from long ago and learn of the powers to move humankind. Create traditional folk melodies in the pentatonic and major scale, both major and minor and become part of a ancient tradition. Ever considered your musical big picture? Need some help in this? jacmusic@alaska.net

So what do we gain by internalizing the melodic colors? In all of the styles of American music, oftentimes there are sections of the performance whereby the players get to create their variations on the melody of the song being performed. Common terms for this process are improvising, soloing, blowing etc. So we gain a sense of how we create "improvised" melodies by understanding which scales create which styles, hopefully providing the curious learner of any style with a new idea or two and a bit of prospective as to how to get their sound moving to where they might be wanting to go artistically over the years. Here is a menu of links to initially dial in your search or simply discover from top to bottom a gradually increasing complexity of the melodic resources.

Children's songs / folk music oftentimes use the pentatonic colors. Perhaps the most subtle and softest of colors to create the major tonality is the ancient pentatonic major color.

The major pentatonic group is a common color in children's songs, folk, rock etc., just about anywhere in American music. Here we place it within the One / Four / Five chord motion created from equal temper. Example 1.

Important key centers for the folk styles revolve around the open chords as found on a six string guitar, so the keys of G major, C major, A and D major might be a good place to start. Need a scale shape or two for these colors on your guitar? Career players should perhaps run this color through the cycle of fifths. Need a few movable scale shapes for guitar?

Rearranging the pitches of the pentatonic major into it's relative minor pentatonic colors. Hip to the concept of relative major / minor? The minor pentatonic group is a common color in children's songs and the folk styles and is a HUGE player in the blues and rock genres. And the jazz launguage ... but of course. We all love these pitches. Here we place it within the One / Four / Five chord motion created from equal temper. Example 1a.

Cool how the same simple melodic line works in both tonal environments eh? Is there a more ancient color than the pentatonic groups?

The key of A minor is very common in folk music as the principle chords are easily played on guitar. Perhaps try getting this group under your fingers first, then to run this color through the cycle of fifths as your needs evolve.

Interesting that by diatonically building chords with only the 5 pitches of the pentatonic group, we create the open 5th's sound loved by the rockers, metalists, players of world music of all varieties. Moving 5th's around in the techno-pop minor tonality. Example 1c.

Major colors / minor blues colors. In evolving from the pentatonic groups, we add the tritone color to both the major and minor pentatonic groups and create two essential American colors. Example 2.

The tritone added to the major pentatonic color is created by the interval between 2 pitches, F and B, as highlighted above, to evolve the major scale.

The major scale as created within equal temper enjoys perhaps the widest range of application when creating melodies within all of the styles of American music. From folk to bebop, the major scale does it all. Example 2a.

Jazz players might run this color through the cycles of fifths. Once under your fingers, try the interval studies. Coolness with the chords, all generated from the pitches of the major scale. As are all the church modes. Extracting the relative minor from the major scale? Easy one.

Adding the tritone color to the minor pentatonic color we use one pitch, F#, a tritone away from the root C, and create the essential minor blues scale.

We hear this color all the time in most of the styles of American music. Is a cool, well placed blues lick ever out of place in America music? Depending on your directions, this could be the essential color on your palette. Common minor blues idea. Example 2b.

Run this color through the a couple of keys. If just starting out, try mastering the blues scale from the pitch A, blues in A is a very common for jamming.

Interesting that the pitches used to create the chords in the last idea are not available diatonically from the pitches of the minor blues scale, but come from the natural minor scale. We do this all the time with the blues, combine this core color with chords from equal temper, in either the major or minor tonalities. Really? We have too.

Minor colors. From the Ionian mode / major scale we can easily extract it's relative minor / Aeolian mode. Example 3.

From the 6th degree of the major scale we locate the root of it's relative minor scale. We then spell out this scale from the root pitch A to create the A natural minor scale, then transpose this group to C minor.

The natural minor scale is found in all of the styles of American music and is the essential group of pitches which creates the minor tonality and builds the harmony of the minor tonal environment. Use this scale when playing tunes in a minor key. Example 3a.

Run this color through the cycle of fifths. If the major scales are already under your fingers, are the natural minor scales also? Yep. See the minor triad in bar 24 above? Very handy in outlining the written harmony.

From the natural minor scale evolves the harmonic minor scale, achieved by simply raising the 7th degree by half step. Example 3b.

Although not all that common in creating a tonal environment in American music, we can diatonically create the tritone bearing dominant 7th chord from the harmonic minor color, so essential in all of the styles of American music.

Creating the V 7b9 chord from the harmonic minor group. Example 3c.

Interesting sounding melody eh? I call it the gypsy minor. Not all that common in most of the American styles, mostly a jazz color and used elsewhere to create a bit of exotica. Dig the V 7b9 chord? Run this color through the cycle of fifths. From within the harmonic minor group of pitches we can diatonically generate the pitches of the fully diminished 7th chord, one polar end of our tonal universe. Example 3d.

Using the minor 3rd symmetry of the diminished 7th chord, we fill in the pitches to create the diminished scale. Example 3e.

Cool so far? In making the transition into a more jazz style, the emergence of the diminished color is potentially giant. The following ideas are of a reasonably advanced nature and for the most part fall into the jazz style, although bits of the following ideas are often found elsewhere stylistically. Using the diminished colors is really the next level after getting the more diatonic colors under our fingers. Be patient with your learning curve, proceed slowly and gradually examine the colors, looking for coolness to add to your own ideas. There is a lot of wonderful music that can be potentially created with the following concepts, which build varying degrees of musical tension and it's release as well as providing lots of neat ways to do it. Even with a reasonable level of understanding the diatonic essentials of the melodic and harmonic resources, the following material will hopefully be within reach.

Diminished colors. The following ideas using the diminished scale take two basic approaches. The first is to use this color when a diminished chord is inserted into common chord progressions to accelerate the motion between chords. The second is to understand and utilize the multiple resolving properties of the diminished color when found within the V7b9 chord, a common dominant coloring in both the major and minor tonalities of jazz music. First, the root position diminished color as a passing chord.

A very common chord progression found in contemporary music uses the fully diminished chord as passing chord between tonic harmony ( I maj 7 ) and Two chord harmony (ii-7), commonly referred to as the sharp One diminished ( # i dim 7 ). This harmonic situation is an integral part of rhythm changes, a common jazz form of the 1930's and 1940’s. When soloing, strong improvisers will substitute this color into their chordal and melodic ideas, whether written or not, to create a greater sense of energy and forward motion in their lines. In the following idea we create a melodic idea from the major scale group, move into the diminished color creating tension, then move back to our diatonic pitches completing the phrase. Jazz players should push this motion through all twelve keys. For although not always written, players will sub in the diminished color to accelerate their lines. Example 4.

Pushing this # i dim 7 motion through all twelve keys will help get the pitches of the color under your fingers in a clearly defined, resolving format. A cool and simple way to generate more excitement and forward motion in our lines, guitar players have a way easy diminished scale shape to blister.

If this diminished thing is so cool going to the Two chord, which is minor, can the sharp one ( # 1 ) diminished color slide us from tonic to Two major, from C# diminished into D major? So it seems to be, C# is the leading tone of D major yes? Here is a shedding sequence chart for the sharp one diminished color moving by half steps. Example 4a.

Here is the sounds of the above chart. Example 4b.

click the icon for a practice loop of the above sequence with the scales.
same loop, you add the melodic lines.
how Bird, Trane, Diz and Miles did it.

Nice looping of pitches eh? No matter how we shake it down, this equal tempered system is so very cool. Getting through the above shedding format is a rather difficult operation, even for seasoned players, but not impossible by any means "and the rewards to those who shed will know no bounds" ( biblical quote ). Are there any other close relatives of the sharp one diminished color? Once the scales are under our fingers, the next level of mastery would be to create one motif or idea and filter it through the above key / color scheme. Perhaps a simple triad figure might be a good way to start. Need a harmonic approach for the above charts?

We occasionally find the diminished color between the Two and Three chords in the major tonality. Same melodic approach as above. Example 4c.

Isn't D# diminished the same as Eb diminished? Right. And isn't Eb diminished the same as C diminished? Right again. Is there another way to use this relationship? You bet, players call it "common tone diminished" and oftentimes use this positioning of the diminished color within the major tonality to extend the tension just a wee bit longer before resolving. Example 4d.

Cool huh? Not all that common in the written literature, but something a player might substitute into a ballad whatever.

A similar situation to the above often occurs in the 12 bar blues form. A common substitution utilizing the fully diminished seventh scale and chord shapes is found following the Four chord ( IV7 ) of bar six in a twelve bar Blues form. This chord is generally known as the sharp Four diminished seventh ( #iv dim 7 ) but which is theoretically also a tonic, One or common tone diminished coloring as used above. Click example 4c to view this cool blues substitution in action.

In the last three examples, we simply ran a diminished color over the diminished chord with the same root pitch. Must we always do that? Of course not, but it is one sure way to start using this color. Perhaps to remember that any scale is basically a group of pitches from which we can create our melodic ideas. So, it's up to each of us to find our lines ... Oh, before continue, do you know of any root position passing diminished chords commonly used in the minor tonality? Comments.

V 7b9 diminished chord. The second common application of the diminished scale is found with the V 7b9 chord, which contains a fully diminished 7th chord starting from it's third chord degree, thus the pitches B, D, F and Ab. Click diminished studies for the theory. Example 5.

Same ideas as above but in the minor tonality. Example 5a.

The above ideas simply run a D diminished scale over the G 7b9 chord into both the C major and C minor tonalities. The multiple resolving properties of the diminished color create some interesting possibilities in both the major and minor tonal environments. Based on these resolving properties, can we use the one diminished scale to smoothly move into four different major keys? Perhaps four minor keys? Of course, but you knew that eh? No? Oops, sorry, click diminished studies for the theory.

Melodic application / diminished colors. Thinking that there are multiple tonics associated with the diminished colors, here is a format for shedding the fully diminished seventh scale and associated colors and resolving them into their various tonal centers, using the inherent tension and release found in the structure of the basic Two / Five / One chord progression. Due to the symmetrical construction of the diminished scale, the potential resolutions include the tonic major and minor of the V 7b9 chord being employed, as well as the major and minor tonics up or down intervals of the minor third. These possible resolutions become manifest due to the various tritone convergence possibilities contained within the symmetrical minor 3rd diminished construction, the basis of the fully diminished seventh color. Again, review the theory in diminished studies if necessary. In chart form, the multiple resolving properties of the diminished color as found within the V 7b9 chord starting with C major. Example 5b.

So in reality, the one diminished scale created in the upper structure of G 7b9 potentially contains the leading tones to resolve to all of the key centers listed above? This simple potential created quite the kaboom in my approach to the music.

Thus we can run the three diminished scales C, Db and D to their appropriate four major and minor tonics. Example 5c.

Using the Db diminished scale in the above fashion. Example 5d.

Using the D diminished scale in the above fashion. Example 5e.

Here we apply the same resolving ideas as in the previous example with the addition of a diatonic Two chord ( ii - 7 ) melodic idea prior to running the diminished scale shape and it's resolution. These examples use an a arpeggio to realize the Two and One chord harmony and we'll run the D diminished scale over G7b9, Bb 7b9, Db 7b9 and E 7b9 in the following ideas. Example 5f.

Dig the sounds? Very common in the jazz vocabulary. Recreate the above format for the minor tonality as well as running the C and Db diminished scales through this filter. Is there a ton of shedding here or what? Can we can "mix and match" these diminished routes to get to each of the tonic destinations? Of course, they form the basic framework for dominant chord substitution, click tension cells for the theory.

In regards to internalizing these diminished colors, the idea is to simply explore what the theory says is possible, then experiment with these possibilities looking for coolness. When a cool idea emerges, advancing players will want to run the idea through the 12 major and minor key centers to lock in the idea. Cool with this? It's potentially pretty essential for the jazz artist, even if just in theory till we get to the shedding. Here is a chart and potential exercise for shedding the V 7 b9 color to the 12 major key centers. Example 5g.

Nice looping of pitches eh? No matter how we shake it down, this equal tempered system is so very cool. And if C# diminished moves to D and F, are there other keys as well? Here is the sounds of the above chart. Example 5h.

click the icon for a practice loop of the above sequence with the scales.
same loop, you add the melodic lines.
how Bird, Trane, Diz and Miles did it.

Getting through the above shedding format is a rather difficult operation, even for seasoned players, but not impossible by any means "and the rewards to those who shed will know no bounds" ( biblical quote ). Need a harmonic approach for the above charts?

Now continuing along with the internalization of the fully diminished chord concepts.

A close associate to sharp One diminished seventh ( #1 dim 7 ) is the dominant seventh flat nine ( V7b9 ) built on the Sixth degree of the major scale, which oftentimes is used in a similar fashion. Compare the following ideas. Example 5g.

Example 5h.

By crunching down the letter names we find the same fully diminished seventh chord in both the sharp One diminished ( #1 ) and dominant seventh flat nine ( V7b9 ) built on the Sixth degree of the major scale. Example 5h.

Explore this concept of using the fully diminished chord on other diatonic roots to help create new pathways covering the same musical ground.

Following along the above theoretical lines, with the musical construction of the diminished sounds being minor thirds, a unique and important consideration emerges with regard to the doubling up of the Two / Five progression into the non-diatonic grouping of the Three / Six / Two / Five chord progression, an all too common harmonic motion found in many styles of American music not to be acquainted with. Two basic possibilities emerge relating the above Three / Six / Two / Five with the minor third interval of the diminished scale.

In comparing the Three / Six component to the Two / Five, we realize that the component parts potentially have an identical construction, i.e., a Two chord type moving to a Five chord type which are located a whole step apart. For example, in creating the non-diatonic Three / Six / Two / Five in the key of C major, we can arrive at the following chords. Example 5i.

The minor third interval is dividable into whole steps and half steps yes? With this in mind, is moving a particular diminished chord or scale up or down a whole step the equivalent of moving that same group down or up a half step? Confused? Let's add a flat nine to each of our Five chords above, to create the diminished seventh chord in it's upper structure, spell out the letter names of the chords then crunch it all down. Example 5j.

To restate our question, is the diminished chord and scale found within the G 7b9 located a whole step below A 7b9, equivalent to the diminished chord and scale found a half step above the A 7b9, namely Bb 7b9? Let's spell out the Bb 7b9 chord and compare pitches. Example 5k.

Glancing between the pitches of the G 7b9 and the Bb 7b9 chords reveal an identical grouping of pitches. These pitches are a minor third apart and comprise the fully diminished seventh chord found within the upper structure of any V 7b9 chord. In regard to our Three / Six / Two / Five progression, with the inclusion of a flatted ninth to our dominant chords, the common pitch relationship between dominant seventh flat nine chords ( V7b9 ), a minor third apart, creates a situation where our possible choices now include moving up a half step from Three / Six. Thus, our original chord progression evolves. Example 5l.

In terms of moving things around, this can become very handy for the advancing jazz artist. Example 5m.

Moving the other way creates a more diatonic option towards C major. Example 5n.

Where can we sub in this "double Two / Five" convergence motion? Well, like most options, just about anywhere. Perhaps the key is "but can we still sing our lines?" For those so inclined, check out the harmonic motion of John Coltrane’s essential "Moments Notice." Does shifting things around in this manner potentially open up to the more common dominant chord substitutions in the blues and jazz stylings? It can.

Altered dominant. Here we begin our return trip to the diatonic world of the major / minor tonality. One of the coolest things about understanding the resolving properties of the diminished color as examined above is that we can apply these same resolving principles to other forms of dominant colors and basically follow the same pathways of convergence created by the diminished color. I like to call the possibilities "softened diminished colors", and while they do not contain the fully diminished 7th structure, they do contain similar tension creating elements. Here we begin to invoke our artistic license, so totally at home in American jazz.

Melodic minor. Let's soften our fully diminished seventh color into our Lydian flat seven / melodic minor shape and generate musical ideas in the same format for the fully diminished seventh. This "softened" color is similar to the diminished sounds but begins to move us melodically away from the "minor third symmetrical construction" of the diminished scale and chords, so character and readily identifiable. Compare C diminished to C melodic minor. Example 6.

Here is the sound of the above colors. Example 6a.

Hear the difference? Subtle but a softer hue of color yes?

We can build the melodic minor color from b2, 4, 5 and b7 of our chosen dominant chord. By building this group of notes from the four degrees creates different upper structure alterations to the four dominant chords, click melodic minor proof for the theory. The following ideas simply substitute the 4 melodic minor possibilities over the dominant chord within the Two / Five / One cadential motion. Along the way we look for half step resolutions to triadic chord tones, ( i.e., 1, 3, 5 ) to firm up the resolutions from the outside.

Melodic minor from b2, so Ab melodic minor over G 7. Here are the pitches of Ab melodic minor analyzed against the chord tones of G 7. Example 6b.

Here is it's sound. Example 6c.

Arpeggios and triads, arpeggios and triads, arpeggios and triads...  jazz mantra.

Melodic minor from 4, so C melodic minor over G 7. Here are the pitches. Example 6d.

Here is it's sound. Example 6e.

Coolness emerges with just a wee bit of the whole tone color +5 with the b9 of the chord, Eb and Ab an octave up over the root G.

Melodic minor from 5, so D melodic minor over G 7. Example 6f.

Here is it's sound. Example 6g.

Explore this dominant color as a Five of Five on the second scale degree of the major scale, as is written in so many cool and important Bossa Novas.

Melodic minor from b7, so F melodic minor over G 7. The pitches please. Example 6h.

Here is it's sound. Example 6i.

Perhaps the easiest of the four choices, using F melodic minor hints at the blue notes, so essential to the American sounds. Explore these concepts and tensions through all twelve keys as time and energies permit. 

A second approach for these melodic minor substitutions is to resolve each of the potential resolutions of the above concept to the four keys as done with the diminished group. Thus, the following convergence possibilities emerge from the theory. Example 6j.

Create the same chart for the other three melodic minor possibilities, examining convergence possibilities as the need arises. So, simply another approach for generating ideas based on the resolving properties of the diminished color but using the melodic minor color or Lydian flat seven scale pitches. Here are some melodic ideas created from the chart above moving into both the major and minor tonalities. Example 6k.

Common tone melodic minor, very deceptive, so cool. Example 6l.

The all essential Two to One motion, here enhanced by melodic minor. Example 6m.

Basically Four moving to One in the minor tonality, digging way back into our past and extracting a bit of melodic minor color. Example 6n.