I haven’t seen much of this topic here so I thought I’d give my best shot at explaining what scale you should use when you’re soloing over a certain progression. The simple solution is to look at the chords. Lets start with triads:
Ddim |Gmi| Cmi||
This would be a ii-v-i in the key of C minor. Lets look at some of the possibilities we have.
We could solo in c minor over the entire thing
Play the mode/arpeggio that corresponds to the chord. (D locrian over the Ddim, G phrygian over the Gmi, and C minor over C minor)
-This is good for practicing switching between different patterns on the neck
Play any mode/arp with a b3 and a P5 over the minor chords (Dorian, Phrygian, Aeolian, etc.)
-This will most likely take you out of your original key and may make you sound like you are playing wrong notes all though theoretically it is correct
Play any mode/arp with a b3 and b5 over the Diminished chord(Locrian, Locrian #2, Altered dominant Scale, fully diminished arpeggio, etc.)
Of course not all of these will work and it’ll take some experimentation to figure out what sounds best to you and to help develop your sound. Jumping between keys might not sound too good but I would still encourage everyone to try every possibility they can.
Next lets look at 7th chords.
Dmi7(b5) |Gmi7| Cmi7
The same guidelines apply here we just need to take the 7th scale degree into consideration now. For example we can no longer use a fully diminished arpeggio over the Dmi7(b5) because the two different 7th’s would clash with each other.
Lets take this a step further.
Dmi7(b5) |G7| Cmi7
What we’ve done here is make the V chord a dominant quality. Seeing A dominant V chord in a minor progression implies harmonic minor. So Lets look at what we can do.
We could play Harmonic minor over the first two chords(The I chord in harmonic minor is Imi(ma7) so using HM over a mi7 would cause the 7th’s to clash with each other)
Play harmonic minor over just the G7 and natural minor over the Dmi7(b5) and Cmi7
Play any corresponding mode or arpeggio over each chord.
Personally, I like using Natural minor over the IImi7(b5), HM over the V7, and dorian over the Imi7.
Lets narrow things down even more with extensions.
simply put, extensions are just scale degrees in the next octave. For example, the 2nd scale degree would be called an 9th in the next octave, a 4th would be called an 11th, and a 6th would be called a 13th. Theres no need to name an 8, 10, 12, or 14 in a chord because these are just the octaves of chord tones ( 1, 3, 5, 7). Extensions are always major in quality unless specified. For example a Cmi13 chord would be spelled as C Eb G Bb D F A. Notice how the A isn’t lowered a half step even though the chord is minor.
Seeing an extension in a chord really narrows down your options and having a really solid understanding of modes helps tremendously, especially when you’re improvising.
Lets start with 9th’s
If you see a Cmi9 (C Eb G Bb D) you can use any minor mode that has a major 9th. We could use C minor or C dorian. If we see a Cma9 we could use any major mode that fits the chord like, C lydian or C maj. If we see a C9 we could use any dominant mode that has a major 9 such as mixolydian or lydian dominant. If we see a chord with a b9, We would have to use a scale with a b9 such as phrygian or phrygian dominant, depending on the chord quality. For example, I would use Phrygian dominant over a C7(b9) and phrygian over Cmi7(b9). Again, your choice will depend on the context of what you are playing and personal preference.
The same concept applies with all other extensions. Rather than explaining every single possibility I’ll give a few, more common, examples:
A Cmaj7(#11) would lead me to play lydian as it fits the chord the best
C7(#11) would lead me to use Lydian dominant
Cmi13 would lead me to use dorian
C7(#9) would lead me to use Altered dominant
Ok I know this was a lot to read but hopefully it makes some sense. If you’re new to modes I would recommend writing out the scale degrees and extensions I’ll list a few to get you started
Dorian: 1 2 b3 4 5 6 b7 8 Ext: 9 11 13
Phrygian: 1 b2 b3 4 5 b6 b7 8 Ext: b9 11 b13
Lydian: 1 2 3 #4 5 6 7 8 Ext: 9 #11 13
Mixolydian: 1 2 3 4 5 6 b7 8 Ext: 9 11 13
Locrian: 1 b2 b3 4 b5 b6 b7 8 Ext: b9 11 b13
Hopefully that helps get you started if anyone has any questions or anything to add I’ll do my best to answer and respond. I know this is a lot of information and there are so many more possibilities than I listed but hopefully this is enough to start incorporating in your playing.
Ddim |Gmi| Cmi||
This would be a ii-v-i in the key of C minor. Lets look at some of the possibilities we have.
We could solo in c minor over the entire thing
Play the mode/arpeggio that corresponds to the chord. (D locrian over the Ddim, G phrygian over the Gmi, and C minor over C minor)
-This is good for practicing switching between different patterns on the neck
Play any mode/arp with a b3 and a P5 over the minor chords (Dorian, Phrygian, Aeolian, etc.)
-This will most likely take you out of your original key and may make you sound like you are playing wrong notes all though theoretically it is correct
Play any mode/arp with a b3 and b5 over the Diminished chord(Locrian, Locrian #2, Altered dominant Scale, fully diminished arpeggio, etc.)
Of course not all of these will work and it’ll take some experimentation to figure out what sounds best to you and to help develop your sound. Jumping between keys might not sound too good but I would still encourage everyone to try every possibility they can.
Next lets look at 7th chords.
Dmi7(b5) |Gmi7| Cmi7
The same guidelines apply here we just need to take the 7th scale degree into consideration now. For example we can no longer use a fully diminished arpeggio over the Dmi7(b5) because the two different 7th’s would clash with each other.
Lets take this a step further.
Dmi7(b5) |G7| Cmi7
What we’ve done here is make the V chord a dominant quality. Seeing A dominant V chord in a minor progression implies harmonic minor. So Lets look at what we can do.
We could play Harmonic minor over the first two chords(The I chord in harmonic minor is Imi(ma7) so using HM over a mi7 would cause the 7th’s to clash with each other)
Play harmonic minor over just the G7 and natural minor over the Dmi7(b5) and Cmi7
Play any corresponding mode or arpeggio over each chord.
Personally, I like using Natural minor over the IImi7(b5), HM over the V7, and dorian over the Imi7.
Lets narrow things down even more with extensions.
simply put, extensions are just scale degrees in the next octave. For example, the 2nd scale degree would be called an 9th in the next octave, a 4th would be called an 11th, and a 6th would be called a 13th. Theres no need to name an 8, 10, 12, or 14 in a chord because these are just the octaves of chord tones ( 1, 3, 5, 7). Extensions are always major in quality unless specified. For example a Cmi13 chord would be spelled as C Eb G Bb D F A. Notice how the A isn’t lowered a half step even though the chord is minor.
Seeing an extension in a chord really narrows down your options and having a really solid understanding of modes helps tremendously, especially when you’re improvising.
Lets start with 9th’s
If you see a Cmi9 (C Eb G Bb D) you can use any minor mode that has a major 9th. We could use C minor or C dorian. If we see a Cma9 we could use any major mode that fits the chord like, C lydian or C maj. If we see a C9 we could use any dominant mode that has a major 9 such as mixolydian or lydian dominant. If we see a chord with a b9, We would have to use a scale with a b9 such as phrygian or phrygian dominant, depending on the chord quality. For example, I would use Phrygian dominant over a C7(b9) and phrygian over Cmi7(b9). Again, your choice will depend on the context of what you are playing and personal preference.
The same concept applies with all other extensions. Rather than explaining every single possibility I’ll give a few, more common, examples:
A Cmaj7(#11) would lead me to play lydian as it fits the chord the best
C7(#11) would lead me to use Lydian dominant
Cmi13 would lead me to use dorian
C7(#9) would lead me to use Altered dominant
Ok I know this was a lot to read but hopefully it makes some sense. If you’re new to modes I would recommend writing out the scale degrees and extensions I’ll list a few to get you started
Dorian: 1 2 b3 4 5 6 b7 8 Ext: 9 11 13
Phrygian: 1 b2 b3 4 5 b6 b7 8 Ext: b9 11 b13
Lydian: 1 2 3 #4 5 6 7 8 Ext: 9 #11 13
Mixolydian: 1 2 3 4 5 6 b7 8 Ext: 9 11 13
Locrian: 1 b2 b3 4 b5 b6 b7 8 Ext: b9 11 b13
Hopefully that helps get you started if anyone has any questions or anything to add I’ll do my best to answer and respond. I know this is a lot of information and there are so many more possibilities than I listed but hopefully this is enough to start incorporating in your playing.
