Jazz Piano Blog

Altered Dominant Scales

6/19/2018

Introduction

Altered dominant scales are almost always taught as "modes" of either the major, harmonic minor, and melodic minor scales. Understanding these sounds from an academic perspective (modes) indeed is a worthwhile endeavor; however, if you try to play the altered dominant sounds modally, you'll quickly find yourself mentally fatigued and musically frustrated. Therefore, I like to approach the altered dominant scales from a "street perspective" which always begins with the pure dominant sound and then adds the desired alterations. So, this is the objective of this blog post - to discover, learn, and play the altered dominant scales - simply!

Discover

Altered Dominant Scales

All jazz musicians must become comfortable with the following dominant sounds:

Pure Dominant
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 b7
Dominant #11
- 1 2 3 #4 5 6 b7
Dominant b13
- 1 2 3 4 5 b6 b7
Dominant b9b13
- 1 b2 3 4 5 b6 b7
Dominant b9#9b5#5
- 1 b2 b3 b4 b5 b6 b7

Begin with a major scale and then alter the scale as illustrated above. In doing so, you'll create the pure dominant scale plus the four altered dominant scales that derive from the major, harmonic minor, and melodic minor scales. No need to go any further academically - for now, the goal is to discover the altered dominant scales so that we can learn them!

Learn

Altered Dominant Scales

After you discover the pure dominant scale and the four altered dominant scales, it's time to learn them. I tell all my students, "conceptual understanding drive physical development". In other words, you have to have a strong mental command of a of musical skill before you can successfully master playing it. So, to accomplish this goal I recommend some good old fashion "paper practice" to solidify your understanding of the altered dominant scales. Here is what you should be writing out on paper (several times) every day for each key:

C7
- C D E F G A Bb
C7#11
- C D E F# G A Bb
C7b13
- C D E F G Ab Bb
C7b9b13
- C Db E F G Ab Bb
C7b9#9b5#5
- C Db Eb Fb Gb Ab Bb
- note: we flat the "F" in order to regain an "E" which is the 3rd)

Once you have "C" altered dominant scales under control begin working on the altered dominant scales for "F", then "Bb", and so on until you have done all 12.

Play

Altered Dominant Scales

Now that you have taken the time to learn the altered dominant scales, it's time to play them! Watch the video below to see me play through each of the "C" altered dominant scales. Notice that my tempo is nice and relaxed - I'm focusing on digesting each scale mentally, physically, and aurally - practicing is not about "speed"!

Below is how each of the "C" altered dominant scales look using music notation.

For additional information about altered dominant scales check out an Email lesson I recently sent to all JazzPianoSkills.com subscribers.

Final Thoughts

If you wish to discover, learn, and play more altered dominant scales (sounds) and other essential jazz piano skills, you should join JazzPianoSkills.com. In addition to receiving free professional jazz piano lessons on a regular basis via Email, your membership grants you lifetime access to all of my instructional jazz videos (which you can access and study as often as you wish). Additionally, your own private Mavenlink Support Portal is established, hosted, and maintained by The Dallas School of Music allowing you and me to easily interact with one another as often as needed each and every week. Likewise, you’ll receive tuition discounts if you ever choose to have private online jazz lessons with me through The Dallas School of Music.

I welcome the opportunity to answer any questions you may have regarding this blog so feel free to Email me drlawrence@jazzpianoskills.com or call me 972-380-8050 Ext. 211. Please take a moment and listen to a few of my recordings or follow me at SoundCloud to get a feel for how I play and approach this wonderful art form we call jazz.

I look forward to helping you discover, learn, and play jazz!