Stuart Smith
Chords with alterations and/or tensions
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Chords with alterations and/or tensions:If the characteristic “sound” of a jazz artist’s work will be lost if alterations and tensions are not included in a performance exactly as specified, the simplified chord-scale theory presented above will not work well. In these circumstances it will be necessary to construct appropriate chord scales. This is done by making a list of the notes in each chord, including the tensions and alterations. Any gaps are then filled in to form a continuous scale. For example, suppose we need to provide a scale for a chord like this CÏÓÑÓÍ: 
An appropriate chord scale for this harmony would include all the chord tones plus (in this case) two passing tones: 
Here we have added EÓ and A to complete a scale. These are not the only choices. We could have added D instead of EÓ, and AÓ instead of A. Note that the scale we created in this case is the diminished scale described above (starting on DÓ). The diminished scale often works well with altered chords and chords that have chromatic tensions. Constructing a chord scale is the lowest common denominator of chord scale theory—it will work with almost any harmony. Simply listing the notes of the prevailing harmony, whatever it is, and filling in appropriate passing tones will yield a complete scale for improvisation. A composer or arranger who creates music in this way should write out exactly what he or she wants rather than relying on the informal jazz/pop chord notation to convey his or her intentions. If a composer or performer uses tensions and alterations in an essential way in his or her music (i.e., the character of the music depends critically on all the chords being played exactly as notated), George Russell’s Lydian Chromatic Concept (Brookline, MA: Concept Publishing Company, 2001) becomes an attractive choice of chord scale theory because it provides a logical choice of scale to accompany almost any conceivable extended and/or altered chord. In effect, Russell has pre-constructed for the jazz musician all the scales that would be needed for improvisation on the most complex harmonies. All the musician has to do is to look up the appropriate scale in Russell’s book; however, Russell’s system is quite complex, so that one should expect to commit a substantial amount of time and energy to learning how to use it. Download 1.17 Mb. Share with your friends:
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