Playing Over the Dominant 7th Chord - Part 2

by Per Danielsson

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In last month's issue I discussed a couple of common ways of playing over the Dominant 7th chord. This article will serve as a continuation of that discussion with practical examples. The examples in this article show how these different scales work and what sound they produce. There many more ingredients to a creative solo than the following licks but they can serve as a beginning in understanding the dominant concept. As you play the examples, compare similarities and differences in the scales.

The four scales we'll focus on in this issue are: Harmonic minor, Mixolydian Bebop, Half/Whole Diminished and Melodic minor.

Harmonic minor: Remember: ii-V-i in C, use C-Harmonic minor. In other words, C-harmonic minor works over G7(913)
C-Harmonic minor G-G	Sample left hand voicing. It covers 9 and 13
Mixolydian Bebop: It has the extra half step between the root and the Dom. 7th.
	Sample left hand voicing. Natural 9th and 13th.
Half/Whole Diminished: Symmetrical scale staring with a half step on G.
	Sample left hand voicing. Includes 9 and natural 13. Scale also covers the #9 and #11.
Melodic Minor: G altered scale = Melodic minor a half step up.
A melodic minor from G to G	Sample left hand voicing. Includes #9 and 13. The scale also covers 9 and #11.

Harmonic Minor	Mixolydian Bebop
Diminished	Melodic minor