Whether you are new to jazz or experienced, you’ll most definitely have heard of the altered scale. The altered scale is a highly tension-like scale that is used to play over dominant 7th chords, to pull the listener in a different direction so the musician can then resolved into the home chord and have provided a rollercoaster of sounds.
Pro jazz pianists and saxophonists use it all the time. Everyone from Oscar Peterson, to Bill Evans, to Dexter Gordon, and so on. The altered scale has been around since the beginning of Jazz. While a song can be in a major or minor key, the altered scale when played over a dominant chord – while it should be from its respective diatonic system – will be borrowed from the melodic minor diatonic system. It’s a clean way to play “outside” of the key, legally speaking in jazz terms.
But now, what is a hexatonic altered scale?
In theory, with he altered scale coming from the melodic minor scale, there aren’t really any avoid notes like you have in the major or minor diatonic system. So when you play the altered scale over a dominant chord, it will always sounds “good” because it creates a lot of tension, which it then resolves after.
But the problem is that it does have a weaker note in the scale itself. Not weaker because it actually is weak on a theoretical level and labeled as an avoid not. I know plenty of musicians who use the altered scale as a whole, and it sounds fantastic. But there are dozens and dozens of jazz musicians on records from the 40s and 50s who use the “hexatonic altered scale“, which when you’re studying jazz musicians to learn the lingo, you start to pick up on.
It sounds great, but what exactly is the altered hexatonic scale? First, let’s have a look at the regular altered scale:
C altered scale: C Db Eb E Gb Ab Bb (essentially, everything’s flattened to create tension)
C hexatonic altered scale: C Db Eb E Ab Bb (You simply leave out the Gb)
If gives an extremely wholesome feel, and gives a sort of arpeggio-like sound when playing over a chord. Give the C altered scale a try playing it over a C7(b9,b13) and resolve it to an F Minor 7(11) chord while landing on a C note. It’s marvelous.
And tons of pro musicians use this.
When I studied at Berklee, I wasn’t taught the hexatonic version of the altered scale, even in the advanced harmony classes. These are just things you “pick up from the streets”. And this is just one example.
There are many other incredibly cool approach, like upper structures, or playing a scale a 5th higher to include the #11. You’ll learn all about it here in my blog.
Lastly, have you tried the hexatonic altered scale? Have you heard it before? Do you use it often? Do you use your altered scale in a different way? I’d love to hear about it.