Melodic Minor Scale

The melodic minor scale is a minor scale with a major top half. Take A major, lower the 3rd from C# to C, and you have A melodic minor: A B C D E F# G#. The b3 makes it minor; the natural 6 and 7 make it bright, smooth and a little mysterious.

Classical theory plays it one way going up and another coming down. Jazz players use the ascending form in both directions, and that's the version this chapter teaches, often called jazz minor. It's the sound of minor-major 7th and minor 6 chords, film noir melodies and fusion lines, and its modes give jazz the Lydian dominant and altered colors.

This chapter has three lessons:

1. Formula, patterns and sound: the degrees, five positions plus a three-notes-per-string pattern, and the top half over an A bass.
2. Practice exercises: a full pattern in sixteenths, a sequence in triplets, 3rds and a line that connects positions.
3. Soloing: an Am(maj7) to D7 vamp and two original licks that feature the 6 and 7.