Reader,
If you’ve come to my workshops in the past, you know how much I encourage you to learn my "3 to 3 to 3" lines. Today I want to show you a simple change to that line using the altered scale that gives a big lift to your sound.
As with everything we learn, it takes only a few minutes to understand, but we don’t really know it until we can play it fluently. So let’s look at a practical exercise to try.
As a refresher, the "3 to 3 to 3" is a descending line over 2-5-1 progressions. Here it is on a 2-5-1 in C major:
I call this "3 to 3 to 3" because, as the line descends down the C major scale, the 3rd of each chord lands right as the chords change: F on Dm7, B on G7, and E on Cmaj7.
The same concept works on a minor 2-5-1, though you base the line on the C harmonic minor scale instead:
Bringing in the Altered Scale
These 3-3-3 lines are a great place to start, but they only use notes from the key center. To add that satisfying dissonance we love in jazz, we can change the line slightly over the V7 chord:
In this line, we changed two important things:
- We added rhythmic variety. The line is primarily eighth notes, with a brief moment of eighth-note triplets.
- Over the G7 chord, we traded the 9th of the chord (A) for both the sharp 9 (A#) and the flat 9 (Ab).
Those two new notes are called “alterations” because they alter how we treat the 9th of that chord.
More broadly, we actually changed what scale we play on G7. We take a two-beat detour from C major and use notes from the G altered scale:
I encourage you to run this altered 3-3-3 line in all 12 major and minor keys. It will unlock a great new sound in your playing.