Part 02: Treatment of the Dominant Chord Throughout "Have You Met Miss Jones?"

Continuing with my solo and only six seconds after the first example, I use a different harmonic choice to navigate similar chord changes. This time on the V7 chord (D7) I create tension using the altered scale.

Chords changes located on the top and furthest from the staff indicate what chords the guitar player is voicing. Chords closest to the staff are what I am thinking when improvising. When there is only one chord present both saxophone and guitar are playing/thinking the same chord.

Ex. 2 Altered Scale / Side Step / Minor Third

The altered scale (also known as diminished whole tone scale or Pomeroy scale to name a few) is the seventh mode of the melodic minor scale. Several notes is in this scale are altered in relation to the major scale or mixolydian scale.

Ex. 2a Eb Melodic Minor Scale / D Altered Scale

In example 2 I use a few different sources to change sounds while playing over the D7 chord. At the end of the first measure, I use Eb augmented triad to set up the shift in sound. This is one of the same triads I used in example 1. I then begin using the D altered scale (derived from the Eb melodic minor scale) for one beat before side stepping up a half step (from D7) to Eb major for one beat. I finish the bar and then continue with a descending C major pentatonic scale. Eb major (from the previous beat) is a minor third from C major. I have been exploring and using minor third relationships to get out of the key and or create different shapes to solo with that I may not normally gravitate towards. In this case all of the notes in the C major pentatonic scale fit nicely over the D7 harmony and help to reestablish the key. As I continue to practice playing different sounds over the same chord, I have been adding more choices to my harmonic palette; integrating more and different sounds in the same timespan is a challenge but offers even more interest to my ear. Often I will expand the length of the V7 dominant chord to encompass the preceding predominant (ii) chord. This allows me more time to create tension until reaching a resolution.

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