1. Jazz Guitar 4 Beginners: Chords & Scales TCC~ GG Preparata

2. …& Onto our Path to Improvisation
SCALES & MODES
And Chords…
…& Onto our Path to Improvisation

3. SCALES
MAJOR DIATONIC SCALE: That of C, par excellence, in that it is composed by 8 notes, the eighth being the repetition of the first (“an octave apart”)

4. DEGREES OF THE SCALE
1st: Tonic: The most important degree; from the Greek tonós, which means “tension of a string, sound” ~ gravitational center of the tonality
5th: Dominant: After the Tonic, this is the most important degree of the scale; in brief, it is said to be “dominant” because of its centrality and of its “dominating” presence
4th: Subdominant: as implied by the name, this degree is of minor importance; “lies below” the dominating 5th…

5. DEGREES OF THE SCALE II
3rd: Characteristic, Modal, or Mediant: “Mediant” as in a median position between tomic and dominant; “modal” in that it defines the mode, the “mood” of the scale/tonality: major or minor (or absence therof)
7th: Leading tone, of “sensitive”(sensibile): the function of this degree is to “guide” the tonic, which lies half-a-tone above it. Thanks to the sensitive, the scale acquires a completeness that allows it to “conclude” (rersolve) onto the eighth note), which the 7th attractes to itself “irresistibly,” in order to reieterate the scale an octave higher.

6. DEGREES OF THE SCALE III
6th: Submediant, Superdominant (lying above the dominant): This degree is valued by some for its central function, between the Subdominant (4th) and the Tonic (1st); others appreciate its importance for generating the first relative minor of the Tonic
2nd: Supertonic: This is the least important degree of the scale (yet not irrelevant for it has its God-given place in the sequence), which derives from its position (a tone higher than the Tonic)

7. TONALITY
Very, very briefly

8. …”In the Key of…” Each Major Tonality has a relative Minor tonality associated with it (the relative minor) & vice versa (relative major)
E.g., C major A minor (6th, “Natural”)
Consequently: the tonic of the realtive major of a Natural Minor Scale is the 3rd degree of the NMS
In the long evolution of Harmony from the Greeks to our times, by way of the Middle Ages, these two “modes’ were the two essential patterns retained to define what is known as the “Bimodal/Dual Tonality”
These 2 modes contained, in synthesis, all the principal characteristics of the 7 modes.

9. Poly-modal Tonality
In the 1960s, the publication George Russell’s The Lydian Concept of Tonal Organization for Improvisation marks the end of bimodal tonality and a return to medieval tonality, in which each of the seven modes forms a “pole” (a gravitational center of the Diatonic Major Scale…

10. The Greek Modes & Guitar fingerings
F Ionian
Fingering 2:
G Dorian
Fingering 3:
A Phrygian
Fingering 4:
Bb Lydian

11. The Greek Modes & Guitar fingerings II
C Mixolydian
Fingering 6:
D Eolian (Natural Minor)
Fingering 7:
E Locrian

12. The Greek Modes & SIMPLER Guitar fingerings I
F Ionian

13. The Greek Modes & SIMPLER Guitar fingerings II
G Dorian
A Phrygian: Start at the 5th fret(A)
Bb Lydian: same fingering, starting on the second note of the Phrygian Mode (Bb)
FIFTH FRET

14. The Greek Modes & SIMPLER Guitar fingerings III
D Aeolian
E Locrian

15. CHORDS
Minor 7, Maj 7, 7th, Augmented, diminished, etc. Several positions, forms

16. MINOR 7TH FORMS
Bass:
Or with index playing 3rd on the 5th string, 2 frets back .
Intermediate:
Generally, with a barre
High
Other form:
E.g., Cm7

17. DOMINANT 7TH FORMS Bass: “Full” & Intermediate: E.g., G7 E.g., G7 .
High & other forms

18. MAJOR 7TH FORMS Intermediate: High Variation on the Intermediate Bass:.
Other important form:

19. SYNOPSES

20. 13th, Minor b5th (Semi-Dim.)

21. C Diminished

22. Augmented Chords

23. The Intervals in the 7 Modes
Ionian: Maj7, 9…
(9) (11) (13) .
Dorian: m7, m9, m11
1 2 b b7
(9) (11) (13)
Phrygian: Maj7/b5
1 b2 b b6 b7
(b9) (11) (b13)
Lydian: Maj7#11 #
(9) (#11) (13) .
Myxolydian: Dominant chords, 7, 9, 13… b7
(9) (11) (13)
Aeolian: m7#5, m11#5
1 2 b b6 b7
(9) (11) (b13)
Locrian: m7b5
1 b2 b b5 b6 b7
(b9) (11) (b13) .