The ALTERED SCALE EXPLAINED for JAZZ PIANO

[@bluzdawg]

One of the BEST instructional videos I've found on you tube - juicy steak without a lot of "salad".

[@jazztutorial]

Melrick, this is one of the nicest comments ever. I'm so happy to hear these videos are helping you through the areas you've been struggling with. I love hearing that my videos are helping! Lots more in the pipeline so strap in!! Julian

[@lesryan2367]

I really enjoyed your excellent video, Julian. I've been involved in jazz for over 60 years and I've never seen a more lucid (and melodic!) explanation of the altered scale and its application. Your video is 10 minute and twenty seconds of pure gold!

[@thesaxman]

as has been said below, Julian, you are demystifying the hard core jazz theory into something understandable...the more I watch I start to get the idea....as a sax player, now I've got to brush up on melodic minor scales , as a subscriber, cant' wait till your melodic minor lesson..Cheers Jimu

[@cldavis33]

All those endless discussions out there, and this SIMPLE, clear explanation with some simple examples just blows everything else I have read away. Fellas - get those melodic scales going with the flat 3rd and let's hit the woodshed!

[@horowizard]

This is the best ten minutes on KZbin.

[@michaeldunagan8268]

BRILLIANT! Well Explained. Spent money on books and never completely learnes how the altered chords and scales worked. Your video taught me in 13 minutes. Thqnk You!

[@jazztutorial]

Exactly! Well observed. G altered scale is the same as Db lydian-dominant scale: G altered = G Ab Bb B Db Eb F Db lydian-dominant = Db Eb F G Ab Bb B So the altered scale creates the same sound as tritone substitution - the only difference is the bass note - G or Db, which doesn't make much difference at all. So whether you play the altered scale over the V chord (G7altered), or you apply tritone substitution to the V chord and play Db7#11 instead, you create the same sound. Very well observed!

[@Songwirer]

More than a year and a half of being your student and finally... The lesson I've always wanted!!!! Crystal clear as usual. A million thanks :D

[@jazztutorial]

It will sound better if you agree with the guitarist beforehand that you're going to be playing the altered scale. Guitar and saxaphone are in the same range pretty much, so it's really going to clash if you're playing out and he's playing in. The playing out sound works best when you have you're own register (low / mid / high) to yourself. Otherwise it really clashes. So it's normal to agree with the other musicians before you go all altered!

[@alexmantua]

You're absolutely right, always playing out of the chord starts to be boring after a while. Now and then you have to return to the tonality. There has to be a nice variation. Great lesson.

[@jazztutorial]

Thanks, that's the key point, that sound of in / out / in / out, rather than out out out out!

[@Siralantoon]

Fantastic lesson! This is so much easier to grasp when you can play the chord with one hand and hear (and see!) the altered notes at the same time. This is a real struggle on guitar! Many thanks for unlocking this mystery!

[@jaywbaker]

Fantastic as always Julian. You have excellent presentation skills and a knack for clear, concise communication. Julian's tutorials are very effective for me in large part because they match up well with my own humble and far distant piano objectives. Request for down the road ... something on pedal technique. I admire your approach and this subject is not as frequently broached, especially in a jazz / solo jazz context.

[@jazztutorial]

Thanks so much for this! It means a lot to hear. Wait till you see the new videos - The wife was out of town so I've been filming all week!

[@louisthompson1020]

Hi I'm an intermediate jazz trumpet player , and I tell ya that your videos really help me., Thanks!

[@jazztutorial]

Thanks Roath! This one seems popular with guitarists, I try to make these videos relevant to all instruments, focussing on the music theory, just using piano to demonstrate. Thanks for the comment!

[@PIANOSTYLE100]

There is a divide between guitarist and piano. It is very helpful for a guitarist to carry a keyboard pix .As I have taught guitar..I can tell guitarist that this is handy..even if they don't play the piano. The six string guitar is E A D G B E. All major 4ths until G to B,( a major 3). A full C chord Fret Descending.(0 is open string,) is 332003. G( C E G)C E. (rarely played) From G base (6 string,) the notes are (5, Root, 3, 5, Root, 3)..Guitarist with minimal piano look at the piano as hard..Pianist with little or no guitar..the same. Imagine a C7b9 to a Guitarist. It doesn't have C in it. Both can be confusing at first. On the piano as almost all pianist know a C7 Is just C E G Bb.. (1 3 5 b7.) It takes awhile to understand that the b9 is just a b2..or #1..never have seen that yet.its simple make a C7 and move the C to Db. Looking at it on the piano. (C# E G Bb) or C# Dim7 ..stacked min 3rds ..I see an A7b9 sans the A. (b9 3 5 b7).. Pianist see this fast ..they see sheet music as a piano turned sideways. Guitar does not do that. Emin7b5 is ( E G Bb D) easy to see on piano. ( Root b3 b7 b5). This is seen horizontally left to right. Guitarist( if they don't know the chord, might go to The A or 5th string and construct it. From string 5 A string to string 2( B)..this is the way it can be approached without looking at a chord book. First I'll give the chord. ( X 7 8 7 8 X), (X E Bb D b3 X). A Pianist because of the horizontal layout sees this immediately as a C9. (C E G Bb D).. is an inversion.. .

[@ErGoyoTV]

Essential. So many applications for this. This video is how I learned to use an alt scale over a ii-b5 V-alt i . I went from 0 to knowing when to play out of the scale. Combine this with using pentatonic, whole-tone or dim scales over the V... unlimited possibilities. THANKS for sharing.

[@jazztutorial]

Thanks so much Justinus, I put a lot of time into planning the recent videos and I'm glad you noticed, means a lot for me to hear!

[@moviemakerlover09]

Bought your book, been at a wall for years breaking out of the diatonic world. Finally breaking out. Thanks so much for all your hard work.

[@jazztutorial]

Thanks so much - I'm really pleased my book has helped you break through a plateau - makes me very happy to hear.

[@jazztutorial]

Marco, you're exactly right - I edited out a big section explaining the relation of this scale with tritone substitution (I thought the same, it went out on quite a big limb in the original video and it was more engaging when I cut it out), but here's what I would have said: Say you play a ii-V-I in C. On the V chord (G dom 7) you play G altered scale (G Ab Bb B Db Eb F). You're actually playing the same notes as Db lydian-dominant scale (Db Eb F G Ab Bb B) ...

[@jazztutorial]

Thanks so much Philip, really glad you liked this one. Got a lot more like this coming soon!

[@jazztutorial]

You're welcome Casey! And that's a great way to think about it, as the 7th mode of the melodic minor. I'm planning a video on the melodic minor modes soon. Thanks for the lovely comment!

[@770IBANEZ]

best piano teacher on you tube!

[@impeccablecaverns]

Just discovered this video - wish I had seen it years ago! What a great breakdown, I've been banging my head against the wall for years wondering why I can't quite 'get' this stuff. After watching this video I went and played over a ii-V-I and it actually sounded like jazz! And I'm a guitarist so your explanations are so good and clear they transcend the instrument too. Can't wait to watch all your vids! Thank you for taking the time and for having the talent and understanding to communicate this so well.

[@macisr]

As always, you are the best teacher to understand something as if it was simple.

[@jazztutorial]

Thanks Jay, this means a lot to hear. Really glad you enjoyed this one. I'm planning a video on performance and technique so I will try to include some advice on pedaling. Stay tuned!

[@PIANOSTYLE100]

I need some help on pedaling.

[@jazztutorial]

Thanks Owen, really great for me to hear this. I think I'm finding the right pace in my videos, I appreciate the comments

[@jazztutorial]

Thanks Marcelo, really pleased these help you learn both music and english!

[@MelrickBogier]

Julian you are indeed my personal jazz piano teacher. Tonight I watched this video as well as the paradiddles, pentatonics & "playing out of scale" video and I've learned a ton! These were both theories that I've been struggling to work through. Thanks soooo much!!! Thanks for the video and the growth!!!

[@d5bailey55]

Thumbs Up!! I enjoyed the video, at the 7 minute mark enjoyed that progression of in and out...blessings

[@jazztutorial]

There are a couple of good upper structure voicings for altered chords, so for C7alt: C E Bb with an b6 major triad in the right (Ab major) or with a (b5 major) Gb major triad in the right. My old intro music uses a pattern which alternates between the Ab and Gb triads over C E Bb.

[@winddealer1]

Thanks for simplifying the brain work for us. Makes it more inspiring. Melodic Minor - somewhat like a diminished whole tone scale.

[@fitforsoccer000]

I love your once and for all series.

[@ijohnny.]

Excellent lesson. Couldn't be better.

[@modong730]

You are really good you make it simple and easier to explain when we want to use altered

[@jazztutorial]

Thanks Jimu, really means a lot to hear this, and lets me know what works. Really pleased there is an audience for this advanced stuff, my heart wouldn't be in it if I had to dumb things down! Stay tuned for the melodic minor video, I'll be discussing all 7 melodic minor modes, just as I did for the church modes video.

[@joema6550]

Definitely one of the most concise explanations of the altered scale and its uses that I have ever seen. Nicely done sir! I will be applying this to my guitar work forthwith. :)

[@justinus]

this is the best explanation I've ever known! Thanks Julian

[@caseymusic]

Beautiful application of the altered scale. I never thought of applying this scale this way. I would've played the scale over some altered dominant chord. (i.e.,C7#5#9 for example). The simplest way of thinking of the altered scale is to think of it as the 7th mode of the melodic minor scale. That works best for me. Your application gives instrumentalists like me the chance to put down some very colorful stuff in my solo. Once again thank you.

[@jazztutorial]

Loved waking up to this comment, really pleased this is what you needed. Glad to be of help. thanks :)

[@jazztutorial]

You're welcome Steven! Thanks for the comment. Really pleased this one is popular with guitarists too!

[@jazztutorial]

Thanks so much! Really pleased you're learning from these videos, stay tuned, I've got some really good ones coming soon :)

[@jazztutorial]

Thanks Paul! Great hearing from you, as always

[@jazztutorial]

So glad to hear this - thanks! Make yourself at home, I've got quite a few hours worth of videos. You might like my 'Church Modes' video, and my 'Jazz Scales video', which have been popular.

[@PIANOSTYLE100]

I am watching and rewatching. Db Eb Gb Ab Bb C Fb C For reference.. C Alt scale. I will be commenting as I go. I like your color scheme. The b3( Fb), on the Db melodic minor is key here as it it is the major third of C. By playing the right hand chord as just Root C E(Fb) and b7(Bb) and eliminating the G ( will be dissonant anyways,) It helps one to always be cognizant (in all 12 keys,) of the notes to avoid and play. I am just learning this so I use the dimin. whole tone scale. It took a while for me to figure what the books were talking about. Then I realized only the 1/2 whole dim scale fit the first 4 notes. Only one allowed the b9..the 1/2 (Db)..Only the 1/2 whole has a major 3 (E). The whole steps is just Gb Ab Bb C. As you say in the video #11 b13 b7 and Root C.. which is the major 7of Db. Not an expert or proficient with this scale..writing things out seems to help.

[@alexdouglas7868]

Brilliant - really cool and beautifully articulated 👍

[@premasru]

There's a wealth of info in the video and loads more in the comments too. Thanks so much.

[@rdevraj9787]

I'm impressed by the explanation of alters scale teaching

[@jazztutorial]

Glad to hear, that's what I was going for, to answer everything in one organized video. Thanks for the comment!

[@jazztutorial]

Thanks Joe! I'm really happy to hear this, glad it helped :)

[@pstash1993]

Nice lesson. Like the in/out of scales idea.

[@TimAdshead]

Thanks a million for this great tutorial - instantly made my playing a bit better !

[@jimschulte7957]

Excellent presentation...clear and concise!

[@jazztutorial]

Thanks Jim! I appreciate it - glad this one helped!

[@YoBoView]

Hi, i very like your tutorials. It helps me a lot. Thank

[@Exinamust89]

This TOTALLY stepped up my game, thank you so much for teaching this to the masses :D

[@jazztutorial]

Thanks Jose! It's been on my list too for a long time, I just wanted to lay down some of the groundwork before covering this topic which is quite advanced. Great hearing from you as always!

[@jazztutorial]

Thanks Alan - I'm really pleased to hear this one helped you!

[@yllenlipuma8999]

best explanation ever!👍👍👍👍👍👍Thank you 💞💙

[@chrole1912]

Very interesting and helpful! Thanks especially for pointing out the cool sounding fourth voicing for altered chords!

[@jazztutorial]

Hi Seeble, well spotted - I actually played the A flat melodic minor scale but starting on Db - I did this to highlight how many notes are different from the scales I played over the ii and I chords, which didn't seem as obvious if I jumped up and played the Ab melodic minor scale. When editing the video I realized I should have explained that that was what I was doing. Does this make sense? Julian

[@paulwilliams9660]

Your tips are the best i have ever seen brilliant

[@owenerz1]

Really great video. I'm a guitarist and already know the theory behind the altered scale but I love ur measured explanation. Great stuff.

[@andrulo2051]

Hi! I'm a guitar player and this is by FAR the best tutorial I found about this scale and it's usage. It was really really clear about which notes to emphasize. Greetings from Argentina :)

[@jazztutorial]

Thanks Shubus, glad you liked it!

[@bernardclifford8708]

Great teaching.I always enjoy your lessons & progressions. I found this note on Wikipedia which makes it easy to remember the altered scale : " One way to obtain the altered scale is by raising the tonic of a major scale by a half step; for example, taking the tonic of the B-major scale, B-C♯-D♯-E-F♯-G♯-A♯-B, B major scale with sharps. and raising the tonic by a half step produces the scale C-C♯-D♯-E-F♯-G♯-A♯-C," .That said,it would be cool if you can put together a book/CD/DVD with jazz chord progressions like the ones you use on your compositions.

[@thephunk1]

You're [seriously] a great teacher! Thanks!

[@jazztutorial]

Thanks so much for the encouragement George, gives me a lot of energy to make new videos and couldn't do it without inspiring comments like this, really pleased this one helped you!

[@MehulPandit]

Hi! I am a guitarist and I attended Berklee's introduction to improvisation course by Gary Burton. He too talked about Altered scales. Because of the time limitation, he wasn't able to talk much about it. Your lesson so beautiful. I know you know it. This video added even more to my knowledge about Altered chords. Everything explained so beautifully. Einstein said, if you cannot explain simply, you haven't understood well enough. I think you really explained very simply. Do u accept request too?

[@jazztutorial]

Thanks Tony! Glad to hear so many of my viewers are guitar players! lol

[@gregoryswift9573]

Great tip on visualizing the half step up melodic minor. Thank you

[@BigEdWo]

i find this to be one of the best music channels i have come across so far. here is someone who teaches the little secrets others don't do. very inspiring. thank you so much. i can't praise it enough. i'm not a piano player, but when i listen to chick corea's crystal silence or to esbjorn svensson's playing i find the piano to be the superior instrument.

[@jazztutorial]

Thanks so much Ed. Really pleased these videos help you. Piano is one of few instruments which lays out the notes visually, low to high - for me I need a visual to remember things by, so I can't imagine teaching music theory on any other instrument. Stay tuned

[@jazztutorial]

Thanks Allen, glad you liked this one! I know what you mean, the sound is completely different for major and minor keys. I need to get more indepth on the ear training, I've had some ideas that will help people, stay tuned for those!

[@brianallancobb]

Thanks! Especially for the idea of alternating m7 and Alt7 chords.

[@jazztutorial]

Thanks, I appreciate it. That's what I try to do, explain it so that everyone can understand it.

[@jazztutorial]

Thanks Tangoman, really appreciate the comment, glad you liked this one! And I'll loo into the Great Diminished DVD now, see what I can come up with! Thanks

[@jwalker7277]

That line was so beautiful...meaning your 2 5 alt going down..i play trumpet along with you to learn!!!

[@Elintasokas]

Once again a big thank you! Thinking of it as a melodic minor half a step above really simplifies things.

[@josemolina959]

Great lesson! Thanks. 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼🎹

[@jazztutorial]

Thank you Mehul - this is a lovely comment for me to read. I think of that Einstein quote often. It is very true. Really pleased this video added to your understanding. I definitely accept requests - I have a list of videos in the pipeline, but I always make a note of requests, and if I think I can do a good job, and that people will find them useful then I do a video on them. Just post below any video and I'll read it :)

[@roathripper]

I'm a guitarist looking for resources on the altered scale and this is an awesome vid, thanks.

[@ferce889]

I absolutely love your keyboard hand vibrato!! XD

[@randyknisely8979]

I'm kind of an old timer but just in case you havn't discovered it yet, I was playing along with the Horace Silver album Song for my Father and low and behold the tune Que Passe's melody is an Ab altered scale over a Db bass latin groove, been digg'n it all night! Thanks for the video...

[@kemetman1]

Just the type of demo and explanation that I need. Thanks a great deal. Peace.

[@BellEndBrass]

Excellent; clear, parsimonious and effective.

[@allenrobnett8348]

Superb, as always. Always very insightful, and expertly presented. In trying to improve my ability to play by ear, I am working on "hearing" the key-center (tone-center) progression of songs. I find that particularly challenging when the current center is in a minor key.

[@chipispowdercoatingcharles8444]

Excellent lesson as a guitar guy i find listening to piano lessons are a bit better explained

[@Jo-cl6ok]

Thanks for the great tutorial! - it’s much quicker to think of it as the melodic minor a half step up like you said 👍

[@jazztutorial]

You're welcome Jemalali, I appreciate the thanks!

[@stevenshapiro7332]

Wonderful lessons....its transformed my jazz playing....I thought I was doing all right until I watched these!!

[@valentinaerazo]

fantastic!! covered answers to questions i'd had. thankyou!

[@wangtang55]

Thank you so much for your videos!! I'm very bad at sight reading and have done most things aurally (I know it's lazy/cheap) but your videos really cut through the jargon and make things simple to understand! Thank you!!

[@jazztutorial]

Hi Alex - not at all - playing by ear is a far more valuable skill than reading music. Few people master playing by ear, but that's the key to anything. I'll be covering ear training soon.

[@wangtang55]

Thanks!!!

[@Greglnt]

Simply fantastic! Keep it up

[@jazztutorial]

continued... The lydian dominant scale is what I would normally play over any dominant chord, by default. So whether I play G7altered in the ii-V-I, or I choose to do tritone substitution and play ii-bII-I with the lydian dominant scale on the bII chord, they both create the same sound. The only difference is the bass note, but that hardly matters, it doesn't really change the sound. Does this make sense?

[@Pianodog]

Yah, my band plays Jazz-Rock and even we like to use this in-out technique even in rockier songs. Really cool. We also tend to play more complicated chords.

[@raicho20]

I never quite realized the importance of this scale! It's great to know, because now some of these chords make more sense. In a 1000 years I might learn how to improvise!

[@BrunoNeureiter]

Have you learnt that?

[@raicho20]

@@BrunoNeureiter hahahaha wow. What a cringy comment from 16 year old me. Yes, yes, i have indeed understood the importance of all the melodic minor scales. Would not say i have «learned to improvise» cause, I still have a lot of work to do tho, and its a difficult scale to make 100% use of. Just making it nice and natural. Transcribing has helped and listening to more jazz.

[@BrunoNeureiter]

@@raicho20 I've tried this melodic minor concept and it sucks. It sounds very very bad. Listen to my point of view. Over a G7 chord you can play all the diatonic notes (C D E F G A B). If you add the altered notes (C# D# F# G# A#) it becomes the chromatic scale. There are no wrong notes. Just different kind of tensions. So stick to the diatonic scale and throw in a bunch of tensions whenever you're trying to make more tension. Music is tension and release. Don't think too much about this. Have a large image of what you're doing. It'll come natural over time. Learn how to do a walking bass line in the left line. It helps a lot.

[@raicho20]

@@BrunoNeureiter In essence you end up in the same spot as if you'd have figured out the melodic minor concept, though?Because really it's about how you approach it and break it down in your brain. I use a combination of what you said and just purely thinking melodic minor. Reason is that a lot of phrases I have learned are purely melodic minor phrases, and they sound great. So I think in the end it's more about phrases than "this scale and that scale". But it sure is nice to have a system to explain it to yourself with. I agree, it's a good exercise to play a walking bass in your left hand.

[@brandoncarter3985]

Finally somebody gave me what i was looking for!!! Thank you so much!!!

[@jazztutorial]

Thank you Brandon - really pleased this video did the job!

[@espr7564]

Top video, beautifully explained.

[@deschanelgordon7564]

Thanks. I found this very useful. I'll make sure to put this in my playing

[@markustheaters]

This is great!! Thanks for explaining this clearly.

[@alexsimper4153]

I think I just leveled up as a musician, great video!

[@antoniogade9075]

You're the best man! Thanks a lot :)

[@jazztutorial]

Thanks so much Antonio, just seeing this now. Glad this one helped you!