Harmonizing

Melodic Minor
Just as we were able to harmonize the major scale by extracting chord tones from
each of its modes, we can do the same with the modes of melodic minor. Let's
review the construction of each of these in figure 1.
Figure 1

Figure 1 shows each scale's chord tones as having function relative to the root of the
melodic minor scale, hence the sequential starting scale degree numbers listed in
order for each mode. However, in order to define each individual chord type in its
harmonization, it makes much more sense to respell each modal formula so that its
function is based on the first note of each mode being treated as a '1', or root. (This is
the same enharmonic process that we underwent in evaluating each chord in the
harmonization of the major scale in level 1.) See figure 2.
Figure 2

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Using figure 2, we can now extract the chord tones 1, 3, 5, and 7 from each scale to
determine the order of chord types in the harmonization. See figure 3.
Figure 3

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The resultant harmonization of the melodic minor scale is shown in figure 4.

Figure 4

You have probably already noticed that this harmonization presents us with a couple
of new chord types not found in the harmonization of the major scale: Minor Major7
and Major 7#5. Let's look at a comparison of all of our chords' constructions in figure
5.
Figure 5

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With the new chord types come new fingerings to play them. Figure 6 shows one
possible fingering for each of the chords in this harmonization.
Figure 6

Played in sequence, we can harmonize the melodic minor scale on the fingerboard.
Video Clip 1

We will be learning arpeggio forms that correspond to each of these in a future

lesson, but it is a good idea to go ahead and get acquainted with locations for each
of these chord tones on your fingerboard.

Substitution Concepts
As you can see, melodic minor's harmonization shares several of the same chord
types found in the harmonization of the major scale. Fortunately, this makes learning
to play its sequence of chords and arpeggios much easier. Like chord types between
the 2 harmonizations also presents us with more scalar options that can be thrown
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into our 'bag of tricks.' Let's analyze this a little further.

Recall that in our study of the major scale, we learned that there were instances in
which different modes that shared the same chord type could be substituted for one
another in improvisation. For example, we learned that the Lydian scale can be
substituted for Ionian when improvising over major 7 chords. Substitution legitimacy
was based on two things:
1. Lydian and Ionian both have a root, major 3rd, perfect 5th, and major 7th.
2. Lydian's #4 does away with the harmonic tension that results from the half step
distance when the 4th degree of the Ionian mode was played against the 3rd of the
major 7 chord. The sound of Lydian over a major 7 chord is a more 'hip' and
characteristic sound in jazz, and offers an option for getting away from the 'Mary
Poppins' nature of the major scale.
Generally speaking, two scales that share the same chord tones can often be
substituted for one another when improvising. HOWEVER, I must stress that you
shouldn't just arbitrarily be swapping scales with like chord tones while improvising,
especially if you want to play authentically within the jazz idiom. There are definitely
some substitutions that are more appropriate than others, and I will be shedding
much more light on this subject as we move through this course. That being said, it is
still helpful to take inventory of the corresponding chord and mode types we have
covered thus far. See figure 7.
Figure 7

Some of the matches you see between harmonizations we will use as substitution
options; but you'll also see later that sometimes it is appropriate to make
substitutions using scales that correspond with completely different chord types.
We'll deal with this a lot in our studies of the V chord, but for now, let's focus on the
harmonization of melodic minor and learning how each individual mode corresponds
to an individual chord type.

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