Learn to understand entire chord symbols and know exactly what alterations/tensions mean and which scale they come from.
A chord symbol consists of a root and quality, but sometimes, there are other things as well, so what is the rest of the information to the right of the chord quality? That is additional chord colour/sound information. These are called alterations or tensions. The alterations signify a different scale than the usual scale applied to major, minor and dominant chords. These three basic chord types each have their own set of available alterations or tensions, and each set aligns with its own scale.
Let us take a moment to clarify between alterations/tensions and extensions. Alterations, what we were talking about in the first paragraph, change the scale that we associate with a chord. But an extension, does not change the scale associated with the chord, it just tells us that instead of playing just G7 for example, play G13, which means use the same scale as G7, but add the 9,11 and 13 to your voicing. If you see 13 written, it means add all extensions up to 13, 9 means add all extensions up to 9, 11 means add all extensions up to 11. But the scale will still be G Mixolydian, just like for G7.
The available set of alterations/tensions for each basic chord type, and the scales that they come from are unique. You will need to memorize which alterations go with which scale if you want to be efficient at reading and understanding chord symbols. Here are all of the available tensions, with their associated scales:
Both Aeolian and Phrygian (the program does not even recognize the chord symbol) are not commonly used in jazz standards nor popular music, but definitely used in folk music of different cultures. Locrian and the 6th mode of melodic minor, are both options available to use with half diminished chords, depending on the context.
As you can see, the dominant chord has the most available tensions, and many different options because of this. Here is a list of the most commonly used dominant chord tension/scale sets:
Mixolydian
Lydian Dominant
Altered
Diminished
Whole Tone
If the information in this article is new to you, start off by reading this article on major modes.
It will introduce you to a few of the chords and modes in this article.
Stay tuned for an article on melodic minor modes, the diminished scale and whole tone scale.
If you have questions, need resources or would like to take lessons, email me at tetyanahar@gmail.com
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