Playing improvised melodies is a much easier and sounds a lot better when you know what scale you should be playing from.
For many songs, you can use the same scale throughout the whole song, and finding this scale from the chord sequence of the song is described in the previous topic.
However for jazz and blues styles, you may need to change the scale you are using for improvisation during the song, and sometimes with every chord change.
In these cases, you should select a related scale of the current chord in the song.
Let's say we have reached a point in the song where the chord Dm6 is playing, and we need to find a scale to improvise with.
Step-By-Step
Step 1
First of all, you need to be in Relations View. Check the bottom of the workspace and make sure that the Relations tab is selected. If it isn't, click on it.
Step 2
Relations View can operate in three different modes. We need to make sure we are in Chord and Scale mode, with the following command:
| Button | Menu |
| Relations-Chord and Scale |
Step 3
Now, select the chord you are starting with in the light blue Chord Matrix. This is usually placed in the lower left of the workspace.
Each cell in the matrix represents the scale based on the chord type in the row heading and the root note in the column heading.
So, we need to select the cell in the D column and the m6 row, as shown.
Step 4
The sound of the chord will be played and at the same time, blue dots appear in the Scale Matrix, to show which scales are related to our chord.
Major scales are generally the best choice where they are available, so we now know that we can use C Major to improvise over a Dm6 chord.
The other highlighted scales could be used instead, and might add a more interesting flavour to your melodies.
Step 5
More advanced players might be aware that the Major scale can be played in different modes. The other Major scale modes are activated if you are using ChordWizard at Intermediate or Advanced level.
In this case, the most appropriate scale to use would be D Dorian (which is equivalent to C Major), since it shares the same root note as the chord Dm6.
See Also
