Justin, I've been teaching music for 30 years, and started studying jazz (I play vibes) about 15 years ago. I've never found anyone that explained altered chords in a such a cogent fashion. You're a fine teacher, as many others recognize here! Best wishes!
Justin, I'm a music teacher, and have YET to find anyone that could explain to me the theory behind #/b 5's and 9's. I've asked many jazz guys, and no one could give me a cogent answer. You really know your stuff, and you're a great teacher!
Never has a teacher on youtube inspired me and taught me how to play jazz so quick as you, my personal thanks to you Justin, thanks for all the lessons on YT and your site!
One way to think about the altered scale is the intervallic relationship between the notes of the scale with the tonic, which when you analyze it, would be: 1 - b2 - b3 - b4 - b5 - b6 - b7, which resembles the locrian mode, except now the fourth is altered, making it a diminished fourth, hence "super locrian". The idea is to memorize the specific alterations of all the different modes; melodic minor or otherwise, so you know what chord is appropriate for whatever scale you're playing.
I completed a bachelor in econ only to find that I really want to go back and study jazz. Thank you so much for making possible for poor college grads like me to study theory on youtube. I started with Marty and moved on to you Justin. I hope to master the guitar much like you have within a couple years. Cheers! I love you Brits!
EXCELLENT lesson. Justin does such a great job of explaining that I understood it the first time through. It might take some time to memorize these concepts and become comfortable with them on the fretboard, but the fact that a self-taught guitarist like me understood it so easily is a testament to Justin's methods.
Whoa, stumbled into this by accident and as someone with relatively no theoretical knowledge of music it blows my mind a bit. I'll start with your lessons from the top, thanks a bunch for doing these videos!
I found the term "altered scale" recently in a book and I wondered for what it should be good. Your explanation is excellent and very helpful for me. Thank you very much.
It's been a really fantastic lesson, Justin! Very clearly explained, as usual. Opened my eyes in less than 12 minutes!) When I'm richer, I promise to contribute to your site, because you do a really great job. Thank you!
Thanks Justin you made this so simple to understand. Great job. This lesson covers the meat without the frills. Now its time to make the gravy. Thanks again.
I think the best thing about this lesson is that I now know that the Altered scales are the equivalente to the melodic minors of the 2nd note in the scale. Since I already know how the melodic minor scale works I can now use it in a whole new way for my playing XD Thanx dude
You are a wonderful teacher, all the pieces are there! I've been using these chords for some time but always struggled with the theory. your perspective on this topic is easy to follow and immediately useful. 5 stars!
when I first saw this vid a while back it did my head in as you said but I just kept it in the back of my mind and forgot about it, moved on, a year later after learning the notes on the fretboard, major scale, how to build chords etc ive come back to it and my brain doesnt hurt at all anymore yay
I think it's awesome how you can see you're a creative person by the way you're writing everything down, using different symbols and writing styles all the time :) It's like improvising :)
Thanks Justin. I think I got my head wrapped around this in the first go... and I'm far from the brightest bulb in the bin! Cheers for laying it down plain and simple. Now for the practical application ... erm hopefully - JA 26?
This is very useful as I am self taught and into jazz guitar. I have several books but it helps to see it being applied in real-time. Thanks for posting.
love your lessons. very systematic and really made it easier to understand and it does make sense .. i can only say to a certain degree because i am still at an intermediate level.
¡Excelente! Es la mejor explicación que he visto en la red en relación a la escala alterada. Tienes una gran capacidad para explicarle a la gente, de tal manera que quien aprende se sienta cómodo. Esa es la verdadera actitud de un buen maestro. Felicitaciones y gracias por compartir este gran video. Saludos.
Great explanation, can't make this complex topic any easier. Some people have a really high math amplitude, if you don't, this step by step analysis is the ticket. THANKS !
Thanks so much Justin, I was like Wow!! When I watch this video it is a scale that I already know but you don't recognize when it is on the 2nd degree form...
When someone starts their post that the content is useless I personally wouldn't call them "genuinely interested." But I'll take your word for it. They come from the tones that cause tension that yearn for resolution. He mentions that this is for the dominant chord (so the V in a II V I progression). By altering that chord (with a #5 or b5 or #9 or b9) it adds even more tension to the dom chord. When you follow with the tonic (the I chord) you feel everything resolve and slide into place.
It all makes sense in the end. excellent lesson. Could you make a lesson on 'quartal harmony' ( chords built from 4th's ) these are great sounding chords and very useful. (great for jazz) when you start to use inversions of these it will cause plenty of brain pain. Thanks.
The IV chord of melodic minor can be borrowed as a dominant. Tensions natural to it sound altered when used as a dominant: that is the #11. It is the USE of tensions AS dominant functions which make them sound "altered". The V chord of harmonic minor has a flat 9 natural to it, and #5 is a natural alternative (actually a b13). The V chord of melodic minor also has a b13 which we can think of as a #5 alternative. These tensions are natural to them, but if borrowed can sound altered.
Fantastic lesson mate. Got to get this into my head but you made it clear and concise. Liked the advice on enharmonic naming. I never got the point of that until now...alphabetical I mean.
wow... you are anwsering to comments... thats really awesome... you can say that im huge fan of your's and your music i wanna thank you for your lessons... they are just perfect. i've been playing guitar a little over year and im doing some super progress(thanks to your lessons) so yeah... hopfully ill be doing my own music soon. thank you a lot. :)
Excellent way of explaining this. I have limited understanding of theory, and I understood it well. Maybe because I was playing it out on my piano while you named it off. Guitar would confuse the crap out of me.
most great jazz players know their thoery but since they are so well versed in it they tend to "forget" it when they play.Its imposible to say that the jazz greats dont know their theory-how do they play guitar that good without even knowing anything(doesnt make sense).Anyways this is a great lesson justin-very well delivered,simple to understand.
Awesome job Justin! I encountered the "altered" scale in some other guys videos and decided to get to the bottom of what it meant. Yours was the first vid I tried and you hit it spot on! BTW you look and talk like my high school buddy Mike Denton who ended up going to high school here in America but was from England originally and went back to become an experimental art video maker as a career.
I think the altered scale makes sense more easily if the tritone-sub relationship is stressed. When we use the altered/superlocrian scale, we are inherently tritone sub'ing (just as when we play diminished lines, we are inherently b9'ing the dominant). Altered scale is synonymous with the tritone sub of straight mixolydian, the one exception being what would otherwise be the problem note. Altered scale fixes that. I'll send an example if it lets me.
@EighteenHertz flat 7 is another way of saying minor 7, you can think of a dominant 7th chord either as a major 7 chord with the 7th lowered a half step (making it a minor 7), or a minor 7th chord with the 3rd raised a half step (making it a major 3rd). Since a major 7th is a semi tone lower than the root, a flat 7 is a whole tone lower, hope that helps
For a good example of how to use an altered scale (jazz minor scale) I would suggest Emily Remler's Advanced Jazz & Latin Improvisation - the end of part 2 and the rest of Parts 3, 4, and 5. She explains when a dom7 resolves to the tonic 1, use the altered scale a half step up. i.e. G7 to CMaj 7 use A flat altered (jazz minor scale). If a dominant 7 doesn't resolve to the tonic use the altered ( jazz minor scale) up a fith. i.e G7 to F7 use the D altered scale for G7 and C altered for F7.
Your videos are awesome, Justin! I've been taking personal lessons, but your videos on youtube really help me when I want to "go back" a bit. It would be really nice if you could send me a link or an e-mail with a couple of exercises that can help me improve my technique and speed! Been playing for six years, but I haven't progressed that much in the speed department. Thanks in advance and keep it up!
So, there's a very accomplished guitarist, who has a CV most of us would envy, who spends some time explaining guitar theory - for free - on RUclips to help people to learn the guitar. And 9 people decide to click "dislike" Tell you what, could all 9 people please come back on and tell us what you've done with your musical career and what you've given back for nothing. If it's more than Justin, all power to you. If it's less. Well, you work it out.
Yes,and by harmonising the melodic minor and using as melodies arpeggios inter weaved+chord substitutions+cadences possibilities,you have the "total"system,ie can possibly play any of the 12 notes and link any chord with musical meaning in any circumstance.You can play tonal on modal or vice-versa.Then you think as a composer on harmonic masses all the time,no more partial concepts like modes,scales, and so on,everything is linked.As long as you can t see the whole,you don t see much unhappily!
Great coverage of the altered scale and altering dominant chords. However, there is just a small point that was reasonably ignored. The harmonic minor scale has a #7 going up and down the scale. For the melodic minor scale, it has a #7 going up and a natural 7 going down. Some soloist use strictly the harmonic minor scale and some use the melodic minor scale. This method does apply to both usages.
Great stuff here Justin :), I've just recently discovered your videos, but I already learned things in short time. Got a question, being a rock based player as much as I love jazz in all forms my final goal is to get into rock fusion (gambale, greg howe, govan) type of playing. I know these players are solid in their music theory too. What are the key differences to focus into? and will you ever go into covering fusion? fusion comping or lines. I found that fusion lessons are rare.
Hurt my brain a little. Kinda reminded me of 8th grade Algebra. The difference? This was fun to learn and more useful (to me) than Algebra. I'm slowly learning jazz and this was a great lesson. Thanks Justin.
Interesting. You can think of the altered scale as a root note, and relative to a major scale it has a flat "everything." Root, b2, b3, b4, b5, b6, b7. Usually noted in altered harmony as root, b2, #2, 3, b5, #5, b7.
![Functioning & Static Chords - How to Play Jazz Guitar Lesson [JA-024]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/ywjb3nNpZ3U/mqdefault.jpg)
![Functioning & Static Chords - How to Play Jazz Guitar Lesson [JA-024]](/img/tr.png)
![Altered Chords Grips - How to Play Jazz Guitar Lesson [JA-026]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/n1s6Qq7LqMc/mqdefault.jpg)
This guy deserves his success, my admiration for him as a musician just gets greater the more i delve into his lessons - Go Justin!!
Justin, I've been teaching music for 30 years, and started studying jazz (I play vibes) about 15 years ago. I've never found anyone that explained altered chords in a such a cogent fashion. You're a fine teacher, as many others recognize here! Best wishes!
More useful stuff from Justin. He explains it in a way that's easy to understand instead of being showing off his knowledge. Best teacher ever.
Justin, I'm a music teacher, and have YET to find anyone that could explain to me the theory behind #/b 5's and 9's. I've asked many jazz guys, and no one could give me a cogent answer. You really know your stuff, and you're a great teacher!
Never has a teacher on youtube inspired me and taught me how to play jazz so quick as you,
my personal thanks to you Justin, thanks for all the lessons on YT and your site!
One way to think about the altered scale is the intervallic relationship between the notes of the scale with the tonic, which when you analyze it, would be: 1 - b2 - b3 - b4 - b5 - b6 - b7, which resembles the locrian mode, except now the fourth is altered, making it a diminished fourth, hence "super locrian". The idea is to memorize the specific alterations of all the different modes; melodic minor or otherwise, so you know what chord is appropriate for whatever scale you're playing.
I completed a bachelor in econ only to find that I really want to go back and study jazz. Thank you so much for making possible for poor college grads like me to study theory on youtube. I started with Marty and moved on to you Justin. I hope to master the guitar much like you have within a couple years. Cheers! I love you Brits!
EXCELLENT lesson. Justin does such a great job of explaining that I understood it the first time through. It might take some time to memorize these concepts and become comfortable with them on the fretboard, but the fact that a self-taught guitarist like me understood it so easily is a testament to Justin's methods.
Whoa, is it you, or am I improvong in my music theory understanding process? I guess it's you! Very simple but deep explanation! Thanks!
Whoa, stumbled into this by accident and as someone with relatively no theoretical knowledge of music it blows my mind a bit. I'll start with your lessons from the top, thanks a bunch for doing these videos!
I found the term "altered scale" recently in a book and I wondered for what it should be good. Your explanation is excellent and very helpful for me. Thank you very much.
It's been a really fantastic lesson, Justin!
Very clearly explained, as usual. Opened my eyes in less than 12 minutes!)
When I'm richer, I promise to contribute to your site, because you do a really great job.
Thank you!
Thanks Justin you made this so simple to understand. Great job. This lesson covers the meat without the frills. Now its time to make the gravy. Thanks again.
I think the best thing about this lesson is that I now know that the Altered scales are the equivalente to the melodic minors of the 2nd note in the scale. Since I already know how the melodic minor scale works I can now use it in a whole new way for my playing XD Thanx dude
I'm glad you're making more advanced lessons again
Justin, this lessson is pure gold. Thank you very much.
You are a wonderful teacher, all the pieces are there! I've been using these chords for some time but always struggled with the theory. your perspective on this topic is easy to follow and immediately useful. 5 stars!
I'm a happy Chappie Justin...you're explanation of the alt. scale is fabulous, as are all of your dissertations on theory. Keep well my man.
when I first saw this vid a while back it did my head in as you said but I just kept it in the back of my mind and forgot about it, moved on, a year later after learning the notes on the fretboard, major scale, how to build chords etc ive come back to it and my brain doesnt hurt at all anymore yay
I think it's awesome how you can see you're a creative person by the way you're writing everything down, using different symbols and writing styles all the time :) It's like improvising :)
this is just what i d been looing for..u r the best jazz teacher.
Good for you man, awesome work. I love that you care to actually help people understand this theory, good on ya. Thanks for this!
Melodic Minor/ Altered Scale = Major Scale w/ b3 (instead of 3)! - Thanx 4 the great lessons Justin! And please make more Jazz lessons!
Well done, Justin! You can explain rather complex stuff in a clear, well structured way!
Good lessons. He takes complex theory and explains things very well in an easy to understand way.
Excellent teacher on these videos.
Thanks Justin. I think I got my head wrapped around this in the first go... and I'm far from the brightest bulb in the bin! Cheers for laying it down plain and simple. Now for the practical application ... erm hopefully - JA 26?
This is very useful as I am self taught and into jazz guitar. I have several books but it helps to see it being applied in real-time. Thanks for posting.
love your lessons. very systematic and really made it easier to understand and it does make sense .. i can only say to a certain degree because i am still at an intermediate level.
Simple and easy, and the best explanation I have seen
¡Excelente!
Es la mejor explicación que he visto en la red en relación a la escala alterada.
Tienes una gran capacidad para explicarle a la gente, de tal manera que quien aprende se sienta cómodo. Esa es la verdadera actitud de un buen maestro.
Felicitaciones y gracias por compartir este gran video.
Saludos.
Great explanation, can't make this complex topic any easier.
Some people have a really high math amplitude, if you don't, this step by step analysis
is the ticket. THANKS !
Man, killer video! Caught onto your stuff yesterday and i've already learned so much. Thank you!
Thanks so much Justin, I was like Wow!! When I watch this video it is a scale that I already know but you don't recognize when it is on the 2nd degree form...
Very clear and organized lesson. Bravo Justin !
Subscribed as soon as you hit the first G7. Gorgeous tone, wonderful lesson.
Brilliant method of teaching. Made a very complicated thing a lotttttttt easier to understand for me. Many thanks. =)
His theory book(PDF) is awesome. I'm about half way done. Very solid
When someone starts their post that the content is useless I personally wouldn't call them "genuinely interested." But I'll take your word for it. They come from the tones that cause tension that yearn for resolution. He mentions that this is for the dominant chord (so the V in a II V I progression). By altering that chord (with a #5 or b5 or #9 or b9) it adds even more tension to the dom chord. When you follow with the tonic (the I chord) you feel everything resolve and slide into place.
Great job Justin.thanks again for sharing your talent.
Looking forward to hearing your album
ooh I can tell you are a really good teacher... your students are very lucky. And WE are very lucky to have you teach us for free! lol
Dude, this video is fantastic, and it helped ALOT. You explained it perfectly. Thanks a bunch!
You, Justin, are the business! thanks a lot for these - I have been finding you're videos EXTREMELY useful. cheers mate!
It all makes sense in the end.
excellent lesson.
Could you make a lesson on 'quartal harmony'
( chords built from 4th's )
these are great sounding chords and very useful. (great for jazz)
when you start to use inversions of these it will cause
plenty of brain pain.
Thanks.
The IV chord of melodic minor can be borrowed as a dominant. Tensions natural to it sound altered when used as a dominant: that is the #11. It is the USE of tensions AS dominant functions which make them sound "altered". The V chord of harmonic minor has a flat 9 natural to it, and #5 is a natural alternative (actually a b13). The V chord of melodic minor also has a b13 which we can think of as a #5 alternative. These tensions are natural to them, but if borrowed can sound altered.
Fantastic lesson mate.
Got to get this into my head but you made it clear and concise. Liked the advice on enharmonic naming. I never got the point of that until now...alphabetical I mean.
nicely put. pretty concise for such an intricate concept. great lesson.
Justin, i loved the way you explain it Great work!!
wow... you are anwsering to comments... thats really awesome...
you can say that im huge fan of your's and your music
i wanna thank you for your lessons... they are just perfect. i've been playing guitar a little over year and im doing some super progress(thanks to your lessons) so yeah... hopfully ill be doing my own music soon. thank you a lot. :)
nice work man, you really putting some good effort in all this.
nicely explained and much appreciated
cheers:)
Excellent way of explaining this. I have limited understanding of theory, and I understood it well. Maybe because I was playing it out on my piano while you named it off. Guitar would confuse the crap out of me.
most great jazz players know their thoery but since they are so well versed in it they tend to "forget" it when they play.Its imposible to say that the jazz greats dont know their theory-how do they play guitar that good without even knowing anything(doesnt make sense).Anyways this is a great lesson justin-very well delivered,simple to understand.
my music theory isnt too great but i surprisingly understood everything..great lesson justin!
Awesome job Justin! I encountered the "altered" scale in some other guys videos and decided to get to the bottom of what it meant. Yours was the first vid I tried and you hit it spot on! BTW you look and talk like my high school buddy Mike Denton who ended up going to high school here in America but was from England originally and went back to become an experimental art video maker as a career.
Fantastic break-down, Justin. Thanks as always!
I agree with the other music teacher. This is excellent!
So well done. Much thanks, Justin.
Very useful and clear explanation. Great job!
Very cool lesson! Very well explained, great teaching!
Excellent explanation, Justin. Nicely done.
Thanks for the tutorial, trying to incorporate into my playing style, but will take some practice. Very helpful.
I think the altered scale makes sense more easily if the tritone-sub relationship is stressed. When we use the altered/superlocrian scale, we are inherently tritone sub'ing (just as when we play diminished lines, we are inherently b9'ing the dominant).
Altered scale is synonymous with the tritone sub of straight mixolydian, the one exception being what would otherwise be the problem note. Altered scale fixes that.
I'll send an example if it lets me.
You're a great teacher mate!
I love this kind of theory, great explanation, Justin!
@EighteenHertz flat 7 is another way of saying minor 7, you can think of a dominant 7th chord either as a major 7 chord with the 7th lowered a half step (making it a minor 7), or a minor 7th chord with the 3rd raised a half step (making it a major 3rd). Since a major 7th is a semi tone lower than the root, a flat 7 is a whole tone lower, hope that helps
This made perfect sense the first time around. Thanks a lot man!
For a good example of how to use an altered scale (jazz minor scale) I would suggest Emily Remler's Advanced Jazz & Latin Improvisation - the end of part 2 and the rest of Parts 3, 4, and 5. She explains when a dom7 resolves to the tonic 1, use the altered scale a half step up. i.e. G7 to CMaj 7 use A flat altered (jazz minor scale). If a dominant 7 doesn't resolve to the tonic use the altered ( jazz minor scale) up a fith. i.e G7 to F7 use the D altered scale for G7 and C altered for F7.
fantastic video. it all makes sense now. thanks for the guitar lessons
Your videos are awesome, Justin! I've been taking personal lessons, but your videos on youtube really help me when I want to "go back" a bit. It would be really nice if you could send me a link or an e-mail with a couple of exercises that can help me improve my technique and speed! Been playing for six years, but I haven't progressed that much in the speed department. Thanks in advance and keep it up!
Great lesson and very easy to understand!!! Thanks
This is the best teaching ever!!!! Thank you so much
this was an easy lesson, it makes perfect sense.
The best explanation I've found. Thank you.
this is pretty easy.. i got it from the first time. thanks a lot, sir!
So, there's a very accomplished guitarist, who has a CV most of us would envy, who spends some time explaining guitar theory - for free - on RUclips to help people to learn the guitar. And 9 people decide to click "dislike"
Tell you what, could all 9 people please come back on and tell us what you've done with your musical career and what you've given back for nothing. If it's more than Justin, all power to you. If it's less. Well, you work it out.
great dude! you are really a good teacher!
My brain didn't hurt at all this video is golden!
Really helpful stuff Justin, you're a saint in sneakers ! Keep up the good work, puhleeeeze...
Yes,and by harmonising the melodic minor and using as melodies arpeggios inter weaved+chord substitutions+cadences possibilities,you have the "total"system,ie can possibly play any of the 12 notes and link any chord with musical meaning in any circumstance.You can play tonal on modal or vice-versa.Then you think as a composer on harmonic masses all the time,no more partial concepts like modes,scales, and so on,everything is linked.As long as you can t see the whole,you don t see much unhappily!
thanks for clearing that up :) I'll just see what fits best
Great coverage of the altered scale and altering dominant chords. However, there is just a small point that was reasonably ignored. The harmonic minor scale has a #7 going up and down the scale. For the melodic minor scale, it has a #7 going up and a natural 7 going down. Some soloist use strictly the harmonic minor scale and some use the melodic minor scale. This method does apply to both usages.
You explained it very well. Nice job.
Nicely explained mate.
Yes, thanks for the information. I subbed as soon as i realized you knew what you were talking about.
Good sub. for 2 5 1 is (e.g. in C): Fmaj7 then Db7 then Bbmaj7. The usage of the modes/scales being discussed would be good to use over it.
Very clear... So coooooool!! Great man!!
Great stuff here Justin :), I've just recently discovered your videos, but I already learned things in short time.
Got a question, being a rock based player as much as I love jazz in all forms my final goal is to get into rock fusion (gambale, greg howe, govan) type of playing. I know these players are solid in their music theory too. What are the key differences to focus into? and will you ever go into covering fusion? fusion comping or lines. I found that fusion lessons are rare.
Saludos desde Puerto Rico,
Excelente Explicacion. NICE
Hurt my brain a little. Kinda reminded me of 8th grade Algebra. The difference? This was fun to learn and more useful (to me) than Algebra. I'm slowly learning jazz and this was a great lesson. Thanks Justin.
Great Justin, tnx!! Greetings from Mx. Memo.
you have thats right! Emily relmer used this scaled over any and all domiants chords
Thank you, man....I really needed this
Really well explained! thanks.
Thanks for explaining so clearly. Good job !
I'm a music minor at GWU and you make this shit easier to follow than my professors do
great lesson! really helps me learning the altered mode!!
YOU ROCK!! ;)
Mind bender for sure.but starting to get it.helpful that I wrote the melodic minor shapes chord harmonies and modes off the scale
earned this sax players sub, thanks for the lesson!
Good sir, you are a blessing.
A clear explanation. thanks.
Interesting. You can think of the altered scale as a root note, and relative to a major scale it has a flat "everything." Root, b2, b3, b4, b5, b6, b7. Usually noted in altered harmony as root, b2, #2, 3, b5, #5, b7.