Melodic Minor Modes

Juampy Juarez explores the modes of the melodic minor scale — often called the jazz minor — one of the most used scales in jazz and fusion since the 1960s. The clinic goes beyond using it for tension over dominant 7 chords: Juampy treats each mode as a melodic and chordal sound in its own right.

What's covered

• The melodic minor formula (1, 2, b3, 4, 5, 6, 7) and playing it across the whole neck
• The seven modes of the scale, starting with melodic minor itself over minor-major 7 chords
• Signature chords inside the mode — the "Henry Mancini chord" (min-maj9) and the min-maj chord with an added 6th, sounds used by Bill Evans, Herbie Hancock, and McCoy Tyner
• Thinking in tonality — connecting chords, modes, triads, and arpeggios instead of scales and chords divorced from each other
• Linear ideas and chords applied over blues, standards, and simple vamps, with a demonstration on Stella by Starlight
• Recognizing this sound in players like Pat Martino, John Scofield, John Coltrane, John Stowell, and John Abercrombie

For players who want to understand post-bebop harmony and start sounding modern — learning the melodic minor modes in their whole extension, by ear and on the fretboard.