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Modes of Melodic Minor

Builds on Modes of the Major Scale

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Just as the major scale generates seven modes, the (ascending) melodic minor scale generates its own family of seven modes — widely used in jazz improvisation for the extra tension and color they add over specific chord types.

Two of the most commonly named: Lydian dominant (melodic minor's 4th mode) — a major scale with a raised 4th and lowered 7th, used over dominant 7th chords with a ♯11; and the altered scale (melodic minor's 7th mode) — used over altered dominant chords, containing a flatted 9th, sharped 9th, sharped 11th, and flatted 13th all at once.

💡 Tip

Rather than memorizing all seven melodic-minor modes as isolated formulas, learn them the same way as major-scale modes — as melodic minor, renumbered from a different starting degree — and listen for which single note differs from a mode you already know.

⚠️ Common mistake

Assuming melodic minor's descending form (which reverts to natural minor in classical usage) applies in a jazz context. Jazz theory almost always uses the same ascending melodic-minor pitches in both directions.

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📝 Summary

Melodic minor generates seven modes the same way the major scale does. Lydian dominant and the altered scale are the two most commonly used in jazz, each defined by one or two altered degrees relative to familiar scales.

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