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The -> Jazz Scale Suggester System may just be your ticket. It reads BiaB chord changes and presents you with just what you may be looking for.



This is a good thing to add to your practice regimen. While it won't identify the modes, etc. used, it will generate scales over any chords BB is playing and you can follow along with that, enforcing the habit of which scale to "grab" over a chord or smaller group of chord changes, such as a 2-5-1.

A good way to drill these is to start out at whatever Tempo you need in order to sightread along with the suggested scales as they play back. Then, after becoming familiar with that, try Muting the sound of the BB scales and playing them in the same fashion all by yourself. Finally, when you pretty much feel that you that down pretty well, try opening those scales and positions up *musically* by following along with the suggested scale, but altering the thing away from just playing the "right notes" in the linear fashion as depicted. Try playing every other note of the suggested scale, starting with the 1,3,5, etc. odd combinations, with longer note durations, which expands the thing into the domain of the arpeggio. For guitarists, good idea to also practice the suggested scales *in the various different POSITIONS possible, such that you gain the ability to be able to "grab" that scale over the chord from anywhere you happen to already be on the neck.

The Jamie Aebersold website has a link button to some FREEBIES, one of those freebies is likely still posted there, the .pdf "Scale Syllabus" -- just a page or two that plots out the certain scales and modes that work over the certain types of chords that we encounter. That one sheet can really help you to sort out the situation, if used properly over time as part of not only your hands on practicing, but your *mental* practicing, which is actually a large part of preparing yourself to be a great soloist.

There is also a great system of thinking that can help some out along these lines.

There are a lot of different ways to go about the way we perceive musical events, one method is the rote memorization of modes and scales and, at first, following tried and true combinations such as that Scale Syllabus outlines. The caveat here is that it often gets in the way of being able to play a MELODIC sounding solo. Just being able to run the scales and modes at the right time over the "right" chords is the curse of the beginning to intermediate aspiring jazz soloist.

Well, there is a different way to approach the way we think about these things, and that is called the "PENTATONIC PAIRS" system. This method starts with the likely well known "blues scale" (wellknown to most guitar players anyway) and shows a way to generate the modes and scales higher than that pentatonic by using the two whole tone steps hiding inside every Pentatonic scale, whether in Major or minor modes.

There is available a rather excellent online teaching tool, IMO that is done by Willie Works. It is both inexpensive and quite powerful in scope of this subject.

http://www.jazzeveryone.com/

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About Willie Works

His professional career spans forty-five years of performing with such jazz greats as the Woody Herman Orchestra, the Al Belletto Sextet, the Slide Hampton Octet with Freddie Hubbard and George Coleman, the MJT+3 with Frank Strozier and Bob Cranshaw, singer Peggy Lee and many more.

In addition to his international performances, residencies, educational clinics and jazz research, Willie Thomas was active with the International Association of Jazz Educators and was inducted into it’s Hall of Fame in 1994. His “Jazz Anyone” classroom series now published by Alfred Music is still used in schools throughout the country. He lives on Orcas Island, Washington and his interactive “Jazz Everyone” web site puts Willie Thomas back into action.
Enjoy his unique jazz insights as you Play and Learn with his online lesson series



Incidentally, at least the beginnings of how to use the Pentatonic Pairs is there for free, in a video.

*This system, with Willie himself issuing videos that are like having private lessons with a master, someone who has lived the live, done the job day in and day out, able to expound at will on just about any part of the subject of improvisation as regards being able to play the hip modern jazz solo, is surprisingly affordable as well as being one of the coolest ways to "GET THERE" rapidly that I know.

Check him out.


--Mac

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