Chops: Intermediate Theory: Advanced Lesson Overview: • Learn about the entire harmonic universe of the melodic minor scale. • Understand how to match the different modes to the appropriate chords. • Develop a deeper understanding of altered dominants. Click here to download a printable PDF of this lesson's notation. |
It's interesting how scales develop their names. In particular, what makes Super Locrian super? I'm sure there are a whole host of reasons/theories surrounding that one, but let's save that for another time. Today I want to focus on a different scale that somehow has earned the most admirable of adjectives—the melodic minor scale. The name might lead one to believe that this particular group of notes is the only way to be “melodic" on your instrument. Can we all agree that isn't the case? Cool. Let's move on.
The ascending melodic minor scale is one of the three traditional minor scales. It is constructed with a W–H–W–W–W–W sequence of whole-steps (W) and half-steps (H). In the key of C that would give us C–D–Eb–F–G–A–B or 1–2–b3–4–5–6–7 as shown in Ex. 1. Other ways to wrap you brain around it could be a simple major scale with a b3 or natural minor with raised 6 and 7 scale degrees.
It has a bright sound due to the four consecutive whole-steps in the top half of the scale and is used primarily in jazz to create altered dominant seventh chords and modes that you can't get from the major scale system. Ex. 2 provides you with four common two-octave melodic minor scale patterns. This is an easy way to get the sound of the scale under your fingers and in your ears.
After learning how a scale is built, the next step is to dig into the diatonic thirds, triads, and seventh chords it creates. The better your understanding of the harmony of the scale, the easier it will be to compose and improvise with it. Essentially, figure out what's there, and then figure out how you're going to use it.
In Ex. 3, I've systematically mapped out all the diatonic thirds across five different adjacent string sets. I jumped down the octave when needed, but playing through these will help give you a more horizontal view of the scale. Check out that run of major thirds in the middle—that is the sound of the jazz melodic minor.
Click here for Ex. 3
Next up are the diatonic triads (Ex. 4). This linear view of the triads helps me see how each one is related to one another. The resulting harmonic pattern is Cm–Dm–Ebaug–F–G–Adim–Bdim. Playing through these triads a few times will also help outline the brightness of the scale.
Click here for Ex. 4
What's next? Why, seventh chords of course! In Ex. 5, I wrote out voicings for the chords with roots on the 5th and 6th strings. Here, the harmonic pattern is a bit more complicated: Cm(maj7)–Dm7–Ebmaj7(#5)–F7–G7–Am7b5–Bm7b5. If you haven't seen a m(maj7) chord before, it's simply a minor triad with a natural 7 on top.
Click here for Ex. 5
The previous examples show these dyads and chords lined up and down the neck. You can obviously play the notes together or separately using different rhythms and string patterns. In Ex. 6, Ex. 7, and Ex. 8 I've outlined a few different practice patterns for this scale. I didn't do all the work for you, but I think you will get the gist of it pretty quickly. Over the years I've worked on playing these structures as ascending, descending, and alternating between the two. Obviously, there are other intervals and chord structures that you could work on (and you should), but because most jazz harmony is built by stacking thirds, this is a good place to start. Practicing in this way increase your technical ability, and you'll have something ready to play if you're not inspired by anything else at the moment.
Click here for Ex. 6
Click here for Ex. 7
Click here for Ex. 8
Now, let's dive into the modes of the jazz melodic minor scale. In Ex. 9, I've written out a fingering for each one of the diatonic modes and below I've written out their corresponding formulas.
- C melodic minor 1–2–b3–4–5–6–7
- D Dorian b2 1–b2–b3–4–5–6–b7
- Eb Lydian augmented 1–2–3–#4–#5–6–7
- F Lydian dominant 1–2–3–#4–5–6–b7
- G Mixolydian b6 1–2–3–4–5–b6–b7
- A Locrian #2 1–2–b3–4–b5–b6–b7
- B Super Locrian 1–b2–b3–b4–b5–b6–b7
Click here for Ex. 9
Suppose you need to find the parent key of A Lydian dominant. Simply find the melodic minor scale that has an A as the fourth note. Spoiler: It's E melodic minor. In Ex. 10, each mode of the jazz melodic minor scale is played in order starting on C. Playing them from the same root allows you to actually hear how different each mode sounds. When played diatonically, it's easy to miss their individual characteristics. Memorizing the order of the modes will help you find the parent key of any single melodic minor mode.
Click here for Ex. 10
The next step, of course, is figuring out how and where to use these modes. You have to think about chord type and chord function, just like the modes of any other scale. The melodic minor scale can be used over any min(maj7), m6, or any chord that functions as the tonic in a minor key. That means if you're playing a blues in C minor, you can use the C melodic minor scale. Check out Ex. 11 to hear what this mode sounds like over a simple Im–V progression in C minor.
Click here for Ex. 11
The second mode, Dorian b2 can be used over a IIm7 chord. It's a darker sound compared to the Dorian mode due to the b2. In Ex. 12, I'm playing the A Dorian b2 (G melodic minor) over an Am13 vamp, focusing on triads and thirds to bring to the 13th and b2 sound of the mode.
Click here for Ex. 12
If the Lydian mode is bright enough for you, then get into the Lydian augmented scale, the third mode of melodic minor. Ex. 13 uses the E Lydian Augmented (C# melodic minor) over a G#/E to F#/E vamp. I'm still utilizing thirds and triads to get the sound of the mode, but also targeting chord tones of Emaj7(#5).
Click here for Ex. 13
Jumping ahead to Locrian #2, this mode is used over m7(b5) chords to get a slightly brighter half-diminished sound with a little more tension. Ex. 14 uses the F# Locrian #2 mode (A melodic minor) over an F#m7(b5) vamp, exploring the #2 sound in a couple different positions.
Click here for Ex. 14
The next three examples explore dominant seventh sounds and each example is over a IIm7–V–I–VIm progression in D major. First up is Lydian dominant in Ex. 15. When confronted with a 7(#11) chord, this is the mode to use. It's almost identical to Mixolydian, but with a raised fourth scale degree. Over the V chord, I'm playing A Lydian dominant (E melodic minor), and B Lydian dominant (F# melodic minor) over the VI chord.
Click here for Ex. 15
In Ex. 16 we dive into Mixolydian b6. Again, it's almost identical to Mixolydian but with a flatted 6th scale degree. Over the V chord I'm playing A Mixolydian b6 (D melodic minor) and over the VI I'm using B Mixolydian b6 (E melodic minor).
Click here for Ex. 16
Last but not least is Super Locrian. Even though this mode builds a m7(b5) chord, it is often used over a dominant chord to get all the altered tones (b9, #9, b5, #5), hence the “altered scale" name. It's also known as the diminished whole tone scale because it begins like a half-whole diminished scale and ends with whole tones. In Ex. 17, I'm playing A Super Locrian (Bb Melodic Minor) over the V chord and B Super Locrian (C Melodic Minor) over the VI chord.
Click here for Ex. 17
The jazz melodic minor scale can be used over all the seventh chords found in the major scale system. It will add new color tones and tension to your soloing and chord voicings. You could potentially substitute a mode of the jazz melodic minor over every seventh chord in a jazz standard and create an alternate diatonic universe. Obviously, that would eat up a lot of clock time in your weekly schedule, but in the meantime, you can add these new flavors to your favorite lines and come up with a brand new you. Enjoy!
The high priest of prog-metal guitar, John Petrucci, is still finding new territory on his instrument.
The news of Portnoy’s reunion with Dream Theater rocked the metal world. Over the years, whiffs of acrimony and hurt feelings suggested Portnoy’s return to the band might be a pipe dream. But in October 2023, the band revealed that they had all independently reconciled with Portnoy, a process that culminated backstage at New York’s Beacon Theater in 2022. Portnoy attended Dream Theater’s show at the venue and met up with the band afterward. It was the first time he’d seen vocalist James Labrie in 10 years. Within seconds, 13 years melted away in the warmth of camaraderie.
“The gear was all set up and we sat there and started playing. It was magic. It was like we never missed a beat.”
A few months after the announcement of Portnoy’s return, he and bandmates Labrie, Petrucci, bassist John Myung, and keyboardist Jordan Rudess convened at the recently renovated Dream Theater HQ, their longtime creative hideout and recording studio in Long Island, to begin to create new music. Petrucci, speaking over the phone from Brazil during Dream Theater’s December 2024 tour, remembers that period fondly. “From the moment that we all stepped in the studio in February, the gear was all set up and we sat there and started playing,” he says. “It was magic. It was like we never missed a beat.”
After shaking off the cobwebs, the first song they wrote together was “Night Terror”—“if that gives you any indication of the energy and vibe and mood that we were in,” quips Petrucci. It’s heavy, riffy, aggressive, and progressive, a capsule of 13 years in just shy of 10 minutes. “We let that all out in the first couple of weeks of just being together,” Petrucci continues. “It was wonderful and the creative juices just flowed the way they always did. There was great brotherly chemistry between all of us.”
Last year, Dream Theater celebrated their ruby anniversary as a band. Four decades on, they’re still exploring the dark corners of what happens when we sleep.
The band continued to create together as they’d always done. They had some concrete ideas: They wanted to make a concept album, and it had to be heavy and riff-centric. Petrucci, who produced the record, was intrigued by parasomnia, a medical concept which refers broadly to any unusual sleep pattern, like sleepwalking, nightmares, insomnia, sleep paralysis, and more. He hadn’t experienced those nocturnal issues (the worst he deals with is snoring), but he began deep research into them. A path had opened up. “That creative part of me just wakes up, and then that turns into it also being musically creative, lyrically creative, visually creative,” says Petrucci.
This is how Parasomnia, Dream Theater’s 16th studio record, came to exist. Engineered and mixed by Andy Sneap, the concept album comprises a collection of suites and vignettes that center on various sleep disturbances, opening with “In the Arms of Morpheus,” a slowly building soundscape that sets the scene for all that follows. It soundtracks someone getting ready for bed and falling asleep, and just as they’re drifting into a dreamstate, a musical theme starts to creep in. It heightens and gets weird before exploding into the full chaos that gives way to “Night Terror,” the nine-minute-plus epic. Petrucci’s playing on this song alone is staggering: There’s the classic, open-string beginner riff, then vintage, hyper, ’80s-metal single-note melody work, then a truly brain-melting, lightning-fast solo that leaves your jaw open.
True to Dream Theater lineage, there are pieces of the record that feel ready to soundtrack alien drag races on Mars next to swanky sections of jazzy, hard-rocking funk-blues, like on “A Broken Man.” Petrucci slips in and out of modes and scales like a chameleon changing its colors, each sounding as lived-in and natural as the last. His fingers just seem to know where to go. His only reprieve is the funereal interlude “Are We Dreaming?” which prepares us for the power ballad “Bend the Clock” and the devastating, scorched earth closer: “The Shadow Man Incident.”
Parasomnia is Dream Theater’s 16th studio record, and their first since reuniting with founding drummer Mike Portnoy.
“It’s wacky,” says Petrucci about the phenomena behind that song’s title. If you’re not familiar, “the shadow man” is a colloquial name given to a figure that appears during some episodes of sleep paralysis. People around the world have reported a similar apparition visiting them while they’re experiencing sleep paralysis—but there’s no scientific consensus for what causes the similar visions.
“There’s something in the human brain that is unaccounted for or whatever that must be producing that, that repeated experience,” continues Petrucci. “You start doing all this research and going down rabbit holes online. You’re like, ‘Wow, for centuries, in every culture and civilization, the same thing has been happening. What is this?’ It definitely explores the depths of the human mind, but it reminds me of any sort of topic that holds your interest in a weird way, like UFOs. A song like ‘The Shadow Man Incident’ is a long, epic piece of music that gives you the backdrop and license to go into storytelling more.”
The goal was to take that storytelling beyond the normal confines of an LP—or, at least, what we think of as an LP in the streaming age. “What we decided to do was to make the album kind of like a Dark Side of the Moon listening experience,” explains Petrucci. “Our hope is that people will get this record, turn down the lights, get together with some friends for a drink or whatever you do, and just listen to the whole thing like you’re watching a movie. It’s supposed to be an experience.”Petrucci even studied the music of composers like John Williams to get a bead on how to create epic, cinematic feelings in music. He displayed his research to his bandmates in the form of creative direction for certain songs, likening the process to scoring a film. “The album or song topic presents certain imagery, and you want the music to match that imagery, so you have those tools in your toolbox, like, ‘Okay, I know what kind of chord movement or chordal sounds or modal things I can do that are going to make that,’ and it’s going to create that flavor as opposed to just going in and writing in the typical way that you would if you didn’t have that knowledge ahead of time.”
“With Mike rejoining the band, I wanted to lean into the nostalgic aspect in some of the recording process.”
A part of that soundscaping is what Petrucci describes as “ear candy”: spoken-word passages, or sound effects like clocks ticking and alarms ringing. These elements help build a more profound, immersive listen, but they only work if the songs are good, says Petrucci. “You can have all these sound connections and overdubs and voices, but if the songs suck, it’s not going to mean anything. No one’s going to want to listen to it.”
Knowing that the record would deal with all things eerie and creepy, Petrucci wanted to explore what types of tonalities could unsettle the listening experience. “For ‘Night Terror,’ I use the super Phrygian mode, which is like a mode of the Hungarian minor which has a very unresolved sound that creates a lot of tension,” he says. He also experimented with constructs like the Prometheus and Tristan chords. “That gives you that dreamy weird thing you hear in ‘In the Arms of Morpheus.’ That first 8-string chord is this crazy chord of all tritones that just makes it sound like you’re in a nightmare right away.”
Petrucci, pictured here shredding in November 1994, broke out plenty of classic gear for the recording of Parasomnia to mark the reunion with Portnoy.
Photo by Frank White
Petrucci called on a range of tools old and new to bring Parasomnia to life. “With Mike rejoining the band, I wanted to lean into the nostalgic aspect in some of the recording process,” he explains. He used his 6-, 7-, and 8-string Ernie Ball Music Man Majesty guitars, in a spread of different tunings. He used his Mesa/Boogie JP-2C on everything except the record’s solos. For those, he busted out his old Mesas—a Mark III, IV, and IIC+ among them—for a shootout and wound up choosing the IIC+ that he used on old Dream Theater records (plus his own solo release, Suspended Animation). A Roland Jazz Chorus even clocked in for some cleans—a page Petrucci took from James Hetfield’s book.
The nostalgia didn’t end there. The band reached out to recording engineer Doug Oberkircher, who engineered all of the band’s records from 1992’s Images and Words through 2003’s Train of Thought, to purchase the Neve preamp used on those albums. All the guitars on Parasomnia were recorded through that preamp.
In many ways, a production this grand and intricate is familiar territory for the band. Petrucci and Dream Theater obviously have a penchant for art that is narrative, theatrical, and grand. But Parasomnia is specially weighted with circumstance and time.John Petrucci's Gear
Petrucci and Dream Theater have managed an incredible feat: They’re just as excited about their music now as they were when they were teenagers.
Photo by Ekaterina Gorbacheva
Guitars
- Various Ernie Ball Music Man The Majesty 6-, 7-, and 8-string guitars with DiMarzio Dreamcatcher and Rainmaker pickups
Amps
- Mesa/Boogie JP-2C (rhythm parts)
- Vintage Mesa/Boogie Mark II C+ Simul-Class (lead parts)
- Roland JC-120 (clean parts)
- Mesa/Boogie 4x12 Rectifier Traditional Straight cabinet
Effects
- MXR Bass Compressor
- Boss CE-2W
- Boss DC-2W
- TC Electronic Dreamscape
- TC Electronic TC 2290
- TC Electronic Corona Chorus+
- MXR Stereo Chorus
- Keeley Blues Disorder
- Dunlop JP95 John Petrucci Signature Cry Baby Wah
- MXR Custom Audio Electronics MC403 Power System
Recording
- Neve 1093 Pre/EQ
- API 3124MV
- Solid State Logic PURE DRIVE OCTO
- sE Electronics VR2 + Mojave Audio MA-D (rhythm parts)
- sE Electronics SE4400a + Royer Labs R-121 (lead parts)
- Royer Labs R-121 in stereo (clean parts)
- sE Electronics RNR1 (mid room)
- sE Electronics RNT in OMNI (far room)
- Waves H-Delay Analog Delay Plugin
- Soundtoys EchoBoy
- Soundtoys MicroShift
- Soundtoys Crystallizer
- D16 Group Audio Software Repeater
- Valhalla DSP VintageVerb Plugin
- Valhalla DSP ValhallaRoom Reverb Plugin
- Radial ProRMP
- Radial J48
- EBow
Strings & Picks
- John Petrucci signature Dunlops
- Ernie Ball .10 gauge electric sets
“John Myung and I met when we were in middle school, so we were like 12, and I remember everything about us playing together, going over to each other’s houses after school and playing every Iron Maiden song there ever was, going to Berklee and meeting Mike when we were 18, forming the band,” says Petrucci. “Here we are, it’s 40 years later. How the hell does that happen? But the great thing is to still be playing with my brothers and my buddies, and still making music together that we’re just as excited about as we were when we were 18. It’s all we ever wanted to do.”
All of this history isn’t just window dressing. It comes out in Petrucci’s playing, too: It’s all one, long story. “By the time I was 16 or 17, I had a handle on the kind of style of player I wanted to be, and those original elements are still there and will always be there,” says Petrucci. “But now, 40 years later, there’s still new things coming in. Even on the new album, there’s things I never did before. We’re playing these shows and I’m trying to master this stuff live in front of an audience and see if I can pull it off under pressure. The challenge of it is just as much as it was when I was a teenager. I love it.
“It’s a continuing experiment,” Petrucci continues. “As you develop new techniques and go down new roads of playing, all of a sudden you realize you abandoned some older techniques, then you go back and rediscover those things, and through the process of rediscovering the old things you used to do, all of a sudden you could do some stuff that you never were able to do before. It’s like something that’s living. It’s a living experiment of guitar playing. It’s just forever inspiring.”
YouTube It
Last year marked Dream Theater’s 40th anniversary as a band, and the official Dream Theater fan club caught up with the group before their gig in Oslo to see how they brought the milestone tour to life.
