Melodic Minor (1/2 step above the V)

[brwnhornet59]

Originally Posted by bluewaterpig

And by the way, not to nitpick, but we really should be calling the minor scale that's being used the "jazz minor", NOT the "melodic minor". Melodic minor has b7 and b6 on the way down.

That is a little nit picky. But however YOU choose to look at it is fine with me. When we are drawing tensions from MM, we are Playing the chord tensions from the harmonized scale. That scale or the chords built from it do not include the notes of aeolian, (b6 b7). So in essence you ARE playing MM.

[bluewaterpig]

Originally Posted by brwnhornet59

That is a little nit picky. But however YOU choose to look at it is fine with me. When we are drawing tensions from MM, we are Playing the chord tensions from the harmonized scale. That scale or the chords built from it do not include the notes of aeolian, (b6 b7). So in essence you ARE playing MM.

In essence, you aren't playing the Melodic Minor.

The true version of A Melodic Minor includes the notes A B C D E F F# G and G#, or 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 6 b7 and 7. All of those notes are included in a full melodic minor scale. The melodic minor scale is one of the few scales in all of western music to include both an ascending and descending run that is necessary for analysis sake.

So really, what we're talking about is not the Melodic Minor. It's the Jazz Minor. There's a reason that both scales exist, and the topics that we're discussing in this thread is the exact reason why the term "Jazz Minor" was created in the first place.

[cosmic gumbo]

It's best to get used to the term melodic minor as it relates in a jazz context. We understand it's really the jazz minor, but the jazz police has trouble enforcing the terminology, even at the academic level.

[brwnhornet59]

Originally Posted by bluewaterpig

In essence, you aren't playing the Melodic Minor.

Hey man, thanx for clearing that up. Like I said you call it whatever you want. The classical usage of Melodic Minor is MM ascending, and Aeolian, (natural minor), descending. Western Classical theory would alter either the 6th or the 7th of a minor scale, sometimes both, to allow for their idea's of proper voice leading. A lot of composers did not like the aug triad the natural 7th produces in MM or Hm. Others did not like the dissonance created by the minor 3rd between the b6 and natural 7th in HM, so they would mix it up. That is why they descended in Natural Minor, not Melodic Minor. But of course music theory has evolved in leaps and bounds in the last 300 years.

MM ascending is the note collection we draw from for our chords, modes and alterations in jazz and any form of modern music, when using that scale. I will stick up for your right to call it whatever you want, just do not push it on me, or anyone else, there are more important things to discuss and nit pick about than the names of two scales.

It is all good.