Here’s a compendium of scale sub notes and other tips on soloing thru changes that I’ve collected:

REMEMBER UPPER AND LOWER NEIGHBORS ESPECIALLY WITH ARPEGGIOS

V whole tone scale for V7
#V-7 for V7
#V minor over V(#5,#9,#/-13) any altered V

SCALE SUBSTITUTIONS FOR C-7

ii MINOR PENTATONIC
V MINOR PENTATONIC

SCALE SUBSTITUTIONS FOR C7#9 (ALTERED DOMINANT CHORD)

Eb MINOR PENTATONIC (b3RD SCALE DEGREE)
F MINOR PENTATONIC (4TH SCALE DEGREE)
Bb MINOR PENTATONIC (b7TH SCALE DEGREE)

SCALE SUBSTITUTIONS FOR ?7 (DOMINANT)

minor 3rd MAJOR SCALE

REHARMONIZATION (RESOLUTION METHOD) IONIAN #5

RESOLVED
I - III - V - VI
UNRESOLVED
ii - IV - V7 - VII

IONIAN #5 (ALL CHORDS UNRESOLVED) when III is MAJOR

C Major 7th (# 5) = (B11b6)
D mi7 (#4) = (B11b9b6)
E 7
F Major 7th #9 = (B11b6b9)
G diminished = (B7b9)
A Minor/Major 7th. = (B11)
B mi7b5 = (B11b9)

“approaching choard changes from the II minor - V altered - I and modulating to different tonic (I) notes is 80 percent of Jazz”

Read Jerry Coker “Improvising Jazz” (1971 ?)

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|| I7 | IV7 | I7 | I7 |
| IV7 | IV7 | I7 | VI7alt |
| iim7 | V7 | I7 | V7 |

This progression offers a wider range of scale possibilities than does the basic three chord blues. For example, bars 8 and 9 form a V-i in G minor, and bars 9-11 form a ii-V-I in F.

The idea of adding ii-V’s to the blues progression yields more variations. For example, consider:

|| F7 | Bb7 | F7 | Cm7 F7 |
| Bb7 | Bdim | F7 | Am7b5 D7alt |
| Gm7 | C7alt | F7 D7alt | Gm7 C7alt |

This particular progression is especially common in bebop and later styles. Note the substitution of a Bb ii-V-I in bars 4-5, a G minor ii-V-i in bars 8-9, and a G minor V-i in bars 11-12. Also note the diminished chord in bar 6. This diminished chord is serving as a substitute for the dominant seventh, since both Bdim and Bb7b9 share the same Bb HW (B WH) diminished scale. This same substitution can be made for the second half of bar 2.

Other variations can be made using tritone substitutions. For example, Ab7 can be played instead of D7alt in the second half of bar 8. You can also change the qualities of the chords, for instance replacing that Ab7 with an Abm7. Another common substitution is A7alt for the F7 in bar 11. This substitution works because the chords share several notes, including the tonic, F, and because the A7alt forms part of a G minor II-V-i progression with the D7alt and Gm7 that follow.

Charlie Parker carried these types of substitutions to an extreme in “Blues For Alice”. The chord progression in that tune is:

|| Fmaj7 | Em7b5 A7b9 | Dm7 G7 | Cm7 F7 |
| Bb7 | Bbm7 Eb7 | Am7 D7 | Abm7 Db7 |
| Gm7 | C7 | Fmaj7 D7alt | Gm7 C7 |

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ANOTHER BLUES VARIATION

|| FM7 F6 | F-7 Bb9 | F6 | C-7 B9 |
| Bb9 | F-7 Bb9 | FM7 F6 | A-7 Ab-7 |
| G-7 C9 | F-7 Bb9 | FM7 F6 | G-7 B9 |

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You can also vary the scale used. For instance, instead of D dorian, try a D natural minor, or a D minor pentatonic, for a few measures. You can also alternate a tonic chord with the dominant seventh chord in that key. For example, the chord associated with D dorian is Dm7. If you treat that as a i chord, the V7 chord is A7. So you can use lines from any of the scales associated with A7, A7b9b5, A7alt, or other A dominant seventh chords, at points in your improvisation. This will create a kind of tension that you can resolve by returning to the original D dorian scale.

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Diminished 7th chords can often be used to connect one chord to another chord. Let’s say your chord progression was:

C maj 7-> D m7 –>E m7 –> F maj7 –> G7th-> C maj 7.

You could now play:

C maj 7-> C#Dim 7-> Dm7-> D# Dim7-> Em7 ->F Dim7->F maj7->G7-> C maj 7th

For an “ultra cool” sound, try substituting minor 7th#5 chords for diminished 7th chords. Now your chord progression would be:

C maj 7->C# m7#5 ->Dm7 ->D# m7#5 ->Em7 ->Fmin 7#5 ->F maj 7 ->G7t ->C maj 7.

Here’s another tip. For a “jazzier” sound try substituting 7th#9 chords for minor 7th chords. In other words, instead of playing C minor 7th, substitute C 7th#9 instead.

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