It’s like this, when you’re in C major the VI chord is Amin7, some call it aolean but it’s really the diatonic VI chord (the C major scale). Playing A5 is just Amin no third but the third is implied by context (the key is C the ear cannot forget the previous C notes in earlier played chords and melodies). Because Amin7 is also diatonic in the key of F major (the III chord) or diatonic in G major (the II chord), you can treat the VI chord in C major as if it were the II chord in G or the III chord in F. But don’t forget about the harmonic minor scale. Amin7 is the IV chord in E harmonic minor. So you can play the E harmonic minor scale over Amin7. These chords are called common chords, that is, Amin7 is a diatonic chord in C major, F major, G major and E harmonic minor. It is also the II chord in G melodic minor. Playing in or out is not a matter of choosing this scale or that, it depends on the context. If the song is in C then treating the VI chord Amin7 as the II chord in G is taking it out. But if the song is in G then using the II chord in G scale is not out its diatonic. You must first know what key you are in before you can take it in or out. Then you can treat any chord as if it were diatonic in any other key that chord is diatonic in. The other thing that Bach and the jazz guys use is to replace the VI chord Ami7 with A7, that is A dominant seventh. The A dominant seventh chord is the V chord in D. Because Dmin is the II chord in C, the original key, it is common to use the D harmonic minor scale over the A7 chord. A7 is diatonic in D harmonic minor. A5 has no third so you can solo over D harmonic minor for the A5 chord. Using harmonic minor this way gives you the bebop sound which doesn’t sound Arabian at all. Replacing the diatonic chords in a key with dominant chords allows you to use many notes from major, harmonic minor and melodic minor. These are called secondary dominants.

Share This

Share on Facebook