I always hesitate before recommending the study of scales for improvising jazz. Although it can be very useful to know the some of the scales which “fit” a certain type of chord, you should always bear in mind that scales are there to help you create melodic lines, not just to be the lines. Playing a scale over a chord will often get you out of trouble if you can’t think of what else to play, but always try to keep the actual scale content of your solos balanced with arpeggios and interval leaps to create interesting original improvisation. It’s better to think of scales as a pool of notes from which to construct melodic lines.
The following table is not complete and does not necessarily represent my own views on this, but it should be useful for anyone starting off learning to improvise jazz with chord changes.
| Chord | Scale | Chromatic notes |
|---|---|---|
| Ima7 (-IVma7) | Major | none |
| Major bebop | #5 (b6) | |
| Lydian | #4 (#11) | |
| IIm7 | Dorian | none |
| Dorian bebop | #3 | |
| IIø7 | Locrian | none |
| Locrian with # 2nd | none | |
| Locrian with # 2nd | none | |
| V7 | Mixolydian (continuation of II m7 Dorian) | none |
| Mixolydian bebop (continuation of Dorian) bebop) | major 7 | |
| Whole tone | b5 (#4, #11) #5 (b13) | |
| Melodic minor* starting on 5th of chord V (Lydian dominant) | #4 (#11) | |
| Harmonic minor starting on 4th of chord V | b9, b13 | |
| Diminished scale starting on b9, 3rd, 5th or 7th | b9, b10, #11 | |
| Diminished whole tone (altered scale) | b9, b10, #11, b13 | |
| Im maj7 (Im6) | Melodic minor | none |
| Im maj7 | Harmonic minor | none |
| Dim | Diminished scale | none |
| I7, IV7, V7 of blues | Blues scale | depends on chord |
* In spite of what you may have learnt, in this context the melodic minor has major 6th and major 7th descending as well as ascending.
