Jazz Scales Explained | How to know which scale to play over any chord

As a jazz musician, you need to know which scales to play from when you solo over a song’s chords.

In this article I’ll show you a simple technique to figure out which scales to play from, just by looking at the chord symbol.

Multiple Scales

The first thing to note is that there are multiple scales that will sound consonant (correct) over any chord. You always have choice of scales, based on what type of sound you want to create (there’s usually 2 or 3 commonly played scales for any chord type).

Put The Chord Tones In Your Scale

For a scale to sound consonant, it must first agree with the ‘chord tones’ of the chord - which are the root, 3rd, 5th and 7th.

So over a C major 7 chord (C E G B) - the scale you play from must have C, E, G, and B in it - otherwise it will clash.

IMAGE - C maj 7 = C E G B in scale

If you play an Eb or a Bb over a C major 7 chord - your scale won’t work. It will sound like you’re playing wrong notes.

Likewise, if you have a C minor 7 chord (C Eb G Bb) - the scale you play from must have C, Eb, G, and Bb in it - otherwise it will clash (especially if you play an E natural or B natural).

IMAGE - C min 7 = C Eb G Bb in scale

So that’s step one - your scale must line up with the chord’s chord tones -1 3 5 7.

The Remaining Notes (2 4 6)

Once your scale agrees on the chord tones, there’s flexibility when it comes to the remaining notes - which are the 2nd, 4th, and 6th of the scale.

Over a C7 chord, you could play a natural 9th (D), or a flat 9th (Db), or even a sharp 9th (D# - as long as there’s already an E natural in your scale to act as the chord’s 3rd). And each of these 9ths will sound consonant - it won’t sound like you’re playing any wrong notes.

Likewise, the 11th could be a natural 11th (F), or a #11th (F#) - both will sound consonant.

And the 13th could be a natural 13th (A), or a flat 13th (Ab) - both will sound consonant over a C7 chord.

NOTE: The only exception to this freedom when it comes to the 2nd, 4th and 6th is if the chord symbol specifies a certain type of chord extension to be added - e.g. ‘C7b9’, or ‘C7#11’, or ‘C7b13’ - in which case you would add this extended note to your scale, just as you did with the chord tones.

In essence, both hands have to match up - you need to be playing from the same scale in both hands. You can’t play E naturals in the left hand while playing Ebs in the right hand - generally speaking.

The ‘Chord Tone + Whole-step’ Method

Now while there are many possible scales you could come up with that would fit with the above rules - i.e. that match the 1 3 5 7 while tweaking the 2 4 6 in every possible combination - there are still a handful of commonly played jazz scales. These scales sound authentic to jazz and it’s important that you know what these are.

To generate these authentic jazz scales, you can use what I call the ‘chord tone + whole-step principle’:

  1. Start by placing the chord tones in your scale - 1 3 5 7.

  2. Add a whole-step above the chord’s root, 3rd and 5th (to produce your 2nd, 4th, and 6th).

That’s it - you can apply this technique to any chord and it will produce authentic jazz scales that professionals use.

Let’s apply this to a C major 7 chord - start with the chord tones:

IMAGE - C maj 7 = C E G B in scale

Next, add a whole-step above the root, 3rd and 5th (C E G):

IMAGE - C maj 7 = C D E F# G A B in scale

Here we end up playing C lydian scale (C D E F# G A B) over C major 7 - which is an authentic jazz scale that sounds beautiful over major 7 chords (and which has no avoid notes).

Next let’s try a C minor 7 chord - start with the chord tones:

IMAGE - C min 7 = C Eb G Bb in scale

Now add a whole-step above the root, 3rd and 5th (C Eb G):

IMAGE - C min 7 = C D Eb F G A Bb in scale

Here we end up playing C dorian scale (C D Eb F G A Bb) over C major 7 - which again is an authentic jazz scale that sounds sophisticated over minor 7 chords.

We can do the same for a C7 chord (‘C dominant 7’) - start with the chord tones:

IMAGE - C7 = C E G Bb in scale

Next add a whole-step above the root, 3rd and 5th (C E G):

IMAGE - C7 = C D E F# G A Bb in scale

Here we end up playing C lydian-dominant scale (C D E F# G A Bb) over C7 - this is my go-to scale for V7 chords (at least within the context of a major ii-V-I which makes up most of jazz. For minor ii-V-is I’ll use the altered scale over the V7 chord, or the diminished scale).

And we can apply this ‘chord tone + whole-step principle’ to any type of 7th chord and it will work.

Here’s it is applied to the half-diminished chord (C Eb Gb Bb):

IMAGE - C half-dim = C D Eb F Gb Ab Bb in scale

Next, a C minor-major 7 chord (C Eb G B):

IMAGE - C min-maj 7 = C D Eb F G A B in scale

This isn’t just a beginner trick that produces basic scales. This is what I use for most of my playing - to this day - and it generates colorful and sophisticated sounding scales every time.

The Short Cut

Now that you know how to generate jazz scales from scratch for any chord type - you can now simplify the process and just memorize which scale goes with each chord (following the chord tone + whole-step principle):

  • Major 7 chords (C E G B) = Lydian scale (C D E F# G A B)

  • Minor 7 chords (C Eb G Bb) = Dorian scale (C D Eb F G A Bb)

  • V7 chords (C E G Bb) = Lydian-dominant scale (C D E F# G A Bb)

  • Half-diminished chords (C Eb Gb Bb) = Half-diminished scale (C D Eb F Gb Ab Bb)

  • Minor-major 7 chords (C Eb G B) = Melodic minor scale (C D Eb F G A B)

Practice Tip

Choose a song from your real book and play through its chords slowly. Hold down each chord in your left hand, and then play the correct scale in your right hand, ascending and then descending:

IMAGE - scales practice tip. Hold down chord, play ascending - descending. Dm7 - G7 - C maj 7.

This exercise will ingrain the common jazz scales that go with the common chord types, until it becomes second nature and you can play from the correct scale instantly.

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About the Author

Julian Bradley is a jazz pianist and music educator from the U.K. He has a masters degree in music from Bristol University, and has played with and composed for a variety of big bands.
Julian runs the popular Jazz Tutorial YouTube channel and writes educational jazz lessons at JazzTutorial.com