The Ii-V-1 Jazz Standards

The “Secret” Scale to Unlock 2-5-1 Chord
Progressions
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By Josiah Boornazian
May 31, 2017
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Most of the time, II-V-I’s are taught as a set of discrete modes or as a
collection of related modes derived from a single parent scale. We’re told
the II-7 chord corresponds to a Dorian minor scale, the V7 a Mixolydian
dominant scale, and the I(maj7) either a Lydian or Ionian scale. Or, on the
other hand, we often hear that you can treat the whole II-V-I as essentially
one scale all based off of the Ionian (major) mode played from the root of
the I chord.
Although these are sometimes useful approaches and can offer a very
basic framework to help novice jazzers get started with improvisation, I
think there are even better ways to conceptualize II-V-I’s regarding
specific scale choices. I’ve already briefly delved into bebop scales here on
the LJS site before, and in this post, I want to talk about another lesser
known or “secret” scale: the harmonic major scale.
In my experience, relatively few jazzers talk about or teach this scale, but
it is possibly the single best scale to use if you want a simple and concise
tool to help you start generating bebop vocabulary over II-V-I’s. And it
works for both major and minor II-V’s (details on that below)!
Firstly, what is the harmonic major scale?
It’s essentially like a harmonic minor scale, except it has a natural (not a
flatted) 3rd scale degree, as you would assume for any scale labeled
“major.” In other words, it’s a major scale with a flatted 6th degree. C
harmonic major is spelled: C-D-E-F-G-Ab-B-C.
Here it is notated:
<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-42923"

content/uploads/2017/05/Harmonic-Major-Scale.png" alt=""
width="2244" height="421"
srcset="https://www.learnjazzstandards.com/wp-
content/uploads/2017/05/Harmonic-Major-Scale.png 2244w,
content/uploads/2017/05/Harmonic-Major-Scale-600x113.png 600w,
content/uploads/2017/05/Harmonic-Major-Scale-100x19.png 100w"
sizes="(max-width: 2244px) 100vw, 2244px" />To understand the
derivation of the harmonic major, we have to briefly explain where
harmonic minor scales come from.
The “harmonic” label comes from the fact that, in the language of Western
“classical” music theory, the harmonic minor scale has all of the elements
necessary for generating tonality, i.e. tonal chords and harmonic
progressions. For tonality to be functional melodically and harmonically,
you have to have a leading tone
For tonality to be functional melodically and harmonically, you have to

have a leading tone as the 7th scale degree (the 7th note of the scale has to
be a major 7th above the root, or a half-step below the tonic – however,
you want to visualize it). This is because, in the briefest and simplest terms
possible, tonality is essentially defined by the V7-I cadential relationship,
which lives and dies on the resolution of the “tension” inherent in the
tritone.
The tritone exists between the 3rd and 7th of the V7 chord (think B and F
for G7 in the key of C major). The 7th of the V7 chord (the 4th degree of the
tonic I chord) resolves down ½ step to the 3rd of the tonic I chord and the
3rd of the V7 chord (the 7th of the tonic I chord) resolves up ½ step to the
tonic (root).
These relationships – the V-I movement in the bass and the resolution of
the “tense” tritone which is embedded in the V7 chord – is the defining
theoretical feature that makes tonality work in “classical” theory.
Here’s what I mean in notation:

content/uploads/2017/05/Tonality-Explained.png" alt="" width="2232"
height="547" srcset="https://www.learnjazzstandards.com/wp-
content/uploads/2017/05/Tonality-Explained.png 2232w,
content/uploads/2017/05/Tonality-Explained-600x147.png 600w,
content/uploads/2017/05/Tonality-Explained-100x25.png 100w"
sizes="(max-width: 2232px) 100vw, 2232px" />So what this means is that,
to generate common practice functional tonal harmony, you can’t rely only
the Dorian, Phrygian, or Aeolian (also called “natural” or “pure” minor)
modes, which are all minor modes with flatted 7ths (because they don’t
have that all-important leading tone).
The other primary option for a minor scale – the “melodic” minor – has the
requisite leading tone, but it has a natural 6th which means the IV chord
would be major, and this doesn’t work with strict “classical” harmony
norms – in the minor mode, the “i” and “iv” chords should both be minor.
So to compromise and account for all of these factors, “classical” music

theorists sometimes use the harmonic minor scale when explaining the
derivation and construction of minor-key tonal harmony. The harmonic
scale has a flatted 3rd and 6th relative to the major mode – so you get the
minor 3rd (necessary for any minor scale), the flatted 6th (necessary for the
minor “iv” chord), and the leading tone (necessary for the V7-I resolution).
The harmonic major is essentially a theoretical offshoot of the harmonic

minor – it’s just the harmonic minor moved into “major land.”
The harmonic major is perfect for generating hip II-V-I lines because it has
the b9 of the V7 chord embedded in it and it allows you to simplify the
entire II-V-I into one single reductive scale. In addition to simplifying the
way you think about
In addition to simplifying the way you think about a II-V-I, the harmonic
major automatically liberates you from that often droll “church mode”
sound and gets you playing a hip, “exotic” sounding scale.
Ok, so how do you use the harmonic major scale?
It’s unbelievably simple – for a major II-V, you simply play the harmonic
major scale built off of the root of the tonic or root of the I chord – so for
a II-V-I in C major, play a C harmonic major scale.
For a minor II-V-I, you use the harmonic major scale built off of the
relative major key (C major is A minor’s relative major, so use C harmonic
major for the key of A minor). Or, another way to think about it is to build
the harmonic major scale off of the minor 3rd of the tonic/root of the minor
II-V-I (A minor’s 3rd scale degree is C, so again use C harmonic major for a
minor II-V-I in the key of A minor). In the minor mode, the relative
harmonic major scale gets you the natural 3rd, #9, and b9 on the V7 chord,
which works great for a V7 with any alterations.
Here are a couple of examples of II-V-I lines in major and minor using the
harmonic major scale (note how in many cases, you can play the exact
same line for both the major II-V-I and its relative minor II-V-I – and it
works great!):

content/uploads/2017/05/Harmonic-Major-Examples-2-5-1s.png" alt=""
width="2256" height="1869"
srcset="https://www.learnjazzstandards.com/wp-
content/uploads/2017/05/Harmonic-Major-Examples-2-5-1s.png 2256w,
content/uploads/2017/05/Harmonic-Major-Examples-2-5-1s-
600x497.png 600w, https://www.learnjazzstandards.com/wp-
100x83.png 100w" sizes="(max-width: 2256px) 100vw, 2256px" />I hope
you find this helpful and inspiring, and I hope you feel empowered to go
out and practice and explore the harmonic major scale!
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Josiah Boornazianhttps://www.josiahboornazian.com
Josiah Boornazian is a saxophonist, composer, educator, and scholar
primarily active in Brownsville, New York City, Miami, and California. He is
currently an Assistant Professor of Jazz and Applied Saxophone at the
University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. For more information, please visit:
https://www.josiahboornazian.com.

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The “Secret” Scale to Unlock 2-5-1 Chord

Firstly, what is the harmonic major scale?

<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-42923"

For tonality to be functional melodically and harmonically, you have to

Here’s what I mean in notation:

<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-42924"

So to compromise and account for all of these factors, “classical” music

The harmonic major is essentially a theoretical offshoot of the harmonic

Ok, so how do you use the harmonic major scale?

<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-42922"

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