16 Scales to Know for Jazz

Welcome to episode 214 of the LJS Podcast where today I go over 16 scales that can be useful when it comes to conceptualizing jazz improv.

Scales are never to be used exclusively to improvise, but the 16 I cover in this episode can be helpful to map out note choices over many different chords you will come across in jazz standards.

When it comes to jazz improvisation, scales can be really great ways to organize pitches or note choices over top of chords in chord progressions. Now, I don't think scales should be used exclusively by any means to improvise. If we do that, they often become crutches and not tools, and it sounds more like you are playing scales than actual musical melodic lines. But that doesn't mean we should throw out scales altogether. Not at all. We need to know them in order to know our instruments better, to explore them, to navigate them, and they can also be super helpful for helping us identify those note choices.

So, in today's episode, I'm going to be going over the 16 most important scales that I think you should know for jazz.

In this episode:
1. Ionian or Major
2. Dorian
3. Phrygian
4. Lydian
5. Mixolydian
6. Aeolian
7. Locrian and Locrian #2
8. Half Whole Diminished
9. Whole Half Diminished
10. Altered scale
11. Whole Tone Scale
12. Minor Pentatonic and Blues Scale
13. Lydian Dominant
14. Major Bebop Scale
15. Minor Bebop Scale
16. Mixolydian Bebop Scale

Important Links:
1. LJS Inner Circle Membership
2. Free Guide to learn standards by ear: Learn Jazz Standards the Smart Way
3. Blog Post: 16 Most Important Scales in Jazz
4. LJS 67: How to Use Pentatonics Over Any Chord

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