If you take a look at the intervals of the notes of the G minor pentatonic in relation to the G root you’ll find the scale contains, in addition to the root, a flat 3rd, perfect 4th, perfect 5th and a flat 7th. Typically you’d improvise over a IIm7 chord – the Gm7 in this case – using the Dorian mode but a simple G minor pentatonic will also work. Playing a II minor pentatonic scale over a IIm7 chord In the jazz context they are going to be minor 7th chords so that’s Gm7, Am7 and Dm7. So, in the case of F major that’s Gm, Am and Dm. In a major key there are 3 minor chords that have roots on the 2nd (II), 3rd (III) and 6th (VI) degrees of the scale. To get started lets consider the F major scale. Since it’s a five note scale, the pentatonic scale provides an ideal, concise and very colourful improvisational cornucopia! The idea is to choose minor pentatonic scales that contain specific chord defining pitches such a 3rds, 7ths or altered 5ths and also highlight colourful tensions like 11ths, 13ths and their alterations. One of the most exciting improvisational concepts is the idea of superimposing non-root based minor pentatonic scales over the different chord families. Mark Dziuba, in his book The Big Book of Jazz Guitar Improvisation says, It’s a simple idea that helps get some interesting jazzy tonality into your improvisation with very little effort. When Pentatonic Superimposition was first pointed out to me I had one of those “why didn’t I see that before” moments.
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