These are my teaching notes for today’s Jazz Improvisation class meeting at the Jazzschool in Berkeley, CA. At the bottom of the page, you will find a link to some notated music examples for free download.
Mapping Scales to Chords (with added passing tones)
These scales function as horizontal expressions of chord sounds, with passing tones added to keep chord tones aligned with strong beats.
Explore dominant, major, and minor versions of these scales (often referred to as bebop or bop scales).
The chord tones are fixed; the choice of passing tones is flexible.
Practice each scale from chord tones 1, 3, 5, and 7 — both ascending and descending.
For major: treat 6 as a chord tone and 7 as a passing tone.
Practice “endless lines”: continuous 8th-note lines that change direction freely while keeping chord tones on the beat.
Incorporate common line endings and arpeggios within the line (line extenders).
Practice “correcting” lines — using added half steps, enclosures, or other devices to realign the line with the underlying chord.
Line correction can also be achieved through rhythmic variation (for example, quarter notes and off beat rhythms can be used in conjunction with 8th note lines to realign with the chord sound.)
Also, as Barry Harris discussed, the added “half step” can be something other than a chromatic passing tone. (For example, it can be another chord tone that you leap to and from before continuing on with the line.)
Practice playing into the next chord, using corrective half steps as needed to land on a target note:
The target note doesn’t have to be a chord tone.
It doesn’t need to land on beat 1.
The idea is to play into the change.
Work on connecting random chords using this approach:
Start with chords of the same quality (e.g., all dominant chords).
Apply this concept to II–V progressions:
Treat the II–V as a single dominant sound for line-building purposes.
Extend to II–V–I progressions:
Resolve into the I chord, optionally adding a melodic tag on the chord of resolution.
Apply to minor II–V progressions:
Use a “minorized” mixolydian bebop scale (with ♭9 and ♭13).
Address awkward leaps (e.g., the augmented 2nd in harmonic minor) by adding notes to smooth the line.
Experiment with superimposed progressions (e.g., tritone subs), while maintaining strong resolution.
All of these exercises fall under the category of “flow studies”: developing the ability to play continuous, harmonically coherent 8th-note lines through changes. This contrasts with approaches that emphasize short, memorable motifs or rhythmic cells. Both are valuable, and ideally, a player's vocabulary balances both.
Some of these exercises could also be viewed as jazz calisthenics: structured drills to develop fluency, flexibility, and alignment with harmony.
Link to notated music examples for free download: examples