Translating Licks to Different Scales and Chord Qualities
An instructor once told me that a great skill to develop is the ability to translate one lick to multiple scales and chord qualities. Music is made up of patterns and thematic development of a motif, which is usually expressed over changing chords. Accomplishing this involves understanding how scales are constructed, and which of the scale degrees are stable versus unstable . This is just another way of saying which tones carry tension and which tones carry the absence or resolution of tension. Chord tones are stable, and the non-chord tones are more unstable- especially if within a half step of a chord tone. For example, the b9 really wants to resolve to the 1, and the 4 is begging to resolve to the 3. Non-chord tones with a whole step relationship, for example, the 9 or 6 in a major scale, are more stable and depending on the context can act as stable or unstable tones. Notes that are neither chord tones nor non-chord tones (i.e., outside of the scale) can be also expressed as ...