Spanish Gypsy Scale

Elliot

I accidentally discovered this scale while putting together the 7th arpeggios I've been working with.

It is: 1 b2 3 4 5 b6 b7

Not sure what to ask, just that I don't think I've run across it in my learning material. Any comments on it or what to do with it?

Thanks

Ken Bloom

Hi Elliot,

That's a pretty common scale in klezmer music. Happens all the time with chording that would be a Imajor to a bVII minor ( like a D chord to a C minor and back) It is very close to Hicaz, which has a major seventh and appears in Islamic music all the time. I find myself throwing in things like this in a standard where I want to get away fromt he expected moves. Listen to some of the slower klezmer tunes and I think you'll get a good idea of how to use it.

phil_g

Hi Elliot.

This is the 5th mode of the harmonic minor scale. eg play E to E over E7 (or E7#5 and E7b9) resolving to Am. It contains a couple of interesting intervals of a 7 chord which usually suggest resolving to a minor chord (b9, also b13 = #5)

Like Ken says you can use it to get a Klezmer or arabic feel (try hava nagila or some old Steve Hillage licks for example over the E7).

gadjojazz

It is called the Phrygian Dominant. As Phil says, the 5th Mode of the harm minor.

Soref

Phil mentioned something I really like. This is great over lots of dominant chords. This scale gets used over all sorts of changes in Bebop and Gypsy Jazz. You can use it over any dominant chord that's resolving to a minor chord, is expected to resolve to a minor chord, or one where you want to create that expectation.

for example:

1-An instance where we expect the chord to go to minor.
The D7 chord that lasts for four bars in the first A section of 'I'll See You in my Dreams' is pointing to a gminor chord (this is the g chord diatonic to our home key of Fmajor). It doesn't go there, it goes to G7, but we won't know that until we hear the G7. So, for the duration of that D7 chord we could play your scale like this: D Eb F# G A Bb C

2-An instance where the dominant resolves to minor would be the E7 at the beginning of the first ending in 'All Of Me' (it resolves to Aminor7).
You could use this scale: E F G# A B C D

3- An instance where we want to create that sound (even though it's not built in to the key of the song) might be the D7 on the first ending of 'Sweet Georgia Brown'. Here we're in the key of Gmajor so it's not really expected, but it sounds neat and you'll here all sorts of players do something like this.
Anyways here you'd use that scale in D again: D Eb F# G A Bb C

Of course there are more applications than that but this is a common way you'll see it pop up in Jazz (Django style or otherwise).

Hope this is useful
-Jack

p.s. a word of caution if the fourth note/degree of the scale is emphasized over any of these dominants it will sound crappy, or at least really intense.
For example: The A in this scale: E F G# A B C D (against E7)
in passing it's cool, but it's something to be aware of.

motorhead750

thanks!