Jazz scales for trombone.

What scales/ mode should I play to improvise more musically/impressively?

• I've been playing trombone for 6 years now and I'm fairly good, but the only scales I've ever been taught to play with jazz have been blues scales. I was in allstate jazz and the good trumpet and saxes would play impressive sounding solos on some mode that were much more interesting than me just wailing up and down a B flat blues...any advice?

• Answer:

  In fact, you already know pentatonic scales if you know blues scales. Just leave out the "blue note" (b5 aka #4) and you have a minor pentationic. Example C blues scale: C Eb F Gb G Bb. Leave out the Gb and you have C minor pentatonic: C Eb F G Bb. The minor scale is derived from a corresponding major key. The minor scale begins on step 6 of the major scale. Example C minor scale is C D Eb F G Ab Bb. Those are steps 6, 7, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 of Eb major. In other words C minor is the relative minor of Eb major. And we can also say that Eb major is the "relative major" of C minor. The Eb major scale is Eb F G Ab Bb C D. Those are steps 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 of the Eb major scale. Notice that the major scale and its relative minor are composed of the SAME NOTES. LIkewise for a pentatonic major scale and its relative minor pentatonic. For example C minor and Eb major are both made up of the notes in the key signature of Eb major. C minor pentatonic: C Eb F G Bb Eb major pentatonic: Eb F G Bb C The only difference is what notes you emphasize. When you think of this collection of notes as being an Eb major pentatonic, you tend naturally to emphasize the Eb G and Bb. But when you think of it as being C minor you tend to emphasize C Eb and G. Bottom line: you can use either pentatonic scale in place of the other. That is, you can play Cm pentatonic (the relative minor) against an Eb major chord or a song in the key of Eb. Or you can play Eb major pentatonic (the relative major) against a C minor chord or a song in C minor. So we have seen that there are five notes in a pentatonic scale, regardless of whether it is a minor pentatonic or a major pentatonic, and they are the same five notes. The sound you get is a matter of emphasizing certain notes. So in addition to learning to spell your blues scales as straight pentatonic minor scales (no blue note) also learn to thiink of pentatonic minor in terms of its relative major, and vice-versa. Last formula: to construct a pentatonic major scale from a major scale, use notes 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6. Example: C major scale is C D E F G A B. C pentatonic is C D E G A. The relative minor of C is A minor A minor pentatonic is A C D E G The "A blues scale" is A C D Eb E G The relative major of A minor is C major