Altered scale & Whole tone scale

[ThomasG]

Would you play a altered scale over a dominant chord for example C7, or only if it was CAlt ? Also what chord types does a whole tone scale sound good played across ? Thanks.

[Jazzin']

Whole tone is good over dominant 7 chords with a b5. (b6 or #5 as well)

Diminished whole tone (altered) is also used over dominant 7 chords with a b9, #9, b5 and/or #5.

edit: I am still a n00b to these scales. I haven't been practicing them.

[Alun]

As Jazzin' says, both would fit over dominat chords, whole tone where the 5th has been altered, the altered scale where the fifth and/or ninth have been altered.

You could play either over a straight dominant too to create a more "out" tonality.

I also quite like using the whole tone a semitone below a minor chord for a modern fusion sort of tonality -

Am - ACE
G# whole tone - G# A# C D E F#

The CDE are all very "inside" but as you move through the scale it has a nice tension and release.

Cheers,
Alun

[DocBop]

This is where your ear and knowledge of music styles comes into play.

Being I play more Jazz and similar music then I like altered sounds. I look at the scales by the colors they give me. So Whole-tone will give a major 9 and altered 5's. The Altered scale (7th mode of Melodic minor) gives me both altered 9's and 5's, or I could look at the sharp 5 being a flat 13 which is a juicy note because I can get it to resolve down to the 3rd of the I chord in a V-I situation.

Now if I was in a Rock or Blues situation I would use those scale just for an effect. I would mainly play pentatonic' with some chromatics and if I wanted to step out for a second then maybe a whole-tone or altered to grab attention and come back. As Chick Corea says "its not what you play outside, it how you come back in."