These charts show the arpeggios for the Minor 2-5-1 progression for each position on the neck.

Also included are scales which function well over either parts of or the entire progression.

The Harmonic Minor scale contains all the chord tones of the Minor 2-5-1 progression.  It is a great scale to solo over this minor turnaround.  The Harmonic Minor has a b6 and a major 7.

The Natural Minor at the root of the i chord also contains notes in both the ii chord (half-diminished, or minor 7b5).  The Natural Minor scale has a b6 and a b7.

The Lydian Dominant chord adds a #4 to jazz up the V change.  It's the same as the Mixolydian mode, except with a raised 4.

The Melodic Minor can be used as another variant of the i chord.  The Melodic Minor (aka "Jazz Minor") has a Major 6 and a Major 7. Only the third is flattened.  The seventh degree of the the Melodic Minor is the same as the altered scale.  So if the V has a flat or raised 9 or 5,  you can effectively move this scale so the 7th sits on the 5th degree of the i chord, and you will have the Altered scale for that Dominant.

The Dorian mode, which I didn't include,  is another classic scale for the i chord.

Any of these scales can be used over the progression, but it is important to hit the chord tones (notably the 3rd and 7th) of each change.

Learning intervals is crucial.  Here are the intervals for C major.

From any note we need to know where any corresponding interval is.  When we want to construct a minor chord or arpeggio from a root, it is crucial to know where the flat-third, the fifth and in the minor-seventh are.  If we need to make an extension, like a 13th chord, we need to know where extended notes are in relation to the root.

Extensions are simply scale degrees if you keep counting past an octave.  If the scale degree of an octave is 8, the next tone will naturally be a nine.  Nines are simply an octave above a two.  They appear in notation for "extended" chords, when the tone extends beyond the first 7 tones.  Elevens are an octave above a four.  Thirteens are an octave above a six.  Like many other things in jazz, strict definitions are not adhered to and these tones are loosely interchangeable.  You would never call a vi chord a "13 chord," however.

The strings are stacked in fourths, with an offset at the B string to accommodate better fingering.  Without accounting for the offset, a 3 generally sits above a 6, a 6 sits above the 2, the 2 sits above the 5, and the 5 sits above the 1.  Finally, the 1 sits above the 4.  This accounts for all degrees except for the 7, which is naturally a semi-tone down from the root, and somewhat under the 5.  Things change when you go from the G to B string, so be aware of this. 

It's something you have to learn pretty rote anyways.  It's just as handy to understand the intervals going up from the first string as down from the low E string.  To quiz yourself, pick a root anywhere on the fretboard.  Then look to a string north, south, east or west of it.  Guess what the interval is.  Now make sure you know both the note names.  Check your answer by figuring out if the note name is the same scale degree as you said it was.

For example, put your finger on the 8ths fret of the G string -- this is the root.  Now go up to the fourth note of the G string.  If you guessed that is the flat 9 or flattened-second scale degree,  you are correct.  You can double-check with the notes.  The first note was a G.  The last note was an Ab.  A is the the second scale degree of G.  The 2 is equivalent to the 9.  It's a semi-tone down from the A, so it's a flat 9 or a flat 2.

Here is an online quiz you can do, but it only tests intervals going one way:
Online Interval Quiz

So much of Jazz soloing starts with arpeggios, so it's good to learn them cold.  I put these charts together to get the basic arpeggios for jazz under my fingers: Major 7, Minor 7, Dominant 7 and Minor 7b5.  I also threw in some altered notes for Functioning Dominants.

I watched a documentary on Carol Kaye, the legendary session bassist.  She actually started out playing bebop jazz guitar, which she continues to teach.  She thinks learning a bunch of scales and what scales to play over what chord is nonsense -- learn the arpeggios!

I've been practicing these arpeggios with the changes of standards I'm learning.  If the first bar is A-7, I'm finding the A-7 arpeggio on some part of the neck and running through it a couple times, then linking together the other places it appears.  I try to play the arpeggio different ways, with string skipping, etc.  But it is really good just to noodle on it and find some licks you might like.  I am constantly trying to do the "Joe Pass" lick: Playing the upper and lower scale tone of the 3rd and 7th and then hitting said target.  This helps me visualize where the third and seventh is on these arpeggios.

Once I'm comfortable with the first chord, I move on to the next chord and find that arpeggio.  I noodle through all the arpeggios until the form is done.  Then when I go back and solo over the song at tempo, I try and find the next chord's root and visualize the arpeggio, just like I would visualize the mode of a scale.  If the nearest root of the next chord is on the B string, I need to see that arpeggio on the fretboard, especially where the 3rd and 7th is, without hesitation.

Eventually I will start to see the arpeggios laying over top of the modes of the major and minor scales.  But for now, I really need to learn these arpeggios cold.  It's less notes than a seven-tone scale, so it should be easy!

Basic Theory: Two chords with at least two notes in common in their respective triads can be substitutes.

Here are three common substitution theories.

The minor 2-5-1 is derived from the harmonized Harmonic Minor scale, although the 1 is a Minor 7 chord instead of a Min/Maj 7 chord.  From the Dominant mode -- the way many Jazz musicians think over a 2-5 change -- the Harmonic Minor gives us the Phrygian Dominant mode as the V. The Phrygian Dominant Bebop scale keeps the notes of this Harmonic Minor scale (starting on the fifth) and adds the Major 7 as a "bebop" passing tone, giving the scale the same number of notes as beats in 4/4 time.


This is a great scale to play over a quick minor 2-5-1 change.

This is the recipe for western music: I-iii-vi-ii-V-I.

Here is a roadmap:

1 -> any
2 -> 5
3 -> 6
4 -> 1 or 5
5 -> 1
6 -> 2

If you start with the tonic or root -- the I chord -- this chord can go anywhere.  It can go to the 2 chord, the 3 chord, etc.  If you are on the V chord -- the dominant -- there is a strong urge to resolve back to the root.  The V has the most tension in a key.

If your next chord is a iii chord, there is a pull to go to the vi.  If you are on a vi, there is a pull to go to the ii.  Once you have the first and second chord, the rest of the progression is pretty logical for most songs.

This recipe is nice, but if you know your circle, it is even simpler.

In the key of C, whatever chord you move to, the next chord is the next chord in the circle to get home to C (taking the shortest route).

There is one common exception: If you move from the I (e.g., C) to the IV chord (ergo F),  resolving back to the I would be a very quick chord progression, so you can move to the V (ergo G) to build up more tension which will pull back home to the root.  So from the IV, you can swing over to the V and back to the I. This is how the blues works: C-F-C-F-G-C or I-IV-I-IV-V-I

In any other case,  you are going to move in a 3-6-2-5-1 progression.  If you move all the way to the 3, you will be traveling back home via the 6, the 2, then the 5, before resolving at the 1.