Jazz guitar help What scale do i play here?

Question:what scale can i play on this progression and isthis acommon progression

I open up with a maj arpeggio sub for A6

so it like A6 /// a6 /// cmi6/// cmi6///

emi9 /// Emi9/// A6 /// A6 ///

Im thinking about subing the emi9 for f#mi9 / f9 E9

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: what scale can i play on this progression and isthis acommon progression

I open up with a maj arpeggio sub for A6

so it like A6 /// a6 /// cmi6/// cmi6///

emi9 /// Emi9/// A6 /// A6 ///

Im thinking about subing the emi9 for f#mi9 / f9 E9

It's a nice sounding progression. I think what's really going on is that the first A6 chord is really a Dmaj7 with an A in the bass.

Try this:

| Dmaj7 /// | //// | Cmin6 /// | //// |
| Emin9 /// | //// | A13 //// | //// |

Now the whole thing is really in D major. You can play in D major everywhere except the Cmin6, which you could look at as F9, setting up tension that resolves down a half-step to the E minor.

For the Cmin6, you'll need to switch scales. Obviously, C minor would work here. Or F7.

Anyway, that's my take on it.

A6 - Cm6 - Em9 - A6

Hmm. Cm6 isn't in tonality with A6, but I can see thinking of it as a diminished chord approaching Em9 (Eb -> E). That would make this progression look something like a I - bVdim - V - I. Gotta love that whole "hey let's approach chords from a half step below!" approach jazz takes, huh?

A6 = same notes as F#m7, So replacing the Em9 with an F#m9 shouldn't be too much of an issue. The E9 has an E7 in it, and dominant 7 chords resolve quite handily to the chord a fourth away, so E9 should resolve to A6 quite well.

You should be able to play an A major scale over this progression, but flat your 7 (or play mixolydian) when you're playing the Cm6. It sounds like a weird thing to do, but it should work with a little elbow grease. You should also be able to play F# dorian or F# minor over the rest of the scale, but probably only F# phyrgian or locrian during the Cm6.

Again, you'll have to look for jazz theory to go any further than that. You can try playing a scale that adds an extra tone... maybe adding that b7 to your major scale and alternating between A major(+b7) and D blues?

Good luck!

Saul

My expertise is in classical and acoustic guitar, jazz is different, it would take too long to type out all the scales and jazz chords.....do this go on google and type in this ; jazz guitar scales, I think the one that you want is about three down..... there are are a lot of good sites to help you with this....I don't feel qualified to give help with jazz guitar, sorry !!!