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Tension
After several verses of improvisation, using the same mode over the same chord can begin to sound repetitive and boring. At this point, it is necessary to generate some musical tension to sustain interest. In fact, in a modal song this is often the most interesting part of an improvisation. Musical tension can be generated by playing alternative modes derived from the same chord, or by side-stepping, i.e. playing a mode derived from a different key centre.

Alternative Modes
 When improvising on a Dm chord, the first mode of choice would probably be D Dorian. After several bars of playing D Dorian, it may sound good to slip into another mode/scale for a few bars. For example:

This technique is very important in songs where there are chord changes relating to the key of a piece. Look at transcriptions of Charlie Parkers solos, and Bach's classical Fuges. You'll be surprised at how many chord tones are placed on beats 1 and 3.

 

Many people overlook this approach when playing a modal jazz song. Modal playing tends to encourage ambiguous and impressionistic improvisation. But after a while this can begin to sounds unfocused, meandering and directionless. At this point, your playing can veer dangerously into background music, and you can "lose" the audience. Playing chord tones on beasts 1 and 3 gives the music a directness and sense of purpose.

 

Try playing chord tones on beats 1 and 3 for a few bars, then non-chord tones, on 1 and 3, for the next few bars. Also, incorporate some "rest" bars (learned in the previous "Space" section). This mix will help give your improvisation some variety, and a tension-release quality:
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Space
Leaving room for a song to "breathe" is a big consideration when improvising over a modal track. Often modal songs have a meditative and cool feel to them, so filling every space up with notes would be at odds with this vibe. Pianists and guitarists are probably guilty of doing this the most, because unlike horn players they don't have to stop to take a breath between phrases. Try the following exercise when improvising over a modal song:
Chord Tones
Placing chord tones (1,3,5,7) on beats 1 and 3 help outline the harmony of a song to a listener. The chord tones for Dm7 chord are shown below:
Introduction
Theory Scope

As you can see pentatonic scales are merely subsets of the Ionian and Dorian mode. If you learn these modes, these scales are easy to play.

D Harmonic Minor

This scale conjures up images of the exotic Middle East, especially when emphasising the augmented second interval between the 6th and 7th. The mysterious aspect of this scale can work well with modal music. This, along with the melodic minor scale, is traditionally used on a tonic minor chord.

D Whole tone

The absence of half steps in this scale gives it a dreamy and airy quality. In fact, it has been used as a musical cliché in movies for years when a person has a flash back or dream (To hear this effect, try running up and down the scale from root-to-root). The space and dreaminess evoked by this scale is very suited to atmospheric modal music. McCoy Tyner used this scale on the Wayne Shorter modal track "JuJu":

Side-Stepping
Instead of using a mode derived from the chord you are improvising over, e.g. D Dorian over a Dm chord. Try using a mode derived from the same chord a half step up or down, e.g. Eb Dorian or Db Dorian. Side stepping in and out of different keys from time to time can sound very cool during a modal song. Playing a phrase, and then repeating it when you side step into another key centre can heighten this effect. This is a form of musical parallelism. I recommend downloading Jamey Aebersolds free "Jazz Handbook" which contains a comprehensive guide to chords and there related modes.
Pentatonic Scales
There are lots of 5 notes scales, but the type used most often in jazz improvisation is the pentatonic. The use of the pentatonic scale was popularised by artists such as Chick Corea, McCoy Tyner, Herbie Hancock and John Coltrane. They used them extensively in modal songs they recorded in the 60s - "Maiden Voyage" (Hancock), "Naima" (McCoy Tyner), "Impressions" (Coltrane). They have since become popular with modern jazz musicians.
Pentatonic Types

Major Pentatonic
The major pentatonic conatins the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 6th notes of the major scale:
Minor Pentatonic
The minor pentatonic contains the 1st, 3rd, 4th ,5th and 7th notes of the dorian minor mode:
Patterns
 When listening to a piece of music, most people like to hear some form of repetition from time to time. This repetition could be melodic, harmonic or rhythmic. It gives them a sense of reassurance, an anchor point in a song where they can predict what’s going to happen next. This is can be used in modal music, very effectively, when you want to give a melody some structure for a few bars. For example, lets take a pattern. The rhythm of the pattern is triplets, the melody is made up of notes from Dm and the pattern is ascending to create tension:
Diatonic Patterns/Parallelism
 Now take this pattern “shape” and move it up the piano. Keep all the notes diatonic and make the root of the chord the closest diatonic note available. It doesn’t matter if the intervals are slightly different; the most important aspect of this pattern is the triplet rhythm and the ascending motion:

This pattern can be also played in a descending motion to give a feeling of relaxation or falling. Make up your own phrases and experiment with them, playing diatonically over a mode.

Non-diatonic patterns/Side-Stepping/Parallelism
 Take the pattern learned above and move it an ascending motion up the piano. However, after a few repetitions, instead of keeping all the notes diatonic, replace them with all non-diatonic notes for one phrase. Then for the next phrase move back to all diatonic notes. This side-stepping into another key, for a phrase, while keeping the same rhythm and ascending motion can sound very effective. Your providing repetition and structure to the listener but at the same time throwing them a curve ball. I’m not providing notation for this is it’s all about feel and visualising the shape of the pattern on your instrument. You have to experiment and see what’s works best for you.
Patterns in modal jazz
Patterns are important in modal music because they grab the listener’s attention. Modal jazz improvisations can sound unfocused and meandering sometimes and verge into background music. Patterns introduce a sense of structure for a few bars, which the listener can grab onto. After which you may want to be more ambiguous and impressionistic for a while.

The master of understatement was Bill Evans. He played modal music with a Spartan economy. I recommend listening to his playing to understand the concept of space. For example, listen to the start of the modal track "Re: A Person I Knew".

Another master of "space" was Miles Davis. Listen to his solo on "Blue in Green".

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Pentatonic Sound
 - There are no chromatic half steps between notes in the scale. This gives the scale a very "open" sound, which is well suited to the sense of "space" evoked by many modal jazz records. - The lack of "avoid" notes in the scale mean that it is very versatile and can be used over a number of different chord voicings and harmonies.   - The lack of chromatic and "avoid" notes in the scale, forces the improviser to be very melodic, and inventive, with a small number of notes. Listen to the first few bars of Miles Davis's solo in "So What" to hear this effect.   - The scale can have a simple nursery rhyme type sound, or a traditional sound (it was used on "Auld Lang Syne" and "Swing low sweet chariot"). This can be employed to establish a certain mood for a few bars in a modal song.
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