Advanced Guitar Soloing

This book, a follow-up to Guitar Soloing, is the next step-an advanced player's guide to mastering the art of melodic improvisation. • CD includes 22 tracks for demonstration and play-along • Scales, modes, arpeggios, technique, creativity and visualization exercises • Rock, blues, jazz, and other styles • Sequences, phrases, and licks

Book $9.95 CD $10.00 = Pkg $19.95 Par ts not sold separately

ISBN 0-634-03100-7

0

11111111 1111111111 1111 73999 9 5636 HL00695636

8

I able of Contents Introduction . . ... .. .. .. . ................. . ........... .. .. ..... . . . .. . ..... .. ... 4 About the Authors .................... . ...... ..... ... ... .. .... .. ...... . ... .... 4 Chapter 1

Modal Interchange ....................... . ................. . ....... 5

2

The Melodic Minor Scale . ... . ............. .. ....................... 11

3

The Phrygian and Locrian Minor Scales ............................... 16

4

Double Stops .................................................... 21

5

The Lydian Scale . .. .. .. .. .. . ... . ... .. ..... . ...................... 27

6

The Lydian Dominant Scale .. . ..................................... 31

7

The Altered Scale ................................................ 36

8

The Dominant Chord ................ .. .. ......... .. ...... . ... ..... 41

9

Secondary Dominants in Major Keys . .. .. .. ................. . ... ... .. 45

10

Secondary Dominants in Minor Keys . . . ... . ...... . .. .......... ... ... . 49

11

Chromaticism ... . .. . .. .. . .. .. .. . .. . .. .... ... .. .. .. .... .. ..... .. . 53

12

The Whole Tone Scale and Augmented Arpeggio .................... ... 59

13

Diminished Sounds .. . ... . .......... ... ............. .. ... .... ... .. 64

14

Slash Chords ...... . ... . ... . .. .. ..... . ....... ..... .. .. ..... .. ... . 70

15

Chord Scale Playing ...................... . .. ..... . .... . . ......... 75

16

Spicing It Up .................................................... 78

17

Putting It All Together ................................ . ............ 82

Afterword .................................................................. 91 Guitar Notation Legend . ... . ...... . ........... ... ........................... 92

Introduction his book is a guide to learning and mastering the craft of guitar improvisation on a professional level. Two of M.l .'s top instructors lay out a comprehensive , step-by-step approach to developing the chops and musicianship to help you play professional quality solos in any style. Each chapter gives you diagrams, exercises, techniques, licks, and an "insider's view" on how to apply each and every sound. The play-a-long CD is packed with great grooves to help you practice applying the concepts presented. Also included are sixteen licks and six solos- one at the start of each track. This book will provide you with an advanced approach to understanding and using the fretboard creatively! It can be used as a continuation of the concepts iintroduced in the M.I. Press book Guitar Soloing, or as continuing education for the advanced guitarist. Take your time and play it through from cover to cover, or work on each chapter as needed. Enjoy, and happy soloing!

T

About the Autho1rs Daniel Gilbert is a New York City-born guitarist who has been working at Musicians Institute since 1979. He has written much of the school 's guitar-based curriculum, including Single-String Improvisation, Funk Rhythm Guitar, and Applied Technique. Along with his busy recording schedule, Daniel continues to do club gigs, sessions, and seminars in California, as well as Japan, the East Coast, and Europe. He is currently working on his sHcond album of rock, jazz, and blues-based instrumental music. (His first album, Mr. Invisible, is distributed in Europe.) Beth Marl is is the current Department Head of GIT (Guitar Institute of Technology), where she has been an instructor since 1987. She holds a Masters degree in music from USC, a B.A. in music from UC Santa Cruz, and is a Vocational Honors graduate of GIT. While working her way up the musical food chain, Beth has performed with a wide range of artists including Harold Land , Brownie McGee, Louis Beillson, Helen Reddy, et al. She has also been involved with various music videos, recording projects, and has composed numerous film scores, while maintaining a career as a professional "sideman" in L.A.

Dan and Beth are also co-authors of the Ml Press Guitar Soloing book/CD package published by Hal Leonard Corporation. They also appear in the companion instructional video, Guitar Soloing.

4

Objectives •

To recognize modal interchange in chord progressions.

•

To analyze progressions that use modal interchange.

•

To understand the different ways to practice over modal interchange progressions.

•

To improvise over progressions that use modal interchange.

EXERCISE 1 : Creativity Exercise This exercise comes from Guitar Soloing, part one of this series: Sing any short melody or lick, and then try to copy it on your guitar. This is a critical part of developing a ''fusion" between yourself and the instrument. The more you have fused this connection, the more you will be able to directly communicate your creative musicality and "find your voice" in a natural way.

Modal Interchange Chord Progressions Up to this point, you may be accustomed to thinking of most chord progressions in popular music as "major" or "minor'' in tonality. Modal interchange is the practice of borrowing chords from the parallel key (a key with the same tonic note). In the most typical situation, this would involve a major-tonality progression using chords from the parallel minor key. The standard approach to creating melodies over chord progressions is to use a key center approach, which involves grouping adjacent chords into a scale and using that scale over all the chords to produce melodies. Playing over modal interchange chord progressions can be seen as a variation of key center playing. The improviser must be thoroughly familiar with major and minor scale harmonies, but it is also useful to think of Roman numeral interpretations for modal interchange chords, in which each chord in a progression is assigned a numeral that can be sharp or flat, depending on the tonality of the progression: • Major Scale Harmony: I major(?), ii minor(?), iii minor(?), IV major(?), V, vi minor(?), vii minor~ 5 • Minor Scale Harmony: i minor(?), ii minor?~ 5, ~Ill major(?), iv minor(?), v minor(?), bv1 major(?), bv11major(dom.7) Each of the following progressions utilizes modal interchange. Note the "odd" chords arnd practice thinking of them as "iv minor;' "b v1 major," or "iii minor." Fig.1A G

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Playing over Progressions that Use Modal Interchange Once modal interchange chords have been located within the progression, it's sinnply a matter of switching to the parallel minor scale when soloing over them. Let's practice over the pmgressions given above. When first learning to do this, it is helpful to play a constant eighth-note improvisation, forcing our hands to shift into the new scale smoothly. Play the following exercise based on the progression from Fig. 1A: Fig. 2

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Notice that when you switch to the parallel minor scale, the melody stays in approximately the same position on the neck. This forces the player to be smooth when transitioning from one scale to the other. The next example is based on the chord progression from Fig. 1B. This example uses more rhythms (a mixture of quarter, eighth, sixteenth notes, and triplets). Play it in as many different positions as possible: Fig.3

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The next example demonstrates the concept of changing only one or two notes of a repeating musical motif to fit the change in harmony. This is a very effective tool for making modal interchange sound smooth: Fig.4

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Chapter 1 Begin slowly, and for musicality, add your own performance techniques, such as bends, vibrato, hammer-ens and pull-offs, different rhythms, etc. Here are three more ideas to use over chord progression 1B. The first uses a repeating motif. (Try it with an R&B or Bossa groove.)

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t Ei1 ~II EXERCISE 2 In the space provided below, write your own musical motif over example 1B. Adjust the! necessary notes to reflect the movement between A major and A minor tonalities.

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II

7

Analyzing Modal Interchange Progressions Each of the following progressions uses modal interchange chords. Locate these chords and practice thinking of them in terms of Roman numerals. Play the progressions and try to hear the modal interchange chords. Fig. SA G

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Improvising over Modal lntercha1•ge Progressions Now that you've located the modal interchange chords, it's time to try improvising over the progressions. As you play over each of these progressions:

1. Play a steady eighth-note study in the same pattern. 2. Use different rhythms while keeping position shifting to a minimum.

3. Play a motif that changes only the necessary notes to fit the modal interchange cl1ords. 4. Play a steady eighth-note study that uses arpeggios only (first, use major aind minor, then seventh arpeggios). 5. Be able to do all these things in at least two patterns. 6. Try hooking up the entire neck while switching between major and minor tonalities.

Chapter 1 Lick The following example, set over the Chapter 1 Chord Progression, demonstrates all of the ideas listed above. Play th rough it slowly, using different patterns, positions, and shifting t13chniques. Add bends and any other performance techniques you "hear."

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=II 9

Chapter One

REVIEW

1. Be able to recognize modal interchange in chord progressions. 2. Be able to name modal interchange chords in Roman numerals. 3. Be able to play the given chord progressions. 4. Be able to play the given melodic examples. 5. Be able to improvise over each of the given progressions using all six of the given methods.

10

)The Melodic Minor Scale

Objectives •

To learn the construction of the melodic minor scale and its application.

•

To learn fingering patterns of the melodic minor scale.

•

To learn sequences and phrases that demonstrate the sound of the melodic minor sc:ale.

•

To apply the melodic minor scale to chord progressions.

EXERCISE 1: Melodlc Contours Often, melodic lines can be analyzed in a graphic context as melodic contours (or line shapes). Any given shape can be spread out over many bars or contained in a single measure. Her•e are some examples: 1. The Sine Wave

This shape is very symmetrical 'and often indicates stepwise scale or arpeggio movement. It can also imply the use of chromatic passing tones. ·

F II 2. The Sawtooth Wave The sawtooth, with its sharper drop-off, can often imply the so.und of a scale, motif, or "thematic or arpeggio sequence. A classic example of this is the "group of tour" sequence.

3. The "nian~le wave This sh8J?0 denotes an ascending and descending sequence. The example shows a "g1roup--of-five" sequence in the harmonic minor scale.

..

Examine the mekx:lies given in the last chapter in terms of the three shapes above. H1ow.are they connected? Wl'.lat sort of "moods" do .they create? We will discus$ melodic contours further in exercises to come. 1

11

Construction o'f the Melodic Minor Scale 1

The melodic minor scale can be most easily seen as a variation of the natural minor scale. Simply raising the sixth and seventh degrees of the natural minor scale yields the melodic minor scale. Building this scale from a tonic of C, we get these notes:

1/2 step

c 1

/

D 2

\_

1/2 step I

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F 4

G

A

5

6

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The improviser should be able to construct this scale from any tonic.

Applications o'f the Melodic Mino1• Scale By harmonizing the melodic minor scale, we can easily see some of the chord types over which this scale can be used. The i chord is a minor triad with a natural seventh, known as a minor major 7 chord. The melodic minor scale may be played from the root of this chord. The scale can also be played over a straight minor triad (using the same root as the triad) if the improviser wishes to hear that melodic minorscale ''flavor:' The melodic minor scale has a very bright sound to it. It resembles a minor scalei in the first four notes, and a major scale through the remaining notes. This scale also yields modes (scales) which have become widely used in many forms of jazz and fusion music. These modes will be shown in the final chapter of this book.

Patterns o'f the Melodic Minor Sc:ale Fingering patterns for this scale are variations of the patterns of the natural minor scale. Feel free to change fingerings or even work out fingerings based on three-note-per-string pat!terns. Begin by learning patterns 2 and 4, then move on to the remaining patterns when you feel confid1ent that you can use the first two. (Since Patterns 2 and 4 are to be learned first, they will be listed first on each pattern diagram throughout this book.) Fig.1

pattern 4

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A major chord which is prepared, i.e. preceded by its V, uses the major scale. Unprepared major chords sound good with the Lydian scale.

27

Patterns 'for the Lydiani Scale These fingering patterns for the Lydian scale are based on a variation (raising the fourth degree) of the major scale. As always, begin with patterns 2 and 4, learning the others only after these two are at your disposal for making music! Fig. 2

Moti'fs and Phrases 'for the Lydian Scale Motifs are short groups of notes that constitute a musical idea. A phrase is a musical idea comprised of several motifs. You can work motifs through the scale as sequences, or simply collect them as musical material to be hooked up into longer phrases. The following examples contain both motifs and longer phrases. Sequence one or two of the motifs and learn to play the longer phrases: Fig. 3

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Chapter 5 Try playing all of these ideas in different keys and fingering patterns. Always apply performance techniques! Here are more licks that use the Lydian sound. All examples are from the C Lydian scale:

Fig.4

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29

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Chapter 5 Lick This is a triadic sequence that uses C major and D major triads to outline a Lydian sound. (These triads are part of the Lydian harmony as the I and II chords.) Use this idea over the Chapter 5 chord progression. Also try it over Cma7, Cadd9(#11), and C6/9(#11).

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Chapter Five

REVIEW

1. Be able to construct the Lydian scale from any tonic. 2. Know when to use the Lydian scale. 3. Be able to play two fingering patterns for the Lydian scale. 4. Be able to play the Lydian scale motifs and phrases. 5. Be able to improvise over the play-a-long progression.

30

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.'T he Lydian · Dominant Scale Objectives •

To learn the construction and applications of the Lydian dominant scale.

•

To learn the patterns of the Lydian dominant scale.

•

To learn motifs and ph rases based on the Lydian dominant scale.

•

To apply the Lydian dominant scale to chord progressions.

EXERCISE 1: Pedal Tones The use of pedal tones (or "pec;faling") is an improvisational device that hooks ancl holds the listener's ear by creating a point of re!erence from which to develop motifs into phrases. While it is not necessary to select a strong chord tone as your pedal tone, it's a good place to begin. This example shows the most common form of pedaling: alternation between the pedal tone (C) and an ascending or descending line. Try playing it backwards too! C blues turnaround

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II

EXERCISE2 In this example, the pedal tone is used less frequently, but still unifies the phrase as the nnotifs shift.

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