There are two parts to this. The second lesson is a variation. The dominant chord in this 2 5 1 is altered.
This creates a nice way to create flow with the fingering when alternate picking in the style of John Mclaughlin. As you play through the Notation/Tab [below] this will become apparent very quickly.
John Mclaughlin guitar lesson finishing with a D flat Triad for G7 alt
LINE BREAKDOWN: Breaking down the line into 4 note cells [Tetrachords]
TETRACHORD 1
TETRACHORD 2
TETRACHORD 3
TETRACHORD 4
TETRACHORD 5
TETRACHORD 6
TETRACHORD 7
TETRACHORD 8
VARIATION of the John Mclaughlin jazz fusion improvisation guitar lesson finishing with an E flat Triad for the G7 alt
John Mclaughlin Altered Dominant Line. Break each group into 4 note cells [Tetrachords] and learn 1 group of 4 notes at a time with the fingering and then join it all together.
6 2 “5- ALTERED” 1Â
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When looking at musical notation it can seem like random notes. But if we break down each group into 4 note groupings called “Tetrachords” we can break down the music theory and play each group on our instrument.
We can then remember the “Sound and Shape” of each cell and then join them together. In turn we can then apply these cells to our own instrumental playing/improvisations.
FULL SOLO LINE/PHRASE
1st Grouping of 4 notes [Tetrachord]=E flat Pentatonic shape/sound [Mixolydian]
2nd Tetrachord=A flat Minor triad and 4th interval [or #11 Â #9 and #5]
3rd Tetrachord=Minor scale fragment [#11 Lydian]
4th Tetrachord=Changing cell. [From flat 9 to C Jazz melodic minor]
5th Tetrachord=Very “Outside” D major pentatonic/4ths
6th Tetrachord =D major Pentatonic sound/shape [very “Out”]
7th Tetrachord=C minor arpeggio and 4th
8th Tetrachord=B flat major Pentatonic sound/shape
9th Tetrachord=C Melodic “Jazz” minor [Augmented] sound/shape [same as 4th Tetrachord]
10th Tetrachord = Perfect 4th and major 3rd creating triad pairs sound/shape [or E flat minor 11 implication or G FLAT/a flat]
Lastly= Flat 6 for C minor
CONCLUSION:
In terms of fingering and musical application on our instruments learning shapes and “Connections” and breaking phrases down into 4 note cells [Tetrachords] is really useful because complex lines can be understood and learnt quickly.
In turn this gives us lots of patterns for improvisation and theoretical knowledge to improvise with as opposed to just playing scales and arpeggios.
If you found this easy then try and break this little solo down into” Hexatonic” scale application. You might find it really interesting!
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Today we will look at a John Mclaughlin alternate picking Jazz/Fusion improvisation cadence employing the altered dominant chord! Please watch the video below and then try it out yourself.
As you will see this cadence employs the Altered scale. It is a 2 [minor 7 flat 5] going to 5 [ “Altered Dominant”] 1 [major 7th]. This being Dm7 flat 5  G7 altered resolving to C major7.
I also employ a flat 5 substitution on the Dm7 flat 5. All of this resolves though and slips nicely into the altered dominant 5 chord. I also use pentatonics within the altered scale for rhythmic flow. Please look at the TAB/MUSIC below and play through it yourself to see and feel how it all “Naturally” unfolds. I employ alternate picking the same as John Mclaughlin.
John Mclaughlin alternate picking altered scale line Music/Tab
VARIATION With an A flat Pentatonic shape replacing A flat minor/Major Arpeggio for the flat 5 substitution.
JOHN MCLAUGHLIN LEFT HAND FINGERING LESSON MUSIC TAB
The key to getting fluidity and developing the ability to play long jazz/fusion guitar phrases up tempo relies on good left hand fingering. Most people focus on the right alternate picking hand and then find it impossible to join/link up the improvised line phrasing /rhythm
The phrases and guitar fingering get generally “Un-guitaristic” when weaving in and out of altered [Dominant] harmony on the guitar fingerboard. This is why it is essential to manipulate the “Left fretting hand” fingering. The fingering that John Mclaughlin employs in much of his jazz guitar playing is available to all as is shown in my two guitar tab/notation examples and video. The secret fingering is actually quite simple and logical.
John Mclaughlin talks about fingering a lot in interviews and even said to Larry Coryell that “Fingering is everything”. When the fingers can move effortlessly and weave in and out of the complex harmonic lines it does become natural to articulate musical phrases into improvisation that way.
THE “SECRET” JOHN MCLAUGHLIN ALTERNATE PICKING GUITAR FINGERING! Revealed!
Above, is a very common John Mclaughlin fingering that he employs to get through fast uptempo phrases. It is actually quite repetitive and very useful for building any scale regardless of that scales intervals or complexity. This is the key to his explosive and effortlessness when alternate picking fluid modern jazz fusion guitar lines. Also, with this fingering it is possible to display excellent chromatic mastery,approach notes and jazz encircling set ups with ease.
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In this blog we will look at the Jazz Melodic Minor scale and its harmony and how to exploit it for jazz/fusion and melodic pop/rock usage. The melodic minor is an exotic and beautiful sounding scale that compliments its corresponding harmony.
If we take the basic C Major scale and play through it we can create a new scale by changing just one note. This is the 3rd note E.
If we flatten this E natural to an E flat note we have the C melodic “Jazz” Minor scale.
Here are the arpeggios for the C melodic “jazz” minor scale in 7ths
Upper Extensions: We can add a “triad” above the arpeggios and create an upper extension on each of the melodic minor’s arpeggios.
It is a good idea to extend the tonic C minor/maj7 Arpeggio to get a good fluid fingering for it as it is a really beautiful exotic sound and can also be used over an altered dominant chord.
Another important point is to get a good fingering by using easier fingerings like the example below. [The easier the fingering the better the intervals sound on the guitar].
It is also a good idea to employ “triad pairs” that exist within the melodic minor scale. Here we have E flat augmented, Â F major, Cmin/maj7, and Dm7
We can also make Pentatonic’s from the melodic minor scale which fit easily in the guitarists fretting hand. Below is an example that could be played over an A minor 7 flat 5 chord [Chord 6 in C melodic “jazz’ minor scale].
Lastly, we have the dominant chord of the C melodic minor scale being G major [Chord 5]. This would normally make G seventh but due to the E flat note in the scale we can now make an “Altered” Dominant chord [G9 Augmented]. We have the note of A for the ninth and the Eb  flat note for the sharpened 5th.
 
