Modern Music Theory Improvisation and Application
Lessons from Jazz/World to 20 Century Classical Music Harmony Rhythm and Theory
How to improvise over altered dominant chords. How to employ chromatic jazz and fusion harmony. Apply twentieth century classical composition techniques to modern jazz music and improv. How to exploit modes of the major. minor and diminished scales. Lesson in alternate picking guitar techniques as used by John Mclaughlin and Al di Meola. How to do metal rock and all styles of alternate picking on the guitar. Plectrum pick technique for electric and acoustic guitarists. alternate guitar style of picking lessons.
The video above is a quick fire John Mclaughlin jazz fusion guitar lick. The lick employs strict alternate picking starting on a downstroke.
John Mclaughlin Jazz/Fusion Lick Tab/Notation
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Dorian b2 Mode
Two octaves; Tab and Notation
To Begin with let’s look at the arpeggios of the Dorian b2 mode. Notice the Two Major arpeggios.
They are E flat Major and F Major
We can immediately make Triad Pairs from them
Variation:
We can Sharpen the 5th and create a more exotic and colourful sound
We can add Gm7b5 and Am7b5 to the Major or F aug arpeggio
We can employ the B flat minor 9 major 7th arpeggio
Here we can add it to the F major arpeggio
It is an even better idea to start the B flat minor 9 major 7th arpeggio on the tonic note of C
Here we will extend the Am7b5 part of the line
We can also make scales from the mode. Below is an example of creating a scale and then adding harmonic content with wider intervals like triads.
Making our own pentatonic scales from the mode works really well also.
Here is a short sus4 and aug Lick
Another short lick
These are the basic chords of the Dorian b2 mode
Of course we can change the chords to make them more exotic and colourful
We also have the typical jazz fusion chords contained within the Dorian flat 2 mode of the melodic minor scale
Below we create a very exotic colourful “‘al la” John Mclaughlin sound!
Dorian b2 Backing Track:
Dorian b2 Chord Chart:
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The key to improvising is to do something creative with the melody. To recompose it or to broaden it out or to instinctively develop the harmony. Most people take to the modes though with a compulsion to play “Carte Blanche” scale over a chord ad nauseam.
In this Blog/Vlog we will look at some ideas for bringing out the actual flavour of the most talked about mode of them all the “Dorian Mode”.
Most people look at the dorian mode as being a scale of C major starting on the note D. But here is how it works.
ANSWER=D is one tone up from C for D Dorian, so C is one tone up from Bb for C Dorian.
Below we see the difference between C minor and C dorian. C minor has the semitone between the 6th and 5th whereas C Dorian has a tone between the 5th and 6th notes. Dorian Raises the 6th note up a semitone. Without the raised 6th note C would just sound minor and not dorian, so bringing out this 6th note [as it will be in a melody to imply that we are in the dorian mode] is essential to creating actual music and phrasing and not just playing a scale over a chord.
In order to bring out that A natural note in C dorian an easy way is to employ an arpeggio like Bb major 7th. This is very useful, melodic and can be played in 4 note groupings.
Next we can employ some basic chord pairs.
C minor 7 and F major
F major and Eb major
Now we can broaden out on this with C minor and D minor
Bb and G minor
We can also employ pentatonics to bring out the flavour [melody] of a tune.
Another example =Short pentatonic scale that ends/resolves with the A natural note [Raised 6th] and played in 4 note cells [Tetrachords]
Finally it’s a good idea to look at the arpeggios available that line up one after the other.
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