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.
Music/Tab. The chord sequence is Dm7b5 G7″Altered” resolving to C major 7th
The key to joining all of this together fluently is to break each four note grouping into tetrachords, learning a group at a time.
VARIATION With an A flat Pentatonic shape replacing A flat minor/Major Arpeggio for the flat 5 substitution.
Bebop jazz Lick/line No1
Notice the off-beat set up and triplet figure that pushes the line along. This is a typical bebop phrasing technique. These simple little rhythmic figures are very common but give good command to jazz bebop phrasing.
Jazz bebop line/lick No2
Notice the 8th note and the two 16th notes that propel the line along for a great swinging feel.
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John Mclaughlin Guitar Scale/Concept for left hand fingering and right hand alternate picking
Notice that the scale concept consists of crossing the strings with the “SAME” fingering every time making it easy to remember and play.
Notation and Tab:
Start on a “Down” stroke with the plectrum and alternate pick strictly “Down up Down up” etc.
This fingering for the fretting guitar hand is a repetitive pattern. It’s the same pattern crossing the strings with the same finger ascending and descending. It employs strict alternate picking with the plectrum. It is a concept that John Mclaughlin employs a lot in various forms. It is heard in it’s bare form a lot in the early “Shakti” recordings/live performances.
Although this is just a short lesson, there is wealth of information in that simple scale and fingering. It can easily be employed with fourths and chromaticism.
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