A Natural Minor Scale/Chords/Arpeggios:

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A Natural Minor Scale/Arpeggio:Basics

Hi Guys,

Today a quick look at the Chords,Scale and Arpeggios of the A natural minor scale.

To begin with this scale is exactly the same as the C Major scale but starting on the 6th degree:

c-major-chords-of-scale-diagram

a-minor-natural-chords-of-scale-diagram

Next we will play through and exploit and “Colour” the arpeggios of the scale:

a-minor-arpeggio-diagram

b-dim-arpeggio-diagram

c-major-arpeggio-diagram

d-minor-arpeggio-diagram

e-minor-arpeggio-diagram

f-major-arpeggio-diagram

g-major-arpeggio-diagram

We will now descend in broken chords in groups of 4 notes.

arpeggios-c-major-scale

Here are a few examples of playing a different arpeggio over a different chord of the scale:

arpeggios-c-major-scale-superimpositions

Here is a basic way of breaking up the scale by employing triplets:

First we will do this on one string:

a-minor-scale-triplets-example

Now we will cross all 6 strings:

a-minor-scale-triplets-example

This time we will employ 16th’s in 4 note groupings of “Tetrachords” creating a double time smooth pentatonic line.

tetrachords-a-natural-minor-scale-example-pentatonic

We can change the Dominant [minor] chord in the A natural minor scale and make it Major:

With this in mind we realise that the G natural is now a G# and so we can employ the A Harmonic minor scale to play over it.

Here is a simple 2 finger fingering:

a-harmonic-minor-scale-dominat-chord-example

Now, let’s extend this:

a-harmonic-minor-scale-dominat-chord-example

We could also use the E7 Arpeggio:

e7-dominant-arpeggios-example

Finally, we have a lick with an arpeggio [that also implies a triad pair] going to a pentatonic phrase:

E-dominat-chord-guitar-lick

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“Lotus Feet” Shakti Scale Solo Concepts

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Hi Guys,

Today, a quick look at exploiting the Em scale for John McLaughlin’s and Shakti’s composition “Lotus Feet”.

The key to making a solo sound interesting is to highlight the prominent notes of the scale: In this case it is the semitones F# G and B and C.

lotus-feet-shakti-guitar-solo-how-to

Here are the semitones ascending:

Here, they are descending:

lotus-feet-shakti-guitar-solo-how-to

Also, take into consideration that the F# note will make the Cmaj7 Lydian:

lotus-feet-shakti-guitar-solo-how-to

Now, let’s add one extra note to the semitones and create an imitated phrase going through the octaves.

lotus-feet-shakti-guitar-solo-how-to

Now, we will connect some scale to the semitones ascending:

lotus-feet-shakti-guitar-solo-how-to

Here we will connect three tetrachords in 3/4 creating a smooth pentatonic style line:

lotus-feet-shakti-guitar-solo-how-to

Another key component when improvising is to exploit the arpeggios within the scale:

Two arpeggios that work well for this composition are Em and Bm:

lotus-feet-shakti-guitar-solo-how-to

E minor:

lotus-feet-shakti-guitar-solo-how-to

Mixing the scale with the arpeggio also works really well.

lotus-feet-shakti-guitar-solo-how-to

It’s always a good idea to have a few pentatonic’s from the scale at hand:

Here we can manipulate the Em, Bm, and Am to good effect. Again we can make them more unique by adding the semitones:

Em Pentatonic:

lotus-feet-shakti-guitar-solo-how-to

Bm Pentatonic:

lotus-feet-shakti-guitar-solo-how-to

Am Pentatonic:

lotus-feet-shakti-guitar-solo-how-to

Now, lets connect two fragments together:

lotus-feet-shakti-guitar-solo-how-to

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Alternate Picking John Mclaughlin Style v7 1 EXERCISE.

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Alternate Picking John Mclaughlin Style

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Hi Guys,

Today we will look at a ii V7 extension in the improvisational style of jazz/fusion guitarist John McLaughlin.

HARMONY/CHORD SEQ

This is a cadential ii V7 I, but before the chord I resolution there is an added chord. This is chord Vii as a Dominant 7th. In this case this is B7:

john-mclaughlin-guitar-improvisation-technique

So, this is the chord sequence/cadence that we will improvise over.

I start this with an up-beat employing strict alternate picking.

I start the phrase on an “Upstroke” so that when I start on the 1st beat of the 1st bar I can start on a “Downstroke”for familiarity.

john-mclaughlin-guitar-improvisation-technique

The first bar is basic pentatonic scale movement. But, notice that the 2nd half of the bar encapsulates the classic McLaughlin guitar fingering signature phrase.

john-mclaughlin-guitar-improvisation-technique

The next part employs pentatonic movement again. The key is in shifting positions in the second half of the bar.

john-mclaughlin-guitar-jazz-improvisation-technique

Lastly, we have the B7 chord. We start with a second inversion F#9 outline and then we establish the 7th with the A natural. We finally cadence by landing on the note G natural the 5th of CMaj7.

john-mclaughlin-guitar-jazz-improvisation-technique

FULL LICK:

john-mclaughlin-guitar-jazz-improvisation-technique

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