Today, we will take a I Vi [VI] ii V V I cadence and re-harmonise it with fusion chordsubstitutions/slash chords
To begin with, we will make the chord of C Major into a C6/9 voicing that will resonate well on the guitar.
We, will now employ a slash chord for A7. Here, we will move a flattened 5th away and employ an Eb Triad over an E natural bass.
Let’s now exploit the Dm7 chord. For this we will use a 2nd inversion C Major triad over an F bass note. [Dm9 with an 11th in 1st inversion]
Now, let’s take the first Dominant substitution and go a flat 5th away once again. We will employ a Db Triad over a B bass: [as in an altered 1st inversion]
To manipulate this next Dominant chord we will put the flattened 5th [Db] in the bass and exploit a G triad on top:
To complete the sequence we will resolve back to the tonic chord of C Major but colour it with an F# to make it C Maj7#11
In terms of improvisation we can weave in and out of the re-harmonisation. Here, is an example for an improvised line:
Today, a short “Mid-Tempo” [around 140bpm] JohnMcLaughlin/Shakti style alternate picking guitar exercise for scale connections in the fretting hand.
This is in regard to crossing the strings and connecting different scale fragments together.
BAR 1:
The first concept is that of employing the open string. This gives the fretting hand a hundredth of a second to rest and hence easily get into position to fret the next note at a mid and fast tempo.
Note: fourth 16th note = Open String
In the next part, we can see both open strings employed to make it easy for the fretting hand to get into position and connect to the next scale fragment.
The last note in the bar, the open B natural, makes it easy for us to cross the string smoothly.
Here, is the first bar complete:
BAR 2:
In this bar, we employ semitones as they are easy to finger/fret, and, also to cross the guitar strings when descending.
Extended Variation:
Here, is an extended variation that employs the same alternate picking John McLaughlin concepts that we have just looked at:
INCONCLUSION:
These simple concepts for the fretting hand when alternate picking might not seem much, but, they are the little hinges that swing the big door when holding the tempo together. Especially, when playing with a tabla/drum.
It also makes it easier for the right picking hand to pluck the strings as the fretting hand is not under pressure, and, there are spaces for the fretting hand to rest and get into position.
Today, two exercises for building jazz fusion 16th note double timed improvised guitar lines.
This is applied in the way that guitar great John McLaughlin exploits his alternate picking guitar technique.
This is a “Line builder” that builds through connecting key concepts together and at the same time creating familiarity with them as you do so.
For Example:
Arpeggios, Chromatics, Pentatonic’s, Motifs, Melodic content, Resolutions and Rhythmic offset.
The key is to connect them together in a melodic single note manner that is musical and at the same time logical for the alternate picking.
EXERCISE #1
This exercise starts with an upstroke with an open E string on an “Up beat” [anacrusis].
This then employs an F Major arpeggio with a C to B note resolution.
Straight away, it’s easy to hear the melodic content of the wider intervals of an arpeggio and the resolution.
From here we will now add some chromatic colour.
To complete this phrase we will add the John McLaughlin scale. This slots in nicely to the chromatic scale that we’ve just applied.
It’s smooth, quick and creates that very fluid liquid line sound: Also, notice the offset of the rhythm.
To descend, we will exploit the use of the semitone interval. This is easy for the fretting hand to sequence as it employs repetitive fingering and so is easy to cross the strings with. [The semitones are in the orange marker].
2nd part “Descending”
Finally, we finished with a CMaj9 chord that is then shifted up.
EXERCISE #2 VARIATION:
This exercise is similar to the one above, but, in a different key and different chords.
As before, we start on an up beat with an upstroke. We employ the arpeggio, but, this time it is a suspended fourth with the A note moving down to the G note.
From here, we ascend and exploit the Bb note to emphasise the D Augmented chord. This is then rounded off by slotting in a fragment of our old friend the John McLaughlin scale once more .
We descend with a pentatonic fragment this time and once again exploit the interval of a semitone and sequence it. But, this time with the last 5 notes we also have the intervals of a tone a major 3rd and a minor 3rd.
Finally, we cadence with the chords of E/G#[or E 1st inversion] that then raises the5th to make it augmented. This then resolves to a hanging A9 chord.
IN CONCLUSION:
These are only exercises, but, they do show the melodic/musical nature of the improvised line in regards to alternate picking.
In the jazz fusion style, motifs, melodic content, chromatics, pentatonic’s, rhythmic offset, etc, all work to great effect as they all slot together creating sophisticated double time lines.
