lessons – Modern Music Theory Improvisation and Application

Mastering String Skipping: Fripp/Martino-Style Guitar Techniques

Posted on June 8, 2025June 8, 2025 by Modern Music Theory and Application

Please watch video above for detailed info:

Hi Guys!

Here is the TAB/Notation for the “String Skipping” exercise in the style of guitar great Robert Fripp.

This 12 tone concept was taken from the brilliant 12 chromatic forms of jazz great Pat Martino.

EXERCISE– Analysis:

I am staring this little etude/exercise on an “Up” stroke with alternate picking guitar technique.

As an example here is the first part:

The key to be aware of, is the exploitation of “Octave displacement”. This creates unique harmonies and S.A.T [B] style lines.

As you can see, in the diagram above this is just the chromatic scale, but, moving/resolving through the different registers.

This octave displacement technique, offers us a way to create/extract interesting colourful music from the chromatic scale, whilst, keeping us far away from one string banality.

Although, there is octave displacement, there is also some basic scale parts to link it all together:

I am starting both of these scale fragments on an“Up” stroke with strict alternate picking once again:

fripp-guitar-scales-exercise-alternate-picking-guitar-technique

Also, the last part descends back into the chromatic scale to tie the [Composition] etude back together and give clarity to the ear, and let it know that we are still in an atonal chromatic form.

FULL EXERCISE:

FREE PDF DOWNLOAD:

Fripp Etude Download

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12 Tone Pattern: Scott Collins Guitar Line:

Posted on January 3, 2025January 3, 2025 by Modern Music Theory and Application

Please watch video above for detailed info:

Hi Guys,

Today, a quick look at a Scott Collins 12 tone guitar pattern and applying it to alternate picking guitar technique as an exercise in descending intervallic movement.

First of all, let’s look at the pattern.

I am thinking of these motifs as 3 note “Tri-chords” [as in John ‘O” Gallagher’s book 12 tone improvisation].

Here, are the first 3 pitches as a tri-chord.

TRI-CHORD:

What makes this line interesting is that the “Tri- Chords” move in “Tri-Tones”.

You could view this from a diminished perspective but from a picking perspective it is more like tritones and semitones. This gives it that unique angular sound.

If we look at the example below we can see a classic example of a tri-chord pattern/sequence with the same guitar fingering.

PATTERN: Same fingering

scott-collins-12-tone-symmetrical-guitar-patterns

In the next example, we can see the tri-chords, the tritones and the semitone movement.

TRICHORDS-TRITONES-SEMITONES:

ALTERNATE PICKING:

I am using strict alternate picking guitar technique for this exercise starting this on a “Downstroke”.

I am counting in groups of three note triplets, although, you could count in sextuplets.

There is a lot of one note per string and two notes per string picking. So, remember when you pluck down to pluck back up equally. This very much Robert Fripp style picking and hence you need to be aligned with the string you wish to pluck.

Here is the first part: