Tag: music theory

How to apply it to the guitar fingerboard. jazz theory and improvisation in practice at the guitar fretboard. How chords are made. How to use scales. The modes of the major and melodic minor scale. Altered chords and scale lessons.

“In a Silent Way” Zawinul/McLaughlin Guitar Analysis

Posted on by Modern Music Theory and Application

John McLaughlin/joe Zawinal “In a silent way” Guitar Analysis Lesson

Please watch video above for detailed info:

Hi Guys,

Today, a look at the amazing performance/improvisation of “In a Silent Way” by John McLaughlin and Joe Zawinul.

PART 1:

The key to this is to look at the 16 bar structure and view the two main chords and acknowledge how the melody is/can be contained within them.

FORM and CHORDS Chart:

A notated piece of sheet music for Joe Zawinal and John McLaughlin "In a silent way" chords and melody.
Musical notation illustrating the chords E6/11 and Bm7/E for ‘In a Silent Way’ Zawinal/McLaughlin

So, from this simple chart we can observe that we have two main prominent chords. These are E6/11

Musical sheet showing an E6/11 John McLaughlin chord diagram with specific finger placements on a guitar neck.
Chord diagram for E6/11, highlighting its structure used in the performance of ‘In a Silent Way.’

and Bm7/E

Chord diagram for Bm7/E John McLaughlin chord featuring finger placements on the guitar fretboard.
Chord diagram for McLaughlin’s Bm7/E, illustrating finger placements and string usage.

6/11 as Substitutions;

Here, is how the 6/11 is exploited by John for the intro: So, instead of the plain minor 7th chords we have:

A music sheet showing chord progressions by John McLaughlin and Joe Zawinal labeled G#m Sub, F#m Sub, and Dm Sub with corresponding note positions indicated by numbers on the staff. This is for the song "In a silent way".
Chord chart showing G#m, F#m, and Dm substitutions with a pedal bass note for guitar improvisation.

PART 2: Chord Melody Barre Shapes:

Now, let’s loosely add some chords [Shapes] to the melody, and see what we can come up with,

EXAMPLE: Notice that the 1st note of each melody section [circled] fits perfectly within the chord shape.

A sheet of music by John McLaughlin and Joe Zawinal notation featuring various notes, chords labeled E6/11 and D6/11, with annotations indicating E/F# from "In a silent way"
Chord progression and melody outline for ‘In a Silent Way,’ highlighting E6/11 and D6/11 McLaughlin chords.

In terms of harmonising the melody and creating a nice ethereal or dissonant resonance on the guitar it is a really good idea to employ a pedal note.

In this case it is the low E string.

Example:

Sheet music displaying Joe Zawinal and John McLaughlin's "In a silent way" notes with a marked 'Pedal E Bass' section and tablature notation.
Notation example highlighting the use of a pedal E bass “In a silent way” in the chord sequence.

To conclude, we will cadence nicely with the 7sus4 chord and a little descending run back to the tonic chord of E Major.

A sheet of music featuring guitarist John McLaughlin's little bass run highlighted in red with annotations for A/B and E chords for "In a silent way" song.

FREE PDF DOWNLOAD

in a silent wayDownload

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Fripp Part 2 Download

Posted on by Modern Music Theory and Application
Robert Fripp Guitar Techniques Lesson Fretting and Dynamics

Fripp Part 2 -Video Re-Edit :

Hi Guys,

Here, is the Pdf Download with the Music Notation and Tab for guitar for the Fripp Part 2 Guitar Concepts:

Fripp-2Download

Unlock Your Guitar Skills with Pat Martino’s Triad Pair Techniques

Posted on by Modern Music Theory and Application

Please watch video above for detailed info:

Hi Guys,

Today, a quick look at building interesting, creative, melodic lines by pairing simple triads together.

PART 1:

To begin with, let’s join the triads of F and G [back to F] together

Sheet music illustrating the chord pairing of F and G triads in a melodic line of jazz guitarist Pat Martino.
Musical notation illustrating the triad pairs of F and G for creative melodic lines.

We will now, extend the line further by employing the same two triads once again,

Sheet music showing melodic lines with F and G triad pairs of guitarist Pat Martino highlighted.
Pat Martino F and G triad pairs to create melodic jazz lines.

At this point we will end the phrase and create a cadence with our two triads,

Musical notation showing the triad pairs of G and F in a jazz melodic line, with highlighted notes and annotations.
Musical notation showing the pairing of triad pairs F and G for melodic development.

We will now shape a new line and ascend with the triads of F G and C

Sheet music showing pairing of triads F, G, and C of guitarist Pat Martino with annotations highlighting jazz melody and note positions.
Musical notation illustrating the use of F, G, and C triads for melodic jazz line construction.

At this point the triad pairs have started to become formulaic

So, we will add some colour.

To achieve this, we will now go in the opposite direction and descend with a classic Pat Martino lick

Musical notation showing a jazz guitarist Pat Martino melodic line with a labeled lick, featuring notes on a staff and highlighting specific sections for musical instruction.
Musical notation illustrating a classic Pat Martino lick, focusing on descending triad pairs.

This leads us in nicely to exploit some chromatic set ups with target tones

Sheet music showing jazz guitarist Pat Martino's musical phrase with highlighted notes and text label 'Target Tones'. for chromatic improvisation.
Musical notation for guitar illustrating target tones for improvisation.

From this, we can bring in our G Major triad/arpeggio to give a wider intervallic sound to give a sense of distance from our chromatic notes.

Musical notation showing a melodic line with notes and a highlighted segment in red, labeled with a G.

Finally, to complete the lick we will employ some basic scale movement with chromatic fragments for the A7 chord.

Musical notation for an A7 chord with highlighted notes and finger positions.

IN CONCLUSION:

Although, this was a long phrase It acts as a useful example to hear and see how natural it is to build off of triad pairs for the improvised line.

These triad pairs also create a really nice melodic and fluid way to start a phrase.

Lastly, due to the way triad pairs are offset rhythmically, the improvised line generally possesses a more composed and polished sound.

FREE PDF DOWNLOAD:

Pat Martino Triad PairsDownload

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