John McLaughlin’s Alternate Picking Techniques for Guitar

Hi Guys,

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:

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.

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.

john-mclaughlin-alternate-picking-guitar-lesson

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.

john-mclaughlin-alternate-picking-guitar-lesson

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.

john-mclaughlin-alternate-picking-guitar-lesson

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”

john-mclaughlin-alternate-picking-guitar-lesson

Finally, we finished with a CMaj9 chord that is then shifted up.

john-mclaughlin-alternate-picking-guitar-lesson-chords

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 .

john-mclaughlin-alternate-picking-guitar-lesson

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.

john-mclaughlin-alternate-picking-guitar-lesson

Finally, we cadence with the chords of E/G# [or E 1st inversion] that then raises the 5th to make it augmented. This then resolves to a hanging A9 chord.

john-mclaughlin-chords-guitar-lesson

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.

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Master John McLaughlin’s Guitar Chord Techniques:

Hi Guys,

Today, a look at the late 60’s early 70’s John McLaughlin guitar chord/riff style of “My goals beyond” and “Extrapolation”.

This is a great compositional vamp style that really brings out the resonance of the guitar. It has a sort of loose swing feel to it, that sort of gritty London soho jazz sound of the time.

The vamp is based around the D6add9 guitar chord shape, with the open E note as a pedal.

john-mclaughlin-chords-lesson

To begin with, we will play the D6add9 chord and then move it up a tone to E6add9 and then back again to D6add9. [see video above]

john-mclaughlin-chords-lesson

As in the video above you will hear/see that I am syncopating/weaving in and out of the bass notes displayed below plucked on the low E string.

john-mclaughlin-bass-lesson

To create colour and contrast we then change the chord in the third bar by moving the shape up to create Dm11/E to G6add9 and back to Dm11/E.

john-mclaughlin-chords-lesson

We then move back to D6add9 and E6add9:

john-mclaughlin-chords-lesson

From here, we move the shape up to A6/9/E to G6/9/D and finally resolving to F#13/E.

The Bass moves down in half steps, E Eb D C#

john-mclaughlin-chords-lesson

We repeat the first part and then end with the chord shape on G A C D E D: strummed over the E pedal bass.

john-mclaughlin-chords-lesson

To conclude, this was just a quick look into strumming extended chords in and out of a melodic bass line. Simple as this is it works really well for creating compositions, wether in a blues form or a verse/chorus structure.

This style excels on the guitar because the bass can be doubled in unison with another instrument, [for example, piano or sax or double bass].

Lastly, the chord shape of the added 6th and 9th [as well as the 11th] resonate sympathetically on the guitar both as a strummed attack or mellowly plucked with the fingers.

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John Coltrane and McCoy Tyner Style Quartal Guitar Line | Jazz Improvisation Lesson

Hi Guys,

Today, a short John Coltrane/McCoy Tyner Style unison jazz quartal guitar line/ jazz head/riff.

This line starts with an anacrusis/upbeat. From here we employ a short pentatonic scale phrase that leads to quartal harmony that resolves down a minor 3rd interval.

I am starting this on an upstroke with strict alternate picking guitar technique.

coltrane-jazz-guitar-lick-lesson

The key to the first phrase is that it plays upon this “Motif” as it gets imitated up the octaves:

coltrane-jazz-guitar-lick-lesson-example

From here, we create contrast by descending with a pentatonic scale and push hard on a sextuplets feel for rhythmic colour and drive.

coltrane-jazz-guitar-lick-lesson

To complete the first part of this phrase, we round it off with two chords of Ab and G9

coltrane-jazz-guitar-lick-lesson

We, will now ascend and frame some interesting intervallic sounds: Opening with 5ths to 4ths with chromatic movement:

Finally, we will play the motif up a semitone one more time and ascend up in semitones to complete the phrase:

coltrane-jazz-guitar-lick-lesson

coltrane-jazz-guitar-lick-lesson
coltrane-jazz-guitar-lick-lesson

This was just a brief look at what can be done with this modal pentatonic quartal jazz style.

It’s a style very well suited to the guitar in terms of fretting and picking and it’s amazing what interesting music you can easily make from this even just by means of imitation.