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Josef Matthias Hauer: Compositional Tropes Techniques: Zwölftonspiel

Posted on by Modern Music Theory and Application

Please Watch Video Above for detailed info:

Hi Guys,

Today, a look this great but lesser known Austrian composer:

ATONAL BEGINNINGS:

Many people associate the abandonment of traditional tonality, wether 12 tone/serialism or some other form with the second Viennese school of composers, especially that of Arnold Schoenberg.

But, there was another thinker, composing at the same period of time [some say before] creating in his own unique atonal form…..

His name was Josef Matthias Hauer.

TROPES:

Hauer took a different approach by exploiting atonality and employing “Tropes”.

These consist of an “unordered pair” of complementing “Hexatonic” six note sets/groupings that employ all 12 notes of the chromatic scale. [The key being to play the first 6 notes before moving onto the next 6 notes].

EXAMPLE 1:

image showing Hauer tropes in 2 hexatonic sets

Guitar Version:[Sextuplets]

Image demonstrating an example of Joseph Mattius Hauer tropes for music composition.

EXAMPLE 2: [Exploiting Both Whole Tone Scales]

Although, they are hexachords these tropes can also work well divided into three 4 note groupings of “Tetrachords”

HAUER’S 44 TROPES: [479 million permutations into 44]

Example of Hauer’s personal writing’s:

EXPLORING A TROPE:

We, will take this as our “Trope”

image depicting Hauer's trope sets

Now, let’s extend this to two octaves:

Image showing an example of Josef Mattias Hauer tropes for music composition.

From here, we will play the same trope in an intervallic manner: [Strict-each note in order ]

Image showing Josef Mattias Hauer tropes in intervallic form for music composition and improvisation

This time, let’s play each trope with the notes in a different order: [Not strict]

Josef Mattias Hauer's intervallic music tropes fro composition and improvisation

Here, we have “Trope”-in an Arpeggio Form;

Example.1

image of Josef Mattias Hauer arpeggio tropes for music composition

Example. 2

demonstration that shows JJosef Mattias Hauer tropes as arpeggios for music composition technique.

Example. 3

Demonstration image of Josef Mattias Hauer tropes as arpeggios for music composition technique.

Finally, the trope as a lick:

image for Josef Mattias Hauer improvised line

Video Examples:

Josef Matthias Hauer Guitar Examples of Trope manipulation

TRI-CHORDS:

From, our tropes we can create chords.

These can be,

Dyads–2note chords,

Tri-chords–3 note chords,

Quartal–4 note chords,

Penta–5 note chords

Hexatonic–6 note chords.

For this short blog we will exploit 2 note voicing’s.

Here, is an example of our two hexatonic’s as “Dyads”

image demonstrating an example of Josef Mattias Hauer dyad ic2 note chordal tropes for music composition. Music theory lesson guitar tablature and music notation.

We could also superimpose the retrograde of our trope on top of our trope:

image example of Joseph Mattius Hauer superimposing music tropes

From this, we can exploit some more harmony with dyads:

image demonstrating an example of Josef Mattias Hauer superimposition dyads

COMPOSITION:

Here, is an example displaying some harmonic movement and chordal development that I quickly manipulated form our trope. [See-Chords in video chapter above]

image of Josef Mattias Hauer musical tri -chords
Hauer Compositon Tropes Example

IN CONCLUSION:

This was just a very brief look at Hauer’s tropes. It’s an amazing concept because original harmonic content and original ideas develop naturally as the material reveals itself.

These simple tropes give birth to a wealth of creative content that can lead one into directions that may not have ever been taken or otherwise thought of or even considered.

PDF DOWNLOAD:

Hauer-music-lessonDownload

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Mastering Slash Chords: The B/C Explained

Posted on by Modern Music Theory and Application
B/C GUITAR SLASH CHORDS GUITAR LESSON AND EXAMPLES

Please watch video above for detailed info:

Hi guys,

Today, a quick look at the idea of employing slash chords.

To do this we will focus on one specific chord that of B/C.

CHORD VOICING:

In the notation/tablature below, notice the use of a B Major triad over a C bass:

John McLaughlin guitar Slash Chord B/C Example in TAB and music notation

Here, are a few more voicing’s:

1]

2]

3]

4]

SOLO LINE EXAMPLES:

This chord works well with the diminished scale. But, in order to come up with something unique we are going to take a different approach.

Because, we have the B Major chord we can exploit Pat Martino’s minor conversion technique.

In this case, we will employ the minor a Major 3rd up. This will be D#/Eb as the minor key:

IDEA 1:

Here, we will employ the simple Eb minor arpeggio:

IDEA 2:

This time, we will employ scale movement inside of the Eb minor arpeggio shape in a horizontal form.

diagram depicting guitarist John McLaughlin improvisation over Slash Chord B/C Example in music notation and guitar tablature

IDEA 3:

Let’s do the same, but, play with the notation and give it a diminished flavour:

IDEA 4:

Now, let’s take a B Major arpeggio and ascend it by making sure our C bass note is within it.

NOTE: There are also two open string notes of D natural [minor 3rd] and the open E. I used these as they make the arpeggio flow easily when alternate picking.

How to play a John McLaughlin guitar arpeggio example for altered slash chord of B/C

IDEA 5:

We can also add some chromaticism for smooth movement.

COMPOSITION- APPLICATION IN CADENCE

Finally, let’s see how composition can be exploited with our slash chord.

To do this, we will create a ii V7 I cadence:

diagram depicting guitarist John McLaughlin cadence and jazz composition

NOTICE: In the example above, we can see that the minor becomes diminished and the Dominant becomes 13b9 and the I chord becomes our slash chord that resolves yet hangs in the air.

PDF DOWNLOAD:

pdf DownloadDownload

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Master the Whole Tone Scale with Simple Fingering

Posted on by Modern Music Theory and Application

Please watch video above for detailed info:

Hi Guys,

If there are two scales that I am always asked about, these are the whole tone scale and the diminished scale.

But, out of the two, it’s the whole tone scale especially!…And it’s due to the general textbook cumbersome and awkward fingering that puts guitarists off.

So, today let’s take a look at how to play the Whole Tone Scale with a simple fingering like that which we would employ for the pentatonic scale.

PART 1:

Standard textbook guitar fingering:

This, 3 note per string example above is a pretty uncomfortable and awkward affair that dosen’t flow and isn’t especially fluent for quick passages or phrases.

So what do we do?

Well, the answer is to approach it like we would the pentatonic scale, so that we can move the SHAPE about and at the same time we can VISUALISE it.

PART 2:

Here, is a preferred fingering that uses mainly 2 fingers: This, like the pentatonic means that we can move about quickly.

Musical staff and guitar tablature showing notes and finger positions of the whole tone scale in pentatonic form with red slur and bend markings

What’s truly great about this fingering is that we can copy and repeat it exactly “Down 1 Tone or Up 1 Tone” each time right along the guitar fingerboard.

BASIC SCALE SHAPE/FINGERING;

Copy Shape Exactly Ascending:

Copy Shape Exactly Descending:

Copy Shape Exactly Ascending:

This means that we can easily exploit the scale, play it fluently and see it visually which in turn gives us complete command of it.

PART 3:

Now, that we can see and hear what we are doing and have a fluent fingering let’s make use of the scale harmonically.

To begin with, let’s use a flattened 5th interval [and Bb7] over a moving bass. [See video at the top of the page].

Now, let’s use this same harmony and create an [arpeggiated] chordal picking vamp:

Sheet music and guitar tablature showing a repeating whole tone scale triplet pattern with flat notes and finger positions on the 5th, 7th, 9th, and 10th frets

Again, it’s easy to see and hear how we can quickly create composition now that we can visualise a simple shape all across the guitar fingerboard.

PART 4:

What, also works really well from this visual whole tone approach is the exploitation of the high low high [or mirroring] effect.

EXAMPLE 1: High to Low

Sheet music with treble clef and tablature showing whole tone scale musical notes and finger positions on a guitar fretboard

Here, we will create a little phrase that’s going back and forth between the low and high registers.

EXAMPLE 2: Back and Forth

PART 5:

We will now apply this simple scale fingering to a classic Messiaen chord

Application and example:

Sheet music and guitar tablature for a Messiaen piece in Gb9b5/E chord showing notes and finger positions

PART 6:

Finally, we can come out of the shape and move up and down the fingerboard connecting the whole tone [1 step] movements.

So, let’s take a chord of C augmented with a 9th:

As we can see, it’s easy to move down the fingerboard shifting through scale and arpeggio along the way. [See, video above]

IN CONCLUSION:

This was just a quick look at how essential it is to have simple fluid guitar fingering and simple 1 step connection for creating whole tone scale lines/phrases.

Having a “Visual” as well as harmonic understanding makes improvisation and composition so much easier with this scale.

And, as I have reiterated throughout this post, having a repeated shape only 1 tone apart makes the scale very user-friendly.

SCALE PDF DOWNLOAD:

Whole Tone Scale 4 RepeatsDownload

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