Tag: technique

Harmonising Melodies with Diminished Chords: [Chord Melody]

Posted on by Modern Music Theory and Application

Please watch video above for detailed info:

Hi Guys,

Following on from our previous lesson, we will now exploit the diminished 7th chord from our harmonised diminished scale examples.

To recap, here, is our basic shape:

PART 1 Harmonising a Simple Melody

To begin with, let’s take a very basic fragment of melody:

Now, we will simply harmonise this with our diminished 7th shape:

Guitar tab displaying example of how harmonising melodies with Diminished Chords is so easy on guitar. Brilliant lessonthta's easy to understand

Notice, that straight away we have a sophisticated harmonic Palate and accompanying chord melody.

Let’s now stretch this further and broaden out on our diminished 7th chord shape by adding a couple of extra melodic notes:

Lesson in harmonising melodies with Diminished Chords for easy on guitar and all musical instruments

From here, we will now harmonise the same piece of melody with slash chords from our previous lesson/video [on harmonising the diminished scale]:

Guitar tablature displaying how to harmonise melody with slash chords from the diminished scale.

Lastly, here are two examples with diminished 7th chords from the 5th and 6th strings. Both harmonising perfect cadences.

From 5th string

From 6th string

Examples from Standards:

Below, we have an example from “Stella” where we have both the minor7b5 and the diminished 7th [also Dominant7th].

Music notation and guitar tab displaying example how harmonising melodies with Diminished Chords on jazz standards is easy.

In the next example, we have lots of colourful diminished 7th movement from the Gershwin classic “Someone to watch over me”.

Guitar tab displaying jazz standard example how harmonising melodies with Diminished Chords is so easy on guitar and all musical instruments

Here, is the same but with the original Ab13 chord

Guitar tab displaying jazz standard example how harmonising melodies with Diminished Chords is so easy on guitar and all musical instruments

Ascending Melody Harmonisation

To conclude, we will harmonise a simple ascending melody and add passing diminished 7th chords and vary it:

Simple Melody:

BASIC MELODY/HARMONISATION:

Variation-Filled out:

Variation 2:

IN CONCLUSION

This was just a quick look at how to exploit melodies with the diminished 7th shape from our lesson on harmonising the diminished scale.

What you will notice, is how easily we can apply them as passing chords and colourful harmonic decorations to create really sophisticated accompaniments and chord melody functions.

For a really in depth take on this, it is a good idea to take a look at some Barry Harris material as this contains a huge wealth of possibilities. Also, for guitarists, Pat Martino’s approach to chords.

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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.

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Mastering John McLaughlin’s Guitar Motif Techniques Part 2:

Posted on by Modern Music Theory and Application

Hi Guys,

Here, is the extended version for the 2nd finger John McLaughlin motif:

MOTIF:

The motif is a 4 note [Tetrachord] in 16th notes- D C# D E

John McLaughlin shakti guitar lesson with music notation and guitar tab example

Notice that this starts with the 2nd finger on the first note:

Now, let’s extend this and add a “set up” by employing the Mixo-lydian mode to create a more Indian/Shakti flavour to the phrase:

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

John McLaughlin shakti guitar lesson with music notation and guitar tab example

This time, we will replicate/imitate the 4 note motif and use it as material to create/extend the phrase into a longer line.

John McLaughlin shakti guitar lesson with music notation and guitar tab example for guitar fingering

Below, is the full line/lick:

John McLaughlin shakti guitar motif and fingering lesson with music notation and guitar tab example

Let’s now, extend the motif and descend as far as we can down the fingerboard with the motif:

John McLaughlin shakti guitar lesson with music notation and guitar tab example

Finally, we will add our little set-up and create a full phrase:

John McLaughlin shakti guitar lesson with music notation and guitar tab example

MOTIF: Starting on a down stroke:

We can also start on a downstroke. This works best and is most natural when picked/phrased in triplets/sextuplets like this:

John McLaughlin alternate picking guitar lesson with music notation and guitar tab example

Full Phrase starting on a downstroke:

John McLaughlin shakti alternate picking guitar lesson with music notation and guitar tab example

IN CONCLUSION:

This little motif/concept is only a small detail, but, it is a good representation of how a lot of material can be created/repeated or imitated from such a small cell. It is like a little hinge that can swing a big door.

This way of building solid lines is really useful for the alternate picking guitar technique as it means that we can unfold material quite easily and if we ever do get lost we can slot back in with simple motif material and rebuild our phrases and keep our lines going.

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motifDownload

ASC/DESC:

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