Lesson 7: Part A, soloing over chord changes. - be afraid, b

[jem7vwh]

Lesson 7: Part A, soloing over chord changes
________

We're going to take this slowly for two reasons. *A. *This is where the level of comprehension for theory really become demanding, and B. *I'm a college student going through a week of 4 Exams, so I can't write all of this today, but we'll get started . *

Now there are basically two approaches to soloing in a real world context. *What I mean by that is that there are very few times when someone in your band will hit an A Major chord and say, "Just solo over this dude!" *Most of the time, we must play over a chord progression. *For instance, say you've got a mean run worked out in E Lydian. *As long as you play over E, it sounds great, but when you continue playing over other chords, it begins sounding a bit strange. *This goes back to the confusion in the last thread regarding modes. *The flavor (Mixolydian, Lydian, Phrygian) of a Mode is dependent upon what context it is played in. *Thus a D Major scale sound like E Dorian over a E chord.

So the idea here is either A. *choose one or more scales which sound good over all the different chords in the progression, OR to change modes with the progression. *Neither one is simple, but it's probably best to approach the first method I outlined.

So, to illustrate, let's make up a chord progression. *We'll take C as the root and use a typically rock-sounding I, IV, V progression. *Thus our chords will be C, F and G. *Now the notes C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C sound Ionian (or Major) over C. *Those same notes sound like F Lydian over F, and they sound Mixolyidan over G. *This is a fine example of using one set of notes over a progession to achieve an interesting solo. *Notice the different flavor the notes take on as they are played over each chord. *The same notes that sound happy when played over C, sound dreamlike and floating over F, and more bluesy over G. *This is the most common method of soloing. *Everyone from Santana, Neil Schon, ZZ Top, Vai have relied on this method with varying degrees of success. *Often the problem with this sort of approach is a perceived staleness to your licks. *Think "Freebird" *There are a number of ways around this. *One great way is to throw in other notes. *Remember, what Edward Van Halen once said, "Those notes that don't sound good, those are passing tones". *There's nothing wrong with adding a little tension to your playing. *Chromatic runs, passing tones and odd harmonic noises are all part of the variety. *Also, don't get boxed in by the major scale. *Just because you're using three chords doesn't mean you don't have versatility. *While you want to create a feeling of belonging in your solo, don't be afraid to use other modes. *C Dorian would be effective here as it does not affect the IV, or V. *Just be conscious to note that while Dorian may sound good over C, you may not like the feeling it gives you over the other chords in your progression. *Lastly, don't be afraid to experiment. *

Next time, soloing adaptively over chord changes.

ALSO, for your reference a few scales

Dorian, Flat the 3 and 7 of the major scale
Lydian, Sharp the 4 of the major scale
Mixolydian, Flat the 7 of the major scale

There are tons more which I hope to post when I get home tonight, but these are some mentioned in the lesson


CLASS DISMISSED!! PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE!!!

[diek]

Lesson 7: addendum A1
I've studied theory extensively and have to come to understand soloing as something of emotion more than mind. When i play jazz, it's always important to know the head and know if you're playing in 4's, 8's, etc. But the soloing becomes more of intuition. You can sit down and chart a solo that is based in theory, but it might sound like total doo-dee. After you've learned your theory, then it's time to learn your voice. Once you find your voice, the theory becomes the equivalent of the flour in the cookie. It's a base, but it's the messy choc. chips that give the sweetness. The abstract of theory is what is going to make you sound apt to the chord. Learning the layers of theory, depth, and it's fluid form is what you want to strive for. Which means, LEARN YOUR THEORY, but remember, it's the humanity that gives you the music. And don't worry. Sometimes it takes a lifetime to find "your" voice, but that's the goal. Good Luck!

[jem7vwh]

nice words there diek. *Music is like any kind of art. *You can sit and learn why something is appealing, but you can't learn to make your own art. *Anyone who's ever watched the Joy of Painting will tell you that. *If you strictly follow theory and never venture off, your music may sound as formulaic as a Bob Ross (Joy of Painting again) painting looks. *Thats why the afforementioned chromatics, passing tones, harmonics and other fun noises are all a part of creating a distinctive style. *Theory just lets you know a bunch of different ways to paint a scene. *The way you color it is your job.

[diek]

Well said. Also, as another addition for people venturing into theory and it's application on guitar. Do yourself a favor and LEARN EVERY NOTE OF THE FRETBOARD. I can't emphazise that enough. I don't have a particular method for doing that because I approached guitar the same way I did violin. But in violin it consisted of sight reading extensively (standarad notation and not TAB). If you have that down like flint, applying the theory will be cake, so prep your brain for some severe neuron reformation!! And please, start with standard spanish tuning and once you've master that, altered tuning will fall into place because many of the popular altered tunings use key of C notes (no sharps/flats) for open strings.

[jem7vwh]

agreed, there's nothing to replace the ability to know where you are at all times. *Think of your guitar like your hometown. *You should know all the ins and outs. *Learning every note was instrumental to me in breaking out of the box. *When you know ever note, you're no longer dependant on patterns, whether scalic, modal or pentatonic.

[jemsite]

[Jeff]

Originally Posted by jem7vwh

nice words there diek. *Music is like any kind of art. *You can sit and learn why something is appealing, but you can't learn to make your own art. *Anyone who's ever watched the Joy of Painting will tell you that. *If you strictly follow theory and never venture off, your music may sound as formulaic as a Bob Ross (Joy of Painting again) painting looks. *Thats why the afforementioned chromatics, passing tones, harmonics and other fun noises are all a part of creating a distinctive style. *Theory just lets you know a bunch of different ways to paint a scene. *The way you color it is your job.

Poor Bob...may he rest in peace. I loved that show!

[spencer096]

being a jazz performance major, i have encountered both of the methods listed above and believe that, while both have their merit, choosing a scale rather than a mode is easier to flow with than thinking about modes and the like.

seeing as the I-IV-V progression is one of the most common progressions, it is easy to understand where that is going and what you are going to use. however, in jazz, the ii-V-I and ii-V-i is much more common. the same method of soloing can be used, the major (or minor) I chord is the indicitive scale used. most jazz tunes have some tricky little things in there that make it interesting and most tunes won't stay in the same key for too long otherwise it'll get boring to both the player and the listener.

Which brings us to modal jazz. this method, pioneered by the great Gil Evans and Miles Davis eliminates almost all the cahnges in the song leaving the improviser to find their own way and make a more melodic solo.

A few great examples of changes:
Cherokee - the bridge will bite you in the ass the first time you play it
So What - modal jazz

The mothers of all changes, if you can play over these well, you can play over anything:
Giant Steps and Countdown by John Coltrane - these change key every 2 chords and changes in the middle of the measure instead of on the downbeat. they are usually played ultra fast around 300 bpm leaving a really tough road for the improvisor. people have condemned these changes as detrimental to jazz because it is so difficult to listen to casually, but most jazz musicians find these peices to be the test peices that determines how serious a jazz musician really is.

dunno, i could go on for awhile, buy my boss is giving me the eye right now and i dont feel like getting bitched at.

[jim777]

Lesson 7

[eg]

Originally Posted by spencer096

being a jazz performance major, i have encountered both of the methods listed above and believe that, while both have their merit, choosing a scale rather than a mode is easier to flow with than thinking about modes and the like.

seeing as the I-IV-V progression is one of the most common progressions, it is easy to understand where that is going and what you are going to use. however, in jazz, the ii-V-I and ii-V-i is much more common. the same method of soloing can be used, the major (or minor) I chord is the indicitive scale used. most jazz tunes have some tricky little things in there that make it interesting and most tunes won't stay in the same key for too long otherwise it'll get boring to both the player and the listener.

Which brings us to modal jazz. this method, pioneered by the great Gil Evans and Miles Davis eliminates almost all the cahnges in the song leaving the improviser to find their own way and make a more melodic solo.

A few great examples of changes:
Cherokee - the bridge will bite you in the ass the first time you play it
So What - modal jazz

The mothers of all changes, if you can play over these well, you can play over anything:
Giant Steps and Countdown by John Coltrane - these change key every 2 chords and changes in the middle of the measure instead of on the downbeat. they are usually played ultra fast around 300 bpm leaving a really tough road for the improvisor. people have condemned these changes as detrimental to jazz because it is so difficult to listen to casually, but most jazz musicians find these peices to be the test peices that determines how serious a jazz musician really is.

dunno, i could go on for awhile, buy my boss is giving me the eye right now and i dont feel like getting bitched at.

Hey Spencer,

Mind giving a short description about what modal jazz is? I've heard it somewhere before but I'm not too sure what exactly it is.

EG

[gephro]

hi i was jsut wondering if anyone can ever make a tab of Iberian Jewel!!! ive searched everywhere and have written out the whole tab on paper bat cannot transcribe it to power tab editor form or any other software, mainly because i never really learned how to use them!!! please any replies are gratefully accepted!

[Andelusion]

Dude you've already made a thread about it..