Jg Jazzrockharmonicsoloingmasterclass

MASTERCLAS MASTERC LASSS BO BOOKLET OKLET

James Graydon

JAZZ ROCK HARMONIC SOLOING MASTERCLASS INSIDE THE HARMONY So what is harmonic soloing exactly? I see it as a thought process – understanding the harmonic movement movement within a chord sequence and building that into your soloing. In most cases we’re not trying to paint a complete harmonic picture, but IMPLY a little of that to the listener.

As a really simple example, imagine that you have a chord change from C major to F major. Over the C major, you’re happily jamming in C major pentatonic (C D E G A). When the chord changes to F, that scale will still work, but you’ll get a really cool sound by adding the F note. It’s all about the notes in the chords… C major has C-E-G, while F major has F -A-C. -A- C.

That’s why we are concentrating on adding just one or two extra notes to a single line, to give a “vertical” aspect to the solo instead of a purely linear one. Obviously it’s important WHICH notes we use; it’s no good just guessing! When this is done well, it gives a sense of the player having a deeper musical understanding of the underlying form. So let’s explore some of the knowledge that underpins the whole process.

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JAZZ ROCK HARMONIC SOLOING MASTERCLASS JAMES GRAYDON

HARMONISING WITH INTERVALS In the simplest form, we are using intervals within the scale or key to harmonise our single lines. In this first example, we’re in the key of G major. The notes move in 3rds together, but some are major 3rds (a distance of 4 semitones between the notes) and some are minor 3rds (3 semitones). This pattern of 3rds is fixed by the G major scale (G A B C D E F#) so the E is harmonised with a G (minor 3rd) but the D is harmonised with… not an F, but an F# (major 3rd).

: 4 D4 1

c

B #$

B

B

B

B

B

B

B

$&

!#

#$

%&

!#

#%

!!

This can take time to master, especially for the keys with a lot of sharps and flats. The only way is to practise and incorporate them into your style, until a certain amount of “muscle memory” develops and it becomes second nature. As with any study, it’s a question of taking the existing knowledge and making it your own. All theoretical concepts make more sense when you make MUSIC with them. If you find a way of doing it that is easier for you, then that’s the right way. The patterns in PART 1 example 11-15 are just my personal creations that work well for me, so keep that philosophy in mind when you are experimenting.

Implied Harmony Earlier I mentioned “implied harmony”. Really, whenever two or more notes are present there is an implied harmony. That will be stronger or weaker weaker depending on the context and intervallic relationship of the notes. Ex 2 shows a simple movement in thirds that implies the chords above to the listener.

: 4 4 D4 1

c

=

=

G

Am

Bm

!!

"#

%$=

= C

&&

Similarly Ex 3 shows how a falling line under a static note (known as a “pedal tone”) can do the same thing.

: D DD 4 4 4 1

c

E

== !&

G6

F== !$

A

= !#

C

F= !"



What we are trying to do (with skeleton or broken chords) is to convey the essential components of the harmony as succinctly as possible. Often, a few carefully chosen notes will “fill in the blanks” for the listener. So why bother doing this? Well, for several reasons. In solo guitar work it’s pleasing to the ear to hear full rich chords counterbalanced with the economy of 2- or 3- note “shell” “shell” voicings. It creates contrast, light and shade. Also it’s very effective when you are playing in a rhythm section. The guitar must often take on a different role in this context. The bass player p layer will usually be playing the root notes, so the guitar can often omit the roots. Also, when another harmonic instrument (a piano or synth pad) is also competing for the midrange frequencies, frequencies, there can be an undesirable build up of sound in that area. So, in this situation, what do you play and what do you take out? In harmony, sometimes not all notes are equal. We’ve already discovered that the root note of a chord is often not needed. In major and minor chords, the 3rd is a very ver y strong force. The 3rd defines whether a chord is major or minor. Without a 3rd, the chord will be ambiguous. Of course, in some cases, that may be what you’re looking for. Quite often, you’ll see “D no 3rd” for this very reason (this is also achieved achieved with sus2 and sus4 chords). chords). But in many situations the 3rd is an indispensable part of the character of a voicing. Consider Ex 4 below. Here we have a G dominant 7th (G7) chord represented as just two notes, the major 3rd and minor 7th (B and F). If we replaced either one of these notes with the root (G), the implied harmony would probably not be as strong.

: 4 D4 F=

G7 with just 3rd and 7th 1

c

%$

Repl Replac ace e each each note note with with root root

A

F AA

%&

!$

Full Full G7 voici voicing ng

F == %$ &$

In jazz and blues the 3rd and 7th notes of the chord are very important in conveying conveying the major, major, minor or dominant harmonic characteristics of the t he chord respectively. respectively. Those two notes combine to create a wide range of chords… Root, major 3rd, 5th, major 7th = major 7 chord (G B D F# = Gmaj7) Root, major 3rd, 5th, minor 7th = dominant 7 chord (G B D F = G7 ) Root, minor 3rd, 5th, minor 7th = minor 7 chord (G Bb D F = Gm7) The interval between the minor 7th and major 3rd of the chord is a ‘tritone’ (three whole tones, a jump of six frets). This interval exhibits a very strong tonal centre with just two notes Interestingly, the tritone in G7 (see Ex4 above) also exists in another chord: Db7. All that happens is that their roles are swapped. The B was the major 3rd of G7, but now becomes the minor 7th of Db7 (it changes its name to Cb for music theory nerdy reasons). And then the F, which was the minor 7th in G7, now becomes the major 3rd in Db7.



E ===

Db7 with just 3rd and 7th

Full Full Db7 voicin voicing g

: EEE 44 E= 1

c

#%

%$%$

Cool, right? This is where we get “tritone substitution”, a common trick in jazz. You can replace one dominant 7 chord with the dominant 7 chord a tritone away… G7 to Db7, E7 to Bb7, etc. When we look at the cadence in Example 6, we see the G7 resolving to C. However, this G7 can be “substituted” with Db7.

Tritone substitution

: 4 4 D4 F A

G7

C

%$

&#

AA

1

c

Db7

C

EF A

F AA

%$

&#

Root Root notes notes adde added d for clea clearer rer effec effect t

3

G7

C

AA

Db7

EEFAA

F AA

%$ $

&# $

%$ %

&# $

FAA

C

In a musical form such as jazz, where 2-5-1 2-5-1 progressions are so ubiquitous, the tritone substitution is used to great effect by harmonic instruments and bass players alike. See Example 7… E7

: 4 D4 DAA 1

c

(' (

Bb7

A7

EE AA

DA

EE AA

D7

(' '

'& &

'& '

&% &

A

Eb7

AA

Ab7

EE AA &% %

G7

F== %$ $

These tritone “shell voicings” are very effective when playing with a piano, as they leave room for the pianist to add extensions ex tensions to the chord, for example the #5th or b9th, etc. But even in a three-piece band, where you are solely responsible for the harmonic content, the 7th and 3rd still s till provide adequate harmonic harmonic information, and then YOU can add those t hose additional extensions. In the process of doing this, you will find plenty of opportunity opportunit y to build in some melodic elements on top of the voicings.



DAA

A7#5

: 44 DAA

A7

F AA

Dm9

==

E7#9

E7b9

AA

Am7

'' &

&

&& $

)( '

'

&& &

1

c

==

INNER LINES Moving lines are often used to create movement within a static tonality. Let’s say we have two bars of C major and we want to make it more interesting. To create interest, the 5th of the chord (G) rises to A make a C6. It then rises again to B to turn the chord into a major 7th. The major 3rd of the chord (E) remains throughout, throughout, providing the tonal centre so that the inner line can be effective.

: 44 1

c

C

C6

Cmaj7

C6

!# $

##

%#

##

AA

AA

A

AA

Using our rhythm section technique of leaving the root to the bass, you can see how we could strip this down to just two notes – 3rd and rising 5th. Where intervals and inner lines meet As you start star t thinking more about pedal notes, intervals and inner lines, you’ll start to understand how they can all interact with each other. When this happens, the guitar can take on an almost “orchestral” “orchestral” quality with several concepts happening at once. In Example 10 we see a rising 10th pattern in the outer notes with a moving line between…

: 4 4 D4 1

c

Gmaj7

G6

Am7

Am6

Gadd9/B

G/B

Cmaj7

C6

%% $

#

&& &

%

(( (

&

** )

(

AA

AA

AA

AA

AA

AA

AA

AA

USING DISSONANCE We usually associate dissonance with close intervals of major and minor 2nds (major 2nd is 2 frets; minor 2nd is one fret). Carefully chosen, these can create implied harmony and tension at the same time. I often like to combine the root with the 2nd or the 2nd with the 3rd. These clashes can then be resolved resolved within a melodic solo setting, as in the following example…



: 44 AA c

A

Amadd9

Am

"%

#

1

AA

DA

!$

#

Dsus2

D

“BETWEEN THE LINES” In Part 3 of this masterclass, you’ll find a full track called “Between The Lines”, where I demonstrate how all of the concepts concepts from Parts 1 and 2 can be used in a real musical context. There’s full Tab, so take your time working through it. I have also taken taken 10 short extracts ex tracts from the main melodies and 23 short extrac ts from the solo, sometimes playing playing variations on them, so you can work on them in isolation.

IN CONCLUSION… CONCLUSION… So, I hope this has given you a good starting point p oint to explore ways of adding some harmony into your solos. The possibilities obviously extend beyond the realms of this package. Modes, whole-tone and diminished scales are the next step, and the exciting area of poly tonality can offer amazing results. These more complex ideas are often most effective against a more challenging challenging harmonic backdrop. As ever, it’s important to use taste and judgement when soloing, and try and communicate a sentiment which is sympathetic to the musical genre.

James Graydon. October 2016


Jg Jazzrockharmonicsoloingmasterclass

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