Guitar Lessons - Chromaticism

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Chromaticism
Hans Fahling
If you
ve heard of arpeggios, you have probably wondered how they could
possibly be used for improvising on the guitar?! This column talks about the use
of chord tone structures as a grid for progressively adding the in-between
elements, such as passing tones, bebop sequences and many more important
musical building blocks of improv. We will illustrate how modes are arrived at in
the context of chromaticism, metric control, and bebop scales.
Let
s take a modal chord progression and progressively layer the tools we will
need to create to get to those above-mentioned in-between elements. Here is a
chord progression taken from Coltrane
s Impressions:
||---- 16 bars of Dm7 ---||--- 8 bars of Ebm7 ---||--- 8 bars of Dm7 ---||
Let
s examine the first of the two chords: Dm7; here
s the arpeggio at the fifth
position (that is, starting at the fifth fret on the neck):

In a different layout (root on 5th string, 5th position):

Looking at the partials,the notes that make up this chord, we have the root
(D all of which are circled on the fret chart), the b3 (F), the 5 (A), and the b7
(C). These are arranged in a range of just over two octaves with the lowest note
being a fifth and the top note a seventh.
Practice this form on the guitar for a few moments,
starting at first very slowly on the lowest root, playing to
the top note, back down to the lowest note, and back up
to the root. Always use alternate picking! It helps to realize
that this is the same as a D minor pentatonic scale with the
fourth (G) omitted.
Once this gets easier after a few minutes (or however long
it takes to practice to the point of the arpeggio becoming
automatic in your movement), play a Dm7 chord voicing
before and after you play the arpeggio; this is helpful,
because it creates a reference point to something familiar.
Start the arpeggio now on not only the root, but the other
partials (third, fifth, or seventh) as well.
With chord tones you are able to truly reflect the sound of the changes in a

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Guitar Lessons - Chromaticism

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tune. The notes in-between give you options as to how to color your lines.
Notice how the chord tones (boxed) in the illustration below fall on the strong
beats (1, 2, 3 ,4 ) and the passing tones on the weak beats; also, the passing
tones in this ascending line approach the chord tones by half steps, practically
functioning as leading tones to the chord tones.

Practice this approach now in similar fashion: Slowly

from the lowest to the highest notes in this position;
make sure to play the notes of the arpeggio (the boxed
chord tones) with down strokes, and the passing tones
with upstrokes. It is amazing how fast you can get at
playing this type of phrase with alternate picking but
take several days to slowly build speed;
start the phrases on different notes down beats as well
as up beats, but be aware of metric placement:

The most common choice for the downward movement is the use of the Dorian
scale (add major 7th) as illustrated blow:

In some circumstances, the following scales [with differences to dorian

indicated] need/can to be used:
Aeolian (add major 7th) [step 6 is minor]
Phrygian (add major 7th) [steps 2 and 6 are minor]
Melodic Minor [a special case that will be discussed in the following]
It will take a bit of time and practice to assimilate the
elements illustrated above. But it will be very rewarding to
then move on to the application part with taking a

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play-along track (self-made or a recording of So What by

Miles Davis or the song Impressions by John Coltrane) or
with a musician friend, and to try a few improv
techniques.
Briefly apply the same practice steps to Ebm7 by moving
everything up one half step. Then play along with the
music using the elements elaborated on; make sure to
change after 16 bars to Ebm7 the arpeggio, the passing
tone layout, the resulting Dorian bebop scale.
Take time to get used to the new tools, and focus on the metric placement of
the notes. You will notice how your consistent practice with careful regard to up
and down strokes has paid off by giving you control over what notes to play
when. The important chord tones will reflect the changes in your playing,
enabling you to resolve your lines carefully and true to the harmonic
background. With consistent practice this metric control will be accompanied by
astonishing facility and speed and greatly improve your alternate picking.
Copyright 2002 by Hans Fahling. All Rights Reserved.
URL: http://www.guitarnoise.com/guitar/jazz/20020302.html

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