Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
In the above example, the line is composed of whole steps that descend chromatically.
This same idea can be applied to larger intervals (fourths, sixths, tritones, etc.), triads
(major, minor, diminished, augmented and inverted) and even chord progressions to
create new possibilities for improvisation. Players today like Dave Liebman and George
Garzone have explored these concepts in depth and have even developed their own
methods for chromatic improvisation.
This trend really began with Miles in the mid-60s when he was playing with his second
great quintet with Wayne, Herbie, Ron Carter and Tony Williams. Because of the
freeness and daring of this group, playing complex chromatic lines really worked well,
especially with a rhythm section that could go anywhere at any moment.
Check out this video of the quintet playing Joshua and listen to how Miles uses
chromatic lines and patterns throughout his soloactually, check out everybodys
Where to start
Playing these close chromatic structures works well over modal and complex
progressions, as well as conventional changes simply for the fact that these types of
lines have no strong tonal center. When you use these devices in eective places within
your solos though, they can add harmonic tension and forward motion to your lines. The
trick is to incorporate these patterns into your playing and technique after establishing
an approach to improvising that is diatonically based.
When we learn music theory and start to improvise, we use material that is based
largely upon diatonic construction or modes of the major scales. Gradually, as we
progress, we add some altered or non-traditional scales like the octatonic, diminished,
or whole tone scales to our vocabulary. Still, at the core, everything is rooted to diatonic
modes and their resulting progressions.
Coming from this type of musical education, lines that move in intervals and patterns
not found in the traditional modes (i.e. chromatic movement) can feel foreign at first and
will take some work to get them in your ears and under your fingers. What you must do
to gain familiarity and eventually facility with these patterns, is create exercises aimed at
acquiring this technique. Start simple with isolated exercises and then slowly build upon
those concepts until you are creating your own vocabulary.
Practice in 4 Directions
Just as practicing your diatonic scales in all four directions covers all possible
variations, shedding these chromatic patterns in all four directions will ensure that these
lines will be in your fingers. For our purposes here, well take one intervallic pattern
(whole steps moving chromatically) and explore it s variations. Start with this example
and take it through all four directions ascending and descending:
Down Down
Down Up
Up Up
Up Down
Transcribe! - Amazing software to slow down and learn the songs you love
See all recommended products...
If you've found this website helpful, please click the
Donate button. The average donation is about $14.
We greatly appreciate your support!