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Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improvisation (Part II) & Advanced Technique Studies Written by Dan Miller & Tim May F
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Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6:
Improvisation (Part II) & Advanced Technique Studies Written by Dan Miller & Tim May Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Imrov II & Advanced Flatpicking
i
Flatpicking Essentials, Volume 6 Improvisation, Part II and Advanced Technique by Dan Miller & Tim May Welcome to the PDF-based version of Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6. All pages of this book are presented in Adobe Acrobat Portable Document File (.PDF) format and are printable on your computer printer. For best results, you will need to have the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader software installed on your personal computer. You may need to visit the Adobe website (www.adobe.com) to download the latest version of this free software. The line items in the Table of Contents on the next page are hot-linked to the pages in this book. To access a particular item, simply click on the title in the Table of Contents. www.flatpickdigital.com
TERMS OF USE for PDFs: 1. COPYRIGHT. High View Publications owns all rights to all PDF files contained in this book, and the copyrights therein. Copyright © High View Publications All rights reserved. 2. PDF FILES: COPYING AND DISTRIBUTING. Users may print single copies of this publication solely for their personal noncommercial use in accordance with the terms of this Agreement. Substantial or systematic reproduction by Authorized Users is not permitted. Distributing or posting the PDF files is strictly prohibited without written permission of High View Publications. 3. ALTERATION. Authorized Users may not modify, adapt, transform, translate or create any derivative work based on any materials included in this e-book, or otherwise use any such materials in a manner that would infringe the copyrights therein. We Thank You for your cooperation!
All contents copyright High View Publications, 2009
www.flatpick.com ii
800-413-8296
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
Table of Contents
Introduction
v
Improvisation, Part II
1
Diatonic Chords and Chord Progressions Creating Diatonic Triads ‘Temperance Reel” Exercise Chord Movement and Chord Progressions I, IV, V Progression: Why It Works The Relative Minor I - vi - IV - V Progression The ii Chord I - vi - ii - V Progression I - ii - V - I Progression “St. Anne’s Reel” Exercise Note Choices For Diatonic Chords Stable Melody Notes Chord Tones Major Pentatonic Scales Modes Minor Pentatonic Scales Remaining Notes “Nine Pound Hammer” Exercise The iii Chord I - vi - iii - V Progression I - iii - IV - V Progression The Chord Stream Diatonic Triad Summary Seventh Chords The Dominant 7th Chord I - IV - V7 - I Progression Non-Diatonic Chords The Flat Seven Chord I - bVII - V - I Progression “Salt Creek” Exercise The Seventh Chord in Blues 12-Bar Blues Using Seventh Chords Secondary Dominant Chords V of the V V of the IV “Alabama Jubilee” Exercise VI7 - II7 - V7 - I Progression Conclusion
3 4 9 10 10 14 16 16 17 18 19 18 18 18 20 20 22 22 23 24 24 25 25 26 27 28 30 31 31 31 32 33 35 36 36 36 37 38 39
Advanced Flatpicking Technique Introduction Tension & Release
41 41 41
Alabama Jubilee
43
Skipping Strings and Advanced Crosspicking
47
Angeline the Baker
50
Hybrid Picking - Part 1
54
Beaumont Rag
56
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Imrov II & Advanced Flatpicking
iii
Table of Contents (con’t) Billy In The Lowground
60
Using Harmonics — Natural and Artificial “Mary Had A Little Lamb” Example
64 65
Bury Me Beneath The Willow
66
Playing in Minor Keys
70
Cold Frosty Morning Devil’s Dream East Tennessee Blues Forked Deer
72 76 81 86
Twin and Triple Guitars — Playing Harmony Parts Basic Two-Part Harmony “Whisky Before Breakfast” Melody “Whisky Before Breakfast” - Harmony (Parallel 3rds) Harmonized Scale “Whisky Before Breakfast” — Double Stops Harmony Variation “Whisky Before Breakfast” Harmony Variation Two-Part Harmony Rules of Thumb “Whisky Before Breakfast” High Baritone Harmony Adding a Third Part “Whisky Before Breakfast” Three Part Harmony
90 90 91 92 93 95 96 97 99 100 101 102
Leather Britches Lonesome Reuben Lonesome Road Blues
103 106 110
Hybrid Picking — Part II Hybrid Picking Example “Lonesome Road Blues” Example
113 114 115
Midnight On The Water
118
Triplets
122
Nine Pound Hammer Red Haired Boy Red Wing Temperance Reel Wayfaring Stranger Whiskey Before Breakfast
124 127 131 135 139 143
Conclusion and The Road Ahead
147
Appendix — Chord Progression Summary
148
iv
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
Introduction Welcome to Volume 6 of the Flatpicking Essentials series! This book is divided into two main sections. The first section is the second part of our study of improvisation. Although we have really been studying elements of improvisation since Volume 1 of this course, the section on improvisation that was presented in Volume 5 introduced you to a free-form improv study method that we will continue here in this volume. In the improvisation section of Volume 5 you studied how to improvise over various I, IV, V chord progressions using chord tones and scale notes. In this book, Volume 6, you will continue with the same course of study; however, the chord progressions will get more complicated. Working with the various chord progressions that we provide in this book will certainly help you develop an ability to improvise over these chords. In addition, it should also help you develop your ability to hear these chords and chord progressions when you run across them at a jam session. So, an added benefit of working with all of these new chord progressions is that you will also be developing your ear through this method. An added feature of this Volume of the course is the inclusion of an appendix that will serve as an easy reference for all of the chord progressions that you were given in Volumes 5 and 6. We are also providing slow, medium, and fast back up tracks for all of these progressions on our Flatpicking Essentials website (go to http://www.flatpick.com/essentialsaudio. If you download all of these tracks and work with these chord progressions using the steps that were outlined on pages 55 to 76 of Volume 5, you will greatly improve your ability to improvise. In studying the material in the improvisation section of this book you will be presented with a bunch of music theory. I know that some of you will skim over this material and not really dig into it. I know this because I’ve been playing music for 30 years and for the first 25 of them I never paid any attention to music theory because I thought it was boring and not really necessary. However, after I spent time working on projects with guys like John Carlini and John Jorgenson I realized, just by hanging around these guys and listening to them talk about music, that my music theory knowledge was severely lacking. So, I made a decision to focus on learning as much as I could about music theory and now that I know a little bit I am constantly regretting
the fact that I did not take it seriously early in my music career. For me, having a knowledge of music theory really helps me better understand everything that I’m doing when I’m playing music. Having a better understanding of what I’m doing helps expand my choices and opens my mind up to new ideas. So, I hope you will take the time to expand your knowledge of music theory by reading the theory sections of this book and by exploring other music theory books and resources. I think that you will find it very helpful to your ability to arrange, compose, and improvise. Advanced Technique The second section of this book is focused on advanced flatpicking technique. We approached this topic by first having Tim May record “advanced level” improvisations for nineteen different flatpicking tunes. Tim selected the tunes, but before he went into the studio I gave him a list of techniques—like the use of triplets, natural and false harmonics, note bending, quoting, alternate tuning, syncopation, twin guitar, minor key tunes, hybrid picking, advanced crosspicking, string skipping, etc. Tim did a wonderful job incorporating all of these techniques into his improvisations and we discuss all of these techniques in detail in the pages that come before the first occurrence of a given technique. In addition to introducing new techniques in this volume, Tim also did a great job introducing you to advanced ways of employing many of the techniques that you have learned previously in this course, such as: hammer-ons, slides, pull-offs, bends, neighboring notes (toggling), tremolo (repeated notes), chromatic runs, drones, harmonic scales, folded scales, floating, crosspicking, arpeggios, note bending, runs that move up-the-neck, etc. He pulls it all together here and really takes out all the stops. If you are looking for interesting ways to spice up your bluegrass songs and fiddle tunes, you will definitely find them here in this volume. In addition to the “advanced” techniques discussed above, Tim also adds more complex timing and dynamic elements to his arrangements, as well as more complex note choices. As you will discover when you read our synopsis of each tune in the Advance Technique section, Tim makes good use of diminished, maj7th, 9th, 11th, and 13th chords and arpeggios. We will not really get into a discussion of these chords and
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Imrov II & Advanced Flatpicking
v
arpeggios until Volume 7 of this course. However, we felt like introducing you to these chords and arpeggios here in this volume would give you a good sense of how these note choices can be useful to you, in terms of practical usage in standard flatpicking tunes. A Word About the Audio Files This volume has a lot of audio files. In previous volumes we always provided an audio reference for every exercise and every tune. We do the same thing here, however, we have gone a bit farther this time. For each of the chord progressions we have provided you with three different tempos so that you can find a tempo that is comfortable for you to work with. We also made each track 3 minutes long so that you could have plenty of time to work with each progression. The problem we ran into there was that in providing you with three tracks for each of 16 different progressions—each three minutes long—that resulted in two hours and fifteen minutes worth of audio just for the backup rhythm tracks. In order to save having to put out four or five audio CDs with this book, you will find that the audio CDs that are in the book only have the medium tempo backup tracks for the chord progressions. However, the slow and fast tracks can be downloaded for free from our website at the URL mentioned on the previous page. For the tunes that we have asked you to improvise over in the improvisation section (Temperance Reel, St. Anne’s Reel, Blackberry Blossom, and Salt Creek) we have provided a medium tempo version of these songs that you can jam along with on the CD. These tracks are taken from Brad Davis’ Flatpick Jam series. If you want to play along with slower or faster tempos of these songs, you can purchase Brad’s Flatpick Jam tracks at www.flatpickingmercantile.com or download them at www.flatpickdigital.com. All of the tunes that we’ve asked you to work with in this book are on Brad’s Flatpick Jam, Volume One. For the tunes in the Advanced Technique section of this book (those that were improvised by Tim May), we have provided you with two tempos of each tune. One is at a moderately fast tempo, and the other is slowed down. We wanted to provide you with two speeds of these tunes so that Tim could go ahead and play the tunes at a comfortable pace when he was recording, but then you could hear a slower version to help you pick out the details of what he is doing. Tim did not record the tunes at the slower tempo, they were slowed down electronically in the studio. vi
The way we organized the two audio CDs that come with this book is as follows: The first CD contains all of the tracks that are associated with the improvisation section of this book. The first sixteen tracks are those that are the medium tempo tracks of all of the chord progressions as presented in the appendix. The first 5 tracks are progressions that you worked with in Volume 5. The remaining tracks are progressions that you are presented with in Volume 6. After those generic chord progressions, we then give you the progressions to the fiddle tunes that we have given you in the improvisation section of the book. We put all of these back up tracks together so that you would be able to find them easily when you are practicing your improvisation exercises. The remaining tracks on this disc present the exercises and examples that are given in the improvisation section of the book. Each exercise and example has the Disc and track printed next to it for easy reference. The second disc that comes with this book includes all of the audio that corresponds with the material in the “Advanced Technique” section of the book. This includes all of Tim May’s improvisations (at two speeds) and all of the other examples and exercises that appear in that section. I hope you enjoy working with all of the material in this book. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact me: [email protected]. Also, if you’d like to contact Tim, you can reach him through his website: http://www.timmaymusic.net/ Have fun and keep pickin’! Dan Miller Acknowledgements: There are many people that helped make this book possible. First and foremost I’d like to thank my co-author Tim May. This book would not have been possible without his expertise, talent, hard work, and patience. Next I want to thank Tim May, Robert Bowlin, Wil Maring, and Adam Granger for helping me put together the guitar harmony section this course. Their ideas and suggestions were very helpful. We also need to thank Brad Davis for the material in the hybrid picking section. Finally, Tim and I would both like to thank Charlie Chadwick and Dillon Hodges for their help in the studio. Dillon played rhythm guitar for all of Tim’s solo improvisations and Charlie played bass on all of the back up tracks. Charlie also engineered all of the rhythm tracks and all of Tim’s solo tracks.
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
Improvisation, Part II: Before we move on to the next phase of our improvisation study, let’s first look back at what we have already learned in the previous volumes. Volume 1: In volume one you learned how to design your own bass runs—including the use of leading tones—to move from one chord to another. By the end of Volume 1 you should have been able to improvise bass lines that serve to smoothly connect one chord to the next in a I, IV, V chord progression. After sufficient practice with the bass runs and fill lick examples that were provided in Volume 1, you should have developed a degree of comfort with: 1) Improvising bass runs that connect chords in a I, IV, V progression. 2) Improvising fill licks to fill in between vocal pauses while playing rhythm. 3) Ornamenting your rhythm accompaniment with embellishments such as strums, hammer-ons, pull-offs, and slides. Whether you were aware of it or not, developing these skills in Volume 1 formed the first small step in your learning how to improvise! All of these skills will come in handy in this volume and in Volume 7, so keep working on them! Volumes 2 and 3: In Volumes 2 and 3 you learned how to find song melodies by ear and then embellish those melodies with a variety of techniques, which included: hammer-ons, pull-offs, slides, drones, scale runs, folding scales, neighboring notes, tremolo, a variety of strum patterns, and crosspicking. By the end of Volumes 2 and 3 you should have been able to find a simple song or fiddle tune melody by ear and then improvise, to some degree, on that melody by employing one or more of the above mentioned techniques. Granted, while much of the work that you did while learning the steps outlined in Volumes 2 and 3 dealt more with arranging than improvisation (since you probably were not coming up with your arrangements spontaneously in real time), remember that earlier in this course we defined improvisation as “instantaneous arrangement.” So, in building your arranging and composition skills in Volumes 2 and 3 you were also working on your ability to improvise by learning to come up with your own arrangements and variations.
Learning how to take a simple, stripped down melody and embellish it to come up with a melodybased arrangement is an important skill. As your ability to come up with variation after variation on a song’s melody improves, your ability to improvise on that melody will also improve. If you take small steps and are consistent with your practice, progress will come. Through your work with Volumes 2 and 3 you should have the tools available to you to be able to hear a song melody in your head and find it on your guitar. Once you can do that with the simple melody, you will then later be able to not only find the melody on your guitar in real time, but also fill in around the melody with interesting fills, runs, licks, and techniques that will ornament the melody in interesting and exciting ways. Learning how to play licks over chord progressions is much easier than learning how to play a tasteful melody-based solo, so that is why we started learning melody-based soloing before we discussed a more freeform approach—one that doesn’t necessarily stick as close to the melody—in Volumes 5 and 6. Volume 4: Volume 4 was all about exploring the fingerboard and moving up the neck. In the section on using chord shapes you also learned something about arrangement and improvisation based on chord shapes and chord tones. You also studied the use of scale runs and arpeggios at various locations on the neck and practiced moving up and down the neck using open notes, floating phrases, and harmonic scales in a effort to connect various scale positions or “boxes.” Expanding your note choices on the neck also expanded your ability to improvise. As you move around to different areas of the neck in order to find melodies and embellish those melodies you are naturally going to find new ways of expressing those melodies. As you learn how to do that in “real time” you are greatly improving your ability to improvise in ways that add interest to your solos. Volume 5: In Volumes 2, 3, and 4, all of your study of arrangement and improvisation focused on working with the song melody. You found the melody, you simplified the melody, and then you worked to embellish the melody. In Volume 5 we asked you to do a 180 degree turn and forget about the melody so that you could
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Imrov II & Advanced Flatpicking
1
basically learn how to play scale and chord tones over chord changes. Our logic in asking you to do this was to allow you to feel a little bit of freedom from having to play specific notes. In practicing those exercises you hopefully gained some confidence in being able to play without looking at a piece of paper or taxing your brain to remember a pre-set sequence of notes. If you’ve never experienced this sort of improvisation before, it can be very liberating. After Volume 5 was published we received emails from a lot of people telling us how much fun they were having with this section of the course because they didn’t have to worry about making “mistakes.” This is a typical letter: “I just LOVE Volume 5—for my particular learning style, it is spot on. It is really a lot of fun to just sit and play over the G chord and the progressions—even with just 3 notes I feel like I was able to come up with some pretty good ‘stuff’. Sticking with the stages—in order—has been very helpful to me. Even on my very busy days at work I manage to get in at least 30 minutes of practicing with Vol 5 and I can tell that it is already helping—a lot of the improvement has come in the form of “confidence”—just being able to play with the pentatonic minor, blues and pentatonic major scales —and not worrying about ‘mistakes’ or if it sounds ‘good’ or not. For me, that was a major step and I think it will carry over when I play with other people.”
We loved receiving that kind of feedback because it is exactly the kind of feeling of freedom and confidence that we wanted the students working with Volume 5 to experience. On the flip side of that, however, we have also received feedback from players who grew up playing blues and rock that have no problem at all with playing scales and patterns over chord progressions, but are having a lot of difficulty learning and sticking to a melody. This is why we have worked to present both approaches. Depending on your background and experience one approach is going to seem easier than the other. If you have spent the majority of your time in the past working with tab and memorizing someone else’s arrangement, then you should now spend time with the improvisation exercises in Volume 5. If you have spent a lot of time playing riff blues and rock, then you should spend more focused time on the steps that are outlined in Volumes 2 and 3. Eventually, the two approaches will meet somewhere in the middle and you will be able to stick close to the melody when the melodic approach is called for and then you will be able to stray farther away from it when a more non-melodic approach is appropriate. 2
Typically you are going to want to stay close to the melody at the beginning of a song. Later in the presentation of a song if you, or others in the band, have stated the melody clearly several times, you are going to want to stray away from it so that the overall presentation of the song doesn’t become monotonous to the listeners, or the band. As I’ve stated before, improvisational players who are the most tasteful can weave their solos around a melody in ways that still state the melody, or interesting “sub-melodies,” without straying so far away that the song becomes unrecognizable. There is a real art to this kind of soloing. It is our belief that in order to learn how to develop tasteful improvisations the rudiments of music must be firmly ingrained into the musicians mind and muscle memory. In Volumes 2 and 3 we worked with learning how to ingrain the melody, and then embellish that melody. In Volume 5 we worked with ingraining a solid sense of the chord changes, chord tones, and the scale of the key while working with simple I, IV, V progressions. However, as you know, a lot of songs that you will encounter stray away from the I, IV, V progression and their melodies involve notes that may not lie in the scale of the key. So, here in Volume 6 we are going to continue with the ideas and practice stages that you were presented in Volume 5, but we will be adding new chords and more complex chord progressions. Now that you have built a solid foundation working with the I, IV and V chords, it is time that we add in some minor chords and some seventh chords. A Little Theory In order to better understand common chord progressions that include chords other than the standard I, IV, and V it is going to behoove us to first study a little theory relating to how those chord progressions are formed and what scales are best used over those chords. I know...theory is not always fun, however, hopefully you have discovered from the theory that I’ve presented thus far in the course that knowing theory does help guide you when you are arranging and improvising. I’ve tried to not lay out too much theory all at once in any given section of this course, however, we are now getting into deeper water in terms of theory with the study of diatonic chords, the relative minor, seventh chords, and modes. If you’ll bear with me, I promise that understanding these things will help you in the long run. I promise!
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
Diatonic Chords and Chord Progressions In previous volumes of this course you learned that the word “diatonic” means “of the key.” If a melody is “diatonic” that means that all of the notes in that melody are notes that appear in the scale of the key. If the song is in the key of G, a diatonic melody will consist of only notes that are found in the G scale. Most simple song melodies are diatonic. As you learned in Volume 4, chords can also be diatonic. In the harmonized scale section of Volume 4, you learned that diatonic triads are triads that are built on each scale degree of a given scale. In order to build diatonic triads on the G scale, you simply lay out each degree of the scale in sequence along a horizontal line and then stack thirds on top of each of those notes (as shown at the top of the next page). You’ll notice that some of these notes are going to be major thirds while others are going to be minor thirds, depending on the notes that are diatonic to the G scale. This concept can be confusing, so let’s explore it a little further. What is in a Name? Before moving on, let’s clarify how notes, scale degrees and intervals are named in music theory. For most of you, this will be a review. Musical pitches are represented using the letters of the alphabet—A through G. These letters are referred to as “the musical alphabet.” Thus, there are seven letters in the musical alphabet. Since there are more than seven tones in Western music, the notes of the musical alphabet can be altered by using a “sharp” or a “flat” symbol. A sharp symbol (#) used after a note letter name raises the pitch
of that note one half step. A flat symbol (b) used after a note name lowers that pitch one half step. By using these sharp and/or flat symbols in combination with the first seven letters of the alphabet, we can name every pitch that is common to Western music, thus naming the twelve pitches of the chromatic scale. If you’ve gotten this far in the course, this is not new information. Western music is tonal music, which means that both melodies and harmonies are typically centered upon one musical pitch. This pitch is referred to as the “tonic.” When groups of pitches are arranged around the tonic in half-step and whole-step patterns, these patterns are referred to as scales. The major scale is the pattern that forms the basis for most popular melodies. Previously in this course you studied the whole-step/ half-step formula for the major scale and a few minor scales. Major scales can be built from any pitch in the chromatic scale by using the major scale formula. Although not as widely used, there are a number of other scales in music (minor, pentatonic, diminished, whole tone, etc) that each have their own unique wholestep/half-step formula. Each pitch in every scale can be defined by a note name from the musical alphabet, or by “scale degree.” Scale degrees name each pitch in a major scale using a sequence of numbers. In a C scale, the C note is the first scale degree because it is the first note of the scale, D is the second, E the third, etc. Using scale degrees makes things a little easier. Since all major scales are made up of the same pattern, using scale degrees provides a universal system for naming these scales.
Diatonic Triads in the Key of G Major
G
T A B
0 2 3
Am
D B G
2 3 5
E C A
Bm
4 5 7
F# D B
C
D
G E C
0 2 3
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Imrov II & Advanced Flatpicking
2 4 5
Em A F# D
0 0 2
B G E
F#dim
1 2 4
C A F#
G D B G
3 4 5
3
Notes in the G Scale and Diatonic Chord Tones Whole Step
Half Step
Whole Step
Whole Step
Whole Step
Whole Step
Half Step
G G#/AA A A#/BA B C C#/DA D D#/EA E F F#/GA G Up Another Third:
D
E
F#
G
A
B
C
Fifth
Up a Third:
B
C
D
E
F#
G
A
Third
G Scale:
G
A
B
C
D
E
F#
Root
Lastly, lets look at how intervals are named. You will remember from earlier volumes of this course that an interval defines the distance between two notes. The first thing to know is that whenever you are naming intervals there are two parts to the name. One part of the name refers to its “quantity”, i.e. unison, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, or octave. The second part of the name is its “quality”, i.e. major, minor, diminished, perfect, or augmented. Creating Diatonic Triads Given the naming conventions listed above, let’s now look at how we might figure out the diatonic triads in the key of G. As stated above, the first thing to do is lay out the G scale horizontally, as shown on the bottom line of the diagram shown in the box above. To build the triads, we are going to first stack above each note of the G scale the note that is a third above that note. The note that is a third above any given note in a scale is the note that is two scale degrees away in that scale. Therefore, if you want to find the note that is a third above G on the G scale, you look at the G scale and count up two scale degrees to B. To find the note that is a third above A, count two scale degrees up the G scale from A and you find C. Continue on for each note in the G scale and you will find the notes that are indicated on the second line in the diagram shown above. For the time being we are not going to worry about whether the interval is major or minor, we are just going to find the notes. To find the third note of the triad, you will execute the same procedure, counting two scale degrees up 4
from each note on the middle line of the diagram above. Starting with the B note and counting up two scale degrees on the G scale we arrive at D. If you continue with this procedure along the middle line of the diagram you will find the notes that are shown on the top line. These notes are a third above the second line and a perfect fifth above the notes of the first line. Thus you have found the root, third, and fifth triads using each note of the G scale as your root. Since we have only used notes of the G scale to build these chords, all of the chords are diatonic to the key of G. Now we are going to take a look at each of these chord triads one-by-one to determine if they are major or minor. As we discussed previously in this course, a major chord has an interval of a major third between the root and third note (four half steps) and a minor chord has an interval of a minor third (three half steps) between the root and third. An easy way to count half steps is to use the “chromatic clock” as shown at the top of the next page. Start with the root note and count the “clicks” around the chromatic clock. For instance if you start at G and count around the clock to B, you will find that B is four half steps away from G, thus the interval between G and B is major. Moving on to the triad root of A we count the clicks around the clock from A to C and find that it is only three half steps, therefore this interval is minor. Does this mean that we can call the first triad G major and the second triad A minor? Well...yes and no. The major third does indicate that the chord is major and the minor third does tell us that it is minor. However, we still have to take a look at the interval between the
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
Major Third = Four Half Steps Minor Third = Three Half Steps
G
F#/GA
G#/AA
F
A
The Chromatic Clock
E
A#/BA
D#/EA
B
D
KEY
C C#/DA
2
3
4
5
C
C
D
E
F
G
A
B
G
G
A
B
C
D
E
F#
G = G, B, D
D
D
E
F#
G
A
B
C#
Am = A, C, E
A
A
B
C#
D
E
F#
G#
E
E
F#
G#
A
B
C#
D#
Bm = B, D, F#
B
B
C#
D#
E
F#
G#
A#
F#
F#
G#
A#
B
C#
D#
E#
C#
C#
D#
E#
F#
G#
A#
B#
Em = E, G, B
F
F
G
A
C
D
E
F#dim = F#, A, C
C
D
F
G
A
F
G
C
D
F
G
BA
BA
AA
AA
EA
EA
BA
C
DA
DA
EA
F
CA
GA
AA
BA
GA
GA
AA
BA
BA
EA
AA
DA
GA
CA
CA
6
BA
EA
AA
DA
DA
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Imrov II & Advanced Flatpicking
7
Chord Tones:
1
BA
C
EA
FA
EA
C = C, E, G D = D, F#, A
F
5
Triads: Major, Minor, Diminished, and Augmented Half Step
G
Half Step
Half Step
G#/AA A
Half Step
Half Step
A#/BA B
Major Third = 4 Half Steps Minor Third = 3 Half Steps
Half Step
C
Half Half Step Step
C#/DA D
Half Step
Half Half Step Step
D#/EA E
F
Half Step
F#/GA G
Major Chord = Major Third + Minor Third Minor Chord = Minor Third + Major Third Diminished Chord = Minor Third + Minor Third Augmented Chord = Major Third + Major Third
The G Triads G Major Chord: G
G#/AA A
G Minor Chord: G
G#/AA A
G Diminished Chord: G
G#/AA A
G Augmented Chord: G
G#/AA A
A#/BA B
C
C#/DA D
D#/EA E
F
F#/GA G
A#/BA B
C
C#/DA D
D#/EA E
F
F#/GA G
A#/BA B
C
C#/DA D
D#/EA E
F
F#/GA G
A#/BA B
C
C#/DA D
D#/EA E
F
F#/GA G
third and fifth scale degrees to determine if the triad is diminished or augmented. When you are constructing triads there are four possible triad types that you might encounter: major, minor, diminished, and augmented. These triads are defined in the chart shown above. A major triad has an interval of a major third between the root and third scale degrees and an interval of a minor third between the third and fifth scale degrees. The minor chord has just the opposite. A minor chord has an interval of a minor third between the root and third scale degrees and an interval of a major third between the third and fifth scale degrees. A diminished chord has an interval of a minor third between the root and third scale degrees and a minor third between the third and fifth scale degrees. An augmented chord has an interval of a major third between the root and third scale degrees and a major third between the third and fifth scale degrees. 6
If you look at the chart above you can see that I’ve constructed all of the possible triads that start with the root note of G. By counting the half steps on the chromatic scale shown at the top of the page I’ve determined what notes make up the major, minor, diminished, and augmented G chords. You’ll notice that in each case the scale degrees are the same (G, B, and D), however, the B and D notes are either natural, sharp, or flat. In order to determine what kind of triads we have constructed on page 4, we must examine the intervals between the third and fifth scale degrees. Looking at the notes above the G on the bottom line we see a B and a D. The distance between the B note and the D note on our chromatic clock is three half steps—an interval of a minor third. Since the interval between G and B is major and the interval between B and D is minor, we know that this is a G major chord.
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
Diatonic Chords in the Key of G G
Am
Bm
I
ii
3 0 0 0 2 3
0 1 2 2 0 0
1
T A B
C
D
iii
IV
Em
V
2 3 4 4 2 2
0 1 0 2 3 3
2 3 2 0 0 2
Taking a look at the next triad, we already determined that the interval between the A note and the C note was a minor third. The next interval, between the C and the E notes, is four half steps and thus a major third interval. Since the first interval is minor and the second is major, you know that this is an A minor chord. Analyzing all of the triads that are formed from each note of the G scale, you will discover the chords that are shown in the chart above. The triads built on the first, fourth, and fifth scale degrees are major triads. The triads built on the second, third, and sixth scale degrees are minor. The triad built on the seventh scale degree is diminished. The method we have used to determine each triad type was based on counting half steps. You could have also used a derivative method to find these triad types. If you are familiar with the notes of each major scale, as shown in the chart at the bottom of page 5, then you can simply compare the notes of each triad with the notes of each major scale. For instance, if you compare the notes of the triad built on the root of G with the G major scale, you will see that the root, third, and fifth notes of the G major scale are G, B, and D and thus the triad is major. When you look at the notes of the triad that starts with the A note as the root (A, C, E) and compare that to the A major scale you will see that the first, third and fifth notes of the A major scale are A, C#, and E. The only difference here is that the third degree of our triad (C) is a half degree flat from the C# note of the A major scale, thus we know that our A chord is minor. If we jump forward and look at the F# scale, we find that in the F# major scale the notes of the 1, 3, 5 triad are F#, A#, and C#. Comparing that to the triad we built on
G
vi
viidim
I
0 0 0 2 2 0
2 1 2 4
2 0 0 0 2 3
F#dim
the F# note using the notes of the G scale (F#, A, and C), we can see that both the third scale degree and the 5th scale degree are a half step flat. This tells us that our F# traid that was built from notes of the G scale is a diminished chord. Whether you count half steps or derive results from the major scales you will find that for every major scale the diatonic chords built from each scale degree are universally the same: I, ii, iii, IV, V, vi, viidim (or vii°). OK, so the big question in everyone’s mind now is, “How is this information useful?” Good Question! Practical Application of the Theory In the improvisation section of Volume 5 you practiced a number of exercises where you played the notes of the G major scale against the I, IV, and V chords in the key of G. You will remember that one of the primary goals of that section of the course was to learn how to play the root note and/or other chord tones of each chord as the chords changed. Since the chord tones of the I chord, IV chord, and V chord were all in the G scale, all you had to know in order to improvise solos in the key of G were the notes of the G scale. If you were successful at matching up chord tones with chord changes, then your improvisations fit the chord progression. If you were able to keep the melody in your head and hit melody notes, or play G scale patterns that incorporated the melody notes, you were able to come up with a pretty good solo. Now that you know that the chords Am, Bm, Em, and F#dim all consist of notes that are found in the G scale, you can apply everything you learned in Volume 5 to these chords as well! You certainly know by now that
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Imrov II & Advanced Flatpicking
7
most common chord progressions in folk, bluegrass, blues, old-time, and rock music consist of the I, IV, and V chords. A little later in this course we will examine why those chords are the most common chords in roots and rock music, however, for now we will simply accept that as fact and move forward. After the I, IV, and V chords, the two chord types that you will most likely find in the songs that you will encounter playing bluegrass and folk music are the six minor (vi) and the dominant seventh (V7). We will study seventh chords a little later, so we’ll set that dominant seventh aside for now. Let’s first look at the vi chord. The six minor chord (vi) is very common for a couple of reasons. If you’ll look at the chord tone chart on page 5 you’ll notice that the Em chord shares two chord tones with the G chord. Since it shares two of the three chord tones with the G chord, it is very close in tonality to the tonic of the key, or key center. If you examine the Em scale, you will also notice that it shares all of the exact same notes as the G scale. It just starts on the E note instead of the G note. The six minor is also referred to as the “relative minor” and/or the Aeolian mode. We will also talk about those two concepts later. But before we talk about any more theory, let’s get away from the theoretical and practice an example in the key of G that uses a six minor (vi). There are a lot of songs in bluegrass that are played in the key of G and include the Em chord. Just in this course alone we have run across a number of them, including “Temperance Reel,” “Cherokee Shuffle,” “Big Sciota,” “Blackberry Blossom,” and others. Tunes such as “Billy in the Lowground,” “New Camptown Races,” and “Colored Aristocracy” also include the six minor (vi) chord. In our first example we are going to take a look at “Temperance Reel.” This is a good song to work with for our purpose because there are plenty of
E minor Pentatonic Scale 1
T A B 8
G Major Pentatonic Scale:
G
A
B
D
E
G
E Minor Pentatonic Scale:
E
G
A
B
D
E
chances to play over the Em chord. Also, because the B part of this song really lends itself to improvisation we are going to leave most of the B part open to full improvisation over the Em and D chords. In Volume 3 you learned how to play a melody-based version of this tune. Here I want you to try and mix the melody-based approach with a freely improvised approach (a la Volume 5) by playing the melody over the G chord parts and then improvising over the Em chord in the A part. Then in the B part, improvise over the Em and D chords. In the A part of the tab you will see that I’ve kept the B note followed by the E note under the Em chord because those two notes are “stable” melody notes. Other than hitting those notes, you should freely improvise over the Em chord. In the B section you’ll see that I left the tab under the Em and D chords totally blank. So, freely improvise during that section using the chord tone technique that you learned in Volume 5. Before you give this tune a try, one interesting thing to recognize is that the notes of the G major pentatonic scale and the notes of the E minor pentatonic scale are exactly the same (see diagram above). The only difference is that they start on the G note and the E note, respectively. If you worked with the 12-bar blues in E as I recommended in Volume 5 (Stage 16: Exploring Other Keys), you will be able to improvise over the Em chord in this song using the E minor pentatonic scale. Even if you did not work with the E minor pentatonic scale in Volume 5, but did work with the G major
L L « L L L L L L · 0
3
0 2
0
2
0
2
0
3
0
3
5
3
0
3
0
2
0
2
0
2
0
3
0
«
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
“Temperance Reel” Basic Melody Outline with “holes” for Improvisation Play Along with
½
G
1
½
T A B
6
G
0
10
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0 2
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0 2
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0 1
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improvise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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É
improvise . . . . .
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Em
Audio Track 1-17
2
2
G
É 0
improvise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
14
Em
3
Em
Em
improvise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
D
0 2
pentatonic scale (stage 8 on page 70 of Volume 5), then you will still be familiar with the notes of this scale. When you hit the Em chord in “Temperance Reel,” just think G major pentatonic, but start on the E note and you’ll be fine. If you did not familiarize yourself with either of these scales in Volume 5, then run through the E minor pentatonic scale as shown at the bottom of the previous page before working with “Temperance Reel.” There are many songs in the flatpicker’s fiddle tune repertoire that have a B section that lends itself
2
0
2
0
2
G
É 0
to improvisation. In tunes like “Temperance Reel,” “Blackberry Blossom,” “Lonesome Fiddle Blues,” and “Salt Creek,” to name a few, you can stay close to the melody in the A section, and then stretch out and improvise more freely in the B section. After practicing with “Temperance Reel,” try this same exercise with “Blackberry Blossom.” Practice tracks for both of these tunes, taken from Brad Davis’ Flatpick Jam series, can be found on audio Disc 1, Tracks 17 and 18, respectively.
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Imrov II & Advanced Flatpicking
9
Chord Movement & Chord Progressions Before we move on to work with more song examples, I want to first talk a little bit about chord movement and chord progressions. We will dive deeper into this subject in Volume 7: Advanced Rhythm, however, in order to understand improvisation using the chord tone technique, it helps if you understand something about chords and chord movement. If you can grasp some of the underlying theory of chord progressions, you can better understand how to solo over various chord changes.
Why The I, IV, V Progression Works
You know from the material that we’ve presented in the previous volumes of this course that in any simple song that you will run across in bluegrass, folk, blues, or rock music the melody and harmony of the song revolves around the notes of a major or minor scale. At the root of the scale is the tonic, or root, note. Chord progressions are tonal and they revolve around the tonic chord. Even if you don’t know the key of a song the tone center will always reveal itself as the song resolves because it settles on the tonic chord. Not every song begins on the I chord, but almost every song ends on the root chord. The simplest songs are those whose melody can be supported harmonically by just one chord. Some nursery rhymes and a handful of pop songs are one chord songs. Take a look at the French nursery rhyme “Frere Jacuqes” shown at the top of the next page. If you take a look at the song’s melody, you will notice that the first and last notes of every measure are notes that belong to the G chord. Any G scale notes that are not part of the G chord in this song simply serve as connecting notes. So, this melody can be completely supported harmonically by the G chord. While there are not too many song melodies that can be supported by just one chord, there are thousands that can be supported by two or three chords. We have learned that the majority of song melodies that we will encounter in bluegrass, folk, blues, or rock music are based on the major scale. In the first section of this book—when we presented diatonic chords—you learned how to harmonize the major scale. Since most songs melodies come from the notes of the major scale, it makes sense that the majority of the chords that are used to support those melodies will come from the diatonic chords. 10
If you know that your primary chord choices for a given song are going to come from the list of diatonic chords and you are presented with a song melody that sounds happy and upbeat throughout, then you know that the chords that support that melody are probably going to be major chords. Remember, major chords and scales sound happy and bright while minor chords and scales sound sad and dark. Looking at the diatonic chord list, you may recognize that there are only three major chords available—the I, IV, and V chords. When we studied song melodies in Volume 3 you learned that in the resolving phrase of every song, or song section, the chord progression was most likely going to move from the V chord to the I chord. Why is that usually the case? Remember back in Volume 1, and again in Volume 5, when we worked with leading tones? You discovered that leading tones beg to resolve to the root of the scale. If you don’t believe me, play the G scale that is written below.
1
T A B
3
0
2
3
0
2
4
When you play this scale aren’t you just aching to hear that F# note resolve to the G? Similarly, if you are playing a song that is tonally centered upon G, when you play a D chord and your ear hears the F# note in that D chord, it naturally wants to hear resolution to the G chord. As we will study later in this book, the concept of tension and resolution is something that helps add interest and helps propel music. The tension and resolution between the V chord and the I chord is not great, however, it is significant enough that simple song melodies take advantage of it. The relationship between the root (tonic) and the V chord (dominant) is a strong one and thus most all two or three chords songs include the V chord. On the next page you will find a simple two chord song, “Skip To My Lou,” that demonstrates the I and the V chord relationship. Notice that in measures 1 and 2 the melody consists of all G chord tones, but in measure 3 when the melody moves to the A note as a strong stable note, it calls for the harmony to move to the D chord. Almost all two
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
One Chord Song — “Brother John” (Frere Jacques)
G
1
Are
you
0
2
T A B
sleep - ing, 0
Are
you
0
2
0
Morn-ing bells are ring - ing, 0
3
3
1
0
sleep - ing, 0
Brot - her 0
0
0
0
3
1
0
John?
1
Bro - ther
3
0
0
0
0
John?
1
3
É
Ding, ding, dong.
0
É
É
Morn-ing bells are ring - ing. 3
É
G
5
Ding, ding, dong. 0
0
0
0
0
Two Chord Song — “Skip To My Lou” É
G
1
É
Skip,
T A B 5
Skip,
0
Skip, 0
É
Skip
To My Lou
Skip,
0
0
G
É
D
É
Skip,
0
0
0
É
3
É
Skip
To My Lou
Skip
0
0
0
3
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Imrov II & Advanced Flatpicking
Skip,
2
D
2
É
Skip
2
4
To My Lou, 1
1
0
É
To My Lou
2
1
2
G
É
My
Dar
2
0
-
É
ling
0
11
chord songs are going to consist of the I chord and the V chord. Since the I chord and the V chord share a note in common, there is a smooth transition between the I and the V. Chords that share a common tone are called “common tone” chords. The transition between common tone chords is relatively smooth due to the shared tone. If the tonality of a song melody remains happy and bright throughout and the 4th or 6th notes of the scale show up as stable melody notes (in the key of G, that would be the C note or the E note), then those notes are going to call for a IV chord to provide the harmony. In the key of G, it is the C chord. [You may note that diatonically the E note also appears in the Em and Am chords and the C note in the Am chord, however, those chords give a darker tonality to the progression.] While the relationship between the I and the V chord (tonic and dominant) is the strongest, the relationship between the I and the IV chord (tonic and subdominant) is the next strongest in line. In a two chord I-V-I progression there is a slight tension set up when the I chord moves to the V and then a resolution when the V moves back to the I. Many three chord songs follow the I-IV-V-I or the I-IV-I-V-I progression because: 1) Shared Major Tonality: These are the only three diatonic chords that have a major tonality. 2) Smooth Transition: The IV chord is a nice transition chord between the I and the V because it shares a note in common with the I chord. 3) Step Transiton: The movement from the IV chord to the V chord works well because the root of the IV chord steps up to the next note in the scale (V). 4) Resolution: The V chord wants to naturally resolve to the I chord. Therefore, in I-VI, I-IV-V-I, or I-IV-I-V-I progressions in the key of G you have movement in the song’s harmony as shown graphically in the next column on this page.
Adding to the I, IV, V Progression
While most popular songs are written using the I, IV, V chord progression, there are times when a song composer wants to add a bit of flavor to the melody and harmony of a song he or she is writing. The first step in adding to the I, IV, V tone pallet is to use the diatonic minor chords, namely the ii, iii, vi, and vii°. In the parlance of music theory the I, IV, and V chords are called “primary” chords and the ii, iii, vi, and vii° 12
I - V - I G - D - G A F# D
D B G
Fifth: Third: Root:
Smooth Transition
D B G
Resolution
I - IV - V - I G - C - D - G D B G
Fifth: Third: Root:
A F# D
G E C
Smooth Transition
Step Transition
D B G
Resolution
I - IV - I - V - I G - C - G - D - G Fifth: Third: Root:
D B G Smooth Transition
G E C
D B G
A F# D
D B G
Smooth Smooth Resolution Transition Transition
chords are called “secondary” chords. Lets go ahead and take a look at all of those secondary chords and how you might improvise over them. An interesting thing to note is that for every major diatonic chord there is at least one minor diatonic chord that shares two of its notes. Chords that share two notes can be used as substitutes for each other because their tonal qualities are so similar. The diagram at the top of the next page shows all of the diatonic chords that share two notes in common. The information in this chart can be helpful in two ways. The first is when you are looking to spice up a given chord progression with chord substitutions. For instance, if a song melody is supported by a I-IV-V progression, but you want to add something different to give some variety to that progression, you can add a substitute chord in order to give a different texture to the harmony.
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
Substitute Chord Chart I - vim - IV - iim - vii - V - iiim - I G - Em - C - Am - F# - D - Bm - G Fifth: D Third: B Root: G
B G E
G E C
E C A
C A F#
A F# D
F# D B
D B G
The Diatonic Chord Ladder iii
Tension
Bm
Em
vi
Em
Am
ii or IV
Am or C
Dm or F
V or vii
D or F#
G or B
I or vi
G or Em
C or Am
Chord Ladder for Key of G
Chord Ladder for Key of C
Resolution
Chord Ladder Tim May executed this type of chord substitution on the old Flatt & Scruggs tune “Gone Home” that he recorded for the FGM Records project Flatpicking Bluegrass. Typically the chorus of that song starts on the IV chord for two bars. Tim played it that way the first time through the chorus. However, the second time he played the chorus he started on the ii chord for a bar before moving to the IV chord on the second bar. Since the IV chord and the ii chord share two notes in common, this was a logical chord substitution. In Volume 7 of this course we will take a deeper look at the theory and application of using chord substitutions in order to add texture to an existing chord progression. The second way this chart can be useful to you is when you are trying to figure out chord progressions that support a given melody line. Remember the chord ladder from Volume 2? I’ve reproduced it above for the diatonic chords. If a song is in the key of G and starts with a G chord, but then the tonality of melody
turns minor, you’ll know from this chart that the minor is most likely going to be an Em because in sharing two notes with the G chord the move to an Em tonality is very smooth. Or, it could be an Am chord that is being substituted for the C chord. An interesting thing to note here is that the Em chord is to the right of the G chord on the chart at the top of the page and the E note is the sixth degree of the G scale. The Am note is to the right of the C chord on the chart and the A note is the sixth degree of the C scale. And, the Bm chord is the right of the D chord in the chart and the B note is the sixth degree of the D scale. The diatonic chord that is built from the sixth degree of any scale is called the “relative minor” chord and it is the fourth most common chord you will encounter in bluegrass, folk, blues, and rock songs (after the I, IV, and V chords). So, let’s take a closer look at the relative minor chord.
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Imrov II & Advanced Flatpicking
13
I - vi - IV - V Progression in the Key of G: The 50’s Cliche 1
T A B
G
3
3 3 0 0
3 3 0 0
0
Em
0 0 0 2
0 0 0 2
2
0
The Relative Minor When song and tune writers are composing and want to insert a feeling of sadness to a tune that is in a major key they will typically first turn to the six minor (vi) chord. The six minor is referred to as the “relative minor” because all of the notes in the six minor scale all “relate” to the notes of the major key. They are, in fact, the exact same notes. The chart on the top of the previous page showed us that in the key of G the G chord and its relative minor, Em, share two notes in common. So the transition from the G chord to the Em chord is smooth, but because of the flat third note in the Em chord the tonality gets dark. In bluegrass this bright-to-dark movement occurs most famously in the Earl Scruggs tune “Foggy Mountain Breakdown.” As we discussed earlier, many bluegrass songs and fiddle tunes use the six minor chord. Pop tunes of the 1950s and early 1960s also made use of this chord, so much so that the I-vi-IV-V-I progression is known as the “50s cliche progression.” Songs like “Earth Angel,” “In the Still of the Night,” “Please Mr. Postman,” “Stay,” and many others, used this progression. Play through the progression shown above and see if it sounds familiar to you. Other popular bluegrass songs that use the six minor chord in various combinations with the I, IV, and V chord are songs like “Rocky Top,” and “Big Spike Hammer.” Regarding improvisation and the relative minor, you discovered in our “Temperance Reel” example on page 9 that since the notes of the relative minor scale are exactly the same as the major scale you can play the notes of the major scale starting on one of the chord tones of the relative minor and you will be safe. Furthermore, if you play the minor pentatonic scale of the relative minor over that chord you will never play a “wrong” note. 14
C
3
0 1 0 2
3
Audio Track 1-06
0 1 0 2
D
0
2 3 2 0
0
2 3 2 0
In Volume 5 you learned how to start to improvise using chord tones and scale notes by following a series of practice stages and working with a rhythm track. In this volume we are going to ask that you do that exact same thing with each of the new chord progressions that we present. At the top of the page 16 you will find a simple chord progression in G that includes the Em (vi) chord. You will also find a rhythm track on the audio CD that provides a rhythm bed for this progression. In the tab I’ve simply given an example of how you might improvise over this progression using quarter notes. You’ll remember that in the stages that were presented in Volume 5 you worked with root notes, then leading tones, then quarter notes, then eighth notes, then a mixture of quarter notes and eighth notes. Then you worked with some repeating patterns, then you worked to include different tones from the chord on the first beat of each measure. For each new chord progression that we present in this section of this volume, it would behoove you to go back through all of the steps that you practiced in Volume 5 when you worked with the I, IV, V progression (pages 55-76). Not only will this exercise help you to learn how to solo over these minor chords, but it will help solidify the minor tonality in your ear. So, take the progression shown on page 16 and work through all of the same stages that you work with in Volume 5. Once you have worked through all of the stages with this progression, try to work once again with “Temperance Reel,” and also play along with the rhythm track of “Blackberry Blossom” that we have provided on track 18 of Disc 1. Work to play a melodybased solo for section A of each of these songs, and then stretch out a bit on the B section and improvise freely over those Em chords.
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
Revisiting the Circle of Fifths
Circle of Fifths
The more you learn about music theory, the more you will learn to refer to the “circle of fifths” to help understand and remember the theory that you have learned. Let’s briefly revisit the circle of fifths (also sometimes called the “cycle of fourths”) here so that we can point out a couple of other useful references that you can find in this chart. At right is a graphic of the circle of fifths as it was presented back in Volume 4. In addition to showing the progressive numbers of sharps and flats in any key and depicting intervals of perfect fifths moving in the clockwise direction (and perfect fourths moving in the counter-clockwise direction), most every graphic presentation of the circle of fifths will also include a presentation the relative minor chord that is associated with each root chord. In our diagram, at right, the relative minor is shown in the inner most circle. If you want to quickly know the relative minor of G, the circle graphic shows you that it is Em (e). For C, it is Am (a), for D it is Bm (b), etc. However, this is not the most useful part of having the relative minor associations on this chart. Because, really, if you want to figure out what the relative minor of the G chord is, you can simply count six steps up the scale and you have it. The circle of fifths is more useful when you want to look at the bigger picture. Earlier in this course we talked about how you could glance at the circle of fifths in order to quickly know what the I, IV, and V chords in any key might be. You’ll remember that for any chord that you look at on the circle the chord
IV ii
(Cycle of Fourths) 4ths
Bb
F 1b
5ths
G 1#
D
2# d a e b 2 g b f# 3b c Eb 3# A c# f b b e b ab 4 b a# d# g# 4# b b 5 Ab E 6b 7 5# 7# 6# Db Cb C# G b B F#
to its left will be the IV chord and the chord to its right will be its V chord. Well, if we add the relative minor chords to the mix (as shown below), you may notice that in looking at a small slice of the circle of fifths you are presented with every diatonic chord, with the exception of the vii°. We’ve studied the diatonic chords in the key of G (as shown below), but what if you want to quickly find the diatonic chords in the key of E? A quick glance at the circle of fifths will tell you that they are E, F#m, G#m, A, B, C#m, and D#°!
C
I
Am
vi iii
C 0 0
V
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Imrov II & Advanced Flatpicking
G Em Bm
D
15
I - vi - IV - V Progression in the Key of G: Filling in with Quarter Notes 1
T A B 5
G
3
Em
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The Two Minor (ii) Chord After the vi, the next most common diatonic chord that you will encounter is the ii. You’ll remember from our chord substitution chart that this chord is a good substitute for the IV chord. In fact, go ahead and play the “50s cliche” progression at the top of page 14 but substitute the ii for the IV chord and you’ll recognize the tonality of this progression right away. If you shorten the changes so that you are changing chords every half measure and then play eighth note arpeggios over the chord changes, you’ll recognize this famous backup to the tune “Heart and Soul” (see the tab at the top of the next page). Many of the songs from the Doo-Wop era of rock and roll use this progression. The ii chord often precedes the V chord, giving us the ii-V-I sequence that is prevalent in jazz. (We will revisit that famous chord sequence later in this book, and in Volumes 7 and 8). Substituting the IV chord with the ii produces a smoother sound and thus many composers like the tonality. Play through a I-IV-V-I progression on your guitar and then play a I-ii-V-I progression and see if you can get a sense of the difference between the two. One of the reasons that the ii-V-I progression flows so well is because of the relationship between the ii and the V chord. Remember at the beginning of this section 16
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we talked about the strong relationship between the I and the V chord? Well, the ii chord and the V chord have a very similar relationship because if you convert the V chord and make it the I chord, then the old ii chord is now the v chord, which has a v—I relationship. It is not a strong as the V—I relationship, but the pull is still there with the minor chord. When the five chord is major (V) it is referred to as the “V of the V” or V/V. If that doesn’t make sense to you, let’s look at a more concrete example. Let’s say that we are in the key of G. The V chord in the key of G is D, the ii chord is Am. However, if we now look at the key of D, the D chord is the root chord and the A chord is the V. So, we can say that the A chord is the “V of the V” (D) in the key of G. Remember that previously we talked about how the V chord wants to resolve to the I? The II chord wants to move towards the V chord in the same way. The pull is not quite as strong when II is minor (ii), but it is still there. So, the V wants to resolve to the I and the ii wants to move towards the V in our ii-V-I progression . If you look at the progression shown for “Heart and Soul” at the top of the next page and analyze the sequence, we can take this concept one step farther in this “vi-ii-V-I” progression. The vi chord is the v of the ii chord (in this case the E note being the 5th
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
I - vi - ii - V Progression in the Key of G: Filling in with Eighth Note Arpeggios 1
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Audio Track 1-22
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scale degree of the A scale). So here with a vi-ii-V-I progression you can see that the iv is the v of the ii, the ii, is the V of the V, and the V is, obviously, the V of the I. In the key of G, the E is the V of the A, the A is the V of the D, and the D is the V of the G. So the E chord is the “V of the V of the V” (or V/V/V)! All of this happens in a much stronger sense when you add dominant 7th chords to the mix. When we study 7th chords in the next section of this book we will revisit the V/V and V/V/V concept and talk about the idea of “subdominant” chords. If you are not already aware of this type of chord progression you may be amazed at how many songs, especially in swing or jazz, that follow this chord sequence. But, enough of that. Let’s get back to talking about the ii chord. In terms of soloing over the ii chord there are a number ways that you can approach it. The first thing that you could do is simply play the G scale, but start it on one of the Am chord tones. If you start the G scale on the A note then you are playing in the Dorian mode. We briefly touched on modes earlier in this course and we specifically presented the Dorian mode on pages 12 and 13 of Volume 5. The A Dorian mode is defined by playing the notes of the G scale in sequence, but starting on the A note. The second thing you might think about when improvising over the ii chord is that the ii shares the exact same scale notes as the IV chord. For instance, in the key of G the ii is the Am chord and the IV is the C chord. Since Am is the relative minor in the key of C, we know that the notes of the C scale and the notes of the Am scale are exactly the same. Therefore, you could play the notes of the C scale over the Am chord in the key of G. The only note that would not be diatonic to the key of G is the F note. However, as you saw in Volume 5, we could solve that problem by
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playing the C major pentatonic scale (which does not include the F note). When you worked with the Em scale earlier in this book you learned that the notes of the Em pentatonic scale were exactly the same as the G major pentatonic scale. In Volume 5 you worked with the C major pentatonic scale, so you should be familiar with it. By now you may have guessed that the notes of the A minor pentatonic scale and the C major pentatonic scale are exactly the same. So, when you are playing in the key of G and you play over an Am chord, you can play the notes of the C major pentatonic scale starting on the A note (which is exactly the same as playing the A minor pentatonic scale!). The song “Fox on the Run,” which was popularized by the Country Gentleman in bluegrass, uses the ii chord in the chorus. In that song the progression toggles back and forth between the ii and IV chord, like this: I-V-ii-IV-ii-V-IV-I The ii chord also shows up in the B part of the fiddle tune “St. Anne’s Reel,” which you learned in Volume 3 of this course. Additionally, the ii chord shows up in the fiddle tune “Devil’s Dream.” Although we have yet to present “Devil’s Dream” thus far in this course, you will find that an arrangement of “Devil’s Dream” is presented later in this volume. In the tab shown at the top of the next page we have presented a simple I-ii-V-I progression. This is the same basic progression that you worked with in Volume 5, however, I’ve replaced the IV chord with the ii chord. This is a progression that was used by Neil Young for his song “Out On The Weekend.” [Author’s Note: My distinguished co-author, Tim May, produced a recording for CMH Records a few years back titled
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Imrov II & Advanced Flatpicking
17
I - ii - V - I Progression in the Key of G: Filling in with Chord Tones 1
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Note Choices for Diatonic Chords
Before we proceed to look at the last two diatonic chords, lets first analyze the six different ways that you can look at consonant vs. dissonant note choices when 18
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The Bluegrass Tribute to Neil Young, which includes the tune “Out On The Weekend.” If you like Neil Young’s music, I highly recommend Tim’s tribute recording]. In the tab shown above I have filled in with chord tones. You should play through this progression along with the audio track provided (Disc 1, Track 9), working through all of the steps as outlined on pages 55 through 76 of Volume 5. After you have worked with the progression provided above, try to play the tune “St. Anne’s Reel” as shown on the next page. This is basically the version you learned in Volume 3, however, we are encouraging you to improvise over the B section using notes of the C scale. Give it a try, playing along with the track taken from Brad Davis’ Flatpick Jam (Disc 1, Track 19) before moving on. So far we have taken a look at chord progressions that include the I, ii, IV, V, and vi chords. Before we move on to take a look at the remaining diatonic chords, let’s first examine all of the various ways that you might choose to think about making note choices for diatonic chords.
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you are playing a solo over any diatonic chord changes. A consonant note choice is one that is resolved and stable. Conversely, dissonant means unresolved and unstable. Both consonance and dissonance are used to great effect in soloing, so one is not necessarily “better” than the other. It all depends on how you use them. To give you a better understanding of consonance and dissonance, here is a list of note choices that moves from the most consonant to the most dissonant: 1) Stable Melody Notes: Obviously, the most stable notes of any solo are going to be those stable melody notes that we worked with in Volume 2. If you are playing a solo to any song, the prominent melody notes are going to be the most stable notes in the solo because they define the song. As you learned in Volumes 2 and 3, the most stable melody notes are usually the notes that belong to the chord because the harmony in the chord is there to support the most prominent and stable notes in the melody. Which leads us to our next set of note choices. 2) Chord Tones: As we discussed in Volume 5, the most consonant note choices, outside of the melody notes, are the notes that belong to the chord that you are playing against. While the chord tones are not as stable as the exact melody notes, playing any chord
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
“St. Anne’s Reel” Basic Melody Outline with “holes” for Improvisation
œ œœ Œ œ œ .. œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œœ œ œ œ C
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improvise - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
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improvise - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
œ œ œ œ œ .. œ œ ˙
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Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Imrov II & Advanced Flatpicking
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G Scale Modes Triad
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tone against a chord will still have a consonant tonality. You practiced improvising using chord tones in Volume 5. 3) Major Pentatonic Notes: The next set of consonant notes are those that are found in the pentatonic scales (either major or minor depending on the chord you are playing over). You worked with both the major and minor pentatonic notes in Volume 5, and then you worked with playing the notes of the minor pentatonic scale over a diatonic minor chord earlier in this book, so you should have some familiarity with them. 4) Modes: The fourth set of notes that you can choose from are the seven notes that are found in the major scale of the key. Five of these notes (major pentatonic) are going to be fairly consonant, however, as we discussed in Volume 5, the 4th scale degree and the 7th scale degree for the major chords and the 2nd scale degree and the 6th scale degree for the minor chords are going to be a bit dissonant as they are a half step away from one of the chord tones. One thing to remember when we talk about consonance and dissonance is that while consonant notes are the most stable, that does not mean the dissonant notes should be avoided at all cost. Dissonant notes do serve a very useful function as they can help provide the important quality of tension and release to your solos. You have already worked with one example of using a dissonant tone when you played the leading tone of the major scale (7th scale degree) to help lead the listener’s ear to a chord change in Volume 1. We will study tension and release more thoroughly later in this book. When you choose to play notes that are in the scale of the key, but play them over a chord that is not the key center (root chord), the choice involves modes. You 20
Mode
were briefly introduced to modes in Volume 5 when we took a look at minor scales in the front of that book. A study of the various uses of modes, especially in jazz, is a very deep subject. We will introduce modes here, but we are not going to need to dive in too deep. For the time being there are only two things that you need to know about modes in order to begin to understand their most basic use. First, you’ll need to know how they are built and then you’ll need to know what they are in the context of the key and scale of the key. How Modes Are Built: Modes are built using the notes of a major scale, but each mode starts on a different scale degree. If you look at the chart at the top of this page you can see that the notes of each of the seven modes are the exact notes of the G scale, but each mode starts on a different degree of the G scale. Each of these modes maintains the structure of the G scale, however, the tonal emphasis is placed on a different root note. The use of modes can be confusing, but for now we can simplify and just say that if you are in the key of G and the chord progression moves to the D chord, for example, and you start your solo on a D note and use only the notes of the G scale, then you are using the D mixolydian mode. The type of modes that we are dealing with here are called “Greek modes, “church modes,” or “jazz modes.” These type of modes are not the same as the “major modes” or “minor modes” that are used to describe the tonality of a song. The seven “Greek modes” that relate to the key of G are shown in the table on the top of the page. Using the information in this chart you will know that if you are playing over an Am chord and using the notes of the G scale, then you are playing in the “A Dorian” mode. If you are playing over a C chord, but using the notes of the G scale, then
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
you are playing in the “C Lydian” mode, etc. Do you have to know what mode you are playing? Do you have to know all of your modes? Do you have to practice modes? Not necessarily. It is always good to practice a variety of exercises on the guitar to help your fingers and ears gain familiarity, so if you want to run through the notes of the Dorian mode in any key, that is fine and it might be a good exercise to help you familiarize yourself with the tonal qualities of this mode. However, as long as you know that when you are in the key of G and hit an Am chord (for example)—and you want to play notes that are consonant to the key—you can chose to play the notes of the G major scale. You don’t really need to know that you are playing the A Dorian mode. Simply play the G scale notes over the Am chord.
remains bright and happy—the harmony that supports those notes are going to be found in the D chord, and thus the chord progression changes to a D chord. As you know from studying diatonic chords, the harmony that is built on the D note includes notes that are in the G scale. In other words, what happens when the chord changes to D in the key of G is that the tonal center of the melody and harmony is shifted to the D note without the overall tonality of the melody moving away from the structure of the G major scale. Thus the song remains in the key of G. So, while the melody is still revolving around the tonal center of the key (G), the tonal center of the harmony is based on the D note. What all this means is that while the notes of the G major scale are still at the tonal center of the melody, the tonality that receives the most emphasis, for the time being, is found in the D chord. When we temporarily shift the tonal emphasis of the song, but still maintain the song’s overall tonality and structure (G major scale), you have created a “mode” of that major scale. In much simpler terms, if you are playing the notes of a major scale (the scale notes of the key) over a chord that is not the root chord, then you are using a mode. In our example we were playing the notes of the G scale over the D chord and thus we were using the D mixolydian mode. This is just one way to define and use modes. We will dive a little bit deeper into the world of modes later in this course. As mentioned previously, there are a lot of different uses for modes, especially in jazz music. The usage that is described above is called the “key center” approach. Really studying and thinking about modes, in the “key center” application that is presented here, is not necessary when you are playing songs that have chords
What Are Modes? Now that you have an idea about how modes are constructed, let’s define modes a little more clearly. In Western music scales and chords are related in two ways. There is the relationship that they have with each other, and then there is the relationship that they have with the key, or tonal center, of the song. When you are playing a song in the key of G, the tonal center of the song’s melody revolves around the G scale. When stable melody notes appear, that are notes from the G chord, then the harmony is built on the G chord. When this situation occurs, the root of the chord and the tonal center of the key are the same and the tone center remains very clearly defined. However, if the stable notes of the melody move away from the chord tones of the G chord, then the harmony changes in order to support those melody notes. For instance, if you are playing a song in the key of G and the stable melody notes of F# or A arise—and the tonality of the song
The Diatonic Chords in the Key of G with Corresponding Scales Triad
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Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Imrov II & Advanced Flatpicking
Scale
21
Consonant-to-Dissonant Note Choices when Playing Over a C Chord in the Key of G 1
Melody Notes
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C Major Pentatonic Notes
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G, Bb, B, D, F
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C#, D#, G#
that change every few measures. A more serious study of modes, and the sub-melodies that can be built on modes, becomes more important when you are playing songs that stay on a particular chord for a longer period of time. Let’s move on. 5) Notes From the Minor Pentatonic Scale: The next set of notes to chose from are the five notes of the minor pentatonic scale of the key. You worked with this scale extensively in Volume 5. This is the first scale that we’ve encountered that uses notes outside of the scale of the key, and so we are adding some dissonance here. We are adding the Bb note and the F note to our note choice pallet. Although we are going to think about adding the F note as a part of the G minor pentatonic scale, you may recognize that this note is also the only note that is part of the C scale that is not in the G scale. In Volume 5 we worked with switching our way of thinking away from the scale of the key to the major pentatonic scale of the chord. If you were to think about using the whole scale of the chord, instead of just the major pentatonic scale, that would move you one step farther away from consonance (because you’d be adding that flat seven scale degree—the F note in the C scale). The concept here could be that when each chord changed, you switched your way of thinking about your note choices from the notes of the key to the notes of the scale of the new chord. That could be a viable way of thinking when you are considering adding some dissonance. When adding that F note over the key of G, we like to think about adding it in the context of the minor pentatonic scale instead of the C scale. But you are free to think about it either way. 22
Consonance (Stable)
Dissonance (Unstable)
You can see by the chart shown at the bottom of the previous page that for every scale that you might play over any given chord that is diatonic to the G scale there is, at most, one note that doesn’t belong to the key. If you look at the Am scale, you’ll see that the only note in that scale that is not in the G scale is the F note. The same is true for the C scale. For the Bm scale, the only note that is not in the G scale is the C# note, the same holds true for the D scale. The Em scale is exactly the same as the G scale. The scale that is associated with the F#dim chord—the Locrian mode scale—is also exactly the same as the G scale. So, out of all of the scales that are built around diatonic chords in the key of G, there are only two notes that are not in the G scale: the F note (in the C and Am scales), and the C# note (in the D and Bm scales). Even though one of the notes in these four scales is going to be outside of the diatonic scale tones, there are only those two notes to worry about, and if those notes are used as passing tones or neighboring notes they will work out just fine. So in step five of our example, you could think about the G minor pentatonic scale as the next step in our consonance versus dissonance progression (which add the Bb and F notes as dissonant tones), or you might think about the scale of the chord you are playing as holding this fifth spot (which may add the F and C# notes as described above). 6) Remaining Notes: The sixth set of notes you can select from are the remainder of the notes in the chromatic scale that we have yet to use. These will be the most dissonant notes and will provide the most tension to your solo. Tension is not a bad thing as long as there is resolution. You can play a “wrong” note
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
and it will not sound wrong if you resolve that note to a “right” note. In his DVD Victor Wooten’s Groove Workshop, Victor Wooten demonstrates how he can hit a “wrong” note over and over and it sounds “wrong,” but then when he resolves that note to a “right” note the “wrong” magically then sounds “right.” . He also demonstrates an improvisation whereby he plays all “wrong” notes throughout an entire improvised solo (the notes shown in category 6 in the chart at the top of this page), however, because his tone, timing, note
duration, articulation, and groove all come together in a very musical way, even playing all the “wrong” notes against a chord can still sound OK. Dissonance is great tool to use to make a solo interesting. However, in this section of the course we are going to continue studying the consonant notes. We’ll examine the use of dissonant notes and the concept of tension and release a little later in this book. For now, lets move on and take a look at the two remaining diatonic chords.
Practice:
Before you move forward to study the iii and the iv° chords, go back to the basic I, IV, V progression of the song “Nine Pound Hammer” (as shown below) and try to improvise over this melody and chord progression using each of the six note choice steps that have been presented. You can find a rhythm track for this tune on Disc 1, Track 2. Start with the melody, then alter and/or add to it using chord tones, then major pentatonic notes, then all notes from the G scale, then notes from the G minor pentatonic scale, then all chromatic notes. Try improvising this song focusing on one step at a time.
Homework:
After you have gained some experience working with all six note choice steps with the song “Nine Pound Hammer” go back to the practice tracks that you worked with earlier in this book for “Temperance Reel,” “Blackberry Blossom,” and “St. Anne’s Reel” and do the same.
I - IV - V Progression in the Key of G: Filling in with Chord Tones
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Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Imrov II & Advanced Flatpicking
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The Three Minor (iii) Chord The iii chord is the third secondary chord that you will run across. You will not see it quite as much as the vi chord or the ii chord, but it does pop up now and then. In the flatpicking fiddle tune repertoire the iii chord shows up in the B section of the tune “Dixie Hoedown.” In “Dixie Hoedown” some people play I-iii-ii-I, while others will play I-iii-IV-I. The iii also shows up in the folk song “Puff the Magic Dragon” (the first line is: I-iii-IV-I). The Elvis Presley hit “Can’t Help Falling In Love” uses the iii chord in the verse (I-iii-vi-IV-I-V) and then in that song’s bridge starts on the iii chord. But perhaps the most famous pop songs to use the iii chord are the Beatles’ tunes “She Loves You” and “I Feel Fine.” The iii chord doesn’t have a role that is as clearly defined as the vi or the ii chord. In terms of chord substitution, you could use the iii chord as a substitute for the I chord or the V chord, however, the I and the V are the most important chords in any chord progression (since they help define the key) and so they are the least likely chords to substitute. Since the iii shares two notes in common with both the I chord and the V chord, you’d think that it might be a good transition chord between the I and the V, however, when it is used in that capacity it weakens the relationship between the I and the V. In “Can’t Help Falling In Love” the I chord moves to the iii chord and then to the vi before it moves to the IV. Since the iii and the vi both share two notes with the I chord, the I-iii-vi makes a nice smooth and mellow transition to the IV in that song. In the verse of “She Loves You” the chord progression is: I-vi-iii-V. Thus, it starts with the I (one measure), then moves on to the relative minor of the I chord (one measure)—as did the “50’s cliche” progression—but then it moves onto the iii (for one measure), which is
the relative minor of the V, before it goes to the V (for one measure). Then it goes back to the I chord. If you take the “Heart and Soul” progression that you looked at a few pages back and substituted the iii chord for the ii chord, you’d have a progression like the one shown below. Strum through this progression a few times and then play the tab. Try to get a feel for the tonality of the Bm chord in the key of G. The chorus to the Beatles song “I Feel Fine” moves like this: I-iii-IV-V. So this looks exactly like the “50s Cliche” progression with the iii substituted for the vi. Regarding this progression Paul McCartney is quoted as saying, “It was a bit of a formula. We knew if you went from E (I) to G#m (iii) you could always make a song with those chords…that change pretty much always excited you.” So there you go...one use for the iii chord is to create an “exciting” transition between the I and the IV chords. When the Beatles released that song in 1964 it probably did give the rock and roll listeners a little excitement because they were so used to listening to the I-vi-IV-V and the I-vi-ii-V changes! The “She Loves You” progression is shown at the top of the next page in the key of G. Try playing through this progression while working with the audio track on Disc 1, Track 26. Work through all of the steps that you practiced with the I-IV-V progressions in Volume 5 and try to use all of the various note choices as shown on the chart on page 22. Each time you move through the progression, try to examine a different set of note choices. First work with the melody to the verse of “She Loves You.” Then work with chord tones, then with major and minor pentatonic scales (as you know now, you really only have to work with the notes of the G and D major pentatonic scales since they share the same notes with the Em and Bm pentatonic scales, respectively.) Then work with the notes of the G scale,
I - vi - iii - V Progression in the Key of G: Filling in with Eighth Note Arpeggios
Audio Track 1-25
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3 3 0 4 2 2 0 4 2 2 0 2 4 4 0 2 0 2 2 2 2 4 4 0 2 2 2 2 Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
I - iii - IV - V Progression in the Key of G: Filling in with Chord 1
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2
4
etc. Follow the consonant vs. dissonant note choices (1 through 6) as outlined on page 18 to 23). Another place you will find the iii chord in popular music is on songs that use a “chord stream.” A chord stream progression exhibits a step-wise motion on the root note of each chord. The Beatles song “Here There and Everyone” uses a chord movement like this: I-iiiii-IV-I. This kind of movement is called a “chord stream” because the root notes of each chord follow the root notes of the scale from the first to the fourth scale degrees. The chorus of the Beatles “Sexy Sadie” shows a I-ii-iii-IV-I chord stream as well. Additionally, the Beatles song “Ask Me Why” uses a I-ii-iii-I chord stream. Bob Dylan’s tune “Like A Rolling Stone” uses an even long chord stream. Part of its chord progression goes like this: I-ii-iii-IV-V. See the tab at the bottom of this page. Strum through the chords and then roll through the arpeggios shown in the tab to get a feel for the tonality of the I-ii-iii-IV chord stream. Although the iii chord does not show up as often as the other two secondary chords (vi and ii), it does still show up in popular music.
Audio Track 1-26
C
D
É
2
3
0
2
É
0
0
The vii° Chord Of all of the secondary chords the vii° is the least utilized in traditional music. In general, diminished chords are used as transition chords because they have such a dissonance. Whenever a diminished chord is played, you naturally want to have it resolve to something else. If you play the F#° chord in the key of G, you are going to want to hear that chord resolve to the G chord. In Volume 1 you learned that the leading tone of a scale (seventh scale degree) wants to resolve to the root. Well, the F#° chord is the leading tone chord, so it wants to resolve to the root chord. Functionally, the vii° can serve the same purpose as the V chord, or better yet, the V7 chord (we’ll take a look at seventh chords starting on page 27). The vii° is said to be a “restless troublemaker” because it contains an interval of two minor thirds. Two minor third intervals add up to a diminished fifth, or a tritone. The tritone is the most disharmonic interval. The tritone is such a dissonant interval that it was referred to as “diablo en music,” or “the devil in music” during the Middle Ages. Any chord that contains a diminished
The “Chord Stream” Progression: Filling in with Eighth Note Arpeggios 1
T A B
Audio Track 1-27
G
Am
Bm
C
G
Am
Bm
C
3
2
0
2 0
2
2
2
2
4
4
4
3
2
0
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Imrov II & Advanced Flatpicking
2 3
2
0
2 0
2
2
2
2
4
4
4
3
2
0
2
25
fifth (or augmented fourth) interval is going to be very unstable. In chord triad theory it is said that the root note defines the chord, the third gives it character, and the fifth gives it stability. When the fifth in any chord is not a “perfect fifth,” there is instability. Therefore, diminished chords want to move. We will study more about diminished chords in Volume 7 of this course. Since you will seldom see a vii° chord in bluegrass, folk, blues, or rock music, we’ll not practice any improvisation over this chord at this point in time. Instead, let’s move on to talk about what happens when you stack another third interval on top of the diatonic triads that we have been working with in this section of the book. We’ll summarize this diatonic chord section and then move on to take a look at seventh chords. Diatonic Triad Summary Volumes 5 and 6, you have now had the opportunity to work with over a dozen different chord progressions that use chords that are diatonic to the key of G. To make it a bit easier for you to reference these progressions and work with the audio tracks, we have provided an appendix in this volume that presents each of these progressions in a chord chart form. We have also posted slow, medium, and fast tempo rhythm tracks to each of these progressions on our website. On the audio CD that accompanies this book you will only find the medium tempo version. On the web site you can download a slower version and a faster version so that you can suit your needs regarding tempo. The goal in providing you with all of these chord progressions and rhythm tracks is that, through practice
26
with all of the steps outlined in Volume 5, you will be able to not only learn to recognize these chord changes and progressions by ear, but you will also develop the ability to improvise over all of these changes. Using the improvisation techniques that we have outlined in both Volumes 5 and 6 you now have a step-by-step method that you can follow in order to learn how to improvise over a variety of different chord changes and chord progressions. We will continue to add to your knowledge of chord changes and chord progressions in the next section of this book and in Volumes 7 and 8 of this course. The more time that you spend with the diatonic chord progressions, the easier it is going to be for you to work with the non-diatonic material that you will encounter later. As we’ve stated before, diatonic melodies and chord changes are the building blocks for everything that you will do in music. Most every simple song melody and chord progression comes from a diatonic melody and diatonic harmony. You may want to learn more complicated chords and scales and you may be interested in exploring jazz or fusion music, however, if you have not built a solid foundation working with diatonic scales and chords it would be like trying to learn algebra without first having a solid foundation in basic math—like addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Having said that, it is time to move forward and take a look at what happens when you stack a fourth note on top of your diatonic triads (forming seventh chords). Then we will start looking at some non-diatonic chord progressions.
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
Seventh Chords Earlier in this course, and again at the beginning of this section of this volume, you learned about triads, specifically, diatonic triads. You learned that chord triads are built by starting with a root note, adding a major or minor third, and then adding another major or minor third. By “stacking thirds” in this manner you were able to build major, minor, diminished, and augmented chord triads. Seventh chords are built by stacking another major or minor interval on top of the triad stack. If stacking three notes is a “triad” then a logical extension of that name convention when stacking four notes would be “quadads,” but that term is not used. Instead, these chords are called “seventh” chords because the interval between the first note (root) and the fourth note in the stack is a seventh.
You are probably already familiar with a few seventh chords, the most useful and common in Western music being the V7, also called the “dominant” seventh. The second most common seventh chord is the minor seventh. Chords like the Major 7th and the Diminished 7ths start to show up when the tunes move more towards jazz. The chart below depicts how all eight of the seventh chords are formed. At the top of this diagram I’ve written out the chromatic scale. The interval of a major third consists of four half steps. The interval of a minor third consists of three half steps. Starting at the root and moving up either a major or minor third, in all possible combinations, will yield the eight seventh chords shown in the list below. For now we are going to
Stacking Thirds to Form Seventh Chords Half Step
G
Half Step
Half Step
G#/AA A
Half Step
A#/BA B
Major Third = 4 Half Steps
1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8)
Half Step
Half Step
C
Half Half Step Step
C#/DA D
Minor Third = 3 Half Steps
Half Step
Half Half Step Step
D#/EA E
F
Half Step
F#/GA G
Major 7th Chord = Major Third + Minor Third + Major Third Dominant 7th Chord = Major Third + Minor Third + Minor Third Minor 7th Chord = Minor Third + Major Third + Minor Third Minor/Major 7th=Minor Third + Major Third + Major Third Half Diminished 7th (or Min7A5) = Minor Third + Minor Third + Major Third Diminished 7th = Minor Third + Minor Third + Minor Third Augmented Major 7th = Major Third, Augmented Fifth, Major 7th Augmented Minor 7th = Major Third, Augmented Fifth, Minor 7th
Some of the Common Seventh Chords in the Key of G G Major 7th Chord: Gmaj7 G
G#/AA A
A#/BA B
C
C#/DA D
D#/EA E
F
F#/GA G
C
C#/DA D
D#/EA E
F
F#/GA G
C
C#/DA D
D#/EA E
F
F#/GA G
G 7th Chord (Dominant 7th): G7 G
G#/AA A
A#/BA B
G Minor 7th Chord: Gm7 G
G#/AA A
A#/BA B
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Imrov II & Advanced Flatpicking
27
focus on the “dominant seventh,” which is the diatonic seventh chord built on the fifth scale degree. The Dominant 7th Chord You learned back in Volume 4 (in the Intervals Appendix) that another name for the fifth scale degree is the “dominant.” Earlier in this book you learned how to build diatonic triads. We can also look at diatonic sevenths as shown in the chart below. In this chart you will see that the seventh chords that are built upon the root and the fourth scale degrees are major seventh (M7) chords. The seventh chords that are built on the second, third, and sixth scale degrees are minor seventh chords (m7). The seventh chord that is built upon the seventh scale degree is called a “half diminished” seventh. [Another name for the half diminished chord—so that it is not confused with the “full diminished”—is “minor seven flat five.”] The seventh chord that is built upon the fifth scale degree is simply called the “seventh” (V7), or the “dominant seventh.” When I talked about the relationship between the I chord and the V chord in the last section of this book I discussed how the leading tone (7th scale degree) that resides in the V chord begs to resolve to the root note (1st scale degree) in the I chord. If you want to add a little more tension to the V chord and give it an even stronger pull towards the I chord, all you have to do is play a V7 chord in place of the V. If you are a flatpicker and are familiar with playing bluegrass songs and fiddle tunes, you have probably run across the V7 chord. In the key of G the V7 chord is the D7. In the key of C the V7 chord is the G7 chord. The reason that the V7 chord is more dissonant is because it has that very unstable tritone that is also present in the vii° chord. In fact, if you look at the dominant seventh chord, you’ll see that the three notes that are stacked on top of the root note of the chord are exactly the same as the three notes in the vii° chord. In the key of G the F#° chord (vii°) contains the notes F#, A, and C. In the key of G the dominant seventh chord
Diatonic Seventh Chords
GM7
28
F# D B G
Am7
G E C A
Bm7
A F# D B
CM7
(D7) contains the D, F#, A, and C notes (as depicted in the diagram below). In the D7 chord the tritone between the F# note and the C note (tritone = three whole steps) makes the chord very unstable. The F# note wants to resolve up to the G note in the G chord and the C note wants to resolve down to the B note in the G chord. So, the dominant seventh chord has a very strong pull towards the root chord of the key. A visual reference for the discussion in this paragraph is shown in the diagram at the top of the next page. Since there is such a strong pull from the dominant 7th chord to the root chord, the V7 is the perfect chord to use in place of the V chord when the melody and harmony are both moving towards resolving to the root in the last phrase of a song or tune. That V7 chord gives a very strong signal to the audience, and the other musicians, that the song is resolving to the root. The good news for you as an improvising guitar player is that your note choices over the V7 chord can remain exactly the same as your note choices were over the V chord. Since the dominant seventh chord is diatonic to the key, you can simply use notes from the scale of the key. In the key of G, if you play the notes of the G scale over the D chord, four of your note choices will be in the D7 chord (D, F#, A, C). Using those note choices as your most stable notes to play over the D chord, you really can’t go wrong. You’ll remember from the last section of this book that playing the notes of the G scale over a D chord means that you are in the mixolydian mode. At the bottom of the next page I’ve presented dominant seven chord diagrams in the keys of C, G, F, A, D, E, and B flat. These are the seventh chords that you will most likely run across in folk, bluegrass, blues, and rock music. I’ve only shown the open chord shapes for the G7, D7, C7, E7, A7, and B7 chords. For the F7 chords I’ve shown two options, both of which are closed chords. When moving up the neck, the two most useful 7th chord shapes to know are the C7 shape and the second F7 shape. We will talk more about those two shapes shortly.
D7
B G E C
C A F# D
Em7 D B G E
F#m7A5 E C A F#
GM7 F# D B G
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
The Dominant Seventh Chord and its Pull Back Towards the Root G Major Chord: G, B, D G
G#/AA A
A#/BA B
C
D 7th Chord (Dominant 7th): D, F#, A, C D
D#/EA E
F#/GA G
F
D7 Chord Notes Seventh: Fifth: Third: Root:
C A F# D
C#/DA D
D#/EA E
F
F#/GA G
G#/AA A
A#/BA B
C
C#/DA
G Chord Notes
C reso
lves to B
F# resolves
to G
D B G
Open Position Dominant Seventh Chord Forms Key of C G7
X
Key of D A7
Key of G D7
Key of E X
B7
Key of F C7
Key of A E7
Key of BA
Key of BA
F7
X
F7
X
OR
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Imrov II & Advanced Flatpicking
29
I - IV - V7 - I Progression in the Key of G 1
1
T A B
5
5
G
3
G
3 0 0 0
0
3 0 0 0
3
3 0 0 0
Audio Track 1-13
3 0 0 0
0
0
3 0 0 0
0
2 1 2 0
0
2 1 2 0
G
3
0 1 0 2
3
3 D7
3 0 0 0
The notes shown on these charts in grey are optional. For the D7 and B7 chords if you don’t play the grey notes you’ll need to mute that string (as indicated by the grey “X.” However, for the C7 and E7 chords if you don’t play the note that is indicated in grey, then you can play the open string since the open string note is still in the chord. In the tab shown above I’ve presented a I, IV, V7 chord progression in the key of G. This is the “Nine Pound Hammer” progression that you worked with back on page 37 of Volume 5 (Bluegrass Progression 1). All I’ve done here is substitute a V7 chord in the place of the V chord in measure 6. On Disc 1, Track 13 I’ve provided a rhythm track from the tab above to work with. Go ahead and work with this progression while exploring all of the steps that you learned in Volume 5, pages 55 to 76. What you play will really be no different here. What you should focus on in this exercise is hearing the tonality of the dominant 7th chord. If you can learn how to identify the dominant 7th tonality, then your ear will be able to hear when the chord progression is getting ready to move back to the I chord. This is a good skill to learn, especially if you are in a jam session and do not know the song. As soon as you hear that dominant 7th chord, you’ll know that the progression is getting ready to move back to the I chord that is relative to that dominant 7th. It will always be 30
C
0 1 0 2
3 0 0 0
0
3 0 0 0
3
0 1 0 2
3
3
0 1 0 2
3
3 0 0 0
0
3 0 0 0
a good “heads up” if you can learn to hear it. You will work a lot with dominant 7th chords as you progress through the remainder of this course. If you learn to recognize its tonality in simple I, IV, V7, I progression, that will help you later on when the progressions get more complicated. For the time being this is far as we are going to go with seventh chords. We will revisit dominant sevenths again a little later in this volume when we discuss blues progressions and secondary dominant chords. We will look at other types of seventh chords in greater detail in Volume 7. We are also going to wait until a little later in this book to discuss a third category of diatonic chords, which are those related to songs played in minor keys. For now, let’s leave the diatonic chord discussion and take a look at some common “non-diatonic” chords.
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
Exceptions to the “Rules”: Non-Diatonic Chords
Since the flat 7 note is not in the scale of the key, this is a non-diatonic chord. So, you may ask, why does this non-diatonic chord show up in so many fiddle tunes? Our guess is that the tradition of the flat seven chord showing up in fiddle tunes goes back to the use of the pipe in Irish music. Irish music, as it was traditionally played, could be called “non-chordal” music—meaning that all of the musicians played lead lines at the same time. No one in the group was playing the chords. If a piper wanted to write a song in the key of A—which is an easy key for the fiddle to play—but he only had his D pipe, he could still play, but he only had the notes of the D scale to work with. The only difference between the A scale and the D scale is that the seventh degree of the A scale is a G# note. In the D scale the G note is natural, and therefore is flat compared to the A scale. When a piper with a D pipe plays a song in the key of A, the tonality of the flat seven note that he plays often called for a flat 7 chord. When pianos and guitars, and other chordal instruments, started providing rhythm for the Irish tunes those flat 7 chords showed up the chord progressions because those flat seven notes were in the melody. As a result people became accustom to that flat 7 tonality in fiddle music and thus that chord they became a part of the sound of fiddle music in America.
While diatonic chords are the most common in simple folk, blues, bluegrass, and rock melodies, there are a lot of other chord choices that are appropriate for songs with more complex melodies and for chord progressions that add texture and interest to the diatonic progressions. In this section of the book we will begin to look at “non-diatonic,” or “chromatic,” harmony. The Flat Seven Chord When looking at chord progressions in fiddle tunes, one common chord that shows up quite often—even more often than the ii or iii chords—is the flat seven. This chord is not to be confused with the seventh chords as discussed in the last section. Seventh chords have the seventh degree of the scale added to the basic triad. A flat seven chord is a triad that is built on the flattened seventh scale degree. For instance, in the key of G the seventh note of the scale is the F# chord. So, the flat seven chord is the F chord. There are many fiddle tunes that use the flat 7 chord, including, “Salt Creek,” “Red Haired Boy,” “Paddy on the Turnpike,” “Big Mon,” “June Apple,” and “Old Joe Clark,” to name a few.
I-bVII-I-V-I Progression in the Key of G: Filling in with Quarter Notes 1
T A B 5
G
F
0
0
0
2
3 G
3
0
2
L
0
0
2
3
1
2
Audio Track 1-28
1
2
L
2
2
3
3
3
3
0
D
0
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Imrov II & Advanced Flatpicking
G
0
2
0
2
É 3
½ ½ 31
Play Along with Audio Track 1-20
“Salt Creek” Basic Melody Outline with “holes” for Improvisation # 4 . & 4 . n œj œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙ G
1
C
. S . 3J 5
T A B
5
0
5
2
0
5
0
2
0
F
D
˙
improvise - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
1 0
œ œ œ œ œ # œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙ & n œj œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ G
5
S
J
3 5
# . & . 9
C
0
5
5
5
0
2
0
2
0
G
1
D
0
1
3
G
0
3
5
3
0
3
1
0
2
0
4
0
.. . .
F
improvise - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
. .
13
&
#
G
F
improvise - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
œ œ œ ˙ 0
32
G
D
2
0
3
.. . .
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
Given the fact that this non-diatonic chord is showing up in our fiddle tunes the next question is “How do we improvise over this chord?” Your first two choices from the chart shown on page 22 are always going to work for you—either play the melody, or play chord tones from the chord. In this case the chord is the flat seven chord. In the key of G, that will be your F chord—so you can play the F, A, and C notes. Your next logical choice is to play the notes of the G scale, however, flatten the seventh scale degree to an F note. If you take a look at this scale (G, A, B, C, D, E, F), you might recognize it as the G mixolydian scale, and thus this is another instance where you would utilize the mixolydian mode. Moving down our consonance vs. dissonance chart, you are going to be fairly safe playing notes of the F scale over the F chord in the key of G. The only note from the F scale that might sound a bit dissonant is the B flat note. But as we have mentioned before, dissonance is not a bad thing. You can use it to your advantage as a neighboring note, or passing note. Also, consider the fact that the only two notes in the F chord that are outside of the G scale are the two notes that are in the Gm pentatonic scale, F and Bb. Flat Seven Chord Practice In the progression shown at the bottom of page 31 we present a simple I-bVII-I-V-I progression. You may recognize this progression from Volume 3 as the A part to the fiddle tune “Paddy On The Turnpike.” In the tab shown here I have filled in with chord tones. Work through this progression along with the audio track provided (Disc 1, Track 14), practicing all of the steps as outlined on pages 55 through 76 of Volume 5. After you have worked with the progression provided at the bottom of page 31, try to play the tune “Salt
Creek” as shown on the previous page. This is basically the version you learned in Volume 3 for the A part, however, we are encouraging you to improvise over the B section using notes of the G mixolydian mode over the F chord. Give it a try and then move on to the next section where we will look at non-diatonic seventh chords as they are used in the boogie-woogie, early rock, and blues.
Seventh Chords in the Blues
In Volume 5 you worked quite a bit with the blues using the minor pentatonic scale and the blues scale over four or five different chord progressions. However, in Volume 5 the rhythm always consisted of I, IV, and V chords. Back in Volume 4 you also learned a little bit about the blues shuffle rhythm using two note diads (the first and fifth scale degrees). The rhythm that you learned in Volume 4 was a very straight forward blues shuffle. If we were to take that basic shuffle rhythm and turn it up a notch in terms of ornamentation we can move into the realm of boogie blues. Play through the two tab examples shown at the bottom of this page. This tab is written in the key of E (playing the ornaments shown in the first example in the key of G would involve quite a stretch). Adding those C and D notes after the B note (over the E chord) creates the boogie feel. You were introduced to the boogie rhythm back in Volume 2 where you were given a simple boogie example in the key of G. The second example below is a similar boogie line in the key of E. You will notice that in both these examples the note sequence walks up to the flatted seventh scale degree (the D note in the key of E). If you wanted to play a I, IV, V progression using these ornaments, you could easily do it by playing the same note sequences over the IV, and V chords, as you did when you learned the song “Boogie Woogie Blues”
Boogie Shuffle in the E Chord 1
T A B
Audio Track 1-29
E7
E7
L L L OR 00 2 2 4 4 5 5 4 4 2 2 4 4 5 5 4 4 2 2 4 4 4 4 2 2 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Imrov II & Advanced Flatpicking
0 0 4 4
4 4
33
in Volume 2 (page 68). [In fact, it would be a good exercise to transpose the “Boogie Woogie Blues” that you learned in Volume 2 over to the key of E.] In order to be consistent with the flatted seventh tonality of the boogie embellishment, blues players will typically play I7, IV7, and V7 chords in the rhythm. I’m not certain whether it was the boogie woogie piano rhythms (introduced around 1919) that were the first catalyst for including all seventh chords in the blues chord progression, or not. Because the minor pentatonic scale includes the flatted 7th scale degree, that tonality already existed in the blues and perhaps when the boogie woogie players incorporated it into their groove it introduced the seventh chord into the rhythm. Whether it was introduced with the boogie beat or not, today the flatted seventh scale degree tonality shows up in rhythm styles of blues and rock tunes that don’t necessarily always have the distinct boogie rhythm. On the next page we’ve included a 12-bar blues progression using the seventh chord rhythm. The lead line is more of an early rock boogie style than a traditional blues form. I made heavy use of the flatted seventh note in the lead so that your ear could get accustomed to that tonality. Because the flatted seventh note of each chord is played over each chord, respectively, you could think about this being a “mixolydian” song, meaning every time the chord changes you would think about the mixolydian mode of that chord. In other words, over the G7 chord, think G mixolydian, over the C7 chord, think C mixolydian, and over the D7 chord, think D mixolydian. A general rule of thumb when thinking about modes is that whenever you play over dominant 7th chords, you use the mixolydian mode. I’ve been consistent with the mixolydian mode of each chord in this arrangement, with the exception of the B flat note over the G chord. That is a “flavor” note. The C# in the last measure is a passing note that is part of the walkup. Otherwise, everything is mixolydian. The chord forms that you can use for this progression are shown below. When playing rhythm along with this particular tab, try to use an alternating bass rhythm, X
G7
X
C7
X
D7
X 3rd fret
34
however, instead of alternating between the root and 5th scale notes, alternate between the root and the flatted 7ths scale notes. This exercise will help your ear get more accustom to this tonality. You’ll want to vamp the strum here, which means that immediately after you strum the chord, you slightly loosen the pressure on the fingers of your left hand so that the sound is muted (you learned this technique in Volume 4). The tab for this rhythm for the G, C, and D chords is shown below. Practice any I7, IV7, V7 progression of your choice while using this alternating bass note-strum rhythm pattern. Once you play through a progression using these chords, it will sound familiar if you have listened to early rock and roll music. You will notice that the note choices that I’ve selected in the 12-bar blues that I’ve outlined on the following page primarily stay on the root, fifth, and flatted seventh chord tones of each chord, however, as mentioned previously, I’ve also thrown in a flatted third
1
T A B
1
T A B
G7
Audio Track 1-30
L *
3 4 3
*
3
3 4 3
3 C7
A *
3
1 3 2
*
3
1 3 2
1
T A B
D7
*
5
3 5 4
*
5
3 5 4
* = vamp on the off beat
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
12-Bar Blues Using Seventh Chords: Filling In With Chord Tones 1
T A B 5
G7
L
5
3
5
A 3
D7
5
5
3
5
3
5
3
5
G7
A 3
5
3
7
5
7
3
A
5
5
3
5
3
5
3
)
3
5
A 3
5
3
L 5
3
5
3
G7
3
here and there for interest. There are an endless number of variations on this theme. I encourage you to explore as many possibilities as you can while jamming on this 12-bar progression. Stay mainly on the root, fifth, and flatted seventh scale notes, but vary the timing and note sequence each time you play over this progression. We have provided a rhythm track for you to practice with (Disc 1, Track 15).
H L 5
3
3
A L
3
5
C7
L
3
5
9
3 C7
L
Audio Track 1-31
3
L
5
5
3
É
3
5
4
While this chord progression will typically be found in blues, rock, and jazz music, even if you only play bluegrass or folk music, playing along with this progression is still going to be a good exercise for you. Learning how to hear the dominant seventh chord tonality will greatly assist your ear training progress because the dominant seventh chord does show up in fiddle tunes, bluegrass, and folk music. So give this exercise a try and have fun with it!
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Imrov II & Advanced Flatpicking
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Secondary Dominant Chords If you take any diatonic chord and precede it with a non-diatomic chord that is related to it, then that chord is called a “secondary chord.” Secondary chords most frequently come in two varieties: dominant and diminished. Secondary chords typically add a degree of texture and richness to the progression and can help propel and drive the music. V of the V In the last section of this book we took a look at dominant seventh chords that led to the I chord. Earlier we also briefly discussed how you can use a secondary dominant, or “temporary dominant,” in front of a dominant chord, as in the II-V-I progression. Since the II is the “V” of the V you can look at the II as being a temporary dominant that leads to the V, just as the V leads to the I. While the II does want to resolve to the V, the II7 wants to resolve to the V to a stronger degree. Let’s look at an example. You know from our previous discussion that the “V of the V” is going to be the II chord, so the II is going to want to resolve to the V. If you make the II chord a “secondary dominant” (II7) you then have an even stronger pull towards the I. Taking this one step further, the VI chord is the V of the II, thus making it the “V of the V of the V.” Make the VI a VI7 and you’ve got a stronger desire to resolve there as well. Want to go farther still? Figure out what the V of the VI chord would be. It would be the III, right? Now look back at the chord ladder on page 13. Notice how the ladder flows down from III, to VI, to II, to V, to I? The entire chord ladder is built from the principle of the V wanting to resolve to the I! The classic example of a chord progression built upon secondary dominant chords is the tune “Sweet Georgia Brown.” If you look at the progression to the A part, in the key of G, it goes like this: E7, A7, D7, G or VI7, II7, V7, I You will recognize that this as a progression built on secondary dominant chords. Up until this point in the course most of the simple songs and fiddle tunes that we have worked with start their chord progression on the I chord. In fact, with the exception of “John Hardy” and “Beaumont Rag,” I think that every other song in this series to this point has started on the I chord. Remember that our rule of thumb regarding chords and keys was 36
that while not all songs will start on the I chord, they will almost always end on the I chord. I bring this up here just to say that if you run into a song that starts on a seventh chord, like “Sweet Georgia Brown,” you know that the first chord is definitely not the I chord. In order to easily find the key, simply follow the string of seventh chords until you run into a chord that is a major chord. In the case of “Sweet Georgia Brown,” follow the line of seventh chords from E7, to A7, to D7, then to G. When you hit the G chord, back up one and see if the chord before it is the V chord in the key of G. If that is the case, then you’ve found your key! The V7 to I relationship is usually the best “guide post” indicator of the tune’s key. V of the IV While the seventh chord followed by a major chord can be an indication of a V7 to I relationship, there are exceptions to the rule. The secondary dominant chord is also frequently used in a I-IV-V progression to move from a I chord to a IV chord. In Volume 5 you saw this move in the progression of “More Pretty Girls Than One.” In the A part the chord progression looked like this: C, C7, F, C or I, I7, IV, I In this example the C7 chord acts like, and is called, the “V of the IV.” Think about it. The IV chord in the key of C is the F chord. However, in the key of F the C chord is the V. So in any progression the I chord is also really the V of the IV. So, throwing in the I7 before the change to the IV chord gives the progression that V7 to I resolution. Many flatpicking rhythm players will use the I7 moving to IV chord change to spice up a progression. Another typical place where this change is used is on the B part to “Beaumont Rag.” While we didn’t put the I7 in the changes for that tune in Volumes 3 or 5, we have added that chord into the progression for that tune here in Volume 6 (page 57). Alabama Jubilee Another tune that uses the V/V/V chord progression is one that you will be taking a look at very soon in the second part of this book. It is the old standard flatpicking tune “Alabama Jubliee.” In the key of C the chords in the A part of this song lay out like this: A7, D7, G7, C or VI7, II7, V7, I
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
Alabama Jubilee (A Section)
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In the tab shown above we’ve provided you with a very straight-forward version of the A section of this tune. If you analyze this melody, it will confirm our general rule of playing over dominant 7th chords using the mixolydian mode. Every note that is played over the A7 chord comes from the A mixolydian scale, and the note that really defines that scale is the flat 7 scale degree (G note). You can see that the G note is fairly prominent under the A chord (the G note appears in every measure).
2 3
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Likewise, all of the notes over the D chord can be found in the D mixolydian scale. The note that defines that scale (the C note) is found twice in measure 8. Over the G chord, in this arrangement, we only find notes of the G scale (the F note, which defines the G mixolydian scale is not there). However, since G is the V of the key, it is not so important to use the flatted 7th scale degree to help define this chord. The reason we wanted to present a tune that uses the V/V/V progression is not only to show you how
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Imrov II & Advanced Flatpicking
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common chord progressions develop from the use of these seventh chords, but to also allow you to recognize that whenever you see a seventh chord, you should think mixolydian mode. However, like all of the improvisation exercises that we have practiced thus far in this course, don’t start with the scale, start with the chord tones. In this case that means working with the chord tones of the seventh chord (arpeggios).
In the progression shown below we have presented the VI7 - II7 - V7 - I progression in the key of C (same progression as the A section of” Alabama Jubilee”). I have filled in with the chord tones of the seventh chord. You should work through this progression along with the audio track provided (Disc 1, Track 16), and go through all of the steps as outlined on pages 55 through 76 of Volume 5. If you go through all of the steps, this
VI7 - II7 - V7 - I Progression: Filling in With Chord Tones
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Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
exercise will give you a great feel for playing in the mixolydian mode over seventh chords. Over the years there have been a lot of blues, swing and jazz tunes— like “Sweet Georgia Brown,” “Alabama Jubilee,” “Limehouse Blues,” and many others—that have crept into the standard flatpicking repertoire. They all use the II7 - V7 - I or VI7 - II7 - V7 - I progression. Practice soloing over this progression in various keys using the chord tones of the seventh chord and the mixolydian scale and you will be able to jam with the best of them! By the way, if you want to be able to easily recall what chords fit the VI - II - V - I progression in any key, you can call on our old friend the circle of fifths again. Look at the diagrams at the bottom of this page and you will see that if you work counter-clockwise—moving towards any I chord—that you an find the V/V/V, V/V, etc. chords. Since the chord ladder is built from this progression, you can also extrapolate the chord ladder from the circle of fifths as shown at the top of the next page. You’ll also see from this diagram that if we take the III, VI, II sequence (moving counter clockwise on the diagram below), make those chords minor and shift them under the V, I, and IV chords, respectively, you have created the chart shown on the top right of the next page with the relative minor chords lining up with the major chords. Very interesting! That circle is a very useful tool.
Conclusion
In this section of this Volume we have learned that diatonic chords are the most stable chords in a chord progression because all of the notes that are in diatonic chords are found in the scale of the key and thus diatonic chords are closely tied to the tonality of the key. However, we have also learned that notes and chords that are non-diatonic, and thus more unstable and likely to cause a bit of musical tension, can also be used to great effect. In the improvisation section of Volume 5 we focused on major diatonic chords (I, IV, V), diatonic scale tones, straight timing, and simple chord progressions. These musical elements are the most rudimentary and thus without an understanding of these elements it is very difficult to progress. Without them you’d not have a strong foundation. In the improvisation section of this book we introduced the remainder of the major key diatonic chords, some non-diatonic chords, and more complex chord progressions. In your practice with free form improvisation over the practice tracks that accompany this book you should have also become familiar with, and learned how to use, a few of the most common scales that are based on modes. Hopefully, you have also had the foresight to incorporate all of the techniques that you have learned
Secondary Dominant Sequence and the Circle of Fifths I
G I
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V V
V
A
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V/V/V/V
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The Chord Ladder and the Circle of Fifths iii
IV
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ii or IV
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V or VII°
V
I Chord Ladder previously in this course while you were practicing your improvisations. If you have only been focusing on chord and scale tones thus far during your improvisation practice, then now is the time to go back and also incorporate all of the techniques that you learned in Volumes 2, 3, and 4, such as hammer-ons, slides, pull-offs, bends, drones, neighboring notes (toggling), tremolo (repeated notes), chromatic runs, harmonic scales, folded scales, floating, crosspicking, arpeggios, runs that move up-the-neck, etc. If you can do that, then your improvisations are going to start sounding very good! If you can use all of the road maps and techniques that we have presented thus far in the course while improvising, you well on your way to becoming a talented improvisational player. However, as discussed back in Volumes 4 and 5, note choices are really just a small part of playing music. Once you have gained a certain level of skill in being able to find notes that fit the song’s melody, and also provide interesting embellishments and variations to the melody, the next step is to learn how to take those notes and give them an expression, groove, and feeling that will express an emotion and captivate an audience. Your goal is to have your audience feel your music, not just hear it. In order to do that you have to learn how to use those other elements of music that we talked about in Volumes 4 and 5, such as dynamics, syncopation, tension and release, fluidity, articulation, groove, feel, and note clarity. 40
The best way to learn these elements is to listen very closely to players who know how to employ those elements and then try to make your solos sound like theirs. In an effort to help you with that, we have presented arrangements of common tunes in the next section of this Volume that we hope will inspire your playing. Tim May improvised all of these arrangements and he made great use of dynamics, syncopation, note articulation, tension and release, etc. The next section of this book is titled “Advanced Technique,” and, as the title implies, we will introduce some advanced technique in that section. However, if you really want to move your playing up a notch, don’t just pay attention to the technique, also pay attention to how the arrangements are executed and then try to add some of those ideas, elements, and concepts to your own playing. I encourage you to continually go back to the improvisation exercises that you have been presented with in Volume 5 and 6 and work to focus on a new idea each time. After you know how to find the notes, then move beyond the notes. Run through the progression one time focusing on dynamics, one time focusing on note clarity, one time focusing on timing, etc. With this kind of focused practice, eventually those elements will begin to naturally come out whenever you play. Remember, you are working to become a musician, not just a technician! There are a lot of guitar players who can play the notes, but relatively few who can put feeling and emotion in the notes that they play.
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
Advanced Flatpicking Technique Introduction
In this next section we are going to provide you with arrangements of standard flatpicking tunes that were improvised by Tim May for the “advanced” player. Throughout these arrangements you will find many of the techniques that you have been exposed to previously in this course, such as hammer-ons, slides, pull-offs, bends, neighboring notes (toggling), tremolo (repeated notes), chromatic runs, drones, floating phrases, harmonic scales, folded scales, crosspicking, arpeggios, runs that move up-the-neck, etc. You will also be exposed to a few new ideas and/or techniques such as playing in a minor key, playing with an altered tuning (drop D), playing harmony (twin guitar), using consecutive triplets, using harmonics, hybrid picking, quoting, and more. We are not presenting these arrangements with the intention of you working to learn them in their entirety, note-for-note. The main goal of this course is to get you away from tab and away from relying on someone else’s arrangements. We present these arrangements for the purpose of presenting a context for the above mentioned new techniques, but also as a source of new ideas. The best way to use this section of the book is to closely examine what Tim has played, identify new ways of thinking about these old tunes, and then integrate those ideas into your own playing. You may find a phrase or technique that you really like and then insert that phrase into your version of a tune, however, beyond that we hope that you will also identify conceptual ideas and incorporate those as well. Don’t just copy licks and phrases, try to look behind the licks, riffs, and phrases, identify what it is about those licks, riffs, and phrases that makes them sound interesting, and then explore the concept beyond the lick. In terms of “advanced flatpicking” a few things that separate the men from the boys include the employment of elements that are not so much based on “technique,” such as: dynamics, syncopation, tension and release, fluidity, articulation, groove, feel, and note clarity. When you are working through the arrangements that we have presented here, don’t try to play the tab without listening very carefully to the recordings. There is a lot going on in terms of dynamics and articulation that you can never get by just looking at the tablature. Don’t rush through any of these tunes. Listen carefully
and examine closely. If you find a phrase or passage that you like, work on it one measure at a time so that you not only get the notes under your fingers, but you are also able to play it smoothly, create the right feel and groove, play the notes clearly, and play with good timing and tone. If you do, you will be able to take your playing to another level. In this section we have presented all of the tunes in alphabetical order. If Tim employs a new technique or concept in any given song, we first discuss that technique and/or concept in the pages that come just before that technique. For every technique and/or concept we also provide examples that are designed to help you gain experience with the technique prior to trying to execute it in a song or tune. You do not necessarily have to work through this section in order. You can skip around from song to song out of sequence. However, when you turn to a new song, please check the pages that appear before that song to make sure that you don’t miss the introduction to the new techniques that you may encounter in that song.
Tension and Release
Before you begin to work through the “Advanced Flatpicking Technique” section of the book we’d like to mention something about the use of tension and release when soloing. An important part of any solo is your ability to craft a bit of tension and then release that tension at just the right moment. You want to present a solo that is exciting and dynamic, not something that is flat and colorless. On the other hand, you don’t want to present a solo that is so exciting and dynamic that it wears out the listener’s ears and brain. If you think of your solo as a communication device that you are using to “speak” to your audience, you don’t want your “speech” to be dull and monotone (too much consonance), nor do you want it to be too “over the top” as in preachy, loud, obnoxious, incoherent babble. The best way to create an interesting solo that is captivating, tasteful, interesting, and has “something to say,” is to learn how to add tension, build to a climax, and then release that tension. Master improvisers know how to put in just the right amount of tension, and then provide just the right kind of release. Too much tension and the audience can get irritated. Too long of a release will negate the build up of tension.
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Imrov II & Advanced Flatpicking
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In the last section (pages 18 through 23) we talked about note choices that were the most consonant moving towards note choices that were the most dissonant. Remember dissonance provides tension, consonance provides release. In addition to note choices, here are some other elements of music that provide tension and release: Tension: 1) Increasing Volume 2) Lines that Ascend 3) Moving Up-the Neck 4) Use of Large Intervals 5) Use of Non Scale Tones 6) Long Repetition of Notes or Phrases 7) Choppy or Staccato Phrasing 8) Dissonant Harmony 9) Eighth Note Triplets, 16th, or 32nd Note Runs 10) Bends 11) Syncopated Timing Release: 1) Decrease Volume 2) Lines that Descend 3) Moving Down-the Neck 4) Use of Short, Scale-wise Intervals 5) Use of Scale and Chord Tones 6) Smooth, Flowing Movement 7) Consonant Harmony 8) Rests (Silence), Notes of Longer Duration 9) Release After Bend 10) Straight, Smooth Timing If you will keep these concepts in mind when arranging or improvising and remember to provide a bit of tasteful tension in your solos and then follow that tension with a well-time release, then your solos will captivate your listeners and hold their attention.
42
A Note from Tim May; Hello Flatpickers, and thanks for joining the ride here in Volume 6! Let me say that the solos transcribed here truly are improvised. I’m way too lazy to have composed and read or memorized solos for these tunes! If I had written arrangements and played them by reading or memorizing them, it would have been much more difficult to play them with the same emotion and feel. The way I learned to improvise, however, was to write solos (many years ago, and I only knew a handful of tunes) and then improvise over small sections when jamming with others until one day I was able to improvise the whole tune. I’ve always thought that one of the best reasons to learn how to improvise is that you don’t have to remember as much! Those of us who have recorded and transcribed what we played will sometimes play with the impending transcription job in the back of our minds: we’ll play simpler lines than we normally would. I tried to avoid that here. I wanted to present what I would play in any concert or jam situation, completely off-the-cuff , no matter how hard it might be to transcribe later. Dan gave me the ‘green light’ to play whatever I wanted on any given tune, but I found that I couldn’t bring myself to stray (in most cases!) too far from the melody: at least at the beginning of the tune. This is, after all, how I prefer to play and how I encourage students to approach improvisation. And ‘improv’ doesn’t mean that I played things I’ve never played before: the words and phrases I’m writing right now are very familiar to me, but I’ve never used them in the same context and combined them in exactly the same way that I am right now. I’ll use the same bits and pieces of a tune like “Whiskey Before Breakfast” almost every time I play it, and those bits and pieces will generally be directly related to the melody. Do a lot of listening to your guitar heroes: you’d be surprised how much you’ll receive through ‘osmosis’. Don’t be afraid to leave some space in your solos: ‘bluegrass hates a vacuum’, but it really is OK to let time slip by while you linger on a well-placed note. These solos are certainly not perfect, and I didn’t approach this project in the same way I might approach an album. But I’m not about to point out any imperfections: you’ll have to find them yourself! I’m humbled and flattered that you would take the time to listen to and work through these solos, and I hope you find something you can use! Happy Pickin’ — Tim May
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
Alabama Jubilee At the end of the last section of the this volume we took a look at a simple arrangement for the A part of the song “Alabama Jubilee,” and you worked with playing chord tones over the VI7 - II7 - V7 - I progression. On the pages which follow we provide Tim May’s improvised arrangement of this tune. Let’s take a look at what Tim has done with this song. Right off the bat, Tim provides a unique opening that pretty much outlines the chords. Believe it or not, this was not prearranged! I had written the last section of the book before Tim recorded this tune and we had not spoken about the arrangement. When Tim sent me the audio track, I thought “How synergistic!” In the first measure Tim outlines the A7 chord. The notes of the chord are A, C#, E, and G. Tim plays the root and seventh notes, with an added D note for flavor. He ends this section by hitting the 3rd scale degree as a whole note at the beginning of the next measure. In measure 3, he plays the same figure as measure 1, then end this passage by playing a C# whole note. So, in these first four measures he has played every note of the A7 chord, with the root and flat 7 being the most prominent and a D note (4th scale degree) being thrown in for interest. Then in measures 5 and the first three beats of measure 6, he outlines the D7 chord, using the D7 chord shape and position that is shown back on page 29 for the C7 chord. Over the remainder of the D7 chord, Tim uses the D mixolydian scale in combination with a chromatic run at the beginning and the use of the G# neighboring note on the fourth beat of measure 7. Over the G7 chord Tim plays scale tones that are embellished with a passing tone (A# in measure 10) and a neighboring note (the F# note in measure 11 - remember we are playing over the G7 chord, so the F# note is not in the chord). In measure 11 Tim clearly defines the tonality of the G7 chord by playing the F note three times. You may recognize the last three beats of measure 12 moving through the first beat of measure 13 as a piece of a folded scale. In the next several bars (14-16) notice how Tim provides a bit of tension by moving way up the neck and then he releases that tension in the descending line (measures 18 and 19). This is a great effect, especially since he ascends during the “stop time” section (when the rhythm drops out). For the remainder of the B section Tim sticks fairly close to the melody. Notice the use of tremolo in measures 26 (over the Em chord)
and 28 (over the C chord). Also notice that Tim ends the first pass with a key of C “G-run.” At the beginning of the second pass on this tune Tim gives you a very cool repetitive lick over the A7 chord. If you take a very close look at the six notes that are repeated in this phrase, the first thing that you see is that they are all chord tones of the A7 chord. Then, if you look at the standard notation, you’ll see that it looks like a crosspicking roll. So, basically what you have here is a crosspicking-style roll using the chord tones, but it is only played on two strings. Very cool! Tim uses this technique several times in the songs that follow in this book. For lack of a better term, we’ll refer to this as playing a “two string arpeggio.” Go back to the improvisation exercise on page 38 and see if you can’t fit this same lick over a different seventh chord (in other words, transpose it to work over a D7 chord or a G7 chord). In measure 37 Tim adds a bit of dissonant harmony with a D13 chord (we will talk about chord extensions— 9, 11, and 13 chords—in Volume 7). Then he makes great use of the neighboring note (toggle) technique in measures 39 and 40. Then in measures 43 and 44 he really gives your ear a taste of the G7 tonality by using the F note as a drone. In measures 45 and 46 Tim combines reverse roll crosspicking with movement up a harmonized scale (this is the harmonized scale shown on page 104 of Volume 4). You were introduced to reverse roll crosspicking on page 82 of Volume 2. The scale is the C scale on the B string, the harmony is on the D string. The open G string is a drone. The scale movement goes: C, D, D#, E, so the D# note is used as a passing tone. For the remainder of this solo, analyze each measure on your own, but don’t just look at for the technique, also look at them for the note choices. Analyze which note choices are in the chord, which are in the scale, which are outside of the scale, etc. Then recognize how the note choices, especially those that are outside of the scale, effect the sound. Also, pay attention to which notes are emphasized in terms of volume and the feel and groove of the song. Notice how Tim plays the first pass of the song with a pretty straight feel, but then starts to “swing” the groove at the beginning of the second pass (measures 33 through 38).
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Imrov II & Advanced Flatpicking
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Alabama Jubilee 1
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Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
Alabama Jubilee (con’t) 24
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Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Imrov II & Advanced Flatpicking
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Alabama Jubilee (con’t)
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Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
String Skipping and Advanced Crosspicking In the next tune that we present, “Angeline the Baker,” Tim makes use of some “string skipping” and advanced crosspicking, so before you try to tackle this arrangement you may want to work with the string skipping and advanced crosspicking exercises that we have provided below and on the next couple of pages. Working on your right hand speed, dexterity, and fluidity is always a good idea. If you have a right hand warm-up routine that includes both basic and more advanced right hand picking patterns, and you execute this routine on a daily basis while using a metronome, not only will your right hand technique continue to improve, but your timing, tone, fluidity, and note clarity will also improve. The right hand is the most important component in the development of your flatpicking guitar skills. You can have great left hand technique, but if your right hand is off, then so is your timing, tone, note clarity and fluidity. Thus far in this course you have been presented with various scale, folding scale, and crosspicking exercises that should help you develop your right hand. However, there are a few more advanced right hand picking patterns that you’ll run across—such as string skipping and advanced crosspicking—that you should
also practice on a daily basis. These exercises will not only improve your right hand control, they will also open you up to more opportunities and variations when you are creating your solos. Every technique that you can add to your “bag of tricks” will expand your ability to create variations. The “string skipping” exercises that start at the bottom of this page are all based on harmonized scale patterns. If you’ve worked through the harmonized scales that were presented in Volume 4, then these note choices will not be new to you. What we are doing different here is skipping across strings instead of playing consecutive strings. At the bottom of page 49 we present an advanced crosspicking exercise. The majority of the crosspicking that you have been exposed to thus far in this course was executed on three consecutive strings. In this advanced crosspicking exercise we are skipping strings and adding four, five, and six string crosspicking patterns. If you like practicing these exercises and are looking for more exercises to help you develop your right hand, Flatpicking Guitar Magazine columnist Jeff Troxel has released a book full of great right hand exercises titled The Guitar Player’s Right Hand Workout. It is available at flatpickingmercantile.com and flatpickdigital.com.
String Skipping Exercise 1
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Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
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Advanced Crosspicking Exercise
When practicing these crosspicking exercises, first practice each measure as a repetitive exercise by itself. Then try to work them in repeating two measure pairs (one with two, three with four, etc). Then try to repeat each four measure line. Then finally try to put all eight bars together. Start very slow, then gradually build up speed.
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49
Angeline the Baker This arrangement of “Angeline the Baker” represents the first tune that we have presented in this course that does not use standard tuning. However, for this tune we have not altered standard tuning too much. This arrangement uses “Drop D” tuning. It is called “Drop D” because the low E string is dropped down to a D note while all other strings remained tuned to standard pitch. Drop D tuning is used when you are playing in the key of D and want to have a nice, fat, low D note. When you are playing lead, there is nothing special that you have to do, other than remember that your 6th string is a D note. However, when you are playing rhythm, you’ll have to modify your chords if you are going to play the 6th string. For the D chord no modification is necessary since the 6th string is now a D note. However, when you are playing other chords in this key, you will have to either not play the 6th string, or make some modifications. If you tune to Drop D for “Angeline the Baker” and are playing rhythm during your picking partner’s solo, the only chord you are going to have to worry about modifying is the G chord. However, many flatpickers also tune to Drop D when playing a tune like “Whiskey Before Breakfast,” and thus they also need to learn how
to play modified A and Em chords. Some suggested modified chords are shown in the chord charts below. Once you have played through “Angeline the Baker” and have a feel for playing in the Drop D tuning, see if you can use this tuning to work out some of the other songs that you play in the key of D—like “Whiskey Before Breakfast” or “Forked Deer.” In order to really use that low D note effectively, try to work on an arrangement that keeps that note ringing as much as possible, like a drone. Years ago I was working on a Drop D version of “Whiskey Before Breakfast” while I was visiting with Charles Sawtelle. Charles recommended that I try and keep that low D note ringing as much as possible. If you can keep that note ringing it provides a very nice full sound to your solo. A part of working your right hand to keep that low D note ringing will involve the string skipping style of picking because you may have to skip over the A string or both the D and the A string at times. Tim uses string skipping in combination with crosspicking to keep that low D note ringing in measures 33 through 37 of this “Angeline the Baker” arrangement. There is also a bit of tricky string skipping going on in measures 12 and 13. Have fun with “Angeline the Baker”!
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E B E G B E Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
Angeline the Baker
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½ ½ 53
Hybrid Picking — Part I For every arrangement that we have presented thus far in this course you have been expected to pick each and every note with your guitar pick. Way back in the introduction to Volume 1 you learned that the two primary right hand techniques used to play the acoustic guitar were flatpicking (using a plectrum to pick each note) and fingerpicking (using your thumb and multiple fingers or fingerpicks). Over the years many flatpickers have developed a “hybrid” style of picking that involves the use of the flatpick and the middle and/or ring fingers of the right hand. If you’ve never experienced this technique, it is fun to explore because it allows you to pick multiple nonadjacent strings at the same time and thus can create a much fuller sound than single string flatpicking. However, if you’ve never tired hybrid picking it may feel awkward at first. In this section we are going to present a very simple way of using both pick and fingers in order to get you started. A little later, with the help of our good friend Brad Davis, we will present a more complex hybrid technique. In order to begin to learn how to use pick and fingers together it will help to start with something simple. So here we are going to demonstrate how to use your pick in combination with your middle finger to play simultaneous harmonized notes on non-adjacent strings. If you are playing with just a pick you can easily pick strings that are played as single consecutive notes. You can also strum across the strings in order to hit notes that are on adjacent strings, as in playing double stops or strumming chords. However, the one thing that you cannot do if you are only using a flatpick is play simultaneous notes on strings that are not adjacent. This is a situation where the hybrid technique comes in handy. At the top of the next page you will see a graphic depicting a harmonized scale. You worked briefly with this scale back in Volume 4. In all of the non-adjacent string harmonized scale examples that you were given previously in this course you have always been asked to played the notes consecutively, not simultaneously. Try playing through the groups of notes shown in the graphic, but play them simultaneously by picking the notes on the D string with your pick and picking the notes on the B string with your middle finger as shown in the photos in the next column (the photos show the G and high E string being picked, but you get the 54
idea). As the pick moves down through the D string your middle finger picks upwards on the B string so you have a pinching effect and both strings are played simultaneously. You can pick the B string with the nail of your middle finger, or with the meaty park of the end of your middle finger. If you pick with your fingernail the tone will be brighter, louder, and clearer. If you play with the flesh of your middle finger the tone will be more mellow. After you have had the opportunity to experiment with his technique, take a look at the four examples shown on the next page. The first example (“Crosspicking Example”) is taken from measures 56 and 57 of Tim May’s “Beaumont Rag” arrangement that is presented on pages 57 through 59 of this book. Play through the crosspicking example and then play through each of the three hybrid picking examples. The first is very simple as you are only playing the harmonized scale notes. In Example 2 you are adding a G note in between the harmonized scale notes. This note is played with your pick. In the third example you are adding two
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
Hybrid Picking on a Harmonized Scale in the Key of C Harmonized C Scale on D & B Strings
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notes (both played with your pick) in between the harmonized scale notes. Play through these examples until you have a good feel for the technique and then experiment with other harmonized scale patterns. Try and see if you can figure out how to use the hybrid technique, in combination with straight picking, to play an alternate version of the entire phrase that Tim plays on “Beaumont Rag” from measure 56 all the way through measure 61. The next step in learning how to employ the hybrid technique would be to take a simple melody and play through the entire melody with your pick while simultaneously playing a harmonized note with your middle finger (or you could get adventurous and try
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to play two harmonized notes using both your middle and ring fingers). Playing an entire song this way may end up sounding too monotonous, however, it is a good exercise. Once you get a feel for how to do it, you can then back off and use the technique more sparingly. If you find that you are having trouble finding harmony notes, rely on your knowledge of harmonized scales and chords and/or work through the section of this book that talks about finding harmony parts to melody lines (page 90 to 103). On pages 113 to 117 of this book we will talk about how to add a third finger to the hybrid picking technique.
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Imrov II & Advanced Flatpicking
55
Beaumont Rag Dynamics, Groove, Feel, Articulation
For many of the songs that are presented in this section of the book the tab does not tell the whole story. In other words, it would be very difficult for you to just look at the tab and be able to play the song the way it is supposed to sound. Much of what comes across in Tim May’s playing is not evident from the written arrangement because you can’t get dynamics, note articulation and subtle timing intricacies from what is written on the paper. You have to listen closely to what Tim is doing and try to duplicate it. The paper will only give you an idea about when and where the notes are played. The rest you’ll need to get by listening to the recording. We recommend that in order to really understand what Tim is doing, and thus be able to improve your ability to use dynamics and note articulation in your own playing, is to take each song phrase-by-phrase. For instance if you look at the note emphasis in measures 56 to 59 you’ll hear that Tim is emphasizing the downbeats played on the 4th string (D string). In measure 60 he changes his picking pattern and starts emphasizing the downbeat on the 2nd string. The picking patterns are similar and the note choices are similar, but the change in emphasis creates interest and movement in the solo. Another good phrase to look at in “Beaumont Rag” is the one that appears in measures 18 through 22. That is a tough phrase to pull off. The crosspicking is unconventional and the timing in measures 20 and 21 can be difficult. But on top of that, the way Tim articulates this phrase can’t really be shown in the tab. If you want to learn this phrase, break it down stepby-step. First learn the picking pattern by muting the strings and just working on the right hand pattern as shown in the diagram below. Once you are comfortable with that, then add the left hand notes. Once you can combine the two together, then work on the dynamics and note articulation until you can get that phrase to sound just like the recording. One more thing to note about this phrase is that adding that B note over the C
chord makes this a Cmaj7 arpeggio. Tim said that he likes to use major 7 arpeggios when he is playing songs in a swing style to add a swing flavor to the tune. One thing that Tim does in this song, and in several other songs in this section of the book, is to switch between a “straight time” feel and a “swing feel.” For instance, in this tune he starts off with a swing feel for the first five measures, transitions to a straight time feel in measures 6 through 10, and then swings again from measures 11 through 17. Listen to this part of the song and see if you can tell the difference. In many of the arrangements that you’ll find in this book if you don’t get the feel, groove, dynamics, and note articulation right your rendition of Tim’s solo will not sound much like the song. However, if you can get those elements to line up, your rendition will sound like the song. If you already know how to play “Beaumont Rag,” you will find a lot here in Tim’s improvisation to add into your version. One thing you might want to experiment with is the F, F#°, C, A, D, G, C progression at the end of the A section. We will talk about the use of diminished chords in Volume 7, so we’ll not examine that part of the progression now, however, from the A chord you will notice that the A - D - G - C is the VI II - V - I progression that we discussed earlier in this book. Although many of the techniques that you will find in the songs that Tim presents in this Volume are techniques that you have seen before, Tim takes them all to the next level in these arrangements. The crosspicking is more complex (measures 18 to 23), the runs that move up and down the neck are more intricate (measures 23 to 25, or 30 to 32), etc. Also, check out the use of chromatic notes in measures 34 and 35, or the use of a drone string in measures 50 to 54. The purpose of this “Advanced Technique” section was not only to introduce you to new techniques, but also to demonstrate how the techniques that you have learned previously in this course could be applied in more advanced ways. Tim did a superb job!
Right Hand Pattern for Measures 19 through 22
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Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
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Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
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Billy In The Lowground “Billy In The Lowground” is one of the most popular flatpicking standard tunes and it is probably one of the songs that you’ll end up picking at every jam session that you go to. We presented this tune back in Volume 3 of this course and we have also presented various versions in other volumes. The one thing that you may note as being different in this version from the others that we have presented is the use of the Am chord in the B part instead of the F chord. Regarding this chord choice, Tim said, “Old Time players tend to play this tune with the Am in the B part. I think that Am is cooler!” Back on pages 18 through 23 of this volume we talked about consonant and dissonant note choices. One of the things you learned in that section was that you don’t always have to use consonant notes and, in fact, a well placed dissonant note can really add some spice to your solo. If you analyze Tim’s note choices for the first A part of his improvisation of “Billy In The Lowground,” you will find that ever note in that solo is a note that belongs to the C scale, save two—the G# note in measures 3 and 4, the D# note in measures 2, 7, 10, 11, 12, and 14. Tim makes great use of that D# tonality by continuing to go back to it. He plays that note 10 times in the first 17 bars. In doing that he has set that note up as the added “spice” in that section of the song. Each time he plays that note it is used as a passing tone between the D note and the E note, or vice-versa, and
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so your ear gets used to that little chromatic walk up or walk down and it makes the solo a bit more interesting than if only consonant notes had been played. In measures 18 and 19 Tim sets up a little repetitive pattern using the D, E, and G notes on the B and high E strings. The ear quickly latches on to the tonality of those notes, and then Tim throws in that G# note on the 3rd beat of measure 19. To give you an idea about what that one note adds to that section of the solo, play through those two measures, but play a G note instead of the G#. Then play it again with the G# note. It is a very small change, but it will catch the listener’s ear as it comes by. Those little “color notes” thrown in here and there will go a long way to make your solo memorable to the audience. It doesn’t take much. If you are spicing up your food, a little spice can make it taste just right. If you add too much it can ruin it. The same is true for music! That is why Tim May is one of my favorite pickers. He adds just enough spice to make it interesting, but doesn’t lay it on so thick that it becomes annoying. There is a lot of cool stuff in this solo for you to work with. A couple of the runs that I love include the drone note passage over the C and Am chords in measures 42 through 45 and the descending run on the high E and B strings, using the open E note, in measures 55 through 57. Explore this solo and I know that you’ll find a few passages that you can insert into your own version of “Billy In the Lowground.”
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
Audio Tracks 2-09 & 10
Billy In The Lowground
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Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Imrov II & Advanced Flatpicking
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Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
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Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Imrov II & Advanced Flatpicking
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Using Harmonics — Natural and Artificial
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If you have been playing the guitar for a number of years you have no doubt discovered 0 the “natural” harmonics that occur at the 5th, 7th, and 12th frets of the guitar. You can play these harmonics by lightly touching any string just over the 5th, 7th, and 12th frets with a left hand finger while you pick the string with your right hand. When you lightly touch the string in one of these positions you are preventing the fundamental frequency, and some of the overtones, from ringing and you are amplifying the vibration of certain overtones on the string. The result is a belllike chiming sound. When you pick an open guitar string the pitch that you hear as the prominent tone is the “fundamental tone,” which is a result of the string vibrating at its fundamental frequency. However, at the same time you hear the fundamental tone, many overtones are also being produced by the string’s vibration. The diagram at right shows the fundamental (1), and the double (1/2), triple (1/3), and quadruple (1/4) overtones. These are just the first three of many overtones that are produced when you pluck a string. The points along the string shown on the diagram are called “nodes.” When an open string is plucked these nodes are referred to as “nodes of natural harmonics.” As stated above, when you lightly touch the string at one of these nodes and then pluck the string, you cancel the fundamental tone and you hear the overtones created by the vibrations of the string to the left and right of the node. In the past you may have experimented with adding natural harmonics to your solos by “chiming” at the 5th, 7th, or 12th frets. Banjo players are familiar with using harmonics because Earl Scruggs used them in some of the songs that he made famous, like “Bugle Call Rag.” Many players will use natural harmonics in the intro or ending to a song. However, did you know that you can also play harmonics when you are fretting a string with your left hand? When a string is fretted you can still play harmonics, however, the locations of the nodes shift up the fingerboard. These nodes shift up by the same number of frets as your left hand shifts up from the nut. For instance, if you are pressing down a string at the third fret with your left hand, a harmonic is found
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at the 15th fret instead of the 12th fret. The harmonics that are produced in this case are called “artificial harmonics.” Both natural and artificial harmonics can be used in a song to add texture and variety to your solo. When playing natural harmonics you use your left hand to touch the string lightly at the 5th, 7th, or 12th frets. When you play artificial harmonics your left hand is pressing down on a string, so you have to use your right hand to touch the node, and you still have to hold the pick and pick the string with your right hand as well. The photo below demonstrates how you can lightly press the node with the index finger of your right hand while holding the pick between your middle finger and thumb in order to pick the string.
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
Audio Track 2-11
Mary Had A Little Lamb - Natural and Artificial Harmonics
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In the tab at the top of this page you will find an arrangement of the melody to “Mary Hand A Little Lamb” played using both natural and false harmonics. In reading this tab the first note is the note that you play with your left hand and the second note (the one in parenthesis) is the fret location where you touch the
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string with your index finger to chime the harmonics. Play through this example in order to get a feel for the technique and then try to come up with your own arrangement of a different song. Tim May uses this technique in the intro to “Bury Me Beneath the Willow” as presented on page 67.
Guitar String Frequency and Harmonics Here is an interesting pitch versus frequency sidebar. If your guitar is tuned to the international standard of A above middle C having a frequency of 440 Hertz (cycles per second), then your A string will vibrate at a frequency of 110 vibrations per second. Thus, the fundamental frequency of the A string is 110 Hertz. If we call the fundamental frequency F1, then the relationship between the fundamental frequency and the second harmonic (F2 = harmonic at the 12th fret) is F2 = 2F1. Thus, F2 on the A string will equal 220 Hertz, which is one octave above the note on of the open A string. If F3 is our harmonic at the 7th fret, the formula here is going to be F3 = 3F1. Thus, F3 = 330 Hertz. From the chart at right you can see that this note is very, very close to the E string fundamental frequency of 329.6 Hz. Continuing with this formula [F(N) = N(F1)], We can see that our harmonic at the 5th fret (F4) is going to equal 440, which is the same note as the A string, but two octaves higher. In summary, you now know that the 12th fret harmonic produces a note that is an octave higher than the open string note, the 5th fret harmonic produces a note that is two octaves higher than the open string note, and the 7th fret harmonic produces a note that is an octave plus an interval of a fifth higher. This is why you can tune your guitar by matching the harmonic at the 7th fret of the A string with the harmonic at the 5th fret of the low E string! If we continued to analyze the natural harmonics beyond the first three, we would find the notes as outlined in the second chart at right.
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Imrov II & Advanced Flatpicking
Guitar String E B G D A E
Fundamental Frequency 329.6 246.9 196 146.8 110 82.4
F1 = fundamental F2 = octave F3 = octave + perfect 5th F4 = 2nd octave F5 = 2nd octave + major 3rd F6 = 2nd octave + perfect 5th F7 = 2nd octave + harmonic 7th F8 = 3rd octave
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Bury Me Beneath the Willow Now that you’ve had a chance to work with natural and artificial harmonics on the last couple of pages, you can apply the harmonics technique to the opening measures of “Bury Me Beneath the Willow” as shown in the arrangement on the next page. This song provides you with some great techniques to use when playing slow tunes. It also gives you a chance to work things out in a key that may not be as familiar to you—the key of E! One of the things to take note of while you are listening to Tim’s recording of this song is the amount of time that he is letting notes ring out. Being able to let your notes ring out is a skill that we can always work on. It becomes especially important when you are playing slow songs. The longer you can let those notes ring out, the more fluid your solo is going to sound. The technique that Tim displays in this song that we have not addressed thus far in this book is his use of multiple, consecutive hammer-on, pull-off, and slide techniques. In measure 6 he uses three hammer-on applications in a row. In measure 8 he uses a hammeron followed by two slides. In the last part of measure 9 and the first part of measure 10 he uses a slide, then a pull, then another slide. On the third beat of measure 10 he executes a hammer-on followed by two pull-offs (he also executes this move in measures 38 and 60). Each of these four-note executions is accomplished with just one application of the pick on the string. In order to play these techniques in succession like this, and have the notes ring out properly, your left hand execution of the hammer-on, pull-off, and slide have to be very accurate. Work with these phrases over and over again until you can get every note to sound out with good tone. In order to execute these phrases correctly, work to make your execution of these techniques very crisp and precise. Another very cool thing that Tim does in the song, in measures 17 to 27, is make use of the open B and E strings while he is playing up-the-neck. Over the E chord he uses both the open B string and open E string and he can easily get away with it because both of these notes are in the E chord. Over the A chord the open B note is used as a drone in measures 19 and 20. Even though the B note is not in the A major chord triad, it is the note that defines the A9 chord and works effectively as a drone here. Over the B chord he primarily uses the open B string, but he also throws in the open E string as well. 66
I think that using these two open strings over these three chords works well because the tonality of those two notes are the strongest tones in the key of E (being the root and fifth of the tonic chord), and because allowing those open strings to ring out over those 10 measures sets up a pleasant background voice to all of the other notes that are being played. Then, in another display of cool, Tim hits that low E note in measure 29, which really grabs your attention because of all of the higher pitched notes that have been playing in measures 17 to 28. I also like the run, over the A chord, in measures 43 and 44, where Tim has a descending line and uses the high E string as a drone. In measures 53 through 58 Tim also uses open strings combined with chord tones fretted up-the-neck. By using some string skipping and advanced crosspicking patterns he really creates a beautiful full sound over those measures. Over the first measure of A, Tim’s note choices set up an A9 tonality. Over the second measure of A, those notes set up an A11 tonality. Over the two measures of E all of those notes are E notes or B notes, the root and fifth of the E chord. Over the B chord Tim creates a descending pattern that uses the B and E notes as drones. Finally he lands down-the-neck playing the notes that are found in the E9 chord. We have yet to talk about 9 and 11 chords in this course, however, we will get into those chord extensions and how they are used in Volume 7. In analyzing these solos and finding all of the tasteful, interesting, and inventive ways Tim presents them, it is amazing to me that every one of the solos in this book were improvised. When I mentioned this to Tim, he said, “Well, all of these songs were improvised, but all of the techniques that I’m using is just all of the stuff that I normally do.” After listening to it, I’ve vowed to try to make at least a small bit of it stuff that I will “normally do” too.
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
Bury Me Beneath the Willow É
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harmonics - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - H
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Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Imrov II & Advanced Flatpicking
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Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
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Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Imrov II & Advanced Flatpicking
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½ ½ 69
Playing in Minor Keys So far in this course we have been working with songs and tunes that are played in major keys. Although most of the music that you will run across in bluegrass and folk music is written in a major key, you will also occasionally run across a tune that is written in a minor key, so it is worth taking some time to learn about playing in a minor key and improvising over the chord changes in a minor key. Back in Volume 5 we started our improvisation study with the simple I, IV, V chord progression. At the beginning of this volume, when we studied diatonic triads, you saw that those diatonic triads that were built on the first, third and fifth scale degrees of a major scale are the only major chords in the diatonic progression. You’ll remember that for diatonic triads that are built on the notes of the major scale, the I, IV, and V are major, the ii, iii, and vi are minor, and the vii is diminished. When we look at diatonic triads built on a minor scale, as shown below, we discover that the i, iv, and v chords are minor, the III, VI, and VII chords are major, and the ii chord is diminished. From our discussion about relative minor chords earlier in this book you know that the notes of the Em scale are exactly the same as the G major scale. The only difference between the two scales is that the G major scale starts on the G note and the Em scale starts on the E note. If you study the diagram at the bottom of this page, you will see that the diatonic triads that are built on the E natural minor scale are the exact same chords that showed up when we built diatonic triads on
the G major scale, they are simply rearranged to start at the Em chord. A progression based on the triads built off the first, fourth, and fifth scale degrees is still going to be the most common in a minor key, however, the progression is now going to be i, iv, v instead of I, IV, V. The problem that composers and arrangers have with the i, iv, v progression in a minor key is that the pull from the v to the i is not nearly as strong as the pull from the V to the i. Play through a i, iv, v progression in Em and see for yourself. In order to solve that problem, composers and arrangers invented the harmonic minor scale. You were introduced to the harmonic minor scale back at the beginning of Volume 5. Remember what we said about the harmonic minor in Volume 5 was, “Major scales have the leading tone built in, but the natural minor does not. The harmonic minor fixes that problem and, additionally, it provides composers with a better harmonic palette to work with and thus leads to better chord choices.” The “better chord choices” includes a V instead of a v. At the top of the next page you’ll see a chart comparing the diatonic chords built on a natural minor scale with those that are built on the harmonic minor scale in the key of Em. If you compare the two you will see that for the harmonic minor scale the diatonic chords change on the third, fifth, and seventh scale degrees. The third becomes an augmented chord, the fifth moves from minor to major, and the seventh becomes diminished.
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Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
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Diatonic Chords Built on the Harmonic Minor Scale Em
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Play through a i, iv, v, i progression and then play through a i, iv, V, i progression and you should detect a more solid pull from the five chord to the one chord when the five chord is major. When you hear that tonality in a chord progression, you know that you are probably working with the harmonic minor scale. Just for fun, play through a i, iv, V7 progression and you should notice that the V7 has the strongest pull back to the i. Another minor scale that contains the V chord is the melodic minor scale. In this one the V chord and the IV chord are both major chords. So a melodic minor progression would be i, IV, V. You can see that when composers are working in minor keys they have
a lot of chord choices that would fit. If we ignored the diminished and augmented chords for the time being and just looked at the major and minor chords that we have built on the scales shown above, you can see that we have the i, ii, III, iv, IV, v, V, bVI, and bVII chords to choose from. The bVI, and bVII designation may be confusing here. Since we are dealing with three different minor scales, each having a difference only in the sixth and/ or seventh scale degree, let’s avoid confusion with the Roman numerals for the purposes of combining these chords by saying that natural minor scale includes a bVI, and bVII, the harmonic minor has a bVI, and a vii° and
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Imrov II & Advanced Flatpicking
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the melodic minor has a vi° and vii°. That way when we talk about the chords used in minor keys and we use bVI, bVII, you will know that they are the chords of the natural minor. If you check out the progression to a song like the Eagles “Hotel California,” you’ll see that they took full advantage of these chord choices. The progression goes like this: Bm - F# - A - E - G - D - Em - F#, or i - V - bVII - IV - bVI - III - iv - V. Another interesting thing that can happen to chord progressions in both major and minor keys is called “chord borrowing.” If you want to spice up a harmony in a minor key you can borrow a “parallel” chord from a major key with the same name. Meaning if you are playing in the key of C minor, you’d borrow a major chord from the key of C. From our study of diatonic harmony we know that the diatonic chords of a major and natural minor keys are: Major: I Minor: i
ii ii°
iii III
IV iv
V v
vi VI
vii° VII
Using the chord borrowing principle means that if you had a i - iv - v - i progression in the key of Cm, you could borrow the IV and V chords from the key of C major and thus use a i - IV - V - i progression. We have already talked about “borrowing” the V chord from the major key when we created the diatonic chords that were based on the harmonic minor scale. The IV chord is another chord that is typically borrowed from the parallel major key. Note: The IV chord appears diatonically when you build triads on the melodic minor scale or the Dorian mode scale. Because there are a number of types of minor scales to work with, chord options are many. We will work more with minor scales and chords in Volumes 7 and 8 of this course. For now, let’s go ahead and take a look at our presentation of a song that is in a minor key.
I i
Cold Frosty Morning The tune that we are presenting here is the first song that we have presented in this course that is in a minor key. It is the old tune “Cold Frosty Morning.” You’ll notice that the chord progression here is quite simple. This song is in the key of Am and for the most part we have a i - VII - i progression. Remember that the key of Am is built from the C scale notes, so the notes of the Am scale are: A, B, C, D, E, F, G. The progression for this tune shifts back and forth between the i and the VII for 20 measures and then presents a quick sequence of i - III - IV - V chord changes in measures 21 and 22. Measures 29 and 30 have this same sequence. If you look at the key signature to this tune you’ll notice that it is the same key signature as you find for the key of C major (no sharps or flats). So, how do you know that this song is in a minor key? It starts off with the A minor chord, but that is not the best indicator of key. Some songs might start out with a minor chord, but actually end up being major. Throughout this course we’ve talked about how almost every song ends on the chord of the key and that the second to the last chord is usually a V chord. If you’ll take a look at the last few measures of this song (measures 31 and 32 or measures 63 and 64) you will see that we have an E chord followed by an Am chord. It is this V to i ending 72
that really tells us that this song is in the key of Am. You may run into some songs that start out minor, but then shift to major. You’ll run into one of those later in this book. Just remember that it is always that V - i or V7 - I relationship in a song that helps define the key. Have fun working with “Cold Frosty Morning.” It is one of those songs that is not quite as popular as many of the others that we have presented in this Volume. However, it is one of those great tunes that should be in every flatpicker’s repertoire. Learn this version and bring it out at your next jam session! One last note: If you do run across this tune at jam sessions, you may find that some people like to use the A major chord in the B part. The old time players stay with the Am, but some more modern players go the the A major chord, thus shifting the key from minor to major.
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
Audio Tracks 2-14 & 15
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Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
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Devil’s Dream Most of the tunes that we are presenting in this book are tunes that you’ve had exposure to previously, however, this is the first time you are seeing “Devil’s Dream” in this course. Tim wanted to add this tune for a couple of reasons. First, he thought it would be good to present a fiddle tune that lays out nicely in open A. You’ve only been exposed to a few tunes in this course that were written in open A, and this one will give you some practice working in the key of A without the capo. Secondly, this is one of those fiddle tunes that moves from the I chord to the ii chord. The “Devil’s Dream” progression moves is I - ii - I -ii - V - I. Since we’ve not looked at this tune before in this course, and since Tim did quite a bit to spice it up in his improvisation, we’ve provided a very straight forward melody-based version of the tune on the next page. If you are not familiar with this tune, play through this simple version and get a feel for it. After you play through this arrangement you will notice that this is a very simple and very repetitive tune. If we were picking this tune apart phrase-by-phrase as we did with some of the tunes back in Volume 3, this one would be very simple to analyze. The A and the B parts have the same chord progression. In the A part the theme in phrase 1 is very simple and repetitive. The sub-theme in phrase 2 restates the theme over the ii chord. Phrase 3 repeats phrase 1 note-for-note, then the resolving phrase is a folding scale over the ii-V-I progression. The B part is very similar. The only difference between the A part and the B part is that the theme is slightly different. The structure of this tune is about a simple as you can get. I’ll have to honestly admit that I did not really like this tune because of its repetitiveness. However, after hearing Tim’s improvisation and looking at what he has done to it, I’m reminded of David Grier’s statement: “There are no boring tunes, just boring arrangements.” I quickly became bored with the tune because my arrangement was boring. Tim’s is not. He does a lot to spice this one up. Let’s quickly look at what Tim does with this tune. In the opening phrase—the theme—Tim moves way up on the neck and instead of just using a repetitive A, G#, A, E note sequence he throws a B note into the mix and plays the notes in an interesting crosspicked sequence. For the sub-theme Tim does not stay with the notes of the Bm chord as in the simple melody-based version. 76
The melody-based version repeats a D, F#, B, F# pattern. Tim’s pattern uses D, C#, D, E, then E C# E E. Way different! These notes are found in the Bm11 chord. But Tim said he didn’t think about it that way when he played it. What he did was take the shape that he was playing over the A chord and moved it down the neck and played the same pattern starting on the D note, which is the prominent melody note of the second phrase (measures 3 and 4). He said the pattern works because that D note is emphasized. Another thing to point out is Tim’s use of the A#dim7 arpeggio as a transition between the A chord and the Bm chord in measure 50. The notes Tim played on the back half of that measure are A#, C#, E, and G. These notes are all a minor third interval apart and thus they form a A#dim7 arpeggio (see chart on page 27 where we talked about seventh chords). Tim had his rhythm man, Dillon Hodges, play a A#dim chord here, so we’ve included that chord as the passing chord in measure 50. In terms of dynamics, Tim said to pay attention to the note emphasis in measures 17 to 20. Here he is emphasizing the fretted notes and not the drone strings. There are so many interesting things that Tim does with this tune that we don’t have the space to run through a full analysis. We will leave it to you to listen closely and compare what Tim has done with the melody-based version. There is a lot to learn here, so have some fun with it! The Rake: The only technical aspect of Tim’s playing here that we have not discussed previously in this course is the “rake” that appears in measure 44. The timing of a rake lies somewhere between an arpeggio and a chord strum. The notes are not played as tightly as a chord strum or as loosely as an arpeggio (time-wise). A rake is a like a slow strum. It is almost as fast as a strum, however, you don’t want all of the notes to be played exactly at the same time, you want a slight bit of separation between them. Listen to Tim play this measure on the recording and you will get the idea. It occurs about 46 seconds into the recording.
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
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Devil’s Dream — Simple Melody-based Arrangement
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Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
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Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Imrov II & Advanced Flatpicking
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Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
East Tennessee Blues Next up we have “East Tennessee Blues.” You first encountered this tune in Volume 5, but Tim offers something completely different here. Quarter Note Triplets One thing that you will encounter here in “East Tennessee Blues” that you have yet to see in this course is the use of quarter note triplets. You have seen plenty of examples of eighth note triplets, and we will talk about eighth note triplets in greater depth on page 122 of this book. However, measures 23 and 24 of this tune represent the first occurrence of quarter note triplets in this course. When playing quarter note triplets you are playing 3 notes of equal duration in the space of two quarter notes, or two beats in 4/4 time. In order to get a feel for the timing, listen to Tim play “East Tennessee Blues” on the CD and listen to those two measures. As you can tell by listening, quarter note triplets are a great device to use when you want to throw a twist into a song’s timing. The timing catches your ear. As if the quarter note timing wasn’t enough to catch the listener’s ear, Tim selected to play some very interesting notes over those two measures. Over the D chord the notes that are played make up a D9 arpeggio, minus the root note. The notes of a D9 chord are: D, F#, A, C, E. The notes Tim plays here are F#, A, C, E. Over the G chord Tim plays a G13b9 chord. Tim said that he learned this chord from a song that Vince Gill played on a Christmas record. You will notice that in measures 23, 24, and 25 we have a II, V, I progression (D, G, C in the key of C). We know from our earlier discussion about the “V of the V” that a II, V, I progression has a strong pull towards the I. Using the II9 and the V13b9 makes that pull towards the I stronger still. We will study more about chord extensions in Volumes 7 and 8 of this course. The “flat 9” Arpeggio Another element of Tim May’s style that we encounter in this tune is the use of what Tim calls the “flat 9” arpeggio. Earlier in this book you learned how to work from a chord triad and make a seventh chord by stacking a third interval on top of the triad. A “nine chord” is made by once again stacking another third interval on top of the seventh chord. You saw back on page 27 that there are many different types of seventh chords. There are even more types of ninth chords, however, we will not concern ourselves with all of
the different varieties of 9 chords here in this volume. Right now we will only talk about the “dominant” 9th chord. The formula for the dominant 9 chord is spelled using the following scale degrees: 1, 3, 5, b7, 9. You’ll remember that the eighth scale degree is the octave, so the 9th scale degree is one beyond the octave, which is the same note as the 2nd scale degree, one octave up. So, let’s look at the D chord. The D major triad includes the notes D, F#, and A. Add a minor third on top and we have the D7 chord: D, F#, A, C. If we add another minor third on top of that we have the D9 chord: D, F#, A, C, E. Flatten the 9 and you have D, F#, A, C, D# notes for the “flat 9” (usually referred to as D7b9) chord. Given that information, here is what Tim has to say about the “flat 9”: Take a D7b9 chord, looking at it from bass to treble you have: D F# A C D#. Now, forget the root (just remember we’re making a D chord but the root note is missing and will be implied—the bass player or rhythm guitar is probably providing it anyway). Dropping the D (root/tonic) we now we have: F# (3rd), A (5th), C (dominant 7th), D# (b9). The flat 9 arpeggio, then, is 3rd, 5th, Dominant 7 and flat 9. This is used in swing, jazz (particularly Gypsy Jazz:) and even folk, country and bluegrass (fiddler Aubrey Haynie uses it brilliantly in his version of ‘Red Apple Rag’) when we really want to create a strong sense of the need to resolve: the 7th chord already wants to resolve, so adding the flat 9 really creates extra tension. Most of the time the music is moving so quickly that it’s not quite as repellent as it may seem!” What’s really useful about the flat 9 arpeggio is that the shapes on guitar are exactly the same as the fully diminished (diminished 7) four note shapes. If you know your diminished arpeggios, you know your flat 9 arpeggios! From the chart on page 27, you know that a diminished 7 chord is made by stacking three minor third intervals. In the key of F# your diminished 7th chord will be: F#, A, C, D#. This is the F7b9 chord, minus the root. You’ll notice that this is the same chord as what we are calling the D7b9, minus the root note. If all of that sounds confusing, don’t worry, the explanation for how the flat 9 and diminished 7 chords differ logically in their derivations will be explained in more detail in Volume 7. For now, just recognize that the flat 9 chords have the same minor 3rd intervals that fully diminished chords have—so you can play diminished shapes as long as you know where to start!
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Imrov II & Advanced Flatpicking
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The flat 9 arpeggio is used most often over a 5 chord (see the notes in this book for the songs “Forked Deer,” “Red Wing”), but it can also be used to create tension in other places and in other ways. Here in “East Tennessee Blues” the flat 9 is used over the IV chord (F). Fiddle players often use it in this same way over the 4 chord (F) in the song “Cotton Patch Rag” (key of C). So, let’s look at Tim’s application of the flat 9 arpeggio in “East Tennessee Blues.” It occurs here over the F chord in measures 35 and 36. We show these two measures below. The interesting thing to notice here is that in all three sections shown in boxes below the notes are all the same. They are played in different order, but they are all the same notes, F#, A, C, and D#. These are the notes of the F flat 9 arpeggio (minus the root).
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} } } }
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minor 3rd minor 3rd minor 3rd minor 3rd
The reason this works is because, as you can see from the diagram above, every interval in this arpeggio is a minor third (three half steps). Because there are 12 notes in the chromatic scale, if you walk up minor thirds, you will end back at the same notes, one octave higher. The minor third cycle continues to repeat. So, if you play any diminished chord and walk the entire chord up three frets (3 half steps), you will play the exact same chord. The notes are in a different order, but the chord is the same. In order to help you get a better idea of this “flat 9” tonality let’s look at a simpler example. This one is taken from Tim’s arrangement of “Red Wing,” which appears later in this book (page 132). Tim plays this tune in the key of G and uses the flat 9 over the V chord (D). Remember, if we take away the root notes, the D7b9 and the F7b9 notes are exactly the same. The measure looks like this: 82
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This is the D7b9 arpeggio (minus the root) played in a descending direction. The arpeggio descends from the D# note down a succession of minor third intervals and lands on the F# note, which is the leading tone to the G chord. So this phrase is just begging to resolve to the G note in the next measure. Using the flat 9 tonality is a very nice way to spice up a V - I move and is something that Tim loves to use. We’ll point it out as it comes up again in this book and talk about it in more detail in Volumes 7 and 8. Syncopation In “East Tennessee Blues” Tim does a bit of syncopation and so this would be a good spot to just mention that if you are having trouble with the timing of a syncopated phrase, the first thing to do is to listen very carefully and try to copy the timing that you hear on the recording. However, if you try that and still have a hard time getting the notes in the right place, or figuring out the right hand pick direction, try to place repeated eighth notes to fill in where the syncopation occurs. Play the fill in notes lightly until you get a feel for the right hand pick direction and timing, then drop those notes out. See the tab below: D G L ) ) s r s 7r s r s 5r s1 r s0 1r 5 4 3 3 7 6 5 T ) ) A
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s = downstroke r = upstroke D G L 7
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Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
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East Tennessee Blues
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Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Imrov II & Advanced Flatpicking
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Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
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Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Imrov II & Advanced Flatpicking
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Forked Deer “Forked Deer” is another flatpicking standard that Tim has jazzed up a bit. In the first 16 bars Tim presents a pretty straight treatment of the tune, with the exception of two “spicy” measures. In measure 4 he throws in the G note over the A chord to give it an A7 tonality. Then in measure 10 he plays a long descending chromatic run. In measures 37 to 39 Tim also employs a chromatic run, but notice that he lands on a chord tone on all of the strong beats of these measures (first and third beats of measure 38 and first beat of measure 39). As we discussed in the Improvisation section of Volume 5, if you land on a chord tone on the strong beats (stable notes), you can play chromatic notes in between those stable notes and all will sound just right. In measure 44 we see the flat 9 arpeggio that we talked about back on page 81 and 82 played over the A chord, leading to the D chord (V - I). The notes Tim plays here are the A#, C#, E, and G, which is the A7b9, minus the root. As we mentioned previously, when you use this arpeggio over the V chord it creates a very strong pull towards the I. So that you can really get a sense of this tonality, play through the ascending and descending arpeggio shown in the first line of tab below. Then, to get a sense of how the diminished triad diminished seventh chords want to
Diminished Arpeggio—Ascending & Descending
T A B
3
0
2
3
3
0
2
3
resolve to the tonic, play the tab in the two measures on the second line below. The first chord in the first measure of this line is an A#dim. That is followed by the D major chord. The first chord in the second line of tab is the A#dim7 (with the E note played as the lowest note). As you know from our discussion back on pages 81 and 82, this is also a A7b9 chord, minus the root. That chord is then followed by the D major chord. If your ear can become accustom to this tonality, you will be able to recognize it in Tim’s improvisations and then you will be able to utilize it in arrangements of your own. One thing that you may have noticed about the melody to “Forked Deer” is that the tonic of the V chord is the strongest melody note and is played at the top of each measure of the B part under the V chord. An interesting thing that Tim does here in measures 49 and 50 is that he plays G chord tones with an A base (G/A) over the A chord. This is a cool thing to do. If you think about it, the notes of the G chord are G, B, and D. In the A scale these notes are the 9th, 11th, and 13th scale degrees. So in measure 49 Tim is playing a A11 arpeggio and in measure 50 he is playing an A13 arpeggio. The Held Bend In measures 57 and 58 of “Forked Deer” we not only come across two measures of quarter note triplets again, but we also see a new bend technique. We can call this the “held bend.” Tim bends the D# note up to E over the A chord on the first beat of measure 57. He then continues to play that note throughout the measure, toggling back and forth between the bend B string and the open E string, while holding the bend. He does not release the bend until the first beat of measure 58.
Diminished Chord Moving to Major Chord (V — I)
ÉÉ É 0 2 3
86
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É ÉÉÉ 3 2 3 2
ÉÉ É É 2 3 3 0
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
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Forked Deer
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Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
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Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Imrov II & Advanced Flatpicking
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Twin and Triple Guitars—Playing Harmony Parts Learning how to play harmony parts on the guitar— two, three, or four part harmony—can be a very involved process. In fact, we could dedicate an entire book to this topic alone. However, our intention here in this volume is not to try and provide a full treatment of harmony theory. In this book we want to provide you with enough basic information about harmony to allow you to start to explore this wonderful world with a guitar playing partner or two. Or, if you have the ability to record yourself, you can record a lead part and have fun harmonizing with that. Or, you can take any recorded flatpicking tune that you have on CD, find the harmony part, then play along with the recording. While there are many ways to practice playing harmony parts on the guitar, working out harmonies with your picking partners can be the most fun. If you understand the basics, that will be enough to get you going. From there you can explore all of the possibilities on your own. Earlier in this Volume you learned about diatonic harmony (building diatonic triads). The fundamentals of working out harmony parts on any instrument, or vocal, are based on building harmonized scales (as you studied back in Volume 4) and utilizing diatonic triads. In other words, you are going to work with the notes and intervals that make up the diatonic chords. Basic Two-Part Harmony First we are going to take a look at creating a twopart harmony that is based on notes that are diatonically a third above the melody note. In the vocal world, people will refer to this harmony voice as the “tenor part.” This means that if we are in the key of G we simply take all of basic melody notes and move them up a third (two scale degrees) to create a harmony part. Sounds easy, right? This first step is actually pretty easy, however, if you were to play this new harmony part that you have created along with a partner who is playing the melody, there is a good chance that some of those notes aren’t going to sound exactly right. Remember back in the last volume when we talked about those pesky notes that are a half step away from the chord tones (the fourth and seventh scale degrees)? Well, it turns out that if you universally move all of your melody notes up a third and play those new notes along with the melody, any harmony notes that are a half step away from a chord tone might sound a bit sour. The 90
easy fix is to “nudge” each of those sour notes up or down a half step and make them chord tones. If you do that, then your harmony part is going to sound OK. You may have to make another adjustment or two, but we will talk about that later. The harmony part that you have created by raising all of the melody notes up a third is referred to as “parallel harmony” and it is the first step in learning how to work out a basic harmony part. I said that parallel harmony sounds “OK” because although it is not going to sound bad, and will work just fine, it may not sound too interesting. Since all of the intervals are exactly the same, strict parallel harmony can tend to sound a bit monotonous after a few bars. It is safe, it is consonant,
Chord Tone Intervals — Key of D D 4th
C#
Octave
B A
5th
G
3rd
F# E
3rd
D 4th
C#
6th
B A G
5th
3rd
F# E D
3rd Octave
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
Whiskey Before Breakfast - Melody
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it will work, but it is only a first step. Creating parallel harmony is like learning how to play the basic melody of a song. The basic melody sounds OK, but there is a lot you can do to make it sound more interesting. The first thing that you can do to make the harmony sound more interesting is to add some other harmonic intervals into the mix. The intervals that you have to choose from, in order for the notes to sound consonant,
2
G
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Audio Track 2-23
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are notes, and/or intervals, from the chord. In the chart at the bottom of the last page we’ve laid out two octaves of the D scale and circled all of the chord tones, indicating the intervals between those chord tones. Moving up a diatonic third or down a diatonic sixth are your best notes to use. However, moving up a perfect fifth or down a perfect fourth will also work just fine. More on that later.
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Whiskey Before Breakfast - Harmony (Parallel 3rds)
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4
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Audio Track 2-24
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= Notes that had to be nudged Whiskey Harmony OK, enough theory. Let’s try a practical example using the fiddle tune “Whiskey Before Breakfast.” The tab shown on the previous page is a very basic version of the song. A very similar version was presented in Volume 3. A parallel harmony, using all diatonic third intervals, is shown above. The notes that are circled are 92
the ones that we had to “nudge” to a chord tone because the diatonic third interval was a half step away from a chord tone and thus had a more dissonant sound than we could accept at this point. You may notice that in the first measure we “nudged” the seventh scale degree (C#) up to the octave (D), however, we left the G note (which is a half step away from the chord tone F#). More about that decision in a moment.
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
For now, try to play this harmony part along with the recording of the melody that we have provided on audio Disc 2, Track 22. You can also listen to the two parts played together on Disc 2, Track 23. How Did We Do That? This course is all about teaching you how to fish, not catching the fish for you. So we don’t want to just give you the tab to the parallel harmony part without teaching you how to easily figure it out for yourself. Obviously one way to do it would be to labor through labeling each note of the melody, counting up a diatonic third from that note and then writing down the harmony note. You could come up with a written tab if you did it this way, however, using that method can be slow and tedious. Also, we want you to get away from using tab, so writing down the harmony part is a step backwards in our effort to get away from the paper. The short cut to figuring out this parallel harmony part involves the use of harmonic scales. Remember those from back in Volume 4! Those scales are going to become very useful to you when you are trying to figure out harmony.
The first graphic below show the harmonized scale (in the key of D) as it was presented to you back in Volume 4. The second graphic shows the same scale, however, we’ve moved it up to the first five frets. When you played this scale in Volume 4 you were playing it linearly, as single notes. When you play it as single notes this scale flows nicely. However, when you play the entire scale as double-stops, you are going to encounter those notes that are a half-step away from a chord tone. Give it a try. At the top of the next page we’ve presented a tab of the harmonized scale. Play through it and see if any of those intervals sound a bit dissonant to your ear. Then play through the second line of tab. In that line we’ve made an adjustment when the harmony note was on the fourth scale degree (G in this case) and the seventh scale degree (C# note in this case). We moved the G note up to A (which is a chord tone in the D chord) and we moved the C# note up to D (obviously also a D chord tone). The second line of tab may sound smoother to you. For the change from the G to A note, the difference is subtle and you may prefer to leave that G note in many instances, depending on how the melody line is
Harmonized Scale Fretboard Diagrams: Key of D Harmonized D Scale on A & D Strings
F#
o Fret:
1
2
3
G
A
B
D
E
F#
G
8
9
10
11
8
9
10
11
o 4
5
C#
o 6
7
D
E
F#
A
B
C#
o
oo 12
D
13
14
15
13
14
15
Harmonized D Scale: First Five Frets
F#
E
C# C# G
D D
A A
B B
E
F# F#
G D
o Fret:
1
2
3
o 4
= Scale Note
5
o 6
7
o
oo 12
= Harmony Note
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Imrov II & Advanced Flatpicking
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Harmonized Scale
D
1
T A B
0 2
4 5
2 4
4 5
2 2
3 4
0 2
2 3
0 2
2 3
Adjusted Harmonized Scale 1
D
4 5
2 2
2 4
4 5
3 2
3 4
= Notes that are changed from being a raised third to a chord tone moving. However, the change from the C# to the D note is usually going to be necessary, especially if you are hitting that C# note against a stable melody note. If you will take a look at the harmony notes, you will see that the G note is paired with an E note. Since the E note is not a chord tone, it is usually going to be a passing tone when it appears in the melody. However, that C# note is paired harmonically with the A note. The A note is a chord tone and is likely to be a stable melody note. Therefore, it will usually be appropriate to change the C# note to a D note in the harmony. Checking Your Work The first measure of “Whiskey Before Breakfast” demonstrates exactly what we’re talking about in the preceding paragraph. A good way to “check your work” when you are figuring out harmony parts is to play the melody and harmony together as shown on the next page. Let’s take that first measure and look at it in several different ways. The first tab, shown in the next column is the melody played with strict third intervals. The next is a variation where by we have changed both the C# note to D and the G note to A. Then the third variation would be what is shown as the first measure in the tab on the next page. 94
Strict Parallel Harmony (3rds)
1
T A B
D
45
2 2
2 2
0 2
2 4
0 0
Modified Parallel Harmony 1
T A B
D
45
2 2
2 4
0 0
3 2
3 2
= Modified Notes
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
Whiskey Before Breakfast - Double Stops
D
1
45
T A B
5
0 3 0 2
0 2 2 4
4 5
0 2
2 4
D
9
3 2
3 2
D
2 3
2 4 4 5
3 2
3 2
0 0
2 4
0 2
4 5
ÉÉ
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2 3
2 3
3 5
2 3
3 5
5 7
3 5
3 4
0 0 2 4
3 2 2 4
0 2
3 4
3 4
0 2
3 4
2 2
0 2
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2 3
3 2
0 0
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3 5
2 4
5 7
7 8
D
3 4
0 0
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3 2
D
0 2
ÉÉ 4 5
A
0 0
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G
2 4
Play through all three of these variations and see which one you like best. Make sure that you are playing a strong double stop so that you can hear both notes ringing out together. To my ear the one shown in the tab above sounds the best. In the “strict parallel harmony” example the C# note played against the A note on the last two beats sounds too harsh. Changing that C# note to a D in the “modified parallel harmony” made that interval more consonant. However, to my
2 2
3 5
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0 2 2 4
A
Em
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G
0 0
2 4
0 2
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13
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G
Audio Track 2-25
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3 2
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0 0
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ear, changing the G note to an A note (on the “and” of the first beat), as shown in the “modified parallel harmony” example did something to alter the flow of the harmonic line. In this instance the E note in the melody is a passing tone, so I felt like the harmony also needed a passing tone, not a repeated note. So I opted to keep the G note as the harmony note for the E note. The dissonance of the G and E notes played together over a D chord is very subtle, so you can usually get
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away with that interval. However, the C# to A note dissonance over a D chord is more noticeable. In the past whenever I’ve talked with people about learning harmony parts, whether they were vocal or on an instrument, the one thing that I was always told was “you just have to learn how to hear it.” Then my response would be. “OK, how do I learn how to hear it?” Working with the harmonized scales and familiarizing yourself with those scales on your fingerboard is a good way to not only learn to hear those intervals, but also know how to find them on your fingerboard when you are called upon to come up with a harmony part. When you are trying to figure out a note that will harmonize with a chord tone, that is fairly easy task if you know the chord shapes and positions. You simply find another note in the chord. So, if the melody hits the root, third, or fifth notes of the scale, you will be safe in the harmony if you simply play another chord tone. We have already stated that if you are playing either the fourth or seventh scale degree that it may be best to play a chord tone along with those notes as well. Therefore, if the melody comes from the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, or 7th scale degrees, then finding a harmony note in the chord will, in most cases, work for you. Therefore, if you know how to easily locate all of your chord tones and
Practice:
Practice familiarizing yourself with the notes of the harmonized D scale from the open notes up to the fifth fret by playing them as double stops. Then work on the harmonized A scale and harmonized G scale in the same way. Work to really gain a familiarity with the positions of each paired notes and how they sound together. Work with both the regular harmonized scales and the modified scales.
Homework:
After working with the three harmonized scales mentioned above, take any simple song in the key of D (like “Twinkle, Twinkle) and try to find the harmony line to the song without writing any of the notes down. First find all of the double stops, memorize where the harmony notes in the double stops are, then play the harmony without the melody. Then record the melody and play the harmony with it. 96
also have a familiarity with the notes of the harmonized scale, it will be easier for you to find and hear harmony parts. From there, if you familiarize yourself with harmonized scales you will have an easier time figuring out harmony notes for the non-chord tones. Creating a Harmony Variation Once you have worked to create a parallel harmony arrangement, you now have your basic building blocks. You have a harmony that works. This is where the real fun begins because the next step is to try to spice up that harmony and make it sound more interesting. The choices that you have are many, especially when you are only working to create a two part harmony. When you start to work with three or four part harmonies, you don’t have as much freedom because you don’t want to step on other people’s parts. But with two part harmony there are a lot of choices. The next group of notes that you can choose from, again working up a scale that starts at the most consonant notes and then moving towards more dissonant notes, are going to be those notes that can be found using other chord tone intervals (beside a raised diatonic third or lowered diatonic sixth). To create our first harmony we used all raised diatonic third intervals. You could also chose to move up a perfect fifth, down a perfect fourth, or up or down an octave from the third. Take a look at the harmony part to “Whiskey Before Breakfast” shown on the next page. In creating this harmony part we started with the parallel harmony part that was presented on page 92 and then we made some modifications. In the first two measures of the parallel harmony, we felt like there were just too many D notes played in a row at the third fret of the B string, so we took the one on beat four of the first measure and moved it down an octave. It is still a D note, but played an octave lower. For the note on the first beat of measure 2, we moved that up to an F# note. Our original melody note there was an A note (the 5th degree of the D scale). It was moved up to be a D note in our parallel harmony example (the root note of the D scale). In the example shown on the next page we moved it up to an F# note because F# is the third note in the D chord triad (remember the notes of the D chord are D, F#, and A). Since the F# is in the D chord and the original melody note (A) is also in the D chord—and we are playing over a D chord—it all fits. Measure 3 remains the same. Harmonically, measure 4 also remains the same, however, we raised it up an octave. The only thing we did different was to make
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
Whiskey Before Breakfast - Modified Harmony
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beat four a quarter note. We did this just because we felt like it fit better. The note that we dropped off the end was a C# note, which is one half step away from the C note in the a chord. So it was one of those pesky notes. In measure 4 the melody line was E, E, F#, E, D, B. The parallel harmony raised all of those notes a diatonic third to: G, G, A, G, F#, D. Moving these notes up an octave adds a small bit of tension. The most consonant harmony is “tight harmony,” meaning
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the smaller the interval between harmony notes, the tighter the sound. However, sometimes you want to add a little dissonance for effect, so we spread the interval out a whole octave here. In measure 5 our melody notes were D, E, F#, G, A, D. The parallel diatonic third harmony is: F#, G, A, B, D, F#. In the variation shown above I took the first note up a fifth to the A note. When you are creating two part harmonies, jumping up a diatonic fifth interval is
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OK to do if you want to add some variety. The notes that are up a diatonic fifth will usually fit. However, you don’t want to add too many fifth intervals in a row or your harmony will start to sound like a Gregorian chant. Also, if you are creating a three part harmony, you have to be careful because the third part may be using that fifth interval as their prominent interval and you don’t want to step on that part. In measure 6 we noticed that of the seven melody notes, five of them were from the chord (D). The melody notes are A, A, G, F#, D, E, F#. The only two notes that are not from the chord are the G and E notes. So, we selected to play an arpeggio over the D chord here that did not step on any of the melody notes. The notes we are playing in the tab above are: F#, F#, D, A, F#, A, D. These are all chord tones and are either an interval of a third or a fifth away from the original melody notes. The first note of the harmony (F#) is a third below the melody note (A). The second note is the F# repeated. The third harmony note (D) is a fifth above the melody note (G). The fourth harmony note (A) is a third above the melody note (F#). The fifth harmony note (F#) is a third above the melody note (D). The sixth harmony note (A) is a fifth below the melody note (E), and the
final harmony note (D) is a third below the melody note (F#). So, you can see that although we changed things around quite a bit, all of our intervals are either thirds or fifths in this measure (see the sidebar, shown below, on the use of thirds and fifths). In measure seven we kept the modified harmony exactly the same as the parallel harmony. Then in the last measure we changed the first two notes to notes that fit the A chord. The first note (A) is a fifth away from the original melody note (E). Both the E note and the A note are in the A chord. For the second note in this measure the original melody note is an F#, in the modified harmony example I moved it up to a C# note, which is the interval of a fifth above the F# in the A scale. The last note of the melody is a D note. I chose to end the modified harmony on a F# note. So there you have just one of many harmony choices for the given “Whiskey Before Breakfast” melody. I encourage you to play through the two harmony examples that we have provided here and then try to create others on your own. Like anything, at first it will be a slow and labor intensive process that will involve trial and error. However, after you get a feel for the intervals and learn to hear what sounds good
Third and Fifth Intervals from Chord Tones
D nudge
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Thirds and fifths work because, for the most part, they are your chord tone intervals. If you look at the diagram (left) you can see that the chord tones of the D chord are D, F#, and A. A third up from D is a chord tone (F#), a third up from F# is a chord tone (A). A third up from A is C#. C# is not a chord tone, but remember, this is the note that we are going to nudge. So in our harmony it is going to become a D note, which is a chord tone. So, when moving up from a chord tone you can always use a third interval as long as you remember to nudge that C#. Notes in the scale that are not chord tones are going to be predominantly used as passing tones in a melody. For the most part, if you raise the passing tones the same amount as you raise the surrounding chord tones, you are going to be safe. Moving up a perfect fifth from the root note (D) we land on the A note, which is a chord tone. Moving up a fifth from the F# note we land on the C# note. Again, this is not a chord tone, but it is the note that we are going to nudge of to D. So moving up a perfect fifth interval from F# is going to land you on the D note after the nudge. The only chord tone that you will have to be careful with when moving up a fifth is the A note. The movement up a perfect fifth from A does not land you on a chord tone. So you will have to be careful in that situation as far as using the fifth intervals. A fifth up from A is the E note. When dealing with that situation, depending on the movement of the melody line, it may sound OK, but you may have to also think about nudging up to F# or down to D. Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
together and what doesn’t, you will understand it more and get better at it. Your ear is your best judge. If you come up with harmony notes and you play them against the melody and they sound good, then they are good. If they sound “bad” or sour, then you might want to change them and take a look at why they sounded bad to you. While your ear is always going to be your best tool in deciding what sounds good and what doesn’t, below we are listing some guidelines to follow. Again, the most pleasing harmonies are going to be the most consonant harmonies. However, the most consonant harmonies can also be the most boring harmonies. So adding a bit of dissonance is not a bad thing. Remember, tension and release adds interest to harmony arrangements in the same way it adds interest to solo arrangements.
Two-Part Harmony Rules of Thumb
Here are the steps to follow when creating two-part harmony. 1) Parallel Harmony: Create a parallel harmony based on moving all melody notes up a diatonic third or down a diatonic sixth. Next, nudge any of those notes that are a half step away from a chord tone up or down to be on a chord tone if the are creating a dissonant sound. In other words, play through the harmony and if any of the notes sound “off,” nudge them up or down to a chord tone. This will give you a nice parallel harmony, but sometimes parallel harmony can sound monotonous. So you might want to spice it up a little bit by varying your harmony from always being the same interval away from the melody note. 2) Creating Harmonic Variation: In addition to your diatonic third intervals, add other chord tone intervals (diatonic thirds, sixths, fifths, and fourths) in order to create a bit of variety in your harmony line. While a diatonic chord is built from the root, going up a third to the 3rd scale degree, and then going up another third to the 5th scale degree, you may remember from the “Rule of Nine” that you learned about in the intervals appendix of Volume 4 that if you start at any note and go up a major third, then you can go down a minor sixth and your be at the same note, only an octave lower. For instance if you look at the chart on page 90 you’ll see that you can go up a major third from the D note and be at the F# note. Then, if you go
down a minor sixth from the D note you will end up at the F# note that is an octave below the F# note that was a major third above D. The same relative relationship is true when you go up a perfect 5th, or go down a perfect 4th. Playing Chord Tones: So that you don’t have to remember all of those intervals, the rule of thumb to keep in mind when you are selecting harmony notes is that if your melody note is a chord tone of the chord that you are playing over, then you can chose any other chord tone, at any octave, in the harmony and it will work. For instance, if you are playing over a D chord and the melody is a D note, then you can chose any F#, A or D note on the fingerboard and you will be in harmony with the melody. However, keep in mind that the farther away you are from the melody note, the more dissonance you will create. That is not necessarily a bad thing, just something to keep in mind. The closer the harmony notes are together, the “tighter” that harmony will be. Non-Chord Tones: If your melody note is not one of the chord tones, then move that note up or down in a way that is consistent with the surrounding chord tones. In other words, let’s say that you are playing over a D chord and the first melody note in a measure is a D and you move that up a third to a F#. Then your next melody note in that measure is an E note. It is going to sound best to be consistent with the movement of the melody line and thus move the harmony note up a third as well (to a G note). However, that choice will also depend on where you go with your third note. Melody notes that are in the chord are usually going to be the most stable and consonant, so when choosing harmony notes to go along with those chord tone melody notes, choosing notes that are in the chord are also going to also be the most stable and consonant choices. Melody notes that are not chord tones are a little less stable. Melody notes that are not in the scale of the key are the least stable. Less stable notes are typically passing tones or “color” notes. So when you are creating harmony notes to go along with those non-chord or non-scale notes, chose notes that also act as passing tones or “color” tones and everything will usually work out just fine. Again, use your ear as a guide. From these basic guidelines things can go in many different directions as far as creating interesting two part harmony. To get ideas listen to two-part harmony singers (Delmore Brothers, Louvin Brothers, Monroe Brothers, Blue Sky Boys, Everly Brothers) and listen
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Whiskey Before Breakfast - High Baritone Harmony
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In Summary: A Few Helpful Hints • Parallel thirds and sixths are the most common interval choices for two-part harmony. Stick with those intervals and you can’t go wrong.
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to twin fiddlers. The more you listen and practice the better you will become. Once you get the basics worked out, then you can try more sophisticated arrangements where the lead and harmony players change parts back and forth during the harmony break.
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• Land on a chord tone when the melody lands on a “stable” note and when chords change. • If the melody note is a non-chord tone, the harmony will most likely be a non-chord tone. • Follow the line of the melody and harmonize diatonic passages diatonically and chromatic passages chromatically. • While it is fine to add perfect fifth and perfect fourth intervals into your harmony line, parallel fifths and/ or fourths in two-part harmony are usually avoided.
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
Strict Parallel Harmony (5ths)
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line. For our “Whiskey Before Breakfast” example we decided to move up above the tenor line and create what the bluegrass vocalists call a “high baritone” part. The high baritone arrangement is shown on the previous page. When you are working to create three part harmonies what you are doing is creating triads. From our earlier discussions you know that triads are the building blocks for chords. So in building a three part harmony we are creating the sound of full major, minor, diminished, and/or augmented chords. Let’s take a look at all three parts of the first measure of “Whiskey Before Breakfast.” We’ve presented all three parts as if you strummed them all together in the
Too many fifth of fourth intervals in a row and your harmony begins to sound like a Gregorian chant. • The most dissonant intervals when creating harmony parts are seconds and sevenths. Avoid those intervals unless you are specifically using them to add some tension. • Harmony notes can repeat or they can drop out for a beat or two. It’s your call given the situation.
Adding A Third Part
When you add a third part to the harmony, you have far less freedom for variation because you don’t want to step on top of the other harmony player by playing duplicate notes. So, if you are playing the harmony part that is just above the melody line (tenor) and the other harmony player is playing the harmony part that is just below the melody line (baritone) or just above the tenor line (high baritone), you don’t want to play the same notes as he or she is playing. The basic rule of thumb here is that you want to play a third part that is below the melody line you’d step down an interval of a fourth to the chord tone that is below the root. Or, if you wanted to play the third part up above the tenor line, you’d move up a perfect fifth from the melody line, or up a diatonic third from the tenor Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Imrov II & Advanced Flatpicking
Practice:
Play through the arrangement of “Whiskey Before Breakfast” that is shown on the next page. This arrangements has all three harmony parts for every note of the solo. Strum through each of these chords very slowly to get a feel for the tonality of each. Try to recognize which chords match the chords of the song and which ones are passing chords.
Homework:
After playing through the tab shown on the next page, break down the harmony measure-by-measure as we did with the first measure. Analyze the note choices for each harmony part to get a feel for the decisions that we made when creating this three-part harmony arrangement. The more you study what others have done in terms of harmony arranging, the better you will understand the process and the easier it will be for you to come up with your own harmony parts. 101
Whiskey Before Breakfast - Three-Part Harmony
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tab on top of the left column on the previous page. The first arrangement shows how the parallel harmony would lay on top of the tenor line that is shown on page XX. The first problem that we need to fix is the existence of those C# note at the top of beat two. We followed our rule of thumb and nudged that note up to a D. We also nudged the D note on the “and” of beat two up to E so that we would not have to play two D notes in a row. It could have stayed a D note and fit just 102
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fine harmonically. However, since the previous note was also a D and we wanted to create movement in the harmony, we nudged the D up to an E note. The other change that we made to the “strict parallel harmony” was to move one of the tenor notes. You’ll remember that in the two-part harmony we could have followed the rule of thumb that says you nudge notes that are a half step away from scale notes. However, we decided to keep that note as a G note instead of
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
nudging it up to A. Here in the three part harmony we decided to go ahead and nudge it up to A and then add the third above that (B) to the high baritone. We felt like this chord gave us a smoother transition. If you break this measure down and find the stable melody notes, you will find that, as with most simple melodies, they are chord tones (see tab at the top of the right hand column on page 101). If you compare the chords that were created in the three part harmony with those stable melody notes, you will find that they are all D major chords. The other two chords that are created by this harmony are passing chords, which correspond with the passing notes of the melody. In this measure those chords just happen to be an Esus4 and a G6 chord. We will get into the formation and usage of those chords in Volume 7 of this course. For now, the best way to make decisions when modifying a harmony away from the third or fifth intervals is to strum the chord and see if it sounds OK in the context of the tune. On the previous page we present an arrangement of “Whiskey Before Breakfast” which includes all three parts of the harmony played as chords. Your homework is to analyze each of these chords and compare them to the melody notes in order to learn what choices were made when we crated the three-part harmony on this song. When you are writing your own three part harmonies, we encourage you to build chords around each melody note and then strum through them to see if the chord you built will fit the melody line in both flow and harmony. The more you study and analyze harmony parts that other people have created, the better you are going to understand the choices that you can make when creating your harmony parts. In order to give you another example to look at, we’ve provided you with a two-art arrangement for “Leather Britches,” on the next two pages. If you would like more harmony examples, please turn to the January/ February 2010 issue of Flatpicking Guitar Magazine (Volume 14, Number 2).
modified. The first note of the melody was a D note. A diatonic third up from D is an F# note. That F# note under the G chord is the leading tone (half step from the root), so it was nudged up to the G note. The next note of the melody is an E note. Moving up a third from E would be a G note, which is the root of the chord and would fit just fine in the harmony. However, since the previous harmony note was a G, Tim and Dillon did not want to repeat that G note, so they bumped the harmony up to an A note, which works just fine as a passing note between the G the proceeds it and the B that follows it...a nice G, A, B walk up in the harmony. In the second measure a second note was also modified. In the melody the first note of beat 4 is an E note. A diatonic third up from E is a G note. However, you will notice that the harmony note here is an A note. A G would have worked just fine in the harmony. However, using the A note is consistent with the G to A move that was made in the second note of the measure and kept the harmony from being entirely parallel. Try it both ways and see what you think. Measure 7 is identical to measure 6. In measure 8 the first note of the melody is a D note. A diatonic third up from D is an F# note. Here we are under a D chord, so the F# note would fit because it is a chord tone. However, Tim and Dillon decided to use a B note in the harmony here. That interval is not the most consonant, but it does give nice movement to the melody line and adds a little tension. Remember, you don’t always necessarily want to stay with parallel harmony. Measures 9 and 10 are identical to measures 5 and 6. Measures 11 and 12 follow strict parallel third harmony. In the B part the entire harmony arrangement follows parallel harmony with the exception of the note that is played on the B string against the G chord in measures 13, 15, 17, 21, 23, and 25. The melody note on the B string in that chord is a D note. The diatonic third above D is F#. Again, that is our problem note over the G chord, so it was nudged up to G.
Leather Britches
You can hear this version of “Leather Britches” on the audio CD as it is played by Tim May and Dillon Hodges. If you study the note choices, you will see that Tim and Dillon stuck fairly close to a parallel harmony that was a diatonic third above the melody. Let’s take a look at what modifications were made. In the first two measures after the intro (measures 5 and 6), you’ll notice that the first two notes were Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Imrov II & Advanced Flatpicking
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Leather Britches (Melody)
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D G ) ) ) ) ) ) 3 5 7 3 5 3 3 3 3 3 2 0 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 7 7 3 3 3 3 5 3 3 3 3 3 1 0 3 3 3 3 8 10 8 10 8 10 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 2 0 4 4 4 4 ) ) ) ) ) ) 13
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Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
Leather Britches (Harmony)
Audio Tracks 2-28 & 29
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Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Imrov II & Advanced Flatpicking
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Lonesome Reuben all of those F# notes to F notes (the minor third). Play both versions and you’ll notice that it doesn’t really change the song. You could even mix and match, sometimes playing the F and sometimes playing the F#. The second rendition has a bluesier or lonelier sound, and since Reuben is obviously lonesome, as per the title, you might choose to play it with the minor third note. Some folks choose to play it with the major third while other choose to play it with the minor third. So, you might be asking about the chords to play when you are accompanying a modal song. Should you play a major chord, or a minor chord. The safe answer is “neither!” Tim May said that when he plays rhythm on “Lonesome Reuben” he uses the “long D” diad. You were introduced to this chord in Volume 4. This is where you play the regular D chord, however, you do not play the F# note on the high E string. Instead you reach up and fret the A note at the 5th fret. That way all of the notes that you are playing in the chord are either D notes or A notes. So, the third is not in the chord and thus the harmony doesn’t define the tune as being major or minor.
Modal Tunes “Lonesome Reuben” is the classic Drop D tune for guitar players in bluegrass. It is also a great example of a song that is “modal.” When we speak of modes here, we are not talking in terms of the “Greek modes” that were presented earlier. We are talking in terms of major and minor modes. As you know from your previous study, it is the third note of a scale that defines whether a scale or chord is major or minor. If the interval between the root and the third is a minor third interval than the scale or chord is minor. If the interval between the root and the third is a major third interval, then the scale or chord is major. When people talk about a tune being “modal” they are referring to a tune whose melody could go either way. A song like Lonesome Reuben is “modal” because the strongest melody notes are the root and 5th, with the third being nebulous. That note could go either way. Take a look at the two arrangements of “Lonesome Reuben” shown below. In the first I’ve used a major third (F#) note every time the third scale degree comes up in the melody. In the second arrangement I changed
Audio Track 2-30
Lonesome Reuben — Major Third
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Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
Lonesome Reuben
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Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
Lonesome Reuben (con’t)
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Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Imrov II & Advanced Flatpicking
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Lonesome Road Blues You have seen “Lonesome Road Blues” several times already in this course. Here Tim adds a little change to the chord progression (throwing in the Em chord), places a quote from “Sailor’s Hornpipe,” and shows us how note emphasis can play a role in providing variation.
on the last beat of measure 33). If you’ll check back in Volume 3, the same quote was used in measures 23 through 25 of “Beaumont Rag” Version 1 (page 41). In Volume 2, Number 5 of Flatpicking Guitar Magazine guest author Kevin Stevenson demonstrated how to fit a quote from The Andy Griffith Show theme into “Blackberry Blossom.” You could fit a similar quote from that song into “Lonesome Road Blues” in the same spot where Tim fit the “Sailor’s Hornpipe” quote. Play through “Lonesome Road Blues” one time (your own arrangement) and then on your second solo fit in the quote that is shown below over the G chord in the first four measures, then go back to the melody, or your own arrangement, over the C chord. There are hundreds of ways to fit quotes into your solos. Sit down and work out a measure or two of any popular song that you know—and your audience will recognize—and see if you can fit it into one of your bluegrass song or fiddle tune solos. If the quote is something that everyone in your audience will recognize, you will get their attention and a big smile on their face. Some bands even have “quote wars” on stage. One person gets it started by quoting a popular song in their solo and then the rest of the band picks up on it and each person tries to fit a different quote into their solo.
May I Quote You? So far in this course you’ve been exposed to at least a dozen versions of “Lonesome Road Blues.” But, really...can you ever get too much of this song? Obviously we think not because we are going to give you a few more versions here. In this version of “Lonesome Road Blues” you will find a lot of very cool use of techniques that you have been exposed to previously in this course. You’ve got tremolo in measure 2, you’ve got cool repeated phrases in measures 6 through 10, you’ve got some triplets in measures 14 an 16 (you’ll work more with triplets in this book on pages 122 to 123), you’ve got some nice crosspicking in measures 18 through 21, and you’ve got Tim’s “arpeggio on two strings” technique that we ran across in “Alabama Jubilee.” Then on page two you have bends, slides, more triplets, and cool neighboring notes phrases (measures 40 and 41). Tim loaded this tune up with all kinds of cool stuff. The one thing that you’ll find here that we have yet to talk about in any detail is “quoting.” Quoting involves taking a phrase from another popular song and inserting it into the song you are playing. People use quotes from TV show themes (The Andy Griffith Show, The Flintstones, Bonanza, Leave It to Beaver, etc.), show tunes, classic rock phrases, movie themes, classical music, Christmas tunes, or quotes from other bluegrass songs or fiddle tunes. Here Tim uses a quote from “Sailor’s Hornpipe” in measures 33 to 35 (it starts
Note Emphasis In nearly every song Tim May plays in this book dynamics and note emphasis play a big role. In this song take a careful listen to measures 18 to 20. Tim emphasizes the notes that he plays on the high E string in these measures, however, notice how he has arranged his crosspicking pattern so the emphasized notes fall on different beats in every measure. This adds variety without changing the notes or the pattern.
Quoting Andy Griffith Show Theme
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Audio Track 2-33
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Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
Lonesome Road Blues
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Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Imrov II & Advanced Flatpicking
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Lonesome Road Blues (con’t) 26
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Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
Hybrid Picking - Part II We are now going to take another look at hybrid picking. Back on page 54 we introduced you to this technique and gave a simple example. Now we are going to rely on our good friend Brad Davis to show you how you can really add some fireworks to your solos by combining pick and fingers like some of the best country Telecaster players do it. The first thing we’d like you to do is go online and watch Brad’s video clip demonstration. You can find it on YouTube by going to www.youtube.com and searching on “Brad Davis Chickin Pickin”, or you can also find it on our Flatpicking Essentials website at: www.flatpick.com/essentialshybrid. Watching this video footage will give you an excellent visual example of this style of hybrid technique. Once you watch the video, you will have an understanding of the technique as Brad uses it. Brad did us a huge favor and transcribed his “Lonesome Road Blues” solo from that video and he also transcribed the example that he plays about midway through the video. The hybrid picking example is a good place to start, so we are going to place that tab first, then follow it with the “Lonesome Road Blues” tab. When you watch the video you will notice that here the hybrid technique is mostly used to play double stops, but Brad also uses the middle and ring finger for some single notes, especially when he is executing a crosspick style roll. While you can also play double stops with your pick, you are not going to get the same tone, feel, and groove that the hybrid technique can give you. Play the tab shown on the next page using your pick to play the double stops and then listen to Brad play the same thing on the video and you’ll hear the difference. You may also notice that it is very difficult to play this tab with a pick because the double stops and single notes are mostly all eighth notes, so it becomes very difficult to play the double stop and the have enough time to get back to play the next note. If you are playing this tab at a high tempo it would be very tough to pull of with pick alone. Brad said that the general rule to use when employing this technique is to play all downstrokes with the pick, all single string up strokes with the middle finger, and all double stops with the middle finger and ring finger together. Notice that for both the hybrid example shown on the next page and the “Lonesome Road
Blues” example Brad is playing in the key of A. He said that this technique lays out better in that key. If you are interested in learning this technique and applying it to your flatpicking solos, we recommend that you first work with the lick that is repeated in the first two measures of the example on the next page. Then next work on the lick that is shown in measures 5 on the next page. Work these two licks over and over as shown in the tab below.
Hybrid Picking - Exercises
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Imrov II & Advanced Flatpicking
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Hybrid Picking Example 1
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Audio Track 2-36
Arranged by Brad Davis
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Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
Lonesome Road Blues — Hybrid Picking
Audio Track 2-37 Arranged by Brad Davis
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Lonesome Road Blues — Hybrid Picking (con’t) L A
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Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
Lonesome Road Blues — Hybrid Picking (con’t) L
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Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Imrov II & Advanced Flatpicking
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Midnight On The Water “Midnight On The Water” is another great tune that Tim has arranged in Drop D tuning. This is our one and only waltz time selection in this volume. One of the technical timing/transcription details that we’ll need to point out here is that for the majority of this song Tim doesn’t play with a “straight” eighth note feel. He plays with a bit of a “bounce” in his timing for much of the tune. Our first option in presenting the arrangement was to write the tune out with straight timing and then tell you to play with a “bounce.” However, in this tune we could not do that because sometimes Tim plays it straight and other times he bounces. So, in order to present this arrangement we are indicating the timing as shown in the examples below. The first line shows the timing for a “straight” eighth note feel and the second line shows how we are writing the timing to indicate that you should play with a “bounce” in your groove.
Slow songs are great to practice because in order to make them sound good you really have to pay attention to your timing, tone, articulation, and note clarity. The best way to learn this song is to listen very carefully to what Tim is doing in terms of timing and articulation and then try to duplicate what you hear. You may notice that in this tune, like “Bury Me Beneath the Willow” Tim uses a lot of consecutive hammer-on, pull-off, and slide techniques. In measures 59 to 61 he also uses a long passage of consecutive triplets. The use of consecutive triplets will be discussed on page 122, following this song. The B part of “Midnight On The Water” makes use of some of the diatonic chords that we talked about in the first section of this volume. The B part progression is: D - Em - Bm - G - D - G - D - A - D. This is a I - ii - vi - IV -I - IV - I - V - I progression. Have fun playing this great waltz!
Straight Time Feel
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Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
Midnight On The Water
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Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Imrov II & Advanced Flatpicking
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2
H
0
2
H
H
0 2
0
H
3
H
2 4
D
0 2
4
0
G
3 2
3
0 2
S
4 2 0
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2 4
4 5
2 4 0 0 A
H
É
H
)
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21
2
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3
H
11
D
Drop D Tuning
1
E B G D A D
Audio Tracks 2-38 & 39
3
3 4
)
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0 2 3 5
3
3
7
0
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5 7 5 3 2 0 2 3 3
119
Midnight On The Water (con’t)
3 H G
27
T A B 32
2 3
HH
0 2 4
D
4
2
5
0
)
2
4
É
4
4
4 6 5 7
7 6 7 7
4 5
D
)
5
P
)
3
2
3
2
2 4
2
4
2
4
D
HP P
2 3 2 0 2
2
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D
G
D
A
3
3
3
H H
D
0
120
2 3
G
H 0 3 0 03 2 2 2 3 3 3 H 4 2 2 2 2 4 5 0 0
D
0
47
3
37
0 2 4
2
0
A
S
0
HH
3
2
42
D
3
4 4 5
5 7
4 5
S
2 4
G
2 4 D
H )
0
2
4
2
)
)
4 5
0
3
S
2 4
6
4
3
2
3
0
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4
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2
3
0
3
2 4 3
3
É 3 3
A
D
3
D
3
H
4
3
0
2
2 4 3
2
4
0 2
4
0
S
7 9
7 9
7 9 3
10
S
7 9
10
3
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
Midnight On The Water (con’t)
É 52
3
Rak
T A B
e
3
S
9 10 12 10 10 11
12 14 14 3
3
Em )
12 10 10 10 7 S
)
10 9
7
8
8
)
)
10
8
7
9
7
8
D
3 3 L 57
Bm
7
3
G
S
9 10
9
7
S 9 7 6
7
6
3
7
3
8 10
S
3
10 8
3
8
7 9
9
9
3
3
3
7 7
5 7
3
3
3
5 5 3
3 4
D G ) ) 7 5 3 0 S S 5 5 5 7 9 7 8 10 ) 7 5) 7 6 7 4 2 0 62
A
D
Bend Up and Down
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Imrov II & Advanced Flatpicking
2 4
0
3 2
3
3
0 3 2 0
2
5 4
3
D
H
0
0
5
3
121
Triplets
Triplets can be used as a very effective embellishment and can add a bit of excitement to your solo. If you’ll remember our tension and release rules that appear on page 42, you’ll know that a lot of notes played quickly leans towards the tension side of arrangement, so you don’t want to overuse triplets. You’ve encountered a few triplets here and there throughout this course, however, with the exception of a couple of examples in the Dan Crary section of Volume 5, we’ve not exposed you to the idea of using many consecutive triplets. If used tastefully, playing several measures of consecutive triplets can be a great way to add some flash and excitement to a guitar solo. Tim uses this technique in the next song, “Nine Pound Hammer,” so in order to prepare you for the triplets that appear in this song, you may want to work through the six triplet exercises that start at the top of the next page.
All of the exercises in this section present eighth note triplets. Timing-wise, an eighth note triplet is defined by three notes being playing over the time value of two eighth notes. In other words, you have three notes, each of equal time duration, played over one beat in 4/4 time. So if you are playing consecutive triplets you can play four triplets in a row over a measure of music in 4/4 time. As shown in the triplet examples below, most of the eighth note triplets that you will play are going to include some kind of hammer-on or pull-off (some could also include a slide or two, however, we have not shown an example of using a slide in a triplet here). When you use a hammer-on or pull-off the alternating pick direction rule (picking down on the down beats and up on the off beats) will remain in tact, as shown in examples 2 through 6 below. However, if you pick every note of a triplet, whether it is just one triplet or a series of triplets, the alternating pick direction rule is going to be compromised one way or another. Most flatpickers choose one of two options as shown in Example 1 in the previous column. Option 1 continues alternating the pick direction, but as you can see, in this option the convention of playing down on every down beat is broken for beats 2 and 4 because you end up playing an upstroke on those beats. Option 2 retains the convention of playing a down stroke on every downbeat, however, in order to accomplish this you will have to play two downstrokes in a row, thus breaking the alternating pick direction pattern. We recommend that you try both ways and find the one that is most comfortable for you. Play through all six triplet exercises in order to prepare yourself for the arrangement of “Nine Pound Hammer”
Example 1
1
Option 1: Option 2:
T A B
L sr s r s sr s sr 1
s
3
3
1
1
3
3
= downstroke
Example 2
½ 1
sP r 3
T A B 122
3 2 0
s
3
½
= downstroke
3 3
3
3
r srs rsr s sr s sr s 1
3
1 1
3
3
r = upstroke Example 3
s
3
P P
3 2 0 3
½ ½
r = upstroke
3
3
3
Example 4 3
½ 2
s r
H
3 0
3
½
Example 5 3
s
H H
0 2 4 3
½ ½
Example 6 3
L ½ s
H
2
P
3
2
½
3
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
Triplets Exercise 1
1
T A B
G
Audio Track 2-40
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3
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½ L L L 3
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Triplets Exercise 2
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Audio Track 2-40
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1 2
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Triplets Exercise 4 1
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Triplets Exercise 3 1
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Audio Track 2-40
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P
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1
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0
1 2 3
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3 2 0 3
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2 3
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0 2 3
3
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Imrov II & Advanced Flatpicking
3
3
P
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1
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0 2 3 H H 0 1 2 3
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3 Audio Track 2-40
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Triplets Exercise 5
1
T A B
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3
3
3
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1
1
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1
1 1
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0 0 0
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Audio Track 2-40
L L 3
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5 5 5
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3 3 3
6 6 6
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3
Audio Track 2-40
Triplets Exercise 6
3 3 3 3 3 3 ½ É 3 3 3 3 1
T A B
HP
HP
HP
HP
5 6 5 3 5 3 1 3 1 0 1 0 3
3
3
3
3
3
HP
HP
2 4 2 0 2 0 3
3
HP
HP
3 5 3 2 3 2 3
3
HP
0 2 0 3
HP
HP
HP
3 5 3 2 3 2 0 2 0 3
3
3
½
3
Nine Pound Hammer “Nine Pound Hammer” is another standard flatpicking and bluegrass song that you have seen several times in this course. In addition to giving you plenty of triplets to work with in this arrangement, Tim also makes some good use of dynamics. Take a listen to the phrase in measures 34 and 35. You’ll hear that in measure 34 Tim is emphasizing the off beats and then in measure 35 he emphasizes the down beats. Tim said, “You can use the exact same notes, but if you change the phrasing or emphasis of those notes you can create a totally different sound. A change in phrasing or emphasis gives you variety and continuity at the same time.” Another cool thing that Tim did here was to add those hammered notes after three-note chord strums in measures 9 through 12. After he hits the hammer, the three notes of the chord are F, B, and D. If we assume the root note (G) is implied, then this is a G7 chord. On the last beat of measure 11 Tim anticipates the change
124
to the C chord by playing a C7 (minus the root note). Then he hits the C7 again of the first beat of measure 12. Listen closley to the CD to get the right feel for that 4 measure phrase. Tim also goes to some of those 13 chords that he likes in measure 36 to 38. He plays C13 - B13 - C13 over beats 2, 3 and 4 of measure 36. Then he slides way up to a G13 and plays that over the first 3 beats of measure 37. Then he plays an F#13 over the fourth beat of measure 37 and hits a strong G13 on the first beat of measure 38. We will talk more about 13th chords in Volume 7. Once you have learned some of the licks and phrases that Tim uses in “Nine Pound Hammer,” go back and improvise over the “Nine Pound Hammer” rhythm track (Disc 1, Track 2) and see if you can mix some of what Tim is doing with a few licks and tricks of your own.
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
Audio Tracks 2-41 & 42
Nine Pound Hammer
G
1
T A B 6
G
0
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2 5
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8 8 9 8
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3 3 3 4 3 3 3
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3 3 3 4 3 4 3 3
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L L
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Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Imrov II & Advanced Flatpicking
3
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125
Nine Pound Hammer (con’t) 21
L L L
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G
S
3 5 3 5
2
25
3 4
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0 2
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0 2
3
G
3 5 3
G
3 3
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É
1
3 3
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0 0 0
3 3 3
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0 0 0
3 3 3 5 5 5 3
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6 6 6 5 5 5 3 3 3
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G
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L L L L L 2
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3 4
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2 0
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L L L S
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37 L 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 10 10 10 10 10 10
11 11 9
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3
3
ÉÉ LÉ
G
12 12 10
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0
3
C
1
2
3
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3 L
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3 0
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3 0
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2 0 3
126
S
4 0 0
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1 1 1 3 3 3
3
32
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3 3
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1 28
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0 0 0
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G
É 2 0
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2 0
H
1 2
P
0 2 0
0
5 5 3
4 4 2
5 5 3
ÉÉ ÉÉ 3 3 0 0
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
Red Haired Boy In Volume 3 you were presented with two versions of “Red Haired Boy,” one in the key of G and another in the key of A. Here Tim provides an arrangement in the key of A. While most people will play this song in the key of G and capo up at the second fret to place it in the key of A, this is one of those tunes that sounds great when you play it out of open A. Playing this song in open A allows you to play a great solo on the lower pitched strings (as Tim does in his arrangement in measures 10 to 20). Plus, in the rhythm I think that the flat 7 chord in the key of A (G chord), sounds better than the flat 7 in the key of G (F chord). It seems to have more meat to it when you can hit a good solid G note on the low E string when the progression goes to the flat 7 chord. In the first six measures of the tune Tim said that he was trying to “use space” in order to demonstrate that you don’t always have to fill up each measure with eighth notes when you play a fiddle tune. He said, “You don’t have to be in a hurry to blaze eighth notes all the time.” In measures 26 through 29 notice, once again, Tim’s use of dynamics and and take note of which notes he is emphasizing. In measure 26 he emphasizes the G note on the first beat (over the G chord). In measure 27 he emphasizes the A note on the second beat (over the D chord). In measure 28 he doesn’t emphasis any of the notes. In measure 29 he emphasizes the B note
on the first beat (over the G chord). Once again, he is conveying the melody of the song by placing emphasis on chord tones. The particular chord tones that he chose to emphasize here are not even necessarily the stable melody notes, however, they still work to give some ground the solo to some extent (the F# and C# notes in those measures are adding some dissonance) . Back at the beginning of this section of the book we talked about tension and release. Tim has made great use of it throughout his solos here. Anytime we mentioned those places where he used chord extensions (7ths, 9ths, 11ths, 13ths), chromatic runs, major 7th chords, etc., he was creating tension. The resolve to the tonic—the one chord—always releases the tension. A good exercise would be to take that tension and release list that we gave you back on page 42 and analyze Tim’s solos in terms of their tension and release qualities. We’ll point out one of those tension-building lines in “Red Haired Boy.” In measure 53 Tim plays a Gmaj7 arpeggio (G, B, F#), followed by an Aadd9 arpeggio (A, B, C#, E) over the G chord. This is followed by a B note at the top of the change to the A chord, which strengthens the Aadd9 tonality. This dissonance is resolved with the D arpeggio leading to the strong E note over the A chord in the first beat of measure 55. Tim said, “This is an example of throwing in some notes outside of the chord tones to add tension and then resolving to a strong chord tone.”
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Imrov II & Advanced Flatpicking
127
Red Haired Boy ½ 1
L
A
½
T A B
Audio Tracks 2-43 & 44 D
É
2
2 4
0 2 0
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2
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A
G
0
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0
S
3 2 0 3 5 5
H ) A
6
S
)
3
11
D
5
5
E
H
3
2
D
0 2 2 3 3 3
2
A
3 2
0
3 2 0 3 2
G
A
0
0
2 1
H
)
1 2
2
A
0
0 0 0 2 4
A
0
D
L LL 2 0 2 4 0
16
0
A
3
3 2 0
4
0
20
A
4 2 0 2 4 0
E
2 3 3 3 0
A
4
2
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G
0
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H
0 0 3
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H
4 3
4 0 0
A
L L 2
4
0
4 2 0 4 2
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4 2 0
3
2
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0 2 4 0
2 4
0
2 4
0 2
4
0 2 4 0 2 4
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L É L 21
G
4
128
A
0 2
4
0 2
0 3
2
D
2
2 3
0
3
2
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A
0 0
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3 5
E
0 0 0
3 2 0
2
A
2
0
1 2
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
Red Haired Boy (con’t)
G D A G L L 26
P P
3
2 3 2 0
3
0
5
2 0
3
0
2
3 2 0
L É A
30
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3
4
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2 0
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3
D É 12 9
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H
9
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3
7
3 2 0
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0
3 2 3
2
3
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A
0
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L
A
34
3 2 0
L L É
D
2
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A
7
G
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2
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0
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0
H
3
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2
L L P A
38
D
2
42
2 3
0 5 2 0
A
3 2 0 2 3 2 3 0
A
2 0
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L H
0
4
0 2 4
0 2 0
0
4
5
H
0
5 7
E
2
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Imrov II & Advanced Flatpicking
0
4
2 0
4
2 0
L L ) A
S
5 0
0
6
7
6
)
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L G
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8 10
129
Red Haired Boy (con’t)
D L L L L L
É A
46
8
10
50
10
P
8
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G
8
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7
E
A
L L L 0 5
10
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4 2 0
3 0 3
2 4
4 0
G
A
L L L L 0
54
9
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4 2 0
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1
2 1
S
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0
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4 2 0
3
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0
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L L
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A
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2 0
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L L L L 58
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0 2
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3 5 0
3 2 0
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0 3 2 0 3
130
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0
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
Red Wing “Red Wing” is one of those tunes that can be played with a straight fiddle tune feel, or it can be delivered with a swing feel. Back at the end of Volume 2 we presented a straight version of this tune. Here in this volume Tim makes it swing. Making it swing for Tim was not just a matter of swinging the groove. For this arrangement making it swing also means adding in some note choices that give the solo more of a swing feel. So let’s talk about some of those note choices. In measure 9 Tim, once again, uses that flat 9 arpeggio and plays it in a descending sequence (D#, C, A, F#). This was the example we showed back on page 82. That F# note at the end begs to resolve to the G note at the top of the next measure. In the last half of measure 10 Tim plays G, A, Bb, C#. The G, Bb, and C# notes give this measure a Gdim tonality, which is a tonality that helps give this tune the swing feel. Any time you use diminished, maj7th, 6th chords—or 9, 11, or 13 extensions—you are going to add that swing or jazz accent to your solo. In measures 26 and into 27 Tim sets up a Cmaj7 tonality by playing B, G, and E notes over the C chord. Tim said, “I’m in swing mode and that gives me license to play maj7th chords.” So, he continues with the maj7 tonality by playing a similar figure over the G chord in measures 28 and 29. Here he plays notes from the Gmaj7 chord. Remember from our 7th chord discussion earlier in this book (page 27) that a G7 chord (dominant seventh) consists of the notes G, B, D and F, while the Gmaj7 chord consists of the notes G, B, D and F#. If you want to familiarize yourself with the Gmaj7 tonality, play through the ascending and descending lines in the tab in the right hand column. Also, pay attention to the syncopation in measure 26 through 29. If you have trouble with the timing, fill in repeated eighth notes as we suggested back on page 82. Measures 44 to 46 give us another chance to study dynamics. In measure 44 Tim is emphasizing the C note at the top of the measure and the D note on the fourth beat. In measure 45 he emphasizes the E note on the third beat. In measure 46 he emphasizes the F# note on the “and” of the first beat. By emphasizing notes on different beats of these measures Tim adds texture and excitement to a phrase that could sound flat if it was played without the use of dynamics. In measures 50 and 51 Tim’s note choices over the C chord include: E, D#, E, Bb, E, and A. The E, Bb, and A notes give this phrase a A13 tonality. Tim said that the
13th tonality is another tool that he likes to use when playing swing. As we’ve mentioned several times during this section of the book, we will study more about all of the chord extensions, as well as diminished, augmented, and suspended chords in Volume 7. When we were developing the outline for this course we went back and forth about Volumes 6 and 7, trying to decide which one should come first. There were good reasons for putting the material in Volume 7 (Advanced Rhythm) before the material in Volume 6 (Advanced Technique), however, we finally decided to put the Advanced Technique material first, knowing that Tim would be using some of the advanced chord information in his solos. We will not study swing and jazz applications in depth until Volume 8, so we felt like it would be best to give you the advanced arrangements of bluegrass and fiddle tunes here in Volume 6, address advanced chords in Volume 7, and then present an introduction to swing and jazz in Volume 8. Hopefully the bits of swing and jazz that Tim has used here will picqued your interest and also help you understand why it would be to your advantage to study advanced chords, swing chords, and jazz chords even if you are only interested in playing fiddle tunes and bluegrass.
Gmaj7 Ascending
1
T A B
0
2
3
0
4
3
4
2
Gmaj7 Descending
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Imrov II & Advanced Flatpicking
2
2
3
4
0
4
0
2
3 131
Audio Tracks 2-45 & 46
Red Wing
G
1
T A B
0
2
C
0
4
0 1
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3
0 2
G
3 2 0
3 1 0
2
0
4
0 2
0 3
H ³ ³ ) D
6
1
G
1 0
2
0 1
A
)³
0
2
0
D
³
)
2 0 2 4 0
2
2
0 2 3 2 0
16
3
G
S
0 2
3 5
D
0
G
É 0
0 2 3 0
3
2
1
4
0
4 5
7
3 2 0
3
)
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3 Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
Red Wing (con’t)
)
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Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Imrov II & Advanced Flatpicking
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Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
Temperance Reel Here is our old friend from back on page 9 of this volume, “Temperance Reel.” You worked with this tune back when we introduced the vi chord. After you work with Tim’s improv ideas here you may want to go back and try the exercise on page 9 again. In the first two measures after the intro (measures 3 and 4) Tim plays it fairly straight and sticks close to the melody. Things would have been dead-on the melody if that F# note in measure 4 was a G, but I suppose Tim couldn’t help himself. But then he gets a little friskier over the first measure of Em. This passage adds some dissonance to the solo, however, he resolves it right away with the big half-note E at the beginning of measure 6. Very cool!
In the rest of the A section Tim uses neighboring notes to great effect. Then at the start of the B section there is no doubt that the E note is prominent here with this two measure tremolo! There is a lot of other cool stuff here, but we’ll let you explore the rest of this solo on your own. And again, after you have spent some time with this tune go back and try the exercise on page 9. Work with the rhythm track and see what you can come up with.
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Imrov II & Advanced Flatpicking
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Audio Tracks 2-47 & 48
Temperance Reel
L G
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Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
Temperance Reel (con’t) G
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Temperance Reel (con’t) 3
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Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
Wayfaring Stranger Major or Minor? “Wayfaring Stranger” is one of those tunes that has a tonality that floats back and forth between minor and major. In the A part you can see that the E7 followed by the Am (V - i) defines the tonality as Am. In the B section the F chord followed by the C and then the F again makes the song feel like it is shifting to a major key. These chords are the III and the VI in the key of Am, however, they are the I and the IV in the key of C. So the beginning of the B part feels like the song has shifted to the key of C major. However, the E7 chord in measure 24 pulls the ear back to Am. Also, in measure 7 some people, like Tony Rice, will use a V7 chord, in this case an E7. Some people will also continue to play the iv chord (Dm) over measure 15 instead of changing to the E7 chord there. However, including the E7 will give the progression a stronger pull to the i chord (Am) in measure 16. This is also one of those slow tunes where Tim moves back and forth between the “bounce” feel and the “straight eighths” feel. If you’ve not read the information about these two grooves, refer to the tab example on page 118.
Double Time Another technique that Tim employs here in “Wayfaring Stranger” is the use of “double time” phrases. You will find them here in measures 44 to 45 and measure 57. This is a great dramatic effect, especially when playing slower tunes. A blast of notes for a measure or two that are played at double the time (in this case Tim moved from an eighth note feel to playing a long string of sixteenth notes) can have a great dramatic effect. If you refer back to our tension and release chart on page 42 you will see that strings of rapid notes create some tension. Going back to straight time then releases that tension. Slow tunes are ideal for the use of double time phrases, but don’t over do them!
Dorian Mode There are a couple of instances in this solo where Tim employs the Dorian mode. Take a look at measure 34. Tim is playing over an Am chord. As you know, the notes of the Am scale are the same as the notes of the C scale, but starting on the A note: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, A The F# note that Tim plays at the end of this measure takes the tune into the A Dorian. Remember from our discussion of modes that the notes of the A Dorian mode are the same as the notes of the G scale, but starting on the A note: A, B, C, D, E, F#, G, A Tim said, “Playing that sixth degree of the Dorian scale over the Am gives it the Gypsy Jazz sound.” Tim uses the Dorian scale over the Am chord again in measure 64.
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Imrov II & Advanced Flatpicking
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Wayfaring Stranger
Audio Tracks 2-49 & 50
³ H H H ) S 3 5 0 0 1 1 5 5 5 5 5 3 5 5 5 3 1 0 3 3 H H T ³ 2 2 2 ) 2 2) 2 0 2 0 2 A 0 2 2 ) ) B Am
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É ) ) S S 1 S 4 5 4 5 5 3 3 3 3 ) 3) 5 5
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Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
Wayfaring Stranger (con’t)
3 H H 3 3 0 1 0 1 S 1 3 3 5 3 H S 0 2 S 0 2 S 0 2 5 4S 5 5 5 0 2 5 7 0 2 5 7 4 5 5 3 0 0 0 0 ) ) E7 Am Am 31 H ) 3 3 Am 26
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Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Imrov II & Advanced Flatpicking
0 2 3
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Wayfaring Stranger (con’t) 3 ) ) H PP S S 1 1 3 1 0 3 4 0 S 0 H 1 3 1 3 3 5 3 1 2 0 0 2 0 2 0 0 ) ) 2 2 0 0 2 3 0 0 2 3 Dm 46
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Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
Whiskey Before Breakfast You’ve made it to our final tune! Congratulations! We have used “Whiskey Before Breakfast” for many of our examples in previous volumes, however, we’ve not presented anything that approaches an “advanced” version. So, for those of you who have been looking for new ideas to add to this tune, here you go! In measure 10 Tim threw in one of those maj7 tonalities. When asked about it, he said, “I did it because I like to throw people off!” That’s problably just a little bit of his Mississippi humor. In that measure he is playing over a D chord and uses the C# note to add the maj7 tonality. Over the G chord in the next measure Tim uses the D note as a drone and adds the F# note and the C# note. It continues the tonality of the Dmaj7, but over the G chord it would be a Gmaj7#11. On the first beat of the D chord (third beat of measure 11) Tim plays a B note against the D chord. This adds a D6 tonality for one note, which is followed by a three note D major arpeggio. These two measures (10 and 11) provide some tension, but then it is released and we finish out this section of the tune with fairly smooth and fluid movement. The only other thing that we’d like to point out in this tune is the phrase in measures 41 through 45. If you
glance at those measures you will see a lot of tremolo on the open D string. The tremolo is dotted with a few double stops. The first thing to mention here is the dynamics and the changing emphasis on the notes that Tim is playing. Listen to the passage and take note of the dynamics he is using. The other thing to notice is placement of the double stops. Over most of the D chord section Tim is using a double stop that consists of an E note and a C# note. Over the D chord this is a D9 tonality. In measure 41 Tim places this double stop on the “and” of beat two. In measure 42 he places it on the “and” of beat 1. Then on the “and” of beat 4 Tim plays a double stop consisting of B and D notes, which anticipates the upcoming G chord. Then he plays that some double stop on the “and” of beat 3, over a D chord. Then a beat later, on the “and” of beat 4, over a D chord, he plays a double stop consisting of an A note and a C# note, which anticipates the change to the A chord. Over the A chord he just drones on the D string and then hits a strong D note—an octave higher—on the “and” of the 4th beat, which anticipates the upcoming D chord. Very cool stuff! Have fun with this one!
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Whiskey Before Breakfast
Audio Tracks 2-51 & 52
D
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Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
Whiskey Before Breakfast (con’t) 25
Em É
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Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Imrov II & Advanced Flatpicking
0 2 4 G
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Whiskey Before Breakfast (con’t) 45
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Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
Conclusion and The Road Ahead Wow! That was a lot of stuff! If you have managed to work through all of the exercises and transcriptions in this book, then you deserve a big “Congratulations!” One of our goals in designing this volume of the course was to have Part II “Advance Technique” present a summation of all of the things that you have learned in this course. I asked Tim May to take everything that you have learned in this course, notch it up a level, and present it all in the arrangements of the songs and tunes that he improvised for you. I think he did an amazing job. Not only did he give you plenty of examples of all of the techniques and music principles that you have studied in Volumes 1 through 5, and the first half of Volume 6, but he also added some extra goodies that touch on things to come—like his use of diminished chords and arpeggios, flat 9 arpeggios, maj7 arpeggios, and 9, 11, and 13th chords. If you will really take some time and seriously study Tim’s arrangements—not just learn to play them, but learn how to apply the techniques and principles that he uses here to your own unique arrangements—then you will be well on your way to becoming a great arranger and improviser in the flatpick style. This stuff is not easy, so I encourage you to take it slow and stick with it. Break everything down into small components and then build back up. Always pay special attention to dynamics, phrasing, groove, tone, and timing. And don’t try to do it all at once. Take your time and refer back whenever you need to spice up one of your arrangements.
In Volume 7 we will dive deep into the world of rhythm. You’ve learned a good deal about chords and rhythm thus far, but in Volume 7 we are going to really take your rhythm playing to the next level. We are going to first talk about diminished, augmented, suspended, 6th, 9th, 11th, and 13th chords, and many of the interesting things that go along with those chords. We are also going to talk a bit about things like chord inversions, chord substitutions, “drop 2” chords, voice leading, and re-harmonization. We are going to first use all of the above mentioned chord knowledge to teach you how to really spice up your standard I, IV, V progressions so that you can create a lot of interesting rhythm when you are playing at your local jam, or when you are accompanying your own singing at home. Next we are going to get into some stylistic study of chords by presenting some Western swing style rhythm, some basic jazz rhythm, some Old-Time rhythm, some Celtic rhythm, some more advanced Blues rhythm, and some Gypsy jazz rhythm. But we won’t go too far out on a limb and we will try to keep things practical by relating everything you learn to tunes that you might run across at any local jam session or festival campground jam. If any of that sounds interesting to you, then please come and join us in Volume 7!
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Imrov II & Advanced Flatpicking
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Appendix: Chord Progression Summary So that it will be a bit easier for you to find all of the chord progressions that we have presented in Volumes 5 and 6 of this course, this appendix can serve as a handy reference. Slow, medium, and fast rhythm tracks to each of these progressions can be found on the web at: http://www.flatpick.com/essentialsaudio Audio Track 1-01
Progression # 1: I - IV - V - I G
C
D
G
¤¤¤¤ ¤¤¤¤ ¤¤¤¤ ¤¤¤¤ ¤¤¤¤ ¤¤¤¤ ¤¤¤¤ ¤¤¤¤ 1
Audio Track 1-02
Progression # 2: I - IV - I - V - I (Nine Pound Hammer) G
C
G
D
G
¤¤¤¤ ¤¤¤¤ ¤¤¤¤ ¤¤¤¤ ¤¤¤¤ ¤¤¤¤ ¤¤¤¤ ¤¤¤¤ 1
Audio Track 1-03
Progression # 3: I - IV - I - IV - I - V - I (Lonesome Road Blues) G
C
G
¤¤¤¤ ¤¤¤¤ ¤¤¤¤ ¤¤¤¤ ¤¤¤¤ ¤¤¤¤ ¤¤¤¤ ¤¤¤¤ 1
C
G
D
G
¤¤¤¤ ¤¤¤¤ ¤¤¤¤ ¤¤¤¤ ¤¤¤¤ ¤¤¤¤ ¤¤¤¤ ¤¤¤¤ 9
Audio Track 1-04
Progression # 4 (Carter’s Blues)
¤¤¤¤ ¤¤¤¤ ¤¤¤¤ ¤¤¤¤ ¤¤¤¤ ¤¤¤¤ ¤¤¤¤ ¤¤¤¤ G
1
D
G
F C G
Progression # 5 (I Am A Pilgrim) D
Audio Track 1-05 G
C
G
¤¤¤¤ ¤¤¤¤ ¤¤¤¤ ¤¤¤¤ ¤¤¤¤ ¤¤¤¤ ¤¤¤¤ ¤¤¤¤ 1
G
C
C7
G
D
G
¤¤¤¤ ¤¤¤¤ ¤¤¤¤ ¤¤¤¤ ¤¤¤¤ ¤¤¤¤ ¤¤¤¤ ¤¤¤¤ 9
148
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
Appendix: Chord Progression Summary (con’t) Audio Track 1-06
Progression # 6: I - vi - IV - V
¤¤ ¤¤ G
1
Em
C
¤¤ ¤¤
D
¤¤ ¤¤
¤¤ ¤¤ Audio Track 1-07
Progression # 7: I - vi - IV - V - I
¤¤ ¤¤ G
1
5
C
Em
¤¤ ¤¤ D
¤¤ ¤¤
¤¤ ¤¤
¤¤ ¤¤
G
¤¤ ¤¤
¤¤ ¤¤
¤¤ ¤¤
Audio Track 1-08
Progression # 8: I - vi - ii - V - I
¤¤ ¤¤ G
1
Em
Am
D
G
¤¤ ¤¤
Em
¤¤ ¤¤
Am
D
¤¤ ¤¤
Progression # 9: I - ii - V - I
Audio Track 1-09
¤¤ ¤¤ G
1
5
Am
¤¤ ¤¤
¤¤ ¤¤
¤¤ ¤¤
G
D
¤¤ ¤¤
¤¤ ¤¤
¤¤ ¤¤
¤¤ ¤¤
¤¤ ¤¤ G
Em
Audio Track 1-10
Progression # 10: I - vi - iii - V 1
Bm
D
¤¤ ¤¤
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Imrov II & Advanced Flatpicking
G
Em
¤¤ ¤¤
Bm
D
¤¤ ¤¤ 149
Appendix: Chord Progression Summary (con’t) Audio Track 1-11
Progression # 11: I - iii - IV - V
¤¤ ¤¤ G
1
C
Bm
¤¤ ¤¤
D
¤¤ ¤¤
¤¤ ¤¤ Audio Track 1-12
Progression # 12: I - ii - iii - IV
¤¤ ¤¤ G
1
Am
Bm
G
C
¤¤ ¤¤
Am
Bm
¤¤ ¤¤
¤¤ ¤¤
Audio Track 1-13
Progression # 13: I - IV - I - V7 - I G
C
C
G
D7
G
¤¤¤¤ ¤¤¤¤ ¤¤¤¤ ¤¤¤¤ ¤¤¤¤ ¤¤¤¤ ¤¤¤¤ ¤¤¤¤ 1
Progression # 14: I - AVII - I - V - I
Audio Track 1-14
¤¤ ¤¤ G
1
5
G
¤¤ ¤¤
F
¤¤ ¤¤ ¤¤ ¤¤
¤¤ ¤¤ D
¤¤ ¤¤
Progression # 15 (Blues Feel): I7 - IV7 - I7 - V7 - IV7 - I7 (Twelve Bar Blues)
¤¤ ¤¤ 9
150
G
¤¤ ¤¤
Audio Track 1-15
G7
1
5
¤¤ ¤¤
C7
¤¤ ¤¤ D7
¤¤ ¤¤
¤¤ ¤¤ ¤¤ ¤¤ C7
¤¤ ¤¤
G7
¤¤ ¤¤
¤¤ ¤¤
G7
¤¤ ¤¤
¤¤ ¤¤ ¤¤ ¤¤ ¤¤ ¤¤
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking
Appendix: Chord Progression Summary (con’t) Audio Track 1-16
Progression # 16: VI7 - II7 - V7 - I (Key of C) 1
5
9
13
A7
¤¤ ¤¤ D7
¤¤ ¤¤
¤¤ ¤¤
¤¤ ¤¤
¤¤ ¤¤
¤¤ ¤¤
¤¤ ¤¤
¤¤ ¤¤
¤¤ ¤¤
¤¤ ¤¤
¤¤ ¤¤
¤¤ ¤¤
¤¤ ¤¤
¤¤ ¤¤
¤¤ ¤¤
G7
C
¤¤ ¤¤
Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Imrov II & Advanced Flatpicking
151
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Flatpicking Essentials Volume 6: Improv II & Advanced Flatpicking