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Anatomy of a Lick Volume 6 Pat Metheny Outside



mattwarnockguitar.com Written by: Matt Warnock Matt Warnock Plays Koentopp Guitars © Copyright 2017 All Rights Reserved

Practice Guide Welcome to Anatomy of a Lick – Essential Jazz Lines Volume 6, where you study a Pat Metheny style outside lick. Before you begin, learn why, how, and where to study licks to get the most out of this eBook. Learning licks is essential for any jazz guitarist, but you don’t want to just repeat lines in your solos. Check out these pointers to get the most out of every minute spent studying lines in the woodshed.

Why Learn Licks? There are many reasons why you should study, learn, and use licks. Alongside scales, arpeggios, patterns, and chords, licks make up the foundation of jazz techniques. Here are some benefits of studying licks: Ø Build soloing vocabulary. Ø Sound like jazz from day one. Ø Learn how legendary players thought about improvisation. Ø Study jazz concepts in action. Ø Expand your ear training. Each of these items lift your playing to the next level, and they’re why studying licks is essential. But, licks aren’t the end of your studies, they’re part of a balanced approach to soloing that includes scales, patterns, and arpeggios.

How to Learn Licks Besides learning licks note-for-note, you want to dig into each phrase to get the most out of that line. When doing so, practice the exact lick and personalize it in your solos. Working on the lick as a whole includes exercises such as: Ø Soloing over tracks using the lick from time to time. Ø Targeting specific bars in a song with that line. Ø Combining two licks in your solos. Ø Starting licks on different beats, keep lick note-for-note. You can also vary licks in your solos. Some of the ways that you can vary a lick include: Ø Changing rhythms. Ø Adding notes. Ø Taking notes away. Ø Mixing two licks together. Ø Using part of the lick - beginning, middle, or end. By varying licks, you maintain the sound without running them directly. Make sure to practice exact lines and variations to adapt prescribed lines to a soloing situation.

Where to Use Licks Now that you know how and why to learn licks, add them to your solos. When doing so, you want to avoid becoming a “line player,” which is a guitarist who only plays prescribed lines. Instead, use bits of lines, as well as underlying concepts from lines, to build your phrases. This maintains the essence of the line, while injecting your personality at the same time. Though you want to avoid only playing lines, there are times when you want to run a lick in your solos. These include: Ø Solo breaks (first 2-4 bars of a solo at the end of a melody). Ø Fills between melody lines. Ø Short solos (i.e. Big band solos of 8-12 bars). Ø Moments when you struggle for inspiration. As you can see, using a lick gets you out of tough situations, such as when you have a two-bar solo break. By choosing your moments correctly, prescribed licks can be an effective device; just don’t overdo it in your solos.

Building Your Own Jazz Licks The biggest reason to study licks is to build your own lines, beforehand and in the moment, to use in your solos. By studying the Pat Metheny inspired lick and concepts below, you learn fundamental tools that you can use to create your own phrases. As you learn each concept in this Metheny style lick, write out 4-5 licks of your own based on each concept. This gives you practice constructing licks, and more vocabulary to use in your solos. From there, create licks in the moment using these concepts as you build lines in real time. It takes time to create your own cool-sounding jazz licks, so start now. Don’t wait until you cover every concept in this eBook, learn one concept then write out licks based on that concept. This practicing prepares you to create lines in musical situations, such as jazz jams and gigs.



Pat Metheny Outside Lick Here are the concepts derived from the Pat Metheny style lick below. Each of these concepts is explored further, with exercises for each concept, in the following sections of this eBook. Ø Side Stepping Ø Blues Notes Ø Passing Tones Ø Descending 3rds Ø Lydian Mode Ø Altered Scale Ø Melodic Minor Scale Ø Diminished Scale Ø Approach Notes Here’s the Metheny style lick to learn and apply to your jazz guitar solos. Because the lick is played over 8 bars, work slowly, break this line apart, and then bring it all together when ready. Even if you don’t have the lick perfect on the fretboard, head on to the concepts below as you develop the skills behind this lick. Then, keep working the lick with a metronome until you get it up to speed, mastering the concepts in this eBook along the way.

Audio Example 1







Concept 1 - Side Stepping The first concept, found at the start of the Pat-inspired line, is called sidestepping. Sidestepping is where you play inside the changes, such as an Am triad, then you play a half step higher, Bbm, before resolving back to Am. There are other sidestepping variations, but since this is the version in the lick, and the most popular, start here in this eBook. Sidestepping creates a tension-release sound in your lines that’s characteristic of Pat’s soloing style, and modern jazz in general. Here’s an example that uses Am and Bbm triads over a ii V I IV progression in G major. I chose Am as the “inside” sound as it lines up with the first chord in the progression. But, you can use any diatonic triad to sidestep through a line, so experiment with other triads in your studies. As long as you resolve back to the diatonic triad, the line will work out. Audio Example 2





As well as starting inside the changes, you can start with the half-step above chord, then resolve back into the diatonic changes from there. Here’s an example of that variation in action, where you start on the Bbm triad and resolve back into Am from there. This is the approach you saw in the Pat-style line at the start of the eBook, and it’s harder to hear than the first example. This is because starting outside is very tense, and takes confidence to start there and then resolve back in, instead of vice-versa. Play this lick, see how it sounds to you, and then experiment over backing tracks as you take this approach into your improvised solos. Audio Example 3

Moving on, you can apply sidestepping to arpeggios, as you see here with a Cmaj7 and Dbmaj7 arpeggio. I choose this arpeggio, Cmaj7, at random, so feel free to work this concept with other diatonic arpeggios in your lines. The key is to move between an inside, diatonic, arpeggio and an outside, sidestepped, arpeggio in your lines. After learning this line, put on backing tracks and apply sidestepping to arpeggios over different chords in a real-time situation.

Audio Example 4

The next example line begins outside the key, and then resolves back inside as you navigate these changes. When doing so, you start with tension, then release that tension, so it’s more of an advanced technique compared to starting inside. Take your time with this concept. If you find it’s too harsh of a sound for now, no worries, start with the inside first examples, then return to this line at a later date. Audio Example 5

As well as using arpeggios to create sidestepping phrases, you can also use scales in the same way.





Here’s a sample line that runs between Am and Bbm over a ii V I IV progression in the key of G major. The scale being used is A Dorian, or you can think of it as G major, as they contain the same notes. I prefer to think of it as A Dorian, since Am7 is the first chord of the progression so it connects those two sounds. Either way, have fun with this concept as you now apply sidestepping to your scale runs. Audio Example 6

You now learn a lick that starts outside, and then resolves back inside as you alternate those two sounds with scales throughout the phrase. Audio Example 7





The final application of this concept uses the famous 1235 pattern to outline the inside and sidestepped chord over a ii V I IV progression. This pattern, 1235, mixes the triad, 135, and a color tone, the 2, to create a pattern that John Coltrane loved to use in his solos. This first example line starts on the inside chord, then moves to the outside chord to create tension and release throughout the phrase. Audio Example 8



The final example starts outside the key, and then resolves back into the key, using the 1235 pattern for each chord. After working this line, create your own lines with this approach, and improvise over backing tracks as you take this concept to real time. Audio Example 9



Concept 2 - Blues Notes One concept that Pat loves to use in his solos, and that’s found in this lick, is the addition of blues notes to arpeggios and scales. By mixing blues notes with arpeggios and scales, Pat keeps the blues at the forefront of many of his lines. This is important not only because the blues is the foundation of jazz, but also because it connects his lines to the history of the genre. While the blues scale is the easiest way to accomplish this, sometimes you want to mix a blues sound into your arpeggios and scales. To do so, you need to know which blues notes fit over which chord. Did you know there was more than one blues note? There is. In fact there are three possible blues notes depending on the chord type. Here are the blues notes for each of the chords in a ii V I progression. Ø Maj7 = b3, b5, b7 Ø 7 = b3, b5 Ø m7 = b5 Here are two blues scale fingerings to get this sound in your ears and into your fingers. After you can play these shapes from memory, focus on identifying the b3, b5, and b7 intervals within these shapes.

This allows you to target those notes later on when you mix them with arpeggios and modes in your solos. Audio Example 10

Here’s a slippery, Wes Montgomery inspired lick that uses the blues scale over each chord in a ii V I IV progression. After learning this lick, put on a backing track and add the tonic blues scale to your solos over changes and full tunes.



Audio Example 11

You now add blues note to arpeggios in your solos, starting with the D7 in the example below. In this example, you add the b3 and b5 blues notes to the underlying arpeggio shape. As you take this concept to other arpeggios, make sure to use the appropriate blues notes for that shape when mixing them together. Here’s how the mixed arpeggios-blues concept looks on the fretboard over a D7 chord. Once you can play these two shapes, take them to other keys, and then apply blues notes to other arpeggio types in your studies.



Audio Example 12

This line mixes the D7, Gmaj7, and Cmaj7 arpeggios with blues notes to create a bluesy line over the ii V I IV progression. Work this lick in a few keys if possible, then solo over changes as you mix arpeggios and blues notes in your improvisations. Audio Example 13







The next mixed blues concept is taking the three blues notes, b3-b5-b7, and mixing them with the full major scale. Here’s how that looks in the key of G major. Notice that this is a highly chromatic concept, so while you can play all 3 blues notes with this scale, it’s good to start with one in your solos. Learn these full shapes, then put on backing tracks and solo while focusing on adding one blues note at a time to the major scale. From there, combine two and then three blues notes as you work the entire mixed scale in your solos. Doing so allows you to target specific blues notes in your lines, and prevents you from sounding like the chromatic scale in your solos. Audio Example 14



The final lick uses blues notes and the G major scale mixed together as you apply this concept to the first four bars of Autumn Leaves. After you learn this lick, put on a backing track and mix blues notes and the major scale in your solos to expand on this concept in your playing. Audio Example 15







Concept 3 - Passing Tones The next concept is one of the most essential in jazz, passing tones. Passing tones are chromatic notes that connect two diatonic notes a tone apart. In guitar language, this means that when you have two notes that are two frets apart, you connect them with a chromatic note between. That’s a passing tone, or passing note, on the guitar. Here’s an example of ascending and descending passing tones connecting G and A on the 4th string. After you play this example, pick other notes in the key of G major and connect them with passing tones where appropriate. Audio Example 16

Here’s a G major scale with passing tones added wherever possible. Can you find all the passing tones? Here’s a hint, as the scale is descending, look for b’s or natural signs to indicate outside notes.



Once you can play this example as written, take it to other keys, scale positions, and other scales in your studies. You can then add passing notes to your ascending scale practice as you expand this concept in your practice routine. Audio Example 17

To see this concept in action, here are three licks that use passing tones in different musical situations. The first lick uses the passing tone over three chords in a ii V I IV progression, the same as the first four bars of Autumn Leaves. Audio Example 18

The next passing tone lick is over a minor ii V I, where you use the passing tone over the V7alt and Im7 chords respectively.





Audio Example 19

Here’s a final passing tone lick, a minor ii V I, to study, take to other keys, and add to your soloing vocabulary. Audio Example 20









Concept 4 - Descending 3rds The next concept is one that’s found in many of Pat’s solos, as well as many other jazz guitar greats, descending 3rds. Descending 3rds are built by playing the intervals 3-1, 4-2, 5-3, etc. up and down any scale you apply them to. Here’s an example of descending 3rds applied to a two-octave G major scale from the 6th string. After learning this example, move it to other keys, other scales, and apply descending 3rds to your solos over changes and full tunes. Audio Example 21

As well as applying descending 3rds to scale positions, you can use them horizontally on the fretboard.

Doing so opens your fretboard when soloing, but takes a lot more fretboard knowledge to apply. Here are descending 3rds on the 6th and 5th strings to get you started. When you take this exercise to other keys and chords, write out the notes or tab out the exercise if it helps. From there, your long-term goal is to apply these 3rds to any scale in real time without visual aids. But, for now, any visual aid that gets the technique under your fingers is perfectly fine to use in your studies. Audio Example 22

You now take descending 3rds to the 5th and 4th strings as you expand this concept in your practice routine. Audio Example 23





The next example uses descending 3rds on the 3rd and 4th strings. Audio Example 24

Moving on, here are the descending 3rds on the 3rd and 2nd string set. Audio Example 25

The final example takes descending 3rds to the top two strings. After learning this exercise, pick a scale, and then run descending 3rds through each string set. This opens up your neck, teaches you notes on the fretboard, and gives you ample material to solo with over changes and tunes.





Audio Example 26







Concept 5 - Lydian Mode After you learn to use the major scale over maj7 chords, the next scale to explore is Lydian, which is found in the Pat inspired line. Lydian contains the #4 interval, creating a maj7#11 sound in your playing, as the 11th is the same as the 4th, just up an octave. Here are two Lydian fingerings to learn, move into other keys, and add to your solos over maj7 chords. Audio Example 27

Besides working on Lydian fingerings, one of the most common ways to bring this sound into your solos is to use triad pairs.



In this case, you play a tonic triad, C, followed by a major triad from the 2nd note of the scale, D. When doing so, you outline six of the seven Lydian scale notes, and bring a cool new sound into your solos at the same time. Here’s an example of that approach in action, as you play up a C triad and down a D triad over Cmaj7. Audio Example 28

You can also play up the D triad and down the C triad. After working in this key, take this exercise to other keys, and then use it to solo over maj7 chords to imply a Lydian sound over those changes. Audio Example 29







To finish your Lydian studies, here are the C and D triads in inversion going up and down over a Cmaj7 chord. After working this position, move the pattern to other keys, positions, and add it to your solos over maj7 chords. Audio Example 30



Concept 6 - Altered Scale The altered scale is a sound that is found in many of Pat’s solos, and it’s an essential scale that every jazz guitarist needs to know. Altered scales have the intervals b9, #9, b5, #5, creating the highly tense sound that this scale is known for. As these notes outline the 7alt sound, they also create high levels of tension in your lines over dominant chords. Because of this, you need to work on resolving these tension notes over this chord, or the next chord in the progression. Here are two fingerings to get you started with the altered scale. Start by memorizing these shapes, working them in other keys, then adding them to your solos over dominant chords.

Audio Example 31

As this scale is full of altered notes, creating tension in your lines over dominant chords, here are three licks to get this sound in your ears. Over the years, whenever I struggled with a new scale, I was able to get it into my ears and playing by studying phrases. These phrases give you a lick to use in your solos, as well as get the sound of the altered scale into your ears. Wes Montgomery, Pat Martino, and others use the first lick in their solos. Learn the lick, then when ready, move it to a few other keys as you expand it in your studies.



Audio Example 32

I first heard this phrase used by jazz pianist McCoy Tyner, and it creates tension in your lines by ending on the b9, C, over B7alt. For the fingering, try a few out and see what you think, but I find that 34-1-4-2 is the best way to go with your fretting hand. Audio Example 33

The last phrase comes from the Joe Pass repertoire, and it uses a quick pull-off on beat two of the line. You can pick each note in this line, or in Joe Pass style, pull off from the D-C-B in the last three notes of the lick. Either way, this is a classic 7alt line that you need to have in your improvised vocabulary.





Audio Example 34



Concept 7 - Melodic Minor Scale In the next concept, you use a very popular scale in Pat’s solos, melodic minor, used to add tension to m7 chords. Melodic minor has a raised 7th interval, creating a mMaj7 sound when applied to m7 chords. This 7th is a tension note in this instance, which you have to resolve when using it in your solos. As you work this scale in your practice routine, pay attention to how that raised 7th sounds in different situations. As well, use a backing track to practice this scale, even just up and down, to hear that raised 7th against a m7 chord in your playing. Here are two melodic minor fingerings to learn, practice in multiple keys, and add to your guitar solos over m7 chords.

Audio Example 35

Now that you know how to play this scale in two positions, apply a scale pattern from Pat’s lick to those positions. The pattern is built off of diatonic triads found within the melodic minor scale, played 3-1-3-5 for each diatonic triad. To being, here’s that pattern through a melodic minor shape from the 5th string to learn and apply to your solos.

Audio Example 36

You now take the ascending pattern to the 6th-string fingering. With this pattern down, you cover a lot of the fretboard between these two positions. Move between both with a metronome before taking this pattern to your solos over m7 chords and progressions. Audio Example 37





Moving on, here are the melodic minor diatonic triads, with the Metheny pattern, descending an E MM scale. After working this pattern, pair it up with the ascending version with a metronome, before doing the same in your solos.

Audio Example 38

The last exercise is the same as the previous one, though now you apply diatonic triads to the 6th-string melodic minor fingering. Once you have this pattern down, mix it with the ascending version, and 5th-string versions in our practicing. From there, mix them together in your solos as you apply this triad pattern, and diatonic triads, to improvised lines and phrases. Audio Example 39









Concept 8 - Diminished Scale The next concept deals with a symmetrical scale that Pat uses in his solos, the half-whole diminished scale. Symmetrical scales are built with repeated interval patterns, in this case alternating half and whole steps, to build the scale. When doing so, you produce the following interval pattern: R-b9-#9-3-#4-5-6-b7 This creates the chord symbol 13b9, as the 6th when raised an octave is a 13th. This differs from other 7alt scales, such as altered and Phrygian dominant, as it has a 13th interval, compared to b13 in those scales. Here are two fingerings to learn and add to your scale practice routine. Memorize these shapes in a number of keys before moving on to the scale patterns below.

Audio Example 40

As well as learning fingerings for this scale, here is a famous jazz scale pattern to apply to your HW diminished scale practicing. After you work this pattern with a metronome, in a number of keys, put on backing tracks and add it to your improvised solos. Audio Example 41







Moving on, you now play the same pattern from the 5th-string HW diminished scale position. With this pattern under your fingers, you cover a large part of the fretboard with this scale in your solos. So, put on a backing track and solo as you move between the 6th and 5thstring patterns in your lines. Audio Example 42

You now descend the pattern through a 6-string HW diminished scale. After working this pattern on its own, play the ascending version followed by this descending version in your studies. Then, add both to your solos as you take this new pattern to your improvisations over progressions and jazz standards.



Audio Example 43

Here’s the same pattern applied to the 5th-string HW diminished scale. After working this pattern, put on a backing track and add it to your improvised lines over 7alt chords. Audio Example 44









Concept 9 - Approach Notes The final concept from this Metheny-style line is approach notes. Approach notes, in this context, are playing one note a fret below any chord tone, and then resolving that chromatic note into the chord tone. Here’s how an approach note looks leading into the root of Em7. After playing this example, move it around the fretboard as you add an approach note below E notes on each string of the guitar. When you can do that, and have this concept in your ears, move on to the arpeggio exercises below. Audio Example 45

The first exercise adds an approach note below the root note of an Em7 arpeggio shape. After working this example in a few keys, move it to other positions, and then add approach notes below roots on other chords, such as maj7. Lastly, be sure to add approach notes below the root of any chord you’re soloing over as you take this concept to your improvisations.

Audio Example 46

You can also add approach notes below the 3rd of any arpeggio, such as the Em7 chord here. After you learn this, or any subsequent approach note, combine them together as you add two or more to any arpeggio in your solos. Audio Example 47

The next example places the approach note below the 5th of Em7. After working this exercise, take it to other keys, fingerings, and chord types in your practice routine. Then, when comfortable, jam over backing tracks and add approach notes below the 5th of any chord you’re soloing over.





Audio Example 48



The last exercise places an approach notes before the b7 of this Em7 chord in both octaves, up and down the shape. After learning this exercise in a few keys, take this approach note and apply it to other fingerings and other chord types, such as 7 and maj7. From there, put on backing tracks and solos using approach notes below 7th intervals to hear how this concept sounds in a musical situation. Audio Example 49







Pat Metheny Autumn Leaves Solo To finish your study of this Pat inspired line, you learn how to play a solo over the chords to Autumn Leaves using material from this eBook. Work each phrase one at a time, and then bring them together as you work on the solo as a whole. Once you can play the solo with a metronome, slowly, put on the audio track and play along to check your notes and timing. Then, put on the backing track and play the solo without the aid of the guide audio track. Lastly, write out your own Autumn Leaves chorus using lines and material from this eBook in your solo. Then, play that solo along with the backing track before improvising in the moment over that same track. Backing Track 1 Audio Example 50