notation guide

guitabulary

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BLUES EDITION

> Overview & Reference

Guitabulary - Special Blues Edition Play Killer Blues Guitar In Just 30 Days!

The Language of Blues Guitar

Learning how to play blues guitar is not rocket science. It's actually pretty easy to nail the basics. Think of it like you would a language made up of words, phrases and sentences. Every blues player (yes, everyone) learns and plays the same blues phrases, or "licks", but it's each player's individual personal expression, sound and style that makes that phrase their own. And here's the best part -- there's endless variations on the theme. Once you've learned a new phrase, you can tweak it by adding or removing notes, or adjusting the timing a bit and you'll wind up with ten more new blues licks to add to your vocabulary. Guitabulary teaches this language of blues guitar by equipping the student with over 350 blues phrases to choose from and learn.

Hey, Show Me That!

Very few of us have the time to learn how to read, master music theory, take lessons or even practice new material regularly. On the other hand, we'll take advantage of any opportunity to plug in for a few moments and jam to our heart's delight until sleep or the significant other calls. Most of us learn best when we're able to sit down with a teacher or bud and have them show us something that they just played that sparked our interest. That's what Guitabulary is all about -- a spontaneous and cognitive learning system for strummers like us.

New "Cognitive" Learning System

Guitabulary is the first quick-learning system for guitar to employ a "cognitive" format, which adapts itself as well to beginners as it does for advanced players. This study program is unlike anything you've ever seen. There's no beginning or end -- students cherry-pick their starting point. You do not need to read music. You do not need to learn theory. You don't even need to practice that hard. You do have to spend an hour a day, for 30 days, working on the elements that you've selected. It's even OK to skip a few days here and there as long as you retain the previous practice session's learning.

How It Works

Picture this: four world-class blues players and instructors come over to the house for a jam session. They bring a killer band along to lay down a diverse

range of blues jam tracks. The guitar players then take turns soloing over the tracks, each with their own style and "voice". Now here's the trick -- you get to stop them anytime that you hear something that you'd like to learn and they'll break it down for you note for note, slow then at tempo, and so on until you can claim that phrase or rhythm part as your very own. Guitabulary features ten killer blues solos broken down phrase-by-phrase (350 of 'em!), chord-by-chord, and technique-by-technique.

Have It Your Way

You select only the phrases and parts that most interest you and then work with the corresponding MP3 audio examples and instruction manual. There's full notation for those who want it and tablature for the rest of us. We illustrate every fingering and demonstrate every technique. The Guitabulary manual features 192 pages of chord sheets, charts, notation, tablature, fingering and improvisational theory in PDF format and can easily be printed out. Naturally, beginners would focus on the simpler phrases while the advanced players would tackle the more acrobatic parts. Fear not, there's plenty of material for players of all levels. And there's lots more to do after the first 30 days -- this Guitabulary edition provides over 100 hours worth of blues guitar instruction.

Lets Get Rigged!

If you’re reading this PDF manual then you’ve already got Adobe’s Acrobat Reader, which allows you to navigate Guitabulary’s manuals interactively. To get the latest version simply click here: Adobe Acrobat Reader

You’ll also need an MP3 player to play the audio files. Any player will work fine. Got one? Great, skip ahead. Need one? No problem – simply click on either of the following links to download one of our favorite free players: RealPlayer or Window Media Player

Guitabulary Elements

This volume of Guitabulary is packaged into 7 modules – each module contains a single PDF manual and a large selection of MP3 files. The first module is titled “Overview & Reference” (you’re in it now) and includes a notation guide, theory

you listen to all of the audio components of this section at least once, especially the six-step presentation. The next 5 modules each feature a blues track, corresponding rhythm guitar lesson, and two killer blues solos (by different artists), first played as whole solos and then broken down phrase-by-phrase, note-by-note. Each phrase is demonstrated slow and then again at tempo. All

manual an improvisational primer (Improv Theory). We highly recommend that

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material is transcribed in both standard notation and tablature with special notation showing fingering, scale positions and specific improvisational theory. The manuals and audio files are organized into individual folders for quick access and easy storage. The 7th module features a selection of bonus lessons that will round out your understanding and mastery of blues guitar.

Working With The Manuals

The electronic PDF Guitabulary manuals contains all of the features you’ll need to get the most out of Guitabulary. At the very least, you’ll refer to the manual for tablature and chord charts. But if you’re really into the details then you’ll find instructor commentary, notation, fingering, theory, rhythm charts, tonal charts and just about anything you could ask for that relates to the material being covered.

The best way to work with the manuals is electronically. Simply open the manual with Acrobat Reader and flip through the pages right on your computer screen using Reader’s easy viewing and linking features. We’ve linked all of the audio files to their corresponding sections in the manual so that you can instantly start playing the audio files without having to search through the file folders. Of course, you can also print the manuals out and then open the audio files manually if you prefer.

The following examples illustrate how the audio links work:

If you see text enclosed in a red rectangle, simply click within the rectangle and the audio player will boot up and then play the corresponding audio file. Go ahead and try it below (make sure you have your MP3 player installed and ready to go).

Bending Techniques

Whenever you see a Track ID icon, click on it and then the corresponding audio file will play. Go ahead and give that a try as well by clicking on the icon below:

Where To Start?

First explore to your hearts delight -- open up each individual module’s folders and get a feel for the manual and audio files contained within. Open up the manual and click on a few Track IDs and have a listen to some of the material. Flip through the theory section just for kicks and sample some of the six-step improvisational presentation. Play a few of the bonus lessons. In short, take inventory of what you’ve got available to you. Then pick one of the tracks to start working with and get busy. Play the rhythm track and jam over it. Browse through the commentary and theory section. Learn the rhythm guitar part. Listen to both solos and then pick out the licks that you’d like to make your own. Move on to the phrase-by-phrase section and then nail those licks. Go back to the rhythm track and try your licks over the track. Try your new licks over one of the other blues tracks. Mix and match. Tweak. Have fun.

Play Killer Blues Guitar In Just 30 Days!

The key to playing killer blues guitar in 30 days is simply organizing the time you spend with Guitabulary and sticking to a daily practice regimen. Spend a third of each practice session learning at least one new lick or trick. Spend another third reviewing your previous practice session’s new material. Then spend the final third having a little fun by jamming over the various tracks with your new arsenal of chops. Spend no more than 20 minutes a session on new material and then dedicate the rest of your time on review and jamming. It’s really that easy!

What to do on the 31st day? Dig in again. The intermediate player will find over 100 hours worth of blues guitar instruction contained within Guitabulary – that’s good for a year’s worth of woodshedding! Enjoy Guitabulary and please let us know how you’re doing and what you think of the system by emailing us at [email protected] - ignited we stand!

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NOTATION GUIDE

THEORY LESSON

Major Scales

Diatonic Chords andScale Degree Equivalents

The Formula Methodfor Chords and Scales

Scale Formulas

Tonal Colors

Parent Scale Concept

Scale Formula Fretboard Diagrams

Complete Harmony

Scale Possibilities

The Blues Composite Scale

Subsets of the Blues CompositeScale

How to Apply Scales andArpeggios

Scales and Arpeggios Applied to

Scales and Arpeggios Syllabusfor “Gimme an F”

HOW TO APPLY MASTER THEORY Q&A

SIX-STEP APPROACH TO IMPROVISATION

Contents 4

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NOTATION GUIDE: ANDY FRAZIER

2 G U I TA B U L A R Y, V O L U M E 1

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Notation GuideThese two pages show in detail the tablature notation used in Guitabulary. You will encounterthese techniques and articulations throughout. A printed transcription of the correspondingaudio is on pages 6–9. Audio demonstrations of the various techniques are indicated by a x.

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Right Hand Techniques

Harmonics

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Bending TechniquesThe guide starts off with Bending Techniques. Bendingis one of the expression techniques that guitar playersuse to give our playing a more vocal quality. Whenbending, it’s important to make sure that you’re notjust pushing up the string arbitrarily . . . usually there’sa target note that you want to reach. Here it’s indicatedin the notation by the second note E, which is connect-ed to that fretted D by that sort of angular slur. In thetab we use an arrow and an indication of the interval,or distance, between the bent and fretted notes. Here,it’s a full, or whole step, which means you're producinga note that sounds like the note 2 frets higher. If it said1/2, it would mean 1/2 step, like 1 fret higher. 1-1/2would be like 3 frets higher . . . you get the idea. Mostplayers like to hedge their bet a little in making surethey nail the note they’re after by using more than onefinger to produce the bend. Doing this bend, from D toE, I use my 3rd finger for the D, and put my secondfinger down behind it on the 6th fret to help with thepush. If I were using heavier strings, I might want touse three fingers . . . but with a bend less than maybe astep and a half, I like to keep my first finger free forwhatever might come after the bend.

Note that while the two notes are connected in pitch bythat kind of sliding, or slippery sound, they’re still dis-tinct in terms of timing. If it had said “even” between thetwo notes, I would have made a slower, more gradualbend, still taking the timing into consideration.

The second example is a grace note bend. The differ-ence here is one of timing. In the first example, the fret-ted note had a definite time value, here the fretted noteis used as more of a decoration for the bent note. Thedifference in the notation is pretty clear, it looks like aregular grace note . . . in the tab, it’s distinguished bythe fact that the arrow goes straight up, rather thancurved to the right.

The third example takes it one step further . . . onceyou’ve bent the note, now you want to hear the frettednote afterward. With this technique, you still only pickthe first note . . . hang onto the string while you releasethe bend and let the sustain articulate the 3rd note.

The next example is a pre-bend. This one’s a little tricki-er than the others, because you have to make sureyou’ve nailed the pitch of the bent note before youstrike it. Here I’d like to mention a practice tip that willnot only help you with this, but with all of the bendingtechniques where you’ll have to make sure the pitch isdead on. Choose a note you want to use as the frettednote, then one you’d like to bend to. Since the examplehere shows a C and a D on the G string, we’ll use those.Now, play the two notes normally, fretting both of them,

here on the 5th and 7th frets.

Now try it only fretting the first one, and bending up tothe second.

Now alternate between the two, and try to get it so ifsomeone weren’t looking, they couldn’t tell how youwere getting that second note.

This is a great way to get used to how far, in terms ofdistance, you need to bend with your guitar, your fin-gers, and your strings, to nail particular intervals.

The next example is something Brad likes to call a“smear.” It’s almost more of a tug than a bend . . . theidea is to bring the pitch up about a quarter tone, butnot necessarily exactly a quarter tone. It’s used mostoften in blues on the third degree of the scale or prevail-ing chord, to accentuate that ambiguity where the chordis major, but the scale is minor.

Next up is the unison bend. Here you fret two notes, ontwo adjacent strings, usually the notes are a whole stepor half step apart, and you bend the lower note up soits pitch matches that of the higher note.

Now we’ve got the compound bend and release. Hereyou’ve got to make sure your pitch accuracy is reallyon. This is when you’re picking only the first note,bending it to at least two more, then releasing it, eitherstraight down to the fretted note, or stopping on theway to sound a few of the notes in between the highestbent note and the fretted one.

The compound pre-bend is another tricky one. This is alot like the previous example, only now you’re pickingall of the notes. Again, pitch accuracy is crucial.

The next few examples involve double stop bends. Youcan create some really cool effects with these, fromsweet pedal-steel type sounds to really raunchy growls.I play the first one by laying my 3rd finger across the Band G strings at the 7th fret, then bending up. What’sinteresting about this is that you end up with somethingthat should be impossible: a bend that starts off with amajor 3rd interval between the notes, and ends up witha minor third . . . meaning you’re bending the G stringup a whole step, and the B string up a half. There’s noreally tough technique involved with this; it’s thephysics of the guitar that allows that to happen. Justconcentrate on getting that G string up a whole step,and the B string will do its job.

Next is a technique where you bend one note, andwhile it’s ringing, strike another note to form a doublestop (or diad . . . how’s that for a word?). I use my 2nd


and 3rd fingers to make the bend, and my 4th finger tograb that G on the B string.

This one’s similar to the last one, and also to the unisonbend . . . only here they’re not unison. Play the G andD together, then bend the D up to an E.

Vibrato is included under bending techniques becausetechnically you are bending the string, though withvibrato you’re not necessarily bending to a specificpitch. Here it’s helpful to be aware of timing. The mosteffective vibrato moves in time to the music . . . don’tjust shake the string.

Wide vibrato, as you might have guessed, is just a moreextreme version of regular vibrato, although, if you wereat a party full of guitar players, you may find yourself ina heated argument over whether you’re supposed tomake this vibrato wide enough to actually produce newnotes a half or whole step higher. Let your ears be yourguide on this one.

Vibrato TechniquesThe vibrato bar is another tool we can use to addexpressive power to our lines . . . from subtle shimmersto in-your-face growls and dive bombs. The first tech-nique presented here is the scoop, where you strike thestring with the bar down, and quickly release the barback up.

The dip is different from the scoop in that you firststrike the string, then quickly bring the bar down andback up.

When you use the bar melodically, you’re doing some-thing similar to what a trombone player does . . . and itsounds a lot like the compound bend and release tech-nique we’ve already covered. In this example, you strikethe fretted C, bring the bar down a half step to changethe pitch to B, then a whole step to A, then back up. Toget a feel for how your bar responds, you might want totry practicing this in the same way that was describedalong with pre-bends, where you alternate between fret-ting the target note and using the bar, until you can’ttell the difference.

Vibrato with the bar produces an effect similar to fingervibrato, except that it can be more pronounced. Again,keep timing in mind.

The bar flutter is a cool way to add a bit of insanity to anote. Strike the note, then flick the bar so it vibratesquickly on its own.

Diving to a non-specific pitch is a great way to end asolo, or to either accent the note you're diving on, or

really bring out the next note. Just strike the note andbring the bar down.

The bar pre-bend is another tricky one you may wantto practice before committing it to your major-labeldebut. Here you bring the bar down to a specific pitch,in this case down a step and a half from C to A, thenstrike the note.

The combination of harmonics and the bar can producesome great effects that can’t be produced any other way.As with bending and the melodic bar technique, you’llneed to make sure your pitch is dead on. For an incred-ible example of this technique in action, check out“Where Were You” on Jeff Beck’s “Guitar Shop.”

Finger Slides and GlissandosNext up is finger slides and glissandos. The first exampleshows a legato slide, where you only pick the first note,and then slide up to the second with the same finger.

The picked slide is similar, except that you pick bothnotes, still making sure you can hear the slidebetween them.

The descending slide to a nonspecific pitch is prettystraightforward . . . pick the note, and then glide yourfinger down a ways so you get a kind of “falling off”effect. Many times, the tempo of the tune, and possiblythe relative length of the diagonal line in the notationand tab will indicate how far down you should go.

An ascending slide from a nonspecific pitch is a greatway to bring out a note. Again, tempo and the length ofthe line can indicate how long the slide should be, butit’s really a feel thing.

Legato TechniquesNow we’ve got some legato techniques. The first is thevenerable hammer-on, where you pick the first note,then “hammer” down with your left-hand finger tosound the second note without picking it. Try to ham-mer hard enough to get that second note as clean andclear as the first. It also helps to make sure that you’reusing your fingerTIP, and not the side or the front.

The pull off is indicated on paper the same way as thehammer on . . . using that curved line we call a “slur.”The difference is that with a pull-off, the first note ishigher than the second. To get a feel for the technique,you may want to consider its name . . . go for a pull-off,rather than a lift-off. That way, you're actually pickingthe string with your left hand finger. As you get intosome more involved legato lines, though, you’ll want toget used to sounding the notes using more of a lift-offtechnique.



A trill is basically a rapid combination of the hammeron and pull off techniques. Pick the lower note, thenhammer on and pull off quickly. Although this can besubjective, many of the most effective applications ofthe trill technique have some relationship to the timingof the tune.

Legato phrasing is simply applying the hammer on andpull off techniques to the melody you’re playing, ratherthan picking each note. Pick the first note, then ham-mer the higher ones and pull off to the lower ones.Fingering can be a critical consideration here. In thisexample, I’m using my 1st finger for the C’s, 2nd fingerfor the D’s, and 4th finger for the E.

A hammer on from nowhere basically involves produc-ing a note without picking it, but just bringing your lefthand finger down on it hard enough to sound it clearly.This technique is most useful during extended legatolines that cross strings, where using the pick wouldinterrupt the fluid sound of the line.

Now we'll bring the picking hand into the action for thetapping technique . . . here you’ll pick the C, hammeron the D, then bring either the index or middle fingerof your picking hand over to hammer on the G. Therehave been arguments for centuries over which finger isbetter, and what to do with the pick while you’re tap-ping. Eddie Van Halen, one of the best known propo-nents of this technique, will roll the pick into his mid-dle finger, anchor his hand on the neck with his thumband little fingers, and tap with his index finger whenhe’s doing an extended passage. For a one-note tap likethis, many players (including Eddie), will keep the pickin its normal position and use the middle finger to pro-duce the note. This is kind of a comfort thing . . . dowhat feels best to you. A lot of times, for an extendedpassage, I’ll hold the pick between my teeth and use myindex finger for the tapping. Whatever works for you,go for it.

The bend and tap technique pretty much explainsitself by its name . . . pick a note, bend it up, andwhile it’s bent, tap a higher note. Since the string isbent while you’re doing the tap, it’s important to beaware that the note you tap will sound higher than itnormally would if it were just a fretted note. In thisexample, we're holding a whole step bend while tap-ping, so even though we're tapping on a G, it’ll soundlike an A.

The tap and slide technique could also be called thetap, slide and pull off technique. Here you start with atapped note, then slide up and pull off . . . how far youslide depends on how radical you want it to sound.

Right-Hand TechniquesNow we’ve got some right-hand techniques. The first isstandard up and down picking. This is the best way toget the most out of your picking technique . . . if youonly picked one way, you’d still have to go the otherway to get ready for the next stroke. With alternatepicking, you’re using that motion to its best advantage.

Sweep picking is most often used for arpeggios...that isplaying the individual notes of a chord successivelyrather than all together. If you talked to 10 differentguitarists, you’d get 10 different answers as to whetheryou should finger the notes ahead of time like a chord,or fret them individually just before the pick hits thestring. The basic idea is that you pick several notes onadjacent strings in rapid succession, using a singledownstroke or upstroke to glide from one string to thenext.

A rake is similar to a sweep in that you glide the pickacross the strings, only in this case, you're focusing onproducing a single note, and muting the other stringswith either your fretting hand, your picking hand, or acombination. I most often use a combination. This is agreat way to bring out an important note.

Rasgueado is kind of like a slow strum . . . but not tooslow. Here you want to add a little drama to the sound-ing of a chord by making the attack with your pickinghand a little more deliberate, quickly sounding eachindividual string.

Tremolo picking is another one that may cause a brawlat that party full of guitar players. The techniqueinvolves rapidly picking a single note. Some say youshould use your normal picking technique and just goreally fast, others say it’s more effective to use your armfor the picking motion and let it fly. The symbol mostoften seen in contemporary guitar music involves threediagonal lines under the note, meaning a “free” or“untimed” tremolo. What’s less often seen in today’s gui-tar notation, but may be useful (especially in triviagames), is that if there’s only one line, you divide thenote value in half (so if you saw a quarter note with oneline, you'd play 2 eighths) . . . if there’s two lines, youdivide it in quarters (so, there you’d play sixteenths).

Next is the pick scrape. An easy, but effective technique,where you scrape the strings with the side of your pick,either down (from the bridge area to the nut area) or up(from the nut area to the bridge area). This is anotherone where the exact length of the scrape is a feel thing.

Palm muting involves placing the side of your palm, thefleshy part between your pinky and your wrist, right onthe bridge. You’ll need to experiment with this one,


because if it’s too far behind the bridge, it’ll have noeffect . . . and if it’s too far in front, it’ll mute everything.

HarmonicsNext up on the guide is the topic of harmonics. First,we’ll look at natural harmonics . . . which involve plac-ing your fretting finger LIGHTLY at certain points alongthe string and then striking the note. When I say lightly,I mean really lightly . . . don’t press down at all, justtouch the string. The strongest harmonics are produceddirectly over the 12th, 7th, and 5th frets. You’ll alsooccasionally see fret indications like “2-2/3,” or “3-1/3.”When it’s just a fret indication, place your finger rightover the fret wire, not just behind it as you would whenplaying a normal note. When the indication involves afraction, many times it's subjective . . . you may need toexperiment, depending on your guitar, with the exactplacement of your finger to get the desired note. Theexample uses a cool application of the E minor penta-tonic scale with the 9th degree (F#) added . . . all withnatural harmonics.

The reason harmonics work has to do with the distancebetween the nut and the bridge . . . if you divide thatdistance by certain amounts, you get “node” pointswhere other notes can be sounded. Luckily, the way theguitar is designed, you can kind of cheat that system bycreating a moveable nut . . . namely your fretting finger.Just like you can produce a harmonic 12 frets above theopen string, you can do the same thing 12 frets aboveany fretted note. In this case, we’re fretting at the 7th,then 5th frets of the G string, (without picking them),then tapping quickly with the picking hand right on thefret wire 12 frets higher (at the 19th and 17th fretsrespectively). Don’t leave your picking hand fingerdown too long . . . just tap and move away. You mightalso want to try the other techniques that fall under thiscategory . . . try placing the index finger of your pickinghand at the harmonic location, and plucking the stringwith your thumb . . . there’s also the “harp harmonic”technique, where you put the heel of your hand at theharmonic location, and use the pick to strike the string.

Pinch harmonics are another great way to bring a noteout in a phrase. Hold your pick normally, and note thelittle corner between the pick and your thumb on theoutside edge (opposite your wrist) of the pick. If youget the string in that corner, and slightly angle yourhand so that when you're striking the string you catchnot only the pick but a bit of the flesh of your thumb,you can produce a pinch harmonic. Move along thestring between the neck and the bridge to find the bestharmonics . . . there are a bunch of them.

A tapped or touch harmonic is similar to the first varia-tion of the artificial harmonic technique, except that

this time, you’ll pick the regular fretted note first, andthen tap at the harmonic location.

Miscellaneous TechniquesThe last of the techniques we’ll be looking at don’t falleasily under any particular category, so we’ve calledthem “Miscellaneous.” First is the ghost note. This is anote almost felt more than heard . . . it’s produced byusing both the palm mute technique, and the frettinghand mute, which I’ll describe momentarily.

Staccato, technically, divides the written rhythmic valuein half . . . if you see an eighth note with a staccatomark, the idea is to play a sixteenth note followed by asixteenth note rest. You probably won’t need to be quitethat picky about it, though . . . in contemporary guitarusage, generally it means to play with choppy phrasing.

Marcato is like an extreme accent . . . dig into the note.Often it’s also helpful in getting the effect to cut the notejust shy of its written value.

The accent is pretty straightforward . . . dig in a little hard-er on the note, but not quite as much as with marcato.

Fret hand muting involves lifting your fingers upenough to mute the string, but not so much that youproduce a harmonic.

The analysis is there basically to give you a technicaland theoretical understanding of what you’re playing.The roman numeral tells you what the chord is relativeto the key, and the arabic numerals give you both a sug-gested left hand fingering, and they tell you what thenote is relative to the chord.

Timing variance is a subjective and stylistic devicewhere you can make the tune feel a little rushed byplaying ahead of the beat, that is, playing a little quickerthan the tempo, or you can make it feel a little morerelaxed by playing a little slower than the tempo . . .that’s playing behind the beat.

THEORY LESSON: BRAD CARLTON


Major ScalesThe chart at right lays out for you all thenotes in all major keys. The “Ws” and “ 1/2 s”across the top represent the intervals betweeneach of the notes—whole steps and half steps.The Roman numerals represent the degreesof the scales. For example, the third degree ofC major is E. The Greek words across thebottom are the names of the modes that beginon each degree. That is, if you wanted to playin the F Lydian mode, you’d use the notes ofthe C major scale, but treat F as the root.

Diatonic Chords andScale Degree EquivalentsThe next two charts show the chord qualities(major, minor, etc.) that result from buildingchords on each of the scale degrees. Thethird shows scale degree equivalents.

The Formula Method forChords and ScalesWhen using these formulas, always start withthe major scale of the prevailing chord orscale. Say you’re trying to figure out the notesin a D minor 9th chord. The chart at rightspecifies 1 (the root, “D” in this case), b3, 5,b7, and 9. The next note after the root weneed is a flatted third. Find the D major scalein the Major Scales chart above. Under theRoman numeral III on the chart you’ll findthe third of the D major scale—F#. Since thechord calls for a flatted third, we need tolower this note a half step, to F. You can findthe rest of the notes the same way—for thefifth and flatted seventh, look under “V” to get“A”, and under “VII” to get “C#”—rememberto flat this to “C”. For the ninth, you need togo beyond the first octave—since “VIII” is thesame note as “I,” “IX” (if it was there) wouldbe the same as “II”. The ninth we need, then,is “E.” You can build scales the same way—find the major scale with the root you need,and fill in other notes according to the chartin appendix III, flatting and sharping wherenecessary.

* b b7 = 6 (enharmonic equivalent)

• Major 7: I, IV• (Dominant) 7: V• Minor 7: II, III, VI• Minor 7 (b5): VII

Diatonic 7th ChordsDiatonic Triads

• Major: I, IV, V• Minor: II, III, VI• Diminished: VII

I

C

G

D

A

E

B

F#

C#

F

Bb

Eb

Ab

Db

Gb

Cb

Ionian

I I

D

A

E

B

F#

C#

G#

D#

G

C

F

Bb

Eb

Ab

Db

Dorian

I I I

E

B

F#

C#

G#

D#

A#

E#

A

D

G

C

F

Bb

Eb

Phrygian

IV

F

C

G

D

A

E

B

F#

Bb

Eb

Ab

Db

Gb

Cb

Fb

Lydian

V

G

D

A

E

B

F#

C#

G#

C

F

Bb

Eb

Ab

Db

Gb

Mixolydian

VI

A

E

B

F#

C#

G#

D#

A#

D

G

C

F

Bb

Eb

Ab

Aeolian

VII

B

F#

C#

G#

D#

A#

E#

B#

E

A

D

G

C

F

Bb

Locrian

VIII [I]

C

G

D

A

E

B

F#

C#

F

Bb

Eb

Ab

Db

Gb

Cb

Ionian

W 1/2 W W W 1/2W

Major Family of Chords(Maj)

(Maj) add 9

(Maj) 6

(Maj) 6/9

Maj 7

Maj 9

Maj 13 (Maj 7/6/9)

Maj 7/6

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

5

5

5

5

5

5

5

5

9

6

6

7

7

7

6

9

9

9

7

13

Dominant Family of Chords(Dom) 7

(Dom) 7/6

(Dom) 9

(Dom) 13

(Dom) 7 sus 4

(Dom) 7/6 sus 4

(Dom) 9 sus 4 or 11

(Dom) 13 sus 4

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

3

3

3

3

4

4

4

4

5

5

5

5

5

5

5

5

b7

6b7b7b7

6b7b7

b7

9

9

b7

9

9

13

13

Minor Family of ChordsMinor

Minor add 9

Minor 6

Minor 6/9

Minor 7

Minor 9

Minor 11

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

b3b3b3b3b3b3b3

5

5

5

5

5

5

5

9

6

6b7b7b7

9

9

9 11

Other Chord Types“5” (power chord)

sus 2

sus 4

add 9 sus 4

Minor 7 ( b5 )

Diminished 7th

Augmented

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

5

2

4

4b3b3

3

5

5

5b5b5#5

9b7bb7*

• 9 = 2• 11 = 4• 13 = 6

Scale Degree Equivalents

Altered Extensions:Extensions: • b9 = b2• #9 = #2 (enharmonic with b3)• #11 = #4 (enharmonic with b5)• b13 = b6 (enharmonic with #5)

IMPROV THEORY


Scale FormulasApply the scale formulas to the major scalewhose root (1) is the same as the root of thescale you wish to spell. For example, to spella G Mixolydian mode, apply the formula1 2 3 4 5 6 b7 from the Major Scalesformula chart to the G major scale, whichyields: G A B C D E F.

Strongest tone (root)

Very strong (e.g. Power chords areroot-fifth)

Strong Major sound

Brings out the blues sound(dominant sound)

Brings out minor sound. Also acts as ablue note against dominant 7 harmony. Theb3 wants to resolve to the 3

Not as strong as previous tones

Jazzy, not as strong as previous tones

Sus4 sound

Blue note, sinister sound, wants toresolve up to 5 or down to 4 for bluessound

Pretty, major 7 sound, tends toresolve upward to 1

Weak tone, resolves down to 5 or up to b7

Tension tone, resolves down to 1

13

5b7

b3 (#9)

6 (13)

2 (9)4 (11)#4 (b5)

7

b6 (#5)b2 (b9)

* Mixolydian b6 is not illustrated in the Scale Formula Diagrams. To form this scale, take theMixolydian mode and flat the sixth.

Ionian (Major Scale)

Dorian

Phrygian

Lydian

Mixolydian

Aeolian

Locrian

Major Pentatonic

Minor Pentatonic

Blues

Blues Composite

Harmonic Minor

Phrygian Dominant

Melodic Minor

Lydian Augmented

Overtone (Lydian b7)

Mixolydian b6 (Aeolian Major)

Super Locrian (Altered Dominant)

Half Step/Whole Step Diminished

Whole Step/Half Step Diminished

Whole Tone

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

2

2b2

2

2

2b2

2

2

2b2

2

2

2

2b2b2

2

2

3b3b3

3

3b3b3

3b3b3b3 3b3

3b3

3

3

3b3b3 3b3

3

4

4

4#4

4

4

4

4

4 #4

4 #4

4

4

4#4#4

4b4#4

4 #4#4

5

5

5

5

5

5b5

5

5

5

5

5

5

5#5

5

5b5

5#5#5

6

6b6

6

6b6b6

6

6b6b6

6

6

6b6b6

6

6

7b7b7

7b7b7b7

b7b7b7

7b7

7

7b7b7b7b7

7b7

*

Tonal ColorsStrive to hear each of these tones against allharmonic situations:

Parent Scale ConceptModes are “offspring” of the major scale,which is the “parent”.

Ex. 1: D Dorian contains the same notes asthe C major scale. It can be thought of as a Cmajor scale played from D to D.

Ex. 2: Ab Lydian is an Eb major scale playedfrom Ab to Ab.

Ex. 3: The parent of B Mixolydian is E major.

In many situations, you can mix modes formore colors. For example, over dominant 7chords in blues, you can use both Dorianand Mixolydian, or Blues Composite, whichcontains the Dorian and Mixolydian notes.Finally, remember that whatever exists in theparent scale (chords, clusters, pentatonicsub-scales, etc.) also exists in offspring modes.Examine these and try all of the possibilities.

Scale Formulas

Ionian

Dorian

Phrygian

Lydian

Mixolydian

Aeolian

Locrian

Overtone

Phrygian Dominant

Pretty, Major sound—”Do, Re, Mi“ etc.

Jazzy Minor sound

Spanish Flamenco sound

Bright Major sound

Bluesy Major sound

Darker Minor sound

Very Dark Minor 7b5 sound

Bright Dominant 7 sound

Spanish Flamenco sound

Each mode has a color. Learn to hear these colors:

Mode Colors



Scale Formula Fretboard DiagramsThese diagrams are all in G. You can transpose themto other keys by moving the root (the “1”) to the noteyou need, and moving everything else relative to that.For example, If you wanted to play B b, you’d moveeverything up three frets. The notes on the E and Astrings are shown at the bottom of page 11 to helpyou find the roots you need.

Blues DorianMajor Pentatonic Minor Pentatonic

6 2 5 1 3 6

3 6 21 5 1

32 5 1 6 2

3 6 2 5 31

3 65 1 2 5

6 2 5 1 3 6

b7 b3 4 b75 1

1 4 b7 b3 5 1

5 1 4b3 b7 b3

54 b7 b3 1 4

5 1 4 b7 5b3

5 1

6 2 5 1 3 6

7 3 6 2 #4 71 5 1

#4 7 32 5 1 6 2

#43 6 2 5 7 3

1#4 7 3 6 #45 1 2 5

#4 76 2 5 1 3 6

b7 b3 4 b76 2 5 1 6

6 21 4 b7 b3 5 1

2 5 1 4 6 2b3 b7 b3

6 2 54 b7 b3 1 4

65 1 4 b7 2 5

b36 2 5 1 6

b7 b3 4 b75 1

#41 4 b7 b3 5 1

#45 1 4

b3 #4 b7 b35

4 b7 b3 1 4#4 #45 1 4 b7 5

#4 b35 1

46 2 5 1 3 6

7 3 6 2 71 4 5 1

7 32 5 1 4 6 2

3 6 2 5 7 34 1 4

7 3 65 1 4 2 5

76 2 5 1 3 6

Ionian (Major Scale) Lydian

b7 b3 b6 4 b72 5 1

21 4 b7 b3 5 1

b62 5 1 4 2b3 b6 b7 b3

2 54 b7 b3 b6 1 4

5 1 4 b7 2 5b6 b3 b6

2 5 1

b7 b3 b6 b2 4 b75 1

1 4 b7 b3 5 1b2 b6 b2

5 1 4b3 b6 b2 b7 b3

54 b7 b3 b6 1 4

b25 1 4 b7 5b6 b2 b3 b6

5 1

b7 b3 b6 b2 4 b71

b51 4 b7 b3 1b2 b5 b6 b2

1 4b3 b6 b2 b5 b7 b3

4 b7 b3 b6 1 4b5 b2 b5

1 4 b7b6 b2 b5 b3 b6

1

b7 4 b76 2 5 1 3 6

3 6 21 4 b7 5 1

32 5 1 4 6 2

b73 6 2 5 34 b7 1 4

3 65 1 4 b7 2 5

6 2 5 1 3 6

Locrian MixolydianAeolian (Natural Minor) Phrygian


Notes on the E and A Strings

b7 b3 b6 b2 b71

b4 b51 b7 b3 1b2 b5 b4 b6 b2

1b3 b6 b2 b5 b7 b3b4 b4

b7 b3 b6 1b5 b4 b2 b5

1 b7b6 b2 b5 b3 b6

1 b4

b7 b3 b2 b76 5 1 3 6

3 6 #41 b7 b3 5 1b2 #4 3 b2

5 1 6b3 b2 #4 b7 b33 6 5 3

b7 b3 1#4 3 6 b2 #45 1 b7 5

b2 #4 b36 5 1 3 6

#56 2 1 3 6

7 3 6 2 #4 71 1

#4 7 3 #52 1 6 2

#5 #43 6 2 7 3

#5 1#4 7 3 6 #4

1 2#5 #4 7 #56 2 1 3 6

b3 b6 42 5 1

7 2 71 4 b3 5 1

7 b62 5 1 4 2b3 b6 b3

2 5 74 b3 b6 1 4

75 1 4 2 5b6 7 b3 b6

2 5 1

b3 #5 46 2 1 6

7 6 2 #4 71 4 b3 1

#4 7 #52 1 4 6 2b3 #5 #4 b3

6 2 74 b3 #5 1 4#4 7 6 #4

1 4 2#5 #4 7 b3 #56 2 1 6

b7 #5 b72 1 3

3 2 #41 b7 1

#4 3 #52 1 2

#5 #4 b73 2 3

b7 #5 1#4 3 #4

1 b7 2#5 #4 #5

2 1 3

b7 b76 2 5 1 3 6

3 6 2 #41 b7 5 1

#4 32 5 1 6 2

#4 b73 6 2 5 3

b7 1#4 3 6 #45 1 b7 2 5

#46 2 5 1 3 6

b7 b3 4 b76 2 5 1 3 6

3 6 2 #41 4 b7 b3 5 1

#4 32 5 1 4 6 2b3 #4 b7 b33 6 2 5 34 b7 b3 1 4#4 3 6 #45 1 4 b7 2 5

#4 b36 2 5 1 3 6

b7 b6 b2 4 b75 1 3

31 4 b7 5 1b2 3 b6 b2

5 1 4b6 b2 b7

3 5 34 b7 b6 1 4

3 b25 1 b7 5b6 b2 b6

5 1 3

b3 46 2 5 1 6

7 6 2 71 4 b3 5 1

72 5 1 4 6 2b3 b3

6 2 5 74 b3 1 4

7 65 1 4 2 5

7 b36 2 5 1 6

Whole/Half Diminished Whole ToneSuper Locrian Half/Whole Diminished

Overtone Blues Composite Phrygian Dominant Melodic Minor

Lydian Augmented Harmonic Minor

4

b4

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12E F F#/Gb G G#/Ab A A#/Bb B C C#/Db D D#/Eb E

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12A A#/Bb B C C#/Db D D#/Eb E F F#/Gb G G#/Ab A



By looking at the major family of chords on page 8, you can readily see that all of the chords inthis family can be built from a C major scale.

Complete HarmonyTo readily see the harmonic possibilities for any scale, view the scale in thirds instead ofseconds. The name for a scale in thirds is an heptatonic arpeggio. For example:

By comparing the chord formulas on page 8 with the scale formulas on page 9, scalepossibilities for any chord will be revealed. Blues and certain tension situations in jazz require adifferent approach than just “matching up the numbers.” An understanding of tonal colors ofdifferent notes is necessary to develop a tonal palette for these styles. A brief overview of theblues composite scale will reveal some possibilities.

Scale PossibilitiesAny of the chords in the minor family would be contained in the dorian mode. It’s all a matterof viewing chords as subsets of the larger set, which is the scale (mode). This would mean,then, that the dominant family chords containing a 4th would accept the dorian mode. Likewise,the power chord, sus2, sus4, and add9 sus4 chords would also accept the dorian mode.

C

1

D

2

E

3

F

4

G

5

A

6

B

7

C Major (Ionian) in Seconds

C

1

E

3

G

5

B

7

D

9

F

11

A

13

C Major in Thirds (C Major Heptatonic Arpeggio)

A

1

B

2

Cb3

D

4

E

5

F

6

Gb7

A Dorian Mode in Seconds

A

1

Cb3

E

5

Gb7

B

9

D

11

F#

13

A Dorian Mode in Thirds (A Dorian Heptatonic Arpeggio)

Blues Composite ScaleThe blues composite scale maybe viewed as the sum of themajor pentatonic scale( 1 2 3 5 6 ) and the bluesscale ( 1 b3 4 #4 5 b7 ):

1 2 b3 3 4 #4 5 6 b7

As a scale by itself, it isn’t veryeffective, due largely to thechromaticism between the 2and the 5. The real secret iswhat this scale contains.

Subsets of theBlues Composite Scale You might think these are justvarious groups of numbers,but each subset of the bluescomposite scale has its owntonal color. Knowing these willenable you to weave a bluessolo from sweet to gritty. In allformulas, #4 and b5 are usedinterchangeably. Half-whole diminished and whole-tone scales each contain one note which is not in the blues composite scale. These two scales are

used for “outside” jazz/blues playing.

Sub-Scales of the Blues Composite Scale

Chromatic

Blues Composite

Blues

Minor Pentatonic

Major Pentatonic

Mixolydian

Dorian

Major Pentatonic add 4

Major Pentatonic add b3

Minor Pentatonic add 3

Blues add 3

Mixolydian add b3

Mixolydian add b5

Dorian add b5

Minor 6 add 4


Overtone

Half-Whole Diminished

Whole-Tone

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

b9b2#1

b2

9

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

#9b3#2b3b3b3

b3

b3b3b3b3

b3b3b3

b3

10

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

11

4

4

4

4

4

4

4

4

4

4

4

4

4

4

#11b5#4#4#4

#4

#4#4

#4#4#4

12

5

5

5

5

5

5

5

5

5

5

5

5

5

5

5

5

5

5

b13b6#5

#5

13

6

6

6

6

6

6

6

6

6

6 b7

6

6

6

b7b7b7b7

b7b7

b7b7b7b7

b7b7b7b7

7


All arpeggios are written ina condensed formula (i.e.9=2, 11=4, 13=6, etc.).This allows for an easiercomparison to scales.

9

11

13b9#9

#11b13

is the octave of 2

is the octave of 4

is the octave of 6

is the octave of b2

is the octave of #2 (b3)

is the octave of #4 (b5)

is the octave of b6 (#5)

Arpeggios and Modified Arpeggios Contained within the Blues Composite Scale

Remember . . .

Chromatic

7

7/6

9

13

7 add b3 (7#9)

7/6 add b3 (13#9)

9 add b3

13 add b3

7 add b5

7/6 add b5

9 add b5 (9#11)

13 add b5 (13#11)

7 add b3 add b5

7/6 add b3 add b5

9 add b3 add b5

13 add b3 add b5

Minor

Minor add 9

Minor 6

Minor 6/9

Minor 7

Minor 7/6

Minor 9

Minor 11

Diminished Triad

Minor 7b5

Minor 7b5/11

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

b9b2#1

9

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

#9b3#2

b3b3b3b3

b3b3b3b3b3b3b3b3b3b3b3b3b3b3b3

10

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

11

4

4

4

#11b5#4

#4#4#4#4#4#4#4#4

b5b5b5

12

5

5

5

5

5

5

5

5

5

5

5

5

5

5

5

5

5

5

5

5

5

5

5

5

5

b13b6#5

13

6

6

6

6

6

6

6

6

6

6

6

6

b7b7b7b7b7b7b7b7b7b7b7b7b7b7b7b7b7

b7b7b7b7

b7b7

7

A Tonal Spectrum of Scales Commonly Used when Soloing over Dominant BluesMajor Pentatonic

Major Pentatonic add 4

Mixolydian

Major Pentatonic add b3

Mixolydian add b3

Mixolydian add b5


Blues add 3


Minor 6 add 4 Arpeggio

Dorian

Minor Pentatonic

Dorian add b5

Blues

1 2 3 5 6

1 2 3 4 5 6

1 2 3 4 5 6 b7

1 2 b3 3 5 6

1 2 b3 3 4 5 6 b7

1 2 3 4 #4 5 6 b7

1 b3 3 4 5 b7

1 b3 3 4 #4 5 b7

1 2 b3 4 5 b7

1 b3 4 5 6

1 2 b3 4 5 6 b7

1 b3 4 5 b7

1 2 b3 4 #4 5 6 b7

1 b3 4 #4 5 b7

Contained inMxolydian

1 2 3 4 5 6 b7

Contained inDorian

1 2 b3 4 5 6 b7

1–Mixolydian add b3 same as Dorian add 3.2–Minor Pentatonic add 2 same as Minor 11 Arpeggio.3–Minor 6 add 4 Arpeggio same as Dominant 9 Arpeggio a perfect fourth higher.4–Minor Pentatonic same as Minor 7/11 Arpeggio.

1

2

3

4

“Soft” BluesMore Major,

SweeterCountry

JazzyBluesy

“Hard” BluesMore Minor,

Bluesier

Each of the scales above is contained within the Blues Composite Scale.

A Tonal Spectrum of Dominant Arpeggios

1 3 5 b7

7 7/6 9 13

1 3 5 6 b7 1 3 5 b7 9 1 3 5 6 b7 9 13

Each of the dominant family arpeggios above may have the b3 and/or the b5 added toform scale possibilities.

color or sound



How to Apply Scales and ArpeggiosThe following diagrams are examples of various scales (thispage) and arpeggios (opposite) that could be applied to thechords in “Gimme an F” (F, Bb, C). They are plotted out inone general area of the guitar neck. Try using this approachwhen you are preparing for soloing over a tune. Otherapproaches are: Playing up and down just one string, play-ing diagonally across the fingerboard, playing on non-adja-cent strings, etc. On page 16 are some optional arpeggiosfor use over the C7 in “Gimme an F.” The more varied yourvisualization of information on the neck, the more optionsyou’ll have and the more freedom you’ll have to be creative(and the less likely you’ll fall into ruts!). Now you’ll be ableto apply these concepts to the other tunes in Guitabularyusing the Guitabulary guide.

F Major Pentatonic

Scales

6 2 5 1 3 6

3 6 2

1 5 1

10fr

Bb Major Pentatonic

3 6 2 5 3

1

3 6

5 1 2 5

10fr

C Major Pentatonic

3

2 5 1 6 2

3 6 2 5 3

1

9fr

F Blues

b5

5 1b7 b3 4 b7

#4

1 4 b7 b3 5 1#4

9fr

F Blues Composite

#4

6 2 5 1 3 6b7 b3 4 b7

3 6 2 #4

1 4 b7 b3 5 1#4

10fr

Bb Blues Composite

b3 b5 b7 b3

3 6 2 5 3

4 b7 b3 1 4#4 3 6 #4

5 1 4 b7 2 5#4

6

9fr

C Blues Composite

b7 b3b5 3

2 5 1 4 6 2b3 #4 b7 b3

3 6 2 5 3b7 b3 1

3

8fr

C Blues

b5

5 1 4b3 #4 b7 b3

5

4 b7 b3 1 4#4 #4

5

9fr

applicable to “Gimme an F” in one general area of the guitar neck:


Arpeggios

Bb 7/6

3 6 5 3b7 1

3 6

5 1 b7 5

10fr

C7/6

3

5 1 6b7

3 6 5 3b7 1

3

9fr

F9

2 5 1 3b7 b7

3 2

1 b7 5 1

10fr

Bb9

3 2 5 3b7 1

3

5 1 b7 2 5

10fr

C9

3

3

2 5 1 2b7

3 2 5 3b7 1

9fr

F13

2 5 1 3b7 b7

3 2

6 6

6

1 b7 5 1

10fr

Bb13

3 6 2 5 3b7 1

3 6

5 1 b7 2 5

10fr

C13

3

2 5 1 6 2b7

3 6 2 5 3b7 1

3

9fr

F7

5 1 3b7 b7

3

1 b7 5 1

10fr

Bb7

3 5 3b7 1

3

5 1 b7 5

10fr

C7

3

5 1b7

3 5 3b7 1

3

9fr

F7/6

6 5 1 3 6b7 b7

3 6

1 b7 5 1

10fr

applicable to “Gimme an F” in one general area of the guitar neck:



C aug

1 1

3 #5

1#5

3 3#5 1

3

8fr

3

3

1 b7

1#5

3

b7

3b7 #5 1

8fr

C 7#9#5C 7#5

1 b7 #9

3

1#9 #5 b7 #9

3 3b7 #9 #5 1

3

8fr

Optional Arpeggios

Scale and Arpeggio Syllabusfor “Gimme an F”The outline below is a brief overview of some optionsfor soloing over “Gimme an F.”

I. Over F7 use F Blues Composite, which contains thesesub-scales and arpeggios:

A) F Minor PentatonicB) F BluesC) F Major PentatonicD) F Major Pentatonic add b3E) F Minor Pentatonic add 3F) F Blues add 3G) F DorianH) F MixolydianI) F Dorian add 3 (F Mixolydian add b3)J) F 7K) F 7/6L) F 9M) F 13

II. Over Bb7 use mode III of the F Blues Scale

III. Over Bb7 use Bb Blues Composite, which containsthese sub-scales and arpeggios:

A) Bb Blues add 3B) Bb MixolydianC) Bb Minor Pentatonic add 3D) Bb Dorian add 3 (Bb Mixolydian add b3)E) Bb Major Pentatonic F) Bb Major Pentatonic add 3G) Bb7H) Bb7/6I) Bb9 J) Bb13

IV. Over C7 use Use Mode V of the F Blues Scale

V. Over C7 use Use C Blues Composite, whichcontains these sub-scales and arpeggios:

A) C BluesB) C Blues add 3C) C MixolydianD) C Minor PentatonicE) C Minor Pentatonic add 3F) C DorianG) C Dorian add 3 (C Mixolydian add b3)H) C Major PentatonicI) C Major Pentatonic add b3J) C7K) C7/6L) C9M) C13

VI. Over C7 you may also use these arpeggios:A) Bb Blues add 3B) Bb MixolydianC) Bb Minor Pentatonic add 3

VII. When applying a scale or mode such as Dorianor Mixolydian over any of the three chords in “Gimmean F”, try intervals, triads, 7th chords and pentatonicsub-scales that reside within these scales or modes.

*b3 and/or b5 added to these arpeggios will formmodified arpeggios.

for use over the C7 in “Gimme an F”:

AR

PE

GG

IOS*

SU

B-S

CA

LE

S

AR

PE

GG

IOS*

SU

B-S

CA

LE

SA

RP

EG

GIO

S*

SU

B-S

CA

LE

S


How To Apply Master Theory

Q: What are the notes in the key of A?A: In the Major Scales chart on page 8, find “A” in thefar left column and read from left to right:

A B C# D E F# G# A

Q: What is the 7th in the key of F?A: In the Major Scales chart on page 8, find “F” in thefar left column. Scan across to the VII column, whereyou’ll find “E”.

Q: What is the II chord in the key of G and what notesare contained in it?A: In the Major Scales chart on page 8, find “G” in thefar left column. Scan across to the II column, whereyou’ll find “A.” This is the root note of the II chord inthe key of G. To find the other two notes in this triad,read every second column. The spelling of the II chordin the key of G is: A C E. The Diatonic Triads box onpage 8 indicates that the II chord is minor. Therefore,the II chord in the key of G is Am.

Q: What is a VI-V-IV progression in the key of C?A: In the Major Scales chart on page 8, go to the keyof C in the far left column. Scan across to find the notesin the VI, V, and IV columns. This will yield the notesA G F. Go to the Diatonic Triads box on page 8 andlocate VI, V, IV and their respective chord qualities. AVI-V-IV progression in the key of C would be: Am G F.

Q: What is the b5 in the key of Bb?A: In the Major Scales chart on page 8, go to the keyof Bb in the far left column. Scan across to the V columnand flat that note. The b5 in the key of Bb is Fb.

Q: What is the 11th in the key of E?A: On page 8, find the chart labeled Scale DegreeEquivalents For Extensions Beyond One Octave. Noticethat 11=4. This means that 11 is one octave higher than4; They are the same letter name. In the Major ScalesChart, go to the key of E in the far left column and scanacross to the IV column. The 11th in the key of E is A.

Q: What are the mode names listed across the bottom ofthe Major Scales chart?A: They are names given to scales that are the sameseries of notes as the major scale but that differ in theirstarting and ending points. For example, the notes inthe key of C are:

C D E F G A B C

This is called a C major scale of the C Ionian mode. Bytaking this same scale and starting and ending on D, theD Dorian mode is formed:

D E F G A B C D

This process can be applied to each of the seven differ-ent scale degrees of the major scale, thus creating themodes. If you know how to play a major scale, youknow how to play modes. Just start and end on theappropriate scale degrees. See the Parent Scale Conceptsection on page 9 for more information on the modes.Also, be aware that the concept of modes can beapplied to any scale.

Q: How do I know what mode or scale to use over agiven chord?A: The sound of each mode corresponds to the harmo-ny built off each scale degree of the major scale. Thusthe ionian, lydian and mixolydian modes are major intonality, and the dorian, phrygian and aeolian modesare minor. Consult the tonal color chart next to theParent Scale Concept on page 9 for clarification on thissubject. The most thorough way to know your optionsis to determine the spelling of the chord you wish tosolo over and then view the arpeggio as a subset of theapplicable scales. Here’s an example: Let’s say you wantto solo over an F Major 9 chord. First go to page 8 and locate the formula for a major 9 chord. This wouldbe 1 3 5 7 9. Apply this formula to the key of F onpage 8. The spelling for an F major 9 would be: FA C E G. Take the formula 1 3 5 7 9 and compare it tothe scale formulas on page 9. The only scales thathave the numbers 1 3 5 7 9(2) as a subset are ionianand lydian. Applying the formulas for these scales to thekey of F on page 8 spells the following:

F Ionian F G A Bb C D E FF Lydian F G A B C D E F

Since the major pentatonic scale on page 9 is asubset of both the ionian and lydian modes, it wouldalso be applicable in this soloing situation by examiningall of the chords that could be built off of each degree ofboth the F Ionian and F Lydian models a completeoverview of your options would exist.

Q: Will the numbers always match up when I’m com-paring chord formulas to scale formulas?A: Not always, because of Blue notes and altered ten-sions over dominant family chords. Also, the issue ofimplied extensions and/or tensions is a consideration.For example, if you were going to solo over a G7 chordin a blues situation you would apply the G blues com-posite scale. Page 8 lists the formula for a Dom 7chord as 1 3 5 7. On page 9 you can see that 1 3 5b7 is a subset of the blues composite 1 2 b3 3 7 #7 5 6b7. The next issue at hand would be to examine all ofthe subsets contained within the blues composite scale.This is listed on pages 12 and 13. Page 13 presentstonal color evaluations for the blues compositescale and dominant arpeggios, respectively. If the G7



Q: Do subjects in music theory ever have more than onelabel?A: Yes. Some examples of this can be seen by comparingformulas:

Maj 6/9 arpeggio= maj pent scaleMin 7/11 arpeggio= min pent scale

Aeolian mode= pure minor scale = minor scale = rela-tive minor scale

7 add b3 arpeggio = 7#9 arpeggio

b

Q: What are Blues notes and how do I treat them?A: As described on page 9 under tonal colors, blue

#b b

b

b

and then bending up slightly. This bend does not haveto be a complete half-step, thus it is frequently labeled a¼ step bend. A great deal of the expressive nature of theblues lies in these pitches between the b3 and 3. Thissame principle applies to the pitches between the 4 andthe 5. Here is a more theoretical analysis: The Dom 7chord has a 3 in it; Tension is produced when the b3 isplayed against it. This tension is resolved when you fol-low the b3 with the 3 (or bend part way to the 3).Complete resolution in not necessary, but if you dobend up, stop the string so that you don’t revert back toa tension situation (the b3). If you are playing over aminor chord, the 3 would be a wrong note. I don’t rec-ommend bending the b3 at all in this case.

Q: I can jam over one chord or chords that stay in onekey all day, but I hit a wall when the key changes. Howcan I conquer this?A: Many times when the tonal center or key of themoment changes, there are many common tones. Thesecan be used to bridge the chord changes. Ultimately,though, you should learn which notes change and usethem as targets; depending upon whether they arestrong chord tones. Example: C maj 7 to B6 13 sus 4

C7 is spelled C E G BScale choices are C Ionian: C D E F G A B

and/or C Lydian: C D E F# G A B

Bb 13 sus 4 is spelled: Bb Eb F Ab C GScale choice is Bb Mixolydian: Bb C D Eb F G Ab

Common tones: C D G and possible F if C Ionian isused.

Notes that change: B moves to Bb

A moves to Ab

E moves to Eb

Q: If I’m improvising over chords that are all built fromthe same major scale, can I just visualize the major scaleon my instrument and solo?A: Yes, you can do this as long as you have your ears onand it’s a great way to get started improvising. Theproblem with this approach is that it doesn’t provide forthe definition of the harmony in your solo. The prevail-ing chord defines the mode, so you need to be aware ofthe changes. For example, let’s say you were playingover the following changes:

Am F C Gkey of C VI IV I V

Aeolian Lydian Ionian Mixolydian(C Major )

You can see how the modes change with each chordchange, even though you’re theoretically in C majorthroughout. If you were to practice playing the C scalefrom A to A for A Aeolian; F to F for F Lydian; C to Cfor C Ionian; and G to G for G Mixolydian, then youcould change modes quite easily. The best approachwould be to learn the arpeggios for each of the chords,and use them as a melodic framework upon which youcould then build using the remaining notes in eachmode. Remember, you should be able to hear the chordchanges in your single note solo.

Q: I find it easier to think in a particular mode(like Dorian) even when I’m not soloing over a minorchord. Is this OK?A: This approach has its place and can produce someinteresting sounds, as you’re not targeting the root ofthe prevailing chord. This should be used as an addi-tional technique to the principle of thinking off theprevailing chord’s root; not in place of it.

chord you were going to solo over was part of a pro-gression where it was resolving to another chord asopposed to being the "home base" for a blues you would need to consider any possibletensions or altered tones that might be occurring inother instrument part (real) or that may be implied bythe progression. This is an “ear thing” and it comes with experience.

D = c/d = Am 7/dEm 7 5 = Gm 6 = B 5 = C9 (without root)

notes are the 4( 5), the 3 when played over a domi-nant chord that contains the 3 and the 7 which rein-forces the Dom sound. When playing over a Dom 7chord in which the 3 is present or implied, a very effec-tive vocal inflection can be applied by playing the 3

b6 b


Six-Step Approach to Improvisation

1. Identify the chords you wish to solo over. The har-mony will determine what scales are available forimprovisation.

2. Determine the spelling of the chord by applying thechord formula to the major scale that has the same rootas the chord. The resulting group of notes will be thearpeggio of the chord. Use the arpeggio as a skeletalframework for your solo.

3. Determine which scales contain the chord by com-paring formulas. In dominant blues situations thiswould include the use of the b3 over the 3.

4. Be aware of all subsets which reside within the scales.These would include arpeggios, pentatonic scales andclusters.

5. Apply chromaticism through the use of passingtones, upper and lower neighbors, suspension, anticipa-tion, and various ornamentation. Chromaticism mayalso be applied to produce outside playing through theuse of scales not rooted against the prevailing chord.

6. Hear the tonal colors produced in all situations.

NOTES:

guitabularyVolume 1

GUITABULARY CREDITS

Producers: George Harris, Brad CarltonExecutive Producer: Brad WendkosEngineers: Chris Duffecy, George HarrisTranscriptions: Andy Frazier, Brad CarltonEngraving: Andy Frazier

Guitar: Barry Greene, Steve Petrey, BradCarlton, George HarrisBass: Tim GeorgeDrums: Dave ReinhardtKeyboards: Ron Reinhardt

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