Pat Martino's book Linear Expressions (in other words, convert everything to minor!)

**heavyblues** · 06-03-2010, 07:24 PM

Pat Martino's book Linear Expressions gives a sort of 'shortcut' for improvisation where chords and their corresponding modes can be converted to minor so that only minor chords and the minor scale are used to play over changes.

It is an interesting book, which includes a bunch of licks. I wanted to open discussion for anybody who has used this book as a reference or even exclusively as a guide for soloing.

I find it interesting that he uses a minor scale to play over altered chords. Anybody here heard of the book or used it?

**derek** · 06-04-2010, 10:58 AM

While I don't have his book, I have his dvds and have read a few articles on his approach over the years. The is another site with a Pat thread, and he posts there from time to time, and will answer questions. It is a useful approach, though I am not sure I would call it a shortcut.

**gersdal** · 06-04-2010, 01:12 PM

I've used the book to some extent, and I do recommend buying it. I've also tried to learn minorizing while improvising. It's ok, but I'm more comfortable so far with other approaches. The good thing is that there is fewer patterns to learn. The downside is that you have to remember which minor fits each chord. "A G7 comming up, is it a dominant 7, or just a G7? Oh, it's a dominant 7, so I can use any Dm scale (D dorian, D melodic minor, or D harmonic minor) or Ab melodic minor....? I guess I go for D melodic minor .... Hey, have the saxofonist started his solo already? Where did my chorus go?"

Well, I guess with a bit more practice it will work ok.

**Bill C** · 06-04-2010, 01:16 PM

I spent some time shedding some of the lines in this book and found it had quite an influence on my improvising - more obviously so than transcribing solos etc

**mr. beaumont** · 06-04-2010, 02:04 PM

"this stuff reads like stereo instructions"

**derek** · 06-04-2010, 02:51 PM

Originally Posted by mr. beaumont

"this stuff reads like stereo instructions"

A Beetlejuice reference! You don't see one of those everyday.

**mr. beaumont** · 06-04-2010, 03:32 PM

I'm glad you got it...there's people out there like me who absolutely love that movie, and those who definitely don't...

I recently used the "dark room" line with one of my high school classes...showed my age--one kid had seen the movie and got the joke!

**JohnW400** · 06-04-2010, 03:40 PM

I've never looked at a civil service worker the same since

**Silence** · 08-25-2010, 10:11 PM

I just got Linear expressions and I like it. I am taking the lines that he gives and singing them with/without solfege while I am playing. This book for me, goes very nicely with Jimmy Bruno's Guitar Institute website.

**richb2** · 08-28-2010, 11:23 AM

This very similair to Remler's method. If a dominant is resolving 5 to 1, play a minor up 1/2 step above the five. If the dominant is not resolving, play the minor up a 5th. Over a minor such as a Dm, play a D dorian. As Larry Carlton says "the pull to the one is sooo strong", in the first case.

In fooling with the m7 in the last few days I have come up with a little discovery. I knew that over a m7, for example, Em7 for example, I can play a major 7 arp up a b3rd. I also know that I can play a maj scale up a 5th from that b3rd, instead of that major7. If A works over B and C can be used instead of A then C can be used over B. This is not monumental because the E dorian works just as well over the Em7 as the Dmaj scale works over Em7, but it's nice since I only know ther dorian in one position.

The point is that not EVERYTHING is made into a minor, just dominants.

**lkmuller** · 08-28-2010, 03:39 PM

I have his creative force DVDs and got a lot from them. The guy can play, and has a lot to offer if you can absorb it.

**C.A.JO.** · 08-28-2010, 05:25 PM

I'm very interested in studying that book.

I like Pat's way of viewing theory from a guitarist's point of view, and I use his diminished parental form system for chords and voice leading. I had a dude showing me how it worked, and I learned a bunch of chords and ii-V-I's very fast from this. I've never studied it, though. Anyone know where I can find this theory in text?

His book Linear Expressions seems very cool, and I think it's a treasure. If you're ready to view things from a different angle, and ready to do some woodshedding, relearning tunes, etc. I think it will be a good buy.

I plan to buy it, and study the principles. I have the feeling that if you try to learn it, you have to do it 100% and it will take a few years before it'll become second nature. Much like switching from pick to fingers, alternate picking to economy picking, etc.

**gersdal** · 08-28-2010, 07:02 PM

I find that the dvd's with Pat Martino "Creative Force" and "Quantum Guitar" explains it all much better than the book "linear expressions". Guitar Player Magazine also had a good article on the matter a few months back.

**Silence** · 08-31-2010, 08:41 PM

Gersdal, would you be able to give any comments on "Quantum Guitar?" I have found little to no reviews on either video really and when I look for samples on youtube, it just Martino playing different lines over chords.

I was thinking of just getting creative force because it didn't seem like there was much instructional value in quantum guitar, but if I am wrong let me know.

**jbraun002** · 09-01-2010, 11:31 AM

Howdy Silence,

Gersdal will probably have more to say (and maybe a different take), but the majority of Creative Force is Pat playing lines too. He does explain the chord stuff he does (i.e., diminished parental forms, yada yada).

It seems to me that Pat approaches playing over chords by weaving in various lines and line "possibilities" that he likes (presumably from years of playing, his ear, and what he's practiced beforehand). So instead of using a "scale" or even a "chord shape", he just sees lines at a given position (using chords to identify positions). I could be wrong. He certainly knows his theory and scales, but he teaches lines. My impression of Creative Force was that Pat was saying, "If you want to play like me, learn these lines and variations over these chords."

Frankly I worked _very_ little out of Linear Expressions (but plan to do more). I was surprised when I saw what a big influence it started to have on my phrasing and note choice. So I think there's merit in the method.