Help / Resources Soloing over Dom 7 Chords (Vamps)

[Peter C]

@ pamosmusic - The backing track was the one available on YouTube; it is what it is.

The point I'm making is that you can try all the tritone, dim, dim 7, triad pairs, melodic minor etc stuff, but ultimately you have to find what resonates with you. I seem to have a penchant for whole tone lines, for example, and for no particular reason decided to stick some mutated B dorian licks in there. Post something?

[pamosmusic]

@ pamosmusic - The backing track was the one available on YouTube; it is what it is.

The point I'm making is that you can try all the tritone, dim, dim 7, triad pairs, melodic minor etc stuff, but ultimately you have to find what resonates with you. I seem to have a penchant for whole tone lines, for example, and for no particular reason decided to stick some mutated B dorian licks in there. Post something?

I didn't say anything about the backing track. Didn't really mean to reference your video in particular at all. Just that experimenting with rhythm generally helps me quite a lot with vamp-y type things. More so than harmonic ideas, anyway.

[pamosmusic]

Something fun:

pick a really simple rhythm (include some rest) that is three beats long. Try improvising only with that.

e.g. Play dotted quarter eighth, but then just a quarter rest after. See how long you can keep that up.

try two beats of eighth notes, one of rest. Or two quarter notes, one of rest. Two beats of of quarter note triplets, one beat of rest. Whatever.

It’s super fun and immediately gives you some really cool rhythmic tension (cross rhythms in this case). You can also try running a scale this way with some patterns that fit the rhythm. Like maybe you play diatonic thirds with the dotted quarter eighth pattern above.

You could also do patterns that don’t fit, but it’s significantly harder. You could also do fives or sevens, which generally aren’t much harder once you get a handle on the three.

Another good one is just forcing measures of rest … play three rest one, play two rest two. You can also do odd meter phrases (play three rest two, play two rest one, etc). They’re brutally difficult on a standard, but on a vamp not so much, and they can sound cool. Especially once you’re doing it easily in practice and it starts sneaking into your playing more organically

[Peter C]

I didn't say anything about the backing track. Didn't really mean to reference your video in particular at all. Just that experimenting with rhythm generally helps me quite a lot with vamp-y type things. More so than harmonic ideas, anyway.

OK, fair enough. Anyway, I do think it's more useful to illustrate ideas with a quick video (I imagine someone working as a teacher would have a whole library of related recorded material) rather than the usual post saying "you can do this, or that". That info is freely available on the interwebs ("what to play over a static dom 7"). Sure, there's always the option to pay for lessons, but I don't think the OP was asking for that.

I'll check out your other post later, but I'm really bad at counting.

[pamosmusic]

OK, fair enough. Anyway, I do think it's more useful to illustrate ideas with a quick video (I imagine someone working as a teacher would have a whole library of related recorded material) rather than the usual post saying "you can do this, or that". That info is freely available on the interwebs ("what to play over a static dom 7"). Sure, there's always the option to pay for lessons, but I don't think the OP was asking for that.

I'll check out your other post later, but I'm really bad at counting.

Okay. I posted this recently. The way we play Bemsha Swing is basically 8 measures C7, 4 measures F7, 4 measures C7. So it’s very dominant vamp-y

I haven’t gone and analyzed my whole solo or anything but it’s a lot of messing with the melody, a lot of bebop type vocabulary in spite of the straight eighths vibe (I am who I am), and some side slipping out stuff mostly around the big transitions in the form. I also have a soft spot for the 1 3 b5 triad on this one, it seems. I start around 2:25.

[pingu]

If you think of G7 as a V chord in the key of C then you could explore C major ideas against G7. C Dm Em etc. Almost anything is available as long as you resolve your lines.

Barry Greene has a video lesson on the subject. Here is a sample:

is the whole video lesson available ?
and/or a transcription of it

I really liked that …. slinky

[Mick-7]

is the whole video lesson available ?
and/or a transcription of it

I really liked that …. slinky

He said so in his YouTube description: "In this lesson I demonstrate how to use blues language mixed in with linear playing on a static G7 chord. It began as a purely blues lesson but morphed into a lesson on ways of improvising on a simple one chord groove. I touch on many topics including pentatonics, blues, triad pairs, diminished and a whole lot more! 15 pages of fully transcribed material in both notation and tab."

Think it's this one: Static Chord Blues Playing - Barry Greene Video Lessons

I don't usually like to quote this goofball but his comment was pertinent:

Greene's site subscription is not cheap but he does offer a free 7 day trial.

If you sign up, use Paypal, you can cancel the subscription from your PP account and not have to worry about getting an unwanted credit card charge (that's what I did).

[equenda]

I wonder if someone could point me in the direction of Books, Videos, Records, anything(!) to help me develop 'vocabulary' when playing over static dominant chords. Say 4 bars of G7 for example.

I'm really not sure where to start, so any help at all would be really useful (even if it seems really basic).

I know triads, arpeggios and major scale across the neck, and have a 'bank' of some bluesy phrases (and have worked a bit of being able to play 6th intervals - as well as trying to develop lines with that sound), but feel like I'm just spinning my wheels, so would love some inspirations / ideas of things to practice.

Many thanks.

Hi jamiehenderson1993.

The five "Multipurpose" Melodic Lines in this video can be played over four bars of "non-functioning" Dominant Chords:

If you like the sound and style of these lines you can download the (free) transcription from this link.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Ettore

[alltunes]

[QUOTE=Mick-7;1382715]He said so in his YouTube description: "In this lesson I demonstrate how to use blues language mixed in with linear playing on a static G7 chord. It began as a purely blues lesson but morphed into a lesson on ways of improvising on a simple one chord groove. I touch on many topics including pentatonics, blues, triad pairs, diminished and a whole lot more! 15 pages of fully transcribed material in both notation and tab."

Think it's this one: Static Chord Blues Playing - Barry Greene Video Lessons

I don't usually like to quote this goofball but his comment was pertinent:



If you sign up, use Paypal, you can cancel the subscription from your PP account and not have to worry about getting an unwanted credit card charge (that's what I did).[/QUOTE

you could buy any of Barry’s lessons individually for 1495.

[alltunes]

The Barry Greene clip is fun. Anyone know if that backing track is available anywhere?

Hey Barry, where can we get access to that funky backing track you are playing over? Thanks



Like Reply

B

Barry Greene MOD

[COLOR=#BEBEBB !important]almost 2 years ago[/COLOR]I’m sorry, that was done before I started creating professional backing tracks. All that was was a funk groove from the Drumgenius app. I don’t have that track any longer. My apologies and happy holidays. -barry

[Peter C]

Reading back properly here, it's not clear whether the OP wants to play lines over a static vamp (which I originally understood) or resolve to I after 4 bars on dom 7 (via altered dominant). If you're playing over an extended vamp, you need to throw in all kinds of stuff, including dynamics, to make it interesting.

"Major pentatonic off the 4th and 5th degree" sounds good, but it would be great to see a working example of this and other suggestions.

Actually, if you want to cop some of Barry Greene's lines in that clip, just slow down the video and rewind until you figure it out!

I think the point I make that you have to experiment and find what works for your ears is true; "Spanish Gypsy" resolving back to the I has never worked for me personally.

Maybe the tutorial posted by equenda is just what the OP needs, with lots of breakdown etc.

Thanks alltunes for requesting the backing track.

Bit mystified by the use of the term "goofball" in a couple of posts (?)

[Mick-7]

you could buy any of Barry’s lessons individually for $14.95.

A lot for a single lesson, and I think a 1 month subscription is $20.

Bit mystified by the use of the term "goofball" in a couple of posts (?)

An inside joke (literally) , I was quoting myself.

I don't usually like to quote this goofball (Mick-7) but his comment was pertinent:

Greene's site subscription is not cheap but he does offer a free 7 day trial.

[pingu]

Actually, if you want to cop some of Barry Greene's lines in that clip, just slow down the video and rewind until you figure it out!

indeed ….
(I was just being a bit lazy)

[PMB]

This may be what you're looking for (although it's in conventional notation only as the author is a sax player) - a collection of dominant bebop scale lines, links and resolutions in all keys. I picked up a few of Steve Neff's books years ago and they're excellent:

Mastering the Dominant Bebop Scale (PDF Book)

Sample page:

[rpjazzguitar]

Just to come at it from left field, a bit.

First, see if you can scat sing a better solo than you can play. If you can scat better, then one thing to work on is playing what you scat sing. This will be closer to the inner you than somebody else's lick or a scale choice.

But, if you can't scat better, then you might consider working on expanding your musical imagination by singing along, and playing, bits of solos you like. Once you've got a phrase in your sights you can analyze it -- which might make it easier to remember or find in another situation.

I don't know if this next idea is something other people find. But, I'm much more likely to incorporate a new melodic idea if I hear it live, preferably while I'm playing -- and it's easiest if it's from another guitarist. Not that that situation occurs all the time, but when it does, things can move more quickly.

Otherwise, it's scale choice or things like putting different arps against the G7 chord.

Also working backwards from whatever chord is next. Say it's C7. Then for the last couple of beats of G7, you could play a Db7 arp. And, you could then put the iim of that Db7 in front of it. So now you have a bar of Abm7 Db7. And you can ask, how do I get to Abm? That could be Am or Eb7, or whatever you like. The challenge then is to make it sound fully musical. My experience is that this has to be done in the practice room. Trying to think that way on the fly, for me at least, usually results in a poor solo.

[pingu]

indeed ….
(I was just being a bit lazy)

Ok I (think) i heard Barry playing
HW dim stuff off the tonic G
of the G vamp
I’ve been messing around with it

I like it
thanks all