Sheryl Bailey's Favorite Thing (triad ex)

[MarkRhodes]

I gather True Fire has a series of these, "favorite things" by various guitar masters. Here is Sheryl Bailey's lesson on triads with chromatic approach notes. Simple yet rich.

[Rob MacKillop]

Fun to try, but maddening too ;-)

I do enjoy her teaching.

[docbop]

I went to a Frank Vignola clinic last weekend and that was the first thing he had everyone do, lower neighbour, upper neighbour, then both upper and lower neighbour, except he limited it to only the triad chord tones.

Sheryl is a great teacher and I'm looking forward to when I can study with her again.

[dingusmingus]

Cool, thanks! I picked up this exercise from the Bert Ligon book, Comprehensive Technique for Jazz Musicians. That thing really is comprehensive!

I loved at the end when she showed just how much you can do with this one concept.

[MarkRhodes]

This is also the first exercise in Carol Kaye's "Jazz Guitar" booklet/cassette (-now CD) from the '70s. It's a great exercise, with many possible variations.

I love something she says in this lesson: "The rhythm is the message." (At least, that's how I remember it; I'll have to double check later.)

[docbop]

I love something she says in this lesson: "The rhythm is the message." (At least, that's how I remember it; I'll have to double check later.)

That goes back to Dizzy Gillespie who when asked about how he approaches improv said he thinks of rhythms and then hangs notes on the rhythm.

[MarkRhodes]

That goes back to Dizzy Gillespie who when asked about how he approaches improv said he thinks of rhythms and then hangs notes on the rhythm.

Thanks, docbop. I hadn't heard that.

[David B]

I've been studying with Sheryl in the Bebop Dojo for almost two years and wish I had started sooner. She's a wonderful person and teacher.

[NSJ]

I had been practicing a variant of this "targeting" triads from below, but a polyphonic version involving 10ths alternating the Root and (major or minor) third in the bass strings (6th and 5th strings), with the 10ths played on the 3rd and 2nd strings.

Diatonically, he Root targets the 3rd from below (E.g., Gminor triad-- G on the 6th string is coupled with the A and Bb on the 3rd string--9th and diatonic 10th). I practice this separately.

Diatonically, the third targets the 5th from the below. (eg., Gminor triad, the Bb on the 5th string is coupled with the Db and D and the 2nd string--b5 and P5 compared to G, but 10ths is comparison to the Bb on the 5th string). I practice this separately.

Combining both and being able to alternate both easily (getting them under the fingers and in the ears) creates a nice sound that can be used in the ways Sheryl describes above.

[Dana]

I've been studying with Sheryl in the Bebop Dojo for almost two years and wish I had started sooner. She's a wonderful person and teacher.

Me too. I've only been in it for a few months but I'm learning a lot. She is a great teacher, and has a great sense of humor. The Bebop Dojo is a blast.

[Dana]

That goes back to Dizzy Gillespie who when asked about how he approaches improv said he thinks of rhythms and then hangs notes on the rhythm.

I studied with Jerry Bergonzi and he refers to that Dizzy quote often as well.

He says it in this video (around :28).

[dasein]

after you do that, you can take a Cmaj7 arpeggio (or dom7 or whatever you like)

approach each chord tone with...

chromatic above
chromatic below
double chromatic below
double chromatic above

diatonic above
diatonic below
double diatonic below
double diatonic above

any combination of them. double chromatic above and double chromatic below (or vica versa) or combinations of chromatic and diatonic approaches

go through the circle of fifths. then do the same process with another arpeggio.

[PMB]

Approach notes can be applied to scales as well as triads. Here are some major-based examples:

[GuyBoden]

Good stuff, She taught something similar at a clinic I attended about 6 years ago, a truly exceptional player.

[NSJ]

Here is my 10th interval exercise, in a I-iii-vi-ii-V-Iform, involving triads and targeting triadic chord tones.

The chromatic movements involve moving towards and away from 10th intervals. the root of each chord targets the 3rd,the third of each chord targets the fifth, and the fifth of each chord targets the root (this last movement actually involves a movement from a 10th to an 11th, from the M7 to the root). I love the symmetry of this exercise, and it has helped me create a musical "compass" on the fingerboard. The genesis of this exercise comes from trying to seriously grok Sid Jacobs' proclamation, in his master classes I watched, that knowing your thirds is the most important element of learning the instrument.

I think if one really gets this down, it can make a real difference in increasing fingerboard knowledge. Hence, its use as a musical "compass". Well, at least it did for me. YMMV. Cheers.

[MarkRhodes]

Here is my 10th interval exercise, in a I-iii-vi-ii-V-Iform, involving triads and targeting triadic chord tones.

...it has helped me create a musical "compass" on the fingerboard. The genesis of this exercise comes from trying to seriously grok Sid Jacobs' proclamation, in his master classes I watched, that knowing your thirds is the most important element of learning the instrument.

I'm going to print out this attachment and place it on my music stand for next week's daily practice. I admire Sid Jacobs and take what he says seriously.

[Dana]

Her lesson was so good that I decided to transcribe it. Here it is for anyone that's interested. Enjoy!

[MarkRhodes]

Her lesson was so good that I decided to transcribe it. Here it is for anyone that's interested. Enjoy!

Thanks, Dana! I really appreciate that.

[MarketTomato]

This is so wonderful. So much vocabulary (and ideas) to gain from one simple concept. I love the approach of taking something simple and expanding on it ad nauseum. 'Tis a good way to get lost in focused practice land!