The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #1

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    Right,after becoming confused and intrigued by the book,"Jazz Improvisation for guitar,a melodic approach".I have decided to start again.I am going to use this thread to chart my progress and thoughts as i go along.Unfortunately this will not be a study group like Feps because i cannot offer the commitment(due to health issues) to the thread like Fep does.So i will just talk about how i am going on and ask for advice and opinions along the way.I will of course be very grateful to anyone else who might like to chip in along the way.Do not get me wrong though my commitment to studying jazz guitar is something i take very seriously,all i mean by not being able to offer a deep commitment to the thread ,is that i do not want to start something off and then let people down by not being around to carry it on.

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    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #2

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    So here i go,i am starting on chapter 2,as chapter one is just a harmony review.Luckily theory is a strong point for me as i have got my popular music theory qualifications with the London college of music.Now that sounds very grand but when it comes to applying that theory and coming up with great sounding jazz lines in the heat of battle well thats another thing altogether.S page 11,talks about taking a Gminor triad and moving upwards in thirds to add the seventh,ninth and 11th chord extensions,or in other words a m11 arpeggio.Fig 2.1 then gives an example of how this could be playedstarting on the fifth fret of the G string moving acrossthe strings and upwards to the 11th on the 8th fret high E string.As he points out by playing a Gm triad followed by an Fmaj triad we get a Gmin triad and its extensions.Or paly a major triad starting on the b7th degree of the minor chord.Right got that,onto page 11 ,i will be back when i have spent some time on page 12 and thirteen.Wish me luck.

  4. #3

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    Good luck

    I'll follow you to the extent I can manage. I've had both his books in my shelf for a while, but I now understand that I should have payed more attention. I'm lagging behind in fep's study group, so it will be a challenge to also keep up with you, but I'll try ....

  5. #4

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    Just a quick update,i am now working on learning the m11 arpeggio in all positions and keys,i have decided to go with Randalljazz suggestion of working each exercise through a key a day.So i am laying down a simple minor vamp of the key of the day and then playing each position of that key in all possible places i can work out,i think i get about 11 usable shapes,what about you Randall?.

  6. #5

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    Hey Gerdsal,good to hear you are keen to be involved,i would like to point out once more though that this is not meant to be a study group in quite the same way that fep has going on.As i mentioned in another post i am not sure i could offer the same dedication that Fep demonstrates in his groups.I have a lot of health issues that keep getting in the way so i am not wanting to commit myself to something only to let people down at a later date.Gerdsal could you please share any views or opinions you already have from your experience of the book so far.

  7. #6

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    Quote Originally Posted by gingerjazz
    Just a quick update,i am now working on learning the m11 arpeggio in all positions and keys,i have decided to go with Randalljazz suggestion of working each exercise through a key a day.So i am laying down a simple minor vamp of the key of the day and then playing each position of that key in all possible places i can work out,i think i get about 11 usable shapes,what about you Randall?.
    a few more than that, but sounds like you off to a good start.

  8. #7

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    Hey Randall,you have my attention man,are you saying you can find more than 11 of these m11 arpeggios below the twelfth fret,i was referring to patterns that begin on or below the twelfth.If you are saying you know more i need to get in that shed and find them,and find them i will. On wards and upwards.

  9. #8

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    they are a means, don't get hung up on it. practice the ones you find and like the feel of until they are second nature.

    hint: see pages 21-2, and extrapolate. (note the the Bb triad, second example, is bracketed on the wrong 3 notes.) but do not neglect the longer patterns that precede (pp14-6). see my suggestions for these on the other thread.

  10. #9

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    Yes thank you Randall,i did indeed spot that misplaced bracket,it did cause me a bit of confusion til i realized what was going on.

  11. #10

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    This thread may seem a bit quiet for a while ,as i am going to spend some time internalizing these patterns as Randall recommends.But if anyone else has any input on this book,i would love to hear it.I am off to the woodshed,see you guys and gals later.Boy do i have a lot to learn.
    Last edited by gingerjazz; 07-01-2012 at 09:40 AM.

  12. #11

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    I feel I have better handle on the fingerboard than when I first discovered this book. So, technically speaking, it's not so hard to seamlessly move from triad to triad. well,I guess I'm somewhere between "mechanical" to "seamless".

    In a way, it sort of is another way to think of chord-scales, in sofar as all the associated triads and the relevant extensions grouped together in on one example (Gm, Bb, Dm, F, Am, C.. )are diatonic to one tonal center--F major.

  13. #12

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    PS. --one thing I was messing around with --take the given triad (e.g., Gm) and the triad that forms its extensions (F, ie, m7,9 and 11) and play each sequence of notes in both triads as a double stop (G and F, Bb and A, D and C). I really love thinking of notes as intervals. for me, intervals, double stops, chords, really separate the instrument from its monophonic siblings. YMMV.

  14. #13

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    Hey,NSJ,Would you mind telling us all a bit more about your own experiences with this book,how long you have had it?what your approach to the method is?do you use tis method alongside other improvisation methods or do you use this one exclusively.That sort of thing.

  15. #14

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    Quote Originally Posted by gingerjazz
    Hey,NSJ,Would you mind telling us all a bit more about your own experiences with this book,how long you have had it?what your approach to the method is?do you use tis method alongside other improvisation methods or do you use this one exclusively.That sort of thing.
    Sure, I'd be happy to. I confess I didn't use this book extensively. My theory is if you can get a few FUNDAMENTAL things that you can incorporate into your play, it will have been worthwhile. Some impressions:

    1. The triad method helped in mapping out the fingerboard, seeing linkages in lines, making a big thing (chord-scales) smaller and more manageable. Sometimes, when things go stale, we (well, me, anyways) can easily revert to the the 2 octave scale patterns we all know, perhaps TOO WELL. But if you can break up the fingerboard into smaller increments, get the tactile memory really down, get the sounds in your ears, working with chromatic targeting of these smaller note dosages can lead to more musical results.

    2 I also confess that I didn't really work through his specific fingerings. My philosophy on fingerings, I learned from my own teacher, as follows: (i) starting with Chuck Wayne's basic CAGED like scale book. (ii) From there, my teacher imparted the following philosophy--whatever position you may be at, the scale/arpeggi/triad/7th chord/OR PORTIONS THEREOF should be readily available at the drop of the hat if you need them. (iii) Thirdly, as concrete example, to work out the technical tactile memory associated with point #2, my teacher had me work out a specific position and a particular key (e.g., 2nd position, key of G). Thus, in this piston and in this key, without movement, I should be able to work out the following scales and associated chord arpeggios: G Major7, Am7, Bm7, CM7, D7, Em7, F#halfdim, GM7. (iv) Finally, from there, my teacher had me work with the chromatic scale to develop a fundamental sense of left hand finger independence (to be able to play any scale/arp/ or portion thereof) with any finger (1,2,3,4--example--Can you pay a GM7 scale starting with your first finger? 2nd Finger? third finger? 4th finger? The key is to be able stretch with the 1st or 4th finger a fret above or below, as necessary, giving one 6 potential fret coverage, if needed, at any given moment). Thus, that is why I didn't work with his specific fingerings or examples. I just created my own and worked on the fingering system that I was already taught.

    3. I found Chapter 7 and chapter 8 to be very very interesting, as interesting, if not more, than the earlier stuff on triads. I think his stuff on learning guide guide tones and adding a third tension note up the neck is very very useful. Tim Lerch kind of developed this in that very helpful video he just made, as discussed elsewhere on this site. For me, guide tones, once we get them under our fingers and ears, serve as a harmonic anchor, enabling us to be play as free as we want. There was a very very important statement I learned at one of my lessons, that I never forgot. My teacher said, "let's face it, to be perfectly honest, we can, if we want, play ANY note against any chord, just resolve it, if you want or feel the need to, up or down to the nearest chord tone".



    4. Chapter 8 is also very helpful, too. Guide tones, as double stops, and with regard to the meat and potatoes 7th chords we all know, usually form the following shapes: (i) M7 and m7 chord guide tones form either a P4 (7 to 3) or a P5 (3 to 7); (ii) dominant chord and diminished chord guide tones always form a tritone. Armed with this knowledge and this shape, and utilizing this all over the neck, there so much we can do, so much we can combine it with, in a way that is truly both anchored to form AND provides us with incredible freedom to play what sounds good/useful/musical to us.

    5. Personally speaking, one way I have utilized this information from what I have learned here, in my lessons, and also from the Tim Lerch video, is to write out "George Shearing" like piano voicings to songs, as adopted to the guitar (doubling the melody note in the bass, either 1 or 2 octaves below; sandwiching in those P4/P5/tritone guide tone shapes in between the top and bottom voices.

    I hope that has been helpful or informative to you.
    Last edited by NSJ; 07-01-2012 at 04:16 PM.

  16. #15

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    I'm interested in your progress here as well, Ginger...I have his book and confess I didn't quite put in the time to "get it." I'm mired deep in the Elliot group at the moment (along with fep and others), so I can't take on another book study. But I'm keeping an eye on this thread.

  17. #16

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    Jeff, like you I'm working in the Elliott book and thinking, "I can NOT start another method book now!' But boy, this fascinates me.

  18. #17

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    This is great ,i have already spent quite some time with the elliot book and do believe that with the concepts of both books under our belts we would have quite an arsenal of tools with which to pull from.

  19. #18

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    NSJ,thank you so much for taking the time to write such an informative post.I am a long way off the chapters you talked about regarding guide tones,but luckily that is an area i have already worked on quite a bir so fingers crossed that section might be a bit easier for me to grasp.I am only a few days in to learning the patterns in all keys and positions for the m11 arpeggios ,but already the shapes are beginning to feel quite good under the fingers.I am starting to get quite excited about what is further down the road.

  20. #19

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    I don't have the book... but I understand the concept and have worked on it for a while... but from what I've read, I don't understand his idea of splitting the fretboard up into four areas based on the triads... we spend so much time trying to be able to play everything everywhere on the neck, why are we only supposed to use those specific shapes?

  21. #20

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    Quote Originally Posted by RyanM
    I don't have the book... but I understand the concept and have worked on it for a while... but from what I've read, I don't understand his idea of splitting the fretboard up into four areas based on the triads... we spend so much time trying to be able to play everything everywhere on the neck, why are we only supposed to use those specific shapes?
    Here is my guess:

    First of all, you cover 13 frets of the fretboard with only four triad shapes and are able to cover a lot of ground in a horizontal manner.

    Second, if you look in the book, there is another illustration that covers Dm and FMajor triads using strings 1 - 3.

    So once you learn to cover an area using triads, you are to transpose the idea to other areas using the appropriate triad shapes for those areas.

    Part of the advantage of the triad approach is covering so much territory in a methodical manner. And, there is no one to stop you if from breaking into a Super Locrian vertical fingering once you have used the triad path to get you from, say the 5th fret to the 8th fret.

    I hope this helps.

    I have been using that Leavit introduction to soloing and now, many concepts I have read are coming together for me. As I use that Leavit book I will probably be able to better recognize even more advantages to using triads - as well as any disadvantages. But I am sticking with Leavit for a few more months to see what else it can give me.

    For the first time in my guitar life, I have been able to follow and stick with a book for more than a few weeks. I still want to get back to this Fewell book. It facilitated a couple of songs that I wrote for myself and has been very helpful in creating licks, which I then am applying to the other book.

    I will shut up, now. Hope this helps since gingerjazz has taken a (hopefully short) hiatus.

  22. #21

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    I just got this book last week and am looking forward to getting stuck into it.
    Last edited by David B; 05-26-2013 at 12:32 PM. Reason: Issue resolved

  23. #22

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    Could someone explain Exercise 3.2 on page 28? Do we just write in our own improvisation using the D Dorian Mode?

    Jeff

  24. #23

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    I have a pretty good ear. I just wanted to understand the exercise in the Jazz Improvisation for Guitar Book by Garrison Fewell.

    Jeff

  25. #24

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    Quote Originally Posted by jsprankle
    Could someone explain Exercise 3.2 on page 28? Do we just write in our own improvisation using the D Dorian Mode?

    Jeff
    well, yes...but he tells you how to approach it at the bottom of the page. and the following page gives written out lines illustrating his ideas.

  26. #25

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    Quote Originally Posted by randalljazz
    well, yes...but he tells you how to approach it at the bottom of the page. and the following page gives written out lines illustrating his ideas.
    In addition, an email reply from Mr Fewell on this topic was quoted by AlsoRan in another thread:

    "Thanks for asking, I appreciate your question and will try to answer it as clearly as possible.


    The difference with the D-7 chord in this exercise from my book is that it's a Dorian minor 7th chord (the song is Hot Saw, an anagram for So What) and that adds more possible extensions that sound good.


    Start with D-7 and create the 4 triads and melodic extensions: Dmin / F / Amin / C


    That works for all minor 7th chords with tensions 9 and 11.


    NOW: keep going because you have MORE extensions that work with the Dorian mode. The major 6th or 13th on a min7 chord is the characteristic note of the Dorian mode. You already have triads Dmin / F / Amin / C, now add Emin and G maj triads which include the note B (the 13th of the D-7 chord)


    I suggest starting from an A MINOR TRIAD, A PERFECT 5TH AWAY FROM D MIN. Then create the 4 triad extensions of A MINOR: Amin / C / Emin / G. These triads add extra notes contained in a DORIAN mode. i.e. six notes from A minor: A, C, E , G , B, D. Your tonal center is now A MINOR over a Dmin7 chord!


    That's is, that simple. You create the Dorian sound by building triads starting on the 5th degree of a minor 7th chord and playing those four triads with melodic extensions.


    When building triads and melodic extensions, you dont always have to start on the root of the original chord. Tunes like Coltrane's "Impressions," Miles Davis' "So What" and Freddie Hubbard's "Little Sunflower" all heavily feature the Dorian mode and you can try this approach on those tunes.


    Next time ask me about the Ebma7 chord on the bridge to "Little Sunflower" ; > ) There's more about this in the second volume, "Jazz Improvisation - A Harmonic Approach"


    kindly,


    Garrison"

    https://www.jazzguitar.be/forum/impro...-question.html