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Would there be any interest in a group study of Martino's Linear Expressions?
I can't imagine any player whose style is more different from my own playing (setting aside relative levels, of course). I tend to play slowly, often playing written-out compositions by other players, soloing in a sparse way. Yet I find Martino's playing to be an incredible tour de force, and I'm captivated by it. It's not just the speed (there are faster players) but his incredible swing and sense of architecture in his solos. Even if I never ever come close to playing like that, I would like to spend some time studying his playing, not just reading transcriptions.
So, I just got his book Linear Expressions this morning. After a read of the short intro about minor conversion, which I intellectually understand, I've gone ahead and memorised Activity #1. I can see how it skirts around the Gm7/Bb6 chords. It's enough for me just now to play that over and over, moving the same pattern up to different frets/keys for variety.
And I'm wondering if there are others who would like to join me exploring the book, maybe helping each other out along the way?
I know Pat has videos, and there are other sources, but I'd like to keep the focus mainly on Linear Expressions.
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09-01-2014 08:55 AM
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I'd play (pun intended).
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I have the book somewhere in my pile, I'll see if I can find it.
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I don't have too many books, but I have that one. Had gone through a bit of it a couple of years ago, but definitely need to review even that.
I actually was able to find the book, which might be harder that learning the material.
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We got a convoy
I get the feeling that there will be a lot of lines to memorise...If it is just a simple of case of "memorise these lines and play them over the relevant chords in songs" then that doesn't sound like jazz to me. I guess, as with licks, we should learn them, internalise them, then play with them, making them our own?
Thoughts?
As I said, I'm just on the first Activity, so haven't read further.
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Yes. I would like to play each one long enough in order to be able to internalize it. I'd also be interested in the different ways to do this, and how does it metamorphisize while trying to internalize.
Like maybe start with Activity 1 and move it around as you suggested and maybe try to play it in 12 keys in 1 position to help get in the ear? These are just thoughts. It would be nice however to really learn to utilize these things rather than rush through memorizing a bunch of stuff at once. But I'm open to whatever.
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I'm interested. When I started taking jazz lessons, that was one of the books I had to get. I haven't looked at it in a long time but I recall the five 'activities' and would be happy to participate.
At the time, the convert to minor made some intellectual sense but I didn't make much practical headway with it. I didn't know many tunes then, though, and I know a lot more now, and I think in terms of tunes and common chord progressions, so I might get more out of the book from that perspective than I did when I was working through it with a teacher.
Great idea, Rob!
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I think I have that book somewhere have to look through the stacks. Talking about Pat's views back then can really bring on a lot of hummmmm moments.
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Pat asks us to do this on page 16, at least just moving them up the fretboard. I see nothing wrong with starting with Activity #1, moving it up and down the fretboard, keeping in mind the chord form (which we should play at the start of each run, to help get it into our ears). But this moving up the fretboard will really be useful when we have all five Activities and the four chord forms for each key we go to.
Originally Posted by srlank
Playing Activity #1 in all 12 keys in position 1 sounds like a nightmare! Good luck
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I'm also using these lines as a way to help improve my pick technique. Is Pat a strict alternator? And playing with a metronome or Gm7 backing track seems like a good idea too. I mentioned somewhere above Pat's incredible swing - I would't mind getting me some of that while we are about it!
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Well got the day off, and maybe I'll have to give it a go! Originally Posted by Rob MacKillop
Pat asks us to do this on page 16, at least just moving them up the fretboard. I see nothing wrong with starting with Activity #1, moving it up and down the fretboard, keeping in mind the chord form (which we should play at the start of each run, to help get it into our ears). But this moving up the fretboard will really be useful when we have all five Activities and the four chord forms for each key we go to.
Playing Activity #1 in all 12 keys in position 1 sounds like a nightmare! Good luck
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I think Dirk has been watching...
...The first two activities are featured on a jazzguitar.be page devoted to Pat Martino, though with a different fret placement towards the end of Activity #2:
Pat Martino Jazz Guitar Licks
It raises two questions:
1. Should we practise these lines with different fingerings - probably yes, though maybe not straight away.
2. Would recordings help? Probably yes. So feel free to upload your efforts.
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Left-Hand Fingering - Activity #1
My thoughts...
Bar 1: 1 3 4 1, 2 3 1 4 - I use 4 for the last note to help make a smooth move to Position II in the next bar.
Bar 2: 1 3 4 1, 4 1 2 1 - The last three notes: I'm mindful of Andrew Green's "Jazz Guitar Techniques" book, not using a small barre for the two notes at the third fret.
Bar 3: Option 1: 4 3 2 3, 1 4 3 1 and Option 2: 3 2 1 3, 1 4 3 1 - this option requires a little jump into Position IV to get the third finger onto the f note. It might seem more awkward, but I do like the feel of it, and sometimes slide into the f from a fret below, which (sometimes) I quite like.
Bar 4: 4 1 2 3, 1 2 1 4 - I elect the third finger on the d, necessitating a turn of the wrist, instead of flattening the second finger.
Bar 5: 1 4 1 4 - various options for this bar. In those lower fret positions, I sometimes like to contract my hand after it has been opened out for a four-fret stretch. I might use a different fingering in higher positions.
So, thems my thoughts. Yours might be different...
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How about a funky backing track? You could play slowly over this, using little bits of each Activity - there's no need to play the whole line all the time. Of course, if you have the speed (I don't) you could zip through the whole line up tempo...
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Can we embed soundcloud files here? Here's one of me jamming with the above backing track and Activity #1
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One of the attractive things about Pat's playing is the relentlessness. Those notes keep flying at you. With the above backing track, to get some sense of that I feel I would have to play double time, sixteenth notes. But I don't have the technique to do that. I play the whole line at a slower pace.
However, there are times when we maybe only have one bar or less to cram all this in, so obviously knowing little bits of the line helps a lot. That's what I'm doing in my improv. I'll be the first to admit it is very boring, but I just wanted to give an idea of what I'm doing with the line.
Activity #1 has both a b7 over G and a b7 over C, so it should fit over a ii-V in F. I'll try that when I have time later today.
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I hear Bar 2 in Activity 1, as a G Melodic Minor Mode 6 line, seems to works great over a Gmin(Maj) chord. Originally Posted by Rob MacKillop
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Sure. It covers a lot of harmonic activity as it meanders along.
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Originally Posted by Rob MacKillop
I think a good question number 3 might be: are we picking every note or slurring some?
Consider measure 3 of the first activity (page 11): the first note of measure 3 is on the B string (F) followed by two notes on the E string (A and Ab). I always found it problematic to pick those notes cleanly at brisk tempo. (I think it's because I'm fingering them with the 3rd and 2nd finger while the 4th one remains on the F on the B string.) Now, I just pick the first one and pull off to the Ab. It's so much easier!
For a long time I picked every note of these activities but now I think they have a better feel if I don't pick every note---it varies the articulation more and makes the lines feel more horn like. (Perhaps I am imagining that. You can try this yourself and see how it sounds to you.)
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After a quick read through the book, the general idea seems to be that the five fingering forms are used to navigate the whole fretboard both horizontally and vertically using each Activity. These activities are all based on minor patterns and these minor patterns can be substituted for any chord type in a song.
I'm very impressed, this must have been a great tool for learning lines back in the 1970's.
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I will also try to fallow you guys
(I played and memorized the first activity notes. And... then ???)
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Yeah, it's a pretty amazing approach. And Pat was smart to pick minor lines---they do lay out well on the guitar. Also, the lines are not simply arpeggios or scale lines---they've got alterations in 'em, but you don't have to think about them if you don't want to. You get the sounds in your head and those are the sounds you want to hear and you're not really thinking about modes. (At least, I'm not!) Originally Posted by GuyBoden
After a quick read through the book, the general idea seems to be that the five fingering forms are used to navigate the whole fretboard both horizontally and vertically using each Activity. These activities are all based on minor patterns and these minor patterns can be substituted for any chord type in a song.
I'm very impressed, this must have been a great tool for learning lines back in the 1970's.
We've all heard the acronym KISS, for "keep it simple, stupid." This is about as simple as it can be put (and still sound like good jazz.)
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Originally Posted by michael_bxl
I will also try to fallow you guys
(I played and memorized the first activity notes. And... then ???)
Michael, I didn't write the book, so whatever I say is just a guess. I would try it in different positions. Then use backing tracks to play along with. Then learn the second activity, and do likewise. Eventually it will all build up into (I'm assuming!) something useful I'm already finding it useful.
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Interesting suggestion - I ordered the book - should be here in a day or two.
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Indeed. I think the articulation is up to the player, fingering too. Originally Posted by MarkRhodes
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