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That's what I was taught (via Pat's book "Linear Expressions") by my first jazz teacher. I learned the lines but not really the method and in retrospect, I see why: I didn't know enough tunes! Maybe I should dig that book out and give it another go now that I know more tunes....
Originally Posted by monk
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06-29-2012 08:37 PM
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I emailed Mr. Fewell and he was gracious enough to give this answer:
"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"
Wow! You couldn't contact and communicate with authors like this in the old days. I guess the internet is good for something. Ha! ha!
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I can see me contacting Mr Fewell before i am through with this book.Oh yeah ,i have the second book on my shelf but i am not sure if i dare look at it,i am running short on headache tablets as it is.Maybe just a quick glance,i could stop anytime i wanted to.
Last edited by gingerjazz; 06-30-2012 at 11:47 AM.
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I still practice this approach 4-6 hours daily (about half my workday). still use the 'one key group per day' method (see post #19). have developed personal variations on gf's lines, integrated with some other (more or less related, some not so much) kinds of ideas.
many (all?) of his exercises are really seeds that can be developed in countless ways.
jump in. start at the beginning, master the basics.
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I really enjoyed using the book, but I jumped ship and got into the Joe Elliot Jazz Guitar Soloing Group, especially since we have all the support on this forum with the multiple threads.
I loved this book and wrote a song based on one of the chapters. I plan to go back to it later this year once I am comfortable with the items I am learning in the Elliot book.
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Hi AlsoRan, I looked on Amazon and there are a number of books with this title(I think it's the correct title). Could I ask you for the exact name of the GF book.
Thanks
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Jazz Improvisation for Guitar : A Melodic Approach by Garrison Fewell published by Berklee Press. Originally Posted by edh
Amazon.com: Jazz Improvisation for Guitar: A Melodic Approach (9780634017728): Garrison Fewell: Books
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After reaching the end of Chapter 3 I realized that I was taking this book for granted. I found this thread and after reading Randall's post I realized that I needed to really internalize the triads. So, taking Randall's ideas I made this pattern chart for myself. For me, I find this chart helpful as it allows me to see the patterns and thus apply them to the fretboard while recognizing the location of the triads. I then transpose these patterns to each key as run through the Circle of 5ths. I plan on notating out these patterns in all keys to help me internalize it better mentally.
I tried to make it as friendly as possible while not being too cluttered. Some may find it confusion but maybe others will find it helpful as I have.
Wazoo
Gmin Melodic Extensions Patterns - Ex 2.2 - Fewell.pdf
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I took a look at Garrison's book at my library few years ago.
And I had the feeling he knew the improvisation in the real world.
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Does anyone know what guitar Garrison is playing in these two videos? Gibson, single pickup, Florentine cutaway, and an unusual-looking tailpiece.
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He's playing a Gibson L-5 that was converted from a non-cutaway.
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I have been working with the Garrison Fewell book for just the past month and it is already changing the way I see the fretboard, to be more familar and instinctive. These damn guitars have always been pretty mysterious to me and I feel the book is starting to change that some. I'm a fan.
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I never used the rest stroke before and I was thrilled to learn this technique. It's also something I now hear in recordings that I hadn't attributed to the technique before. Very cool.
The writing exercises have deterred me a bit, but I'm working on that too. I wrote one chorus for So What, and then realized what I had written wasn't very good. Too careless with rhythms I think, I'm working on another one and trying to keep the ideas simple and repurpose licks GF has shared.
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Haven't done that myself either yet but I'll have to do it. It's like improvising in a slow tempo and if you come across something that sounds good to you write it down so you can benefit from it later on when you have got it under your fingers. Originally Posted by morekiller
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Oh definitely... part of my issue was the first time I sort of it wrote on auto pilot. I basically just put the related triads together on paper with random rhythms before even playing anything. Not that what I wrote wasn't interesting, but I think it was too far from the spirit of the exercise... and to be honest it wasn't exactly sounding like jazz.
Second go at it is much more successful, but I still have 8 more bars to write.
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i worked my way half the book, i get his point of getting extention through playing relative neighboor chords , i totaly get that , but this has gotten me nowhere where i wanted to be in terms of improvisation, and this is so frustrating , so any advice is welcome .
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I like the book, it's very interresting, but thet thing i don't like is that it just expands on one idea a lot,doesn't put emphasis on guide tones in phrasing , doesn't highlight known standards and how to tackle 'em , it lacks a bit of context IMHO, but maybe i have to get back to it and read more deeply.
what did you like about the book and didn't like ?
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Hey Mooncef, I have this book but am not very far into it, but it seems to me like a very useful way of organising the fretboard using triads. You can then apply these same shapes in a variety of different contexts. It looks like the first big chunk of the book is really focused on just getting you (us) used to those shapes and how they work over major, minor, and dominant chords. It sounds like you're frustrated with the pace, but from the looks of things, this is a pretty fundamental thing to have down for the rest of Fewell's approach. Originally Posted by mooncef
You mentioned that you are only halfway through the book, so maybe you haven't made it there yet (I haven't either). But if you check out from p.67 onward, he moves to a major focus on guide tones. Ch 7 is on guide tone voicings, Ch 8 is actually called "Using Guide-Tone Lines in Soloing", and so on. My preliminary understanding is that these two approaches (triads with melodic extensions, and guide tones) come together toward the end of the book. Originally Posted by mooncef
Almost all of the exercise tunes are known standards, they are just not called as such for copyright reasons. Originally Posted by mooncef
"Hot Saw" = So What
"Three Bee's" = Bangles, Baubles, and Beads
"East Ghost Blues" = West Coast Blues
"Lovers No More" = Just Friends
"Love Is Beautiful" = Beautiful Love
"Tune It Up!" = Tune Up
"Falling Leaves" = Autumn Leaves
etc....
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This is an opinion also coming from a guy who has not put it all together to be a competent improviser.
What I like about his approach is
1)That you are given the basic triad of a chord as well as extensions in the finger pattern. With scale fingerings, you have to pick from all those notes to find the various extensions, such as the 13, for example. With this book, you learn a pattern that has the extensions (or tensions as he calls them) already accounted for.
2) You are able to cover the fretboard over a long distance in a short time. I used to use his fingering to connect Major Scale patterns or Minor Scale Patterns to each other, quickly slipping and sliding up the neck.
3) You can really get the chord tone sounds in your head.
The only reason I did not continue with his books was that I was trying different methods (always looking for that magic pill) and never quite got back to it. Plus, a lot of my books used the old musician's institute CAGED fingerings and I wanted to stay compatible with them.
Just my opinion.
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I might be misunderstanding you, but in my mind, this book is all about the guide tones. You just have to make the connection between understanding which guide tones each stacked triad will yield. Originally Posted by mooncef
This was also a stumbling block for me, in that I wanted to go straight to guide tone memorization without having the "middle man" of choosing a triad that will get me there. Put directly, I did not want to have to know that a C-triad would be needed as I ascend to get to the b7, 9, and 11. I just wanted to directly memorize and organize the fretboard such that I understand where that 9th or 11th is with respect to the root, the 3rd, the 5th, and the 7th. One big pattern instead of two small ones.
To be honest, I have failed at ever getting there (mainly because I have not practiced it long enough and stayed with it, and also probably because I am getting old
).
Maybe this will help - from the Maestro himself...
Last edited by AlsoRan; 07-29-2016 at 08:24 PM.
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Yeah, you do have to sort of learn to apply it on your own. Sort of. As someone pointed out above, there's guide tone stuff later in the book. Originally Posted by mooncef
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Reading all your comments i decided to get back to it today , and noticed how much i underestimated some parts .
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BTW, Garrison passed away a few months ago. Before that, when I had first gotten the books, I'd been in touch with him on Facebook about a few questions. He was really patient and helpful with me. Good guy. Also a friend of forum member Truthertz.
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very sad news :/ i don't know but jazz musiciens seem to have a very short life span :/ Originally Posted by Boston Joe
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Life is short indeed...his last performance Originally Posted by mooncef
Garrison Fewell and Eric Hofbauer
"Farsighted Friendship"
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