The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #1

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    Okay people, here we go!

    By popular opinion, we will begin by focusing on the first two chapters of Garrison Fewell's Jazz Improvisation: A Melodic Approach. If you don't already have the book, you can order it here:

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    Chapter 1 is a review of the fundamentals in terms of theory and harmony.

    In Chapter 2 we get into some actual playing. Fewell lays out his approach to mapping out melodic triads and extensions on the fretboard, and provides a slow but groovy bossa over which to apply your new skills.

    We'll aim to have this material under our fingers by the end of January. Feel free to discuss, complain, post clips, insult each others' fashion sense, and so forth.

    Let's do this.
    Fewell's Melodic Approach - Ch. 1-2-chirpy_harry-jpg

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  3. #2

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    Just a heads up that there is a typo in the tab on p.13 (Fig 2.2): The first note of measure 6 should be on the 5th fret, not the 3rd. The standard notation (G) is correct.

    Of course, none of us cheat and use tab, right?

  4. #3

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jehu
    Just a heads up that there is a typo in the tab on p.13 (Fig 2.2): The first note of measure 6 should be on the 5th fret, not the 3rd. The standard notation (G) is correct.

    Of course, none of us cheat and use tab, right?
    There's several typos in the tab sections of the book - if in doubt refer to the standard notation.
    The tab makes perfect sense here because it's also about several possible and the most convenient fingerings...

  5. #4

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    Thanks for starting this group. I think many people will benefit.

    Someone has written before - Fewell's book is a fishing rod, not a fish. This is such a wide range of knowledge that it can be used in many contexts. As many people as many ideas ... Everyone will take something for themselves. I don't play jazz classical music. The examples from the book are very classic. But I'm trying to implement the Fewell method into more modern sounds.

    For me, it's all (the first book) to learn how to organize music on a fretboard. An alternative to thinking in the scales.
    First of all, the book logically teaches all chord extensions.

    PS. Can anyone website on line where you can do all fingerings on fretboard for Fewell's triads?

  6. #5

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    Yes, thanks for starting this study group. I’ve had the book for a couple of years and haven’t gotten very far on my own mostly because I’ve got this illness where I hop from method to method ( there is so much incredible educational material out there now, unlike when I started learning to play in the 70s ) but I knew the first time I listened to the audio examples that I would like to play this way. And the method makes sense from what I know about it. I am a relative newcomer when it comes to single note soloing and certainly would be thrilled to sound even a little like Garrison and those who inspired him. Looking forward to participating.
    Tom

  7. #6

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    I started working on the first two chapters. This morning I watched Garrion's first YouTube video on the triads. I've been working with triads in Carol Kaye's material, so I'm more ready for this than I otherwise would have been. Looking forward to seeing this group take flight!

  8. #7

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    Quote Originally Posted by freud

    PS. Can anyone website on line where you can do all fingerings on fretboard for Fewell's triads?
    Here is a quick diagram of the triad/ intervals mentioned in chapter1 that are used in the book. Any errors are mine and I would be happy to correct them if you bring them to my attention

    Fewell's Melodic Approach - Ch. 1-2-willmilnetriads1-jpg

    hope that helps

    Will

  9. #8

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    Quote Originally Posted by WillMbCdn5
    Here is a quick diagram of the triad/ intervals mentioned in chapter1 that are used in the book. Any errors are mine and I would be happy to correct them if you bring them to my attention
    Hey Will, thanks for putting the time and effort into this; it looks great.

    You might want to hold off on diving too deep into it at this point, though. Fewell's approach is all about using a few simple shapes to derive melodic content, and then building on that. You'll also soon see that he advocates a minor conversion thing, similar to Pat Martino.

  10. #9

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    Quote Originally Posted by freud
    PS. Can anyone website on line where you can do all fingerings on fretboard for Fewell's triads?
    I find the diagrams on p.18-19 to be most helpful for visualising the triads on the fretboard. On p.19 (the highest three strings), I also include all four triads -- so the G- and Bb triads in addition to D- and F.

    There are obviously more (both triad and extension) notes to work with than these, but I find viewing those 8 simple shapes as landmarks useful.

  11. #10

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jehu
    Welcome aboard. Tom!
    Thanks for the welcome, Jay, and for starting the group.

    Like Mark, I am also working with a triad method that I believe will complement Garrison’s. The teacher I’ve been working on triads with is Tracy Kim who has YouTube and Patreon channels, as well as Skype and in person lessons.

    I am away this week but will be home over the weekend to start diving into the book.

  12. #11
    I need help with this book.


  13. #12

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    I'm thinking I will give this a try. Ordered the book... hope it comes with all the pages!

  14. #13

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jehu
    You might want to hold off on diving too deep into it at this point, though. Fewell's approach is all about using a few simple shapes to derive melodic content, and then building on that. You'll also soon see that he advocates a minor conversion thing, similar to Pat Martino.
    In thumbing through the rest of the book I glimpsed that. Wes is huge for Garrison and Wes influenced Pat. Unlike, say, Barry Harris or Joe Pass (-who tended to treat a ii-V as just a V), Wes and Pat and, apparently Garrison, go the other way and treat a ii-V as just a ii. That is, they think in terms of minor shapes / forms. (One can use minor forms / shapes over major chords too.)

    What I like about this approach is that it makes one move along the neck. I started out playing out of pentatonic blues boxes. It made me very position-oriented. Moving along the neck was awkward for me. I'm better at it now but would love to be better still.

    Another thing I love about this approach is that triads are very musical. Some people play very fast but it doesn't grab me. If you work with triads, the improvisation will almost inevitably be coherent and memorable.

  15. #14

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    Quote Originally Posted by WillMbCdn5
    Here is a quick diagram of the triad/ intervals mentioned in chapter1 that are used in the book. Any errors are mine and I would be happy to correct them if you bring them to my attention

    Fewell's Melodic Approach - Ch. 1-2-willmilnetriads1-jpg

    hope that helps

    Will
    Thanks for your screenshots. I almost meant something like that. I am looking for a tool where you can overlap the minor triads and major triads mesh - just like in the Fewell's method - first minor, then major, then minor and finally major. Is there a tool where you can do such a thing?

    Is there anyone brave who throws in a piece of phrasing using Fewell's triads? But I don't mean classic examples from the book. I am looking for inspiration in more modern sounds.
    Or do you know of "known" musicians who play using a similar triads method?

    MarkRhodes - Fewell certainly brings ii - v to ii but ... emphasizes the importance of guide tones. In the examples from the book, Major Third on V chord is normally played as a guide note. Or I don't understand something?

  16. #15

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    dang! those are some important pages @matt!

    maybe berklee press/hal leonard can make it right for you Contact Us - Berklee Press

  17. #16

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    I want to lay down a marker here.
    Not something I want to get into much right now----it's not the time---but something I hope to remember to do when the time is right. And that is to relate Fewell's four triads (Gm Bb Dm and F) to what Carol Kaye calls "triad stacks".


    But Fewell's four are keeping me busy now. ;o)

  18. #17

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    Quote Originally Posted by MarkRhodes
    I want to lay down a marker here.
    Not something I want to get into much right now----it's not the time---but something I hope to remember to do when the time is right. And that is to relate Fewell's four triads (Gm Bb Dm and F) to what Carol Kaye calls "triad stacks".


    But Fewell's four are keeping me busy now. ;o)
    That's related most probably: check the triads starting from G min with extensions and you'll get: Gmin (G - Bb - D), Bb (Bb - D - F), Dmin (D - F - A) and F ( F - A - C) - just different ways of looking at the same thing like superimposing a Dmin triad over a G minor chord or a Bb major chord for example....

  19. #18

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    I'm a big fan of this book and am looking forward to this thread. I found the later chapters on playing over ii V I's in major and minor and voice leading helpful. Especially when I applied his lines to a song in my "repertoire". Though I have owned many books (i.e. Ligon) Garrison's book makes sense to me.

  20. #19

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    I’ve had the book for a few years but didn’t do much with it. Will be fun to work on this as part of a study group. Barry Harris teaches several dominant scale exercises with triads as the focal point. I just recently began working on them and it immediately opened up my ears. Might get a bit confusing to mix the dominant approach with the minor approach, but why not learn ‘em both ways? It’s all the same sounds.

  21. #20

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    Quote Originally Posted by freud
    Thanks for your screenshots. I almost meant something like that. I am looking for a tool where you can overlap the minor triads and major triads mesh - just like in the Fewell's method - first minor, then major, then minor and finally major. Is there a tool where you can do such a thing?
    Neck Diagrams (which is the software I used to create the diagram I posted) is a great tool for creating custom fretboard diagrams , it is highly customizable and easy to use.

    Will

  22. #21

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    Quote Originally Posted by freud

    Is there anyone brave who throws in a piece of phrasing using Fewell's triads? But I don't mean classic examples from the book. I am looking for inspiration in more modern sounds.
    Or do you know of "known" musicians who play using a similar triads method?

    Or I don't understand something?

    Well sure. It's superimposition. Post bop was big on that. Trane and his "sheets of sound". Wes, of course. The player list is endless.

    Referring to page 12 for example - one man's Gmi triad followed by a FMaj triad in steady eighth notes - is just another man's Gmi11 arpeggio. AND - fingering wise they don't really have to be played like two common triad arpeggio fingerings with shifts - that's a choice. They can just be played like "6 consecutive skips in one position", at least in some locations.

    Playing them like triad arpeggios and shifting along the fretboard is a more cerebral approach to playing the material, but like anything else it has trade-offs. Being mindful of what you're playing (as a result of the visual fretboard pattern and the conscious shift) is an upside, while sacrificing speed and control is a downside.
    Last edited by Jazzstdnt; 12-12-2019 at 01:29 AM.

  23. #22

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    Exercise 2.2 under the fingers and now on to the circle of fifths. I’ve never pulled “run X through the the cycle” together for laziness and time reasons. Nice to have it structured for me. GF introduces some additional fingerings in this part.

  24. #23

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    Quote Originally Posted by Dana
    Not exactly 'modern', but the tune 'Don't Give it Up' by Larry Carlton uses major triads a whole step apart in the head.

    Triads in the solo also

  25. #24

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    Quote Originally Posted by matt.guitarteacher
    I need help with this book....
    Have you tried contacting the publisher? Contact them with a picture documenting the missing pages, explain you bought it a while ago but just started to work on it. Better than even chance they'll send you a replacement.
    Brad

  26. #25

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    Hi,


    Thanks so much for the answers. Especially for Mr. Carlton. Good music and sound. However, I can't hear the triads piars in particular. I don't know. Maybe I'm deaf?


    How do you use Fewell's triads? As many small shapes? - for example: I want play phrase with 11th so I use This shape. I want play phrase with 13th so I use this shape? Do you look at it this way?


    Do you have any other methods to use them?


    I found it cool (also in a rhythmic context) to add a chromatic half-tone sound below or above the note from the triad.


    How do you handle playing in different keys? For example, we can do simple 251 with one shape of Fewell's triads. But when we have 2 or 3 different 251s and we improvise, it's sometimes hard to know where I am and what traids to use. This is very very chellenging for me.