Pat Martino Lines

**Alter** · 11-17-2023, 07:49 AM

Pat Martino has been one of my favorite guitarists, ever since i first heard his playing. He is also great to learn lines, cause his system and approach are so specific. A small video where i play stuff based on the lines in his Linear Expressions book. At some point years ago i went through that book with Garrison Fewell, who told me that Martino only thinks of four areas on the fretboard, and the fifth area on the book is of the writers (Tony Baruso) making. But the lines are still fine!

Also trying to figure out how my Gopros work for filming at home on this one, as second and third camera to a Canon M50 II that i mainly use..

**Alter** · 11-27-2023, 09:19 AM

And one more video with the same type of lines, but this time over a dominant chord quality (namely an F7 chord).

**Tal_175** · 11-27-2023, 10:47 AM

Nice playing. Linear Expressions is a genius book. I've been working on it in less than a week, I'm already able to freely play these types of lines in all keys, all positions in the context of one chord drones similar to the videos you posted. A bit slower perhaps at the moment as I need a couple more weeks to improve my familiarity with the lines to speed up.

What I'm working on now is to connect the lines in the context of a tune instead of playing over a drone. That requires applying the lines to different types of chords and working on connecting them. Are you working on applying the lines to standard changes?

I might post an example tune application once I get more fluent with connections with these lines. If you have done this already, it'll be great to hear an example.

**equenda** · 11-27-2023, 12:51 PM

I am very familiar with the book LINEAR EXPRESSIONS.
Many years ago I studied it very carefully and I think it helped me a lot. Some lines I have forgotten after many years but others are imprinted very well in my memory and in my fingers.

In some time I will make a video where I will explain how to use some of the phrases written in the book to also play on traditional harmonic progressions with tension and resolution (II - V - I).
In practice it involves modifying the last notes of the melodic line to allow resolution on a major or minor chord.
A problem with almost all the phrases in LINEAR EXPRESSION is that they don't sound good at slow tempo/speed.

Ettore -Ettore Quaglia - Jazz Guitar and Rare Jazz Records - Home

**GuyBoden** · 11-27-2023, 02:14 PM

Originally Posted by equenda

A problem with almost all the phrases in LINEAR EXPRESSION is that they don't sound good at slow tempo/speed.

Yes, I found this to be true.

But, they sound great fast, he played them fast on other dvd tutorials too.

**Alter** · 11-27-2023, 04:15 PM

Well, at slow tempos you play them double time!

One good way to start playing them through changes is over the standard II V I progression, where you can start a line on D-7 and continue it through G7 and Cmaj7, and is sounds pretty diatonic. Martino is great at that, he superimposes these lines over any progression you can imagine! I like how he progresses to generate these lines on chords derived from the diminished/augmented substitution he uses, so he reaches incredibly sounding out lines playing pretty much this material. Checkout the ending part of his second videotape Creative Force:

**Tal_175** · 12-01-2023, 01:10 PM

I created an intervallic view of all five of the activities. Although I did memorize all the activities, the real benefit I believe is integrating the building block cells of the activities in my playing:

Pat Martino Lines-erase-jpg

In fact, I treat them as just one activity. In other words, even though the activities are tied to certain areas of the fretboard, the phrases in the activities can be played anywhere. I indicated the repeated cells visually.

The first goal for me is to become fluent enough with the phrases that I can play continuous 8th note lines based on the activities indefinitely without strict repetition anywhere on the fretboard. My aim is getting them to 220-240bpm.

The second goal is to apply them to different chords. Let's say the activities are in F minor (ie "1" is F), then the activities can be applied to F minor, Bb dominant, E alt, D half-diminished and Ab major. Of course you may have to do minor tweaks (no pun intended) when applying them to different chords. For example, F dorian is Ab Lydian (the 6th of F is the #4 of Ab). You may want to flatten the 6th if you want the true Ab major (another advantage of the intervallic view). On the other hand you can use F melodic minor which will give you Ab augmented.

**Tal_175** · 12-01-2023, 01:32 PM

Note also that playing F melodic minor for Ab major is what Reg often refers to as developing references. Borrowing the related minor from the melodic minor and using substitutions based on the chords of that melodic minor.

Although different harmonic applications of the activities may imply "derivative" thinking, I always use the "parallel" view. In other words, for example, when I apply the F minor activities over Bb Dominant, all the intervals change for me (1 becomes 5, 6 becomes 3 etc.). I trained myself to see the fretboard intervallicaly based on the chord of the moment (when chords change, you change school), so that's not hard for me. The point of the parallel view is that when I'm comping on Bb7, I'm not thinking F minor voices so that should also be the case when I'm playing lines. Derivative thinking encourages compartmentalization of the fretboard in my view. You develop different "grips" and "shapes" for comping and soloing with very limited feedback between them. My view of the fretboard is the same whether comping, soloing, or playing chord-melody.

**buduranus2** · 12-01-2023, 03:39 PM

Originally Posted by Alter

And one more video with the same type of lines, but this time over a dominant chord quality (namely an F7 chord).

I'm in a little over my head but that sounds like C dorian.

**Tal_175** · 12-01-2023, 03:43 PM

Originally Posted by buduranus2

I'm in a little over my head but that sounds like C dorian.

C minor lines over F7.

**buduranus2** · 12-01-2023, 03:47 PM

Originally Posted by Tal_175

C minor lines over F7.

Once again proving that even a blind squirrel finds an acorn now and again. On a lighter note, I had started a thread on exactly this topic a few weeks ago: Dorian conversion? Now I hear how it fits together.

**MarkRhodes** · 12-01-2023, 06:24 PM

Nice. I had a teacher who put me to work in that book. I still play those lines ("activities") from time to time as a warmup. It's great learning how to move them around the fretboard.

Those lines are like Lebowski's rug: they really pull the room together.