Learn to play McCoy Tyner, inside/outside 4th+5th, quartal chords

[jzucker]

Learn to play McCoy Tyner, inside/outside 4th+5th, quartal chords


Really excited to show these to you. The voicing I'm discussing in this video is a stacked 4ths triad with an added 5th on top.


So you end up with something like this in 2nd position:


E-A-D-A, the middle note is doubled on top. And it's a familiar voicing to anyone who has listened to mccoy tyner, pat metheny, allan holdsworth, eric johnson, etc.


I typically use these on the top 2 groups of 4 strings. They can get a little muddy on the bottom 4 strings.


They are powerful voicings because the added octave adds density and because they do not contain a 3rd, they are ambiguous enough to really be useful for doing inside/outside playing or to specify melodies with ambiguous harmonies underneath.


One way to use these is to harmonize them modally. Here's the set of chords on the top 4 and middle 4 strings, harmonized in a D Dorian tonality. Note that when used modally, there are a couple voicings that are not perfect 4ths. It only adds to the mystique.


Because of the ambiguity, they are perfect for moving around chromatically which I will demonstrate here. Note that while you are moving around, you can slide in and out of the specified harmony. When I use these chromatically, I try to end the sequence on an inside-sounding chord.


I will also demonstrate this over a d minor blues. Here is an example with the chords notated. Note, this example is all inside the harmony.

#mccoytyner #patmetheny #ericjohnson #allanholdsworth
#sweeppicking #fusionguitar
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#bebop #bebopguitar #beboplicks
#jazzguitar #modernjazzguitar #legatoguitar #jazzguitarlicks #jazzguitarriffs #outsideplaying
#pentatonics

[jzucker]

hey guys, if you find this useful please comment!

[geoff23]

Thanks Jack. This was a bit of a revelation for me as I saw it just after happening to see an old video of Jim Mullen playing live - sliding the bejesus of a x55675 shape over Canteloupe Island.

The penny has dropped for me that it’s actually easy to slide such voicings around quite freely and to resolve without any trouble. It’s a lot of fun and a great thing to do if you find yourself going nowhere in the middle of a solo snd need to change gear.

[jzucker]

Thanks Jack. This was a bit of a revelation for me as I saw it just after happening to see an old video of Jim Mullen playing live - sliding the bejesus of a x55675 shape over Canteloupe Island.

The penny has dropped for me that it’s actually easy to slide such voicings around quite freely and to resolve without any trouble. It’s a lot of fun and a great thing to do if you find yourself going nowhere in the middle of a solo snd need to change gear.

Thanks for commenting. I have used these techniques for a while but found it a bit challenging to demonstrate them on video in a way that would makes sense to people who have never tried it. Glad you found your way through the technique on your own. I love the sound. I love the straight 4th chord sound too

[grahambop]

Very useful, I use the stacked fourths chords quite a bit but the 5th on top variant is new to me, sounds cool.

[rpjazzguitar]

Same for me. I had been playing them as 3 note voicings on top 3 and next 3 strings.

For me, the epiphany was that, in conventional tonal harmony, I could move the xx223x voicing (for example) through the major scale -- and then use all seven of the voicings (in the correct tonal center for the tune) -- largely interchangeably against major, subdominant and dominant chords. You have to use your ear and keep them moving, but it works and it can be a nice alternative to the usual harmony involving keeping the dominants and tonics separate and hearing all the thirds.

[jzucker]

Same for me. I had been playing them as 3 note voicings on top 3 and next 3 strings.

For me, the epiphany was that, in conventional tonal harmony, I could move the xx223x voicing (for example) through the major scale -- and then use all seven of the voicings (in the correct tonal center for the tune) -- largely interchangeably against major, subdominant and dominant chords. You have to use your ear and keep them moving, but it works and it can be a nice alternative to the usual harmony involving keeping the dominants and tonics separate and hearing all the thirds.

That's it exactly! People forget that theory is "after-the-fact" analysis. It means nothing. If it sounds good, it's good - regardless of what the analysis says.

I'm old enough that I think of it as "sonic shapes" sometimes. It doesn't matter to me if a repeating pattern (shape-wise) falters because of the B & G string tuning. That's part of what makes the instrument magical.

[rpjazzguitar]

That's it exactly! People forget that theory is "after-the-fact" analysis. It means nothing. If it sounds good, it's good - regardless of what the analysis says.

I'm old enough that I think of it as "sonic shapes" sometimes. It doesn't matter to me if a repeating pattern (shape-wise) falters because of the B & G string tuning. That's part of what makes the instrument magical.

When you move a short stack of fourths (xx223x) through the major scale, you need 3 grips. Same thing through melodic minor, you need 4 grips. Miss a grip? Decide whether it's clams or jazz.

Bear in mind, btw, that you can get a whole new series of sounds by moving the note on the D string up an octave and playing it on the E string instead.

[ccroft]

Thanks for the fifth on top Jack! I've been doing 4th's like the other guys here for ages, but never stumbled into that. (i guess to a large degree much of what I've learned is the result of stumbling around in clams and jazz...)

[chp]

This has been my secret move for about 20 years. Playing these voicings up and down the fretboard always adds a sense of forward movement to passages, and an added sense of depth and space. Looks like I’m in the same category as a lot of other folks on this thread in that I have only really used the 3 note version….but now I’m gonna mess around with the 4 note voicings. Thanks!

[yebdox]

Great stuff, Jack, really enjoy your foray into lessons, especially making them bite size! Please keep going! I put these up there with all those fabulous short lessons that Reg put out a few years back.