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A Systematic ApproachTo l m p ro i i a t i o n

by: ROGER EDISON



LEARN TO PLAY THE ALFRED WAY

A SYSTEMATIC APPROACH TO IMPROVISATION

Jazz is American music. Only in America were

conditions right for i t s development. Although

there i s no doubt that the major contribution was

made by Afro-Americans, there were many threads

that went into the original fabric of jazz. I t was the

interaction of black African rhythms with such

things as Sousa marches, French quadrilles, Spanish

habaneras, mountain clog dance music, vaudeville

songs, barroom ballads and many other types of

music extant in America in the nineteenth century

that produced jazz as we know it . The proof of this

lies in the fact that where African culture interacted

with non-American cultures, as for example in

Cuba and Brazil, much exciting rhythmic improvised

music emerged, but no t jazz.

FOREWORD

The main thing that sets jazz apart from other types

of music i s i t s rhythmic swing. Swing cannot be

defined, but it i s essential to playing jazz. (Some

potent quotes: "It don't mean a thing if it ain't

got that swing" [Duke Ell ington]. Fats Waller,

when asked what swing was, is said to have replied,"I f you got to ask, you'll never know!") You can

learn to swing. In one word, listen! Listen to the

great jazz players on all instruments and from all

eras. From the 1920's - Louis Armstrong, Bix

Beiderbecke, Frank Teschemacher (the legendary

Chicago clarinetist who was Benny Goodman's

first inspiration). The 1930's: Lester Young,

Frankie Newton (the first 'cool' trumpet player),

Coleman Hawkins, Bud Freeman, the entire Count

Basie band. The early be-boppers, Charlie Parker,

Charlie Christian, Dizzy Gillespie. And today,

John McLaughlin, Joe Pass, Chuck Wayne, StanGetz, Miles Davis, Oscar Peterson and hundreds

of others.

Jazz i s improvised music. Improvising means not

playing the notes as written. The tradit ion of

improvising has existed in many times and places.

J. S. Bach was renowned for h isability to improvise

fugues; Beethoven usually improvised something

a t all his concerts; Spanish Flamenco music i s

mostly improvised as i s Indian classical music.

Even parts of traditional Polish polkas are impro-

vised by clarinet and accordion players. In America

improvising was well known among country

fiddlers and banjoists, black singers, harmonica and

guitar players and even members of marching bands

and vaudeville p it orchestras. Jazz could be defined

as "improvisation with swing."

Except for some very recent experiments, jazz

improvisation i s always based on an underlying

chord structure or melody. In the early period

(1890-1920) jazz tunes were often of a march-

like character with typical chord progressions

(cycle of 5 t h ~ ) nd modulations up a fourth for

the trio section. (See for example, Tiger Rag and

High Society.) Even today there are many tradi-

tional jazz bands that play in this style.

From 1920 until today most jazz has been basedon popular tunes of the day such as Sweet Georgia

Brown, 1 Go t Rh ythm , All The Things You Are ,

etc. In the mid-1940's, the jazz composer came

into his own, writing many original tunes or lines,

often basing them on existing chord progressions

such as Charlie Parker's Billie's Bounce (blues),

K O -K O (based on "Cherokee"), Groovin' High

(based on "Whispering"), etc. The modern era

also brought in much more sophisticated harmony

such as the use of altered 5ths and gths,, l l t h s

and 13ths, substitution chords, and suppression

of plain major and minor chords.

Today jazz uses many techniques once thought to

be the exclusive domain of classical music-irregu lar

rhythms, exotic scales, atonality, nnd free for n.

In this book, we'll try to open a tew doors and

point some directions.

Roger Edison

See Roger Edisonls companion bo ok, "Jazz Rhy thm Guitar - A Systematic Approach to Chord Progressions"

/

@ Copyright MCM LX XV ll l by Alfred Publishing Co., Inc.



CONTENTS

1: IMPROVISING ON A MELODY.. . . . . . . . 6

Anticipation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Retardation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

Subdivision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

Neighbor Notes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

Grace Notes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18

Mordents. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

Turns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Passing Tones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24

Slides, Smears, and Trills. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29

IMPROVISING ON CHORDS.. . . . . .. . . .30

How to Spell Chords. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30

How to Use Chords in a Solo. . . . . . . . . . . . . .31

Chord Arpeggio Studies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32

Using Chord Arpeggios in a Solo. . . . . . . . . . .44

Improvising on Chords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46

Blue Notes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52

IMPROVISING ON SCALES AND MODES. .56

Major Scales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57

Jazz Minor Scales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58

Harmonic Minor Scales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59

The Chromatic Scale. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60

The Diminished Scale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60

The Blues Scale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61

Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Pentatonic Scales. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61

How to Use Scales in lmprovising . . . . . . . . . .62

Analyzing Chord Progressions. . . . . . . . . . . . .62

W H A T Y O U

SHOULD K N O W BEFORE

STARTING THIS B OO K

1. How to tune and care for your guitar.

2. How to hold the pick and the guitar.

3. How to find every note in the 1st position

(if you've gone through Alfred's Basic Guitar

Method Book 1 you'll have this covered).

4. How to read the basic rhythms including

0 1 d . . d I J J. band equivalent rests.

5. Some facil ity in playing scales.

6. Knowledge of accents and expression marks.

> A - .



Th e f i rs t thing th a t any c lass ica l, Lat in, o r rock music ian not ices abou t jazz is tha t the 8t h notes

are no t p layed evenly. Technica l ly, of course , a passage of 8t h note s should be p layed so tha t

they are al l equal , the d own beats be ing s l ight ly s t rong er than the upb eats .

1 (straight melody)

O h , I've come from A1 - a - ba - ma with a b a n - j o on my knee,

A jazz player makes two important changes in this phrase. First, he lengthens all the down-

beats while shortening all the upbeats. How much of a change this i s cannot be accurately no-r 3 i

tated. Some writers have used , others J JI . This writer believes the basic jazz rhythm

consists of dividing each beat in to five parts with three on the downbeat and two on the upbeat.5 5

This could be written asJmor J7 bu t would cause a great deal of confusion and

VV Vmake jazz arrangements very hard to read. In this book, we will wri te everything as straight 8thnotes, bu t expect that the player wil l interpret them wi th a jazz feeling.

Getting back to Oh Susannah, the second thing the jazz player does is to reverse the accents.

That is, the upbeats are played stronger than the downbeats. The final result would sound ap-

proximately like this:

2 With a jazz feeling



THR EE IMPORTANT POINTS TO REMEMBER

I . Alternate picking throughout.

2. Down beat 8th notes longer than upbeat 8th notes.

3. Upbeats more accented than downbeats.



JAZZ R H Y T H M EXERCISES (cont'd.)



Part 1IMPROVISING ON A MELODY

Melodic improvisation was the characteristic style i n the early days of jazz. One can imagine a

bored trumpet player playing The Stars and Stripes Forever for the umpteenth time deciding to

"fool around" wi th the tune in places. Or a vaudeville piano player asked to "fake something"

while a comedian did his routine, coming up with a new twist on some ragtime song.

There are several devices w hich can be u se d t o ' y a zz u p J ' a m e l o d y .

1. Anticipation. This means getting to a note before i t s actual time, usually on the upbeat

before the downbeat on which it is written. Any n.ote in a melody can be anticipated, but

i t 's best to keep a balance between anticipated and "straight" notes. Examples of this

device are on pages 7 to 9 .2. Retardation. Playing a note after i t s actual time. Again, i t 's best not to overdo this effect.

Keep a balance between "straight" notes and retarded ones. Examples on pages 10 and 11.3. Sub-division. Breaking longer notes into shorter ones. For example, two 8th notes for a

quarter note. Examples on pages 12 and 13.

4. Neighbor notes. The actual melody note can be preceded by one or more neighbor notes.

Neighbor notes are those notes which lie a half step or whole step above or below the

melody note. Examples are on pages 14 to 23.

5. Passing tones. Connecting melody notes with scale passages. These can be either diatonic

(in the key) or chromatic (using all half steps between). Examples on pages 24 to 28.

There i s much to be said for melodic improvising.

For one thing, it is the most "commercial" jazz

style. That is , i t ' s the easiest jazz style for the

average (non-musically trained) person to under-

stand. Although the heyday of this style was the

period 1890-1920, there have been great melodic

improvisers in every period of jazz. Unquestionably

the greatest was Louis Armstrong, who did his best

work in the years 1926-1931. He influencedvirtually every jazz player who came after him.

You should make every ef fo rt t o hear his recordings

from that period. (They were re-issued by Columbia

a few years ago on two LPs.)

On the following pages you will find examples of

all the devices mentioned above. Try to keep in

mind what you are doing when practicing the

various charts. Of course, no jazz player says to

himself, "Now I'm playing a passing tone" when

improvising, but what these exercises can do for

you i s to develop your ear so that passing tones,

neighbor notes, anticipations, etc., become part

of your playing vocabulary and flow naturallyduring your improvisations.



To illustrate this we'll give you a short fragment of a melody "straight," then various ways to

anticipate the notes in it. Chord symbols are fo r a second player on guitar or keyboard.

Antic ipat ions are marked with an A.

StraightMelody

Medium TempoC E7

lmprovisation No. 1 A

lmprovisation No. 2An .

lmprovisation No. 3 A



ANTICIPATION (cont'd.)

Straight Melody

F

lmprovisation No. 1A

Improvisation No. 2 A A A

lmprovisation No. 3

Straight Melody (in minor key)Em

In the author's opinion, too many anticipations in Ex. No. 3!

B7 Em

lmprovisation No. 1A

lmprovisation No. 2

A .I

lmprovisation NO.3A



ANTICIPATION (concluded)

What follows is a 16 bar melody, first straight, then with anticipations.

ght Melody

Suggestions for further study. Learn the melody to some great older jazz standards such as

Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone, Whispering, I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write

Myself a Letter and improvise on them using anticipations. Or, make up your own straight

melodies and vary them as above.



As me ntioned before, retardation means playing a no te after its ordina ry time. We will use.some

of the same m elodies as in th e preceding section to make this clear. Retar dations are ma rked

with an R.

Straight Melody

Medium Tempo

C

lmprovisationR

Straight Melody

F F 7

Improvisation

R



ANTICIPATION AND RETARDATION

Of course, in an actual solo, no distinction i s made among the various types of improvisational

devices. For study purposes only, the fo llowing charts use only A and R.



This i s a particularly useful device for improvisation when the straight melody has many long

notes in it . For example, tunes like Heartaches, Bye Bye Blues, Me and M y Sh adow. In the

fol lowing exercises all subdivided notes are marked with an S.

Straight Melody (Improvisations with subdivisions on facing page.)

Fast C ~ b 7

n 63 b e IY I I



a a a a a

I L L I r I I P I r r r II I I II I I aD I 1 I I I I I J cm t

(now adding A and R )



I f you felt that the preceding jazz solo had a rather listen to some of the more commercial bands of

stilted sound to it, you're perfectly right. I f players the 20's and 30's. you'll hear many "hot choruses,"

had been limited t o the three devices we've dis- as they used to be called, that sound a lot l ike

cussed so far, jazz would have died out years ago what you've just played.)

for lack of interest. (As a matter of fact, if you

The next two devices introduce notes which are not actually part o f the melody

NEIGHBOR NOTES

Any melody note can be preceded by one or more neighbor notes. A neighbor note may lie:

UPPER NEIGHBOR NOTES LOWER NEIGHBOR NOTES

1 . A half step above the melody n ote 3 . A half step below the melod y no te

2 . A whole step above the melody not e 4 . A whole step below the melody note

Examples

Melody Note 1. 2. 3. 4.

IMPORTANT: NEIGHBOR NOTES MUST RESOLVE TO MELODY NOTES

The question of which neighbor notes to use. s the melody note. In the 40fs, however, the emerging

largely a matter of taste and style. I n the music modern jazz style began to make use of No. 1of the 20's and 301s, the upper N was usually more and more. Listen especially to lines by

in the key . That is , i f playing a N to the melody Charlie Parker and you'll hear many neighbor

note C you would use a ~b in the key of F minor, notes a half step above, regardless of key. No. 4,

but a D natural in the keys of F, C or G major. a whole step below the melody, i s usually confined

The lower N was always No. 3, a half step below to blue notes such as the lowered 7th.

On the fol lowing pages you'll find examples of different types of N. Practice both the straight

melody and improvised versions so the various devices get "in your ear."



Neighbor notes = N; resolutions shown by arrow.

Other devices not marked.

ght Melody (same as p.13)

Fast, be-bop styleC



Straight phrase

Moderate swing

Dm Dm/C ~b A7 Dm Dm/C ~b A7 etc.

With N

Straight phrase

Ballad tem po

G Em Bm G7 C Cm A7 D7 G etc.

With N

Straight phrase

Jazz Waltz

With N

Straight phrase



Any melody note can be preceded by more than one neighbor note, but,it i s very rare to see

more than three. Here are some examples:

ght Melody

C D/C FmG/C C etc.

I - I a 8

I I I Aneighbor notes

N N N

ght Melody

Fetc.

N

ght Melody

. G m 7 ~ b m a j 7 etc.

N

ght Melody

A m 7 D7 etc.



Grace notes are special cases of neighbor notes. On guitar they pose a special problem. Usually

only the first note i s picked; the others, including the melody note, are played by ham'mering

down or pulling off the lef t hand fingers. Play the exercises on these two pages making sure

that you pick only where indicated.

Grace note from below. Play either by hammering down next finger or by sliding up to next note:

Hornmering down

Sliding

must use

hammer

down

must use

hammer

down

Grace note from above. Pick the grace note ; pull o f f to the lower note.

Double grace note from below. Pick once; hammer other fingers down:

3rd str. 2nd str.

u w u w

The note you're going to must be a t least as high as the 2nd fret. Notice the special fingering

for C in bar 2 and F in bar 3.

Double grace note from above. Pick once; pull o f f other fingers.

Remember that all grace note figures must be played on one string. I n bar 2, for example, the

E i s

played on the 2nd string 5th fret so that the rest of the figurecan be played on the 2nd string.



MORDENTS

Two types of mordents are used, the ordinary mordent ( w ) and the inverted mordent ( W ) .

Both are very effective devices when used with taste and restraint. Here's how t o do them:

The Mordent. Play the written note, then the note above it (i n whatever scale you're in a t the

time), then the written note again. Mordents must be executed on one string.

Written Played

Only the first note of each mordent is picked. The 2nd note i s hammered on, the final note is

pulled off. The mordent is a characteristic of the be-bop style that evolved in the early 1940's;

listen to Dizzy Gillespie's playing from that period for many examples. (The melody to 52nd

Street Theme which Dizzy recorded contains many mordents.)

The inverted mordent. Play the written note, then the note below it (usually a half step regardless

of the scale), then the written note again. Inverted mordents must be played on one string.

Make sure to finger the writ ten note with the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th finger, never the 1st finger.

Written Played

2 1 2 1 22 - 3 2 3ww 0 1w w l -Only the first note i s picked. The 2nd note i s pulled off; the final note i s hammered down. The

inverted mordent i s less used than the mordent, but may be heard a t the end of the first phrase

of George Wallington's Godchild.

The inverted mordent (alternate way of playing). Play the written note with any finger. Quickly

slide back one fret then back up to the written'note. This fingering wi ll work on any note higher

than the 1st fret.

Written Played



Keep in mind the two words " taste" and "restraint." Any device can become an irr ita ting man-

nerism if over-used, and this applies especially to the above. The lines on this page should be

practiced as written.

When playing the ones on page 21, add embellishments as you wish.

Fast

C A m 7 D m 7 G I 1 C A m 7 D m 7 G I 1

A *C *C H ** ** 44



Moderately

Gm7 C7-9



T h e tu r n ( cv ) may be described as a comb ination of mo rden t and inverted mord ent . I t is a

very pret t y effect t o use o n ballads on notes with a value of a t least tw o beats (bu t do n ' t overdo

i t ! ) . Turns a re commo nly p layed in e i the r o f tw o ways. S tudy th e examples below; then app ly

them sparingly to the ballad on page 23.

TURN NO. 1 . Star t wi th the no t e above the wr i t ten n o te , then th e wr i t ten no te , then the no tea half s tep below, f inal ly the writ ten n ote .

Written Played n

4 2 1 2 or 3 1 1 1

One p i ck for the four notes in the turn.

TLIRN NO. 2. Star t wi th the w r i t ten no te fo l lowed by the no te above, the wr i tten no te , the no te

a half s tep below, and f inally the w rit ten note . Once again. only the f irs t note of the turn is picked.

Written cu

APlayed

As with oth er typ es of em bell ishment, a ll turns m ust be played on the same str ing. No te the

fingering in the examples be low:

Slowly

5t h string 3rd string 5th string 3rd string 4th string 2nd string 4th string 2nd string

n n- c\, iU & -, I I r

I e I r I 1I I I

I I I I I -I I4 m

4th string 2nd string 3rd string 1st string 3rd string 1st string 3rd string 1st string 2n d string



A d d t u rn s a n d o her em be l l i shments where de s ired.

Em7 -5 A7-5 Dmaj 7



Part 1: Diatonic passing tones (DP) are scale passages that connect melody notes separated by

a fourth or more.

For example:

1. Fourth

A I I FI

r n n hnrome I I .I

C

2. Fifth

I I I nI r

I I can become m r ~ or the reverse Id

l

3. Sixth

h I I Ir I I r l I tI can become I I d m - or the reverseI - I

4. Seventh

- 1can become

I r 4

r l t I II 1 1 - 1 I 1 1 or the reverse. I

d

5. OctaveA ,11 ILI ,rJ u I I

INr w r 1I I I I 1 - 1 I I I

an become or the reverserl

eJ" I

It's not a good idea to play these passages too square (evenly). We've only writ ten them this

way for ease of reading. A jazz player might play No. 5:

Generally, it sounds better to accelerate a scale passage towards the end.



The matter of which scale to use as passing tones is in F, then to G minor, later to ~b and other keys)

no t always an easy matter to determine. As long as Tea for Two ( 8 bars in ~ b ,bars in C, etc.), and

a tune stays in the same key there i s no problem. virtually every jazz tune of any sophistication. I f

But tunes, especially interesting ones, often have you have some knowledge of harmony, you should

temporary changes of key. Examples of this may be able to determine temporary key changes. This

be found in I'll RememberApril (4 bars in G, 4 bars subject is discussed in greaterdetail in Part 3 of this

book, "IMPROVISING ON SCALES" (page 56) .

The following line i s based on the chord changes to a famous jazz tune. Temporary key changes

are marked.

-Key of Gm

I -Key of Eb

~ b r n a j 7 ~ b 6 C m 7 G m aj Am 7 Bm 7 E m 7

Key ofG

25



PASSING TONES (cont'd.)

Part 2: Chromatic passing tones (CP) are a series of half steps that connect melody notes. We

assume tha t y ou k now yo ur chro matic sca le . I f n o t , re fer to page 60.

1 . Fourthn - CI r r^

o can become m . r u m I f I I or the reverseI I

A 2. Fifth

A 4. Seventh

A 5. Octave

As with diatonic passing tones, don't play chromatic

scale passages too square. You've already learned

that the melody note may be anticipated or

retarded, so there's no need to arrive at the melody

note exactly on the beat. As a matter o f fact, one

of the reasons classically trained musicians sound

stiff and stilted when they try to play jazz i s that

they play too precisely. In jazz, the whole effect

i s that while the accompaniment played by the

rhythm section remains steady, the melody goes

ahead of and behind the beat, only occasionally

coinciding with it .



The first half of this melody has chromatic passing tones wri tten in. In the second half, use

them at will.

Moderate to fast

r r I I V I I I ' l l - a

B m7 ~ b m a j 7 A m 11 D 7 -5 G m aj7



A very effective device i s to approach a melody note from three half-steps away, above or below.

The other fingers are then hammered down or pul led off. In each case the figure must be played

on one string and only the f irst note i s picked.

From belown

From above n

Play the exercise below with a light swing. I t uses the above device more than good taste would

allow in an actual solo.

~ b 6 . 2nd str. Bb7



SLIDES, SMEARS, and TRILLS

Probab ly because they ' r e so easy to p l ay , sl ides have been o verdone . So m uch so , t ha t man y , i f

no t mo st , jazz p layers never use th em . We include them here for completene ss.

THE SLIDE FROM BELOW. Sta r t anyp lace lower on the f r e tboard than the n o te you ' r e head ing

to ; p ick o nce and sl ide th e same f inger up th e s t r ing, ar riv ing at the f inal no te where i t is wr i t ten ,

o n o r o f f t h e b e a t .

, slide slide ,lide slide slide

From four From five From seven From nine From eleven

frets below frets b ~ l o w frets below frets below frets below

THE SLIDE FROM ABOVE can a l so be m ade f rom an y f r e t , bu t good t as t e d i c t a t es no m ore

than th r ee o r four .

From five From seven From nine From eleven

frets above frets above frets above frets above frets above

Smears also called "bends" and "chokes" are well word "bend"; otherwise there i s no way of knowing

known to blues and rock players. They are played whether bends, mordents, or turns are meant.

by pushing the string across the fretboard, increas-

ing the tension on the string and thus raising i t s Smears are most effective on the higher strings.

pitch. Confusingly enough, the symbols used are I f you have trouble pushing the string hard enough

either cu or w . Careful arrangers also use the to change i t s pitch, try using a lighter gauge string.

In the fol lowing example, finger G; push the string up to G # .

bend

**

The trill i s rarely used in jazz, although some country blues players (e.g. Blind Lemon Jefferson)

use(d) them of ten. Pick once;play the other notes by alternately hammering down and pulling o ff .

Written Played

1 3 1 3etc.

5



Part 2

IMPROVISING ON CHORDS

Up to this point, chord symbols above the melody

have been for accompaniment only. We will show

you how to integrate chords into single string solos.

A chordi s

a group of three or more notes. Intraditional harmony, the notes of a chord were

arranged in 3rds, bu t modern musicians often use

other combinations that don't f i t that defin ition

(for example, C sus4-C F G; G 13-5 -G ~b F B E A).

In the early period of jazz, most harmony consisted

of major, minor, and 7th chords with an occasional

diminished. In the 1920's, augmented triads and

dominant 9th chords were added.

The swing era (1930-1945) brought in the minor

7th, major and minor 6th, major 7th and major 9th.

Starting in the 19401s, azz harmony was expanded

to include lowered and raised 5ths, lowered and

raised Sths, natural and augmented 1 ths and 13ths

as well as other altered and sometimes rather

dissonant chords.

In recent years players have introduced super-

imposed triads ( two chords a t the same time),

chords extended into scales, totally free form,

microtones (intervals smaller than a half step)

tone rows (a series of tones always played in the

same order backwards, upside down or upside

down and backwards), and other more or less

successfuI experiments.

In this book we will take you as far as gths, 11 hs,

and 13ths, sti ll the mainstay of most jazz chord

progressions.

HOW TO SPELL CHORDS

All chords may be derived from the basic five:

The m ajor chord ( I s t , 3rd, and 5th steps of any major scale)

The m inor chord ( I s t , lowered 3rd, and 5th steps of any major scale)

The 7th chord t l s t , 3rd, 5th and lowered 7th steps of any major scale)

The diminished chord ( I s t , lowered 3rd, lowered 5th, and 6th steps of any major scale)

The augmented chord ( I s t , 3rd, and raised 5th of any major scale)



Thus, a major 7th chord i s a major chord plus the 7th step of the scale.

A major 6th (or 6th ) is a major chord plus the 6th step of the scale.

A minor 7th adds the lowered 7th to a minor chord.

A minor +7 chord adds the 7th to a minor chord.

A minor 6th chord adds the 6th t o a minor chord.

Ninth chords always add a 9th to a 7th chord unless otherwise specified. For example, C9 means

C7 plus the 9th step of the scale, D.

C major 9th means C major 7th plus the 9 th step of the scale.

Eleventh chords add the 11 h step of the scale to a 9th chord. C11 means C9 plus the 11 h step

of the C Scale, F.

Thirteenth chords add the 13th scale step t o an 1 t h chord. C13 means to add the 13th step ofthe C scale (A) to a C11 chord.

Thus, each higher numbered chord builds on the one before it .

Altered notes are self-explanatory. C7-9 means to add the lowered 9th step of the C scale ( D L )

to a C7 chord. C7 + 5 means to raise the 5th step of the C scale ( G#) n the C7.

HOW TO USE CHORDS IN A SOLO

First, you must know what notes belong in a First, learn your chord arpeggios. Since this is not

chol'd. Take C, for example. The notes are C, E, G . meant to be a book on arpeggios, only one short

I f any kind of a C major chord is being played as phrase in the lower positions i s given for each

accompaniment, C, E, and G are "free tones." chord. Once you have the notes down, mix them

That is, they may be played a t any time in any up any way you like, preferably wi th another

order. In addition these free tones may be treated instrument playing accompaniment.

as melody notes. Thus, any of the devices learned

in Part 1 can be applied to them.



A R P E G G I O S T U D I ES O N C

(Use alternate picking and iazz phrasing throughout.)

C ~ ( C E ~ G ) c ~ + ~ ( c E ~ G B )

7 C ~ ( C E G B ~ ) C S( C EG B~ D)

C O ( C E ~ F # A )

for

aug. C+(CEG#)

Ideally, the above exercises should be played while an accompanying chordal instrument such

as guitar or pian o plays the indicated chords.



A R P E G G IO S T U D I E S O N F

e

r

e

for

F ~ ( F A ~ C )

e

for

~7 F ~ ( F A C E ~ )

e

for

dim. FO(FA~BD)

Use ,

for



A R PEGGIO STU D IES ON 6 b

Use

r r v ( ~ v u r Uvl l l aJ I~~ UI'nI

major h. n : f , f Ela

a I

Use

for

minor ~ b m ( ~ b ~ b ~ )

Use

forB ~ ~ ( B ~ D F A)

Use

for

~b dim. B ~ ' ( B ~ D ~ E G )

Use .for



ARPEGGIO STUDIES OR1 ~b

Use

Use

J

Use

for

~ b 7 E ~ ? ' ( E ~ G B ~ D ~ )

Use

Use

for

aug. . E ~ + ( E ~ G B )



ARPEGGIO STUDIES UN A D

Use

for

major A ~ ( A ~ c E ~ )

Use

Use

I

t

Use

for

dim. Abo (AbBDF)

Use

for

b aug. A ~ + ( A ~ c E )



Use

D b r n a j 7 ( ~ b ~ ~ b ~ )

Use

Use

for

~ b 7 D ~ T ( D ~ F A ~ C ~ ) D ~ ~ ( D ~ F A ~ C ~ E)

Use

Use

for

aug. D ~ + ( D ~ F A )



e

~ b ( ~ b ~ b ~ b )

e

e

e

F td i r n (F#~cE)

e



A R P EG G IO S T U D IE S O N B

Use

for

major B ~ ~ ~ ~ ( B D # F # A # ) --

Use

Use

for

B 7 B~(BD#F#A)

Use

for

Use

for

aug.



Use

for

for

Em(EGB)

IUse

for

Use

for

Use

for



ARPEGGIO STUDIES O N A

Use

for

Use

for

e

e

for



UN

Use

for

D ~ ~ ~ ~ ( D F # A c # )

Use

for

Dminor D m (D F A ) D ~ + ~ ( D F A c # )

v

Use

for

D7 D ~ ( D F # A C )

Use

for

Use

for

D aug. D + ( D F # A ~ )



A R P E G G IO S T U D I E S O N G

se

e-

G ~ ( G B ~ D ) G ~ + I ( G B ~ D F #

G ~ ~ ( G B ~ D F ) G ~ G ( G BD E )

G 9 ( G B D F A )

t - +-t -

e



As previously mentioned, it i s more "commercial" Below i s the melody to a medium tempo tune.

(easily understood by the average listener) to stick On page 45 you 'll find a jazz version using all the

close to the melody when improvising. I n Part 1, devices learned in Part 1 as well as chord arpeggios

we learned various devices to embellish the melody used as fill-ins.

and give it a jazz feeling. Our fi rst step in using

chord arpeggios will be to keep the melody intact, We are limi ting the types o f arpeggios to the five

but use chord arpeggios to fi ll in dead spots, places basic sounds in jazz:

where the melody sustains a long note or rests.

1. Maior, major 7th, 6th, major 9th

2. Minor, minor +7, minor 7th, minor 6th

3. Dominant, 7th, 9th, 1 1 h, 13th

4. Diminished

5. Augmented

Straight Melody

Both the melody and the chords have been "jungleized" - simplified to the lowest common

denominator. The jazz soloist can now begin to bu ild on this simple structure. One of millions

or billions of possibilities appears on page45 . Original melody notes are circled; chord arpeggio

fil l-ins are bracketed and labeled.



Comments: This solo i s reminiscent of the 1920's and 30's. The chord structure i s primitive and

the arpeggio figures reflect it. Nevertheless, the solo would have been perfectly acceptable to the

audiences of those days because ( a) the melody i s sti ll recognizable and (b ) the arpeggios are all

within the chord.



IMPROVISING ON CHORDS (cont'd.)

W H Y DIDN'T THE PRECEDING SOLO SOUND MOD ERN?

Basically, fo r tw o reasons:

1. The chord arpeggios were based on simple, unaltered chords.

2. The arpeggios were played w ithout embellishment.

Basic chord arpeggio variations

Important: Any chord arpeggio can be treated

like a new melody and can, therefore, be em-

bellished with neighbor tones, passing tones,

anticipations, retardations, etc. The possibilities

are so enormous, that we'll only be able to suggest

some examples:

Above are just a few of the many, many possibilities.

You will notice that the rhythm i s basically 8th

notes and that the original order of notes has been

retained. There is, of course, no reason why you

have to do either. You can play slower or faster

notes or mix up the notes of the arpeggio any way

you choose. Also, don' t forget the other ernbel-

lishments you have learned, the mordent, turn, etc.




Below, and on the next few pages, are fur ther examples of what may be done with simple arpeg-

gios of C minor, G7, C diminished and C augmented. I f you like the sound of any of these frag-

ments, transpose them to other keys and chords. Then make up your own.

Basic C m i n o r

Basic G7 Var ia t ions



BasicC diminished Variations

BasicC augmented Variations




Added and altered notes

As already implied in the arpeggio studies on pages 7ths, or 9ths. The best policy i s to try them out.

32 t o 43, major chords can be altered by adding I f they sound right to you, then they're right.

any combination qf the Gth, major 7th, or 9th. This also goes for the lowered 5th (- 5) . To some

These notes will always sound good in a modern people, playing -5 against a major chord sounds

context and can be used almost as freely as chord too far out; others love the sound. (Listen totones. We say "almost" because neighbor notes records by Lennie Tristano or George Russell for

don't always sound right when leading to Gths, many examples of -5.)

Here are a few variations on a plain major chord using Gths, 7ths, Sths, and an occasional -5.

F major chord Variations

maj 7 maj 7N N

maj7 9 maj7

(an early be-bop cliche)



Minor chords can also be varied by adding 6th, 7th, and 9th. The 7th can either be the +7 or the

7 depending on the key and your personal taste. Examples below.

F minor chord Variations +7 7

Seventh chords have a whole arsenal of altered notes. These include -5, +5, -9, 9, +9, 11, + l 1, and

13. Below are only a tiny fraction of the possibilities.



Diminished chords can be expanded by adding the +7th , 9th, and 1 1 h.

E diminished chord Variations +7 9

11

Augmented chords can be expanded by adding the 7th, 9th, and + 1 th.

F augmented Variations7 7 9

A famous Dizzy Gillespie lick



Blue notes are derived from African sources. They described as the lowered 3rd, lowered 5th, and

do not actually exist in the Western European lowered 7th degrees of a major scale. This i s not

tempered scale that we use. Piano players are accurate and comes from the fact that early

stuck here, because they cannot alter the pitch of theorists tried to force Afro-American music into

a note, but guitar players can push the string across a European mold. Actually, blue notes lie between

the fingerboard and thus raise i t s pitch a quarter the lowered and the natural note as the example

step, half step or more. Blue notes are usually below illustrates.

C maior scale

A

lowered 3rd "Blue" 3rd natural 3rd

thigher than Eb but lower than Eh

similarly,

lowered 5th blue 5th natural 5th

thigher than Gb but lower than Gh

lowered 7th Blue 7th natural 7th

t

higher than Bb but lower than Bt(



All b lue notes marked with a B. Each one should be pushed about a quarter tone higher than written.

Slow P 7

Blue notes can also be introduced into non-blues type solos as a touch of "funk."

Medium Bounce (A la Count Basie)

F D m 7 G m 7

C7-5, > B D. . a1 Fine



rParts 1 and 2 have covered jazz styles up to about

1960. Even today, many jazz players use only the

devices we have covered.

Does there always have to be a reference to the

melody in an improvised solo? No. Many great

jazz players in a sense create their own melodies

based on the existing chord progression. The

usual pattern in a jazz arrangement i s

Introduction: (Usually 4 bars)

First Chorus: Front l ine plays melody in unison or in harmony

Middle Choruses: Individual players take solos based on the same chord progression as the

melody.

Last Chorus: Same as first chorus.

It's up to the soloist whether he refers to the

melody or not. Some players stick fairly close

especially on the first chorus, then get farther

and farther away. Others start right out playing

only on the chords assuming that since the melody

Planning your solo

I f you can play great ideas "off the the top of your

head," great! Just listen to the rhythm section and

blow! But if you don't have that kind of talent, a

little planning will go a long way towards helping

you create interesting and exciting solos.

1. Know the basic tune thoroughly. That means

know the chords and know the melody.

2. Create a 'jungleized' lead sheet; that is , a basic

melody and chord sheet reduced to the simplest

essentials of notes and chords.

3. Sketch in the important notes you want to

use in your solo and, i f possible, run down some

ideas before you're actually in a playing situation.

If you have a tape recorder this can be done easily

by feeding the chord changes into i t and trying

out various ideas against them.

was played once up front and once a t the end,

referring to it even more would be repetitious and

boring. It's up to you! Jazz is wonderful music,

especially because it leaves so much room for

self expression.

Ideally, jazz should be totally improvised, com-

pletely made up as you go along. But actually,

most players have a general idea of what they're

going to do before they do it. A few geniuses like

Charlie Parker seem to have an endless flow of

fresh, exciting ideas. It's fascinating to listen to

different takes of the same tune. Most of the

other players sound very similar from take to

take, but Parker always comes up with somethingtotally different. . . and usually better than the

take before. This might be a good time to suggest

listening to the great Bird. Most of his records

have been re-issued, and every one i s worth listening

to and analyzing. Slow them down to half speed

and try to copy the solos, on paper if you can,

then on the guitar. It's not an exaggeration to say

that every modern jazz player owes a great deal

to Charlie Parker.



CHARLIE PARKER



Part 3

IMPROVISING ON SCALES AND MODES

In many ways, this type of improvising gives the

player the most freedom. He need not concern

himself with melody notes or chords. As long as

the player keeps with in the scale, any note sounds

right. Because of i t s free nature, this type of

improvisation is hardest to describe on paper. At

least with melodies and chords, the player (and

the listener) have something t o hang on to. Thetask of playing scalar improvisations that have

line and direction is a formidable one. All too

often such solos degenerate into a meaningless

display of technique with little or no emotional

content.

AI l scales and modes are presented in diagram form.

The advantage of this is that one scale pattern can

be used anywhere up and down the fretboard. The

fingering i s the usual one finger for each fret

except where marked.

Once a scale has been mastered, i t can be made the

basis of all the embellishments learned in Parts 1

and 2. That is, the scale itself becomes the melody

which in turn can be embellished wi th grace notes,

mordents, neighbor notes, passing tones, etc.



Major scale pattern No. 1

As given here, w ith the keynote on the 6th string 3rd fret, the pattern produces the scale of

G major. This pattern works from ~b or F# (keynote on the 2nd fre t) through G (keynote on

3rd fret), ~b (keynoteon 4th fret), A, ~b , B, C , ~b , D, ~b , E, and F with keynoteon 13th fret..

Keynote

Keynote

IVlajor scale pattern IUo. 2

As given here with the keynote on the 5th string 5th fret, the pattern produces the scale of D

major. This pattern works from D b (keynote on 5th string 4th fret) through C (keynote on

5th string 15th fre t).

Keynote/

Keynote

Major scale pattern No. 3

As given here, with the keynote on the 6th string 5th fret, produces the scale of A major. This

pattern works from A major through ~b major with keynote on 6th string 14th fret.

Keynote

Keynote

e 3rd string.



The jazz minor scale i s identical to the major scale except for the 3rd which is lowered a half

step in the jazz minor.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

C maior scale: C D E F G A B C

.Cjazzminor: C D E b F G A B C

Jazz minor scale pattern No. 1 (As given in G 1

Keynote

Keynote

Jazz minor scale pattern No. 2

This pattern works from C# minor up to C minor. (As given, in D minor.)

Keynote

Keynote

Jazz minor scale No. 3

This pattern works from A minor up to C# minor

Keynote

Keynote



i s identical to the jazz minor except for the 6th which is a half step

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Jazz minor : C D Eb F G A B C

Harmonic minor : C D ~b F G A b B C

1

G minor. Works from F# minor up to F minor.

Keynote

Keynote

or scale pattern No. 2

D minor. Works up to C minor.

Keynote

Keynote

nor scale pattern No. 3

n in A minor. Works up to G minor.

Keynote

Keynote



THE CHROMATIC SCALE

The chromatic scale consists entirely of half steps.

It has no key center and therefore no keynote.

Chromaticscale: C C# D E b E F FS G ~b A ~b B C etc..Chromatic scale pattern N o. 1 (four notes to a string).

Chromatic scale pattern No. 2 (five notes to a string).

THE DIMINISHED SCALE

e diminished scale consists entirely of alternating whole stepsand half steps

ed scale: C D E b F F $ G$ A B C (Either C, Eb , F # , or Acan be the keynote).

Diminished scale pattern (as written, starting on G).



THE BLUES SCALE

This scale i s well known to blues and rock players who make great use of it . I t incorporates all

the "funky" notes discussed under blue notes. In C, it looks like

C D ~b F ~b G (A) ~b C

(as given in F).

MODES

The ordinary modes are seven in number. As they are simply re-arrangements of the major

scale, no new material need be learned. For example, the Dorian mode i s the same as the C major

scale except starting on D. The Phrygian mode starts on E, etc. Here they are:

IONIAN: C D E F G A B C

DORIAN: D E F G A B C D

PHRYGIAN: E F G A B C D E

LYDIAN: F G A B C D E F

MIXOLYDIAN: G A B C D E F G

AEOLIAN: A B C D E F G A

HYPODORIAN B C D E F G A B

When playing in the above modes the ordinary C rnaior fingering can be used.

PENTATONIC SCALES

These are greatly used in rock and have a lim ited value in jazz. A pentatonic scale contains five

notes. Since the five notes correspond to the 1, 2, 3 or 4, 5 and 6 of the major scale, no new

fingering need be learned.

Pentatonic scale on C: C D E G A

Pentatonic scale on C: C D F G A

You wil l notice that the first scale is another way of saying C6 add 9; the second is an F6 add 9.



HOW TO USE SCALES IN IMPROVISING

As stated before, a scale can be thought of as an extended chord. For example, take C13 + 11

If we re arrange the notes of the chord as a scale, w e come up with:

G A Bb C D E F # (G)

This i s a jazz minor scale based on G. So i f the rhythm section i s playing C13 + 11, C9, C7,

C7-5, C9 + 1 1 or almost any C dominant sound, you can play any note in the G jazz minor scale

and sound right.

All the devices learned in Parts 1 and 2 can also

be applied to scales, but a great deal of personal

taste enters here. Fast grace notes and mordents

can be used on any scale or chord tone, but long

delayed neighbor notes can sound wrong when

resolving to more remote scale tones such as the

9th, 1 th , and 13th. But here's where you have tobe the boss. (Remember, in 1930, added 6ths and

major 7ths sounded "far out " and "weird."') So

don't be afraid to strike out in new directions.

On the other hand, be honest. Don't use sounds

that are far out just to raise eyebrows. Make sure

they really sound good to you.

Some modern jazz composers are writ ing pieces

that state, for example, "Play 32 bars in the

Phrygian mode." In a situation l ike this, anything

goes as long as i t 's within the mode. This type of

improvisation certainly gives the player more

freedom than the type that gives you a chord chart.

The latter type often leads to a more or less cutand dried "running through the changes" with the

player's creativity stifled by the limitations of

staying within the chord progression.

ANALYZING CHORD PROGRESSIONS

A detailed discussion of this subject is beyond the scopeof this book, as i t presupposesa thorough

knowledge of harmony. However, we can poin t you in the right direction.

Below i s the chord progression to a great jazz standard. The bars have been numbered t o make

analysis easy.



ANALYSIS

a l l the

a scale. Eb maj7 gives us Eb G Bb

D; Eb 6 gives us C; to this we can add the 9th, F.

a scale we get: Eb F G B ~ C

. This is obviously an Eb scale of some kind. I f

we fi ll the gap between G and Bb wi th Ab, we getban E major scale; i f we use the less obvious Ah, we

get a transposed Lydian mode: Eb F G A Bb C D.

(This is simply a Bb major scale starting on Eb .)

Using similar methods, Bars 3 and 4 give us the scale G A C D E F # . If we fill the gap with the

expected Bb, we get a G jazz minor scale. The less expected Bh gives us a G major scale.

Bars 5 and 6 are the same as 1 and 2.

Bars 7 and 8 are a whole step lower than bars 3 and 4. They imply either F jazz minor or F major.

Bars 9 and 10 imply either Bbmajor (expected), or Bbjazz minor (less expected).

Bars 11 and 12 imply either Ebmajor (expected), or Bbjazz minor (less expected).

Bars 13 through 16 imply ED major. That is , all the notes in the chords ~bmaj7, m7, Gm7, and

~ b 7elong to the Ebmajor scale. The ~ b m 7hord i s a passing chord and may be ignored.

Bars 17 through 28 duplicate bars 1 through 12.

Bar 29: Ebmajor.

Bar 30: The notes in an Abm6 are AbcbEb . These all belong to the ~ b m a j o rcale.

Bars 31 and 32 shift between Ebmajor and ~b ma jo r .

On page 64, you"ll find a "map"' of the same tune as on page 62. This tells you what scales to

play and when. Bars are numbered as before.



A Ebmaj7 Fm7 Gm7 ~ b m 7 Fm7 ~ b 7

Ebmaj7 ~ b 6 Ebmaj7 ~ b 6 Gm7 c 7

I b o r h I _ a

a I I I r 1 3 1II

I 0 - I-- -

0 @ Q

bor b b o r b

jazz lead guitar

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