Unprepared Diatonic approaches

[Navdeep_Singh]

Hi Richie,

Working on your unprepared Diatonic approaches.

You to exclude some of the octave – oriented movements ( In terms of total aggregate movement of the line ) when talking about unprepared diatonic approaches.

eg. b7-6-b7 (ascending )

3-4-3 (Descending )

Is it because you don’t think that resolving to the octave is beneficial ?
Thanks .

[Navdeep_Singh]

EDIT`you also omit b7-6-5 (ASC) and 3-4-5 (DESC) .

So maybe you’re trying to steer clear at this point of wider intervals that require excessive stretches across the fretboard ?

[Richie]

I’m not sure I understand what you’re asking. The examples you give such as b7-6-b7 is that of a neighboring tone and b7-6-5 that of passing tones. Sorry, could you clarify?

[Navdeep_Singh]

Start with the b7 (Bb on the 4th string ). Go up a M7 to a 6 on the 2nd string (the note A). You can resolve it by either going up a half step to the Bb or going down a M2 to the G.

These involve wider intervals . That’s why I mentioned that the total distance covered would be an octave if resolving to the B-flat .

I guess my question is are they still considered neighbor tones or passing tones when going up wider intervals ? You mentioned that a unprepared approach involves a leap of greater then the third. Which this example does ( leaping a M7, resolving a half step up for a major second down )

• This reply was modified 8 years, 4 months ago by Navdeep_Singh.

[Richie]

When you say : “Start with the b7 (Bb on the 4th string ). Go up a M7 to a 6 on the 2nd string (the note A). You can resolve it by either going up a half step to the Bb or going down a M2 to the G.” These are definitely unprepared approaches! The interval leap can be as wide as you want as long as you then resolve by stepwise motion. The possibilities go beyond what I have included in the Calisthenics. I am only providing exercises with approaches to the chord tones of the arpeggio within the range of an octave to get you started with the concept. Covering the options beyond this would expand the exercises to an unmanageable volume. It is already more than most can handle as it is 🙂

I encourage people to explore these concepts beyond what I can offer in the exercises, which are by no means exhaustive. On the other hand, when we start getting into unprepared approaches with leaps beyond the octave, we are entering the realm of post-bop. Nothing wrong with this, however for now I rather make sure students get a solid foundation in the bebop era techniques, which will then provide a firm foundation to transition beyond.

Hope this clarifies your question unless I’m misunderstanding it…

[Navdeep_Singh]

Yes thanks

[mdhakr]

Hi Richie.
So, I’m at the Diatonic unprepared approach summary sheet. I see they are not complete as you note.

Are there any restrictions like we had ambiguous upper neighboring chromatic tones?

Is this summary correct: As long as we are going from one chord tone to another via approach note (2, 4, 6) a 3rd or greater and less than an octave (greater is outside of bebop), we are OK?

Jack.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 5 months ago by mdhakr.

[mdhakr]

I wanted to add:
Do you mean the LEAP should be less than 1 octave. ie. 3-UP 2/-down 1 is OK but 3-UP 4/down 2 is too much. (sorry no scripted arrows here).

[Richie]

Jack,

There are no restrictions as far as chromatic approaches, however chromatics from above if not played at a fast tempo will always sound dissonant or “ambiguous”, modally speaking. In that respect I advise to avoid them only because I know most students here are not going to be improvising at fast tempos for a while.

As far as going beyond an octave, it is acceptable. If the leap is too wide, it might not be easily executed though. You have to experiment and see if it works in the midst of a line. Also, use your ear as it might sound disjointed depending on the tempo and context. I would say that frequent unprepared approaches that go beyond the octave are more of a post-bop device…which is perfectly fine if you want that effect and can pull it off.

[mdhakr]

Thanks, Richie. Will start experimenting.

[mdhakr]

Richie, question about defining UA’s. They’re suppose to be 2, 4, and 6. So in the ascending with U/A from above, we have 1 and 3-6-5’s. We then go to b7-2-1 and b7-4-3.

1 is a chord tone. Can we have a 3 or 5-1-b7, or is this not allowed (not a non-harmonic tone)?

BUT, then, in the enclosures, we have 5-1(above)-6(below)-b7 which has the first approach tone (‘1’) as a _chord tone_. (I’m not sure if the ‘5’ prepares the ‘1’).

I think what I’m trying to ask is can the 1 be used as an approach in this situation even though definitions say only the 2,4, and 6 should qualify…..?

[Richie]

Yes, the 1 can be used as an UA in this situation as long as it doesn’t last more than an eighth note at slow to medium tempos. The b7 can also be used as a UA to the 1 under similar circumstances. This is what results in a “dual function” analysis because they also happen to be chord tones. The UA approach however takes precedence in this situation.

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