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Thanks Gerard, it’s always encouraging for me to know that people are watching and also benefiting from the You Tube lessons. Yes, I do offer some complementary insight sometimes to what is in the courses here, without really planning it. Hope more students enrolled here will watch the YouTube videos.
Tom,
In Candy Bars 4 we are using a lot of upper extensions to start the V chord. Upper extensions are secondary guide tones (see Lesson book, p.18 and p.60, especially tip #2).
The other element we are using is approach notes at the point of chord change, which briefly delay the resolution to the new target. This works best at a medium to fast tempo.
3rds and 7ths are the strongest guide tones so I drill that first in the course, but eventually you want to alternate them with the secondary guide tones and hybrids (5’s and roots). NOTE: When not using a 3rd or 7th to start a measure you want to make sure that at least one of them is present in the line to better imply the changes. Otherwise your line may end up sounding a little weak and lack tonal definition.
Let me know if this answers your questions.
The candy bars were uploaded at the request of several students who wanted ready to play examples of lines using the approaches being studied in each module. They are a bonus but not an official part of the course and even though they are good to play over, by no means spend time memorizing them at the expense of not moving on with the course. They are there for the sake of analysis and to spark your imagination as to different ways we can construct lines using the given approach concept.
Memorizing “licks” defeats the purpose of this course which is to learn the language of jazz and eventually be able to improvise by constructing lines in any harmonic context by using the arpeggios in combination with the various approach techniques. However, if from playing them so much you memorize them and they happen to come up in your playing because you hear them in your head, that is fine. For example, I often might spontaneously play fragments of Charlie Parker heads in a solo simply because I hear them in my head after listening and playing them for so many years. So the idea is not to try to force a lick into your solo because there is no time to recall them. Again, it must happen naturally and in the context of what you are playing.
I haven’t gotten any other reports of this happening in the past except for a remote few who had slower connections and maybe only experience it during peak hours. I personally have never had any problems, not even on my mobile and when I have watched on different students computers (at least locally), it has always been very smooth.
The videos are hosted professionally on Vimeo who are reputedly one of the best for video and used by lots of film industry professionals to have private screenings. From all the research I’ve done, most problems are usually with the individual user’s ISP and how it relays the information. This will vary from location to location around the world, depending on many variables.
I’m sorry I can’t be of more help but this one is out of my hands. However, here is some troubleshooting that is often done:
1.Try watching the videos in non HD resolution. If this solves the problem, you’ll know that you don’t really have the speed required for HD and you might consider upgrading to a faster connection with your ISP, if available.
2.The other is to watch at different times of the day to see if there is a change…try middle of the morning, middle of the afternoon and late at night. If you notice the problem is gone or there is less buffering, this means that your ISP is experiencing slower speeds at peak hours when too many people are using the internet …the classic bottleneck.
Thanks Gerard…much appreciated! All I can say is that it’s been a marathon to complete this Volume. Let’s see how long Chord Melody takes…so much to cover.
I have defined ch pt or approach tones in general to upper extension in Lesson 4. See Lesson Book 1 p. 60 , last paragraph (#4).
In the specific example you gave which I understand as 3- ch pt-9-1, I assume the line is being played in a register above middle C. This makes the 2 a 9 in how it blends with the harmony, or if you want to be really specific, the overtone series produced by the chords root being played by the bass. The ch pt is clearly targeting and resolving to the 9. Proof is that we could end the line there and it would sound fine in that range. That is evidence of resolution. This however is not the case if the same line were to be played by the bass player. It would then most likely be analyzed as 3-ch pt- 2-1 because the 2 can no longer function as an upper extension or added chord tone. This would also probably be the case if on guitar we play it on the 6th string.
Furthermore, some will call it a 2 even in a high register simply because it is an 8th note being played at a fast tempo. So tempo can also affect the function of a note! Therefore it is all relative.
Personally I opt to call it a 9th when teaching jazz improvisation, for 2 reasons: 1- I assume the student will be playing it in the register covered by the top 4 strings and 2- I assume no student is yet playing it at a high tempo where it looses its identity as a 9.
The bottom line is that if you want to call it a 2, it won’t affect your playing for the better or worst and you don’t have to worry about the jazz police coming after you 🙂
Mark….what can I say…this is embarrassing..fortunately the great majority of errors are text related and the notes and playing are correct I guess for the most part. I will try to get to it by this weekend as I am traveling right now.
As far as the leading spaces being stripped, there is not much that can be done unless you know html.
Thanks for the corrections, I’ll let you know as soon as I post the corrections. Either way, I owe you big time. I will send you an upcoming book I’m finishing to your e-mail sometime soon. I’m testing all the exercises with my one on one students before I release it and I’m already on the 5th revision. Again, mainly text copy errors.
The reason this works is because it is “prepared” chromaticism. The 5th which is a chord tone is preparing the approach which descends chromatically to the next chord tone or 3. Many just analyze this as a chromatic line. When double chromatic approaches are “unprepared” which is usually the case, and start on a non diatonic note from above, that’s when we have that ambiguous dissonant effect.
As a general rule upper double chromatic approaches that begin on a non-diatonic note are very dissonant and usually avoided. The other issue is that they create modal ambiguity. In the case of the 3, if we start a dch from above we are starting with the #4 which is not diatonic to the mixolydian. As a result, the sound produced is associated with the lydian,lydian dominant or super locrian.
So, if you want to play it safe, the best sounding double chromatic approaches are those that begin on a diatonic note.
Let me know if this answers your question.
True, there are no double chromatics in Etudes 11,12 nor 13 for the new dorian scale and arpeggio introduced. Although everyone is different and learns at a different pace, the rationale I employed here is as follows:
1. By this time the student should already be comfortable with the mixolydian, and it is time to move on to a new scale. The etudes themselves normally suffice in teaching this new approach in the context of thealready familiar mixolydian. However, if you feel like you need to practice the double ch with its mixolydian calisthenics, you have the option to do so. In the interest of avoiding redundancy and saving space (especially in book format),I have structured the course with this mindset. Otherwise it would require volumes. That’s just the nature of jazz which is a complex subject.
I would not advise skipping the dorian calisthenics because they will be featured more and more in the upcoming modules. As you start the next module, another new scale/arp will be introduced which will require your attention and you want to be at least somewhat comfortable with the dorian. So all I can say is take the time you need with it.
2. The current etude’s progression does not yet allot sufficient space to the dorian and therefore the introduction of this new approach is best exploited throughout the mixolydian based content,at least for now. I must add that the goal in relation to practicing the dorian calisthenics shouldn’t be to only play the etudes that follow, but also to work on the rhythm templates. In this case they do feature the new approach for the dorian segments.
3. The dorian is identical to the mixolydian except for the 3rd. So with the exception of the 3rd all the double chromatic exercises you practice in the dorian calisthenics are applicable to the mixolydian’s 1,5 and b7. I know we are learning new fingerings and all, but in the long run we should be using all the fingering patterns for all the scales. At this point we should conceive of a double chromatic approach to a perfect 5th as just that, regardless of the scale context it’s in.
4. The dorian calisthenics in this instance are also a preparation for the 3 note enclosures introduced in the next module. Note that 3 note enclosures contain a double chromatic as part of their make-up and will be used a lot with the dorian from there on. They are much harder to play if you don’t have the regular double chromatics down first! So another one of my reasons for introducing this approach here is to give enough time to prepare for what is to come.
The truth is that there is no easy way if we are to learn all the scales, fingerings and melodic resources needed to play jazz standards…but if you take the time, it will all come together and make sense down the road.
Let me know if this makes any sense or if you have further questions…
Nothing missing…This chapter/module introduces the dorian and now makes it the primary focus, so the tab fingerings are displayed only for it. By now you should be familiar with the mixolydian from all the previous calisthenics, and should be able to understand the fingerings without the tab.
