Jazz phrases for guitar. Jazz guitar improvisation Jazz guitar improvisation

The art of jazz - in particular jazz improvisation on guitar– is based on several components. These are: harmony and harmonic structures, melody, rhythm, and, naturally, rational technique of playing jazz or electric guitar.

Basis in jazz improvisation in relation to the guitar is, of course, accompaniment. In the process of studying: chords and their sequences, the rules for their comparison, as well as the main options for chord substitutions - you will also learn about the intricacies harmonic guitar skills. About the many ways of chord expansion, about how you can play the bass line most expressively, about in various ways"holding" the upper voices, as well as how harmony in combination with various rhythms can influence the strength and depth of perception.

Works of our Students

1st and important step for any practicing jazz guitarist is the creation of a specific set harmonic revolutions– “templates” (). When compiling such a set (each guitarist usually has it individually), it is necessary to understand the logic of using these templates in practice spontaneously, as well as in finding ways quickly, in the process improvisation, change these speeds. Here it is important, without delving too deeply into theoretical refinements, to see the entire harmonic system, as it were, “in rough form,” as a whole.

Below are the options harmonic sequences taking into account their performance in various options jazz compositions.

		Original, full-voiced Chord placement option. For compositions where the guitar one creates a harmonic vertical.
		Most lightweight option (only third and seventh). Used for in ensembles with a large cast.
		Option guitar jazz accompaniment in small trains. The functionality is clearly audible without overloaded invoice.
		Option with a change in the upper voice. The basic chords are the same. Often used in chord improvisations or to create bright harmonic “spots”.

Hello, dear friends. Today we will again try to understand what jazz improvisation on the guitar is, we will give a couple of phrases to a composition called Dindi and more.

Dindi- beautiful theme, related to jazz standards. It has a very interesting technique that combines two concepts: modulation and sequence - this is. We recently wrote about this.

In this article we will improvise on this topic. It's actually quite fun.

Well, before listening to our improvisation itself, let’s give some that can be played to the chords of the theme.

Chords Dbmaj7 and Ebmaj7

With these two chords you can play the following phrase:

rice. 1

Here we simply use the Ionian mode (for Dbmaj). In which the ninth raised degree “flickers” (in our country it is designated as F flat).

We end the phrase on the stable degree (3rd) of the Ebmaj7 chord.

Let's hear how it sounds:

Chord Ebmaj7

Here's an example of what you can play on Ebmaj7:

rice. 2

Here we have just the Ionian mode, without any additional altered notes at all. And again, we end the phrase on a chord sound (again on the third degree, but this time of the Dbmaj7 chord), and use the unstable degrees as passing ones.

Let's listen to how this phrase sounds:

Eb7 and Abmaj7 chords

And we can play these chords like this:

rice. 3

Here we played the Mixolydian mode on the Eb7 chord and eventually moved to the E flat note, which is already played on the Abmaj7 chord. Yes, by the way, we have the resolution of the dominant (Eb7) into a new tonic (Abmaj7). That is, it doesn’t happen for long.

Now let's play the third phrase and listen.

Using Exercises

In general, you can simply use special ones to play a particular chord or a whole chain of chords.

After all, jazz is improvisation and solos on jazz themes should always sound new in a good way. This is great, because our music, no matter what we play, will sound special every time, reflecting exactly the current moment of our life and our current state.

Using exercises helps you build phrases without thinking too much. By the way, we have already done this.

In our theme, we can also do this, for example, at the moment when the chords of the sequence begin (starting with Gm). But here the modes will replace each other and the sound will be more interesting due to this.

rice. 4

Here we just played exercises, basically, playing the desired scale with thirds, for example. In Figure 4 we see how the Aeolian mode (for the Gm7 chord) turns into a melodic minor (for the Ebm6 chord).

Let's hear how it sounds:

And finally, let’s listen to what kind of improvisation we can get from all that we wrote above.

From an objective point of view, the art of improvisation on any musical instrument, can be divided into three components: 1. Sense of rhythm. 2. Sense of mode-tonality. 3. Sense of form.

The sense of rhythm is developed by awareness of “rhythmic temperament.” That is, by developing a clear sense of a multi-level, so to speak, dual-triple division of tempo-rhythm, which makes it possible to play fast or slow “phrases” at the same tempo.

A sense of mode-tonality is developed by learning musical figures (scales, triads, seventh chords, pentatonic scales) discussed in this manual. It is precisely learning and performing the proposed scales, arpeggios, etc. that will make it possible to hear how they “sound”, in the sense of what melody is the result of their performance. The importance of such exercises cannot be overestimated. You can say solfeggio on the guitar. Although at first, the connection of these exercises with real music is not obvious, but in the end one cannot but agree that this approach is the “shortest path” to comprehending the “depths” or “heights” musical art. Since improvisation is ultimately a “matter of hearing”, therefore it is “hearing” that first of all needs to be developed.

The sense of form is developed by understanding the elementary logical musical structure called the “square”. The minimum square is one clock period. IN overall length the square can be any, as it depends on the character music performed, but standardly distinguish: one-beat square, two-beat square, four-beat square, eight-, sixteen-, etc. squares

The proposed methodology is precisely aimed at the formation and development of the above listed qualities in the student.

First, we carefully learn the fingering, for example, scales, then we try to play as it is written in the notes under the tablature. Of particular importance in the process of performing exercises is “tapping” with the foot. strong beats tact. Firstly, this allows you to “correctly” hear and convey the melody, and secondly, it allows you to better and faster feel the rhythmic temperament. The actual execution of the proposed exercises in the “rhythm” is the “cornerstone” of the methodology of this manual.

Simply put, if you really want to learn how to improvise, you need to study the suggested musical structures and exercises and practice them daily, at least one hour a day, for three to five years. The more conscientiously you practice and the more time you devote to these activities, the faster you will achieve the desired results. In essence, we are talking about developing automatic, or more precisely, “auditory” performance skills.

Another “cornerstone” of the proposed methodology is the consistency of the device of all tones. In this manual, to consider the structure of musical figures, the main keys chosen are G (G major) and Gm (G minor), only for reasons of convenience of location on the guitar neck.

Once again I would like to emphasize that the fingerings of all musical figures given in this manual are identical to the fingerings of musical figures in any key. That is, having learned and mastered this fingering, we can apply it from any note located on the string (E). In this case, the note from which we will begin playing the fingering will give the name to the scale or arpeggio being performed.

In this section we will talk about 6 basic models for constructing jazz phrases on the guitar. To begin with, these phrases can be learned in C major, and then played in all keys throughout the fretboard.

Jazz phrases in major key

In the first example shown below we will play the lowered third degree b3 and end the phrase on the 6th degree. This lowered 3rd degree will give a bluesy edge to your improvisation.

Arpeggio - important technique for your jazz guitar solos, but sometimes they can get monotonous, especially when starting from the first step. The R-7-R movement allows you to play a large arpeggio from the first stage, but at the same time you avoid the simplicity and banality of your line sound.

Next we'll look at the Em7 arpeggio that will be played over the Cmaj7 chord. The D note in this case will be the 9th degree of the Cmaj9 chord. The M7's use of arpeggios from the 3rd degree of the maj7 chord is something that every great jazz guitarist has used at one time or another in their solos.

Another example using the b5th step. This will also give your solo a bluesy edge.

The next phrase is a combination of b3 and b5th degree in a maj7 chord.

In the following example, we use chord tones, but at the same time avoid using the 1st degree in our solo.

This simple yet effective pattern is based on the major pentatonic scale of the C6 chord.

Dominant Jazz Phrases

Since dominant 7th chords appear at least three times in any jazz progression, and make up the tense chord in ii-V-I, it is important to have a number of classical phrases under your fingertips to confidently and accurately mark this important chord.

In this section you will learn 8 classic models building phrases in dominant chords and thereby expand your palette of colors in your improvisation.

To start, here's a short one that uses the voice leading to the connection between b7 G7 and the 3rd stage in Cmaj7.

Working on soloing in dominant seventh chords means not only soloing within that chord, but also resolving it into subsequent chords in the progression.

Here's an example for creating tension over a V7 chord in a short ii-V-I pattern in C major.

Notice the intervals b13 (Eb), #9 (Bb) and b9 (Ab) applied to the G7 chord. They create a feeling of tension, which you then resolve into a Cmaj7 chord.

Here's a short, simple line based on a G7 arpeggio.

As mentioned earlier, bebop scales are in an efficient way soloing over any dominant 7th chord.

This example will recognize a longer phrase in bebop and also uses the Bdim7 arpeggio.

Mixing notes from the dominant arpeggio and Mixolydian mode with blues notes is interesting way express your musical thoughts.

Minor jazz phrases

M7 chord plays important role in the world of jazz guitar. This section will help you expand your vocabulary. Feel free to explore these patterns in all keys.

In the first example of m7 we will add a passing note between the 1st degree and the second note of the scale, in this case we will get D Dorian mode. (if you're not familiar with diatonic modes, learn more about them here).

The next example is in the style of Django Reinhardt, an arpeggio with a passing note between the 1st and b7th chord degrees. Again, adding passing tones to your lines is an important technique that should be well studied.

Here we will use the D Dorian mode to create a longer phrase over the Dm7 chord.

The next m7 D Dorian pattern is Pat Metheny style, this lick has a dissonant chromatic note (Eb) and creates a passing sound over the Dm7 chord.

When using chromatic notes, be careful with the resolution delay, your chromatic note may sound like an error.