Gary Campbell's Triad Pairs for Jazz

I just picked up Gary Campbell's book called Triad Pairs. Mr. Campbell is and Associate Professor at Florida International University in Miami since 1993. His book thoroughly details how to use pairs of triads in Jazz improvisation.

In his introduction Mr. Campbell explains the importance of triad pairs in improvisation:


"Why Practice Triad Pairs?

1. By limiting note selection to six tones (each triad consisting of three), a more concise sonority is created. For example, the conventional chords used in the Jazz idiom are oftentimes associated with parent chord-scales of seven or more tones (melodic minor, major, minor, harmonic minor, and so on). Rendering these scales in the form of triad pairs yields more variety in tone color and suggests novel melodic possibilities.

2. Each of the triads expresses a tonality. By using two triads, bi-tonal effects are created. This effect is multiplied when the triad pair is used over a root tone that is not present in either triad.

3. The structure and "tensile strength" of triads give the melodic line an independent internal logic. The "stand alone" sound is oftentimes enough to make a strong, effective melodic statement regardless of how it is (or isn't) relating to the harmony over which it is being used. It sounds "right". {see my Thursday, August 18, 2005 post- Bob Reynolds on Garzone's Theory of Major Triads}

4. The triads offer a skeleton structure to base lines on. This can be very helpful in modal settings where there are no diatonic, cycle-forth root movements or resolutions and where each chord change may last a long time (for instance, four, eight, or sixteen measures)"

The applications of this concept are covered in great detail in this highly informative book.

Here is an example of the concept applied to a C melodic minor tonality:

A C melodic minor scale contains the following triads-

Cmin Dmin Eb+ Fmaj Gmaj Adim Bdim

The possible triad pairs are:

Cmin/Dmin__Dmin/Eb+__ Eb+/Fmaj__ Fmaj/Gmaj__ Gmaj/Adim__ Adim/Bdim Bdim/Cmaj

Of these the preferred selections are:

Cmin/Dmin_ Eb+/Fmaj_ Fmaj/Gmaj

These are the chords that a C melodic minor scale can effectively be applied to:

Cmi(maj7) Dsus(b9) Ebmaj7(#5) F7(#11) G7(b13) A-7b5 B7alt

• One of the most basic triad pairs is Major triads a Whole step apart. This one triad pair is explored exhaustively in Walt Weiskopf's book Intervallic Improvisation (Abersold press). I f you have ever heard Walt play you will hear him use this A LOT! It can be used over ANY Major chord and any Dominant chord with a natural 9th and 13th. These two triad triads contain the following:
  

1st triad- root, 3rd, 5th

2nd triad- 9th, #11th, 13th

Other triad pairs covered are:

• Major Triads a Half-Step apart

• Major Triads a Tritone apart (works well over dominant seventh b9 chords from the root)

• Minor triads a Half-Step apart

• Minor Triads a Tritone apart

And on and on.........

Here are is a triad pair idea for a /ii-7 /V7 /Imaj:

Over a- / D-7 /G7alt / Cmaj /

Play- / G triad F triad / Eb triad Db triad / C triad D triad /

• Here is the same concept applied to a diminished scale (also see my Monday,June 27th post-Slonimsky's Symmetrical Scales-Diminished, Wholetone):
  

Over a C7b9 chord you can play a- C# diminished 7th chord, a D# diminished 7th chord, AND A, F#, Eb, and C major triads.

All these ideas will open your playing up and break you out of the linear rut that Jazz players often fall into. If you start with some of these ideas and then start adding more outside triads to the mix you can come up with some very modern and interesting lines. Try adding some passing tones between the triads to smooth things out.

I would highly recommend Gary Cambell's Book Triad Pairs to any player looking for new improvisational material. This book will really open up your lines and give you some new ideas for playing over chord changes. It is also good for improving sight reading and technique.

Here is a link to order Triad Pairs for Jazz

Triad Pairs and the modes of Harmonic Minor

Tim's triad-pair ideas got me thinking about other ways to apply triad pairs over chords.

• Let's examine how triad pairs would work when the triads are taken from the harmonic minor scale-

If we take the diatonic triads from a C harmonic minor scale we get the following triads:

C- ..........Ddim ..........Eb+.......... F- ..........Gmaj.......... Abmaj ..........Bdim

These are the possible triad pairs from C harmonic minor scale are:

C- /Ddim..... Ddim/Eb+..... Eb+/F-..... F-/Gmaj..... Gmaj/Abmaj .....Abmaj/Bdim..... Bdim/C-

Each above triad pair works over every chord that a C harmonic minor scale fits over!

So the chords that take a C harmonic minor scale would be:

C-maj7.......... D-7b5 ..........Ebmaj7(#5) ..........G7(b9,b13) ..........Abmaj7 (careful here, implies a split-third major scale)

(Please refer to my previous post on 'Modes of the Harmonic Minor scale for Jazz' if these don't make sense to you)

To apply these in an informed and meaningful way you should first try them at the piano. Play the chord with your left hand while playing each the triad pairs as alternating arpeggios to hear which ones work the best. Some pairs sound hipper than others so decide which ones you like and write them down.

This is quite a lot chew on. When you're finished try the same thing for the modes of melodic minor. This will open new worlds two-tonic-triadic possibility for you!

For lines using triad pairs pick up Gary Campbell's book called Triad Pairs for Jazz.

Jerry Bergonzi's approach to Hexatonics

I ordered Jerry Bergonzi's Hexatonics book, the seventh volume in his Inside Improvisation series. I had looked through some of his previous books but this one looked the interesting to me.
When the box with the book finally came I thought that the distributor got my order wrong because it came in a big and very heavy box. The book is big and just shy of 300 pages.

I was interested in what Jerry had to say about hexatonic scales since I was so intrigued by Gary Campbell's Triad Pairs For Jazz book. Triad pair are basically the same thing as hexatonic scales.
A hexatonic scale is simply a scale of six notes, though these six notes are usually derived from two different mutually exclusive triads. Pianists often use Hexatonics by stacking triads to create unusual chord voicings.

Gary Campbell has a very good explanation of why triad pairs are useful.

I fully describe Mr.Campbell's approach in my Triad Pairs post.

Here is Mr.Campbell's explanation:

1. By limiting note selection to six tones (each triad consisting of three), a more concise sonority is created. For example, the conventional chords used in the Jazz idiom are oftentimes associated with parent chord-scales of seven or more tones (melodic minor, major, minor, harmonic minor, and so on). Rendering these scales in the form of triad pairs yields more variety in tone color and suggests novel melodic possibilities.

2. Each of the triads expresses a tonality. By using two triads, bi-tonal effects are created. This effect is multiplied when the triad pair is used over a root tone that is not present in either triad.

3. The structure and "tensile strength" of triads give the melodic line an independent internal logic. The "stand alone" sound is oftentimes enough to make a strong, effective melodic statement regardless of how it is (or isn't) relating to the harmony over which it is being used. It sounds "right".

4. The triads offer a skeleton structure to base lines on. This can be very helpful in modal settings where there are no diatonic, cycle-forth root movements or resolutions and where each chord change may last a long time (for instance, four, eight, or sixteen measures)"

Bergonzi's book is very well thought out and structured to be very useful as a practice tool. It comes with a CD with several rhythm section tracks of tunes like Blues, Caravan, Maiden Voyage, and Trane's Crescent. The book starts out with a chapter dealing with a Major triad over a Major triad a whole step apart. There is a full page of lines for each triad pair and a page for every key. After playing through a bunch of different keys and permutations of each pair you are able to apply each over a few different tunes. Jerry has the triad pair written above the staff and the actual chord change written below it.

Here are the different chords that you can use with a D/C triad pair:

D/C= D7sus, Cmaj7#11, C7#11, D7, G-69, F#7 alt, A-7

The next pair is Minor over Major a half-step apart:

B-/C= D7 sus, D7, A-/D

Next is Major over Major a half-step up:

B/C= F#-7b5, C#7b9, A-7, D7

The book continues like this, each chapter introducing a new set of triads and then giving you the chords that they may be applied to and finally letting you try to play along with th CD.
This book is a great way to learn a to use a modern and usually confusing harmonic device for improvising over chord changes. This book will keep me busy for a long time, it's really the most useful music book that I've run across in a long time. I have already been able to start applying some of the principles I've learned in just the first four chapters.

Triad Pairs for Jazz: Practice and Application for the Jazz Improvisor

Hexatonics (Inside Improvisation Series, 7)

Triad Pairs Redeemed!

When I hear players (including myself) using triad pairs I usually find myself cringing. In theory it is an interesting technique that generates lines that are neither horizontal nor vertical. The bi-tonal effect can be pretty cool as well. I've worked out of both Gary Cambell's Triad Pairs for Jazz and Bergonzi's Hexatonic books and was pretty excited about the possibilities, at least at first. I soon realized that this technique usually sounds too much like a simple formula, which is of course exactly what it is. I even get bugged sometimes when I hear great players like Weiskopf or Bergonizi use Triad Pairs too blatantly.


Here are some ways that I have found to make Triad Pairs sound less formulaic and more organic:

• Play only two notes of a triad before switching to the second triad
• Use two different  types of triads (Maj/Aug or Min/Dim)
• Try using two notes of one triad and three notes of the second triad
• Side-slip chromatically to a triad(s) a half-step above or below one (or both) triads
• Stack the triads on top of each other to create uneven (chunky) vertical structures
• Add a pentatonic scale to the mix so you are alternating between three different elements
• Displace notes of the triads to create unusual spread structures (see exercise #2)
• Add a third triad to the mix (example: Over C-7 use Eb Maj, F Maj and G Maj triads)
• OR one of my favorite things to do- just start throwing some chromaticism into the mix

This last technique can really obscure the fact that you are using a formula to construct your lines. You can add simple single note chromatic approachs (like exercise #1) or fancy-pants multi-note Bebop enclosures. Since the Triad Pair/Hexatonic formula is a simple one to execute adding some chromatic approaches to it isn't a huge stretch.

Below are some examples I wrote to illustrate how chromatic approaches can make Triad Pair lines a little hipper sounding.  I've kept the patterns fairly simple for illustration purposes, so some of these still sound a bit formulaic. If you really mix all of these techniques together you can create some truly organic sounding lines.

(I used Major triads from the #11 and b13 over the dominant chord for an altered dominant sound)

(click the above graphic for a larger view)

Or to download a PDF click here

8 Tonic System for Improvisation

The 8 tonic system is an attempt to organize and simplify the methods that have been used to teach improvisors to use Hexatonic/Triad-Pairs in the past. Hexatonic scales used for improvisation is now an important tool of the modern improvisor, yet there are inherent problems with the methods that have been taught up to this point. The biggest problem with Hexatonics is that they immediately sound formulaic and too much like a pattern. The other problem is that in order to use a wide variety of different Hexatonic/Triad-Pairs the player must commit many different formulas to memory in order to make the correct calculations to find the HT/TPs. These formulas are short calculations, like: Major triad from the #11 and Major Triad from the b13, but they start to add up and get overwhelming.

3 sets of 12 pairs

  Many players I have heard using triad pairs usually end up using the most basic pairs, like Major triad from root and Major triad from the 9 (which give a Lydian sound). Once you start opening up the options by considering all of the pair options of the modes of melodic minor then the world of Hexatonics will start to open up. Modes of Melodic minor are a perfect fit for the application of Hexatonics because there are no avoid notes any of the MM modes and every diatonic pairing sounds good. The 8 tonic system pretty much explodes the old system of applying Hexatonic structures to chord changes. We want to start seeing every ii-7V7 and every V7 that is resolving down a fifth in root motion as a set of 12 major triad pairs. These 12 pairs imply ii-7V7 cadences in four different keys, as well as different combinations of ii-7s and V7s drawn from two different keys.

The 8 tonic system can be considered as three different sets of 12 hexatonic triad pairings. Each set is functionally dominant, basically implying different combinations of ii-Vs in four keys. The result of applying these sets to normal ii-V7 progressions is that you set up symmetrical lines that are also highly chromatic. It feels very freeing to have eight possible major keys to choose from at any one time and this helps the improvisor to spontaneously create new ideas. By using half and whole-step hexatonics we are weaving different strands of the 8 tonic pretzel together.

 The justification for an eight tonic based system is this, the diminished scale should be the scale that our systematic improvisational harmonic model should be based on because the diminished scale creates all of the chords we use in Jazz. By combining two diminished seventh chords we are choosing exactly 2/3 of the 12 possible notes, which again gives us dominant function. The matrix below shows which chords come from a C diminished scale. 

Tim Fischer's Triad Pair exercises

Guitarist Tim Fischer wrote this sheet of Triad Pair exercises. He has more free lessons available for download on his website: Tim Fischer Music.

"Triad Pair Melodies-

This lesson represents one of my attempts at integrating triad pairs into my linear and melodic vocabulary. After working on the different triad pair exercises from Walt Weiskopf's Intervallic Improvisation, I have wanted to utilize triad pairs in a more personal and melodic fashion, while still retaining the wide interval sounds that make triad pairs so interesting. This handout contains twelve melodic fragments based on two major triads a whole step apart, as well as four ii-V-I lines demonstrating their use in a harmonic context. While there are several triad pair options over the ii-V-I progression, I chose to explore two major triads a whole step on each of the three chords to help acclimate my ears to the sound of that pairing.

Try practicing the first section of triad pair melodies over the chords derived from the C Major scale (Cmaj7, Dmin7, Emin7, Fmaj7, G7, Amin7, B half dim) and note how the harmonic scheme changes the color/effectiveness of the melody. After you have worked on the smaller triad pair melodic fragments, practice the ii-V-I lines over a backing track or with an accompanist to get the full bi-tonal effect that triad pairs invoke"- Tim Fischer

 (click the above graphic for a larger view)

More Slonimsky questions...

Q: Carlos,
Hey, can you elaborate more on this idea of "resolving" your harmonic lines? Obviously things like taking the leading tone of a dominant to the tonic make sense to me, but in your last email regarding Slonimsky you said the following....

"Just make sure you resolve them strongly, you'd be amazed what you
can actually get away with and still sound good."

and ..

"Tonal harmony is after all mainly about forward motion, so the lines
found in TSMP offer away to still retain forward motion while playing
outside. It just becomes a matter of being able to resolve these
lines in a logical way...."

A: Charles McPherson has an exercise that he makes his students do. He has them play totally outside over dominants and then land on a strong chord-tone on beat one of the next resolving bar. He says if you resolve on the downbeat with a strong chord tone you can play anything and it will sound like Bebop. This is just about true, even though it does sound quite extreme.

Q: Related question.....do you use diminished stuff freely against dominants resolving to both Major and Minor, or just for dom's resolving to Major? I've heard both suggested....and can you specifically tell me how you resolve a diminished scale, like do you actually try to resolve each dissonance (flat 9, sharp 9, sharp 11....) or just go to the Lydian mode/melodic minor of the tonic and leave it at that?

A: I do use diminished modes when resolving to major or minor chords. To determine what chord-scales are available I only look at the root motion of the chord that the dominant resolves to. If the root motion is going down a fifth (up a fourth) then anything is fair game, no matter what chord quality the resolution is. Yes, there are scale choices that are smoother as far as voice leading when resolving to a minor chord, like a harmonic minor scale from the fourth or and altered dominant scale.

Remember that if the dominant chord is moving down a half-step in root motion you only should play a Lydian dominant (even if the #11 isn't notated) because it is functioning as a tritone!

Berklee teaches that certain tensions are available for each of the secondary dominant chords:

V7/II b9, 9,#9, b13
V7/III b9,#9, b13
V7/IV 9, 13
V7/V b9, 9,#9, 13
V7/VI b9, #9, b13

The most important thing is to watch for root motion! Where do the dominants move to?
Don't worry about resolving individual tensions, this will drive you nuts and slow you down.
Some people would argue with me, remember I consider myself a post-bop player, which to me is like an abstract expressionist painter. The rules are a bit more relaxed and I'm looking to use a more 'painterly technique', I don't want photo-realism in my playing. So what if a few lines bleed over or if some canvas shows? You could follow stricter rules than I do as far as finding scales for chords, but mine keep you out of trouble and I can always break them if they get too constraining.


Q: Also, other than Bird, what specific solos would you prescribe for an intermediate level aspiring improviser on alto to learn by ear and transcribe? How about tenor?

A: I usually get intermediate level students working on Sonny Stitt transcriptions, both alto and tenor. Stitt is very clear rhythmically and he has nice long lines. Early Phil Woods is also a good altoist for transcription, the Phil and Quill records.

Q: And what about more advanced concepts, are there some specific examples you could point me to for my students that aren't too long or too fast but that would show in detail some specific stuff. Most of the stuff I have them do is Bird and Lester, but you don't get into more far out harmonic stuff with them. Some I've graduated to Dexter, but I'm trying to get them onto some newer material. Cannonball? Who else and what else?......If you could toss out a handful or so that would be great....

A: How about Dick Oatts, Grossman or Rick Margitza for 3-tonic lines, Jerry Bergonzi for use of pentatonics and digital patterns, Kenny Garrett for triads and pentatonics used for outside playing. Try to find examples that are rhythmically straightforward, since complex rhythmic figures are the bane of young transcribers.

Q: Also, the Gary Campbell article is great on the blog, and I've seen the book. I seem to remember it being detailed but mostly covering the triad pairs being practiced up and down in their various inversions. Are there other ways to use these that sound good?

A: Gary does offer many examples of situations for triad pairs in his book. Triad pairs can also be used to play outside. Kenny Garrett does this very well. You can use one triad that fits the chord alternating with a triad that doesn't fit at all, this slips you in and out of tonal harmony.
Triads are so strong that they can supersede any chord progressions. Once you learn to create lines that shift inversions as they move between triads you can then use these lines to navigate outside harmony. Triadic lines are so strong that you can use them over any changes regardless of how they fit over the changes.



Q: Also, I worked with one of my former students who's in the jazz program at USC yesterday, he's now studying with Jason Goldman. Ever heard of this guy? Anyways, my kid was using the bis key for b flats exclusively, so I questioned him about it. He said his teacher told him to do it this way. So, since you do the same, I ask you, is this orthodox technique? I make my students master the side b flat, particularly for chromatic stuff, and then show them how to use the bis for leaps, like g minor or b flat major. Isn't that the way it's generally taught? What did Viola teach?

A: Joe V taught the use of both for different situations. Joe had a very pragmatic approach to technical questions. He always want you to find the most comfortable and smoothest fingerings for any given situation. The less motion, the better. There is usually one fingering that is clearly mechanically and ergonomically superior, just slow things down, watch your fingers and see which fingering feels best.

From Tim Price's woodshed

From Tim Price's blog

• STUFF TO SHED

These are some triad pairs I am studying...

Kinda nice too. Enjoy.

--over C7 use C Maj triad - C, E, G- and Bb Aug triad -Bb, D, F#- for a sound that is whole-toneish...
--over C7 use F# Maj triad -F#, Bb, C#- and E Aug triad -E, G#, C- for an altered/tritone sound.
--over C7, (normal dominant or altered), use Db- triad and D Aug triad
--over Dmin7b5 use Bb Maj triad and Ab Aug triad
--over CminMaj7 use F Maj triad and Eb Aug triad.

Slonimsky saves the world

Q: "Is there a good way to practice out of the Slonimsky book? Do you
transpose that shit or just run over it in the key of C to get more ideas. It's very interesting but dense harmonically, I never considered all the different permutations that are there." Markos

Markos,
I've never gotten round to transposing the Slonimsky material. The 1:6 are whole tone, 1:4 diminished and the 1:3 can be used over whole-tone or three tonic progressions, each one of those already cover several keys. The diminished and whole-tone patterns are cool because they are based on the scale but not all the notes are diatonic to the scale. That makes them close enough to use in place of a whole-tone or diminished scale. Remember also that as long as you move a pattern in minor thirds or whole-steps it sounds like diminished or whole-tone respectively.

The 12-tone patterns don't need to be transposed either. You just need to land on a good note when they resolve. This is because they have no key center, just a powerful gravity to the final tone. In fact you can really think of all symmetrical scales as having a strong dominant function, so you can get pretty wild and loose with them. Just make sure you resolve them strongly, you'd be amazed what you can actually get away with and still sound good.

Another way I like to practice from the book is to read through in a loose manner. I might just follow the shapes of the lines but use different notes. TSMP is great for opening your ears up to new directional motion in lines. There are shapes in TSMP that you just don't run across in Jazz. It also can introduce you ways of covering larger intervallic space, the first scale in the book (the 1:2 tri-tone) is a good example of this. Watch out for the trap though that many players who practice out of TSMP too much fall into. This is the strong tendency to start your lines at the bottom of the horn and head to the top of the range before going back down. I call this the 'Slonimsky Roller Coaster Syndrome'. There is one of my peers in particular who does this all the time (who lives in NYC and is on the Verve label). This cat is a great guy and a truly fantastic player, but up-down-up-down thing really gets on my nerves. Take that book away from him!!!

I think what Trane and generations of players found in TSMP were lines that had so much forward motion that they could be used over ANYTHING. These lines are strong enough to make outside playing sound logical. Tonal harmony is after all mainly about forward motion, so the lines found in TSMP offer away to still retain forward motion while playing outside. It just becomes a matter of being able to resolve these lines in a logical way.

Later in the book there are some very exotic sounding pentatonic scales like the Javanese pelog scale, the Japanese Hira-Joshi scale and Scriabin's pentatonic scale from Sonata number 7. These all could be used over various types of C7 chords. They could also fit over other chords with a little ingenuity. All these exotic scales still sound uniquely exotic no matter what chords they are played over.

The Bi-tonal Arpeggios section of TSMP is a topic that has already been thoroughly fleshed out in Gary Campbell's Triad Pairs book. These pairs of triads offer a goldmine for the Jazz musician. For more on this topic see my Triad Pairs articles.

For me TSMP offers an entire new world of 'directional ideas'. The lines in TSMP snake, interweave, spiral, converge & diverge, jump, lurch, and infra-interpolate. Practicing this book will break you free of overly simplistic vertical/horizontal concepts of linear thinking. TSMP has been without a doubt one of the main modes of transmission of contemporary classical ideas to the Jazz world. There is still much in TSMP that has been untapped. Can you imagine what would Jazz sound like in thirty years if young players worked out of TSMP instead of David Baker's Bebop books???

Casa Valdez for the Jazz Harmony student

The nature of blogs and the fact that the Blogger search engine sucks makes it difficult to locate information on Casa Valdez. There are articles that I think are very important for my students that are lost in the archives. I have written about many of the topics that I usually deal with in my private and group lessons. There are some topics that I always teach, and in a certain order. For those students that may not currently have a teacher, or just want to suplement their other studies, I will try to lay out a course of study from the material on this blog. This rough outline is aimed at the Jazz improvisation student. This is simply a suggested course of study, feel free to develop your own.

Jazz Harmony for Improvisation: chord-scales
Berklee Harmony 1-4
Digital Patterns
Symetrical Scales: diminished and whole-tone
John Stowell's melodic minor scales for improvisation
Ray Brown Patterns
Paul Contos ii- V7 patterns
Motific Development
Tim Price's Blues Studies
Lee Konitz 10 Level system
Bob Mover's ii-V7 subs
Basic ii-V7 substitutions
The best ii-V7 substitution ever
Half Step subs/related ii-7s part II
8th note lines and practice tips
Randy Porter's Bebop harmonic devices
Modes of the Harmonic Minor Scale
Gary Campbell's Triad Pairs for Jazz
Triad Pairs and the modes of Harmonic Minor
Special Function Dominant Chords
Pentatonic Lines
Jof Lee's Polychord overview
Mulgrew on Woody Shaw- the 'Blue Major third'
George Russell's LCCOTO
Tim Price's random line excercise
Coltrane Chord Substitutions

More 8 tonic theory

In order to fully grasp the workings of the 8 tonic system we must first fully understand four tonic substitutions. Four tonic subs are also called diminished substitutions and the tri-tone substitution is included in this group of subs. If you can imagine that the tonic V7 and the tri-tone is one axis and that the V7 chords a minor third above and below is the other other axis (at a 90 degree angle from the first axis).

In the key of C the V7 is G7 and the tri-tone sub is C#7. The other two dominant chords are Bb7 and E7. These chords are all related to each other because they share the same diminished scale. A G7(b9), Bb7(b9), E7(b9) and C#7(b9) are basically all the same chord if you don’t consider their roots. The tri-tone is used all the time as the most common type of substitution, but the the other two dominant chords (Bb7 & E7) are also very common subs for V7. They are often used as ways to get to the tri-tone sub, this is called a ‘backdoor resolution’. 

For example:

over
D-7   G7    CMaj7

play:
F-7 Ab-7  CMaj7


In fact, we can use the component chords of all four ii-7V7s and combine them freely.

B-7  E7    D-7 G7    F-7  Bb7    Ab-7  C#7

We can use only the dominants or only the ii-7s:

over
D-7       G7          CMaj7

play:
G7 Bb7 E7 C#7   CMaj7


or play:
F-7       B-7         CMaj7

Keep in mind that the Dominant chords all sound pretty close to each other, the related ii-7s are where you start to get more dissonance. Think of the minor third axis  (B-7  E7, F-7  Bb7) as cousins of the tri-tone sub. The chords of the 8 tonic system are simply all of the chords from these these four ii-7V7s. When we are using hexatonics/pairs from these chords we are still basing the harmony these strong four tonic substitutions. The 8 tonic system is simply another way to apply hexatonics/triad pairs to diminished subs. We are just calling the related ii-7 chords Major triads (from the -3rd) or you can also think of them as IVs.

Coming soon....

I just wanted to let you know what to expect here at Casa Valdez in the immediate future, so you can be motivated to keep checking back.

• In depth interview with master sax mouthpiece maker/refacer Brian Powell.
• Master Jazz flutist Anders Bostrom talks about constructing post-Trane Jazz lines
• Full review of Gearge Garzone's long awaited instructional/play-along 2-DVD set
• Interview with Jazz educator Gary Campbell about the use of Triad Pairs in Jazz.
  

Mental notes to myself

I thought that I would write about some of the dialog that I have with myself on the bandstand. You'll see that I'm actually pretty harsh on myself most of the time, I would probably enjoy playing a lot more if I wasn't.

I'll try my best to be completely honest. Here it goes.....

Don't be afraid to leave more space.

Go ahead and just let those notes fly, you can do it.

It's not as fast as you think, relax.

Why do you always have to overblow so fucking much? It's not a crime to play quiet.

Dude, your palm keys are still seriously sharp.

Relax, relax, RELAX!

Back off the vibrato already, it's not 1940.

Playing bluesy on this blues is not mandatory. Just play interesting and don't try to over emote.

Why, oh God why won't my low C play in tune. It must be my horn's setup horn. What else could it be!? Just don't play low then. Maybe every Mark VI alto is like this?

Let's hear some snakey lines!

The audience can handle it if you stretch. Oh, who the F#*K cares anyways!

Hear it. Listen for something new.

That tired-ass lick again?!

Hey, instead of warming up on the gig by the last set, how about warming up at home for a once.

Why didn't you find a reed BEFORE you got to the gig again?

Lay back whitey!

Quit dragging your lazy eigth notes!

Stop tounging so much, do you want to sound like Ernie Watts or something?!

Do we sound bad or does the food just really suck here? Why does no one ever show up at this club?

I wouldn't have to hire a bass player this bad if I still lived in NYC.

I need some new material, I hate all the tunes in my book.

This is a great tune, I sure wish I could play it.....

Relax!!!!! What is your problem spazz?

Inside is OK!

Outside is OK! What is this the Lawrence Welk band?!

Did I sound better twenty years ago? I really wonder at times like this. I had more energy then didn't I?

Why do I hire these young guys again? Shit, what the hell was I thinking? When will I ever F*$king learn? This is my own fault.

Don't lose intensity and focus half-way through your solo! Why can't you ever end you solos as well as you start them? How hard is it really?

That solo wasn't half bad. I knew you should have put new batteries in the flash recorder. What if that one was the best solo you've ever played in your entire life? What do you think, batteries last forever?!

Please, enough with the triad pairs already. Give it a rest.

Did that other reed sound better? It did didn't it? Now which one was that?

Harmonic Major- Modern Jazz Vocabulary vol.1

The harmonic major scale (simply a major with a flat sixth) is a relatively new addition to Jazz improvisation. It has an interesting exotic sound and can be a important element of a modern Jazz musician's vocabulary.

Music theory always lags significantly behind what musicians are actually playing on the streets. There are many useful "exotic" scales like the harmonic major (some of which are only one or two notes different the handful of scales that most Jazz musicians are taught in schools) that have been used by players for years without showing up in any Jazz theory books. Saxophonist Matt Otto is bringing the world of Jazz theory up to speed with his new book on the harmonic major scale entitled Modern Jazz Vocabulary Vol.1.

Here's what Otto has to say about his book:

I finally finished my first book on jazz improvisation. After years of practice journals and outlines for the ultimate jazz tome, I finally realized that I’m not Mick Goodrick or Hal Crook (no matter how much I practice) and in general, I always liked a music book with a fairly narrow focus; with “baroque counterpoint” for example, you know what to expect. After much deliberation, I decided to take one concept that inspires me constantly, that I really enjoy practicing, and write a book about that. After digging through my practice logs, and organizing boxes of semi-legible manuscript, I found a lot of material about creating an original, non-cliched, modern vocabulary, as well as a lot of melodic examples from the harmonic major scale (an Ionian scale with a b13). So, I ended up writing a book on how to develop an original melodic vocabulary for improvisation using specifically the harmonic major scale.

The book outlines the various ways I’ve come up with to practice scales, melodies and harmonies while focusing on developing an original melodic vocabulary. Included are not only a lot of lines, melodies and “licks” (if you will), but the methodology I used to create them. This workbook leaves a lot of space for musical exploration and creation, although there’s plenty of written material if you just want to play through it and glean a few new ideas that speak to you. The following table of contents will give you an idea of just how comprehensive this publication is. I’ve put a lot of time and thought into this book and I really believe my work can benefit other musicians. At $11.95, I think you’ll find it a good investment!

In his book, Otto has created a template for what hopefully will be an entire series on the topic of applying different exotic scales to Jazz improvisation. The structure of this book is very well thought out and an ambitious student could easily use the template of the chapters to develop an entire Jazz vocabulary based on exotic scales. If fact, after reading Otto's book I put together an interesting lesson plan for my own students using this same template.

The chapters in this book are as follows:

1. Modes and Chords
2. Arpeggiated Voicings
3. Rhythmic Displacement
4. ii-7 V7 I Maj
5. V7 i minor
6. Melodic Sequence
7. Random Intervals
8. Diatonic Cycles
9. Triad Pairs
10. Combination

This book is written by someone who has spent years incorporating these ideas into his own musical vocabulary, so everything in it is useful on a very practical level. If you listen to Otto's recordings you can clearly hear him use these harmonic/melodic ideas in his improvisation.

The modes of the melodic major scale can open up new melodic ideas and expand the vocabulary of the modern Jazz musician. This book is a innovative new addition to the world of Jazz theory, there is simply nothing else out there like it. It has given me valuable teaching material for my students as well as giving me something interesting to work on myself. I look forward to seeing future volumes of Matt Otto's Modern Jazz Vocabulary.

(click above graphic to enlarge)

Order Modern Jazz Vocabulary Vol.1

Matt Otto's music blog
Matt Otto interview on KC's Plastic Sax blog

John Coltrane's use of patterns and harmonic progressions-by Jim Gold

British saxophonist Jim Gold sent me his excellent essay entitled 'Pattern in melodic improvisation and harmonic progression in the music of John Coltrane'. In the essay Jim analyzes Trane's masterpiece cadenza on I Want To Talk About You' . He examines Coltrane's use of symmetrical and non-symmetrical patterns, repeated motifs, triad pairs, Synthetic scales, and three-tonic cycles. 
 
Coltrane heads rejoice!

Coltrane Essay.PDF