SAME JamTrackCentral CREATIVE CHROMATICS MASTERCLASS: ADVANCED INTRODUCTION Welcome to this JTC masterclass! There are three parts: Beginner, itermosiate and Advanced. You can choose your level, But consider working through the whole masterciass. Even if you can play the icks of exercises ‘rom the Intermediate or Advancad parts, you might stl loam somothing new from the easior parts. The focmat fs similar fo all three parts, Well start by looking at sore theoretical concepts, with exercises to develop your technique or fretboard knowledge. Next we'll see how these concepts can be usod in @ real musical situation, using 2 sories of short licks and a longer sole. ‘Are you ready?SVAMUR CNT THE CONCEPT OF THIS MASTERCLASS CHEATWE AROMATICS MASTERCASS: DYANCED This masterclass is all about the OTHER notes. The notes outside of the scale or arpeggio, the notes between the scale notes. The wrong notes? Well, maybe, but were going to show you how you can make them sound interesting, not wrong, We'te going to work with these other notes in a few different ways, but the general term we use for this is “chromaticism’ or “chromatics”. This refers to the fact that all the notes in our musical system can be found in the chromatic scale. For an introductory guide to the chromatic scale, check out the Beginner section! THE PHYSICAL ELEMENT One of the challenges in working with a new set of melodic ideas is that you have to force your fingers into new pattems. We all spend hours working on scale and arpeggio shapes, so it can be a challenge to start adding the “wrong” notes without hesitation. With that In mind, a lot Of the exercises in all three parts of this masterclass are designed to work on a physical level, increasing your flexibilty.. the physical flexibllity of your hands AND your knowledge of the fretboard layout. SELF SUFFICIENCY And on that subject, i's always a good idea to design your own exercises. Think about what you find difficult (finger combinations, string crossing, etc) and build short phrases that force you to deal with those difficulties. In the context of this masterclass, that would mean focusing on lines using the chromatic scale in various ways, ‘You only need short phrases; the aim is to isolate your problem as starkly as possible. In tho Privacy of your own home, no one can hear you scream! You can then loop the phrase, or move It arounc chromatically. And with thatin mind... USING CHROMATIC SEQUENCES MUSICALLY The exercises in this part of the masterclass are based around much more complex patterns, so obviously they're going to be harder to play. But this complexity makes them much more sultable for use in “real” musical situations. Sequences have always been en important part of, music, and you may have encountered something like this before... Se |WWW.JAMTRACKCENTRAL.COMSIAM CAL CREATE CHROMATE NASTRGUSS:ANNEED With chromatic sequences (of the type you'll see in some of the following exercises) what you lose is the cbvious connection with 2 scale or tonality, so you have to tread more carefully. you just throw chromatic sequences or static looped patterns into your solos, you risk alienating a lot of your listeners, because you'll be floating around “outside” the wile time, But with care, you cen get some tasty, cramatic effects with concentrated streams of chromatic, notes. TE Side-sliop icLaughiiystyied ADVANCED EXERCISES Xt: As we mentioned above, one of the by-products of working with the chromatic scale is that the easy access to ¢-note-per-string shapes means you cen really work on finger Independence. Here's a knotty Ite pattern that requires concentration throughout. Although it seems like an 8-note pattern, it actually shifts position every 7 notes. Combining this with the steady 8th note rhythm means the pattern starts on different beats each time. EX2: In this exercise, we're taking a 5-note-per-string pattern, playing up and then down (1-2- 3-4.5.4-3.2-1, That means we need a position shift, using one finger to play two notes, but in this exercise, we give the position shift to each finger in turn. The position shift is shown by the slide symbol in the Tab, so the first ime It’s the 1st finger, then the 2nd finger, and so on, The whole petiern then repeats. There are meny erees where these kinds of shifts might be used, and you don’t want any fingers on the left hand to be unreliable when doing so. EX3: Here's the descending version of Exercise 2, This time there are seven notes in the pattern, and we're using the 4th finger for the first position shift. Descending shifts feel slightly cifferent to ascending onas, s0 it's good to gat as comfortable as possible with both directions. EX4: For this gradually ascending pattern, you only need two fingers. For an intense workout, try playing it with all adjacent pais of fingers... 1/2, 2/3, 3/4. Also bear in mind that these. exercises can be used as proper licks. This one would work great as a way of building intensity ina solo, WV JAMTRACKCENTRAL.COMSIAM XS: This one, inspired by the blistering chrometic gllssandl of Django Reinharct, puts your position shifting accuracy to the test. Play the first four notes with your fst finger, the next four notes with your 2nd finger and so on. ENTIAL a IVE CHROMATICS WASTERGLASS: ADVANCED EXE: Here we're using position shifts on two fingers to play a simple chromatic scale in ‘open position. You could play exactly the same notes using all four fingers and a static hand position, but i's good to Impose restrictions and obstacles Ike this. Youre developing greater flexibility and finger independence for real musical situations. EX7: Major triads, moving in tritones... alternating G major and C# major. Watch out for the different shape when you cross the G and B strings. This is a really common — almost overused = fusion cliché, but definitely worth knowing as it's core ‘outside’ repertoire! EXE: Major trlads, moving in major 3rds... G major, 8 major, D# major. Just ike Ex. 7, this Is @ common ‘outside’ technique. Despite their being so many ‘wrong notes’ the symmetry and structural integrity of the tried assures the listener that you're in control... EXS: Here's ancther simple device that can be putto musical use. I's a descending minor third interval (8-G#) which is then shifted down an octave through the chromatic scale. You coulc use smaller bursts of this pattem to move between pairs of chord tones... for example B/G# over an E chord moving down to Fé/D# over a B chord. EX10: This is the same principle as Exercise 9, but using a major 2nd (whole tone) interval. This results in an interesting zig-zag sound, alternating betwaen a descending whole tone and an ascending semitone. EXI1: Chromatic clusters! As we mentioned In the Intermediate section, don’t neglect the open strings. They open up a whole load of melodic and harmonic possibilities thet are impossible with normal positional playing. jlar to Exercises 9 and 10, here we have ascending minor 3rd intervals. 30 far, we've mostly been applying chromatic concepts to single-note lines, but they can all be applied to double-stops or even whole chords. Here we have an A mejor erpeggio, played in open-voiced double-stops, sliding to chromatic neighbour notes. For best results, try this approach on lots of cifferent chord types and shapes; some are trickier than others, but see what warks for you! EXt4: Ready for @ challenge? This Is @ longer exercise, more like an étude, using @ huge range of chromatic devices around an A7 chord. If you internalize this, you'll have a wealth of chromatic moves to draw on in your own playing — the learning of it helps commit it to muscle memory (perhaps more so than other more repetitive exercises), X15: Ending on a finger-twister...this is the C major scale, with each note preceded by an upper approach note. Of course, you can use this eporoach with any scele/mode. WW/WJAMTRACKCENTRAL.COMSAME ENIMAL ADVANCED SOLO AND LICKS ATVECAROMATICS MASTERLASS ADVANCED It's up to you how you use the solo. You could study it in detail, anelysing all the chromatic, notes, oF just steel your favourite licks. Whatever you do, be sure to play your own idess over the backing track. The only way to master this stuffis to make mistakes, learning whet works and what doesn't ‘The backing a pretty standard 12-ber blues progression in D, giving us plenty of flexibility to explore different chromatic notes as well as altered and extended chord superimposttions. You can quite easily play over the whole backing with your favourite blues licks, perhaps with 2 mixture of D minor pentatonic (D F G A C) and Mixolycian (DE Fi# GAB C}. You might also decice to switch to G Mixolydian (G AB CD E F) over the G7 chords. And you should definitely learn the locations of all the chord tones for D7, G7, A7 and Bb7, using them as a framework for ‘your licks. But there's lots more you can do, as youll see. ‘The shorter licks contain many of the ideas from the solo, along with even more cool uses of chromatics. Let’s take a look in more detail. LICK 14: Not only are the licks now technically more difficult, we're also dealing with a more ‘advanced range of scales and arpeggios, so you might find it harder to see the chromatic notes. Jake starts with halffwhole diminished scale (A Bb C C# D# E F# G) over tho A, but there's a little passing note move down et the bottom of the run. He then switches to Lydian Dominant over the Bb7 (Bb CD EF G Ab), filing the gaps with chromatic passing notes at the top of the phrase before a quick enclosure takes us to the F# terget note over the D7, LICK 2: We covered approach notes way back in the Beginner section, but the bluesy backing track gives us a chance to use one of the most common epplications of an approach note, Near the end of bar 2, Jake slides into the Fé chord tone (the major 31d of D7} from the F (minor 3). In bars 3-4, he uses the half/whole ciminished scale (D Eb F F# G# A BC) with passing notes filing in some of the gaps. LICK 3: With blues (and even more so jaz2) it becomes harder to say whether a note is an example of chromaticism (auxiliary, outside) or whether i's a chord extension. Again, this demonstrates the importance of judging each note in context. Take the Eb (Ist string, TIth fret) over 07. is it@ passing note between E and D, or an upper approach note, or simply the b9 of 2 D7bS arpeggio? LICK 4: Hero's a good oxample of how passing notes can facilitate molodic contours that wouldn't work with just the scale ar chard tones. Without the chrematic notes in this example, you would either have to play more slowly (losing the element of excitement) or the lick would finish before you had properly explored the melodic line, LICK 5: Horo's another cxample of what wo talked about in Lick 4. A great way to work on this Isto take a simple pentatonic Ine as a basic framework, and then fill the gaps with chromatic notes, using legato to get a faster, smoother sound. Also, work on the quick position shifts! LICK 6: In this lick, Jake uses quite a long, complex sequence and moves it down by semitone steps, creating an exciting, edgy sound. It's a very unusual lick, but the sense of expectation and repetition keeps the listener interested. WWW.JAMTRACKCENTRAL.COMSTRACK EEITT SIAM CIAL CATE CSOATES MARCUS AED LICK 7: Starting with a very brief D Mixolydisn phrase, Jake then side-slips into an Eb7_ arpeggio before resolving into a minor pentatonic line. LICK 8: In bars 1 and 2 we have two altered dominant ideas linked by a legato chromatic run. The first phrase uses D Superlocrian (D Eb F Gb Ab Bb C) and then the chromatic line descends Into a D7#5 arpeggto. LICK 9: Two of the femilar chromatic devices In the blues vocabulary (the bth passing note ‘and the minor 3rd approach note) followed by a whole-tone idee creating an angular sound. LICK 10: Finally, here's a more explicit application of the whole-tone scale (G AB C# D# F) over G7, resoWving into 2 smooth Mixolydian line filed with chromatic passing notes. ‘Take your time and remember to work carefully on the exercises. We hope you've enjoyad this masterclass!