Most of the suggestions about soloing parallel to chords are of the type:
1) Play the arpeggio or chord-tone of the chord
2) Play the pentatonic scale, minor or major, with the same root
3) Play a mode or scale that the song is in it
etc
And although applying the above will not sound ugly when soloing, still all of the above are inadequate for good licks and multiplicative (meaning dense and chatty) soloing by an instrument in a song! Of course we are taking about songs that do have a melody and a chord progression!
The reason is the next: A song has a singable melody and chords and when soloing, the soloing must not only fit the chord progressions but also resemble the melody that the singer sings especially at the pattern of repeating and transforming simple melodic themes!
The reason is the next: A song has a singable melody and chords and when soloing, the soloing must not only fit the chord progressions but also resemble the melody that the singer sings especially at the pattern of repeating and transforming simple melodic themes!
Now the melody has simple themes that repeat, ascend or descend and expand or contact. So the soloing must refect the simple theme repetition and transform them in more complicated ways. That is why all the 1),2), 3) are not really adequate.
Here is an example of the fitting of the melody that the singers sings and the instrumental multiplicative soloing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYXYoUb13nM
and one more from ethnic music from Andes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EW5-w-Dr34w
See also the post 71 about
Here is an example of the fitting of the melody that the singers sings and the instrumental multiplicative soloing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYXYoUb13nM
and one more from ethnic music from Andes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EW5-w-Dr34w
See also the post 71 about
Dialogue of a simple human singable melody and dense chatty-birdy instrumental multiplied melody
In other posts of this book, we have enlarged on the structure of the melody from simple themes that somehow repeat and the simplicial sub melody. E.g. the soloing must have also the same simplicial sub melody.
GHOST-CHORDS PROGRESSION METHOD OF IMPROVISATION OVER A SINGLE CHORD:
MOST OF THE TEACHERS OF IMPROVISATION SUGGEST USING THE ARPEGGIO OF THE UNDERLYING CHORD, EITHER AS PURE TRIAD OF NOTES OR AS EXTENSION TO 4 OR 5 NOTES SUCH CHORD. BUT THERE IS ANOTHER INTERESTING TECHNIQUE THAT INVOLVES GHOST-CHORDS (NAMELY THAT ARE NOT REALLY HEARD). E.G. OF WE ARE TO IMPROVISE SAY ON C MAJOR CHORD, THEN IT IS NOT ENOUGH TO USE ITS ARPEGGIO, BUT DO THE NEXT: CONSIDER C IN THE CHORD PROGRESSION OF THE SONG, AND TAKE TWO OTHER CHORDS OF THE SONG PREFERABLY IN THE WHEEL OF 4THS, THE 2 NEIGHBORHOOD CHORDS (EITHER AS MAJORS OR MINORS) HERE E.G. LET US TAKE THE MAJORS G->C->F ASSUMING THEY WHERE IN THE SONG. IF THERE IS NOT SONG YET WE JUST TAKE . IN THE WHEEL OF 4THS, THE 2 NEIGHBORHOOD CHORDST (that define here the C major-mode diatonic scale) . THEN TAKE THE ARPEGGIOS OF THESE THREE CHORDS AND PLAY THEM IN RHYTHMIC , FAST AND RATHER RANDOM PERMUTATION WAY, AS IF A VERY FAST CHANGE OF CHORDS IS MADE IN THE THREE G->C->F, SO FAST THAT G, F CHORDS ARE RATHER TRANSIENT WHILE WE REMAIN MOST OF THE TIME ON C. THE SEQUENCE OF THE CHORDS THROUGH THEIR ARPEGGIOS DEFINE ALSO A SOLOING. THE RESULT WILL BE AN IMPROVISATION ON ALMOST A WHOLE 7-NOTES SCALE, WITH UNDERLYING SINGLE CHORD THE C.IN ADDITION THE SOLOING TAKES IN CONSIDERATION AT LEAST TWO OTHER CHORDS OF THE SONG. IF THERE IS MELODY IN THE SONG WE MAY CONSIDER MIMICKING THE MELODY WITH WAVINGS AND "DANCING AROUND THE NOTES OF IT, IN NOTES THAT EXIST IN THE CHORDS OF THE MELODY. OR WE MAY APPLY DIFFERENT TRANSFORMATIONS IN THE MELODIC THEMES THAN THE TRANSFORMATIONS THAT EXIST IN THE MELODY. THE RESULT WILL BE A DIALOGUE BETWEEN THE MELODY AND THE SOLOING E.g. The full ghost chord progression may be D G D G D A D, while the chords really played is only D. Of course, the time duration of D in the chord progression of the ghost chords D G D G D A D is longer than any of the other chords
When we solo around say a major chord e.g. C , that we may consider as root chord of a major diatonic scale , the out of chords notes are the 7th, 2nd, 4th, and 6th (b, d, f, a) .
We may also consider that it is covered in the wheel by 3rds, as the ascending sequence of 5 chords with 3 minors 2 majors Em->C->Am->F->Dm or the 5 chords sequence with 2 minors and 3 majors G->Em->C->Am->F. The latter consideration in the wheel by 3rds seems more natural. Therefore soloing around a chord like C,=(c,e,g) as interval of 7 notes b-c-d-e-f-g-a, is covered by an arc of 5 successive chords in the wheel by 3rds , and the soloing can be patterned by permutations of these chords, as fast-ghost chord progression while in reality we may play only 2 major or 3 major chords only. The same method as we may continue further left or right in the wheel by 3rds defines also the modulations that lead us away from the initial diatonic scale.
The next video is an example from folk Cretan (Greece) music:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fq_srURnI5o&feature=youtu.be
or the next with Irish soloing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3d-aFpwia0
In the next example of the famous Erotokritos song of Creta (Greece), the simple chords of the song are only two ,Em, D. But the Ghost-chords progression so as to improvise a dialogue soloing with the melody is the progression
Em, D, G, Bm, G, D7, Em (Rhythm, 0,0,0,1, 0,0,0,1 0,0,0,1 0,1,0 empty)
D7, G, D, Em, G, F#dim, Bm, G, D7, Em (Rhythm, 0,0,0,1, 0,0,0,1 0,0,0,1 0,1,0 empty)
So placing the ghost chords on the rhythm is as the next
D Em D G
0,0,0,1, 0,0,0,1 0,0,0,1 0,1,0 empty
Bm G D7 Em
0,0,0,1, 0,0,0,1 0,0,0,1 0,1,0 empty
D7 G D Em G
1,0,0,1, 0,1,0,1 0,0,0,1 0,1,0 empty
F#dim Bm G D7 Em
0,0,0,1 0,0,0,1 0,1,0,1 0,1,0 empty
The rhythm is that of the 15 syllables poetry.
The simplified chord accompaniment is with two chords only
Em
0,0,0,1, 0,0,0,1 0,0,0,1 0,1,0 empty
D7 Em
0,0,0,1, 0,0,0,1 0,0,0,1 0,1,0 empty
Em D
1,0,0,1, 0,1,0,1 0,0,0,1 0,1,0 empty
Em
0,0,0,1 0,0,0,1 0,1,0,1 0,1,0 empty
GHOST-CHORDS PROGRESSION METHOD OF IMPROVISATION OVER A SINGLE CHORD:
MOST OF THE TEACHERS OF IMPROVISATION SUGGEST USING THE ARPEGGIO OF THE UNDERLYING CHORD, EITHER AS PURE TRIAD OF NOTES OR AS EXTENSION TO 4 OR 5 NOTES SUCH CHORD. BUT THERE IS ANOTHER INTERESTING TECHNIQUE THAT INVOLVES GHOST-CHORDS (NAMELY THAT ARE NOT REALLY HEARD). E.G. OF WE ARE TO IMPROVISE SAY ON C MAJOR CHORD, THEN IT IS NOT ENOUGH TO USE ITS ARPEGGIO, BUT DO THE NEXT: CONSIDER C IN THE CHORD PROGRESSION OF THE SONG, AND TAKE TWO OTHER CHORDS OF THE SONG PREFERABLY IN THE WHEEL OF 4THS, THE 2 NEIGHBORHOOD CHORDS (EITHER AS MAJORS OR MINORS) HERE E.G. LET US TAKE THE MAJORS G->C->F ASSUMING THEY WHERE IN THE SONG. IF THERE IS NOT SONG YET WE JUST TAKE . IN THE WHEEL OF 4THS, THE 2 NEIGHBORHOOD CHORDST (that define here the C major-mode diatonic scale) . THEN TAKE THE ARPEGGIOS OF THESE THREE CHORDS AND PLAY THEM IN RHYTHMIC , FAST AND RATHER RANDOM PERMUTATION WAY, AS IF A VERY FAST CHANGE OF CHORDS IS MADE IN THE THREE G->C->F, SO FAST THAT G, F CHORDS ARE RATHER TRANSIENT WHILE WE REMAIN MOST OF THE TIME ON C. THE SEQUENCE OF THE CHORDS THROUGH THEIR ARPEGGIOS DEFINE ALSO A SOLOING. THE RESULT WILL BE AN IMPROVISATION ON ALMOST A WHOLE 7-NOTES SCALE, WITH UNDERLYING SINGLE CHORD THE C.IN ADDITION THE SOLOING TAKES IN CONSIDERATION AT LEAST TWO OTHER CHORDS OF THE SONG. IF THERE IS MELODY IN THE SONG WE MAY CONSIDER MIMICKING THE MELODY WITH WAVINGS AND "DANCING AROUND THE NOTES OF IT, IN NOTES THAT EXIST IN THE CHORDS OF THE MELODY. OR WE MAY APPLY DIFFERENT TRANSFORMATIONS IN THE MELODIC THEMES THAN THE TRANSFORMATIONS THAT EXIST IN THE MELODY. THE RESULT WILL BE A DIALOGUE BETWEEN THE MELODY AND THE SOLOING E.g. The full ghost chord progression may be D G D G D A D, while the chords really played is only D. Of course, the time duration of D in the chord progression of the ghost chords D G D G D A D is longer than any of the other chords
When we solo around say a major chord e.g. C , that we may consider as root chord of a major diatonic scale , the out of chords notes are the 7th, 2nd, 4th, and 6th (b, d, f, a) .
We may also consider that it is covered in the wheel by 3rds, as the ascending sequence of 5 chords with 3 minors 2 majors Em->C->Am->F->Dm or the 5 chords sequence with 2 minors and 3 majors G->Em->C->Am->F. The latter consideration in the wheel by 3rds seems more natural. Therefore soloing around a chord like C,=(c,e,g) as interval of 7 notes b-c-d-e-f-g-a, is covered by an arc of 5 successive chords in the wheel by 3rds , and the soloing can be patterned by permutations of these chords, as fast-ghost chord progression while in reality we may play only 2 major or 3 major chords only. The same method as we may continue further left or right in the wheel by 3rds defines also the modulations that lead us away from the initial diatonic scale.
The next video is an example from folk Cretan (Greece) music:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fq_srURnI5o&feature=youtu.be
or the next with Irish soloing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3d-aFpwia0
In the next example of the famous Erotokritos song of Creta (Greece), the simple chords of the song are only two ,Em, D. But the Ghost-chords progression so as to improvise a dialogue soloing with the melody is the progression
Em, D, G, Bm, G, D7, Em (Rhythm, 0,0,0,1, 0,0,0,1 0,0,0,1 0,1,0 empty)
D7, G, D, Em, G, F#dim, Bm, G, D7, Em (Rhythm, 0,0,0,1, 0,0,0,1 0,0,0,1 0,1,0 empty)
So placing the ghost chords on the rhythm is as the next
D Em D G
0,0,0,1, 0,0,0,1 0,0,0,1 0,1,0 empty
Bm G D7 Em
0,0,0,1, 0,0,0,1 0,0,0,1 0,1,0 empty
D7 G D Em G
1,0,0,1, 0,1,0,1 0,0,0,1 0,1,0 empty
F#dim Bm G D7 Em
0,0,0,1 0,0,0,1 0,1,0,1 0,1,0 empty
The rhythm is that of the 15 syllables poetry.
The simplified chord accompaniment is with two chords only
Em
0,0,0,1, 0,0,0,1 0,0,0,1 0,1,0 empty
D7 Em
0,0,0,1, 0,0,0,1 0,0,0,1 0,1,0 empty
Em D
1,0,0,1, 0,1,0,1 0,0,0,1 0,1,0 empty
Em
0,0,0,1 0,0,0,1 0,1,0,1 0,1,0 empty
