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Warm ups are an important factor while attempting any thing which involves mechanical or physical coordination. We also need to look into the mental preparation one must endure before actually beginning to play a piece of music that may be technically challenging. Our hands (Like the rest of our Bodies) are a tool our the minds and many people think playing music is just about making your hands move and I wish it was that easy.
**** Please Refer to The Score at the Bottom of the Page ****
This column concentrates on some easy to understand finger exercises and will enable a student to achieve a sense of what it may take to have the mind and body work together.
I would like to mention these have been passed down to me by a former instructor ( John Dewit ) who said he received them from his instructor and who knows they may have originated from Mozart for all we know .
As we can see the sheet of exercises consists of 12 groups with seven sequences or finger patterns in each group. If we take any one of those patterns i.e. 1234 they should be played positional and then advancing to the next adjacent string . At first I would work on playing each note twice using down up picking and then graduate to single picking ( 1st finger played one time with a down pick and then finger 2 with an up pick etc ..)
Once you master this and get brave you may want to start crossing strings for example play finger 1 on the 1st string and the go to finger 2 on the 3rd string, finger 2 on the first and then 4 on the third. Please remember to be patient and practice slowly for optimum results. Thanks once again and if you have any questions or would like to contribute something please fell free to do so. Also remember you can scroll back and find past columns on the website.
Thanks
Michael Violette
Michael Violette is a guitarist and music educator who owns and operates along with his family String Sound Studios a long island in home music Instruction Company.
His influences range from (Just to name a few Guitarists) Django Reinhardt, Chet Atkins, Barney Kessel, Ed Bickert, George Benson, Howard Roberts, Wes Montgomery, Larry Carlton, Steve Howe, Steve Morse, Alex Lifeson, Joe Pass, Robben Ford, and of course his teacher Peter Rogine.
He also admires and has been influenced by many other instrumentalists outside of the guitar world such as George Gershwin, Stephane Grappelli, John Coletrane, JS Bach, Art Tatum, Scott Joplin, Jelly Roll Morton, and Mozart.
Click Here for Exercise PDF
*** Please Refer to the Score at the Bottom of the Page ***
I’m always looking for interesting ideas once I adapt to the technical and conceptual approach of a scale, arpeggio or chord. In our examples of enhancing a C major 7th chord we come up with some bluesy sounds based on the strong tones ( 3rd and 7th ) of a chord. The first exercise is a C major 7th arpeggio which in essence are the notes played individually of a C major 7th chord ( arpeggio = harp like ). The chord consists of a C = root , E= major 3rd , G = perfect 5th , B = major 7
In our next example we approach the Major 3rd and 7th of our chord from a ½ step below i.e. Eb to E and Bb to B thus giving us that bluesy sound . Please take notice of the 9th D and how it facilitates a chromatic line of D Eb E. A few things to consider while practicing
1. Never stay on the Eb or Bb for a period of time where the dissonance will dominate. These are blue notes and must be resolved and they should go a ½ step up to the chord tones.
2. Even when descending try to work it so we avoid jumps to the non chord tones ( (aka blue notes ) and instead approach them by a scale tones .
3. Practice these in all keys with alternate fingerings and be conservative at first until you understand the fundamentals or else you will inevitable Crash and Burn giving you the AIG BLUES.
Michael Violette is a guitarist and music educator who owns and operates along with his family String Sound Studios a long island in home music Instruction Company.
His influences range from (Just to name a few Guitarists) Django Reinhardt, Chet Atkins, Barney Kessel, Ed Bickert, George Benson, Howard Roberts, Wes Montgomery, Larry Carlton, Steve Howe, Steve Morse, Alex Lifeson, Joe Pass, Robben Ford, and of course his teacher Peter Rogine.
He also admires and has been influenced by many other instrumentalists outside of the guitar world such as George Gershwin, Stephane Grappelli, John Coletrane, JS Bach, Art Tatum, Scott Joplin, Jelly Roll Morton, and Mozart.
Click Here For Score
 Before we get started on the music column I would like to commend the Group Deep Purple and Vanilla Fudge for putting on a spectacular show at Radio City Music hall last week. The Guitarist for Deep Purple these days is the one and only Steve Morse. If you have never and get a chance to see Mr. Morse perform I can guarantee it will be one of the most musical, spiritual, and joyous playing you have ever listen to.
Steve Morse being among one of my favorites has had a long playing career starting out with the Dixie Dregs over 30 years ago and since then has played with many note worthy musicians and groups. Weather he is with Kansas, The Dixie Dregs, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Ed VanHalen, The Steve Morse Band or Deep Purple he makes it happen along with all the other members.
One of the most inspiring days in my life was getting to meet him one on one in front of IMAC in Huntington N.Y right before a Dixie Dregs concert. We did not talk very long but I can tell you just to shake his hand and for him to appreciate the fact that I’m a huge fan made me realize he’s a great person as well as a great player. O K now to my stuff.
Forgive me I am the perfect example of a person (The kind that drives others crazy) who needs complexity to get to simplicity. I’m not an Egomaniac I just tend to work better backwards and it allows me to see all the options. In this Example of Cmajor13 we will take a look how Complex = Simple = Interesting.
A. Take a Chord and its related extensions. Our Example of C E G B D F# A =Cmajor13
B. Break that chord back down to simple forms i.e. Triads, Seventh chords.
C. Start to See and Hear Some Interesting concepts.
Exercise one gives us a clear example of all the related triads that come out of our Major 13th chord. It is safe to say that most of what is going on will work well but as we get beyond the D major triad careful on the F# diminished triad. The C note should resolve to a chord tone B as it does. The interesting thing about this is that you can resolve the progression to a G or C chord. This takes place because the F# dim is acting as a D7 chord which we know will go to G. The Term used to describe this is a Secondary Dominant sound, which could be defined as a temporary displacement of key.
In Exercise two we start concentrating on Seventh chords and it gets wild because the use of large leaps for the first half resolving to chord tones with in the 4 part harmonic structure and graduating to leaps on extensions.
Exercise 3 takes us to more of the same with a twist. We are now leaping to tones on the up beat with some HMMMM existential chords like B min (b9) or F#min7 (b5) (b9).
In Conclusion you have to find things that work because theory becomes a finite resource and in order to play interesting you must expand your musical vocabulary. Warning: Depending on what kind of crowd you are playing for some of the concepts may not be suitable. A restaurant or wedding gig could not tolerate too many A tonal or contemporary sounds. Please go to the score for a PDF of the Music Notation
See Ya Soon
Michael
Michael Violette is a guitarist and music educator who owns and operates along with his family String Sound Studios a long island in home music Instruction Company. His influences range from (Just to name a few Guitarists) Django Reinhardt, Chet Atkins, Barney Kessel, Ed Bickert, George Benson, Howard Roberts, Wes Montgomery, Larry Carlton, Steve Howe, Steve Morse, Gary Rossington, Steve Gaines, Ed King, Alex Lifeson, Joe Pass, Robben Ford, and of course his teacher Peter Rogine.
He also admires and has been influenced by many other instrumentalists outside of the guitar world such as George Gershwin, Stephane Grappelli, John Coletrane, JS Bach, Art Tatum, Scott Joplin, Jelly Roll Morton, and Mozart.
Score for Ear Food
 One of the best ways to learn how to play and instrument is by transcribing other musicians’ material – AKA “picking off licks”. In this example of Bb Blues, I use a combination of just some of my favorite guitarists such as Larry Carlton, Barney Kessel and BB King.
The Blues Progression is quite often a I – IV – V (i.e. Key of A would be A = I Chord, D = IV Chord and E = V Chord). However, the Blues Progression can have many different chords as in this example in Bb.
If we analyze the melodic content, it has nice gradual ascending and descending lines. A good solo should not be too “jumpy”, and should almost form a wave if you draw a graph based on the outline of notes.
Another nice characteristic of Bb Blues is its use of chromatic tones in between chord changes. If we take a look at bar number 7 from the Bb7 Chord through the F7 Chord, this is my favorite line. It carries some unique concepts that define laws of theory. Soloing is building a vocabulary - much like someone learning words and being able to use them in many different contexts.
On page 2 of the composition, I included the chord voicings in which I feel the solo is related upon. Also included are fingerings to help you get a grip at playing this.
Good luck, and enjoy!
Michael Violette is a guitarist and music educator who owns and operates along with his family String Sound Studios a long island in home music Instruction Company. His influences range from (Just to name a few) Django Reinhardt, Barney Kessel, Ed Bickert, Howard Roberts, Wes Montgomery, Larry Carlton, Steve Howe, Steve Morse and of course his teacher Peter Rogine.
Click To open Score
One Process of learning an instrument involves what I call situation playing (no not playing while a brawl breaks out at a wedding) which is performing with various instrumentations. This example of “ All of Me “ is suitable for playing in a duo setting i.e. backing up a vocalist or another instrumentalist while they play the melody and improvise over chord changes. This also would work with a pianist who is very familiar with your playing as you both backed up another instrument.
Technical Points
1. For the most part keep or drag your 4th finger on string number 3 while playing from chord to chord
2. Almost if not all bass notes are on string 5 and 6 and make use of open strings when needed
Conceptual Points
1. Strong use of substitution chords, inversions and secondary dominants
2. Solid Bass line construction using scales, skips and chromatic lines
3. Approaching target chords from a ½ step above or below
With perfect practice and good fingerings you should be on your way to jamming with the folks on All of Me. Good-bye and Good luck
Michael Violette is a guitarist and music educator who owns and operates along with his family String Sound Studios a long island in home music Instruction Company. His influences range from Django Reinhardt, Barney Kessel, Ed Bickert, Wes Montgomery, Larry Carlton, Steve Howe, Steve Morse and of course his teacher Peter Rogine.
Click to open Score
Finding simple ways to explain concepts is a huge part of instruction and may also lead a student to form logical conclusions about other ideas. This month we will take a look at a clear approach to grasping Major and Minor 9 chords. Rather than relating a Nine to a scale degree lets see how it works using a Triad over Triad pattern. Let’s take a G Major Triad spelled (G B D) go to the perfect 5th of the chord which is D, start on that note and form a Major Triad from that point on. Doing this we get a D Major Triad (D F# A) which in turn gives us (G B D F# A) a G Major 7th 9 chord (Aka as G Major9) with of course the perfect 5th of the D chord (A) being the 9th against G Major 7th 9 chord and were also able to figure out the Major 7th interval of F#.
Take this same idea and use a G Minor chord spelled G Bb D and Play a Minor Chord from the D giving us (D F A) presto all kazoo we now have a G Minor 7th 9 chord G Bb D F A and once again we now know the 7th of the G Minor chord (F) along with the 9th (A). Notice the Major and Minor chords share the same 9th common tone of (A). In Essence a Major over Major chord applied in this fashion will give you a Major 9 and a Minor over Minor will give you a Minor 9 all the time in any key. Remember the interval of a Ninth will always be placed or voiced above the Seventh of a chord and 9, 11, 13, b9, # 9 #11 are referred to as extensions. Ok, so your homework is to figure out what a Minor over a Major chord is called using this same application. Please go the PDF link for some notated examples.
Michael Violette is a guitarist and music educator who owns and operates along with his family String Sound Studios a long island in home music Instruction Company. His influences range from Django Reinhardt, Barney Kessel, Ed Bickert, Wes Montgomery, Larry Carlton, Steve Howe, Steve Morse and of course his teacher Peter Rogine.
Click Here to Open Notation
Originally composed in 1925 by Ben Bernie, Maceo Pinkard and Kenneth Casey "Sweet Georgia Brown" has a unique upbeat drive and is still utilized in many sports themes and Movie scores. This month's column will involve approaching the melody from a 1/2 step below, aka Lower Neighbor Notes.
Soloing around the melody in this fashion is a good way to Jazz up a tune and not keep the audience in the dark as to what song your playing. If you attempt to arrange this or another melody on your own beware of how long you stay on dissonant tones and try to make use of other connecting chromatic ideas. Take notice of the lowered 3rd (blue notes) resolving to the 3rd of many chords as well as utilizing leading tones into or on the next chord change. So yes! You can get D to work over Eb7 providing all the correct principals apply. It may be best if you learn the melody in it’s original form and compare it with this solo.
Michael Violette is a guitarist and music educator who owns and operates along with his family String Sound Studios a long island in home music Instruction Company. His influences range from Django Reinhardt, Barney Kessel, Ed Bickert, Wes Montgomery, Larry Carlton, Steve Howe, Steve Morse and of course his teacher Peter Rogine.
Click to open music notation
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Check out the New Guitar Column
Michael Violette has some great common sense approaches on gaining good technique and sound practice principals. Please go the guitar fret board for his new column.
New Column by Michael Violette
Please go the Fret Board and Check out Michaels Column
It’s a great lessons on some color tones over Major 7th chords and great insights on how not to Crash and Burn.
Vince Lewis Quartet A Different Standard
This exciting new release is comprised of some of the best music ever
written. Vince has drawn from the classic hymns and placed them into a
contemporary jazz setting. Along with Tom Hildreth (bass) and Phil Riddle
(drums) the group has added Phil Thompson on woodwinds. Sure to satisfy
fans of the Vince Lewis Trio's previous music, this work will also expose
his audience to reverential treatments of meaningful and timeless Christian
favorites.
This collection is sure to bring back memories of singing these wonderful
hymns in church. Selections include, "Precious Lord Take My Hand," "In The
Garden" and "Worthy of Worship." Each tune is a celebration of the
original intent of the composer presented in mainstream jazz styles.
To order Vince's new CD or check out anything else at his website, please
visit: Vincelewis.com
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