"I asked a guy what time it is, and the jerk spent five minutes telling me how to build a watch."

There's a small but often vocal contingency of musicians that loathe the intellectual side of music, the cerebrally intense analytical approach to understanding the "guts" of music. Often it's out of a personal insecurity; a bad experience with the jazz cats who banter terms about like "Tritone Subs," "TwoFiveOnes," or "Rhythm Changes" often at the risk of intimidating the newbie, especially when it's delivered like some sort of private security code or fraternity handshake.

There's no reason to experience intimidation in these environments. While we grant many unschooled musicians have created great music without an advance degree in the terminology and jazz verbiage, the greats still comprehend if nothing else, subliminally what makes a chord or tone resolve to the next, what linear choices of "right" notes goes appropriately with the vertical. What we are talking about in learning music theory is not an initiation process, it's simply shortcuts. It's learning both simple nuggets and broad concepts that exponentially increase musical vocabulary around 12 simple Western tones.

The process of grasping music theory can be described as three dimensional upward spiral. For the Folk/Bluegrass musician, it can go something like this:

My song has three chords I play (Aural/Physical), G, C, and D7. I enjoy these immensely but want to learn more songs, and note a similarity even though the chords are different. A, D, E7. I understand chords are based on notes of the scale (Theory). It's explained these are 4, 5 and 1 or written in Roman Numerals, IV, V7, and I.

Spiral up...

I notice in Pop and Jazz music a G, Am7, and D7 have a similar sort of system of "direction" (Aural/Physical). The G is like "home," the D7 pulls home, and the Am7 sets up the D7 quite often. Someone points out the similarity of the Am7 and C chord (same notes almost). Pointing out the (Roman) numbers of the chords these are based on, we get ii7 for Am7, or ii7 because someone says minor chords commonly use small case letters, so instead of IV, V7 I, we get ii7, V7, I. (Theory) Now the obscure TwoFiveOne reference by the Jazz Eggheads nags at my subconscious, and starts to make sense.

Spiral up...

I notice there are 12 keys. When I use numbers in a song with A, D, E7, or A, Bm7, E7, (Aural/Physical), I notice even though the chords are different, they still interact in the same way. My trumpet playing friend has me play in one of those weird flat keys, lots of Eb, Fm7, Bb7, and my brain registers this (Theory) as I, ii7, V7 chords, and for some reason, I'm able to pick these up, without even having to read the chords on the page. My ear tells me where the I (home) chord Eb is, and where the other two Fm7 and Bb7, because I'm listening to their function in context, rather than chords.

Spiral up...

I'm playing a Jazz tune, Satin Doll, and I notice in the 3rd measure the second chord is outside the key of C. I've been working on Dm7 G7 fingerings (Aural/Physical), as well as Em7 A7, and it dawns on me that there is a similar relationship (ii7 V7) in these two chords, but observe these are from the key of D (even though there are no sharps and flats in the key signature). I listen to other songs that leave the main key, but only temporarily. It's like a key within a key, a "tonal center" if you will, and some of these jazz standards that seemed very complex, when broken down in this way, are now opened up for much deeper understanding. (Theory)

Spiral up...

I'm getting a better understanding of what works in these uncovered tonal centers, and I'm able to play with many other great musicians in keys I never dreamed possible. I've learned what groups of notes work best within these centers, but because I've driven modes and scales (Aural/Physical) into my fingers in my regular practicing, it seems the fingers are generating my improvisation rather than my brain.

Aural/Physical or Theory?

I hate music theory...

Posted by Ted at 11:55 AM

When we think of building phrases and intensity, we usually focus on where we are going. Higher, faster, louder, thicker texture, are all directions we can go, but part of the neglected elements are where we start. Simply, silence...

Think of an ice cream sundae. If you piled 100 cherries on top of the ice cream, butterscotch, chocolate, and couldn't even see the whipped cream top any more, it wouldn't be the same experience as one, two, or three cherries placed strategically on the top. You probably wouldn't enjoy the subtleties of the experience, the crunchy texture of nuts on the teeth, the cool ice cream on the palette of the tongue, the contrasting flavors in the swirl of butterscotch and chocolate at the roof of your mouth. Undoubtedly, you'd get sick of cherries, too.

Extreme soloing can be the same nauseating experience, and as a good ensemble player, you need to be sensitive to this dynamic as well. There's a time to comp intensely, and a time to lay back, and your contributions to the group will by dynamically better (pun intended) and appreciated. Let's ponder the ways to start.

Silence. This is a no-brainer, but many players feel they aren't contributing if they aren't making some kind of noise all the time. This couldn't be farther from the truth. Laying out at the beginning of a song, pulling back on a chorus, letting someone else be featured, offers the listener much more variety of texture. Not every bite of an ice cream sundae has to have nuts in it; after a few spoonfuls without nuts, they taste even better. Electric Mandolin pioneer Michael Lampert rarely if ever, even comps behind a soloist. If you're surrounded by great rhythm players, not only is it unnecessary, you alos risk stepping on others' toes with too much rhythmic or textural complexity.

Single notes. Ever just played a consistent rhythmic pattern on a single note as background? If it's the right note (tonic, dominant), it can be quite effective. Kick it up a notch by playing it in octaves. You don't have to be complex to be interesting!

Short melodic phrases. This doesn't even have to be the "call and response" of antecedent/consequent phrases, but you can weave very slow melodies in the background, as long as you yield to the "right of way" of the soloist. Don't showboat, though. Simply play chord-rich elements melodically and slowly.

Parallel Two-note melodies. Playing intervals in 3rds and 6ths on adjacent strings is one of the coolest capabilities of the mandolin. Try this in slow quarter note and half note runs. You can be laying down the harmonic structure without risking "busy-ness."

Don Stiernberg is one of the best players to listen to for how to use silence (and simplicity). He has a gift for reeling you in with digestible bite-size chunks of savory melody, well-baked and spaced, then wham! Out of nowhere comes a blistering pyrotechnical lick that disappears as quickly as it's stated. It's always a treat to listen to what he does with the mandolin. Consider a purchase of all of his CDs an investment in tuition in the College of Tasty Jazz Mandolin

Posted by Ted at 11:07 AM

In our inaugural issue of MandolinSessions.com, Understanding the 'ii V7 I' Progression, we brought up the concept of harmonic function. "Drama; it's always about conflict and resolution," was the way this started. The "drama" of a V7 chord, resolved or unresolved is what defines the majority of Western European music, classical, folk, pop. It wasn't until the middle 20th century that these sounds were thrown out the window in contemporary musical styles of atonal and 12-tone compositional techniques.

An unresolved Dominant Seventh chord stirs motion. Roll out a huge arpeggiated G7 on a grand piano and sing "Happy..." and who can resist following up with a tonic C based "Birthday to you!" It's a primordial a 'V7 to I' as you can get.

Music theorists will teach you that in our tonal universe, we have three functions; Home (I) or Tonic, Dominant (V7), and Dominant Preparation (ii, IV, vi and variations on them). When we think C7, in context, more often than not, it will be a V7 or Dominant chord of F. In jazz contexts more often than not, you'll see stylistic interpretations, "spice" if you will that take a basic 7th chord C7 (C E G Bb), include variations like C9 (adding the 9th or D), C13 (adding the 13th or A), and C7 b13 (adding the lowered 13th, the same as a raised 5th or Augmented chord), and use them interchangeably.

If a jazz musician sees or hears C7 in the score, he/she is not thinking C E G Bb, rather thinking a contextual function of "Dominant." That's why depending on what other musicians are doing at the time, chord extensions are not only okay, they are encouraged. All the preceding variations are fair game, as long as the additional chord extensions don't conflict with the melody or another comping instrument. (You don't want to play a C7b9 if someone else is playing a C9.)
It all boils down to function. A good skill to have is to be able to recognize all the 'V7 I' pairs in the Circle of Fifths. Playing through these in all 12 keys until they become automatic is a healthy exercise to add to your practice routine, both physically and intellectually.

Posted by Ted at 12:49 PM

In working on final mixes of some of the sound tracks for the upcoming "Getting Into Jazz Mandolin" book from Mel Bay due out in June '08 (crossing fingers), we've experienced a very graphic revelation in swing...

Let's explain. As we exploit modern technologies, the band and many of the guitar parts were recording by good buddy and mandolinist/guitarist extraordinaire, John Eubanks and some of his amazing session friends down in New Orleans. Piano, bass, drums, guitar (and some of John's mandolin) were recording in a professional studio, post-Katrina, an interesting experience, no doubt, but long distance from JazzMando Headquarters. Some additional bonus tracks are in the works from arguably the world's greatest jazz mandolinist, Don Stiernberg next week in a recording studio in Chicago. Music is being exchanged through PDF in email, and audio transferred back via FTP.

PDQ. (pretty darned quick...)

The humble author has never professed the greatest mandolin chops, but the recording does call for mandolin demonstration in the exercises. Painstaking efforts were made to produce a quality recording in the JazzMando Lab, and because of the miracle of dice and splice digital technology, we should have a pretty good recording, despite the playing inabilities and natural imperfections of the author.

What's happened though is interesting. Recording jazz, you aren't going to have even straight, eighth notes; you want a recording that isn't metronomic, it needs to swing. This makes computer editing very intriguing when you see the splash of bars and graphs of digital audio on a monitor screen, all the discussion of our most recent entry on swing comes to light, in a very literal way. (See It don't mean a thing if it ain't...) Of course, a downbeat is a downbeat; you want starting notes to be on time, but if it truly swings, you don't line up exactly with the subdivisions of perfectly divided time.

If you ever have chance to use a digital audio editor (we used Steinberg's Cubase and SoundLab), take it. Not only is it amazing in editing out mistakes, you get a visual education and conception of swing--a fresh look under the hood.

Posted by Ted at 04:40 PM

We've recently been questioned about the frequent use of doublestops in many of our chord charts. Admittedly, it can be difficult stretching the pad of your finger out to cover two (or sometimes three) strings, but if you can do this with your first finger, particularly on the G and D strings, you have much more freedom and flexibility with the remaining fingers.

Those with a history of guitar playing know the benefit of barre chords, as well. These closed position chords allow you to move stock fingerings up and down with ease mentally and physically; that's yet another reason to approach chord construction with this approach. We even have two less strings (and less reach) to confound us.

Another trick to doublestops is what we call half-fretting. Sometimes if your 1st finger covers a string that's actually fingered higher up the fretboard, you get a hand/wrist position that is more stable.

This Am9 is an example of what we mean, but the half-fingering is in the 2nd finger. A four-fret span reach is difficult enough to hold down, but since anything you close below the 4th finger isn't going to be heard, why not get this extra grip? Note that it also puts your hand closer to the fingerboard, and rests more comfortably.

Using the 1st and 2nd fingers for 5th doublestops is also very useful for rhythmic accompanying. You have easy access to a common interval, the Perfect Fifth; great for power chording as well as a half-muted rhythmic texture.

Note you can keep your 1st finger there, and add the 2nd finger two frets above for some great blues riffing. It's a little tougher for the 3rd and 4th fingers, but if you hold your hand right you can get the 3rd up a fret for the minor 3rd and minor 7th.

Automatic blues!

Posted by Ted at 02:51 PM

Last week we spoke of three ways of arriving at material to induce both a cerebral (brain) and tactile (finger) approach to developing material for improvising: Gravity Notes (of the scale), Arpeggios (linear chord spellings), and Pentatonics (a glimpse of the triad and two auxiliary tones). There is another approach worth investigating, and it's something we tackle in another section of the website on Improvisation Techniques. (If you haven't read it, now would be a good time.)

What we've outlined in this concept is simply taking a motif, a phrase, a "lick," and building off of it using some of the theory concepts you've picked up. It can be something as basic as altering the phrase within the context of a new scale, injecting auxiliary notes, extracting nuggets, or varying the rhythms. What you end up with is something musically consistent, but also fresh in the ear of the listener. It's like remodeling a house, rather than starting an entire building from scratch.

We challenge you to find some licks you like. It can be the first two measures of "Scrapple from the Apple," a recognizable lick from one of your favorite players, even a line from a Bach Violin Partita. Make it simple, though; the idea is to retain consistency, and just see what you can do limited to a simple set of fresh notes. You may astound both yourself AND your audience with what a simple dose of creativity can do to supercharge your solos.

Like the old Timex watch TV commercials from the 60's, but instead of "It takes a licking, but it keeps on ticking," your improvisation can now be, "Take your "lick" ing and keep on ticking....

Posted by Ted at 09:46 AM

Improvised solos can sound marvelously ingenious, or strained and sterile. The very essence of improvisation is freshness and spontaneity, but in order to be "spontaneous," you must be first equipped with the material to begin construction. The ability to play a sequence of notes is certainly a start, but what to do with this sequence is where the rubber meets the road.

We want to propose three different approaches to developing better improvisational skills. Each in their own way are great jumping off points, but the best way to solo will be a combination of each approach. Individually, they contain the components of melodic creation, but only in tandem will they start to sound like music coming out of a mature player.

We will assume you've already dived into the FFcP materials, and have at least a cursory feel for what these exercises do for your fingers and ears. Scales are at the very rudimentary end of nurturing melodic material; hopefully you're already using major and minor scales and modes to improvise. We want to go the next step and not sound like the music is coming out of scales. All of these are previous exercises introduced on the website; now it's up to you to figure out how to work them into a regimen of practice time. Our suggestion is to spend a day or three on one, move to the next for the same period, and move to the third, and rotate them. Work them in different areas of the fretboard, and most importantly, inject them into songs you are already attempting to improvise over. Keep it simple to start; you'll get better and more "subconscious" with their application as you get better.

Guide and Gravity Tones: Introduced in our April 2004 Mandolin sessions article, Critical Decisions in Improvising: 'Gravity' Notes, we uncovered the importance of identifying the "gravity" notes of the scale, the 4th and 7th notes, and the 2nd and 6th--how they pull the music along. Understanding, hearing, and communicating this pull through your improvising gives your melody a harmonic context. It drives the phrase.

Exercise: G & G

Arpeggios: We must think chords as we blow through a solo; we need to "be at one" with the harmonic and vertical construction of the changes to be effective, let alone consistent with the accompaniment. Knowing where the leading tone (7th), the third and emphasizing these important tones is essential. Practicing Arpeggios is a great way to do this so that they become familiar and automatic. We have 4 different versions of 7th chords in our upcoming book, Major, Minor, Dominant, and m6 (half diminished), but until then, try a sample from the Major 7th exercise. You can map out your own for the other chords

Exercise: Major Arpeggios

Jazz Pentatonics: We've avoid inserting Pentatonics to the end, because so many beginning players overuse and abuse these. You have to understand why they are useful in jazz before diving in, or you never get to use them to their potential, especially if you don't have them cold in all 12 keys. There is a strong foundation here, with the root, third, fifth all so apparent, a couple of benign passing tones added. Read our thoughts on Jazzed Pentatonics and some of the jazz specific uses available. Then dig in and learn them in all 12 keys and up the fretboard.

Exercise: Jazz Pentatonics

Also, read our latest MandolinSessions, Enhanced Pentatonics.

Three ways to skin this hep cat!

Posted by Ted at 12:08 PM

In additions to the 132 pages of regular entries at Jazzmando (and 454 pages of news items) we do a regular "Tips and Tricks" entry somewhat weekly. These are all available for you hunt through. We thought it would be better, however, if we updated our catalog listing, so as of this entry, we have most all 145 now listed by category in our page archives. See below for a list categorized by subject.

Check out these Tips and other past submissions you may have missed:
Fingers
Ears
Brain

Also, don't miss our ever-increasing archive of past issues of Mel Bay's MandolinSessions.com, a free webzine educational service.
For an entire listing: Jazz Mandology.

Posted by Ted at 06:00 AM

We continuously mention a huge advocacy for 3-note chords. Maybe you've already got your own stock of them under your fingertips, and are fluent with transpositions seamlessly across strings and up frets. This is an incredibly valuable skill, and if you don't now, the more you work with these, the more automatic they will become.

We've been privileged with a great PDF resource we want to pass on to you. JazzMando Research Assistant and designated Deputy Chord Curator, Charlie Jones has generously submitted an intensely thorough catalog of 3-note chords. This can be enormously helpful, even if you already know the variations of major, minor, 7th, etc. Of course if you have these voices down, you can take the next mental step of adding extended voicings, 9ths, 13ths, and 11ths. Put the 3-note chords in the lower string and your pinky is right there on the E-string to add some color, too.

Entirely usable: Download 3-Note Chords PDF

Thanks Charlie!

Posted by Ted at 01:03 PM

The standard four-course paired tuning (8-string) of the mandolin presents wonderful opportunities for transposing modes, chords, and licks across the string and up the neck. So what happens when one contemplates picking up a mandola (tuned a fifth lower), or tackles a 5-string (or 10) mandolin? What happens mentally and physically when we either replace everything by one fifth, or add the ranges of a fifth?

Perhaps the biggest mistake a 5-string player can make in approaching the instrument is to try to run 5-voice chords (all five strings simultaneously). We see requests for chord charts for these frequently, and it shouldn't be baffling why these are uncommon. First, it's easy to transpose 3- and 4-note chords down another string, and second, the open fifths tuning extended to five voices really doesn't lend itself well to a full five voices. Think about a piano; eighty-eight keys and are they all played at the same time? No, and rarely are all ten fingers used at a time to play chords, either. We need to take the same approach to both 4- and 5-string mandolins, learning to mute adjacent redundant adjacent strings or unnecessary chord tones. If we learned any thing from listening to Jethro Burns, it's that 3-note chords rule!

This should put the novice 5-string player at ease. Don't think of covering five notes, think of playing the 3-and 4 note chords you already know, mute the E string and move them to the lower four strings of the 5-string, and you're not learning a new instrument, you're simply expanding the one you already know! This is not only good, it's better!

Try this for a mental exercise on a 5-string: play the closed position chords you already know, and move them up 7 frets and down a string (lower). If you did it right, you are playing the same chord, but you've just opened up a new way of thinking chords. Move them down two frets, you have the same chord only a whole step lower; down four frets and you're two whole steps lower. You get the idea; move these down and you've just rewired your brain for a new way of grabbing chords you never dreamed of.

In the treble register especially, 3-note chords do the trick in communicating the defining notes of the chord (3rd and 7th), and either the root or another color note of the extended chord (9, 13, +11, etc.). Assuming you're playing with a bass instrument or guitar, the root is probably already covered in the ensemble; in the interest of chord economics, you're free to leave it off and play some other juicy chord tones. Smart voicing also means not duplicating chord voices, so rarely will you play all five strings, except for some kind of special effect.

Our friend, mandolin software innovator Craig Schmoller has a terrific resource page at Groveland Software, the support site for his critically acclaimed Mando ModeExplorer software. (You do have a copy of this, don't you?) Bitten by the Cittern bug last year, Craig plowed into new ways of tackling the jazz potential of its standard CGDAE tuning. Duh, it's the same as a 5-string, except for the double courses, so it's worth your time to look this up and glean even more insight into this potential:

Read more: Cittern Lessons

Purchase a copy of Mando ModeExplorer.

Incidentally, we've put Craig on the hunt for even more sonic opportunity for the 5-string instrument. Stay tuned here (and at the Groveland Software site)!

Posted by Ted at 01:31 PM