Lessons Learned So Far

Thought I'd catalog a few lessons I've picked up from learning Martino's lines (so far). 

First, chromatics from the 7th to the root (thinking in minor terms), or the 3rd to the 5th, are great. 

Second, to shift positions, it can be convenient to play major thirds chromatically descending. E.g., C-Ab-B-G. It also sounds cool.

That's all for now

Problems with Vertical-Horizontal Integration!

So after a busy last few days I finally got started on the vertical and horizontal movement studies. I worked through the 1st 3 lines (going from Gm7 to Abm7 to Am7, and then stopping on the first note of Bbm7).

I must admit, I'm not particularly stoked about continuing. It's not that the lines aren't good - it's just that so far it doesn't appear that this next part of the book really develops the lines that went before. What I expected was, "Here's how to connect the previous lines." What I'm seeing is, "Here are some new lines that sometimes incorporate a little bit of the prior lines."

Obviously it's too early to tell if this is true. With every method I think the student reaches the point where they have to decide whether they'll submit to the method and press ahead or abandon it. I'm gonna at least learn this first study.

I'm also going to keep learning single lines. I have the Creative Force material, so I started learning Exercise 23. Because learning these lines tends to blur over into how I approach note choice and fretboard movement, there's a lot of payoff to learning the lines. I think if I learn even 1 line (from Creative Force) for every week of the year I'll end up with 52 solid lines that will probably impact my playing/jazz vocabulary greatly, so that's an attractive option.

Anyhow, back to life! 

Activity 5 Learned!

Allright, I finished learning all 5 activities in all 12 keys.

I did look ahead to see what the interconnection of lines might mean. I can't say that there was an intuitive connection between the 5 activities so far and connected lines. We'll see I guess.

Activity (Line) 4 Learned!

Just learned line (activity) 4. Been playing through all the Aebersold minor tracks with the lines, usually playing them in double time. They sound nice. I'm itching to hear some of the more connected stuff. If connecting the lines proves to be intuitive I'll certainly try putting this stuff over a standard progression and see what I can do with it.

Lines 1-3 Memorized

So far I've got liens 1-3 memorized and playable in all 12 keys. That leaves 2 more to learn before I start interconnecting them.

I think the lines sound pretty good - very Martino-esque. I've been practicing them by using Aebersold's Major & Minor play-a-long CDs (Amazon link). This helps me hear the lines over the chords much better than if I just used a metronome.

Some of the fragments from the lines are creeping into my playing more than others, and that's exciting. More tomorrow, when I learn the 4th line.

Linear Expressions

So I'm going through Martino's book Linear Expressions (Amazon link). It basically involves a demonstration of his "convert to minor" concept. The concept is pretty well documented on the web - I won't be giving away any secrets here because there aren't any! Pat attempts to simplify playing over changes by approaching sets of changes as opportunities to deploy minor lines.

This isn't quite a modal approach. He really means lines, and that's what the book contains. Harmonically, the lines sound mostly dorian to me, but he uses chromatics and the raised 7th enough, as well as interesting arpeggios and intervals, to make characterizing these lines as scalar inaccurate. So, to play over a G7, for instance, one might apply a D minor "line". And, of course, over 2-5-1s, one might just forget about the 5 and just treat it as a 2-5. Anyhow, it's a great approach for simplifying changes.

One big question I'll be exploring as I move through the book is how to deploy these lines in actual musical contexts. This might seem like an easy thing to do, but once you consider that most performed jazz doesn't necessarily obey the time structure of a preconceived line (e.g., the changes change faster than a 3 measure line), and that good improv involves connecting ideas across changes, then it becomes pretty apparent that using these lines won't be as simply as "play A, then B, then C".

Martino actually has a third section of the book where he demonstrates connecting the lines, so he's quite aware of this. I'll be eager to see how this plays out.

Purpose of Blog

Howdy internet!

If you're like me you've probably got quite a few jazz improvisation method books lying around your domicile. Also, if you're like me, you've probably never gone through even one of them, A-Z, front to back, doing the prescribed exercises. I think I made it about halfway through the Mickey Baker book before abandoning it, I've picked and chosen my way through Green's comping books, and never quite persisted through all the Berkeley stuff. In a way, it didn't matter, because I was fortunate to take classes on theory and participate in ensembles that ended up developing the same material anyhow.

But... playing lines after the fashion of Pat Martino hasn't been something that's come naturally. It occurred to me the other day that since I play guitar as a hobby I had the luxury to perform a little experiment. What if I actually went through some of Martino's teaching materials and really learned it the way it was presented?

This blog is that experiment. I can't promise I'll stick with it. But if I do, then maybe I can document what worked for me, what didn't, and whether or not these materials can actually pay the dividends one hopes for.

Peace.