GUITAR LESSONS hit sa) came’ SREA=— JOHN ABERCROMBIE KEVIN rye FRANK GAMBALE SCOTT HENDERSON STEVE LUKATHER MIKE STERN [0-WRITTEN BY MIKE WILLIAMS DEVELOPED BY JOHN XEPOLEAS es ui SeETy ; ? i Cee i eye.GUITAR LESSONS WITH THE Ie EATS JOFN ABERCROMS KEVIN EUBANKS FRAN i G SABA £ SCOTT HENDERSON STEVE LUKATHER PIE S STERN CO-WRITTEN BY MINOR WILLIAMS DEVELOPED BY JOHN XEPOLEAS Eprrep sy AsxoLD Buk LD AND PAUL SIEGEL ADDITIONAL Epirinc sy Ewity Mooreri G Boox De GN BY CHELSEA Music ENGRAVING PHOTOS BY DORIAN RowER, SUSANA MILLMAN, RICHARD LairD, MARGARET Norron, Loni STOLL, AND ARMANDO GALLO PUBLISHED BY MANHATTAN Music, INc.™ © 1994 MANHATTAN MUSIC, INC. All Rights Controlled and Administered by CPP Media Group. CPP Media Group and Manhattan Music are divisions of CPP/Belwin, Ine. AML Rights Reserved. Tniernational Copyright Secured. Made in U.S.A. DistRiBuTED BY CPP MEDIA 15800 N.W. 48TH AVENUE MIAMI, FL 33014 (805) 620-1500 Any copying of this material in whole or in part without the express written permission of CPP/Belwin, Inc., is a violation of copyright law.CONTENTS FOREWORD 3 LEGEND oF MUSICAL SYMBOLS 4 JOHN ABERCROMBIE 5 KEVIN EUBANKS 20 FRANK GAMBALE 33 Scott HENDERSON 45 STEVE LUKATHER 67 MIKE STERN 82 ABOUT THE CO-AUTHOR 103 CDI/CASSETTE TRACKING INFO CD Cassette Sing A CD Cassette SIDE B 1 INTRODUCTION 17 Mayor 7#5 CHorps (Exampces 10-12) 2 JOHN ABERCROMBIE 18 MINOR 7 CHORDS (EXAMPLES 13-18) Examete 3 19 Minor (Masor 7) CHoRos (ExaMPLes 19-22) 3 KEVIN FURANKS 20 Minor 7:5 CHoros (Exampies 23-27) “EartH Party” 21) SUSPENDED CHORDS (EXAMPLES 28-30) 4 FRANK GAMBALE 22 PHRYGIAN CHorDs (ExampLes 31-34) EXAMPLE 1 23 DOMINANT 7 CHORDS (Examres 35-37) S Exampte 2 24 DOMINANT 7/11 CHORDS (EXAMPLES 36-41) 6 Examr.e 3. 25 ALTERED Dominant CHorDs (EXAMPLES 42-52) 7 Examece 4 26 DIMINISHED CHORDS (ExamPLes 53-54) 8 Exameue 5 27) Steve LUKATHERIEXAMPLE 14 9 Exameie 6 28 Mike SteRN/ExamPLe 4 10 Examete 7 29 ExampLe 5 11. EXaMPLe & 12 Examp.e 9 13. EXAMPLE 10 14° Exampce 11 15 Scorr Hennerson Mason CHorDs (EXAMPLES 1-4) 16 Masor 7/11 Crorps (Exavrtes 5-9)FOREWORD Twas excited. Collaborating with six guitarists on an insiructional book sounded like a wonderful opportunity. To be able to gather insight directly from artists whom I've long admired was like a dream come true. Although it was difficult to contact, them all and work around nonstop recording and touring schedules, dealing with the players themselves coulda’ thhave been easier. Wi JOHN XEPOLEAS CONTACTED ME ABOUT THIS PROJECT, Certain aspects of their playing came as a surprise: for example, the ense with which they played. Arists of this caliber appear to be beyond problems of technique. Furthermore, logic and musicality were always evident. It seemed as if, out of the hundreds of choices in each situation, they always made the perfect choice. Playing standards with Joha Abercrombie is easy because he intuitively heats the perfect note. Working on a groove pattera with Steve Lukather is simple hecanse he isa master of pop counterpoint, And they are always playing. When L arrived at his place, Mike Stern was playing lines out of Slonimski’s Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Panems. Jobn Abercrombie came to the door with the guitar in his hands. ‘Thecontent of each lesson was chosen by the artist, and reveals information about each one’s ‘thought process as he plays, Kevin Eubanks breaks two of his tunes down into a method, i order to explore ways to play them, Scott Henderson and Frank Gampale presentus with new ideas for soloing over various chords. Mike Siem outlines his practice method for soloing. John Abercrombie gives usa glimpse into his harmonic concept. Putting this book (gether has provided me with a wealth of information and ideas to work with. Isincerely hope it does the same for you. I'd like to thank my wife Christine for her never-ending support and encouragement during the past cightcen months as T worked on this book. and thanks 10 John Xepoleas for involy- ing me. Special thanks to Ronny Schiff forthe adviee and information. Also thanks tothe fol lowing for their kind assistance: David Dillon, K.C. Nichols, Cluistine Martin, Margaret Norn, Dave Olsen, Aaron Stang, Cary Goldberg, and Lori Stoll. Mike WilliamsLEGEND OF MusicaAL SYMBOLS Downstrokes Upstrokes Left hand fingering Right hand fingering Hand vibrato hum {= index middie iy Bend. Quick bend Pre-bend Gradual bend Release bend Unison bend 6 > i Hammeron Pulloft Palm mute Tremolo Tail Pick Slide Picked slide Legato slide Short slide up and down Mutfled strings N Natural harmonic Artificial harmonic Pinch harmonic Right hand tap Ghost nore {partially implied)JOHN ABERCROMBIE the mid-sisties, along with other soon-to-be-famous ja72. artists such as pianist Keith Jarrett, He studied music by day and played at the famed Paul’s Mall on Boylston Street at night. Originally a bebopper, John’s primary influence was guitarist Jim Hall. Of Hall, Abercrombie says, “Jim's playing had so many pure melodies. Ilis thematic development of ideas was an important influence on me.” J OHN ABERCROMBIE ATTENDED THE BERKLEE SCHOOL OF MUSIC IN While still a student, John landed a gig with gritty hlues/jazz organ legend Johnny mmond” Smith. “I started working with Johnny while I was still going to Borklec. Abercrombie recalls. “I went o school all day (when I could get up) and played every night This Jed to his first album credit, on the Smith trio's 1968 release Nasty (Prestige), John’s musical development continued in his work with the band Dreams. with Billy Cobham and Michael and Randy Brecker. This gronp pioneered a form of jazz-rock that eame to be known as fusion, and gave John Abercrombie his second recording credit. Whon hi left the baud, Abcrerombic’s replacement was auoibier young Innovator: John Scofteld Jazz drummer Chico Hamilton introduced John to the lazer musical worlds of New York and Europe. John joined Hamilton’s group in 1970 and played the Montreux Jazz Festival with them in {970 — his first-ever trip to Europe, Living in New York gave John the oppormnity to meet and work with a variety of musicians. His sound and style evolved quickly, prompt ing a move from the traditional hollow-body jazz guitar to rock instruments and amplification. “Everything was changing.” says Abercrombie, “I started playing a solid-body guitar and using distortion.” John released his first “solo” album in. 1974, the influential Timeless (ECM), With a trio of the same name. including Jan Hammer on organ and Jack DeJoinette on drums, John broke free of the traditional blucs and R&B-based organ trios of Uke '50s and °60s to creare 2 completely new sound. About the same time, John performed and recorcled with Gateway, a trio whose other members were bassist Dave Holland and drummer Jack Delohnette. The music was kind of free-form theme-and-variation that developed from the work of Ornette Coleman and was a forerunner oftoday"s harmomelodic funk bands. Gateway released two albums ‘with Abercrombie on guitar, Gatewayand Gateway I Inthe mid-seventies, John led his firstband, which included Richie Beirach (piano), George Mraz (hass) and Peter Donald (drums). More recently, in the 1980s the highly- acclaimed John Abercrombie Thio featured drummer Peier Erskine (formerly of Weather Report) and string bassist Mare Johnson (formerly with Bill Evans). The group released a live album, appropriately titled Abercrombie/ Joheson/Erskine (ECM), that includes stunning interpreta- Gions/transformations of such standards as “Alice in Wonderland” and “Stella by Starlight.” ‘With the release of his latest album, While We're Young, featuring Dan Wall on Hammond B-3 organ and Adam Nussbaum on drums, John’s love for organ trios is well-established, The trio plays an aggressive New York-style contemporary jazz, informed by John’s knowledge of and contribution to that corner of the musical world, Over the last 25 years, John has contributed to more than a hunded albus, including sixteen asa leader. Asia sideman, hehas recorded with Joe Lovano, McCoy ‘lyrer, Jan Garbarek and Ralpt Towner. John’s lessoas are based on his concepts of chord melodies, and on new approaches to impro- visation.JOHN ABERCROMBIE -S ATsus4 AmIL LESSON 1 } CONTEMPORARY CHORD MELODIES: In this lesson, we're going to explore some of the techniques and sounds I use to ezeate my chord melodies. We'll be studying specific voicings for alteced dominant chords, the uses of pedal tones, re-harmonization and re-melodizing, aud the use of rubato introductions. For the examples in this lesson, Ill be using ideas that can work over a standard tune like “Beautiful Love.” We'll start with chord voicings. [like altered dominant chord voiciags that don’t accessarily include the third. If you're playing an altered A7 chord, you might play open A, Gon the fourth string. C on the third string, and F on the second string (see the third voicing in Example 1). The A isthe root, the Gis the k7, the C is the #9, and the Fis the 25. Note that the third is not included. In the examples that follow, | often use an open A string to help “keep. track” of the tonic. Play through these forums. EXAMPLE 1 A7#5)9 ATHSAD. ATsus4 ATO AT sus ATID ATS AT)Sb9 AT#9HD (ATAIL)Emit JOHN ABERCROMBII Try substituting these voicings in common progressions. [ think you'll notice a difference: the result is a more“eatended” or“modern™ sound Play Example 2, EXAMPLE 2 Em9 AT ATID DS. Dmil G71519 > @ doe often start a tune like “Beautiful Love” freely, with no tempo. The fallowing is an example ‘of how Imight start this pioce. I’m going to base the intto on our altered corn nant idea. This song is primarily in the key of D minor, so A7 works well, I'll se the open string as.a subtle pedal tone. Try playing Example 3 along with the tape. Remember, when playing “freely,” Une interpretation is up te you. EXAMPLE 3 NO. (A?) re > . | f di [ ahhJOHN ABERCROMBIE pRTLTA yy Oe ont es Es ° 5 dpe op et 5 2 2 2 2 0JOHN ABERCROMBIE || | WwW “ins +t my qe 4 | , - Wn = HLT al f AN eo 7 wv) 4 ay | —yor0 an y ql 1 | = aii] Se é ie th t 1 sty 1 ul Lu & ( He lH q & ‘ \ fq) 4 r\ . ¢ ¢ \ By a) e yi [2 8 & | ( E ry om Hy 4 wa, Pa Ve ( ch ) she) dee __ lt tees _ lt Hes odJOHN ABERCROMBIE “BY ea ly q fa ut + a iN . f fe 4 i jit} He The tte = -J- MJOHN ABERCROMBIE gets ce $ = r x a — 9 8 Ea r r r 1 ce o T 1 Cy a oS t B T = T ot | oe ey | poe === 4 tee Bett fas te 1 . 3 = a TI be oe 5 Cx t t re 7 = ht T z 1 Jade our be» ph ep at 3S te he fl r T OE * x + rs r = im t my T r 1s udJOHN ABERCROMBIE Now let's apply the pedal tone concept and the altered dominant chords to the actual tune, Example 4 is the first half of the original melody. You'll need tobe familiar with it in order to continue. EXAMPLE 4. Ems ATS Dm br Gm oo Fmaj7 mths AT Dm? G7 Bb75 (Bm 75 En al Dun GTS ar BiThs REAUTIEL.LOVE ‘Words and Muse ty HAVEN GILLESPIE, VICTOR YOUNG, WAYNE KING aid EGBERT VAN ALSTYNE © 1981 WB MUSIC CORE. and HAVEN GILLESPIE MUSIC inthe US:A. ane WB MUSIC CORP, eseweretougheut the Work. ‘AI Rights Reserved” Used by Persson ri2JoHN ABERCROMBIE Example 5 is the first half of my version of “Beautiful Love.” Play through it, and then I'll discuss the way L approach this song. EXAMPLE 5 13<JOHN ABERCROMBIE p14 take liberties with both harmony and melody when playing nes like “Beautiful Love.” Some of the changes thet Lmade are: 1. Tused the altered dominant voicings from Example | in the firsttwomeasures, Although. the original chord in measure 1 is Fan7b5, I'm using an A739 voicing to continue this pedal-tone style. 2. You'll also notice that the A altered dominant harmony continues in measure 2. 1 play ATESH9 as 3. Measure Sis re-harmonized by replacing the Gm? with Bi9/C. I’ vealso teworked the melody. 4, In measure 6, C7947 replaces C9. You can find this voicing in Example |. Notice that it does not inelude the third. 5. Idon’t necessarily play the melody in every measure; for example, it does not occur in measures 7 and 8. sjoy the sound of two-and three-note chords in this style, It isn’t necessary to play five and six-note chords cycry measure. The Bbm9/C is the only five-note chord. i've changed the rhythm ofthe melody for the most part. When I play standards, sometimes I don’t state the melody until the out chorus (listen to “Stella by Starlight” from Abercrombie/Brskine/ohnson on ECM Records). Occasionally T adhere to the ue melody, butother times use the song’s form asa vehicle for improvisation from the beginning, ike to take the sound orshape of a progression and arbitrarily move it into different keys, The last four bars of “Stella by Starlight” are Cm7|5-F?-B-maj/—B}maj7. I'll substitute Cém7—F#7—Cm7-F7 for the first two measures. Then T'Il start moving it freely through dif- ferent Keys. It doesn“t matter if the musicians are together harmonically. ‘There is no way on earth wecould be. We're using itasa vehicle 1oextend an idea —asa theme to improvise freely. 1 was heavily influenced pianist Bill Evans, In addition to his harmonic concepts, I studied the way he acranged his tuacs. By listening to piano players, you may find approaches and ideas that are different and interesting. LESSON 2 | TRIADS OVER Bass LINES When I was working with pianist Richie Beirach, we played a great song of his called “Madagascar.” It was a difficult song because it contained harmonic motion that I was not completely familiar with, Because of the nature of the instrument, very dense-sounding chords can be produced on the piano, To approximate this sound on the guitar, [play triads over bass notes. Acquaint your- self with this sound by playing Examples 6 and 7, which are excerpts from a couple of my tunes. EXAMPLE 6 cém Am Fm BA Fbmia, BuIA se bts,JoHN ABERCROMBIE EXAMPLE 7 Emaj7/A — Fém9(maj7VA EmajJ/A Fém9(maj7VvA BiYsus4 —Gbmaj¥/ BS. Bisusd Ghmaj9/Bs - - t1fd Abmaj7/D) F/Db AbD) PID> Bi9sus4 Ghnaj9/Bb Bb9sus4 Ghmajo/Bs - - ty Tuse these types of chords in my own compositions. Other times I use them us substitute chords in standards. For example, I may re-harmonize an F major chord as an EF. I could think of this as an Fraaj7i5¢9. Example Bisa ii7-V7-17 progression with the E/F substituted for the Fraj7. EXAMPLE & Gm9 C7459 BP ‘When I solo over this type of chord, I don’t think of the scale, but rather the chord, and acd the altered notes (see Example 9). The result is an A harmonic minor starting on F, EXAMPLE 9 Mode 6 of A harmonic minor (A harmonic minor starting on F) te 154JOHN ABERCROMBIE In Example 10, I substitute an Aadd¥/F for F major, Because | use the open B string, it con tains both the #4 and #5. EXAMPLE 10 Gmit Cus Aaddv/E Jluse an F Lydian scale with an added 45 over Acdd9/F. If you played it from D, the result ‘would be a D melodic minor. Look at Example I EXAMPLE 11 Mode 3 of D melo minor (D melodie minor starting on F) r 16JOHN ABERCROMBIE LESSON 3 |} PURE MELODY The be-boppers had countless lines and ideas that Churlie Parker (and others) had developed. ‘These melodic figures and concepts became part of the necessary vocabulary for the jazzlan- guage. They made use of the information in various combistatious to produce interesting solos, rather than studying the style theoretically. The great players of that era — of, for that matter, ofevery era possessed a wonderful melodic sense. I think the best playing employs car and intuition, Your goal is wo combine your knowledge of chords, scales, arpeggios, et. into your own intuition. Dust your ear A goodexervise fordeveloping yourcar.and specifically your ineledlie sense, is single-string soloing. You'll be finding your way through a sea of chords to find the important notes. Because you won't bo playing patterns or scales or riffs, you'll be working Lowatds pure melody, ALininisum, you'll find out which notes work best, Example 12 is ¢ sole played on the fisststring, Record the changes and practice soloing on each string, EXAMPLE 12 Ems ATs Dm? 17<JOHN ABERCROMBIE LESSON 4 » THEMATIC DEVELOPMENT In this lesson, we're going to explore a simple concept to improve thematic development in your soloing. Whatever you play on one chord you can repeat, with a little modification, on ‘another chord. This means that a melodic figure or interval played overone harmony can also be played over a different one, as long as you alter it to fit the new key center. Example 13 illustrates an intervallic/melodic idee that I could use to begin asoloover the changes below. EXAMPLE 13 ATS Dm p79. ml ‘The following themes were derived from the Fm?5 chord, Using the information provided, alter them to fit the remaining chords in Example 13. EXAMPLE 14 Ems 18JOHN ABERCROMBIE LESSON 5S \ MELODIC Bass LINES. This lesson is designed to help you hear through chords and 10 improve your time. The idea is ‘o solo while limiting yourself rhythmically tohalt-notes or quarter-notes. [call these melodic bass lines because the pulse is similar to a bass putt. You need to think melodically in your choice of notes, You will wind up playing some roots, but you'll also begin “hearing” some other notes that you may prefer. By starting with half-notes, you'll have tw make really gost choices. This is similar to the single-string solos because it keeps you away from playing pat ferns. Whenever you puta limit on yourself, you become more aware of the notes youclouse. Play through Example 15 below. The chord changes are common fora jazz standard, You'll notice that alterations and extensions are acceptable in this exercise EXAMPLE 15 Am7b5 br Gn or While I’ve had wonderful experiences playing completely free, I now find greater freedom. through structure. In order fo get free from chords, you must understand why you got caught in them in the first place. 194KEVIN EUBANKS 20 studying violin at age seven. Over the next five years he also became proficient on the piano and tamper, bur finally fell in love with the guitar afver seeing James Brown. When his parents turned down his request for guitar lessons, Kevin siarted teaching. himself to play. fi NATIVE OF PHILADELPHIA, GUITARIST KEVIN EUBANKS BEGAN Kevinaugmentedhis work in hishigh schoo! music program by playing in local funk androck bands. After graduation, he atended the Berklee School of Music in Boston, In 1980, through connections made at Berklee, Kevin auditioned for and joined drummer Art Blakey's band “The Jnz2 Messengers. He appears on the Messengers” 1980 album Live ar Montreux. Kevin built his career as a solo artist while keeping a busy schedule as a sideman, recording with Dianne Reeves, Dave Holland, Project G-7 (a Wes Montgomery tribute), and with his brother. trombonist Robin Eubanks. Kevin has also reconded ten albuins with his own group. starting with 1983's Guitarist (Electra Musician Records), A number of GRP releases fol- lowed, including Sundance, Opening Night (vith Branford Marsalis and Buster Williams), Face to Face (with Daye Grusin, Marevs Miller and Ron Carer), Heat of Heat, The Searcher and Promise of Tomorrow. His 1988 album Shadow Prophets received more radio air play than any other jazz recording of that year. Kevin joined Blue Note Records in 1992 and released Turning Point with Marvin “Smitty” Smith and Dave Holland. The composition “Barth Party,” which Kevin refers to in his lesson, appears on his latest album, Spirit Talk. Kevin's innovative righthand technique allows for great hat ‘monic, intervallic and thythmic freedom and contributes to the unique sound for which he is famous. Although common in clas- sical guitar, counterpoint and polyrhythms are not usually found in jazz guitar work (though they occur more frequently on the piano}. Kevin’s compositions demonstrate his interest in and facility forodd meters, ostinato rhythms anda new chordal style. Early in his career, Kevin spent a good deal of time transcribing {jazz solos; this provided a solid basis later, when his interest in a variety of musical styles led bin t examine different anionic concepts. Although his sound and style is deeply rooted in jaz, it isalso easy to trace the influence of well-known players such as Wes Montgomery, John MeL augblin and Jimi Hendrix, whom Kevin counts as major musical influences, Kevin has enjoyed along association with renowned saxophon- ist Branford Marsalis, whom he met at Berklee. With Branford, Kevin has been a member of NBC's Tonight Show with Jay Leno band since it was founded in 1992, Accompanying the variety of artists featured on the program serves 'sversae tility and vast musical knowledge. In his lesson, Kevin guides you through two of his more chal- Ienging compositions and provides valuable insight into his, musical thought processes.KEVIN EUBANKS In the brief time that we have together, I'd like to offer you sume of my ideas and experi- ences. I wish it was possible toconverse with you and waich as you listen and hopefully react to what I have to say, Tadmit it feels a litle weird to try and “talk through the pages of a book: it would be better to be in a situation where we could hang, sit down and exchange ideas. Butsince that’s not possible, I'll do my best tocommunicate what { have to say through these printed words, ant trust that the meaning comes across. Remember, though: there's still two of us here! A book is only ahook. It can turn you on, but you've got to give up some energy, too. Heng something to reading this book and you'll probably Icave with something positive. In other words, you get back whiat you putin, so try and work with this book the same way you would work with a live teacher and you'll see good results ve structured this section of the book around two oziginal compositions. Each composition is broken down inty several lessons, which should he studied bit by bit. Ldid this $0 that the examples could be seen and heard in the context of the compositions, not just isolated as technique exercises. This also makes possible a discussion of compositional ideas and how they work The first picce,**Rarth Party,” (from my new Blue Note recording Spirit Zaik ) was inspired by ‘atypical “basement band!" jamin the "70s, or what call the classic “Jam in E.” My technique was influenced by surne of the bassists I played with growing up. The great Larry Graham created a whole new sound with Sly and the Family Stone. [use my thumb the same way he did, as an “anchor” or main picking digit of the right hand, The bottom note in a voicing is what I refer to as the “bass” note. The thumb can be very funky, if you know how to use it, Many great bass players know all about using their thumis to pioduce serious funk, and jazz. guitar legend Wes Montgomery used his thumb exclusively. Let's Look at the song finm the top. The phrase in second bar can be voiced in one of several ways, Lsuggost extracting the bass “voice” and playing it as the bass line. Jam on it, Get the fecl of i, Mess around with the line and come up with other phrases that feel good; maybe try using chords that accompany the roots, Butkeep that “basement” feeling — that loose, funky groove — going, Also, pay attention to the meter. which is 9/4, Find phrases that work well in that meter. AS you add other notes, you also will see why the bass pattern is so important. The bass partis the cohesive clement that keeps this song moving. Througlivut the entire piece, your thumb is playing that bass part and acting as the anchos. Kemember, it’s very important to establish it with authority! ‘The “folk” sound of bats 16, 17 and 18 reminds me of “Blackbird” by Lennon and McCartney. ‘This section is meant to be more delicate, but keep the bass line pumping, ‘Those of you who do not use the fingers of your picking hand.as individual voices will find parts of this piece impossible to play as written hers; but feel free to adapt it to your own par ticular way of playing. Some technical exercises may help improve your strength and dex- tority, aid if's0, Lencourage you to devote time to them, But the most important thing is to {ind what works foryou, Personally, I think that playing with your nose, teeth, or whatever is fine, if you feel good doing it and if you can produce music that way. Don’t let any person or school dictate how you execute — if you have a way that works, use it. I’s about musie, and as Jong as you use your heart, you can play any way you want and it will (ouch other people as well as yourself 214