Technique Columns

This issue we are taking a look at two concepts that I hope will break you out of any improvisation ruts you may find yourself in. The first two exercises are designed to help you break out of the pentatonic box shapes and give you some ideas on how to develop your own scale runs and pentatonic riffs. These exercises also help to bridge and create scale runs between the minor pentatonic box shapes one octave apart. You can utilise licks you already know in the minor pentatonic scale, then use the three note-per-string scale run outlined in Exercise #2 to repeat the same licks an octave higher or lower.

Exercise three touches on the idea of modal arpeggios. Modal arpeggios are a great tool for creating tension and new colours in your melodies. I have outlined only two modal arpeggios, but they are my two favorites for soloing over Aeolian and minor pentatonic chord vamps. YouTube is a great resource now for backing tracks. Search for an A minor backing track and you’ll find plenty of videos to try these exercises over, or better yet make your own or use a loop pedal. Whatever you do make sure you are playing these exercises over an A minor chord or diatonic progression so you can hear the effect of these modal arpeggios.

EXERCISE #1

Exercise #1 starts out by outlining one octave of the A minor pentatonic scale using two notes-per-string. This pattern is usually one of the first scale patterns we learn and is the starting point for our sojourn into improvisation. The limit of this pattern, however, is we sometimes learn a bunch of licks based on two note-per-string flurries and then move to the next box shape to repeat the process. A great way to break out of this rut is to play the pentatonic scale as a three-note-per-string pattern. It’s also a great way to come up with new pentatonic riffs you may not otherwise stumble across.

The first two bars of Exercise #1 outlines both the two-note-per-string and 3 note-per-string pattern ascending and descending through one octave. Have a play through it and you will hear there is no difference except for a slight timbre change due to the notes being played on different strings. The last three bars of Exercise #3 take the concept and extend it to a two-octave pattern. You will recognize the standard A minor pentatonic box shape we know and love, followed by the same notes played as a three-note-per-string pattern.

EXERCISE #2

Here we take this idea one step further. Because we are playing three notes on each string we can easily span the distance of three octaves, something we cannot do with the box shape pattern (unless you’ve already mastered six strings and have bought an eight-string guitar). This also allows us to bridge between the 2 note-per-string pattern that occurs one octave apart on our instrument. Try playing some licks you already know in the box shape, then use Exercise #2 as a scale run, then play the same licks an octave higher in the same box shape that starts on the 17th fret. The rise that occurs when bridging the two patterns should help build excitement in your solo and can also help to give form and structure to your melodic ideas. By this I mean an ABAA or ABAC form to your solo.

EXERCISE #3

This exercise outlines two modal arpeggios. Modal arpeggios are diatonic arpeggios that add the extra notes form each chord – the 9th, 11th and 13th notes. In the case of A minor this would be a B, D and F. When we spell out an A minor 7th chord we get the 1st which is A, the 3rd which is C, the 5th which is E, and the 7th which is G. If we continue to stack thirds on top of the chord we get the 9th which is B, the 11th which is D, and the 13th which is F. If this doesn’t make sense to you, don’t worry, it will make sense if you learn about harmony and how chords are built. What’s more important is how it sounds when you add these notes to your improvisation.

The extension of the Am7, the 9th, 11th and 13th spells out a B diminished triad. When we resolve phrases to these notes there are some beautiful sounds to be had. Find a backing track that vamps an Am or Am7 chord and play through Exercise #3 slowly, listening to the tensions and resolutions that occur when playing these modal arpeggios. We have only just touched on the concept, there’s more to come next issue. Until then, enjoy!