Examples mixing major and minor tonalities

cd track 34

Example 10 Now for the first of three examples that shift through various shapes and positions. This one shifts from shape #2 to #3 then back to #2. The first half of bar 37 is typical of Larry Carlton and uses a succession of ascending arpeggios (A, then G, then C#m7). There then follows a chromatic ascent from

Eb a C# note (major 3rd of A) to an E note (5th of A) via D and respectively. We then see a descending A major triad followed by a descending G major triad:

Eb note that the first notes of both are preceded by a chromatic passing note ( to E at the start of beat 3; and C# to D at the start of beat 4). Bar 38 features a straightforward descent using the A Bebop scale (A Mixolydian with a major seventh passing note between the root and the b7), before finishing on a C note featuring a bluesy curl followed by an A root note.

Example 11 Here, a seven-note motif played on the top two strings (note the use of C to C# again) is shifted down in octaves, keeping the same fingering: first on the middle two strings, then on the bottom two strings. The fact that each motif is seven notes long causes the rhythmic emphasis to change as it’s played to a four-note count, which helps to maintain interest for the listener: in other words, we get all the benefits of repetition (musical logic, thematic development, memory aid etc) without its usual predictability. Notice that this line covers quite a large range: starting in shape #3 and shifting through shapes #2, #1 and #5.

Example 12 Finally, we get a variation on exactly the same approach. This time, each motif is nine notes long (and so also provides the unpredictable

Eb effect created by rhythmic displacement), and features an passing note between the E and D notes, as well as the familiar transition from C to C#.