Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • 2K views

    Mike Stern

    Uploaded by

    bobbydog
    The document provides musical examples of jazz guitarist Mike Stern improvising over common jazz chord progressions such as II-V-I. It describes Stern's approach, which draws from rock, blues, and bop influences. The examples demonstrate Stern bending notes, using chromaticism, and incorporating altered scales and chord substitutions to add tension and color to the progressions.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Mike Stern

    Uploaded by

    bobbydog
    2K views4 pages
    The document provides musical examples of jazz guitarist Mike Stern improvising over common jazz chord progressions such as II-V-I. It describes Stern's approach, which draws from rock, blues, and bop influences. The examples demonstrate Stern bending notes, using chromaticism, and incorporating altered scales and chord substitutions to add tension and color to the progressions.

    Original Description:

    guitar

    Copyright

    © Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)

    Available Formats

    PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    The document provides musical examples of jazz guitarist Mike Stern improvising over common jazz chord progressions such as II-V-I. It describes Stern's approach, which draws from rock, blues, and bop influences. The examples demonstrate Stern bending notes, using chromaticism, and incorporating altered scales and chord substitutions to add tension and color to the progressions.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    2K views4 pages

    Mike Stern

    Uploaded by

    bobbydog
    The document provides musical examples of jazz guitarist Mike Stern improvising over common jazz chord progressions such as II-V-I. It describes Stern's approach, which draws from rock, blues, and bop influences. The examples demonstrate Stern bending notes, using chromaticism, and incorporating altered scales and chord substitutions to add tension and color to the progressions.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    You are on page 1of 4

    byA!

    sseCresss

    he Ilm-V-l is probably the most comin jazz, but that

    mon progression

    doesnt stop Mike Stern from putting his own stamp on this ubiquitous demonstrated change, as drawn

    by these examples

    from his improvisations. way with easy confidence erous modulations, his rock/blues cal approach

    While bopping his through treachfrom

    Mike often draws

    vocabulary-a to jazz standards. straight-ahead

    near-hereti-

    Ex. 1 features blowing

    bop

    over a Ilm-V-l in f3/, major. The approaches

    pickup into the first measure

    *he

    solo

    voice

    1 MONSTERII-Vs

    the 5 of the IIm chord, Cm7, via two descending chromatic tones. The rhythmic motif reappears, leading to the 5 of the V7 (F~J and setting the listener up for the return to the I chord (Bbmuj7). (Bbmuj7J. Instead, Stern sustains the V chord, sliding into the twelfth position and stirring up melodic tension with a series of descending chromatic pull-offs. Grab the Fon beat three with your 3rd finger to shift into eleventh position for the Bb major wrap-up. Ex. 1
    cm7 F7

    The line in Ex. 2 was originally conceived over a Cmmor IIm-V-Im (Dm7/,5-G7-Cm), but it works just as well over its relative major progression (FmPBb 7-Ebmuj7). The motif on beats one and two derive from & Dorian, an outside tonality produced by raising the IIm chord-Fm7 in the major progression-a minor third to&m (which is also a b5 substitute for Dm7/J, the IIm of the minor progression ).The rest of the line Ex.2
    ]=I60

    Dmfb5 Fm7)

    G7alt (Bb7alt)

    Cm7 I&-W)

    8va-------.-.------..---------------------------.-.-------...~---------~--~

    Ex. 3
    F7alt
    J=136

    Bbmaj7

    Dm7

    G7

    Cm7 . . . . . .._.____._.___.-.-...-~.-~~----~-.~...

    F7alt

    Bbmaj7 Cm7 &n...-.-.-------------------.....--.---.----------...-.-.-.,

    F7alt

    Bbmaj7

    42

    HOW TO PLAY GUITAR / JAZZ I

    MONSTERII-Vs 1 *he

    solo

    vote-

    uses the Eb major scale to create altered-chord dissonances (#5, #9, b9) over the G7chord. Note that only diatonic dissonances (b7,11,9) occur when the phrase is played against Bb 7. In EX 3, the 3 of the tonic Bbmuj7is approached by a short altered-dominant 7#9/b9 lick. We can alsoview these notes as part of the Eb minor scale, which demonstrates a handy chord-substitution technique: To create altered-chord tension over a dominant-7th chord, play from the minor key that lies a whole-step below the dominant chord (in this case, Eb minor against F7). Next, Mike unleashes a series of King-style blues phrases (complete with B.B.s and Alberts signature dee-dab lick) from the sixth- and ninth-position Bb pentatonic minor scales until a high bend to Bb signals a return to bopsville. Llke Ex. 2 (but without the pull-offs), the Dm7-G7-Cm7m bars 2 and 3 takes a chromatic approach to a Db Dorlanbased run. Here, Stem creates tension by playing a half-step above the Cm7 Begin this phrase in the thirteenth position, then shift to twelfth position by playing the Gb on beat two with your 3rd finger. Shift back to thirteenth position on the and of beat three to set up a comfortable fingering for the following boppish Bb major phrase. Stern sticks an Ebm Dorian idea over Cm7and FIbefore returning inside to Bb. The chromatically descending triad arpeggios in Fx. 4 are a Stern trademark. Mike begins inside the Bb tonality but quickly heads out to A, Ab, G, and Gb, with identical fingering for each arpeggio. Midway through bar 3 he alters the shape by raising the lower three notes a halfstep for a Gudd#4 arpeggio, reversing the melodic direction and creating additional tension. The harmony resolves with four ascending diatonic 7th arpeggios.

    Ex. 4

    I
    L

    I
    I I

    I
    I I

    I
    I I

    Ex 5 (next page) is a 16-bar chord-melody chorus. In the two-bar pickup Mike doubles up the underlying chord changes (F#m7-B7-Fm77in place of the original Fm7-Bb 7). Stern then assumes a minimalist single-note stance before introducing two- and three-note voicings over a series of descending IIm-Vs. Arriving at Fm7, he ascends to the V chord with alternating & and Bb major triads. Once there, he fleshes out the chords with a fourth voice and resolves to Eb, using quartal 6/9 chords. In bar 10 Mike sets up a triplet-based rhythmic motif that extends over the IIm-V (Dm7-G7J into C,with three-note voicings moving beneath a Cpedal tone. A CU9voiced in fourths and fifths precedes syncopated diminished chord punctuations. A pair of IIm-Vs (Gm7-C7and Fm7-Bb 7) leads us to expect the tonic Eb, but Mike substitutes a lush, open-voiced Es/9 that spans more than three octaves with lovely results. I
    Bb

    JAZZ /

    HOWTO PldY GUITAR

    43

    the
    Ex. 5
    J=l60 standal change substttutms

    solo

    votcle

    1 MONSTERIl=Vs

    1: Fm7 F#m7 B7

    Bb7
    Fm7 Bbf

    Ebmai7 .

    G7/D

    Cm7

    Cm7/G

    F7iA Am7

    Ab7 D7

    Gm7

    C7#9 Ab

    Fm7 Bb Ab

    Bb7 Bb

    Ebmaj7 Bb13sus4 Eb6/9 Ebmajl3

    Bbm7 Bbm9

    Eb7 Eb13b9

    Abmaj7

    Dm7 D7#9

    46

    G7 G7sus4

    Cmaj7 C6/9

    F7 F7b9

    F#dim7

    Gm7

    Fm7 Bbl3sus4

    lBb7#5#9

    Bb7

    Eb6 E6/9

    Fm7

    Bb7 Ebmaj7

    *orE13

    44

    HOW TO PLAY GUITAR / JAZZ

    You might also like