Solo improvisation

We recently had a visit from UK jazz guitarist Lee Jones, who discussed techniques for guitar solo improvisation. The main theme was to incorporate three separate "gears" of solo development:

Stages of solo improvisation

First gear - At the start of the improvisation, a good solo might begin with only a few well placed notes. These could be just one pitch played rhythmically or multiple notes with large gaps in between. Lee emphasised how important the space in between notes can be when drawing in an audience. When leaving long pauses in between melodic phrases, the audience is anticipating more so the longer they are left to wait the more satisfying it might sound when more melodic lines are played.

Second gear - After the initial notes and minimalist melody lines, the second stage would be to develop melodic phrases into longer sections whilst minimising the amount of space in between notes. It seems to me that this level of improvisation is important for focusing on cementing the main melodic themes and introducing interesting rhythms.

Third gear - Lee demonstrated these levels whilst playing over a chord progression. The third and final stage of his improvisation was to demonstrate a level of technical virtuosity. If performed well then the band might pick up on it and follow. Rhythms and basslines might become more complex to fit this stage. Some guitarists might use this stage to shred as fast as possible whereas others might weave complex melodies and harmonies to shock the audience. This might include playing outside the key with a high level of precision. Lee seemed to be capable of both these things so his solo was an effective demonstration of this three-stage method.

We discussed this three-stage solo method further with Andy, focusing mainly on the third stage. Andy suggested that the technical virtuosity of shredding could be substituted for experimenting with the sound you can produce with the guitar. As long as it still has the power to shock an audience, a guitar solo might end with dissonance and noise. We looked at Dimebag Darrell's solo in "I'm Broken" by Pantera and compared it to Lee's idea about three solo stages.

I'm Broken - Pantera

The solo (starting at 2.30 in the video above) begins with a simple blues bend followed by a short melody. The next section (2.36) introduces faster pentatonic and modal runs and in the final section (2.50) Dimebag performs screeches out of time to the backing rhythm. 
begins the final section with these unique screeching sounds and ends the solo with a run up towards the final climactic bend.

Lee suggested that if you begin a guitar solo with shredding then there is nowhere to go from there. Unless you are skilled enough, all the things you play after a heavy introduction like that might seem pointless and uninteresting.

Playing outside

We discussed how to effectively play outside the key by using non-diatonic tones. The idea was to shift up a semitone to create more tension in the sound, adding an extra layer of interest to a solo. Lee's advice was to focus on how to resolve it while practising over a single minor chord. His method was to aim for the strongest chord tones when resolving. For example, you could solo over a D minor chord using a D natural minor scale then shift it up to Eb natural minor and resolve it by aiming for the root, minor third or fifth of E minor (E, G and B). Not only does the dissonance add an extra layer of interest to a solo, it also makes the resolution more powerful and appealing to the ear.

Stacked 4th chords

Lee's lesson also included the concept of stacked 4th chords, otherwise known as quartal harmony. Quartal harmony refers to the use of diatonic 4th intervals in a scale. For example, C major is made up of C D E F G A and B. The usual 7th chords in C major are made up of diatonic 3rd intervals of the scale:

C E G B (Cmaj7)

D F A C (Dm7)

E G B D (Em7)

F A C E (Fmaj7)

G B D F (G7)

A C E G (Am7)

B D F A (Bdim7)

In quartal harmony, these chords are replaced with chords with diatonic fourth intervals:

C F B E

D G C F

E A D G

F B E A

G C F B

A D G C

B E A D

The lack of any 3rd in these chords makes them impossible to define as either a major or minor chord. This ambiguity allows these chords to be used in multiple situations. In Lee's lesson we took it in turns to alternate between a vamp in D minor, an improvised solo and improvised comping with these chords. The ambiguity of the chords allows free movement across the neck behind the solo.