Chords for Grant Green - How to Bridge Bebop and Blues
Tempo:
127.9 bpm
Chords used:
G
Ab
Gb
C
A
Tuning:Standard Tuning (EADGBE)Capo:+0fret
Start Jamming...
[Gm] [F]
[Eb] Hi everybody, my name is Jens Larsen.
Grant Green is a master of mixing bebop lines
and interesting rhythms.
There's really a lot that you can learn
from studying his playing.
The solo that I'm gonna go over some phrases from
in this video is actually a solo that I got
as homework from my teacher.
And in this video, I'm going to break down
three different phrases, talk about how they're constructed
so that you can start implementing similar things
into your own playing.
If you wanna learn more about jazz guitar,
improve the way that you solo,
and check out some interesting arpeggios
and chord voicings, then subscribe to my channel.
If you wanna make sure not to miss anything,
then click the little bell notification icon
next to the subscribe [Dm] button.
[Gm]
[D] [Eb] [C] This first example is in the beginning
of the second chorus of the solo.
So the solo is on a blues in B flat,
[Gb] and I think it's a great example of how he really starts
with sort of a very basic, more bluesy thing,
and then turns that into more of a bebop line
with some fairly complicated chromatic passing notes
and chromatic ideas.
So he starts with a B flat [Bbm] major triad,
like this second version, [G]
up to the high G,
and then back in the triad.
So, and then we get some stuff that's [Gb] fairly dense
with chromaticism.
So first, just chromatically from E down to [B] E flat,
and then skipping down to play a G minor triad.
[E] This is similar to what I talked about
in the George Benson video with adding
between two scale notes in a descending scale run,
you add a complete arpeggio.
[Gm]
[Gbm] Down to the D flat here, and then grinding approach
to the seven, [G] so to E [Ab] flat, and down to an F also.
[Gb] [C] And then we get an F minor scale run.
So here, at this [E] point in the solo,
it's a little bit as if he's playing
a different kind of line, where the [Gm] chords that I [Fm] implied
are [Ab] F minor, F minor major, F minor [A] seven,
and then B [Bb] flat seven, which is a fairly common [G] substitution
to put on top of a two [A]-five,
[Gb] so F minor [C] seven to B flat seven.
So that's also what happens here.
So first we get a [G] scale run,
[C]
then down the F minor [Db] arpeggio,
[F] and then first the [E] E, so [Ab] really this sound,
and then [Eb] down to the [Abm] F minor seven,
[Ebm]
[Dm] down [A] to the D here, which [Bb] then kind of signals a B flat seven
and then here I have [Fm] a D half diminished [D] arpeggio,
[G] which actually he plays with [Dm] a hammer on, I think.
[G]
And then we get just the resolution to the E flat seven.
[C] Really focusing on rhythm, the lines are,
in the middle of this example, pretty dense,
but for the rest, he's really breaking it up
and making a lot of variation.
The part of the F minor line in the middle
[G]
is almost as if the accent is moved
so that it's turned around.
[Ab] So there's a lot of stuff happening.
[G]
[N] Another thing that Grant Green does extremely well
is to use patterns that are shifting on top of the meter.
And that's what's happening here.
So this is an example that's actually following
right after the example that I just went over.
And what he's doing is that he's playing a phrase
that's three quarter notes long,
which means that he can move that around
and then he has these shifting three quarter note patterns
that are just on different places of the bar
and you hear it as the same phrase,
even though he's moving it around.
And that gives sort of a nice effect
and gives you some rhythmical tension
that he then resolves later in that chorus.
So the phrase [C] is first a trill,
which is, well [Ab] actually, the way I'm thinking about it,
it's actually starting with an eight note rest
and then we get the trill.
And the trill is then first two 16th notes
and then an eighth note.
[G] And then we get three eighth notes.
And that's the phrase.
And then he's moving that around.
He's playing exactly the same phrase,
just moving to another string set.
One more time.
So [Ab] that's how he's working with it.
And it's a simple way of moving the same phrase around.
And these kind of things are well worth checking out
to just have phrases that are shifting a bit
and breaking it up a bit
because that's gonna make it a lot more interesting
[Gb] to listen to your solo
if you also have this rhythmical dimension in your playing.
The idea of using these three quarter rhythms
is of course not unique to him.
I already talked about how Jim Hall uses this as well
and there's a part of Pat Martino's solo on Oleo
where he's going to this pattern
that's three eighth [Dbm] notes long.
[Ab] That way, [Gb] just having another rhythm
that's moving on top of the meter.
So you can also start spotting this with other players
because it is a fairly common device
and if you're not used to working with it,
[Ab] then it's also really [Bbm] worthwhile to you.
[Eb] [F]
[Cm] [Db] I included this third [Bb] example
because I think it's important to realize
[A] that he is thinking as much about rhythm
as [Gb] he is about the notes that he's playing.
And I think that's pretty clear from this example.
So really what's happening here
is that in terms of the note choice and the harmony,
there's not really anything interesting happening
on the first four bars of the blues.
He is [Ab] managing to create a lot of tension
and a lot of interesting things
and he's only doing it with the rhythm.
And the way he does that
is that he's increasing the [G] intensity
in actually two different ways
in the four bars that he's playing.
So the first part is just on the beat,
two notes per bar, so B flat and then on the three, F.
[A] Really everything on the beat, everything simple.
The next bar, he's increasing the tension
by playing this dotted quarter note figure,
which is [Ebm] first E flat and then [Em] E
and then on the fourth beat a G.
And then the intensity goes up
because [F] he's using four notes per bar
but he's only playing off beat.
So we get, and [Ab] then a little bit more [Db] dense even.
[G] [Bbm] And then resolving [G] on the one on [Ebm] the E flat.
[C]
So what you hear here is really
that [B] he's only just playing basic scale notes.
[Gb] There's like one chromatic leading note
but he does still really make a development
and there is something happening that's different in bar one
and that's really with a lot more tension
and a lot more energy in bar four before he resolves it.
And also he manages to resolve it
with going down to [Cm] the G so
[N] and also making a rhythmical statement
out of the resolution.
If you wanna work on playing lines like this,
I think you have to start thinking about the rhythms
and maybe that also means
that you have to stop thinking about exactly what harmony
or what melody you're working with
and just focus on coming up with some nice ideas
and some nice rhythms
and see if that doesn't add something to your playing.
I'm pretty sure it does actually
because it's a important part of jazz playing.
This is a really great example of how that might work.
If you want to check out some more videos
where I'm analyzing the playing of great players
like George Benson, Wes and Pat Martino,
then check out this playlist.
If you want to learn more about jazz guitar
and it's the first time you see one of my videos,
then subscribe to my channel.
These are the kind of videos that I publish every week.
And of course, if you wanna help me keep making videos,
then check out my Patreon page.
That's about it for this week.
Thank you for watching
[Eb] Hi everybody, my name is Jens Larsen.
Grant Green is a master of mixing bebop lines
and interesting rhythms.
There's really a lot that you can learn
from studying his playing.
The solo that I'm gonna go over some phrases from
in this video is actually a solo that I got
as homework from my teacher.
And in this video, I'm going to break down
three different phrases, talk about how they're constructed
so that you can start implementing similar things
into your own playing.
If you wanna learn more about jazz guitar,
improve the way that you solo,
and check out some interesting arpeggios
and chord voicings, then subscribe to my channel.
If you wanna make sure not to miss anything,
then click the little bell notification icon
next to the subscribe [Dm] button.
[Gm]
[D] [Eb] [C] This first example is in the beginning
of the second chorus of the solo.
So the solo is on a blues in B flat,
[Gb] and I think it's a great example of how he really starts
with sort of a very basic, more bluesy thing,
and then turns that into more of a bebop line
with some fairly complicated chromatic passing notes
and chromatic ideas.
So he starts with a B flat [Bbm] major triad,
like this second version, [G]
up to the high G,
and then back in the triad.
So, and then we get some stuff that's [Gb] fairly dense
with chromaticism.
So first, just chromatically from E down to [B] E flat,
and then skipping down to play a G minor triad.
[E] This is similar to what I talked about
in the George Benson video with adding
between two scale notes in a descending scale run,
you add a complete arpeggio.
[Gm]
[Gbm] Down to the D flat here, and then grinding approach
to the seven, [G] so to E [Ab] flat, and down to an F also.
[Gb] [C] And then we get an F minor scale run.
So here, at this [E] point in the solo,
it's a little bit as if he's playing
a different kind of line, where the [Gm] chords that I [Fm] implied
are [Ab] F minor, F minor major, F minor [A] seven,
and then B [Bb] flat seven, which is a fairly common [G] substitution
to put on top of a two [A]-five,
[Gb] so F minor [C] seven to B flat seven.
So that's also what happens here.
So first we get a [G] scale run,
[C]
then down the F minor [Db] arpeggio,
[F] and then first the [E] E, so [Ab] really this sound,
and then [Eb] down to the [Abm] F minor seven,
[Ebm]
[Dm] down [A] to the D here, which [Bb] then kind of signals a B flat seven
and then here I have [Fm] a D half diminished [D] arpeggio,
[G] which actually he plays with [Dm] a hammer on, I think.
[G]
And then we get just the resolution to the E flat seven.
[C] Really focusing on rhythm, the lines are,
in the middle of this example, pretty dense,
but for the rest, he's really breaking it up
and making a lot of variation.
The part of the F minor line in the middle
[G]
is almost as if the accent is moved
so that it's turned around.
[Ab] So there's a lot of stuff happening.
[G]
[N] Another thing that Grant Green does extremely well
is to use patterns that are shifting on top of the meter.
And that's what's happening here.
So this is an example that's actually following
right after the example that I just went over.
And what he's doing is that he's playing a phrase
that's three quarter notes long,
which means that he can move that around
and then he has these shifting three quarter note patterns
that are just on different places of the bar
and you hear it as the same phrase,
even though he's moving it around.
And that gives sort of a nice effect
and gives you some rhythmical tension
that he then resolves later in that chorus.
So the phrase [C] is first a trill,
which is, well [Ab] actually, the way I'm thinking about it,
it's actually starting with an eight note rest
and then we get the trill.
And the trill is then first two 16th notes
and then an eighth note.
[G] And then we get three eighth notes.
And that's the phrase.
And then he's moving that around.
He's playing exactly the same phrase,
just moving to another string set.
One more time.
So [Ab] that's how he's working with it.
And it's a simple way of moving the same phrase around.
And these kind of things are well worth checking out
to just have phrases that are shifting a bit
and breaking it up a bit
because that's gonna make it a lot more interesting
[Gb] to listen to your solo
if you also have this rhythmical dimension in your playing.
The idea of using these three quarter rhythms
is of course not unique to him.
I already talked about how Jim Hall uses this as well
and there's a part of Pat Martino's solo on Oleo
where he's going to this pattern
that's three eighth [Dbm] notes long.
[Ab] That way, [Gb] just having another rhythm
that's moving on top of the meter.
So you can also start spotting this with other players
because it is a fairly common device
and if you're not used to working with it,
[Ab] then it's also really [Bbm] worthwhile to you.
[Eb] [F]
[Cm] [Db] I included this third [Bb] example
because I think it's important to realize
[A] that he is thinking as much about rhythm
as [Gb] he is about the notes that he's playing.
And I think that's pretty clear from this example.
So really what's happening here
is that in terms of the note choice and the harmony,
there's not really anything interesting happening
on the first four bars of the blues.
He is [Ab] managing to create a lot of tension
and a lot of interesting things
and he's only doing it with the rhythm.
And the way he does that
is that he's increasing the [G] intensity
in actually two different ways
in the four bars that he's playing.
So the first part is just on the beat,
two notes per bar, so B flat and then on the three, F.
[A] Really everything on the beat, everything simple.
The next bar, he's increasing the tension
by playing this dotted quarter note figure,
which is [Ebm] first E flat and then [Em] E
and then on the fourth beat a G.
And then the intensity goes up
because [F] he's using four notes per bar
but he's only playing off beat.
So we get, and [Ab] then a little bit more [Db] dense even.
[G] [Bbm] And then resolving [G] on the one on [Ebm] the E flat.
[C]
So what you hear here is really
that [B] he's only just playing basic scale notes.
[Gb] There's like one chromatic leading note
but he does still really make a development
and there is something happening that's different in bar one
and that's really with a lot more tension
and a lot more energy in bar four before he resolves it.
And also he manages to resolve it
with going down to [Cm] the G so
[N] and also making a rhythmical statement
out of the resolution.
If you wanna work on playing lines like this,
I think you have to start thinking about the rhythms
and maybe that also means
that you have to stop thinking about exactly what harmony
or what melody you're working with
and just focus on coming up with some nice ideas
and some nice rhythms
and see if that doesn't add something to your playing.
I'm pretty sure it does actually
because it's a important part of jazz playing.
This is a really great example of how that might work.
If you want to check out some more videos
where I'm analyzing the playing of great players
like George Benson, Wes and Pat Martino,
then check out this playlist.
If you want to learn more about jazz guitar
and it's the first time you see one of my videos,
then subscribe to my channel.
These are the kind of videos that I publish every week.
And of course, if you wanna help me keep making videos,
then check out my Patreon page.
That's about it for this week.
Thank you for watching
Key:
G
Ab
Gb
C
A
G
Ab
Gb
_ [Gm] _ _ _ _ _ [F] _ _
_ _ [Eb] _ Hi everybody, my name is Jens Larsen.
Grant Green is a master of mixing bebop lines
and interesting rhythms.
There's really a lot that you can learn
from studying his playing.
The solo that I'm gonna go over some phrases from
in this video is actually a solo that I got
as homework from my teacher.
And in this video, I'm going to break down
three different phrases, talk about how they're constructed
so that you can start implementing similar things
into your own playing.
If you wanna learn more about jazz guitar,
improve the way that you solo,
and check out some interesting arpeggios
and chord voicings, then subscribe to my channel.
If you wanna make sure not to miss anything,
then click the little bell notification icon
next to the subscribe [Dm] button.
_ [Gm] _ _ _
_ [D] _ _ [Eb] _ _ _ [C] This first example is in the beginning
of the second chorus of the solo.
So the solo is on a blues in B flat,
[Gb] and I think it's a great example of how he really starts
with sort of a very basic, _ more bluesy thing,
and then turns that into more of a bebop line
with some fairly complicated chromatic passing notes
and chromatic ideas.
So he starts with a B flat [Bbm] major triad,
like this second version, [G] _
_ up to the high G,
_ and then back in the triad.
So, _ and then we get some stuff that's [Gb] fairly dense
_ with chromaticism.
So first, just chromatically from _ E down to [B] E flat, _
and then skipping down to play a G minor triad. _
_ [E] This is similar to what I talked about
in the George Benson video with adding
between two scale notes in a descending scale run,
you add a complete arpeggio.
[Gm] _ _
_ _ [Gbm] _ Down to the D flat here, and then grinding approach
to the seven, [G] so to E [Ab] flat, and down to an F also.
[Gb] _ _ [C] And then we get an F minor scale run.
So here, at this [E] point in the solo,
it's a little bit as if he's playing
_ a different kind of line, where the [Gm] chords that I [Fm] implied
are _ [Ab] F minor, F minor major, F minor [A] seven,
and then B [Bb] flat seven, which is a fairly common [G] substitution
_ to put on top of a two [A]-five,
_ [Gb] so F minor [C] seven to B flat seven.
So that's also what happens here.
So first we get a [G] scale run,
_ [C] _
then down the F minor [Db] arpeggio,
_ _ [F] and then first the [E] E, so [Ab] really this sound,
and then [Eb] down to the _ [Abm] _ F minor seven,
[Ebm] _
_ [Dm] _ _ down [A] to the D here, which [Bb] then kind of signals a B flat seven
and then here I have [Fm] a _ D half diminished [D] arpeggio, _ _
_ [G] _ which actually he plays with [Dm] a hammer on, I think.
[G] _
_ And then we get just the resolution to the E flat seven.
_ _ _ _ [C] _ Really focusing on rhythm, the lines are,
in the middle of this example, pretty dense,
but for the rest, he's really breaking it up
and making a lot of variation.
The part of the F minor line in the middle
[G] _ _
_ is almost as if the accent is moved
so that it's turned around.
[Ab] So there's a lot of stuff happening.
[G] _ _ _
_ _ _ [N] Another thing that Grant Green does extremely well
is to use patterns that are shifting on top of the meter.
And that's what's happening here.
So this is an example that's actually following
right after the example that I just went over.
And what he's doing is that he's playing a phrase
that's three quarter notes long,
which means that he can move that around
and then he has these shifting three quarter note patterns
that are just on different places of the bar
and you hear it as the same phrase,
even though he's moving it around.
And that gives sort of a nice effect
and gives you some rhythmical tension
that he then resolves later in that chorus.
So the phrase [C] is first a trill, _ _
which is, well [Ab] actually, the way I'm thinking about it,
it's actually starting with an eight note rest
and then we get the trill.
And the trill is then first two 16th notes
and then an eighth note.
[G] And then we get three eighth notes. _
_ And that's the phrase.
_ _ And then he's moving that around.
He's playing exactly the same phrase,
_ just moving to another string set. _ _ _ _ _ _
One more time.
_ _ So [Ab] that's how he's working with it.
And it's a simple way of moving the same phrase around.
And these kind of things are well worth checking out
to just have phrases that are shifting a bit
and breaking it up a bit
because that's gonna make it a lot more interesting
[Gb] to listen to your solo
if you also have this rhythmical dimension in your playing.
The idea of using these three quarter rhythms
is of course not unique to him.
I already talked about how Jim Hall uses this as well
and there's a part of Pat Martino's solo on Oleo
where he's going to this pattern
that's three eighth [Dbm] notes long. _ _ _ _
[Ab] That way, [Gb] just having another rhythm
that's moving on top of the meter.
So you can also start spotting this with other players
because it is a fairly common device
and if you're not used to working with it,
[Ab] then it's also really [Bbm] worthwhile to you.
_ _ [Eb] _ _ [F] _
_ _ _ [Cm] _ _ [Db] I included this third [Bb] example
because I think it's important to realize
[A] that he is thinking as much about rhythm
as [Gb] he is about the notes that he's playing.
And I think that's pretty clear from this example.
So really what's happening here
is that in terms of the note choice and the harmony,
there's not really anything interesting happening
on the first four bars of the blues.
He is [Ab] managing to create a lot of tension
and a lot of interesting things
and he's only doing it with the rhythm.
And the way he does that
is that he's increasing the [G] intensity
_ in actually two different ways
in the four bars that he's playing.
So the first part is just on the beat,
two notes per bar, so B flat and then on the three, F.
[A] Really everything on the beat, everything simple.
The next bar, he's increasing the tension
by playing this dotted quarter note figure,
which is [Ebm] first E flat and then [Em] E
and then on the fourth beat a G.
And then the intensity goes up
because [F] he's using four notes per bar
but he's only playing off beat.
So we get, _ _ _ _ and [Ab] then a little bit more [Db] dense even.
_ [G] _ _ [Bbm] And then resolving [G] on the one on [Ebm] the E flat.
_ _ [C] _ _
So what you hear here is really
that [B] he's only just playing basic scale notes.
[Gb] There's like one chromatic leading note
but he does still really make a development
and there is something happening that's different in bar one
and that's really with a lot more tension
and a lot more energy in bar four before he resolves it.
And also he manages to resolve it
with going down to [Cm] the G so _ _
[N] and also making a rhythmical statement
out of the resolution.
If you wanna work on playing lines like this,
I think you have to start thinking about the rhythms
and maybe that also means
that you have to stop thinking about exactly what harmony
or what melody you're working with
and just focus on coming up with some nice ideas
and some nice rhythms
and see if that doesn't add something to your playing.
I'm pretty sure it does actually
because it's a important part of jazz playing.
This is a really great example of how that might work.
If you want to check out some more videos
where I'm analyzing the playing of great players
like George Benson, Wes and Pat Martino,
then check out this playlist.
If you want to learn more about jazz guitar
and it's the first time you see one of my videos,
then subscribe to my channel.
These are the kind of videos that I publish every week.
And of course, if you wanna help me keep making videos,
then check out my Patreon page.
That's about it for this week.
Thank you for watching
_ _ [Eb] _ Hi everybody, my name is Jens Larsen.
Grant Green is a master of mixing bebop lines
and interesting rhythms.
There's really a lot that you can learn
from studying his playing.
The solo that I'm gonna go over some phrases from
in this video is actually a solo that I got
as homework from my teacher.
And in this video, I'm going to break down
three different phrases, talk about how they're constructed
so that you can start implementing similar things
into your own playing.
If you wanna learn more about jazz guitar,
improve the way that you solo,
and check out some interesting arpeggios
and chord voicings, then subscribe to my channel.
If you wanna make sure not to miss anything,
then click the little bell notification icon
next to the subscribe [Dm] button.
_ [Gm] _ _ _
_ [D] _ _ [Eb] _ _ _ [C] This first example is in the beginning
of the second chorus of the solo.
So the solo is on a blues in B flat,
[Gb] and I think it's a great example of how he really starts
with sort of a very basic, _ more bluesy thing,
and then turns that into more of a bebop line
with some fairly complicated chromatic passing notes
and chromatic ideas.
So he starts with a B flat [Bbm] major triad,
like this second version, [G] _
_ up to the high G,
_ and then back in the triad.
So, _ and then we get some stuff that's [Gb] fairly dense
_ with chromaticism.
So first, just chromatically from _ E down to [B] E flat, _
and then skipping down to play a G minor triad. _
_ [E] This is similar to what I talked about
in the George Benson video with adding
between two scale notes in a descending scale run,
you add a complete arpeggio.
[Gm] _ _
_ _ [Gbm] _ Down to the D flat here, and then grinding approach
to the seven, [G] so to E [Ab] flat, and down to an F also.
[Gb] _ _ [C] And then we get an F minor scale run.
So here, at this [E] point in the solo,
it's a little bit as if he's playing
_ a different kind of line, where the [Gm] chords that I [Fm] implied
are _ [Ab] F minor, F minor major, F minor [A] seven,
and then B [Bb] flat seven, which is a fairly common [G] substitution
_ to put on top of a two [A]-five,
_ [Gb] so F minor [C] seven to B flat seven.
So that's also what happens here.
So first we get a [G] scale run,
_ [C] _
then down the F minor [Db] arpeggio,
_ _ [F] and then first the [E] E, so [Ab] really this sound,
and then [Eb] down to the _ [Abm] _ F minor seven,
[Ebm] _
_ [Dm] _ _ down [A] to the D here, which [Bb] then kind of signals a B flat seven
and then here I have [Fm] a _ D half diminished [D] arpeggio, _ _
_ [G] _ which actually he plays with [Dm] a hammer on, I think.
[G] _
_ And then we get just the resolution to the E flat seven.
_ _ _ _ [C] _ Really focusing on rhythm, the lines are,
in the middle of this example, pretty dense,
but for the rest, he's really breaking it up
and making a lot of variation.
The part of the F minor line in the middle
[G] _ _
_ is almost as if the accent is moved
so that it's turned around.
[Ab] So there's a lot of stuff happening.
[G] _ _ _
_ _ _ [N] Another thing that Grant Green does extremely well
is to use patterns that are shifting on top of the meter.
And that's what's happening here.
So this is an example that's actually following
right after the example that I just went over.
And what he's doing is that he's playing a phrase
that's three quarter notes long,
which means that he can move that around
and then he has these shifting three quarter note patterns
that are just on different places of the bar
and you hear it as the same phrase,
even though he's moving it around.
And that gives sort of a nice effect
and gives you some rhythmical tension
that he then resolves later in that chorus.
So the phrase [C] is first a trill, _ _
which is, well [Ab] actually, the way I'm thinking about it,
it's actually starting with an eight note rest
and then we get the trill.
And the trill is then first two 16th notes
and then an eighth note.
[G] And then we get three eighth notes. _
_ And that's the phrase.
_ _ And then he's moving that around.
He's playing exactly the same phrase,
_ just moving to another string set. _ _ _ _ _ _
One more time.
_ _ So [Ab] that's how he's working with it.
And it's a simple way of moving the same phrase around.
And these kind of things are well worth checking out
to just have phrases that are shifting a bit
and breaking it up a bit
because that's gonna make it a lot more interesting
[Gb] to listen to your solo
if you also have this rhythmical dimension in your playing.
The idea of using these three quarter rhythms
is of course not unique to him.
I already talked about how Jim Hall uses this as well
and there's a part of Pat Martino's solo on Oleo
where he's going to this pattern
that's three eighth [Dbm] notes long. _ _ _ _
[Ab] That way, [Gb] just having another rhythm
that's moving on top of the meter.
So you can also start spotting this with other players
because it is a fairly common device
and if you're not used to working with it,
[Ab] then it's also really [Bbm] worthwhile to you.
_ _ [Eb] _ _ [F] _
_ _ _ [Cm] _ _ [Db] I included this third [Bb] example
because I think it's important to realize
[A] that he is thinking as much about rhythm
as [Gb] he is about the notes that he's playing.
And I think that's pretty clear from this example.
So really what's happening here
is that in terms of the note choice and the harmony,
there's not really anything interesting happening
on the first four bars of the blues.
He is [Ab] managing to create a lot of tension
and a lot of interesting things
and he's only doing it with the rhythm.
And the way he does that
is that he's increasing the [G] intensity
_ in actually two different ways
in the four bars that he's playing.
So the first part is just on the beat,
two notes per bar, so B flat and then on the three, F.
[A] Really everything on the beat, everything simple.
The next bar, he's increasing the tension
by playing this dotted quarter note figure,
which is [Ebm] first E flat and then [Em] E
and then on the fourth beat a G.
And then the intensity goes up
because [F] he's using four notes per bar
but he's only playing off beat.
So we get, _ _ _ _ and [Ab] then a little bit more [Db] dense even.
_ [G] _ _ [Bbm] And then resolving [G] on the one on [Ebm] the E flat.
_ _ [C] _ _
So what you hear here is really
that [B] he's only just playing basic scale notes.
[Gb] There's like one chromatic leading note
but he does still really make a development
and there is something happening that's different in bar one
and that's really with a lot more tension
and a lot more energy in bar four before he resolves it.
And also he manages to resolve it
with going down to [Cm] the G so _ _
[N] and also making a rhythmical statement
out of the resolution.
If you wanna work on playing lines like this,
I think you have to start thinking about the rhythms
and maybe that also means
that you have to stop thinking about exactly what harmony
or what melody you're working with
and just focus on coming up with some nice ideas
and some nice rhythms
and see if that doesn't add something to your playing.
I'm pretty sure it does actually
because it's a important part of jazz playing.
This is a really great example of how that might work.
If you want to check out some more videos
where I'm analyzing the playing of great players
like George Benson, Wes and Pat Martino,
then check out this playlist.
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Thank you for watching