The Augmented Scale

Sooooo It's been ages since my last blog. I don't do a lot of transcribing these days unfortunately but hey...I'm starting a "Jazz theory for guitarists" channel om YouTube.

First topic is the augmented scale. This scale is not so often mentioned in Jazz method-books but you can hear a lot of players use it. The best example I can think of is Oliver Nelsons solo on his tune Stolen Moments. The lick was shown to me by Jazz saxophonist Pat Labarbera. You can also hear Freddie Hubbard play this exact lick in his solo on Survival of the Fittest from the Herbie Hancock album Maiden Voyage.

You can also hear this kind of sound in the composition Ambleside by pianist John Taylor.

One has to be careful when using scale so that it doesn't sound contrived. Just like with any symmetrical scale it can easily sound like you are playing patterns. I guess the trick is to be able to hear the sound so that it becomes part of your vocabulary, just like with any new concept you learn.

This scale works over Maj7(#5) chords but like any symmetrical scale you can pretty much use it over any chord if you know how to resolve it.

Don't confuse this scale with the Lydian Augmented Scale, that's the third mode of a Melodic Minor scale.


The Augmented Scale Pdf




The Augmented Scale PDF




Survival of the fittest



Ambleside

TheAugmented.mus by mikkohilden

Coquette Stochelo Rosenberg solo

This is my transcription of the fantastic Gypsy Jazz guitarist Stochelo Rosenberg's solo on Coquette. From  Bireli Lagrene's album Gypsy Project.

Coquette Rosenberg Solo

The Best Things In Life Are Free Jesse Van Ruller Solo

Hi again!

It's been a while. I have transcribed a lot of stuff but been to lazy to write it down. Or sometimes it's just too hard to try and notate what I have lifted.
But here is another transcription of a solo by the wonderful Dutch guitarist Jesse Van Ruller. If you haven't checked him out?....
The solo is from The Best Things In Life Are Free from the 2002 album Here And There.
A not so often played standard form the 1956 movie with the same name, I think.

The Best Things in Life Are Free Jesse Van Ruller solo

Enrico Pieranunzi's solo on Five Plus Five

Here is a trancsription of Italian pianist Enrico Pieranunzi's solo over Five Plus Five from the album Dream Dance with Joey Baron with Marc Johnson. Great ECM Album! As usual when lifting piano players I have only lifted the 'right hand'. Not the voicings, that's way too hard for me to do. The form is a blues and I just wrote out the chords of a regular 'Jazz-blues' even though Enrico is playing a bunch of crazy stuff. There is a lot of 'half-step up' stuff going on, I'm gonna try to make an analysis of the solo later, right now its summer and lots of gigs, less time for transcriptions.  

Enrico Pieranunzi Solo 

Mike Stern 'Autumn Leaves'

Hi y'all.

Here is my latest transcription. Mike Stern's solo over Autumn Leaves form Bob Berg's album In The Shadows. Autumn Leaves is a classic jazz-standard that every Jazz student has to play and it can be a good idea to check out what the masters play over these changes. In this case the master in Mr Stern. Some interesting stuff here; bebop-scales and surrounds, side-slipping and 'Lenny Breu'-ish guidetones.
I hope you like it.

Mike Stern Solo Autumn Leaves
check it out on Youtube

Keith Jarrett I Hear a Rhapsody

This is a trancription of Keith Jarrett's solo on I Hear a Rhapsody from the album Standards in Norway.
Lots of chromaticism and there is some side-slipping going on. I have only transcribed the "right hand" so you can play this on any instrument. It goes a little out of range if you play a regular guitar like me, I had to change octaves a couple of times to play along with the recording. The tempo is pretty fast so I slowed it down a bit using 'transcribe'. As usual when lifting Keith's solo I leave out his grunts and groans. :)

Keith Jarrett Rhapsody

Enrico Pieranunzi - Canto Nascoto

I have been working on a Keith Jarret solo for a month. Almost ready, but while we are waiting: here is a song I lifted.
Enrico Pieranunzi - Canto Nascoto. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAQdudWY1sM 


Canto Nascoto pdf

so see you soon when the Jarret solo is ready.