Mike Neer's Steelin' Scales & Modes

[Nate Hofer]

Mike, I'm diving in and am now trying to find more musical ways to practice the scales. What I'm interested in is finding/discovering ways to play scales as swing jazz phrase patterns - not just do re me. I'm thinking of the phrasing of Louis Armstrong, Tiny Moore - that fun, bouncy, swing feel. Anything you might point me toward that would integrate with the tetra chord scale approach would interest me.

Thanks in advance.

[Mike Neer]

Nate, one of the best things I can offer right now is from a Joe Pass seminar. Listen to how Joe plays through the changes using the scales, rather than using licks. This is a great listen:

http://www.mikeneer.com/joe_pass_playin ... hanges.mp3

This is how I practice this stuff, using my little Boss looper to comp the changes.

I'm hoping to write a little companion booklet with some useful exercises for improvising when I can find some time. Also, it's important to remember that you are not abandoning anything you already know, such as arpeggios, etc. played in position--this merely supplements that and helps you to, as a friend put it "create pockets of jazz goodness."



It was always difficult for me to play in a scalar fashion on steel, for obvious reasons. I'm happy to have that in my toolbox now.

[Mike Anderson]

My copy just came in and I swear, it is by far one of the very coolest things I've seen in steel instruction. Pockets are one thing, restricting yourself to just tablature is another and I think terribly restrictive - this is new horizons and then some. Mike, thank you so much.

[Nate Hofer]

Thanks, Mike. That's an incredible sound bite. My mind is being blown...

[J Fletcher]

I am going to comment here because it sounds like I am looking for some of the same things that Solomon is after, and because years ago I lifted some of Tiny Moore's stuff from Merle Haggard's tribute to Bob Wills LP.
So I know what Tiny was playing, and can find it on the six string guitar, but moving it onto the steel is the challenge. Finding a place on the steel to play these phrases is what I am working on.
I would be interested in how some single note 2-5-1 lines are played, as this sounds like what a lot of the swing players are doing. Using 2 5 1's to move from the one to the four chord, and from the five to the one chord in a blues. At this point I would say it involves a lot of bar movement. Curious how others are doing it...Jerry

[Nate Hofer]

Jerry, when you say "single note 2,5,1" are you talking scale tones? (Like in C: D, G, C?) Can you expand a bit? Sounds interesting. (Unless it's off topic.)

[J Fletcher]

Hello Solomon
2 5 1 as in a 2 minor seventh going to a 5 dominant seventh, and then resolving to a 1 chord.
If you are playing a blues in C, then the 2 5 1 idea can be used to get from the G chord to the C chord. You imply a D minor seventh moving to a G seventh, then resolving to a C. I approach this with chord arpeggios, and some scale notes. Often the 5 chord will be an altered seventh, with some diminished or augmented tones included.
I've found that any time you are moving up a fourth, you can play a 2 5 1 to get there. So from a C to an F, you consider it as a G minor seventh to a C 7th, to an F.
You can hear Tiny Moore using 2 5 1's in Corrine Corrina on Haggard's LP tribute to Bob Wills for example.
Hope that makes some sense.

[Mike Neer]

He's referring to ii-V7-I lines.

It is a challenge because it is difficult to play scalar lines on the steel. Here is a quick example of a ii-V7-I type line that I'm making up as I type this:

Dm7-G7-CM7 (all 1/8 notes)
[tab]
--------------------------------------------------
--5--4--------------------------------------------
--------5--------------------------3--4-------------
-----------5--4--5--------------3--------4--3------
--------------------5--4--3--4-----------------4--3--
--------------------------------------------------
[/tab]

What's going on here is:
Over Dm7 we play the D Dorian mode (D Dorian and A Dorian tetrachords), then over G7 I combine a G Phrygian tetrachord and an Ab Dorian tetrachord to give a b5, b9 and #9, before resolving to the G.

Sounds more complicated than it is.

[John Mulligan]

That's good, because it sounds mighty complicated! I have enough going on trying to stay in key!

[Mike Neer]

Maybe I should clarify what is going on with the G7 chord. I touch on this stuff, tritone substitution and modal interchange, in the book.

For the G7 chord, we really don't want to just play the diatonic G Mixolydian mode (unless the music is not tolerant of altered chords) so we look outside of the C scale (which the G Mixolydian is formulated from). The one thing I did was to use the tritone substitute, Db7, and took one of the tetrachords, Ab Dorian, that comprises Db Mix (Db Ionian + Ab Dorian = Db Mixolydian). That's really it.

I also used the G Phrygian tetrachord because it gives me the b9 and #9.

[Ulrich Sinn]

Joe Pass is getting a few things wrong in the clip. I'm not "avoiding" certain notes. My brain is busy with other stuff and quite possibly doesn't even understand what he is talking about.

This is how we learn how to play an instrument:

http://www.rubberbug.com/walking.htm

That's a long way from (or to) walking and talking at the same time. And even when I master that it still might be pointed out that I avoid the occasional somersault.

[Mike Neer]

Joe Pass is getting a few things wrong in the clip. I'm not "avoiding" certain notes. My brain is busy with other stuff and quite possibly doesn't even understand what he is talking about.

That's what practicing is for. The more you do it, the more natural it comes.

I think one of the most important things to know is that improvising doesn't have to be completely spontaneous, never-been-played-before melodies. Write your own solos out over whichever changes you want, and do this often. The more you do it, the more natural the process will become and the easier to play through changes on the fly.

Lennie Tristano had his students write out their own solos over standards. Several of them were so good that they actually became classic tunes, such as Lee Konitz's "Subconscious-Lee".

Anyway, I continue to explore the possibilities that the system opens up and combine it with other books that I am studying with. Dave Liebman's "A Chromatic Approach To Jazz Harmony and Melody" is the one I am concentrating on.

It's also important to note that this isn't just about jazz.

[Jerome Hawkes]

I think one of the most important things to know is that improvising doesn't have to be completely spontaneous, never-been-played-before melodies. Write your own solos out over whichever changes you want, and do this often. The more you do it, the more natural the process will become and the easier to play through changes on the fly.

well said - take some common chord moves (like dominant cycles) and work these ideas over them. if you listen close enough, you will hear even the best "improvisers" using the same ideas in similar harmonic situations.

[Nate Hofer]

Mike Neer, so I've taken your tab above and tried it out:
https://soundcloud.com/natehofer/exerci ... changes-57

Your nuts and bolts music theory explanation is still sinking in (and I'm not all that far in your book yet) but I also wanted to hear what what you guys are talking about.

Take a listen and see if this illustrates your point.

[Mike Neer]

I like those altered notes over the G7--it really drives home the resolution to C. At about 0:25, I can hear the BIAB is wanting to go to the IV chord, as it's playing C7. In that case, you can play the same 3 bar phrase over Gm7 C7 F, except you'd have to play it at the 10th fret.

Try setting up this progression in BIAB:
/Dm7 - /G7 - /C - / C - /Dm7 - /G7 - /C - / C - /
/Gm7 - /C7 - /F - / F - /Dm7 - /G7 - /C - / C - /

There are millions of possibilities all over the neck. In a day or so, I'm going to post a Giant Steps tetrachord etude. I realize Giant Steps is over most folks' heads, but it is a perfect example of how to make connections across chord changes and key changes.

[Geoff Cline]

Giant Steps tetrachord etude? W.A.N.T.!!!!

[Mike Neer]

Anyone have any comments they'd like to make or questions?

I hope the book is benefiting you in some way. I use this concept almost every time I play my steel guitar.

I have just about sold out of the first printing of the book with the second edition soon on its way!

[L. Bogue Sandberg]

I've been trying to spend some time with the book every day. It's still overwhelming for my old brain. I'm not sure what the best approach is to getting the various patterns memorized.

I've worked each mode around the circle of 5ths as laid out in the book. Lately, I've been running through the seven modes, low strings - high strings, for one key. And I'll usually start by playing the mode across the strings in the key's usual fret position to hear what it sounds like and then go find it in tetrachords. My problem is I feel I'm a LONG way from ripping off, say, a Locrian on the high set without a lot of thought first.

Playing the exercises definitely shows the beauty of the approach. So any suggestions for memory training here would be most helpful. I suspect it's mostly hard work and brute force. Hopefully, Professor Neer grades on a curve!!

[Jouni Karvonen]

My marinated brain cells have similar problems as above.

[Mike Neer]

Let me see if I can simplify this.

First, you need to memorize the tetrachord shapes. Start with the Ionian, then the Dorian, etc., just the way it is laid out.

Second, it is really important to learn the notes of each major scale. It is not difficult to do. Once you know the notes of the scales, you can begin to use the tetrachord shapes all over the neck.

For instance, you are in the key of C. Your melody note begins with an E, which is the 3rd degree of C Major. The 3rd degree mode of C is E Phrygian (we are not playing E phrygian tonality, just using the E phrygian tetrachord which is still C Major). From there, you simply navigate through the tetrachords as necessary, changing them for different melodic note combinations and also for different chord changes. I show this in the exercises.

Once you feel comfortable that you have memorized all the notes of each major scale, you begin to learn how each mode is constructed using the tetrachords. Start simple, just like the way it is in the book--major scales first.

[L. Bogue Sandberg]

Thanks, Mike.

By saying or (horrors!) singing the names of the notes as I play the tetrachords, their shapes seem to fall out naturally under the bar. For me, that should speed along the memorization process. Hopefully, I won't be singing the notes during a solo later on...