Streetfighter's guide to improvisation
armandom28
Opinions? Thoughts? If you don't know what I'm on about go to
duncanlamont.com and follow the links to the book. He claims to have
designed scales that on their own can be played over any chords in any
key. You can download the first chapter for free.
Armando
Dan Adler
Play 4 notes from C maj and then 4 notes from F# maj over any chord.
That is really deep.
Guy Snape
I just got it at Christmas. The first part of the book is him explaining
his approach and philosophy through anecdotes about his career and
encounters with some big name players. The second part is a collection
of scales and exercises. The first "freedom scale" goes C D E F F# G# A#
B i.e. it's the first four notes of C major then the first four of F#
major. I think the way it works is that there will be at least one
consonant note over just about any chord, and plenty of dissonant notes
to create tension with. I haven't had it long enough to really try
putting it into practice in any depth, but it's a way into outside and
atonal sounds that I've not come across before. There are some examples
of using the scales over ATTYA and Giant Steps, etc. but I've not tried
them yet. He also looks briefly at ways of using the scales in composing.
It's interesting and not a bad buy, but perhaps a bit thin for 20 UKP.
Of course, it's not a magic bullet any more than any other book is.
- guy
Keith Freeman
I agree. It's an enjoyable read, though, especially for an amateur
interested in how things work on the pro scene, and I found the discussion
of how to make your improvisation more interesting thought-provoking.
I still haven't figured out how to adapt his scalar approach to my more
triad-based one.
-Keith
Portable Changes, tips etc. at http://home.wanadoo.nl/keith.freeman/
e-mail only to keith DOT freeman AT orange DOT nl
cl...@claymoore.com
I read the chapter and tried the scale. My opinion? It's a typical
scam. Lose weight without dieting or exercise, make $100,000 per year
in your spare time without leaving your house, increase the size of
your penis with our product and women will line up at your door for
sex.
Clay
ho...@jhu.edu
Clay,
I am interested in your product. Please tell me where to send my
money.
Thanks,
Andy
Guy Snape
> On Jan 2, 3:23 am, armandom28 <armando...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>> Has anyone seen or have experience with this book by Duncan Lamont?
>> Opinions? Thoughts? If you don't know what I'm on about go to
>> duncanlamont.com and follow the links to the book. He claims to have
>> designed scales that on their own can be played over any chords in any
>> key. You can download the first chapter for free.
>>
>> Armando
>
> I read the chapter and tried the scale. My opinion? It's a typical
> scam.
The marketing blurb does rather read that way, but there's more to him
than that. Have a look at
http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/musician.php?id=1773 for a resume - I
don't think anyone with that list of achievements would really need to
sell a cheap phoney "miracle cure" book. He certainly doesn't look at
harmony and improvisation in a conventional way, but then if he did, why
bother writing about it when it's been done so many times before?
- guy
Joey Goldstein
Anybody *can* play *any* scale on *any* chord.
The question is whether or not it sounds good.
--
Joey Goldstein
<http://www.joeygoldstein.com>
<http://homepage.mac.com/josephgoldstein/AudioClips/audio.htm>
joegold AT sympatico DOT ca
Joey Goldstein
> armandom28 wrote:
>> Has anyone seen or have experience with this book by Duncan Lamont?
>> Opinions? Thoughts? If you don't know what I'm on about go to
>> duncanlamont.com and follow the links to the book. He claims to have
>> designed scales that on their own can be played over any chords in any
>> key. You can download the first chapter for free.
>>
>> Armando
>
> I just got it at Christmas. The first part of the book is him explaining
> his approach and philosophy through anecdotes about his career and
> encounters with some big name players. The second part is a collection
> of scales and exercises. The first "freedom scale" goes C D E F F# G# A#
> B i.e. it's the first four notes of C major then the first four of F#
> major. I think the way it works is that there will be at least one
> consonant note over just about any chord, and plenty of dissonant notes
> to create tension with.
All of the possible 7 or 8-tone scales will have that same effect, to
one degree or another.
But many scales exude a strong pull towards a single tonic. If the scale
has more of a bi-tonal or poly-tonal ambiguous quality, then it can be
used in more harmonically ambiguous ways.
The following familiar scales all have the same effect as the "freedom
scale": whole tone, symmetrical augmented, symmetrical diminished, etc.
Some hexatonic scales, with unusual intervallic patterns, can be used
the same way:
C D Eb F# G B C (hexatonic formed by combining Cm & Bm)
C C# Eb F# G A C (Cm & F#m)
etc.
The augmented scale mentioned earlier is a hexatonic scale comprised of
2 aug triads a 1/2 step apart. the whole tone scale is 2 aug triads a
whole step apart.
Etc., etc.
I was just editing the chapter in my book where I go into the idea of
scales being constructed by combining various tetrachords, and I
stumbled on the "freedom scale" as well.
It's an interesting sound. An 8-tone scale comprised of two major
tetrachords spaced a 1/2 step apart.
Sometimes, when playing in a free setting, I like to mess around with
the various possible tetrachord types, transposing them somewhat
randomly. Each tetrachord has a harmonic suggestion to it, so, by
rapidly switching between them I'm sort of making up a chord progression
of sorts.
> I haven't had it long enough to really try
> putting it into practice in any depth, but it's a way into outside and
> atonal sounds that I've not come across before. There are some examples
> of using the scales over ATTYA and Giant Steps, etc. but I've not tried
> them yet. He also looks briefly at ways of using the scales in composing.
>
> It's interesting and not a bad buy, but perhaps a bit thin for 20 UKP.
> Of course, it's not a magic bullet any more than any other book is.
>
> - guy
Keith Freeman
> scam. Lose weight without dieting or exercise, make $100,000 per year
> in your spare time without leaving your house, increase the size of
> your penis with our product and women will line up at your door for
> sex.
approach is not a quick fix:
"There is good news and bad news. The good news is, it's childishly simple.
The bad news is, to do it well is like spinning plates, and believe me,
you'll make more money spinning plates than being a jazz musician." (p. 4)
The idea is to get you thinking and hearing out of the box, so you can
'duck and dive' around the tonic. For someone who hasn't yet found a way of
escaping from the straitjacket of 'right notes' while still playing
melodically (and avoiding cliches) I reckon it could be useful - though as
already noted it is discursive and expensive for the amount of material it
contains.
RobSm
<nos...@nowhere.net> wrote:
>armandom28 wrote:
>> Has anyone seen or have experience with this book by Duncan Lamont?
>> Opinions? Thoughts? If you don't know what I'm on about go to
>> duncanlamont.com and follow the links to the book. He claims to have
>> designed scales that on their own can be played over any chords in any
>> key. You can download the first chapter for free.
>>
>> Armando
>
>Anybody *can* play *any* scale on *any* chord.
>The question is whether or not it sounds good.
Touche.
paul s
chord tones.
That'll be $10 :)
cl...@claymoore.com
> > I read the chapter and tried the scale. My opinion? It's a typical
> > scam. Lose weight without dieting or exercise, make $100,000 per year
> > in your spare time without leaving your house, increase the size of
> > your penis with our product and women will line up at your door for
> > sex.
>
> That's not at all the case, Clay. Duncan makes it clear early on that his
> approach is not a quick fix:
>
> "There is good news and bad news. The good news is, it's childishly simple.
> The bad news is, to do it well is like spinning plates, and believe me,
> you'll make more money spinning plates than being a jazz musician." (p. 4)
>
> The idea is to get you thinking and hearing out of the box, so you can
> 'duck and dive' around the tonic. For someone who hasn't yet found a way of
> escaping from the straitjacket of 'right notes' while still playing
> melodically (and avoiding cliches) I reckon it could be useful - though as
> already noted it is discursive and expensive for the amount of material it
> contains.
Hi Keith,
Here are the next paragraphs after the part you posted:
'After I had written several of the exercises, I went to Kingston
University where my son teaches. I had him play a twelve bar funk
thing on piano, and asked a student to improvise in his usual manner.
It was just rather rambling and formless. I then repeated the
procedure, asking him to improvise using the exercises as they were
written. The result was astounding. Suddenly he was playing things
that were incredibly harmonic. It sounds remarkable, but within five
minutes his playing was transformed.
Now, he didn't know what he was doing, but some of the runs sounded
beautiful. He looked as though he had just invented the wheel and
said, "I've been through that routine of standing up, playing a solo
and feeling terrible, but now I feel that I know what to do"
So, within minutes he had a whole new range of possibilities.'
So in five minutes his playing was completely transformed? I've got a
special deal for you on my penis enlargement pills. :-)
Clay
armandom28
> So, within minutes he had a whole new range of possibilities.'
>
> So in five minutes his playing was completely transformed? I've got a
> special deal for you on my penis enlargement pills. :-)
>
Okay, you've convinced me not to get the book......now, how much do
you want for the penis pills?
Armando
Keith Freeman
> special deal for you on my penis enlargement pills. :-)
OK, I'll trade you the book for a year's supply ;-}
Chickenhead
harmonic situation. Learn to use it, and you can play anything. It's
called the "Chromatic Scale."
<cl...@claymoore.com> wrote in message
news:6393cccd-e1f6-431d...@s8g2000prg.googlegroups.com...
Chickenhead
"paul s" <pasa...@mindspring.com> wrote in message
news:d6176209-2d4f-40f8...@e23g2000prf.googlegroups.com...
Keith Freeman
> any harmonic situation. Learn to use it, and you can play anything.
> It's called the "Chromatic Scale."
Of course, but the trick is finding interesting combinations of notes
_from_ that scale.