February 2017

JAM OF THE
MONTH
Track
Beyond The Quay
from Alex Hutchings Custom Fusion Series 2

JTC SAYS
Heres what we wrote when Alex played his solo over this awesome track, it might give you some ideas. Check out the
full Custom Fusion 2 package if you want to hear/learn Alexs solo!
The title is a pun... the piece moves through several keys, so if youre learning the chords, take your time!
Bars 1-9 This section is essentially in B minor, and Alex uses the Aeolian, aka natural minor, throughout (B C# D E F# G
A). This scale wouldnt fit perfectly over the Bm6 chords, which contain a G# note, but Alex gets around this problem by
not playing either G or G# notes at those points. This use of ambiguity is a great musical tool.
Bars 10-13 This is the same chord pattern as bars 2-5, but transposed to D minor. You already know what notes hes
going to use, right? Yep, thats right... D Aeolian, and hes avoiding both the Bb and B notes over the Dm6 chords. Its
exactly the same, but everything is transposed up a minor 3rd (three half-tones).
While were here, check out the legato line in bar 13... this is a very common Alex Hutchings move, using chunks from the
chromatic scale to fill in the gaps between scale notes.
Bars 14-17 Another dramatic key change, and were now dealing with a I-vi-IV-V progression (think Blue Moon and
lots of other 50s ballads) in Db, although the V chord (Ab7, bar 17) is decorated with that same ascending pattern weve
already seen in the two previous sections. Alex mostly uses the obvious Db major scale (Db Eb F Gb Ab Bb C) here, but
he adds a touch of spice to the Dbmaj7 chord by using the Lydian mode (same scale but with G instead of Gb).
Bars 18-21 This series of four major and major 7 chords gives the effect of changing key every bar. Alexs scale choices
are slightly ambiguous, in that we cant tell if hes using the major or Lydian scales over the F and Ab chords, but hes
definitely using Lydian over the other two, so here are the notes youll need...
A Lydian A B C# D# E F# G# F Lydian F G A B C D E
Ab Lydian Ab Bb C D Eb F G E Lydian E F# G# A# B C# D#
Bars 22-25 A similar thing happens with the first four chords, but here theres very little time to explore each scale, so
Alex is working around chord notes, joining them with either chromatic links or hints at the major scale for each chord.
Theres more room for exploration on the C13#11, and the most obvious choice for any dominant 7 chord with a
sharpened 11th is one of the coolest scales known to man... the Lydian dominant (C D E F# G A Bb). This is the fourth
mode of the G melodic minor, but you can also think of it as a Lydian with a flattened 7th (or a Mixolydian with a
sharpened 4th, as that relates to the Mixolydian youd use over standard dominant 7 chords).
Bars 26-33 Were back to the first section in B minor again. Remember what we said about mastering three-note- per-
string scale patterns in the Storm Rider notes? Well, bars 28-29 are another demonstration of how useful this can be...
Alex is moving along the E and B strings, working with 3NPS fragments, but also incorporating chromatic notes.
Bars 34-37 The D minor section again... for the bending licks in bar 36, you need to bend the 15th fret up a whole tone
and then, without releasing the bend, reach up with your 4th finger to the 16th fret.
Bars 38-41 Alex really opens up over this second Db section, and there are some challenging sweep arpeggios in bars
38-39. These are slightly harder in standard tuning, but whatever tuning you use, its important to work on the rolling
barre technique. When youre sweeping through multiple notes at the same fret, its no good fretting them with a
standard barre, because youll hear the notes sustaining simultaneously as a chord. You have to roll your fretboard finger
in time with your picking hand, so that as one note is sounded, the previous one is released.

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 BEYOND THE QUAY
(Chord chart)

||Bm7 Bm6 | % | Gmaj7 A/G | Em7 F#m7 Gmaj7 A11 |

Dmaj7 Dmaj9 | Bm7 B11 | D/G | Em7 F#m7 Gmaj7 A7 |

Dm7 Dm6 | % | Bbmaj7 C/Bb | Gm7 Am7 Bbmaj7 C11 |

Dbmaj7 | Bbm7 | Gbmaj7 | Ebm7 Fm7 Gbmaj7 Ab11 |

A | F | Abmaj7 | Emaj7 |
C/F A/D | Bb/Eb G/C | C13+11 | % |

Bm7 Bm6 | % | Gmaj7 A/G | Em7 F#m7 Gmaj7 A11 |

Dmaj7 Dmaj9 | Bm7 B11 | D/G | Em7 F#m7 Gmaj7 A7 |

Dm7 Dm6 | % | Bbmaj7 C/Bb | Gm7 Am7 Bbmaj7 C11

Dbmaj7 | Bbm7 | Gbmaj7 | Ebm7 Fm7 Gbmaj7 Ab11 |

A | F | Abmaj7 | Emaj7 |
C/F A/D | Bb/Eb G/C | C13+11 | % |
Bm7 ||

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