➧ CHOPS BUILDER ➧

Pedal-Point Comping
BY PINO MARRONE

➧
GUITARISTS SPEND SO MUCH time
sharpening their lead playing that
they often forget how exciting it is
to be an accompanist. Ironically, if
you do build comping skills, you’ll have a head
start on one of the most challenging lead-guitar
styles of all: chord melody. The trick is to keep
evolving by learning new approaches to harmo-
ny. For instance, try your hand at the hypnotic
device known as pedal point.
To achieve pedal point, simply hold a low
note—or pedal tone—beneath a series of shift-
ing chords. This is a great way to add tension
and vibe to chord progressions, and jazz pi-
anists and bassists have been exploiting this
effect for decades. On guitar, however, the fin-
gerings can be demanding, so warm up your
hands, get a hybrid pick-and-fingers approach
going (or drop the pick altogether), and check
out Ex. 1a. First, with a swinging feel, play just
the C pedal in the lower voice. Then, try it
again, adding the chords. Learn to handle these
wide grips, and you’ll have a hip new way to
play a II-V-I progression in F. To create an in-
triguing sense of suspended time, try phrasing
the chords in a three-beat feel against the un-
derlying 4/4 groove, as in Ex. 1b.

Ex. 1a
$ = 100-120
3
$ $ =
$ )
(IIm7) (V7)
# (I)

' $$$($ %%%% ' # $$$($ %%%% ' $$($ %%%

Gm11/C C13 9 Fmaj7/C

4 & & & & ' $$($ %%%

#
1 3

" 4 $ $ %
3 1

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! $ $ $ $ %*
1 4

$ $ $ $ % $ $ $ $ %
2
4 4 1

1 2

8 8 8 5
T
11 10 6 5
A
10 9 9 10
B
12 11
8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8

Ex. 1b

$ = 100-120
3

#
$ $ =
$ )
Gm11/C C13 9
Fmaj7/C F6/9

' $$$( $ %%%% *

' # $$$$ *** ' $$($ $$$ & ' $$$ ***
4 & & & ' $$( $$ &
#
1

$ $ &
3

" 4 $ $ %
3 1

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
1 3

$ $ % $ $ $ $ $ $ % $ $ %
2 4
4 4 1 1
1
1 2

8 8 8 5
T
11 10 6 5 8
A
10 9 9 10 7
B
12 11 7
8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8

1 4 0 GUITAR PLAYER MAY 2002 “With the right attitude you can even sound heavy when playing an acoustic guitar.” — G. Amber Valentine of Jucifer, March ’00, GP

Pianists such as Herbie Hancock, McCoy
Tyner, and Keith Jarrett broke new ground
by taking liberties with chord qualities while
vamping over a pedal tone. Ex. 2 presents
a slick way for you to do the same thing on
guitar. Try using these kaleidoscopic
changes as a vamp in the key of D minor,
or as a substitute for the typical Dm7-
Em7b5-A7 section of standards such as “Yes-
Ex. 2
terdays,” “Alone Together,” and “Beautiful
Love.”
For further pedal-point adventures, try
playing Ex. 2 up a half-step during the A sec-
tion of a “rhythm changes” tune in Bb. Or,
transpose it down to F to add variety to a
jam on Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme.” Also,
try playing just the chords, leaving the ped-
als to your bass player—teamwork! In gen-
➧
eral, don’t get hung up on naming every
cluster. Trust your ears and instincts, and
pursue cool sounds and colors.
C
H
A guitar clinician and former G.I.T. in-
structor, Pino Marrone has worked with his
mentor, Joe Diorio, as well as with Dianne
Reeves, Joe Farrell, and Kenny Kirkland. Con-
tact him at pino_marrone@hotmail.com. g
O
P
S

$
B
= 100-120

+
3

# # # # #
A7sus4 #9 E # /A B # maj7 # 5/A
$ $ =
$ )

U
B maj7 5/A E /A A13 9 B maj7 5/A

*
4 %%% # %% ++, $$$ ** $$( $ %%% %%
% # $$$ *** , $$$($ ----
# % % $ %
4

" 4 & $ * %
1 3 2

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
1 4 1
4

$ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $
3 4 3
2

I
4 1
1
1

T
A
5
5
7
8
8
8
8
8
7
6
5
5
5
7
8
6
5
7
5
8
8
8
5
5
7
8
L
B

D
5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5

E
LESSONS ONLINE AT TRUEFIRE.COM
R
May ’02 Guitar Player Feature Lesson:

Roots Rock Pigrimage, BY ANDY ELLIS

May ’02 Guitar Player Chops Builders:

Pentatonic Ladders,

Double Stop Blues,

BY PATHIK DESAI

BY JUDE GOLD
➧
Classic Column, BY ARNIE BERLE

Reader’s Challenge, BY IVAN PONGRACIC Audio Versions at

GuitarPlayer.TrueFire.com
Pedal-Point Comping, BY PINO MARRONE

This month’s Guitar Player lessons, and hundreds of previous months’ lessons, are currently available for immediate download.
Visit today and get $10 worth of TrueFire cash!
Net scrapers: To decode GP’s music notation and hear Sessions sound samples, visit the Lessons Archive on the Web at guitarplayer.com.

PH OTO S : PAU L H AG G A R D guitarplayer.com MAY 2002 GUITAR PLAYER 1 4 1

 LESSONS
WOODSHED
Parallel Lines—The Inside Track to Outside Comping
BY PINO MARRONE
IN ONE OF THE BIGGEST COMPO-
SITIONAL about-faces in music history, jazz
musicians of the ’60s eschewed the ultra-fast
chord changes they had pioneered in the pre-
vious decade and, inspired by everything from
20th-century classical music to Indian ragas,
began exploring song forms based on as few
as one or two chords or modes. In 1964, for
example, John Coltrane—the same man who
just five years prior gave the world the fast and
fearsome “Countdown” and “Giant Steps” pro-
gressions—released A Love Supreme, the
most adventurous modal exploration this side
of Miles Davis’ groundbreaking 1959 modal
masterpiece Kind of Blue. Despite the limi-
tations implied by a music based on a single
scale or static bass-pedal groove, albums
124 J U N E 2 0 0 6 G U I TA R P L AY E R
I N T E R M E D I AT E
such as Miles Davis’ Live at the Plugged
Nickel [1965] and Coltrane’s Live at the
Village Vanguard [1961] showcased how
musicians of that era often entered “outside”
territory by disregarding the suggested har-
mony altogether through the use of parallel
motion, harmonic superimposition, and other
clever harmonic devices.
One of the most fascinating discoveries I
made during my first few lessons with my men-
tor, Joe Diorio—a true master of outside
playing—was that a lot of the really free comp-
ing sounds introduced to jazz by pianists such
as McCoy Tyner and Herbie Hancock were
based on a simple 20th-century classical music
device known as parallel motion. Based on
the C Dorian mode, Ex. 1—a series of stacked-
fourth grips that you can
apply on standards such
as “Footprints” and “Mr.
PC”—provides an intro-
duction to this rich and
sophisticated sound; a
sound generated by
moving an unchanging
harmonic cluster up and
down in pitch.
Taking things a step
further, Ex. 2 features
one of the most com-
mon chord structures
used by modern jazz
pianists for outside
comping—the “So What”
voicing, as it’s some-
times called in jazz
jargon. This grip stacks
two perfect fourths and
tops them with a major
third. Played over an
Fm7 “Love Supreme”-
type groove, the voicing
offers such flexibility that
Joe Diorio
when we move the shape around freely (while
concentrating on achieving a singable melody
with the top voice) it creates a truly multi-
dimensional comping sound.The lower notes
in each voicing may go entirely outside the
key while a strong melody on the top voice
keeps the whole thing sounding lyrical. (It’s
interesting to note that whenever you comp
this way it makes the soloist sound outside
even if they’re playing entirely inside the tonal-
ity.)
Another captivating voicing that is well-
suited for parallel comping is the maj7b5. In
Ex. 3 you’ll see this harmony shifted up and
down the neck and superimposed over a Dm
backdrop. (It jumps to a higher set of strings—
and an easier fingering—at bar 6.) One way
to feel more comfortable with this type of
comping is to momentarily forget about the
root names, etc., and just go for the right
sound.
While these mesmerizing modern har-
monic tapestries can be tricky to play on the
piano, they’re actually surprisingly easy to
execute on the guitar—just move the given
grip up and down the neck, refingering for
different string sets if necessary. Today, gui-
tarists such as Bill Frisell, Mike Stern, John
Scofield, Jim Hall, and Pat Metheny make
extensive use of parallel motion. The har-
monically ambiguous nature of parallel
voicings can easily sound vague when played
without enough rhythmic propulsion and con-
fidence, so I recommend practicing these
sequences until they become second nature.
Perhaps the best way to learn the art of
modal playing is listening to this kind of music
with concentrated attention, playing along
with great recordings. Most of all, take inspi-
ration from the modal pioneers who risked
their careers and fan bases in pursuit of these
new sounds and don’t be afraid to go out on
a musical limb yourself. g
P H OTO : RO G E R B A L Z A N
 LESSONS
I N T E R M E D I AT E

EX. 1

# ''
)## ### &&& ## ''
# = 180 *Cm7

$$ 4 ''' ' # & # ' ) # ' #&

2

( # & ##+
2

* # '
1 3

## &&
2

" 4 % #& )# '

2 3

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! #!
2 1
1 1 1
1 2 1
1 2
1 1 1
1 1

T && 8
7
15
15
14
13
13
12 10 8
11
11
10
10
10
8 7 5
A 7 10 8 7 5
B 10 8 6 5
*Symbols reflect general harmony.

## '' $ ## && # , ,,
$$ '' ( )# * ' #& )## ,,
5

,
2
3

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
" !
2

'
1 1
1

8 6
T
8 6 9 8
A
7 5 8 7
B
8 7

EX. 2

# = 115
' -# # '
Fm7

$$$ 4 ''' ( - ### ( $ $$ ### ''' /# & ## ,, ''

- $ ### &&& - )## ,, '' .
1

" 4
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
% !

T && 8
9
8
7
8
7
4
5
4
2
3
2
3
4
3
A 8 7 4 2 3
B

# #&
- ## '' - ## && $$ )###
## ,, '' $ $$ ### &&&
$$$ ( * )## '' ## && #)# ,, '' .
5

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
" !%

T
18
19
18
16
17
16
13
14
13
10
11
10
8
9
8
&&
A 18 16 13 10 8
B

EX. 3

# = 180 (Fmaj7 5) $ /
(F maj7 5) $ $
(Fmaj7 5)

'
etc.

4 ,, '''' ( $ ### * '''' $'''

'' '
/$ ''
1

" 4 % ,, / )#
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! $ ''' !

T && 5
4
6
5
5
4
8
7
6
5
3
2
A 7 8 7 10 8 4
B 8 9 8 11 9 6

$ #### &&&& # '

#)## ''' ## &&&
#
# &
& #
# . . / $ $ # # & $ - #)### ,,,,
5

" ##&& #)#

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !%

T
5
4
5
4
13
13
15
10
10
12
8
8
10
5
5
6
&&
A 7 7 16 13 11 8
B 8 8

G U I TA R P L AY E R J U N E 2 0 0 6 125
Lessons
Jazz Picking and Phrasing
BY PINO MARRONE
ANYONE WHO HAS TRIED KNOWS
it can be tricky to articulate a line on the
guitar and get it to “speak” the way horn
players can. This makes jazz phrasing on
the guitar an important and ever-evolving
issue. Jazz lines are loaded with rhythmi-
cal ornaments—those zippy melodic
embellishments that are used to heighten
a line’s drama, create variety, and push the
improvisation along. Ornamentation is an
essential part of this music. In this lesson,
we’ll add pizzazz by including some spicy
picking to your jazz phrasing. The percus-
sive effect will work for anyone searching
for vibey phrasing—in jazz as well as other
styles like rockabilly, blues, and country.
For years I enjoyed singing along to my
favorite solos by horn and piano players, and
I kept trying to figure out how to make the
guitar speak a line the way I heard them do
it. While living in Los Angeles, I was lucky
enough to be able to play, study, and hang
with many jazz guitar legends like John
Pisano, Joe Diorio, and Joe Pass among oth-

44          44         
Ex. 1a Ex. 1b
ers. One thing that got my attention was the
fact that some of these players who came up

 
 
 
 during the ’50s and ’60s had a way of pro-

       
3 3 3 3 jecting their bebop lines by getting a
percussive effect with their picking articula-
3 5 3 3 5 3 3 5 3 3 5 3 tion to add rhythmic momentum. Oftentimes
6 6 6 6
T T this is done with such subtlety that it goes
A A
B B unnoticed by most people. It’s a tiny detail,
but it makes a huge difference in terms of
Ex. 2

 = 110

34                                 
á la Joe Diorio G7
1



      3   3  
3 3 3 3 3

3 5 3 3 5 3 3 5 3 3 5 3 3 5 3
T
6 6 6 6 6 3 5 3 3 5 3 3 5 3
A
5 5 5
B

         

4

    
3 3 3 3 3



3             
T
3 5 3 3 5 3
A
5 5 2 4 2 2 4 2 2 4 2 2 4 2 2 4 2
B
5 5 5 5 5 3 3 5
5

MORE ONLINE
Watch Hear
Marrone Marrone’s
dynamics, punch, and overall projection. This
throw phrasing on concept instantly became part of my playing
down with his version but, surprisingly enough, it has remained rel-
Joe Diorio. of “Chelsea
atively obscure to many players.
Bridge.”
The sixteenth-note triplet followed by an
eighth-note is a staple of the bebop line, and
Get these links and more at www.guitarplayer.com/holiday2010 many players will execute the phrase in Ex. 1a

76 HOLIDAY 2010 G U I T A R P L AY E R . C O M

by hammering on and pulling off between
the G and the A on the first string. We’ll now
be picking the G again immediately after the
hammer-on instead of pulling it off and
immediately gliding the pick back towards
the F on the second string like on Ex. 1b.
Ex. 2 consists of a descending G7 Mixoly-
dian phrase over a famous 3/4 blues groove.
Start at a relaxed tempo and apply a loose
stroke. Make sure to nail the first note on
Ex. 3
Gm7 5
 = 152
       
Fm C7
each beat while keeping the overall feel with
a loose, dynamic bounce. Notice how pick-
ing this way you can make your motif sit on
the groove with more punch and detail.
Ex. 3 illustrates how to add life to a clas-
sic sounding F harmonic minor bebop line
with quick chord changes. In Ex. 4, we apply
the concept to another bebop swing line
over a II-V-I-VI progression in Eb. Now
check out the more contemporary sound-
Fm
Lessons
ing phrase in Ex. 5, which features diatonic
fourths on the top three strings played over
an Em drone. The next time you’re jam-
ming over a slower, bluesy Em7 pedal tone
groove try Ex. 6, a trippy, more rhythmi-
cally sophisticated, eccentric kind of
phrasing that someone like Herbie Han-
cock might do. With practice, this way of
phrasing will become automatic and find
its way in many types of jazz lines. g

             

á la Bird

44


 3 
          
3

8 9 8
T
11 10 9 7 8 9 8
A
10 7 8 9
B
11 8 9 10

Ex. 4
 = 120 Fm7
B 7
E maj7 C7 Fm7

44
                         

3


  
               
3

T 6 7 6 3 4 3 3 5 3 6 6 5 4 3
A 9 6 3 4 5
B 6

Ex. 5
 = 110

            
Em

 4  
á la Coltrane

     
 4


  
T 9
 6 9
12
12
12
11
10
10
10
9
8
8
8
7
7
7
7 
6 9 
A
B

Ex. 6
 = 94

                                       
á la Herbie Hancock

    
Em

4

 
4


   
3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3

12 14 15 17 15 14 15 14 12 10
T
12 12 14 14 15 15 17 17 15 15 14 14 15 15 14 14 12 12 10 10
A
11 12 14 16 14 12 14 12 11 9
B

GUITARPLAYER.COM HOLIDAY 2010 77