76

Modern Jazz Guitar 5

Rhythm part 2

Example 23: ways to break out of the "clave prison" in 7/4

              
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

       

3 3 4 3 3 4

Ex. 23a halfway Ex. 23b

      
point 1 23 4 & 5 6 7 1 2 3 4 & 5 6 7

 
two-over-seven broken down into four equal groups of seven 16th notes
polyrhythm

Ex. 23c Ex. 23d

                
1 2 3 4 & 5 6 7 1 2 3 & 4 5

          
4:7 polyrhythm 4:7 polyrhythm
against quarter notes

Ex. 23e Ex. 23f

          
                                    
1 2 3 45 6 7 1 2 34 5 6 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 23 4 5 6 7 12 3 4 5 6 7

seven half notes filling two bars seven dotted half notes filling three bars

Ex. 23g

  3 4 5 6 7   2 3 4 5 6  7  1 2 3 4 5  6 7
                         
1 2 1

             
fourteen dotted eighth notes filling three bars
 Tom Lippincott
Ex. 23h Ex. 23i 77

                       
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

  
anticipate beat one anticipate beat 5
(implies 7/8)


 
Ex. 23j

   
1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5

        
quarter note anticipation
of beat one

Example 24: First A section of "All the Things," 4/4

F-7     E¨7
B¨-7 A¨^ D¨^ D-7 G7 C^

                


Example 24a: First A section of "All the Things," 5/4, long form

                                
F-7 B¨-7 E¨7 A¨^ D¨^ D-7 G7 C^
  


Example 24b: First A section of "All the Things," 5/4, short form


F-7  B¨-7 E¨7 A¨^ D¨^ G7 C^
                

4 3

Example 24c: First A section of "All the Things," 7/4, long form

       
F-7  B¨-7
 E¨7 A¨^
      


 Tom Lippincott
78

D¨^ D-7 G7 C^
           


Example 24d: First A section of "All the Things," 7/4, short form

F-7  
 B¨-7 E¨7 A¨^ D¨^ D-7 G7 C^
                


Example 25: Ben Monder's version of "All the Things"

F-7 B¨-7 E¨7 A¨^ D¨^ D-7 G7 C^

                     


C-7 F-7 B¨7 E¨^ A¨^ A-7 D7 G^

                     

A-7 D7 G^ F#-7 B7 E^
                     

F-7 B¨-7 E¨7 A¨^ D¨^

               

D¨-6 C-7 B-7 B¨-7 E¨7 C7/E

               
 Tom Lippincott
79
Example 26: metric modulations

count               
metronome

                   


tempo 3 5 3 3 7

Exercises:

Part I

1. Set the metronome at a slow tempo. 70 bpm might be a good place to start but practice the exercise at
different tempos. If you practice at 70, also try 69 and 71, because adjusting the metronome even slightly
at that slow a speed will make a noticeable difference.

2. Tap along with each different "tempo" (the bottom line of each bar) until you're comfortable, then move
up to the next one. Try tapping along with the half notes with one hand while playing the "tempo" line with
the other.

3. Remember to use subdivisions; eighth note triplets will help moving back and forth between 3, 4, and 6.
Keep in mind that the second metronome click will be the middle of each bar, including the 5 and 7
measures; tap or sing the clave so that the second metronome click falls in the right spot.

5. For shifting between 4 and 5, try thinking of the 4:5 polyrhythm. For shifting between 4 and 7, think
of the 4:7 polyrhythm. For shifting between 5 and 7, notice that the claves are fairly similar to each
other and both contain four attacks.

Part II

1. Do the Part I exercises while holding your guitar and tapping on the muted strings.

2. Do the Part I exercises with an open string or one fretted note.

3. For finger-style or pick-and-fingers players, try playing the half notes on one string and the "tempo" line on
another. Also try playing some of the different tempos together on two separate strings as polyrhythms.

4. Play over a one-chord vamp. Try comping using the different tempos; start by playing each pulse literally
but, eventually, begin to improvise. Next, try moving between tempos. First try the ones divisible by two
(one, two, four, and eight), then try adding three and six. Finally, try mixing in five and seven.

5. Do all of the above while playing single-note lines.

6. Do all of the above but play over a tune. Try a metric modulation at the beginning of each new chorus, or
each new section. Experiment with all the different combinations.

7. Try all of the above with one or more other musicians. Drummers are great to practice these exercises
with (and they'll probably think it's great that you're into working on this with them).

Note: Trumpeter Wynton Marsalis' album Marsalis Standard Time, Vol. 1 contains an arrangment of the tune
"Autumn Leaves" that makes great use of the "rhythmic scale" presented above. The musics of drummer
Ari Hoenig and that of many of his musical collaborators such as Jonathan Kreisberg and Gilad Hekselman
also contain numerous imaginative uses of metric modulations.
80

MP3 Practice Tracks:

Note that all of the MP3 backing tracks for the video examples in the Modern Jazz Guitar series are available
for free download at www.tomlippincott.com

Also available are two practice/groove tracks for working on playing in 5/4 and 7/4 time. The tracks contain
sounds of a bass drum and snare side-stick playing the respective claves with a ride cymbal playing the
quarter note pulse. Think of it as sort of a fancy metronome to practice those time signatures with. You
can try the different exercises for breaking out of the clave and use the clave on the track as a reference
if you get lost.

Another way to use the tracks would be to put them into a program like Transcribe! or a similar transcription
program that can loop audio as well as slow it down or speed it up without changing the pitch. Once the
track is imported, it can be looped infinitely for longer practice or the tempo can be slowed down or sped
up for practicing different tempos. Any of the other play-along-tracks can be given the same treatment.
You could even try changing the pitch to practice in different keys.

Listening Suggestions:

The following is a list of some artists (both guitarists and non-guitarists) whose music uses one or more of
the concepts discussed in the Modern Jazz Guitar series with some suggested representative recordings.

Guitarists:

Peter Bernstein: Monk

Nels Cline Singers: Instrumentals
Nir Felder: Greg Osby's 9 Levels
Gilad Hekselman: Words Unspoken, Splitlife
Jonathan Kreisberg: New For Now, The South of Everywhere, Shadowless
Lionel Loueke: Karibu
Lage Lund: Unlikely Stories
Ben Monder: Flux, Excavation, At Night (with Theo Bleckmann, vocals)
Mike Moreno: Between the Lines
Miles Okazaki: Mirror
Adam Rogers: Sight, Confluence
Kurt Rosenwinkel: The Next Step, Deep Song, The Remedy, Reflections
John Stowell: Scenes/Rinnova

Non-guitarists:

The Bad Plus (piano, bass, drums trio): These Are the Vistas
David Binney (sax): Cities and Desires
Jim Black (drums): Alasnoaxis
Avishai Cohen (bass): At Home
Drew Gress's Jagged Sky (sax, guitar, bass, drums quartet with Ben Monder): Heyday
Ari Hoenig (drums): Bert's Playground, Lines of Oppression
Brad Mehldau (piano): Art of the Trio, Vol. 1, 2, & 4, Day Is Done
 81

Jean-Michel Pilc (piano): Welcome Home

Chris Potter (sax): Follow the Red Line - Live at the Village Vanguard
Antonio Sanchez (drums): Migration
Esperanza Spalding (bass, vocals): Esperanza
Mark Turner (sax): Dharma Days
Dan Weiss (drums): Now Yes When