Perception vs. Harmonic in Rock Fusion

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Instructor: Richard Lundmark Level: Intermediate Topic: Improvising Style: Fusion

Excerpt: Welcome guys, to a perhaps somewhat "out there" tutorial =) What we will set out to do here is to open our ears and improvising up to the harmonic context of any chord of choice we might be laying over, be it generic pop or hard core fusion. we want to try and alter our (and our listeners) perception of the harmonies we play over, by our note and scale cho...

Media Length: 1:33

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Instructor: Richard Lundmark Level: Intermediate Topic: Improvising Style: Fusion

Excerpt: Ok then. We begin our journey through these 4 chords with a simple Asus4! I've chosen this voicing because it sounds very "in-between", and can be easily tweaked to serve as a platform for both major and minor playing. It's best that you listen to the video, rather than try to be over-analytical about the whole thing. Sound and perception of harmony is key h...

Media Length: 7:34

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Instructor: Richard Lundmark Level: Intermediate Topic: Improvising Style: Fusion

Excerpt: The same thing applies here, listen to the video examples, and follow suit yourself over the backing. As I mention in the video though, certain chords, such as this one, might have a strong inclination towards a certain scale context, and thus force our playing into a certain direction. You should of course try to break out of this, and play against the chor...

Media Length: 5:22

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Instructor: Richard Lundmark Level: Intermediate Topic: Improvising Style: Fusion

Excerpt: Nothing differs here, you get the idea by now. This articular chord shares notes with both the A Whole-Half diminished, but also with A Lydian (the #4 and 7 in common apart from the root). So try the A Lydian out as well!! Oh, and since I do say "Half-Whole Step" and "Whole-half Step" more times then there are bolts in the Golden Gate bridge, I sometimes t...

Media Length: 7:41

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Instructor: Richard Lundmark Level: Intermediate Topic: Improvising Style: Fusion

Excerpt: This is the last chord of the sequence, and when practicing over the Part 4. Backing, start out by playing the tried and true A Whole-Half diminished. Treat A as the root, or "home-base", but also try to play the same scale, but treating Ab as root. See if you can switch between these "modes" of perception back and forth. Head over to the backing track and t...

Media Length: 6:36

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Instructor: Richard Lundmark Level: Intermediate Topic: Improvising Style: Fusion

Excerpt: Here's the backing track for the first chord, the Asus4. Its just a vamp with the same chord for what will probably feel like an infinity :) But get grooving, and I'm sure you'll come up with some great stuff to play over it!

Media Length: 3:12

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Instructor: Richard Lundmark Level: Intermediate Topic: Improvising Style: Fusion

Excerpt: Here is the backing track for chord number 2. As we discussed in the video part, try both whole-half, and half-whole diminished scales over this (as well as perhaps whole-tone or what not).

Media Length: 3:12

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Instructor: Richard Lundmark Level: Intermediate Topic: Improvising Style: Fusion

Excerpt: Over this third backing track, you might want to try out Lydian as well, since both the #4 and the 7 is present in this voicing.

Media Length: 3:12

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Instructor: Richard Lundmark Level: Intermediate Topic: Improvising Style: Fusion

Excerpt: Over the fourth chord, the A half-whole diminished will fit like a glove! However, you might also want to try playing it as if Ab was the root, to "alter" your perception of "home base".

Media Length: 3:12

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Instructor: Richard Lundmark Level: Intermediate Topic: Improvising Style: Fusion

Excerpt: Ok! Time for the full backing track! I have chosen to keep the drums very, very basic. This because I want you to focus mainly on note choice and harmony here, and not on playing fast, or going with rhythmical variations against some fusion-type drum beat. However, I have chosen to add a heavy bass-line, that gives you a stronger sense of A as home base. Fur...

Media Length: 3:12