EP 483

[Scott N]

In lesson 483 at 18:13, the lick after the G#dim7, going to the D7: where is that coming from? What scale? I think it is D Major scale, ending on the A note, which is in the D7 shape. In that case, it would be playing ahead of the chord progression (getting to D early). But it wasn’t explained in the lesson, and I like to know where each part comes from, so hoping someone could confirm? Thanks!

[charjo]

Hi Scott,
It appears to be a D dorian lick and I’m not sure where that came from. I think a G# diminished lick would have sounded better.
John

[Rob N]

Scott,

I reckon Charjo nailed it, D dorian and it happens early anticipating the change to D7.

Great lesson though, a style I love and wanted to understand better.

All the best

Rob

[Jean-Michel G]

Hi,
The majority of these notes come from the diminished scale. In fact, only the final A note of bar 8 (the bar Brian plays a G#°7 chord over) does not belong to the diminished scale.
That final A note (which falls on the weak part of a weak beat!) is indeed an anticipation of the D chord in bar 9.

The diminished scale is a rather weird 8-note scale consisting of: 1 9 b3 11 b5 #5 13 7 8
It’s structure is: W H W H W H W H
It’s used to improvise over the dim7 chord.
In our case the scale is: G# A# B C# D E F G

Please! This is a fundamentally tonal piece of jazzy music; modes (such as D Dorian) have nothing to do here. You simply can’t produce a modal vibe in such a heavily tonal context. Attached you’ll find the harmonic analysis of that song if you’re interested.
Regards,
JM

[charjo]

Hi J-M,
The note that doesn’t fit the diminished scale is the C on the 5th fret, 3nd string that slides into the 4th fret B. That’s why I suggested it was a dorian lick and I agree about the tonality. I don’t think the lick sounds right.
John

[Jean-Michel G]

You are right: C is also not part of the diminished scale. My bad.
But that C note is a passing note between D and B, which are part of the diminished scale. But yes, a C# would have sounded better, probably.

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