Pat Metheny on chord tones

bingefeller

Listen to the whole lesson but from 15 minutes on is where he talks about chord tones.

Brad

I think this one of the best things on Youtube. Those of us on a quest to be better improvisers (regardless of genre) should be made to listen to this repeatedly on a daily basis :-)

bingefeller

Brad;773492" said:

I think this one of the best things on Youtube. Those of us on a quest to be better improvisers (regardless of genre) should be made to listen to this repeatedly on a daily basis :-)

deffo.

Barney

such a great player...the way he outlines them chords... !

bingefeller

Barney said:

such a great player...the way he outlines them chords... !

It sounds so good and not typical of arpeggio or triad playing.

mellowsun

He gives some great advice in that video, and the playing is really inspiring.

I'm not sure about how well this works as a lesson though. I've had lessons like this in the past, where the teacher blows your mind with some amazing licks and runs, and talks through the theory, but what is missing is exactly how you implement it.

So the missing link for me is, how to go from playing arpeggios over the changes to playing 'in there' rather than 'floating over the top'. I'd want a teacher to break it down more, in the way that, for example, Jimmy Bruno does.

bingefeller

mellowsun said:

He gives some great advice in that video, and the playing is really inspiring.

I'm not sure about how well this works as a lesson though. I've had lessons like this in the past, where the teacher blows your mind with some amazing licks and runs, and talks through the theory, but what is missing is exactly how you implement it.

So the missing link for me is, how to go from playing arpeggios over the changes to playing 'in there' rather than 'floating over the top'. I'd want a teacher to break it down more, in the way that, for example, Jimmy Bruno does.

Arpeggios will get you sounding in there. Metheny says in that lesson that a lot of what he plays is chord tones. If you're outlining the changes then you will be in there. Rhythm and timing has a good deal to do with it too. At one point he says that you can play anything and, if you have good rhythm and timing, it will sound good.

Rocker

Pity the sound quality of PM talking is so poor. Lots of irritating background noises too. Could or should do better in that regard.

bingefeller

@Rocker, try playing it through your Russ Andrews approved hifi system and it'll sound like Metheny is in your house.

Rocker

My system is nowhere near Russ Andrews approval @bingefeller, With PMs access to decent recording equipment, the sound *should* be better than it is. Surely they know how to record vocals by now....

bingefeller

Rocker said:

My system is nowhere near Russ Andrews approval @bingefeller, With PMs access to decent recording equipment, the sound *should* be better than it is. Surely they know how to record vocals by now....

I don't know if you're taking the piss but this was an informal recording between teacher and student.  It's probably from the late 80s or early 90s and most likely done on a cassette recorder. 

Rocker

No piss taking my friend. I was not aware of the recording history. The guy know his stuff, just a pity the recording quality is so poor.

carlos

bingefeller said:

Arpeggios will get you sounding in there. Metheny says in that lesson that a lot of what he plays is chord tones. If you're outlining the changes then you will be in there. Rhythm and timing has a good deal to do with it too. At one point he says that you can play anything and, if you have good rhythm and timing, it will sound good.

In one of those Krantz audio lessons he's talking about two solos he did in other people's records: one he had a chord chart and pretty much followed it, in the other he just turned up and played. On both he sounds "on key" and like Wayne Krantz. Of course, his rhythm and timing is amazing and the ear doesn't care that much about a few outside trips if the rest is working.

pickerg

Glad he was able to take time from making the Lethal Weapon films to record this.

Seriously though cheers for posting this, some really interesting stuff. I like the amount of emphasis he puts on rhythm, Al Di Meola similarly mentions it all the time in his lessons. I think there is some great stuff we can take from it, regardless of the style we play.

I wish I had the hours available every day that he talks about though!