Diatonic Arpeggios based on closed finger patterns (FFcP)

By Ted Eschliman

A mandolin has “white notes?”

As unfair as it is to string musicians, the world seems wired to describe music in relation to a piano. In music theory pedagogy there are plenty of good reasons to start there, not the least of which is a concept of “white notes.” If you were to play all the notes of a Major Scale on a piano, you’d never have any reason to touch the black keys. Everything outside of accidentals, chromatic tones and “blue” notes are all right there. Conversely, should you play ONLY the black notes, you’d have a Pentatonic Scale. Granted, it would be in the enharmonic keys of F# or Gb, but let’s save the theory lesson for another time. Let’s just say for now, sticking to a major key is like playing all the metaphoric white notes.

Playing chords. Melodically.

One of the most elementary, but crucial skills in any genre (especially Folk/Bluegrass) is the ability to play (and improvise) in the Diatonic key, no sharps or flats. However, good music isn’t just about confining yourself to notes that are within the key center, it’s about capitalizing on notes that identify the harmonic structure, too. In other words, it’s playing members of the chords. Yes, you can get around them by fumbling around the surrounding notes as “passing tones,” but ultimately, you need to be making a conscious effort to stress these essential chord tones. It’s what makes your improvisation sound “intentional,” and not just melodic dribble.

Equal Rights. (Chromatic rights, that is…)

As we mentioned in our last article, the opportunity (notice we didn’t say “challenge”) is being able to play more than just the typical Folk song keys of G, D, and A. You also need the capabilities of the “horn keys” of F, Bb, Eb, not to mention the security of all those keys at the edge of the universe in the Circle of Fifths, Db, Gb, Cb. Yes, these keys do occur in Jazz, Pop, and classical, and occasionally when you perform folk songs with a singer who would like to sing that familiar tune in A, only one half step lower. A marvelous way of achieving this is the  FFcP approach we outlined last time, so let’s apply the same principle to the most basic of chord progressions, the ‘I, vii7, ii7 V7.’

From Bebop to Doo Wop.

When you hear this progression (play C, Am7, Dm7, G7) you might instantly think “Heart and Soul,” or any number of surfing songs or early Motown Doo Wop (”Why Do Fools Fall in Love“). You can think of it as an extension of the ‘V7 I,’ or the ‘ii7 V7 I.’ In an earlier article regarding Tonic, Dominant, and Dominant Preparation (http://archive.mandolinsessions.com/dec03/ted.html)we referred to these model chords:

Tonic: I

Dominant: V7

Dominant Prep: ‘vi7 and/or ii7′

We want to introduce an exercise that will journey through the “Circle of Fifths” and help you develop closed fingering skills that will move you all over the fretboard comfortably and securely. Note the graphic below can be

Printable Sheet Music:  Diatonic Arpeggios

Equal Rights. Equal Chromatic Rights.

Maybe you’ve been to a party where two total strangers sat down to a piano and plunked out on the keyboard the melody to “Heart and Soul” on the right-hand side, and the accompaniment on the left. The technical design of the keyboard makes this very easy to do but only in the key of C. Ask them to do this in the key of Eb, and most amateurs will give you nothing but a blank stare. This is part of our advocacy for closed finger pattern skills on the mandolin; though not quite as simple as playing on just the white notes of the piano, you can still reduce twelve keys (fifteen if you include the enharmonic equivalents) to four patterns. This exercise takes a four-measure excerpt from our FFcP method described in our last article, and runs it through all keys.

See http://jazzmando.com/ffcp.shtml or even better, get a copy of Mel Bay BEST SELLER “Getting Into Jazz Mandolin” for the full package. http://www.melbay.com/product.asp?ProductID=20835BCD  Pardon the shameless plug…

Thinking and not thinking

If you can get these into your fingers, you’ll be amazed at how effective and intuitive your improvising can get. Why? Simply because you’re outlining the chords of one of the most elemental progressions, the “meaty” tones of the harmonic progression. From here, you can start adding passing tones and changing the direction of the melody for variety. Your brain doesn’t even have to think about the individual harmonic function while you play (V7, ii7, etc.), most of this can grow into a finger/ear process. You just start playing these notes and your brain takes on the higher function of identifying bigger picture music elements like phrasing, riffs you intend to insert, how your chorus will peak, or what condiment you’re going to put on your burger at the break.

Spend some time getting to know these patterns and next time we’ll look at mixing them up further, in chunks of harmonic function. Fingers and ears now, brains later.

Enjoy!

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