When writing a song I normally start from the lyrics. In the case of Picking A Flower I felt, after reading the lyric of Picking A Flower (written by Emile Clemens) several times, that it needed a Brazilian rhythm for the first verse. Also I had this idea of using chord changes that were derived from a particular type of harmony, namely, using all (or mostly) minor 7ths. I decided to start with a four-note Bm11 chord. Normally, Bm11 consists of the notes B, D, F#, A and E. Typically the fifth is usually omitted in a four-note voicing, which left me with B, A, D and E.

For some reason I love adding fourths or elevenths for colouring a chord. When tones are added to a basic chord, the resulting chords are called “extensions.” Extensions for Bm could be Bm6, Bm7, Bm9, Bm11, Bm13 etc. For explanations about chord theory, please search on the Guitar Noise site. There’s a mass of information about this and other topics, like the recent article by Tom Serb on this very topic.

I began to sing the first two lines of the lyrics on this chord. For the next two ones I needed a second chord and, as I wanted to let it be a minor chord again, I played all kind of combinations: Bm11 to C#m7, Bm11 to D#m7, Bm11 to Em7, etc. I tried them out chromatically (per half step) and not diatonically.

I soon discovered G#m7 would be my favourite chord to use. I sang different melodic phrases and wrote them all down in standard notation to run through them later on. (TABs or even simply recording them are also effective solutions, of course). I followed the same procedure for the second verse.

It was now time for the third verse, which expressed another content and feeling. In my mind, I heard the introduction of a new rhythmic accompanying pattern. I also moved down a half step to Bbm7 to emphasis this different content, thus playing in a new key. This concept is called a modulation, or change in key. Here we modulate from a Bm key to a Bbm key. I started humming again and soon I discovered that Abm7 would work fine to follow the Bbm7.

I like to use pedal notes, which involves the repetition of a single note, or series of notes throughout a lick or chord progression, so the Abm7 chord became Abm7/Bb (or B/Bb) This voicing is also called a “slash chord.” A slash chord is a chord with a bass note other than the root . For instance, C/B is a C major chord, but with B as its bass note instead of C. You’d play it with the fingering X22010.

Being stubborn, I decided my next chord would be a minor 7 th -related chord again. I was already descending scale-wise, so why not proceed in this manner. This thought led to Gm7. But humming the melody, I used a C# which is the b5 in the Gm scale. A Gm7 with a flattened fifth is called Gm7b5. A chord that has a b5,#5,b9 or #9 added is called an “altered chord.”

The most difficult part was now to find a solution for the last line of the lyric. I felt I shouldn’t use a chord, but instead employ a melodic line being executed with the melody. I started searching out all sorts of possibilities and finally got to a convenient intervallic phrase mixing fifths and fourths.

Then it was “scrapping time.” This is when I run through all the ideas I had written down thus far and took the lines that touched me the most, deleting and adding notes. And wrote the lead sheet out on my Finale software program.

The next day I did the same process of polishing again and then decided to keep the melodic and harmonic development. With my performing group, we decided to spice the song with some solos of the bass, guitar and voice.

Summary:

In this song I used the concepts of using:

1. Chord changes derived from the same type of harmony
2. Chord extensions
3. Slash chords
4. Pedal notes
5. Modulation
6. Scale-wise chord movement
7. Different accompaniment patterns
8. Improvisational section
9. Voice and guitar playing identical lines

So here’s the chord progression of

Picking A Flower (lyrics : Emile Clemens/music : Gilbert Isbin ©

The song’s form is AAB. This is one of the most commonly used forms in both jazz and popular music. The B section is also known as the bridge.

Bibliography: Links, notes and reviews

Listen to the song and read reviews at Gilbert Isbin’s website. Buy the Cd online at Guitar 9.

The song Picking A Flower was the January winner in the International Songwriting Contest “Song of the Year” in the category “jazz/world/instrumental. The 1 st place winner in each category will go on to compete against the other 1 st place monthly winners in their respective category at the end of the year for the Grand Prize.

Song of the Year review of ‘PICKING A FLOWER’

LYRICS: The lyrics on this jazz number are superb. Excellent word usage, styling, tempo, and complexity. Great job.

MUSIC: The vocals are awesome! The guitar, baseline, and percussion are wonderful on their own and blend wonderfully!

MELODIES: The melodies were absolutely wonderful! Pure jazz riffs with a perfect flow!

STRUCTURE: I cannot say anything about the structure of this song. The chord progressions are great. The musical elements come together and blend well, harmonizing fluidly. Tempo, flow, levels, breaks, changeups…everything is as it should. Excellent!

MARKETABILITY: This is a jazz work of art that in said genre should be a dominating song. I thoroughly hope to see this song on the market and on the airwaves soon.

EMOTIONAL RESPONSE: Coming from a virgin jazz enthusiast, I must say that this song grabs me in every way, making me want to dance, sing along, tap my toes, and just feel the music!

Concept : Arpeggiations Mixed With Single Line Phrases

If you play Example 1, you will notice we now play 3 voices :

1) Melody (single note lines),

2) Accompaniment (chord arpeggiation), and

3) Bass (the root on the first beat of each measure to provide a solid reference point)

Before combining these 3 functions it’s wise to experiment with different melodies accompanied by the bass note of each chord

Here we play the melody of Hendrix‘ Little Wing’s first two measures on different postions on the neck around the chord shapes with the bass notes on strings (6) and (5).. (Notice that I mix open and fretted strings).

It’s important to learn the melody of a tune in different positions because it can be used as a reference, a starting point to improvise and it will give you your solos a richer melodic quality.

Experiment by mixing open and fretted strings.

It’s also possible to play the melody an octave higher (Example 3A) or lower (Example 3 B).

Here we experiment with embellishments of the melody and scalar like passages. Keep in mind it’s our purpose to improvise around the melody. You can leave out or add notes.

Try to create differences into your playing activity. You don’t have to play a mass of notes all the time, incorporate fields of lesser activity.

Now we combine the three voices together on the first four measures of Little Wing. This is quite tricky at first, but the more you experiment the easier you will be able to invent great melodies at the spot in conjunction with an accompaniment and bass part.

Next time we will pay attention to the accompaniment part and put more movement into the bass part.

Also check out… Improvisation for the Fingerstyle Guitarist Part I

During this series of columns on improvisation I will always start with a short practical example, analyse it and then give some examples of what we can do with this idea.

So let’s start with this one:

Concept : Arpeggiation with rhythmic diversity

Here the Right Hand fingers hold the chord form (the Em7) while the Left Hand fingers play a picking pattern. For now, since this is meant to be a simple exercise, the bass note (the open low E) is played on the first beat of each measure to have a marking point. As we get more skill and confidence we will add more bass movement.

The fingers of the Left Hand are, in essence, fooling around in the chord form, which leads to more independence and certainty (well, after some experimenting…) The finger indications (p (thumb),i (index), m (middle) and a (ring)) are only suggestions. You should feel free to execute them differently.

Advantage :

You are always sure the notes will fit into the harmony of the piece as the improvised melody is derived totally from the chord notes.

Some Chord Theory :

But after a while, only playing over Em7 chords would become quite boring. That’s why we will use Chord Extensions, notes past the 7th degree, namely the 9th, 11th or 13th, which could also be thought as 2nd, 4th and 6th. Adding these extensions, which are built by stacking triads on top of the original Em triad (see David Hodge’s column, The Power Of Three), is a standard practice of jazz musicians and is quite essential to developing the skills to improvise.

Em7 consists of 1,b3,5,b7 –) E, G, B , D

Chord extensions of Em7 might be :
Em9 : 1, b3,5,b7,9 or E,G,B,D,F#
Em11: 1,b3,5,b7,9,11 or E,G,B,D,F#, A
Em13 1,b3,5,b7,9,11,13 or E,G,B,D,F#,A C#
Em7/11 1,b3,5,b7,11 or E,G,B,D,A
Em (9/11) 1,b3,5,9,11 or E,G,B,F#,A

It would be impossible to execute all the notes from an Em13 chord on the guitar, since it only has six strings and the chord has seven notes. As the 1, 3 and 7 are essential notes to determine the chord family, you might omit the 5, 6 or 9 position.

Now, let’s experiment on a two -chord progression, the chords being Em7 and Cmaj7.

Chord extensions of Cmaj7 might be

Cmaj9 C E G B D
C add 9 C E G D
C 6/9 C E G A D
Cmaj7/6 C E G A B
Cmaj13 C E G B D A

Both chords and some of their extended forms are played all over the neck, but are still played off of the chord shapes. I specifically picked these chord shapes for this exercise because of their simplicity as well as their fresh, lush sound. Open and fretted notes are mixed which can lead to some beautiful colourful results.

So, let’s try this, shall we?

Pay close attention to the rhythms. Use a metronome or tap your foot on each beat of the measure (on the quarter notes). This exercise should be executed at a medium tempo, but you should always start out slowly in order to get the timing correct. Once you feel you have this, then gradually increase your speed.

Measures 1 and 2 start with the basic (first position) forms of Em7 and Cmaj7. In measures 3 and 4, we use our first chord extensions, Em9 and Cmaj9. You should notice that this voicing of the Em9 omits the B note (the fifth). The Cmaj9, in this voicing, is a great example of why 9’s are often thought of as 2’s, because the open D string is scrunched right in with the C and E to either side of it. That why it’s a good idea on this phrase to give a little breathing room between the initial appearance of the C and E, which start measure 4, and the D, which appears three notes later.

The Em7sus in measure 5 is a very interesting chord in that it is built on intervals of fourths: E, A, D and G. That’s just like your standard-tuned guitar! Harmony in fourths (or quartal harmony) has been very important in the development of modern jazz in the 1960’s – listen to McCoy Tyner, Miles Davis and Chick Corea. It also played a very important role in the music of such eclectic songwriters as Nick Drake and Joni Mitchell. Quartal harmony is a refreshing alternative to “tertial” chords (chords based on thirds) – an escape from both major and minor harmonies and the implied progressions that inevitable accompany them.

In measures 7 and 8 be certain to pay attention to the big intervals created by mixing open and fretted strings. Listen to difference in tone color in comparison to the chord voicings you used in the first two measures.

The Cmaj9 chord in the last measure requires a bit of a stretch! By playing the E note (12th fret on the first string) with your pinky when you play the Em9 in the proceeding measure, all you have to do is slide it down to frets for the D note in the Cmaj9. That should make it simpler for you to execute this rather tricky chord.

I hope you have lots of fun with these exercises in fingerstyle. Next time we will take this idea a step further and improvise over a part of Jimi Hendrix’s Little Wing.

Cheers

Also check out… Improvisation for the Fingerstlye Guitarist II