In the spirit of sharing good music, I thought of opening this topic that's focused on theories/ideas beyond the basic

ones (what are modes? what's the x scale? etc) - Something na strictly for information sharing only (meaning wala nang unrelated questions to the posts provided.) I know that there are a lot of knowledgeable musicians here that can share ideas that can help others improve. Sige na, magpanakaw na kayo ng ideas. Just a guideline and/or warning: what I envision is sharing of ideas na medyo nosebleed, but something useful - like scale application, 2-5-1 ideas, subs, etc. Let me start a few: So recently ko lang napra-practice ito - something very common sa jazz, especially sa bebop and swing. If you are into playing over changes, try playing the b3 going to the 3rd or the b5 going to the 5th note of the chord. Example is, over a Cmaj7 try playing Eb then E, or Gb then G. Pwede ring 6th, then #5 then 5th of the chord - sa Cmaj7, it's A, Ab, then G. This can work over chords derived from the major scale - which means Cmaj7 can be the root or IV chord. I haven't tried it sa chords from other scales (like diminished, or melodic minor) if it will work as magically as sa major scale. The reason why I say "if you are into playing over changes" is because very disorienting ito if you are used to playing the parent scale of the chords (meaning sa isang Dm7 - G7 - Cmaj7, you only think of C major scale.) One trick to come up with a decent line is to try and mix up this concept with arpeggios and the mode I am playing the chord with. With the topic of melodic minor/harmonic minor here are a few applications I recently learned:

You can play Lydian b7 (or mixolydian #11, or the 4th mode of the melodic minor) over a dom7#11 chord. So sa D7#11, pwede ang A melodic minor, or D lydian b7. With any functioning V7 chord, you can substitute it to an altered 7th chord, which makes it possible for you to play the altered scale, or the 7th mode of the melodic minor. So sa Dm7 - G7 - Cmaj7, G7 can be played as G7alt (7th with an b5 or #5, and b9 or #9). With G7alt, you can play G altered scale, or the Ab melodic minor scale. Sa m7b5 chords naman, you can play the Locrian #2, or the 6th mode of the melodic minor scale. Sa Em7b5 chord, you can play E Locrian #2 or G melodic minor scale.

Isa pa sa m7b5 chords, you can play the D locrian #6 (2nd mode of harmonic minor), or the harmonic minor scale whole step below. Sa Em7b5, you can play D harmonic minor, or the E locrian #6. Sa III7 chords (not sure if I stated that correctly), you can play the Mixolydian b9, b13, or the 5th mode of the harmonic minor. Normally, ito yung 3rd na ginawang 7th, like sa key of G na instead of Bm ay B7 ang tinugtog, at E harmonic minor ang pwede, or Mixolydian b9, b13. Some examples are sa Careless Whisper - sa A7 na chord niya, you can play D harmonic minor. Or sa Syota ng Iba ng APO, sa G#7 (key of E), you can play C# harmonic minor. Sa melodic minor - if you are having troubles with coming up lines, just remember na the 4th and 5th mode corresponds to 7th chords, so you can play the 7th arpeggios on the 4th and 5th degree. So if you want to play Ab Melodic Minor, you can play Db7 arpeggio and Eb7 arp - keep in mind lang na it's always best to mix things up, so important parin na you know the other notes of the scale so you can mix arps with scalar apporach. (kasi if not, pangit ang lalabas hehe )

Hindi na few yan, hehe so I hope makatulong to those who does not know this yet. And for the others, I hope you can get this thread going.

Isa pa: For substitutions, here's a neat one. For progressions that goes to IV from I, you can substitute a ii-V one step above the I. So sa progression na Am7 / Dm7 / G7 / Cmaj7 / Fmaj7 / Bm7b5 / E7 / Am7 Cmaj can be played as C#m7 F#7. In some cases, if you do this sub, you can also change the IV going to the viim7b5 to a ii-V below the first sub. So that's Cm7 - F7. Just to warn you though, be mindful of the melody when doing the voicing of the chords, kasi medyo dissonant siya talaga. Madalas rin sa jazz setting ko lang ito naririnig. So the progression will look like: Am7 / Dm7 / G7 / C#m7 F#7 / Cm7 F7 / Bm7b5 / E7 / Am7 Based sa first post ko, I can also substitute the functioning V7 chords, so pwedeng:

Am7 / Dm7 / G7alt / C#m7 F#7 / Cm7 F7 / Bm7b5 / E7alt / Am7 This is best done on a solo performance, or kung with a singer lang. Although pwede rin sa band, make sure lang na napagusapan niyong gagawin niyo ito.

More with V7 chords - just in case hindi kayo familiar, this is a very magical place for improvisation. I find that in this part of a progression, you can play any note as long as you resolve it properly on the I chord. I guess the reason for this is because you can use a lot of scales in this chord. Here are some that I know of: (Sa progression na Dm7 / G7 / Cmaj7 / Cmaj7, you can play the following over G7)

G half-whole diminished scale (basically the diminished scale half-step up) G mixolydian (of course) G altered scale or Ab melodic minor (as mentioned earlier) Bebop scale I think the whole tone scale can also be played - but I haven't used this scale yet, or haven't found had the time to actually learn how to use it - best daw ito when moving up a 4th, so it would work sa V-I, or G7 - C in this case

If you mix them up, you get all the notes! So you can either sound one of the scales mentioned (if you just play the prescribed notes of the scales mentioned), or just play the chromatic scale. I believe it's because of the function of the V7 chord (tension-release concept) that makes the chromatic scale work better over functioning V7 chords as compared than other chords in a progression - the chromatic scale gives out a lot of tension, which longs for a release (normally V7 goes back to a I or i). On a theoretical standpoint, I also think that it's because of all the possible substitutions that makes all the notes possible to play. Remember: the key is resolving the tension nicely, so in my sample the best bet is to land on B or E, or C or G (pero ako personally may bagay yung B or E, baka biased lang ako sa jazz sound - sa pop kasi normally mas C or G ang resolution; di ako familiar sa ibang genre hehe )

Note: the reason why I included the Dm7 chord is because I believe it's always better to try an idea over a set of progression so you'll have a feel of the tensions as well. So try playing D dorian or C major scale for the Dm7, then the ideas above for the G7, then back to C major scale.

Marami nang improvisation ideas dito, how about comping ideas? Usually hindi ito pinag-uusapan, so let me start. One great trick is understanding ii-V better, and analyzing songs in a deeper sense. This can also help in arranging your own version of some songs. Some basics: When you see a chord progression with a ii / ii / V / V, pwede rin siyang gawing ii / V / ii / V. This may not seem a lot, but once you get around with using chord extensions, there are a lot of sounds that can be done, especially in a band setting. You can also use the usual chord substitutions and instill a ii - V idea on them. For example, in a ii / V / I / I scenario Dm7 / G7 / Cmaj7 / Cmaj7 Dm7 / G7 / Cmaj7 / Cmaj7 ... pwedeng Dm7 / G7 / Em7 / Am7 (Cmaj7 can be substituted for Em7, and Em7 / Am7 is a ii / v of Dm7, relative to the C major scale) Dm7 / G7 / Cmaj7 / Em7b5 A7alt (instead of Em7, you can substitute a ii / V relative to the D harmonic or melodic minor) Dm7 / G7 / F#m7b5 B7alt / Em7b5 A7alt (same concept as above, but this time instill a ii / V for the Em chord) Dm7 / G7 / Cmaj7 / Cmaj7 (for resolution) Tritone is a nifty tool as well, and is easy to use (at least for guitar) while comping just play a dominant chord between the ii and the I. From the example above, you can play: Dm7 / C#7 / Cmaj7 / Cmaj7 Dm7 / C#7 / Em7b5 / Eb7#11 (Tritone of A7alt) Dm7 / C#7 / F#m7b5 F7#11 / Em7b5 Eb7#11 (Same concept as above) Dm9 / C#7#11 / Cmaj7 / Cmaj7 (Substituted G7 with G7alt)

(I think there are some maj7 concepts instead of dominant, but I do not know them. )

Apart from ii - V concepts, we also have chromatic embellishments When you see a minor chord played in 2 bars, you can also opt to play a chromatic line between them. For example, you have Dm7 / Dm7 - you can choose to play Dm Dm(maj7) / Dm6 Dm7 (descending) or Dm Dm#5 / Dm6 Dmb13 (or Dm#5) (ascending). You can also put the line in a ii / V series: in a Dm7 / G7, you can play Dm Dm(maj7) / G7sus4 G7. For the descending embellishment example above you can choose to play the bass line as the chromatic line and keep a pedal tone. For the Dm example above, you can play Dm C#aug / Dm7/C Bm7b5 with F on the top note for the pedal tone.

Just some note: this normally works well with traditional jazz music, but it might take some arranging for other types of genre. This can also works on pop music with a jazz feel or 7th chords in it, like So Slow or Officially Missing You, or You are the Sunshine of my Life. Some of the chromatic embellishments can also be seen in some pop tunes, like yung bridge ng Cool With You (although dito bass line yung gumagalaw as mentioned above, but it can also work over the Gm chord.)

Do you have more? Especially sa blues? Also, sarap rin sanang matuto ng rhythmic concepts (I only know a few techniques) - but I do not know how to write them without using notations. Mga tipong how to make your comping sound samba, or bossa nova, swing, blues, rock, funk, reggae; parang ganun. And greatest weakness ko ito, wala akong ibang alam na way to improve this other than listen to songs, listen, and learn. Anyone has any suggestion (just in case lang na meron ibang techniques in developing this aside from what I'm doing)?

Happy New Year everyone! I have some interesting things on chords and chord substitutions that you can try out, or figure out for yourself. While studying other chord subs, I noticed that you can "think" of other chord forms in place of the original chord. Hindi ko alam if this works because I tried to figure it out by myself, or if ok rin kahit ilapag nalang sa

harap niyo yung possible substitutions. I think it's always better to deduce everything (or induce from your knowledge on music theory), so bigay lang ako ng samples, then maybe those of you who haven't tried this can try and find other chord subs. [Note: I was thinking this may be more applicable to guitar players because we normally have shapes, or try to come up with shapes, to memorize, unlike the piano, or the bass. Piano players, or bass players, normally thinks of the chord tones rather than the shapes. There's no sense to think of other chord forms if you always think of the chord tones in coming up with the chord, as opposed to thinking of the shapes. < correct me if I'm wrong, since I'm neither a piano player or a bass player.] Some basic samples to get you going: Gmaj or Gmaj7 chord e x or 3 B 3 3 G 4 4 D 4 5 A x 5 E 3 3 You can play a G/B chord (for a Gmaj) or a Bm6 (for the Gmaj7); there are many chord voicing possibilities, but here's my favorite voicing (probably dahil lagi lang ako mag-isa tumutugtog) e B G D A E x or x 8 7 7 7 5 5 x x 7 7

The note on the E string is the 3rd (B), the note on the D string would be the root (G), the note on the G string is the 5th (D), and the note on the B is root and 7th respectively (giving you G and F#.) This would make the 1 3 5 7 (7 for the maj7 chord), jumbled up across the strings.

Now something more interesting:

Sa 7th, instead of a G7, you can choose to play Bdim, or a Bm7b5 (or the B halfdim.) If you want to have the altered sound, you can play the Fm7b5 or the F halfdim. G7 3 3 4 3 5 3 Bdim 1 3 4 3 2 x Bm7b5 1 3 2 3 2 x Fm7b5 7 9 8 9 8 x

e B G D A E

For the Bdim, the note on the e string is F (b7), on the B, G and D string is the same as the G7 form provided (D [5th], B [3rd], F [b7] respectively), and the note on the A string is B (3rd). So you have 2 3rds and 2 7ths, and 1 5th, which is ok since the strongest notes are the 3rd and 7th. The Bm7b5 plays the 9th in the G string (the note is A) instead of repeating the 3rd (the rest of the notes are the same, if you haven't figured that out yet.) Now the Fm7b5 is interesting; the note on the A string gives you the b7 (F), the note on the D string gives you the 3rd (B), the note on the G string gives you the #5 (D#), the note on the B string gives you the b9 (Ab), and the note on the e string gives you the 3rd again (you can omit this if you want.) So that's 3 #5 b7 b9, which basically spells out a 7alt chord. Interesting how the m7b5 chord can be used as a m7b5, as a natural 7th with a 9 or as an 7alt. There are others, like how the altered 7th (which is also a m7b5 functioning as an 7alt) can be played as an m6 chord (raise 1; for G7alt, play Abm6). Thus, m6 can also be used for m7b5 chord (raise 3; for Bm7b5, play Dm6). Minor chords can function as major can vice-versa (Gm7 can be played with the Bbmaj6 form; Gmaj69 can be played as Bm11, or as Em11.) I haven't plotted them out all yet since I'm also occupied with the new chord forms that I am just coming across with. Can you share other subs like this that you have?

wow... andami.. medyo matagal tagal na pag aaralan to.. anyway rj... suggestion lang, mas maganda kung lagyan mo ng bars yung mga chords like

/ Dm7 G7 / CM7 / para makita natin yung bilis ng progression ng chords

this more of injecting chromatic passages into the major scale, very similar to something I learned from Don Mock videos, but chordal ganito: if the progression is / Dm7 G7 / CM7 / Fm7 Bb7 / Eb G7 / we will insert a flat or sharp of the same chord before playing the target chord (ang gulo ba?) ganito / Dm G#7 G7 BM7/ CM7 F#m7 / Fm7 A7 Bb7 /.... etc etc

notice that I played G#7 before going down to G7... played BM7 1 beat before going up to CM7, passed F#m before playing Fm7 and A7 before Bb7

btw.. the title of the thread is advanced theory but we are talking applications in improvisations.. hehhe

eto pa ang mga scales na pwedeng gamitin sa V I prog.. we still use the simple / Dm G7 / CM7 /.... over G7 going to CM7 try 1. AbM7 scale 2. Am harmonic scale ( eto ang isang gamit ng Harmonic minor) 3. Cm Harmonic scale

remember phrasing plays a very very big role in improvisation, most of the time, jazz masters play simple notes, its the phasing that make the lines killer

Para sa mga hindi pa nakaka-alam kung ano ang difference ng parallel minor sa relative minor: Kahit sa pop music madalas mangyari sa progression yan. Cmajor Bm7b5 Parallel minor Relative minor Cmaj7 Dm7 cm7 Am7 Em7 Fmaj7 G7 gm7 Em7 Am7 abmaj7 Fmaj7 Bb7 G7

Dm7b5 Ebmaj7 fm7 Bm7b5 Cmaj7 Dm7

Sound samples: Kahit anong pop song, jazz standard, broadway tunes etc. na nanghihiram sa parallel minor ng chords.