ALEX SILL Video Masterclass Pt6

In his final masterclass Alex demonstrates his chord and lead style over Jason Sidwell’s fusion groover, Buoyancy. The solo has some sophisticated semiquaver syncopation and offers a great chord voicing lesson. Jon Bishop is your guide.

- Jon Bishop

ABILITY RATING

Info

Key: E

Tempo 108bpm

CD TRACKS 21-22

Advanced *****

Will improve your…

• Switching between modal tonalities

• Use of swung 16th-note syncopation

• Sophisticated chord fingerings

This month we have another tastefully crafted solo courtesy of fusion wizard Alex Sill. Jason’s track Buoyancy clocks in at a 108bpm and features a number of non-diatonic chords and key changes, so we have chosen an open key signature (no sharps or flats). This will make it easier to see clearly how the note choices relate the chords.

The track starts with a II-V (F#m7b5-B7) that Alex sets the scene with some precomposed single-note phrases that feature mainly chord tones to align with the changes. While the intro suggests a move to E Minor, the verses are actually based around E Major, and even that is a loose reference as F# chords (suggesting E Lydian), G chords (suggesting E Dorian) and D chords (suggesting E Mixolydian) all feature. Certainly, the E bass note pedalling helps create a sense of unity and those who know Joe Satriani’s pitch axis theory (the shifting modality around the A tonal centre in his Satch Boogie) will appreciate this compositional technique.

No single scale will fit properly over all of this section so Alex uses triad arpeggios. For example, on the G/E (=Em7) he favours notes from the G Major arpeggio (G-B-D) and for the F#/E (=Emaj13#11), he focuses on F# Major arpeggio notes (F#-A#-C#). This works wonderfully well although what is crucial is to know where the chords happen and then interact with them accordingly, a far cry from Pentatonic phrasing over all chords.