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Music As Resistance

13/7/2022

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First published 20th March 2017
From The Studio: 
Music As Resistance


Musicians are funny people. By funny I do not mean they are comedians. Sometimes they are, of course. Look at Flight of The Conchords! Very funny. Then we all know that musicians carry strange-looking cases around town. They put double basses in taxi-cabs and lug great speaker-boxes into small bars. We know this already. What I mean is that musicians as a bunch are funny-peculiar. They are on the one hand, quite conservative, disciplined, sometimes obsessive and fiercely dedicated to their craft. At the same time they can also be free, flexible in thought and custom, tolerant of diversity and open-minded.
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Flight of the Conchords
What does all this mean?
What I think it means is that music by its nature requires dedication, discipline and devotion. At the same time, it requires flexibility and freedom. Musicians continually revisit their music - every time they perform and try to make it sound fresh and timely. This happens in classical music, where the symphony orchestras never seem to tire of playing the same eighteenth and nineteenth-century orchestral works again and again. A new conductor, a new version, new costumes, faster, slower, bigger, better. They act as custodians for the music museum, and they strive to make it new again and again. Modern musicians are like that too. They write a song, then keep changing it and modifying it. Sometimes they get into trouble because the musicians want to keep changing the music, rewriting and refining it, while their fans want to hear note-for-note versions of the tracks they have downloaded and often purchased. Sometimes the musicians give in and play exact versions of their songs time and time again, night after night as they entertain their audiences. The older the music becomes the more people want to fix it in stone. To crystallise and polish it. Musicians often come up with clever ways to avoid exact repetition of their material. They put improvised solos in the acts, add and remove instruments, change the words, or make the songs into medleys like Irish band U2 did with Zootopia.

Let’s face it. People do not like doing exactly the same thing night after night. And yet as we get older we found ourselves doing just that. The news at six, the gym at 5:30p.m. After-work beer on Fridays, church on Sunday morning. At times our human lives seem to be endless loops of routine.

Creative people try to break free of this. Not just musicians. It happens in business, in technology, it is part of human nature to innovate and create new things - to resist routine and re-invent ourselves.
In music, this re-interpretation can be slow or fast. This year's performance of German composer Beethoven's fifth symphony (1804 - 1808) is probably not going to be a lot different from last year's, despite what the marketing guys tell us. Music can change fast and be re-interpreted quite radically. That brings me to one of my favourite musicians - Miles Davis (1926 - 1991). Miles was an American trumpet-player who made a good living out of playing mostly instrumental music. He did this by re-interpreting music and making it sound both good and different. As a child I recall a song called 'Someday My Prince Will Come' from a Walt Disney movie. Thanks to YouTube we can have a quick listen. The song starts at about 46 seconds into the video.

It comes from a film called Snow White I heard and saw it on television. Later as a teenager I heard Miles Davis' version of the same tune. Check this out:
At first you might think this is just another version of the song. What I would argue is that Miles did not just make a new version. He transformed it from a naive children’s song to a very cool piece of musical art. His music came about through resistance and reinterpretation.

So what?

This brings me to the music of today. To be sure we hear re-interpretations of music. People put videos on YouTube of themselves singing and playing music. Many of them copy or attempt to copy famous music. Some of them recode the music and transform it into something new. All of them are variable in quality. It seems that, no matter how expert singers or musicians are, they love to copy and reinterpret. I would like to hear more re-interpreting and less copying. That is to me, what musical art is all about.

Of course, people like to hear copies. Hearing somebody perform a well-known tune triggers memories in our minds and makes us feel connected with our past. The word we use is 'nostalgia'. Hearing things that we have heard before is comforting and familiar. At after-work drinks-time on a Friday for example, women of a certain age may play ABBA songs and sing enthusiastically. This is familiar, homey. Nice.
I would like to hear more re-interpreting and less copying.
Younger people are a bit different. They like nostalgia too but they are also more open to new sounds and they have flexibility of mind to appreciate music for its own sake, without reference to some style from Dad's record collection or what is transmitted from government channels. I like this and I like it because that is one of the ways in which our society renews itself. Not by destroying the past but by choosing the best and most authentic experiences and celebrating them. Remember what I was writing about above? Most people love to break their routines, and love new, fresh, challenging and interesting things. Sometimes though they just get trapped in endless cycles of tedium and repetition that rob them of their joy and suck the life out of them. If you like music and most people do, I hope, then you probably need to choose. Does this music put me on a treadmill or does it set me free? You make the call. You after all have the freedom to choose.Stephen Galvin teaches Singing, Guitar,  Bass and Drums at ABC Studios in Auckland's Parnell .



Comments? Say what you think.
 
Thank you for your interest. Music is of the easiest things to do in the world and one of the most difficult.

ABC Studios Auckland New Zealand {] 0273089796:
www.abcstudios.co.nz
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My Foolish Heart Version Three

13/11/2021

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This is the third version of this tune that I have uploaded. The tune is relatively simple yet I try to explore the rhythmic structure and hopefully succeed, by delaying some notes, playing others early and others in the spaces in-between. The crucial element is the rhythm guitar that holds all the parts together, while supplying them with a smooth, rich harmonic framework. With the cymbals I try to create a three-dimensional space across the stereo filed that in its own way, reminds me of the birds in the tree outside my balcony, each creature staking out its territory while communing with its species. Although I have played this tune many times I deliberately leave parts of the music unplanned so I do not know beforehand what I will play. This helps to keep the music alive and hopefully helps it sound more authentic and uncontrived. If as a result there is a certain coherence lacking in the rhythm I hope that emphasis on mood and feeling outweighs any technical looseness.
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My Foolish Heart - Guitar Feature

8/11/2021

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This version of classic song My Foolish Heart produced with two guitar, Bass and Drums. Listen with headphones. 
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Jazz Standard - My Foolish Heart - Solo Guitar

27/10/2021

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Nuages by Django Reinhardt (1910-1953)

25/10/2021

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Lockdown Guitar - How to Play chords and Melody When You Only Have One Guitar.

10/10/2021

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How to Jam a Guitar Tune with Only One Guitar

9/10/2021

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Using the tune Nuages from Django Reinhardt (1910-1953) I workshop some ideas about how to create a satisfying melody based around the chord progression, particularly by using a motif based on the Dominant seventh chords.
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How Much Do Guitar Lessons Usually Cost?

15/6/2021

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In Auckland guitar lessons are usually offered by the term, by multiple terms and in some cases guitar studios offer tuition at an annual rate. Prices vary also by the length of each lesson, with teachers offering half-hour and one-hour options. Beginners and children often take half-hour lessons usually at one lesson a week.
Our Guitar Lessons Auckland 2021 courses start at NZ$450 for a nine-week term of half-hour lessons. Many students enrol in multiple terms and can save up to NZ$450 a year when enrolling in a full 45-week course.
Learning to play an instrument is a long-term experience. Most experienced musicians say that we never stop learning throughout our lives. A young musician might study guitar thorough school years, then take a break, returning back to lessons in their early or mid-twenties. Adult learners also consider learning an instrument in later life as their priorities and goals change, children grow up and leave the family home, and music becomes an attractive recreational pastime.

Can I teach myself without a teacher?

Yes. While we recommend finding a qualified teacher from the very beginning, studying from books and videos can be very helpful at a certain stage in a musician's life. Most of us find that music is best when it is shared with others. Those others can be family members, teachers, or band members. Many musicians make music at home. It is an experience in bonding and maintaining durable relationships within a family. Guitar lessons with a teacher are often more systematic, with professional teachers offering structured, organised courses that have been tried and tested. Internationally-recognised courses from providers such as Rockschool, Trinity, Royal Schools of Music, Berklee College of Music and others ensure that your lessons remain on-track and act as a focus for both teacher and student to measure progress. Many instruments have low-learning curves (LLC), meaning that the first few months or longer can be frustrating because the music you play is very simple, or it takes time for your body to adjust to the technical skills of each instrument. Many of us are familiar with the beautiful scratching of beginner violinists going through LLC's. Bagpipe students routinely experience this frustration also. The guitar however does have beautiful music that you can play reasonably well in the first few months or so. Working with a teacher helps you get through the LLC's . 

Can I learn in three months?

Learning to play a musical instrument is a lifelong activity. The good news  is that on the guitar you can play some very cool music in a short time, with some conditions. First going to lessons is not enough. You need to play every day to improve your skills and get better. If you cannot commit to playing every day, you probably should wait until you can commit. Otherwise you can get frustrated at your slow rate of progress. Second you do need to be patient and remember there is no magic time when you suddenly say, 'I can play guitar'. The learning itself is simply a good thing to have in your life. So can you learn in three months? Yes. The quality of what you can play in three months is going to depend on you and how much time and effort you put into the process.


Are guitar lessons worth the money?

Yes.

How long does it take to learn guitar?

From one second to one lifetime. and possibly longer if you believe in that sort of thing... Please remember to take the process seriously and have fun.


To find out more about our Guitar Lessons please use the Contact page.
Thank you for your interest and if you are using the Contact page, talk soon. 

...remember there is no magic time when you suddenly say, 'I can play guitar'. The learning itself is simply a good thing to have in your life.
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Django Rheinhardt ( 1910-1953). Django taught himself living in a tent-wagon with his girlfriend who made candles. He also learnt from his uncle, learnt with his brother and learnt on the bandstand.
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John Mclaughlin (b.1942) learnt from listening to his mother playing the violin.
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Who Are the Best Guitar Teachers in Auckland?

1/6/2021

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"So I would say the best teachers in Auckland or anywhere for that matter, are those who have a good musical background of course, but most importantly. they love to share this amazing and beautiful human art we call music."
There are many guitar teachers in Auckland. I have met several teachers, worked with others and some I know by reputation only. Some of them are my ex-students. It is always a pleasure seeing people develop their musical skills and deepen their musical experience.  As a guitar teacher myself I would have to say that I provide a high level of guitar tuition. I started teaching in 1981 working with the late Chris Bayne at the New Zealand Guitar Academy. Chris taught classical guitar and I was initially hired to teach Lead and Rhythm guitar, and bass. Chris was I believe an excellent guitarist with a graceful, stylish and secure technique, combined with a calm and steady performance style. Just as importantly he was a good teacher, with well-designed teaching resources, a good library and a comfortable studio. Working with him I was able to see first-hand plenty of guitar-playing in many styles, but also the  way that he related to students from many different walks of life, united by a common bond, a love of music and making music.

In 1984 I opened my own studio in Mount Street near the University of Auckland campus. In the 1980's I focused mainly on teaching classical guitar, while moonlighting playing in bands like Neon Quaver, the Auckland Concert Orchestra, several church groups and musical theatre shows. I expanded my teaching portfolio to include Music Theory, History, Ear Training and Singing, then branched out to teach drumkit and for a brief time, the piano. Several ex-students are now excellent and well-respected guitar teachers themselves.

Good teachers should make professional development a priority throughout their career and professional development is requirement of registered teachers in the New Zealand system. A very good friend, Sylvia Blatchford encouraged me to develop my classical qualifications, sitting grade examinations leading to a Licentiate diploma in Guitar Performance from Trinity College London, then later a Bachelor of Music degree, an English degree with Music and a Masters Degree in Music. These formal  qualifications are of course only part of what a music teacher has to learn and apply. Mostly music teachers work with helping people play and sharing their love of music. So I would say the best teachers in Auckland or anywhere for that matter, are those who have a good musical background of course, but most importantly also, they love to share this amazing and beautiful human art we call music.

Since gaining some academic qualifications. I also studied for a Teacher's Diploma, developed my skills in recording, mixing mastering and music notation and now teach at ABC Studios. I continue to teach in several schools on a part-time basis. As part of my personal guitar study I have transcribed many solos from amazing guitar players such as George Benson, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Django Rheinhardt, Carlos Santana and others, then teach these items to students who have the interest and dedication to do so. I have held subscriptions to several guitar magazines and they are a valuable resource for guitar teachers. They allow me to see and learn what other teachers are doing world-wide. I also maintain my Teacher's Registration and am a member of the Post-Primary Teacher's Association.

Professional development is an ongoing and living thing. In 2021 I recorded a jazz album, Modal Behaviour (my fourth recorded album) with some fantastic New Zealand musicians and good reviews and I am looking forward to sharing this music further in Festival performances.  

If you would like to study the guitar further details are available on the Guitar Lessons Auckland -

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"So I would say the best teachers in Auckland or anywhere for that matter, are those who have a good musical background of course, but most importantly also, they love to share this amazing and beautiful human art we call music."
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Larry Coryell Lesson 7. Turkish Coffee. Chord Substitution in Twelve-Bar Blues

29/7/2018

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PictureTurkish Coffee b.1
This blog is an early draft of a video analysis of Larry Corryell's Turkish Coffee contained in his book Jazz Guitar.

What we notice about Coryell’s playing from previous lessons are his chord substitutions, about using for example C7 as chord one, then substituting that with C9 , Em7b5, or even Bbma7 as a substitution for C, using diminished-type chords moving in parallels, and of course chords built on fourths.

In the second part of the book, Coryell goes into some detail with a tune called Turkish Coffee, and he tells a story how he needed to play a blues in Em when he was working with a saxophonist called Benny Golson (b.1929), and Golson showed him how would practise the chord progression by rehearsing all the chord changes including the chord substitutions. So for guitar-players often we are using in E minor for example we can play a standard E minor pentatonic scale like every beginner guitar-player tends to play the minor pentatonic pattern and you can get a lot of mileage out of that kind of pattern. But Coryell takes us into another kind of sound-world, and a sound-world that belongs more to jazz.  He gives us a series of substitutions which use many chromatic notes, notes outside the scale, but and the harmony also moves at a rate of about one chord per beat.


In the first bar he uses four chords Em, F#m7, G6 G# diminished. Then he outlines how we would play a melody line over the chord progressions as they are moving there, but if you analyse those chords you can see the Em, F#m7 and G6 are all diatonic chords, they have not really left the key of E minor. However when he gets to the G#dim chord, of course he has got two new notes in there G# and F both of which are outside the key of E minor. Nevertheless that G# diminished chord is a passing chord and has not got a lot of structural content so basically he is staying the key of E minor for the first three chords but then he uses G#dim as a leading chord to take us into the next diatonic chord which is A minor.






PictureTurkish Coffee b.2
Now in that second bar he gives us four chords, Am7, C7, B7 and Ab over C. Now again if you look at those chords, the Am7, the C7 are blues variations of diatonic chords. With the B7 and Ab over C, you can see that he is starting to incorporate some secondary dominants and some chords which are outside of the key. Am7 is fine in the key of Em, but C7? C7 of course is not directly in the key of E minor. It has the notes C, E G Bb so its main notes outside of the key are well possibly the C, but definitely the Bb. Now the same with B7, the chord can be seen as a Chord V in E minor if you are using harmonic minor, however the chord Ab over C is definitely outside of the key. It has two notes here, Ab and Eb, both of which are outside of the key. So as he builds a melody through this bar here we would be forgiven for thinking that Coryell would outline the chords something like A minor, the C, the B, and Ab, but he does not actually do that. What he does is he takes the four chords, and he identifies just one chord in the bar that is unique to that bar, which is B7. So over those four chords he plays a melodic pattern which is based on B7. Although there are four chords there he is only selecting one chord out of those four to create this melodic line. So Ami7, C7, B7. Ab/C and then [  ].

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Turkish Coffee bb3-4
Now in the following bar, bar three he uses again four chords, he is using G over B, G6, Em7 which uses the same notes, and then this unusual chord, Cm7. Again the Cm7 although it sounds like it is outside of the key of e minor, it has an Eb in it, it has a Bb in it, nevertheless it functions quite well as just a passing chord to take us into B7 in the next beat. So what Coryell does here is he plays a kind of blues pattern and that blues pattern is based around a standard E minor blues. So that third bar makes a lot of sense does it not? Even though there are many chords in theory in fact it is a kind of Em7 tonality all around.

In bar four he moves through Bm7 F7, E7 and Bb7, and you think ‘What is going here?’ Well actually it is really just Bm7 and E7 but he is approaching the E7 from a semitone above and then he is using a chord substitution a flat five to take us back to Am7 in the following bar. So the key notes in that fourth bar are really the Bm7 and E7 and the line that he plays there [ ] . What he does there is just taking a diminished arpeggio which leads into E7 so it really is a kind of E7 arpeggio. So the four chords Bm7, F7, E7 and Bb7 actually are only supporting the melodic line on E7. What we are saying here is that you do not have to be ‘frightened’ of those four chords. This bar has just one main pivotal chord, one main structural chord the E7. The others are just supporting chords.

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Larry Coryell (1943-2017)
PictureTurkish Coffee bb.5-6
In the next two bars, he takes us through this sequence of ii-V's: Am7 D7, Abm7 Db7, Gm7 C7, F#m7 and B7 and he gives a series of interesting notes that he would use there.  For example Am7 and D7 [ ] . You might think, ‘Why does use choose that particular set of notes. E D C Bb Ab G F?’ In his book he calls that a Super-Locrian or Diminished Whole-Tone scale and of course it is on E. Now you think why does he use that over Am7 and D7? Why could he not have use Emi [ ] or why could not he have played an A minor? So if you listen the sound of that Super Locrian scale, [ ] compare that with say, E min or A minor, [ ] you can see that the minor is a fairly bland kind of sound, but the diminished whole-tone starts like a minor scale, flattens out right at the end and gives us a kind of falling, diminished kind of sound to that melody, and I think that is the effect there, a kind of blue effect. So that takes us through Am7 and D7. When it gets to Abm7, Db7 that is just straightforward, he is just using notes from the chords, and the same with the Gm7 C7. When he gets to the fourth chord progression, F#m7 and B7 however he gives us this pattern C, E and [C,B E].  So that C is functioning like a kind of a flat nine over the B7 chord. That gives a touch of dissonance over the chord progression and again if you think of the chord, F#m7 and B7, the note C over a F#m7 chord, well F#m7 has a C# in it and he is playing [C]. That C natural again gives the impression of a kind of falling, a kind of compressed minor sound to this passage. So although the chord progression [in bars five and six] is using standard sequences, you get [ ] and that takes us into a new pattern, into the key of E minor.

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Turkish Coffee bb.7-8
Now with that E minor pattern he goes through a cool chord progression, an E minor chord, C a diatonic chord, moving to a B over D#, just a diatonic chord, chord V and Bm7. There are no surprises in that bar. It has just standard diatonic chords, but they sound very cool there in context.
In the following bar he takes us through Em7 and then a Bb chord with D in the bass, going to C6 and Am7. So no surprises there except the chord progression though Em7 uses a non-diatonic Bb chord,  then diatonic C and Am7, so the effect of that Bb chord is again a kind of a flat five, bluesy kind of sound [ ].

PictureTurkish Coffee bb.9-10
He then starts an ascending run for the next three of four bars in the chord progression so we have F#m7b5, G6, Am7, A#dim7 and this extraordinary progression going through Am, C#7#9, D9, Eb7b9, E7, Eb7b9, Eb7b7, Dm7, and G13, a series of rising chords, moving through progressions of a semitone higher each time. So from the Am7 he jumps to the C#, then uses parallel dominant chords [ ] . What helps to make this progression sound anchored in the key of E minor is the fact that it has that E note constant throughout the whole. So Am7 to C#7#9: Even though that C#7#9 is way out of key, it has still that note E in it.  D9 still has the E in it, Eb7b9 still has the E. E7 quite an unusual chord for E minor, it still has the E in it then it comes back down though Eb7b9, D9 and G13th which resolves in the final bar to a slightly unexpected Cma7, F#7 and Fma7. Now the Fma7 functions as a kind of Dominant, because it leads us back into E minor. So in traditional harmony, we tend to think of B7 leading us to E minor, but Fma7 actually sounds quite effective as a chord to take us back to E minor.
In those last three bars he is taking us through an interesting chord progression. Listen, and melodically there he has an interesting pattern. What he does is takes the Am, the C#7#9 and D9, but he selects out of that bar one key chord, and that one key chord in this case is D9 and that is right in the centre of the bar and he plays an ascending scale on that. But does he play a Dominant scale? Does he play a Lydian Dominant? No. He just plays just a straight minor scale. Now remember the chord progression here is Am, C#7, D9 and his choice of notes there is D minor. Now you say why would he play a D minor scale over a D9 chord? I think that this is a characteristic that Coryell uses a lot. Over a Dominant chord he will harmonise with a minor scale. So if you are playing the minor scale over the Dominant chord you are going to get a flat third. The Dominant chord here has F# in it, but when he plays the melodic line [he uses F]. That gives us [D7#9] again a kind of bluesy sound. D9 with a flattened third gives a kind of bluesy flattened ‘down’ sort of sound and you notice that is a characteristic of Coryell’s style in this music here, in that he prefers to go onto a kind of compressed, flattened sound over each of the chords.


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In the last two bars he just plays standard arpeggios, so he has Eb7 starting on G, E7 staring on G#, and back again [ ]. For D9 he just plays from the chord, E, C, and A, all just notes from the standard D9th. For the G13th chord just before the final bar, he has a short run, [D E F G A]. Now that is just notes from the D minor scale and we have already talked about the D minor scale. He is also taking us into a new key and that is taking us to a C major chord and his melodic line [A F E D]. Then he uses a chord substitution, F# and resolves that onto Fma7. So Cmaj7, F#7 and Fma7 and listen to his line there [ ]. That gives us a cool four-note descending pattern, a sequence to finish his kind of blues-based line but he has really extended that blues idea and over twelve bars has used many interesting melodic patterns through that.

So just summing up again I would just point out a few things that we have learnt about Coryell’s jazz style. They are:
  1.  in this chord progression, you will remember that in the second bar, the chords were Am7, C7, B7 and Ab/C. The chord that he chose out of those four chords was B7 but he did not play a dominant scale. He did not play a B7 arpeggio or a B Dominant scale. He chose to use a B minor pattern over a B7 chord. So the B7 chord has a D# in it. Therefore he likes to play a minor scale over a dominant chord. The chord: B7th the scale B minor [ ] .
  2. Then as far as the actual chords that he goes through here. When he is talking about the chords themselves he uses a lot of passing chords, and substitutions so if for example he is playing Bm7 going to E7, he will pass through F7. If the chords were Bm7, E7 going down to A minor, he goes from Bm7, through F7, E7 and Bb7 to Am, but those passing chords are only in the chords, he does not play arpeggios based around the passing chords. He does not play his melodic line based around the passing chords. So his melodic lines tend to stay very close to the E minor tonality and do not venture far. He is allowing the chromaticism in the music to come from the chords rather than the melodic line. There are some exceptions to this as in the final bar. 
  3. One more point. Remember also his use of the Lydian Dominant scale in the ii-V-I progression giving a falling, compressed flattened sound, E Lydian Dominant over Am7 and D7? You could merely note that but why not do what Benny Golson and Larry Coryell did? Undoubtedly we know that Coryell went to his guitar and played Am7 and D7 creating melodic patterns using an E Lydian Dominant scale until he knew that he could get the sound that he wanted in his music. You should do that too.
Style point: Dominant 7th Chord - Dorian Minor






Style Point 2: Melody on Structural Chords










Style Point 3: Lydian Dominant substitutes for Natural Minor





Coryell shows us in this composition he used a Dorian minor scale with Dominant Seventh chords. He would usually build his melodies on structural chords and he used the Lydian Dominant scale as a substitute for the Natural Minor.

So there we have it. That is a brief harmonic analysis of Turkish Coffee. I hope you found that interesting and I hope that you can use some of those interesting chord progressions and melodic patterns for your own excursions in E minor.

So once again I would say thank you for watching. Play guitar every day. Find some good people to make music with and thank you very much.
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    From Stephen Galvin
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    LTCL BMus BA MMus [Hons.] Dip. Tchg.

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