From Scares to Music ; Triadic Improvisation riads are the basic chords of Western harmony. : ‘As such, they stabilize the harmony and impart a sense of structure when played in a solo. Figure 6-48 shows Wynton Kelly's use of arpeggiated triads on his solo on Miles Davis’ recording of Frank Churchill's "Someday My Prince Will Come."33 eb major F# augmented In figure 6-49, you can see a triadic sequence | played by Muigew Miller on his tune “Wingspan."34 Major triads follow each other clockwise around the cycle—F major, C major, and G major. Each triad is from the scale of the chord symbol that is shown. The F major triad obviously belongs to the same scale as the FA chord; the C major triad is one : of the triads found in the key of F, where G-7 is the Ul chord; and the G major triad is from G major, of which A-7 is the Il chord. G-7 A-T Cmajortriad-..----. G major triad 33 Miles Davis, Someday My Prince Will Come, Columbia, 1961. This is one of Wynton's greatest solos. 34 Mulgrew Miler, Wingspan, Landmark, 1987. 141Cuarren Six RT Seas Look at figure 6-50, also from Mulgrew’s solo ‘on “Wingspan.” Mulgrew plays an ascending triadic sequence, outlining major, minor, and augmented triads. Mulgrew plays the 3rd-root-3rd-5th of each triad. Notice that the roots of the triads climb the F melodic minor scale: F, G, Ab, Bb, C, D, E, F Figure 6-50 FA7 Bb7 F minor G minor Ab major Bbmajor G-7 fo] C major D major E major F augmented ‘As shown in figure 6-51, Herbie Hancock plays a triadic sequence in his solo on Cole Porter's “All Of You."3 The names of the triads are shown beneath each bar. Some of the notes Herbie plays don't seem to belong to the chords (such as the E major triads ‘on the C7 chord), another example of playing sequences to get outside the changes. ‘Another example of a triadic sequence is shown in figure 6-52, where Freddie Hubbard arpeggiates an F triad over two chords on Wayne Shorter’s “Angola.” 35 Miles Davis, The Complete Concert 1964, Columbia. This is one of Herbie's most briliant solos. 36 Viayne Shorter, The Soothsayer, Blue Note, 1965, 142From Scaes to Music F-7 Bb7 Ab major G-7 a7 D major - ~ Ebmajor -- == Emajor-- F-7 Bb7 G minor - F minor - Cmajor - Figure 6-52 eb7ftt p7t? eb7itt p79 eb7itt D7 143Cuarrer Six Figure 6-53 major minor ~—sminor__~=—smajor._~=—=s major ~=—=minor_—_ diminished ' " a v v vw vil Figure 6-54 Figure 6-55Faom Scates ro Music Practicing Triadic Patterns How can you master the technique of incorporating triads in your soloing? First take a look at figure 6-53, which shows the triads built above each note of the C major scale. The order of triads, starting from the tonic, is “major, minor, minor, major, major, minor, diminished.” Memorize that order and practice arpeggiating the triads in all keys, as in the exercise shown in figure 6-54. Figure 6-55 shows the same arpeggiated triadic pattern Mulgrew Miller played in figure 6-50, ‘outlining the 3rd-root-3rd-5th of each triad. ‘What about the triads in melodic minor harmony? Figure 6-56 shows the triads found in the C melodic minor scale. Note the unusual ‘order of triads: “minor, minor, augmented, major, major, diminished, diminished." This sequence of triads is easier to memorize than you might thin| two minors, augmented, two majors, two diminished. —re ee _veeerrm Figure 6-56 minor miner augmented major «major _—_diminished_ diminished ' 0 u v v wl vil 145Carrer Six cae aneenimneneenneeneeeememenmneemeemanmmeeesneenaammeaeneeeese eee Figure 6-57 shows an arpeggio exercise for melodic minor triads, and figure 6-58 shows Mulgrew's triadic pattern from figure 6-50, outlining the 3rd-root-3rd-Sth of each triad. Figure 6-57 Figure 6-58 146From Scaves to Music EN For diminished scale triads, figure 6-59 shows. the triads found in the C half-step/whole-step | diminished scale; they are all diminished triads. | Figure 6-60 shows the arpeggiated triad exercise, | and figure 6-61 shows the pattern played by | Mulgrew, now in diminished scale harmony. Figure 6-59 Figure 6-60 Figure 6-61 147Cuarren Six De ee Figure 6-62 Figure 6-63 Figure 6-64 148From Scares to Mus LL For whole-tone scale triads, figure 6-62 shows | the triads found in the C whole-tone scale. They are all augmented triads—the only triad found in the i whole-tone scale. Figure 6-63 shows the arpeggiated | triad exercise, and figure 6-64 shows the idea played by Mulgrew, now in whole-tone scale harmory. i Figure 6-65 shows a four-note triadic sequence | on the first few bars of “Stella By Starlight.” ' Practice the triadst \ \ | Figure 6-65 Eo Azalt | bet | 149