Fusion, Blues & Bebop Lines

GMC!

For this lesson I wanted to give you something that could be applicable right away. This lesson just focuses on good old fusion, blues, and even some bebop/post-bop vocabulary. It will start off very basic, then get progressively harder and a bit more "outside" sounding. The lines can sometimes be a bit John Scofield-esque, especially with the more chromatic ones. Maybe there is some Mike Stern in there, but there's also a handful of more modern and legato lines similar to Tom Quayle. Think of this lesson as a bank of free licks and lines, and don't hesitate to use them in your own improvising, and to even try them in different keys!

Most of the time when I'm playing inside it's either just some Bb minor pentatonic, mixolydian, or lydian dominant. But most of the outside lines are centered around the altered dominant scale or the half-whole diminished scale, both based off of F natural (playing off the V). Then of course there are a handful of non-scale-based lines that utilize more of a superimposition technique.

I'll go into detail about certain aspects of the solo throughout the lesson parts.

Gear

Fender Stratocaster w/ Seymour Duncan Blackouts
M-Audio Firewire Solo Recording Interface
Cubase Digital Audio Workstation
Peavey Revalver (6505+ amp model - crunch setting, a bit of chorus - , Mesa Rectifier cab)

Tuning

Standard: E, B, G, D, A, E

Backing Track Progression

4/4: Bb7

* I would like to note that playing over only 1 chord as opposed to 1,000 isn't always necessarily easier. When playing over 1 chord you have to have control over what's happening harmonically. If you're band is experienced enough in this kind of sound, they will follow you. There are some players out there that are amazing at playing over 1,000 chords, but may not be able to play over just 1 chord as well as someone else.

Tempo

The main song tempo is 100 bpm. There are backing tracks available for 90, 80, 70, 60, and 50.
Be sure to be very picky and accurate when practicing the 16th triplet lines.

Scales Used