Approach Notes and Chromaticism

Hi GMC!

The use of approach notes and chromaticism is an important element of playing that we find in various styles of jazz, jazz fusion, etc. It's a great technique to add color, fell and some tension to your playing.

You can approach every note of a scale or an arpeggio by applying a few simple rules.
Consider for example the fifth of the Gm7 chord which is D.

We can approach this note from :

- a half step below / above
- a half step below and above (or above and below)
- two half steps below / above
- two half steps below and a half step above
- two half steps above and a half step below
etc...

Rhythm placement is very important because we play notes outside the scale and it can bring more or less tension in your playing.

The backing is a Gm7 vamp, 90bpm and I used a mix of  G dorian mode, G minor blues scale with approach notes and chromaticism.
Some phrases are sometimes a bit long, so take time to assimilate and analyze how the notes are articulated.

Have fun,
Stephane