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In Part 2 of my Upper Structure series I use a Maj Triad built off of the 7th scale degree of a Major 7 chord.
So if we are playing a Cmaj the upper structure would be a Bmaj triad.
I use this mainly to suspend the Maj7th chord. So instead of directly playing C maj I play a Bmaj Triad and then play the C maj chord.

Check out the video and if you have any questions please post them!

TRADUCCIÓN AL ESPAÑOL PARA ESTUDIANTES

Tony talks about assembling a tune

This part I focus on using one upper structure triad and mixing it with the 4 notes of the dominant 7 chord to create a melodic fragment.

I will use the key of C as an example in parenthesis.
In summary, we are using a Maj Triad built off of the 6th scale degree of a V7 chord that leads to I. This could be the V7 of a ii-V7-I. (D-7 G7 Cmaj)
The idea to make the melodic fragment is to use the 4 notes of the V7.
I III V VII (G, B, D, F) and mix them with the notes of a Maj triad built off of the 6th scale degree of the V7(G7). So an Emaj triad. E, G#, B.

After you know the chords and the melody what are some ways of assembling tunes?

I believe that without a foundation with the tune, it's going to be hard to 'tame' it. Even though I don't always practice what I preach, knowing the melody and practicing it is a great way to begin this process. I think we can get a lot out of playing the melody over and over. I think most of us (including me) don't put enough time into the process.

Check Out Mike!! Great playing.

Check out Behn Gillece! He's a great vibes player!

This is for Barry! Here's a slow mo' of 4 in 1 with a really nice stick drop at the end. (Inside joke for long time, vibesworkshop members).

Maybe this will be of some help with the etude.

I left the sticks after the throw up there for all to examine. You see I can tell the future by how the sticks fall onto the vibes. And I see a lot of good vibe playing in the future for everyone based on that throw.

Practicing tunes in other keys is a great exercise. Recently Tony and I had a short discussion on the benefits of transposing. It reminded me of "Comrade Conrad", a beautiful Bill Evans tune that actually moves up a 5th to a new key every chorus! The transition to a new key is so smooth the listener may not even be aware that the tune is moving through all 12 keys.

Very simple but very powerful