Playing
'outside' is a great way to add the element of danger to a guitar
solo. It is usually understood as meaning outside of the
key center. However, the knack is to make it sound convincing as
opposed to making it seem like you are just playing a bunch of wrong
notes. The trick to making it really work is essentially; strong
articulated phrasing, knowledge of the harmony you decide to use
and stepwise resolution. If you are new to this I would advise you
to keep your outside phrases short and to the point. Long phrases
require more conviction and a little more experience. Harmonically,
you can experiment with just about any un-related key but you might
want to start with the obvious at first, to really get the hang
of it. ie; up or down a half step. The most important thing to work
on is getting back to your home key in the strongest, most effective
way. Here you might focus on 1) targeting home key chord tones,
2) resolving home by step (that is, falling naturally on to strong,
essential chord tones) and 3) stressing your home key by outlining
a triad. In the following examples I have used a D minor key throughout.
Example (b) shows how using a dominant phrase (in this case A7b9)
effectively gets you back to your home key.
Example (c) shows the "in-out-in-out" melodic idea where
you alternate an "in" phrase with an "out"
phrase. In this case I have chosen a tritone to play with but
you could experiment with just about anything. Again, the home
key, when I finally get there, is well and truly stressed. Have
fun!
About the author
Chris Standring is a contemporary jazz recording artist who performs
throughout the USA and Europe regularly. He has enjoyed much radio
airplay with several albums, opening up a busy touring schedule.
His music appears on many compilation CDs also. For more info
on Chris' popular home study jazz guitar course go to www.PlayJazzGuitar.com
Visit him on the web at www.chrisstandring.com