T h eM u s i cO f

R o NM i [ 1 E R
(Ebl
FoREwondby JeRRyCokER

Tqble of Contents
Bios....

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Ruth....
Seventh Sign
Text

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tloodDqnce

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Forewordby]erryCoker
Thelieb
Lostlllusion
NiteDancer...

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Copyrighto 1986 Studio224,

158OON.W.48th Avenue,Miami,Florida33014
All Rights Reserved
Made in U.S.A.
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WHO IS RON MILLER?

I realize this is q strcnge wqy to begin q oreword, but the question is a
nahrral one to be qsked. In this doy when rock stcrs, movie stcrs, and
politiciqns ccn be promoted overnight by employing qll the usuql
gimmicks common to the ield o public relctions, we frequently orget
to qsk ourselvesi the now amous person is q stqr by meri1,o, ,i*plv
"
whimsiccl, pcssing cd whose qme wos engineered or the purpose of
ego and monetcry gain. Ron Miller is certainly not cr star in that
context. He is one o those rqre, creqtive people who went rom being c
student directly into university tecching, instecd o attempting cr
proessionql cqreer in between the two phcses. This is q grrectway to
qchieve premature buriql, qrtistically. The hundreds of tqlented young
plcyers to come out o the University o Miqmi, such qs Mark Egan,
Dqr.my Gottlieb, John McNeil, Pqt Metheny, Steve Morse, qnd Stan
Somole, cre very cwore of Ron Miller qnd become misty-eyed and
reverent at the mere mention o his nqme. Visiting clinicians; Iike
David Liebman, qlso become extremely conscious of Ron's music.
Students and cculty qt the Jamey Aebersold Summer lazz Clinics in
the U.S., New Zeqlcnd, Austrclic, Germqny, Denmcrk, crnd Englcnd
qre exposed to Ron Miller's music, th-roughyours truly, qnd the reqction
is crlwcrys the same..."\Mho is Ron Miller" cnd "Could I have c copy o
his tunes?"
I[Ihqt mqkes his musie so specicl, so grrect?This is a tough question to
answer,because music is lqrgely non-verbcl, and frequently those who
attempt to explain its workings ore flowery qnd opinionqted. But here
goes! First o cII, grect music is not crected out o q vqcuurn,but relects
the best of all music that hcs preceded it. Now there qre ar too mony
'mee-tooers'
out there who simply pcrcrphrcse successul tunes qnd
compositions. Ron, too, is c hend-ollower, but he hqs heqrd more
music than most composers,has absorbed the finer quqlities o whqt he
has hecrd, qnd clwcys qdds his own touches to those already-existing
stylistic trqits. He is very consciouso every intenrcl and note choice he
uses in his melodies cs well qs every melodic rhythm that is
qppropriqte and eels spontcneous,which grve his music a sensitive,
romcntic quclity thct is so rcrre.Ron's hqrmonies cre the inest o ony
musicicn I've heqrd. Eqch chord sequence is inspiring to hecr,
interesting voice-lecdings qbound, cnd many o the chord-types qnd
their <rccompcnyrngscqles are invented or the individucl composition.
I recall thct when I wcs listening to q dub of this plcy-clong clbum,
while en route to Miami to tcpe the demonstrationtrqcks, I elt grect joy
d

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and inspirction rom the tcpe, even without

the melodies qnd
improvisation! he meqsrue orgcnizqtions o his pieces qre also
imcginative and well-chosen. Those who hqve reod my COMPLETE
METHOD FOR IMPROVISATION will recqll thqt I refened to Ron
MiIIer's music qs being the prototype o contemporcry tunes. I listed
the mqny ingredients that typiy the contemporcry tune style qt its best.
Then ater eqch given excmple o ttrnes by some o my avorite
composers(i.e. Vcyne Shorter,Chick Corec, Woody Shaw,JoeFcrrrell,
etc., qnd o course Ron Miller), I listed the ingrredientsused by ecch.
Although Ron wcrsthe leqst known o the group, his use o the trqits
ound in contemporcry tunes far oubrumbered the traits used by others.
In itsel, this does not mqke his tunes better, but it does support the
notion thqt his tunes qre the prototype, the model.
I oten speak o composers as hqving q 'bctting qvercrgfe',*it respect
to how often they come up with c reclly choice tune, and I crm
impressed with qnyone who 'bqts' better than .500.Some o my favorite
composers hqve a 'batting cvercge' that is not much better thqn that.
With all sincerity I hear qn 'cvercge' of close to 1.000in the music o
Ron Miller. Ron clso is a very flexible writer, stylisticqlly, though the
tunes in this album are close to the same style, being mostly fcntcsyIike. But he qlso writes in q neo-Horqce Silver bog sometimes, other
times more like c Vcyne Shorter tune, or the Thelonius Monk or
Chqrles Mingus styles, others in a usion or rock bog, qnd still others
thqt defy verbal description because no one hqs ever written anything
remotely like them. Finclly, i you will permit me to be "Iowery",Iind
qll of Ron's music to be especially beautiul and each tune provokes cr
consistent, undeniable mood.
The rhythm section for this plcy-clong is superb, cnd most qppropriqte
or the music o Ron Miller (Don Coffman on bcss, Steve Bcgby on
dnrms, qnd Ron on picno). They plcy together,crso one mind, and they
Iisten to eqch other, resulting in lexible cnd ever-chcnging dyncmics,
coordinqted qccents, vcriety, drive, sensitivity, qnd tempos that don't
fluctuate (cll very rore among plcy-clongs), creqting q spontcneous
plcying environment for the user.
It is qn honor and c plecsure to introduce you to the music o Ron Miller.
I know thot you will be honsported by its becuty, os is everyone who
heqrs it. May you be lited to new heights o personql expression by
both the quclity o the tunes and the quclity o the rhythm section.
Jerry Coker

CHORDSAIID SCATES
USED IN THIS PLAY.ALONG
o hcrrmonic oundction o this grroup o eompoitions is derived rom three
sccler sources: the diatonic mcrjor sccle, thc cscend.ing melodic minor, and
harmonic minor sccrles.Other scales used or improvisction include: the cugrmented
secle, the dominant dininished the be-bop mixolydicrn cnd the minor pentctonic
scqles.
It is from these source scqlos that the vqrious modes (octave hqnspositions
o the pcrent's cdjccent notes) crrederived. Because o the acoustical relationship
(dictonicirm) o c given modc to itg pcrent soluce scclg qny mode dictonicclly
relctcd to thc pqrcnt ccale ccn be uscd in lieu o the rnode indicqted by the chord
symbol.
With this in rlin{ the irnprovisor should leenn thc p<nent seale of ecrchmode
indicatcd bV the chord symbol, cnd detemrine his choicc o mode by musical
considerqtions cs: common tone corurection, sequentiql motivic development qnd
the melodic quality o ecch mode.
The other scales (cnd their trcnspositions) used or improvisation hcve c
speciic relqtionship to the source pcrent scqle qnd should be leqrned or the
r<rsonsstated cbove.
The ollowing examples o seales and modes used in the eompositions are
presented in the ollowing ormct

l. CHORDSvBOL(S)
2. NOTECHOICEFORARPEGGIANONAI\TDG]IDE TONES
3. MODATITYOF GI\TENCHORD
4. RELAONSHIP OF PARENT SCLE TO CHORDAL
MODE
5. LOCAION OF OTHERSCALESUSEDFOR
IMPROVISATION
INORI\4flON WHICH WILL
6. OTFIERPERTINENT
ASSISTTHEIMPROVISOR
AtL EXAI\,PLESARE BASEDON CHORD SPELLINGSFROM TFIE
TONIC Ch FOR CLARITY

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GROUP A, chords from the dictonic modes (pcrent mcior scale)

Other scales used or improvisationin this group:
c. be-bop mixolydian,C, D, E, F, A, Bb,Bq,C plcyed rom Stho
!:.:

the pcrent (up)

b. minor pentotonic,e,Eb, F, G, Bb, C, plcyed rom the 2nd o

the pcrent, cnd from the 3rd or 6th cs cr secondchoice
t. Cl3sus4 (1,! 4,b 7, 9, 13)
a. Mixolydicn rom tonie o chord-C,D, E, F, G, A, Bb, C
b. pcrrentscale ound o P5 below - F, G, A, Bb, C, D, Ef , F
c. Be-bop Mixolydi(m, from chord tonic - C, D, E, F, G, A, Bb, Bh, C
d. minor pentctonic,from P5 qbove - G, Bb, C, D, F, G
e. you can treat the suschord os crii/V with ii-V pctternsbqsed on crminor
chord q P5 above
2. Ctnin 13, C-13 (I,b 3,h 6)
c. Dorian mode rom chord tonic - C, D, Eb, F, G, Ah, Bb, e
b. pcrent is M2 below - Bb, C, D, Eb,F,G, A, Bb
c. be-bop mixolydian is rom the 4th degrreeo Dorian
d. minor pentctonic rom chord tonic
e. alteredpentctonicrom tonic - C,Eb, F, G, Ah, C
. you ecn treat this chord crsyou would ony ii chord in the bop vernacular

3. C-l I (l,b 3,h4,(t r) b7)

Having no 6th degree, this chord hqs no speciic modqlity. However, it ccn
be treoted qs though it were Doricn qs above.

4. C-gb6(t,b3,b6,hg)

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q. Aeoliqn rom the chord tonic - C, D, Eb, I G, Ab, Bb, C

b. pcrrentscale is q minor 3rd cbove - Eb, F, G, Ab, Bb, C, D, Eb
c. be-bop mixolydianfrom b7 of the chord
:
d. minor pentctonicrom h4 o chord
e. Aeoliqn is otentreqtedqs cruL/i(F-g) with Dorian cpplicctions to
e
upper stnrcttue o chord.

5.C tb?l,-nb- glc (I,b2,\4,h5,b6)

a. Phrygranrom chord tonic - C, Db, Eb,F, G, Ab, Bb, C

b. pcrent scolelocatedq M3 below - Ab, Bb, C, Db,Eb, F, G, Ab
c. the use o "colors" cnd effectsis recommendedwith Phrygian,i.e. trills,
tremolos,etc.
6. CA7 #4, C^#4 (l,l 3, #4,17)
o. Lydion rom chord tonic - C, D, E, F#, G, A, Bh, C
b. porent scale a P4 below - G, A, B, C, D, E, F#, G
c. minor pentctonic rom h3 o chord ot \7 o chord
d. It's best to qvoid tonic and ISU qt cadences.

7.C^8(t,! 3,h7)
Stt

This is the chord o the pcrent lonicn mode; it is used in possing chord
sections in this lpoup o compositions. Sequentiql motivic development is
suggested or those crecs.

:"ll

GROI'PB,CHORDSDERTIIEDFROM MELODTCMrNOR(ASCENDTNG)
AI{D ITSMODES
Additional scales used for improvisction within this grroup:
I. cugrmentedscale - 1,3, l, 3, I, 3...etc.This scqle is constructed
from the 2nd degrreeo the porent melodic minor scale.
2. dominant diminished scqle - I,2, I, 2, I,2, I, z...etc.This scale
has some notes which conlict with the chord spellings but can
be used with Dorian 17 qnd Lydicn Augmented as will be
shown below.

l. Cmin4 C-a(I,b 3,h6,17) melodicminor- C, D, Eb,F, G, Al, Bh,C

q. Doriqn \7 from the chord tonic, it is olso the pcrent scale
b. cugmented scqle rom the 2nd degrree
c. cqutious use o dominqnt diminished rom the 17

2. CA +5, CAf(l, 3, +5, \ll

c. LydicnAugmentedromthe chordtonic- C, D, E, F#, G#, A, Bh,C
b. pcrent scqle c min. 3rd below
c. qugmented scqle rom h7
d. dominqnt diminished from h3
3. Cfh I (1,b 3,b 5,b 7, hg) tt"tt diminished nqtural 9

t."t tonic- C, Dl ,Eb,F, Gb, Ab,Bb,C

o. AeolicmLS
b. pcrrent or:nd q m3rd obove
c. augmented scole rom f4 obove
d. also known qs Locri qn 12

4. Db+/C, Bb-^/C(I,b2,f 4,h6)

q.Phrygranq6
fromthechordtonic- e,Db,Eb,E,G, Af, Bb,C
b. pcrent scale ound a M2nd below
c. augmented sccle rom chord tonic
NOE: An cugmented hiod is or:nd rom the b3rd o the pcrent scole, (C, D, Eb, F,
G, A, Bq, C) - one should ind this useful.

GROUP C, CHORDS DERI1TEDFROM HARMONIC MINOR AND ITS

MODES
There is only one chord used rom this pcrent scole; it is the 6th mode, Lydion

#2.

ca f,' , stc, coa(r,#2,#4,qn

Lidi"n #Zfrom tonic- C, D#,8,8#, G, A, Bh, C

".
b. pcrent scale ound q M3 qbove E, E#, G, A, B , C , D#, E
c. beqted as q oA , or cs Ab7+9/C, domincntdiminishedsccle from the h7
of the chord ccrnbe used.

CONCLUSION
The improvisor of modql music does not hqve pre-lecrned hqrmonic voicelecding or "licks" qccumulcted through prcctice and perormcrnceupon which he
or she ccn rely. With ii-V-I music, in q sense, one has only to learn one tune qnd
apply thct knowledge to all ii-V-I tunes. Improvising over modcl chord chcnges
with their seemingly crbitrcry root movements reguires one to leqrn each
composition qs <Isepcrcte entity; to memorize the contours, the emotionql rise and
qll and rhythmic tension and release.
This does not mean thct one must abandon the bebop vocabulory. Tlte jazz
lcngrucge,dyncmic qnd evolving, still is to be considered crscrwhole, including the
earliest and the contemporary. VVherethe use o the bebop mixolydicn scale or o
ii-V pcrtternsover q sus 4 chord or cny o its reloted modes is entirely appropricte,
the use o ornqmentction and symmeticcl phrcsing is less desirable.
Reference to the listening list is shongly advised, cs in the opinion o this
composer, the soloists on the recordings qre among the best in this style. Make
special note o the vcriety o qrticulctions, qsymmetrical phrclsing cnd emotionql
contour

LISTEMNG LIST:
l. Miles Dcvis, Sorcerer, Columbia PC 9532
2. Herbie Hancock,Mcriden Voycrge,BLP 84195
3. Dcve Leibmqn, Drum Ode, ECM 1046
4. Chick Corec, Irnproviscrtions, ECM 1014,1020
5. Art BIckIey, Moscic, BLP 84090
6. JoeHenderson,Powe to the People, Milestone W24

Ron Miller, 1985

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