Lessons

Oz Noys
Schizophrenic
Solo
By Mike Swickis

J OHN ABBOT

The following examples are

all inspired by ideas in Oz Noys solo on
Schizophrenic, the title track off his 2009
album. The goal here is to introduce ideas
that dip into jazz territory while staying in
a funk/rock context. Some of the licks will
include the use of whole tone, diminished,
chromatic, altered, and bebop scales, and
well also discuss devices such as octave
displacement and motific development.
The basis of the solo is a C tonality. Think
C Mixolydian, C minor pentatonic, or even a
C7#9 type of vibe. Most of the solo is over a
C root, but it moves to a C7-F7 progression
later on. Ex. 1 is based on a C minor pentatonic with familiar passing tones inside
the typical box, but the three-note motif
sets up a slightly outside direction before
resolving back to a bluesy lick in C. Each
three-note motif moves from its starting
note up two consecutive semitones. The
first one begins on the b7, then the b3, natural 5, and finally the b7. Its not a scale,
but the clarity of the three-note motif holds
the idea together.


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Ex. 1

T
A
B

92

10

8 8 9

10 9 10

8 9 10 11

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8 9 12 9 12 12

8 9

11 8

11

10 8

10 8 10

10 8

8 (9) 8 6 5 (6)

      
  
      
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Ex. 2

T
A
B

5 6

6 7

8 9

8 8 8
7 9 7 10 9 8

 
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Ex. 3

T
A
B

13 10 12 10

10 9 7

10 9 8

10 8 7

10 9

10 9

                           

















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Ex. 4

T
A
B

10 8 10 8

8 9

8 9 9 10 8
10 8 10 10 8 8

10 8

8
9 10

10 8 10 10

10

8 8 8
9 10 10 13 11

11 12
13 11 10 11 13

12

11 13

Ex. 5

       
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T
A
B

10 11 12 10 7

10

10 9

Oz played bebop for years and has a

strong foundation in the vocabulary of
that style. The next couple of examples
will touch on some bebop-type sounds.
Check out Ex. 2, which takes the C blues
idea and stretches it with a C half/whole
diminished scale (C, Db, Eb, E, Gb, G, A,
Bb). This creates more tension, leading to
an idea that uses the C# Dorian mode with

11 10 8 7

a b5. The idea resolves with a lick in the C

bebop scale (C, D, E, F, G, A, Bb, B, C). Ex. 3
uses the same C bebop scale but with a b5
passing tone (C, D, E, F, Gb, G, A, Bb, B).
The next few examples are played over
the new C7-F7 progression as the structure moves away from the static C tonality. These ideas stay inside the harmony
with the exception of a few passing tones

for embellishment. Check out the use of

motific development in creating clear phrases
that connect common themes. Ex. 4 uses
a C minor pentatonic scale with a natural
3rd over the C7 and an F minor pentatonic
with a natural 3rd over the F7. Next, in Ex.
5, Oz uses a straight C major scale with
one chromatic passing tone (Eb) over the
C7 and moves to an F Mixolydian mode

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Lessons
Pat Martino. While octave displacement can
be used with any scale, Oz goes with the
chromatic scale in Ex. 8. Notice how the F#
on the high E string is followed by notes
two octaves lower, with the F, E, Eb, and D
on the low E string. Its still chromatic, but
by jumping two octaves, a different effect is
achieved. This happens again with the G#
on the high E string, which moves to the
descending pattern G, Gb, F, and E on the
low E string. The solo closes with a couple of

with a C# passing tone on the F7. Sticking

with a motif based on four-note groups,
Ex. 6 stays in C Dorian (C, D, Eb, F, G, A,
Bb) with the exception of passing tones on
the second note and a major 3rd (E) at the
beginning of the second bar. Ex. 7 begins
with a simple C major triad before going
off into a C altered scale (C, C#, D#, E, F#,
G#, A#), which really builds the tension.
The next idea uses one of Ozs favorite
devicesoctave displacementinspired by

very fast whole-tone ideas in F, one of which

is illustrated in Ex. 9. There are a couple of
passing tones that embellish the beginning
and end of the lick (Ab and Gb respectively)
and there is a Bb on the and of two, but the
sound is unmistakably whole-tone. Hopefully after hearing how Oz uses these concepts you can take your solos into some new
creative areas. If you are really ambitious,
try learning the entire solo, which is available at guitarplayer.com. g

Ex. 6

     





 

    
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T
A
B

10

11

10

11

8 11 11 8

11

12

8 11

12 15

Ex. 7

12

13

12

13 13

13

13 9

10

9 13

13

13

15 18

17

13

15

Ex. 8

                  
4


4
T
A
B

15



    

    

14

13 14 15 16

16 17 19

4
      

 4      


12

T
A
B

13 12 11 10


       


4

  




  

4

3
  
   

20

15 14 13 12

Ex. 8

T
A
B

1 4 5

3 5 7

6 8 11

9 13 11 9

10

12

7 5 3

2 1

M ORE

ONLINE
See Mike Swickis demo this lesson.
Get these links and more at
guitarplayer.com/april2012

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