TOM QUAYLE

FUSION ESSENTIALS VOL.1

Hi there guys and first of all let me thank you for taking the time
to check out -this, my first package for Jamtrack Central! I want to
thank the JTC guys for asking me to do this and I’m honoured to
provide you all with some fun and challenging tracks to jam over.
The idea behind these tracks is to provide you with a series of five
diverse charts that reflect the kind of chord changes and grooves
you might encounter in a real world fusion session. Some of these
tracks represent quite a challenge to play over but with patience and lots of practice you’ll find yourself pushing
new boundaries in your own playing. I can’t stress enough that fret board knowledge will be your best friend here
and taking the time to learn your scales and arpeggios will reap huge rewards in all areas of your playing. I’ve
provided you with chord charts and scale suggestions for each track. These are informed by the way I think and
play over these kinds of chord progression and give you an insight into the thought process I use whilst
improvising. Let’s have a more detailed look at each track in turn.

Stevie’s Groove
This is a great starting point for players who might be daunted by the more complex chord progressions associated
with fusion. I actually named this ‘Stevie’s Groove’ after playing over this at the NAMM show in LA whilst Stevie
Wonder walked past with a big grin on his face – I like to think he was enjoying the groove! This tune contains a
long 16 bar A7 vamp allowing a lot of scope for experimentation. Start by using a simple A minor pentatonic and
playing your favourite blues licks, trying to lock into the high energy time feel and groove. Once you feel
comfortable you can experiment with the A mixolydian scale for a more melodic and modern sound. For the more
adventurous player you can try using some more ‘outside’ or tense sounds. I use the A Lydian Dominant and A
Diminished Half Whole Scales for some modern, Scott Henderson-esque sounds. Try using an A major triad and
moving it up and down in 3 fret intervals for a cool and easy ‘outside’ lick. For the second section we have
descending dominant 7th chords – C7, B7, Bb7 and A7. For a simple approach use an Am pentatonic scale over all
four chords (being careful to only use the notes in the scale). For a more authentic ‘fusion’ sound outline each chord
using a mixolydian or Lydian dominant scale from the root note, as I do in the video. For an extra added twist you
can outline an E7 chord in the last 2 beats of the progression by playing an E Superlocrian scale leading back to the
A7 in bar 1 again. Good luck!

Minor Intentions
Minor Intentions is a standard ‘jazz style’ minor blues in D with a twist in the turnaround during the last two bars.
The -9 symbol means minor 9 if you weren’t sure! You can start by using a basic Dm pentatonic over the whole
track – blues licks work great over this kind of progression but you must be careful with note choice on some of the
chords. Use your ears as your best guide. For a fusion approach use Dorian scales from the root note of the minor 9
chords. In bar 4 you’ll find a D7alt chord leading to the Gm7 in bar 5. Here you should play a D superlocrian scale
(mode VII of Eb melodic minor) or you could use an F minor pentatonic. The last four bars represent more of a
challenge but sound great when you get it right. Over the Bb7#11 chord use a Bb Lydian Dominant chord (mode
IV of F melodic minor) and A superlocrian (mode VII of Bb melodic minor) over the A7alt. For the turnaround
we have minor 9 chord descending by a semitone. I used minor pentatonics and dorian scales from the root note
of each chord and played over the B7 to A7 using an A superlocrian scale, leading back to the first bar. This section
works great with Dm pentatonic blues licks if you don’t want to worry about all those scales! Have fun!
Heartland
Heartland is an emotive ballad in 6/8 but with chord changes reminiscent of Herbie Hancock or Wayne Shorter
modal tune. The first thing I recommend with tune is simply playing chord tones, getting used to the 6/8 feel
as this can represent a challenge in itself whilst improvising. In the first section we have three minor 9 chords
from E, C# and D root notes. I use Dorian scales over each of these from the root note of each chord (I always
think from the root note of every chord I play over) but I also really like the sound of the minor pentatonic a
4th below the root note giving us Bm, G#m and Am pentatonics respectively and I make extensive use of this
sound in my solo. For the A7sus I use an A mixolydian scale and a B Superlocrian scale over the B7alt. You’re
probably noticing by now that I really like the 7alt chord!
For the second section we are in the key of D and I use a Gmaj7 chord and Dmaj7. The triangle or delta symbol
means major here and Dmaj7/F# symbol means that the bass player is playing the 3rd (F#) of the chord in the
bass. I use G Lydian and D major over these chords – they are essentially the same scale so feel free to think D
major over both chords but be careful to play chord tones for each so that you outline the sound of the chords
as you play over them. For the Gm7 and A7sus I use G Dorian and A Mixolydian respectively. The only other
new chords are the F#7alt (use F# superlocrian) and the B7sus to B7b9 in the final bar. For the B7sus to B7b9 I
use a scale called the B Mixolydian b9 – simply a mixolydian scale where the 2nd note has been flattened by one
fret. This fits over both chords and sounds great leading back to the Eminor9 in bar 1. Good luck!

Djunkology
Okay, time for a bit of modal gypsy jazz! Fusion and gypsy jazz don’t normally mix but the whole point of fusion
is to splice together elements from different genres for a new sound. You don’t need any gypsy chops to tackle
this tune but I guess they’d sound cool. I have none so I tackled this tune with my fusion sensibilities instead. If
you want to inject some gypsy sounds into your solo try approaching each chord tone from a semitone below,
moving up or down through the arpeggio required.
I purposely picked a Gminor 6 chord for this track because it lends itself well to a gypsy sound and allows for
the use of both the G Dorian and Melodic Minor scales for added creativity. The natural 7th interval (F#) of the
melodic minor scale sounds great in this context so experiment with it as much as you can. Over the Ab7#11
chords I use an Ab Lydian Dominant scale (mode IV of Eb melodic minor). The #11 in the chord makes it
Lydian and since it’s already a Dominant chord this scale is the most appropriate.
The last three chords are F#maj7, F7sus and D7alt and require F# Lydian, F Mixolydian and D Superlocrian
scales respectively. If you aren’t familiar with the scales I recommend using chord tones to construct melodies
and gradually building up your scale and fretboard knowledge as you go. Pay close attention to your time feel
here, as you’ll need to swing those 8th notes to make them lock in with the track. Happy swinging!

Hopes in the Sun

Hopes in the Sun is the longest and possibly most complex progression on offer here but it looks a lot worse
than it actually is. As with the other tracks you’ll see lots of minor 7th chords on offer here and you can use
the good old minor pentatonic or dorian scale from the root of each chord. The majority of the progression is
made up of Dorian sounds with a few other chord types for colour and forward motion. Treat the F# and Bb7alt
chords as we did with the previous tracks using Superlocrian from the root note. For the B7#11 use B Lydian
Dominant.
The new chords that we’ve not encountered yet are the A13b9 and F13b9’s. These come from the Diminished
scale and act as V chords leading to their I chords in the following bars. This V-I movement is the most com-
mon progression in western music and this is just a fancy version of this kind of movement. Use A Diminished
Half Whole and F Diminished Half Whole respectively.
I really hope you have fun with these tracks and my solos. If you’re new to this kind of playing take things slowly
and try not to become overwhelmed with all of this information. Fusion requires a lot of knowledge but it is not
hard to understand with the help of a good teacher and is certainly not ‘rocket science’. Trust me, if I can do it
then so can you!

All the best,

Tom

Gear used: -
To record these tracks I used my Suhr Classic and Standard through a Carl Martin Plexitone and Wampler
Ecstacy into my Port City Pearl 50w Head. The signal was recorded direct using a Motherload Elemental into
Logic Pro where Reverb and Delay was added in the DAW.