The Dorian Improvisation System

By Graham Tippett

Over more than two decades of playing guitar, I’ve come to see the Dorian scale as one of the most useful in modern music. More than just a mode of the major scale, it transcends genres and playing styles with its unmatched versatility, providing a pathway from rock and blues that extends all the way to funk and jazz fusion.

What I want to show you in this book is just how versatile the Dorian scale is and how, by starting with the minor pentatonic, we can access a vast range of Dorian scales and be able to improvise over pretty much anything.

If you know your minor pentatonic scale (or even if you don’t) and want to take it to the next level and beyond, this book will open the door to more inventive rock and blues soloing, as well as providing a way into funk and even fusion improvisation. I’ll also show you how to apply every scale/improvisational device in this book to chords and chord progressions.

This is not a modes book; it’s an improvisation system featuring 100+ diagrams based on the Dorian scale through which you progressively learn how to access a wide variety of other scales and improvisational devices and techniques that you can apply to your playing straight away.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Unlock the Guitar
• Release date: Mar 18, 2020

Book preview

Word

Introduction

Over more than two decades of playing guitar, I’ve come to see the Dorian scale as one of the most useful in modern music. More than just a mode of the major scale, it transcends genres and playing styles with its unmatched versatility, providing a pathway from rock and blues that extends all the way to funk and jazz fusion.

What I want to show you in this book is just how versatile the Dorian scale is and how, by starting with the minor pentatonic, we can access a vast range of Dorian scales and be able to improvise over pretty much anything.

If you know your minor pentatonic scale (or even if you don’t) and want to take it to the next level and beyond, this book will open the door to more inventive rock and blues soloing, as well as providing a way into funk and even fusion improvisation. I’ll also show you how to apply every scale/improvisational device in this book to chords and chord progressions.

This is not a modes book; it’s an improvisation system featuring 100+ diagrams based on the Dorian scale through which you progressively learn how to access a wide variety of other scales and improvisational devices and techniques that you can apply to your playing straight away.

Let’s get stuck in!

Graham Tippett

www.unlocktheguitar.net

The Good Old Minor Pentatonic

For guitarists, the minor pentatonic scale is a double-edged sword. While it’s great for getting your soloing skills up and running, it can get stale pretty quickly, and you may soon find yourself stuck in a rut. In this book, I