Guiding Tones

On the track “Hip Side” from his new album, Avatar, Gonzalo Rubalcaba makes stunning use of space. As a result, when he unleashes his monster chops, the lines stand out in even greater relief. Even though this solo contains many sophisticated harmonic and melodic components, Gonzalo knows how to use simple structures to great effect. Let’s take a look at some of the progressions and voicings that Gonzalo uses in his “Hip Side” solo, things that we can practice and use to create our own hip solos.

Ex. 1. Gonzalo begins his “Hip Side” solo sparsely, with right-hand single-note lines. It’s not until measure 11 that he introduces his first left-hand voicings. In keeping with the sparse beginning, Gonzalo’s initial voicings are bare-bone structures. These two-note chords contain the crucial tones — the third and seventh — which reveal the chords’ quality and function. In Gonzalo’s solo, he plays an Ab and Db first for Eb7, thus making the chord an Eb7sus4, which quickly resolves to an Eb7 when the Ab resolves down a half-step to the G. One can also think of this as Bb-7/Eb to Eb7. This ii-V movement is common to many songs. By first playing the guide tones in your right hand, along with the roots in your left hand (1a), you will get a grasp on the sound and function of this simple yet essential voicing. Next, play the voicing in your left hand, and see if you can hear and/or sing the corresponding roots. Due to range restrictions of keyboards, when transposing voicings, it’s necessary to rearrange the notes in order to keep within an acceptable range. As shown in 1b, by flipping the order of notes from seventh and third (for the minor chord) to third and seventh, you can take these voicings through the rest of the keys.

Ex. 2. Later in his solo, Gonzalo adds another note to the voicings in Example 1. It’s a ninth; along with the other two notes, this forms a Db major triad. Db/Eb is another way to notate Eb7sus4. When the Db triad is played over a Bb, it’s a Bbm7, the F being the fifth of the chord. That same note becomes a ninth when we change the root to Eb. Play these three-note structures in 2a; changing the sequence of notes enables application in other keys, as in 2b.

These files correspond to the lessons and Hot Solo transcription starting on page 32 of the May ’08 issue of Keyboard. All files performed by Scott Healy.