Greg Howe explains playing outside, live clinic @ Kauffmann's Guitar Store

Many thanks to the good people at Kauffmann's for supplying the opportunity to ask the question that has been bothering me since the first time I heard Greg's playing: what is going on in Greg Howe's head when he produces those flurries of juicy outside notes? You may have to watch this clip several times to capture all the nuggets of wisdom that are in there! Also, Greg plays an amazing improvised solo over a static A minor vamp.
Sorry for the drop outs, my new JVC video camera had some trouble.

[@georgejordan5611]

Greg's a humble, polite, relaxed guy. I complimented him via email back in 1998 on his first cd's that he released and he got back to me the next day with some kind words.

[@thekylegreene]

"taking a familiar pattern and raising it up or down half a step, then trying to resolve it somewhere that feels right" ...that's pretty much an education on outside playing in a nutshell. greg freakin' rules.

[@guitaristinterrupted3558]

Thank you sir! I hope you're right...

[@Shredberry]

Thank GOD OP stabilized the footage. True legend. Ofc, Greg is beyond just a legend lol

[@Rhenry412]

Thank you for stabilizing the video!

[@roba1899]

He's falling down the stairs and landing on his feet. He may not be able to describe everything from a theory standpoint but that shows his genius of HOW something is going to sound .. his brain just takes his fingers there .. he feels so much of what he's doing and it's this passion that's so great on the ear and why everyone's gravitating toward his playing.

[@paulprice6330]

That's what I like about Greg he is down to earth. Monster player but very grounded.

[@EricBlackmonGuitar]

Picked up some cool solo ideas here! Thanks Greg!

[@TLMuse]

Fantastic discussion of the role of harmony in improvising based on a scale or mode-thinking in terms of families of arpeggios to guide note emphasis. I would have liked to have heard more about that. Thanks for posting this!

[@Geert.Van.Boxelaer]

Amazing player, and apparently amazing educator ! :) Thanks for sharing

[@delbedinotti6622]

I know this is old but I have never heard Greg explain music or his own playing or the way he sees the fretboard in this distinct articulate way. Awesome content. Thanks for uploading one of my favorites.

[@stringsnare]

Amazing. Thank you

[@diasspeed]

lol half the guitarists of the world must be using this backing track!

[@SVATTIMO]

Very informative, thanks Greg

[@user-fb7dd7ek8h]

in order to continue Greg Howe's music and technical ability phrasing and inside look into the mechanics of his mind to a degree, with this video we can bring greg howe's influence, essence and human qualities into the future ....His music is the pinnacle of jazzrock fusion, style...introspection way back , deadly ....that album in my opinion humbles a player to focus and hone their discipline on learning and studying playing, and learning to learn better ...

[@gmailaccountk406]

You are right man. When I tried jump start I was like thinking "Yeahhh time to work on my technique."

[@kilterkaos1]

Very Cool Indeed!

[@shaleensharma2731]

Thank you for uploading this

[@mikebonmusicph]

Amazing greg howe!

[@sunnys5150]

How do u explain whats in ur heart?? Age old question. Howe is simply phenomenal!

[@impacc]

Pretty cool stuff! He's really just explaining typically jazz improv techniques. Side slipping to get outside notes. Also, sounds like he uses a lot of substitution like playing Major 7 lines over dominant chords which is something Wes Montgomery did all the time. Gotta know your arpeggios!

[@flayman22]

I wonder whether Scofield knows that he's one of Greg Howe's favorite guitarists, and what he makes of that. I grinned when I heard him say it. Sco probably wishes he had the chops to play like Greg, but he doesn't need them and they wouldn't fit his style. The most impressive thing about Greg Howe though is his humility.

[@tonyrobertsguitar]

Maybe Yngwie didn’t “invent arpeggios”, but he sure as hell brought them into the rock/metal world. All of a sudden, everyone started doing it based on his model. GH is still the best All-Around lead player in my eyes. Feel, technique, style, rhythmically, fusion/metal/rock/bluesy shredding, and unique approach to arpeggios. He does it all.

[@IbanezFan550]

Uli Jon Roth was playing arpeggios in a rock context in the mid to late 70s...

[@TomGoldsmithguitar]

Well demonstrated bro

[@KarolKomenda]

great! Thanks!

[@vaibhavjoshi9141]

I think melodic minor is a common way of getting outside. It's a crucial part of Tom Quayle's sound as well. And somehow I feel undermined if I think of stepping outside by the mere idea of half steps. It sounds random but does happen naturally with the momentum. Will get to know more with time.

[@beeastman1235]

Anyone can expand on the superimposed arpeggio idea for outside sounds? Fmaj over C7 is that what he said?

[@BassGuyNL]

+Beeastman123 Actually, Greg says "I see the fretboard light up from the perspective of the parent chord scale". In his example he plays a C7 chord. The only major scale that has a C7 chord is F. Therefore, Greg visualizes the arpeggios from the F major chord scale. At 5:18, he demonstrates a very common super imposing idea (in a different key, though): an Ebmaj7 arpeggio over a Cmin7 chord produces a Cmin9 sound. At 6:56 Greg plays an F#min7b5 arpegiio over an Amin7 chord, which produces an Amin6 sound. The natural 6 will give the chord a Dorian sounding tonality. At 6:56, Cmaj7 arp over Amin7 = Amin9. Since all these notes are diatonic to this "parent chord scale", the results will not sound very outside. It will, however, make your solos sound more "classy', for lack of a better word. While it did not really answer my question, I was very thankful for the opportunity to get a look into Greg's thinking. You can produce more outside sounding results when you superimpose triads and arpeggios from the altered scale of the dominant chord you're playing over. Some people think of this as the melodic minor a half step up, but I find it easier to treat it as a separate scale. Check the internet what chords belong to the altered chord scale and try the arpeggios over your dominant chord. This will produce the tonic, 3rd and 7th of the dom7 chord, but also the b5, #5, b9 and #9 which are the really juicy notes!

[@Danumurti18]

I thought it was very complicated theory, but it's just half step up or down and then end it with correct note?

[@dr05guitar]

I don't think he's saying that that's all of it, but that is a good place to start. A lot of jazz players are re-harmonizing things in different keys for brief moments, which gets that outside sound, but I think there are many different ways of doing it. I don't really understand it all myself, just my basic understanding on it.

[@manguera9]

this is weird for guitar player ,there are substitutions ,mode scale. the are a to lot talk for piano players ,you just use the tensions of a chords. thinking chordal helps ,and is more easy

[@LUITEN1]

what does greg say at 6:20? Is it "superposition"?

[@BassGuyNL]

Super-imposition. Greg uses the verb version super-imposing several times.

[@brianwarner308]

is that mic on?

[@davejackson88]

Enigmatic john scofield

[@martinbaldy]

I have no idea what he's talking about.

[@pleximanic]

Obviously not Greg Howe either.

[@bryansphere6359]

Sloppy and senseless! Is he freaking drunk?

[@TheOpinionatedGuitarist]

Bryan Speer I think it’s the tons of delay that everyone feels compelled to use nowadays. It makes everything sound slurred n muddy to me.

[@jeanfrancois7597]

thanks you open my way