What Pat Martino Taught Me

[@jayumble8390]

Thank you Richie for this video! A couple quick stories-- 1) Pat always said that 'complexity is automatic' in regards to his minor reduction system to improvisation. With this minor system, you are always substituting a minor tonality for a given chord, so the element of complexity is automatic. 2) When I studied with Pat in the early 80's Pat was charging $25 an hour (one lesson) but my lessons were almost always 2 - 3hrs in length! Oh, and one more...3) when he was teaching me his minor system, one time he wrote something out for me and said "you may choose some different fingerings but in any case (he looked me straight in the eye and said) get it done". I just nodded yes! Thanks again Richie!

[@stevengrinold7631]

thanks for sharing this! Wow, I wish that I had met him and/or studied with him. I would just nod "yes" also! 🙂

[@Theworkingbassplayer76]

Thank you so much Richie. Pat is our John Coltrane!

[@RichieZellon]

Good way of putting it! Thanks

[@sclogse1]

A lesson at this level keeps reminding me of the chord I'm stuck in. D-mentia.

[@TheTwangKings]

What Pat Martino taught me is to appreciate jazz in general and jazz guitar and fusion in particular. Ever since I heard Consciousness, I was hooked!

[@LooMinn]

Richie, I saw Pat at a Philly hometown gig at Grendel's Lair. He had just released the Starbright album and his performance was mesmerizing. After the groups last number, Pat came off stage and greeted some audience members. Approaching him I said, "Mr. Martino that was a religious experience." He just smiled, and there wasn't any hint of ego in his affirmative smile. Not to get too 'hippy-dippy,/new agey' but Pat Martino seemed to be a gentle soul of a higher order.

[@RichieZellon]

Absolutely! Thanks for sharing.

[@handlethisyoutube]

It's bittersweet when a great musician passes. We mourn the loss but get to celebrate the legacy. Thank you as always for sharing.

[@randyhetlage9202]

God bless ya, I knew Pat and I was in berklee in 77 as well... Pat was super kind and a true genius. He will go down in history as the best of the best. Amen.

[@JBGuitarInstruction]

I was fortunate to get a lesson with Pat a few years ago. One of the few times that I’ve met a hero and he was more than I expected. A wonderful human being and I still cherish hanging with him. RIP Pat Martino. ❤️

[@chrisdavis5051]

Hi Richie...I studied with Pat for a bout 4 months at his home in Philly. This was 1979, again before he had his surgery and around the Starbright /Joyous Lake era. When I saw the notes he had hand written on your video, it instantly took me back to that time. He was a very inspirational teacher and a true innovator on guitar. He influenced so many of us. I will miss him and his music and will treasure the brief time that our paths crossed.

[@RichieZellon]

Yes, sounds around that same period of time. Thanks for sharing!

[@m.vonhollen6673]

Here’s an intro to Pat Martino’s: SYMMETRICAL PARENTAL FORMS. There are two, the 3-note Augmented triad (1-3-#5), and the 4-note Diminished 7th chord (1-b3-b5-bb7). 1: Play frets 554 on the GBE for C+ or Caug. You can make/parent 3 major triads by moving any one of those notes DOWN A FRET. You can “parent” 3 minor triads by moving any one of those original notes UP A FRET. - You can now make/parent 6 other triads out of any Augmented triad, 2: Play 4545 on the DGBE for a Diminished 7th chord named for any of those 4 notes: F#, C, D#, or Adim7. Lower any of those notes and you will form/parent 4 different Dominant 7 chords (1-3-5-b7). Another new power! (Edit) I forgot that if you RAISE any of the Dim7 notes, you’ll “parent” Half-Dim7 chords (min7b5). - So that’s 8 chords parented by that one Dim7 chord. - - - There’s much more to Martino’s observations, but this is fact and not open to debate. It’s how the guitar “works”, just as CAGED is. - Pat Martino RIP … a lifetime of great guitar!

[@voronOsphere]

Great comment!

[@skipneumann1]

Great story of a wonderful week in your life. My introduction to Pat was a cassette course on lines- I can still remember when he spoke in that fantastic deep voice- “Pattern number 1” he was a genius. Thanks for the video

[@RichieZellon]

Yes, he was a genius! A scientist of the guitar!

[@permarshall]

wow, i was the paper boy for Pat who lived on the same block and regret not taking lessons

[@aflightofbumblebee749]

Hi I just wanted to add one thing regarding the inversions of the diminished chord that occur every minor third,and that is that the procedures you showed at the. Outset,such as lowering a note a half step to create a dominant 7,reproduce themselves in each of the subsequent inversion of the diminished chord,which whilst itself remaining the same shape,finds the same notes changing strings as you move through all the of the 3 inversions.What this means is that you can then locate the same note as you do in the first diminished chord,which you lowered to create the dominant 7,and then lower it again in each of the subsequent 3 inversions,and this gives you all 3 inversion of the same dominant 7th chord.This works for all of the other modifications of the original diminished chords you described no matter what set or string group you use.Thank you for your lessons BTW.!... Pat Martino RIJ (Rest in Jazz!).

[@RichieZellon]

Thanks for sharing!

[@stumpshot70]

I had the privilege to see Pat several times since about 1999. Such a wonderful soul who contributed so much to this great art form.

[@mackvismusic8622]

Thank you for sharing this story of wonderful human being.

[@seventhsamuel]

I too had the good fortune to study privately with Pat... and I am glad that you also felt he could be a little too estoteric, and while Im glad I got the chance to, I think I learned more from transcription of his solos and music. Still, his octave displacement sheets were something I dont think anybody else quite had in their style, and I think part of his methology was influencing the student in a different since then just learning music vocab. His biggest influence was of "the moment" for me. It stung a few days because I was listening to him November 1st in the morning and come evening I read he had passed on. Rest easy and enjoy the gig in the sky Pat!

[@RichieZellon]

Yes, thanks for sharing!

[@brianpurcell5379]

Pat was such an influence and inspiration to me. My heart broke. Great video

[@francescacarcassi116]

In other words he came up with all the drop two and three voices on all string sets through five diminished chord shapes.Genious:) Great leason

[@joephillips4082]

I never had a private lesson with Pat Martino, but I sat through a seminar he taught on some Saturday afternoon in the 90s at NYU. I had had seen him perform several times and acquainted myself with his concepts and approach. I remember a star-shaped diminished illustration he used to show the chords derived from the diminished chord, related ii-Vs, altered scales and the interchangeability of the chords and scales around the points of this star. My head spins remembering it. I never consciously employed any of this but I was deeply impressed with his development of an entire musical philosophy around these concepts. Oh, yeah, and was a brilliant performer and composer. We'll all miss him. Thanks for sharing your memories of him.

[@RichieZellon]

Thanks for sharing Joe!

[@voronOsphere]

Excellent Lesson! Thanks! Subbed!

[@percyplumlight1854]

Thanks so much.

[@DavidBrown-ez5jc]

Excellent thanks so much a clear explanation firmly locked in my mind a great education and good educater you are Dave from uk

[@RichieZellon]

Thanks David, glad it was helpful!

[@lacloche649]

Thanks a lot Sir !

[@billdowney1487]

Great story

[@Clown321321]

Thanks a lot for sharing your story. I also had the good fortune to meet him after a gig in Vienna in 2018. He was such a kind soul. Best regards!

[@vintagebikes4215]

Superb video...will play along carefully and make fingerings study. Videos like this require preparation, knowledge, and skill...thanks for taking your time to produce.

[@alejandrogualtero7585]

Thanks for this video!

[@RossMcMorgan]

Thank you very much for sharing these concepts and stories with us! Love pat so much. Time for me to do a deep dive into his music.

[@RichieZellon]

You are so welcome!

[@fer7068]

I missed his concert in Buenos Aires few years ago, and they tell me there were a clinic after the show, but Pat kind gave a lesson to the audience. At that moment I thought that he would come back soon. But that never happened at last. TT__TT Thinking of this makes me feel sad... RIP Pat...

[@RichieZellon]

Gracias por compartir!

[@jjsbluz6081]

Thx once again sir! Nice recap of a Master Class of Pat's, RIP, that I took quite a few back

[@tenbroeck1958]

Pat Martino will be a Physics professor on his next voyage. He nearly was this time.

[@aeter00]

Thanx a lot Richie for this great gift you have made to us !!! Your YT channel is a true source of information and inspiration. 👍🏼👏🏼🙋🏻‍♂️🇮🇹

[@RichieZellon]

Thanks, much appreciated, enjoy!!

[@eliaspap8708]

Great lesson, unfortunately I never did, but I would have loved to have met Pat what an amazing person and Icon of the instrument. The way I match the Related dominant 7th chords to the diminished 7th intervals is easy, well for me anyway, all the 4 notes on the diminished scale represents a major 3rd interval of 4 different Dominant chords, so I just look at the diminished visually pick out any note and than derive based of that note which Dominant chord uses that as its major 3rd and it’s a simple as that.

[@robertbalogh1656]

This is part of what Harry Leahey taught me back in the late 60's and early 70's and are part of Dennis Sandole's teachings. A man Pat also studied from as did Harry.

[@jazzey69]

Another fantastic lesson Richie...Thank you ..:-)

[@RichieZellon]

My pleasure!

[@tomculhane6648]

Good lesson and summary! Thanks

[@binface9]

Great tip. I've enjoyed using it similarly to derive new m7-5 voicings and, by transitive property, m6 chords

[@leighfrancisnemenzo9012]

Glad to have found your channel sir! I know nothing about jazz but my guitar professor introduced me a book called 5 linear expressions by Pat Martino. Immediately I got so curious about it. If your mentor was Pat then it's just like learning from Pat himself (maybe I'm exaggerating but that is how I see it). From today I will be watching your videos!

[@shanehen]

You can also use these “offspring” (as PM called them) as improvisational “outside but related” subs. It’s all in how you resolve the lines to make it sound cool. If you study it carefully, one of these offspring dom7 chords accounts for the famous b5 or tritone sub. I think of it as 4 key centers that are related in a “family.” There’s one instructional video where he demonstrates this, though he always played in “minor” (really Dorian) a 5th higher than the dom7 chord. If you pay attention to the notes in each, you can see that this will allow you to cover complex chords like +5 and b5/b9 chords without having to learn a bunch of harmonic/melodic minor modes.

[@jacklutz588]

you ever check out barry harris theory,? this is the stuff he explore

[@richardsorice4509]

Hi Richie, I guess we must be around the same age. I saw Pat play duo with Bobby Rose at a small restaurant in Pittsburgh, guessing around 1976 or 77. I graduated from college in 77. Around the same time I saw him do a clinic at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. I saw him do a clinic at a music store in Louisville, KY. That was around 1995. I had a chance to chat with him at that one. We connected a little bit, talking about Pittsburgh organist, Gene Ludwig, who he had played with. I also had the good fortune of seeing him perform with Joey DeFrancesco at a Casino in Rising Sun, Indiana in the early 2000's. Yes, all the 12 point diminished theory makes sense. He called it 'Automatic'... I, also thought that to be a bit esoteric. Was glad to hear him say he would transcribe Wes Montgomery and Sonny Stitt into the wee hours of the morning.

[@RichieZellon]

Thanks for sharing! I can see how he was influenced by Sonny Stitt. I have several of his transcriptions and after analyzing them, I've found lots of the same concepts present in Pat's lines. And the Wes influence of course is a known fact. Pat was Wes on steroids with a pick! :)

[@randyhetlage9202]

berklee 77 that is where I know you from . Bless ya.

[@tomhackett126]

This was great as I have seen this approach explained a couple of times and until your vid, did not really get the concept in terms of how to actually apply it until today.

[@RichieZellon]

Thanks, glad it was helpful!

[@victormusic01x]

..hi Richie!..it looks like you arrived at Berklee a few years before me..incredible that you were able to be in the presence of a master musician like Pat Martino RIP for even a short period of time..thanks for sharing some of his ideas and thoughts on theory..stay strong and stay safe man..New York November 13, 2021..

[@RichieZellon]

Thanks!

[@williamrobinson7061]

To simplify one thing, string groups D & E have a bass note on strings A & E, which is very guitar-centric in that guitar chords will have a root on those strings, if you need a root there.

[@JohnA000]

Sorry to hear of Pat's passing. Richie, I went to Pauls Mall and the Jazz workhop back in the 70's. I saw a lot of really great artists there, including, George Benson, Earl Klugh, Horace Silver, the Brecker brothers and a lot of others. In fact one afteroon I met GB and EK in the Wurlitzer shop trying out a pickup for Earl's guitar. btw do you remember the 56 Les Paul in the Wurlitzer shop that had pearl inlay a nude woman on the neck?

[@RichieZellon]

Yes, a lot of great music at the Jazz Workshop! As far as the Les Paul, I don't remember it but I'm sure it was around the same time. I remember going to the Wurlitzer shop and buying a used Gibson Super 5. They said George Benson had just been there recently trying out that guitar!

[@JohnA000]

@@RichieZellon Funny how some things stick with you for so many years. Never knew you went to Berklee. I had a friend who went there about that time. My friend Steve, a keyboardist, went on later to become one of the vocal teachers there.

[@EmilioAlbertoSoltero]

I do not find this lesson on premium could you tell me which one is thanks

[@RichieZellon]

Sorry, there is no download for this lesson.

[@TheTwangKings]

Not his only fusion album. There was also Stone Blue. 😊

[@RichieZellon]

Personally, I don't really consider it fusion just because there are a few funky rhythms. Unlike all the synths on Joyous Lake, on Stone Blue he plays with a clean straight ahead sound and a more organic rhythm section. But then again, who cares about labels if the music is good? :)

[@TheTwangKings]

@@RichieZellon Exactly! And the music is GREAT on pretty much every Pat Martino album, from first to last!

[@alancosens]

I first found Pat's teaching of how the various chords derive from the Aug and Dim parental forms about 16 years ago and since, spent a lot of time hearing Barry Harris teach the same and still, I have no idea how this is actually valuable in playing. Seems to me that it's just as easy to simply learn where the intervals are within each of the 5 main positions so that you can easily form the chord voicing you want. But, maybe I'm a giant dumbass. If anyone can clue me in as to what it the real world use of this knowledge, beyond simple curiosa, I'd love to see what it is.

[@RichieZellon]

In all honesty, the least important and useful aspect of my brief study with Pat, was this concept that you are referring to, that I teach in the video. I have never met another musician who uses it, and there is a reason why it isn't taught at any jazz school. That said, the most practical and useful thing I learned from Pat was how to take a 4 part closed 7th chord and turn it into drop voicings. At the time very few people were teaching that, and he showed me how to organize every chord family and its inversions into different string groups. Today that is common knowledge. However, people initially seem to be interested in this "esoteric" aspect of Pat's teaching as if it is going to magically make things easier. Yes, it is an interesting perspective to "theoretically" understand things but in the practical sense, it doesn't make things easier. As far as Barry Harris goes, I have a video where I explain his concept but also comment on the aspects I don't necessarily like or would use. And while on the subject, I have similar feelings towards the Lydian Chromatic Concept and Slonimsky. I've studied them all and they have widened my theoretical perspective and understanding, but in practical terms, I can't use them in any significant way.

[@williamrobinson7061]

I''d also like to note that Martino doesn't teach scales; he derives his notes as musical phrase-entities or melodies from chords in whatever position can cover that chord. So he really thinks in position patterns by ear.

[@VoodooDewey69]

Mr Martino was an icon who influence many guitarists

[@stanls265]

Relearn to play guitar by...........LISTENING TO HIS OWN RECORDS! 🙂

[@yusefandersen]

That just proves that he was... An Alien! 🎉

[@aynrandy1]

Why not just learn your dominants the old fashioned way! I went through both of his courses about this and I thought it was overrated, just a bunch of dominants scattered all over the place . But since he was pat martino, it was supposed to be some great revelation.

[@eastweymouthchris]

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