: Used over dominant chords to create a tense, modern tension that resolves cleanly to the tonic.
Despite the complexity of his harmony, Scott Henderson never loses the blues. He often merges blues licks with outside playing.
Search for on Sheet Music Direct. You can download chapters as PDFs. This book includes full transcriptions of "The Chicken" (a masterclass in pentatonics over funk) and "Primitive Humor."
A specific example of his revolutionary approach to the pentatonic scale, also covered in the DVD, is the concept of shifting a minor pentatonic shape up or down to create new colors. For instance, playing a scale over a B minor chord creates a distinctive, "outside" sound (C#, E, F#, G#, B) that adds a unique flavor beyond the familiar B minor pentatonic. This exercise teaches you to inject unexpected but musical tension into your solos.
Over an altered dominant chord (e.g., G7alt), Henderson frequently utilizes the Melodic Minor scale up a half-step (Ab Melodic Minor over G7). This provides the crucial tension tones: (Ab) #9 (Bb) b5/#11 (Db) #5/b13 (Eb) Pentatonic Substitution
If you download a PDF claiming to contain "Scott Henderson's Secrets," verify it includes the following elements. A legitimate educational PDF will deconstruct:
By systematically applying these phrasing techniques, intervalic patterns, and harmonic concepts, you will move past standard scale boxes and capture the volatile, deeply expressive essence of Scott Henderson's jazz fusion style. If you want to tailor this guide further, let me know:
Instead of stacking chords in standard 3rds (root, 3rd, 5th, 7th), Henderson frequently uses chords built in 4ths. These sound ambiguous, modern, and open, allowing the soloist immense freedom.
This comprehensive guide breaks down the core pillars of Henderson’s improvisational philosophy, providing you with actionable concepts to incorporate into your own practice routine. 1. The Foundation: Melodic Phrasing Over Technical Flash
He rarely just runs up and down a scale. Instead, his lines are engineered to land rhythmically on the 3rd or 7th of the underlying chord, especially during crucial chord transitions.
Download the raw materials (the PDFs), but supply the sweat, the swing, and the attitude. That is the only way to truly unlock the Henderson method.
Henderson treats rhythm guitar and comping as an extension of improvisation. You cannot play his single-note lines effectively without understanding how he visualizes harmony underneath.