Dear community, as I see sometimes very serious and advanced discussions here about music I feel encoureged to ask you for your help in understanding Lydian Chromatic Concept of George Russell.
I understand just a begining I mean a concept of using strong perfect fifth intervals to build a scale but i have no idea how to use it practically in jazz improvisation and chords building. I did not found easy in understanding tutorial about it in internet. I want to assure you that I have no Foster like intention in starting this discussion but rather seeing some serious music minds on this forum I would like to ask for a help in understanding and incorporating this concept in real live..
Thank you

 

Hi,
the best thing to do is to get his book ! You find copies easily on the web just google the name and add "pdf".
Then study it, and take what helps you.
It is his concept to explain and organize things.
Some players do not explain things in that way, but they play.
It is the reslult that matters.
Personally i do not use this.
And i do not agree with saying that "the star spangled banner is a lydian melody".
But off course i have deep respect for Mr Russel.
But really, i do not think that it s anything miraculous, or an approach that would facilitate one's journey in the musical universe.
He explains things from his point of view, in depht. Giving other names to things that exist etc...
Honestly speaking, will it affect your musical life to think that "the star spangled banner is a lydian melody" ?

 

To know what can be done with it at a performance is to google the author because it is almost always a guarantee that the furthest extreme of their theory in practice will be exercised by the author.
If you google and go to youtube you will find a pile of his musical resources. New England Conservatory still teaches some of his methods.
George's goal always had at the core Lydian in some form. People have said "Oh that's just a variant of the cycle of fifths" - All music relies in one way or another on the cycle of fifths or refers to it in one way or another, even good improvised music at it's root. It wasn't really based on that, he always started based on the Lydian. If it followed a cycle, so be it. It's not that simple but it was at the core. You have to read up on it and see it in practice to hear how it is a little different. To extrapolate it would be a short story.
This video is from around 1989 and it uses his ideas in his compositions. His tunes were always very difficult to perform but incredibly adventurous and alternative. Andy Sheppard taking the front role for George's lines.

 

Last edited by a moderator: Jun 16, 2021