Jazz Guitar Structures — MINOR TETRACHORDS

A Minor Tetrachord is made up of the first four notes of the Dorian Scale. These four-note units easily lend themselves to being moved around and combined in different ways. They are easy to play on guitar and can be used to great effect in creating complex lines.

 
A typical line created with Minor Tetrachords:
Note that the structures imply harmonic motion different from the underlying chords, creating an unexpected and interesting melodic contour.  
There can be a strong chromatic component to lines created from Minor Tetrachords, especially when resolving by half step between chords:
In the above example, nine different notes from the chromatic scale are present, starting with C in the first measure and ending with F# in measure two.  
Minor Tetrachords can be used to create a Diminished Scale (implying just the G7) over ii-7b5 V7 i-7:
The E and D at the end of bar one surround the Eb in bar two by half steps, above and below.  
Anticipating or delaying the starting place of the respective structures in relation to the movement of the underlying chords is an effective melodic device:
This creates momentum and makes movement from chord to chord less predictable.  
Minor Tetrachords are also useful for implying other tonalities over static harmony:
 
Next: Etudes
INTRODUCTION 6
How to Use this Book 7
Suggestions for Practice 8
Scale Syllabus 9
MINOR 7 ARPEGGIOS 10
Fingering 12
Facility 16
Common Chord Types 20
Minor 7s — ii-7 V7 I Maj7 40
MAJOR TRIAD +2 48
Fingering 50
Facility 52
Common Chord Types 56
MA+2s — ii-7 V7 I Maj7 74
MINOR TETRACHORDS 80
Fingering 82
Facility 84
Common Chord Types 88
MTs — ii-7 V7 I Maj7 104
STRUCTURES • STANDARD TUNES 108
Etudes Based on Standard Tunes 111
STRUCTURES • NON-FUNCTIONAL TUNES 118
Etudes Based on Non-Functional Tunes 122
STRUCTURES • MODAL/FREE TUNES 128
STRUCTURE SYLLABUS 134
CD CONTENTS 136