Derryl Gabel – Outside Secrets 1

(For other DVD’s by Derryl see Pentatonic Passages, Creative Tapping Techniques, Cool Legato Phrases and Cool Legato Phrases 2 )

Outside Secrets 1 and 2 (review coming next week) are further releases by Derryl as he educates and enlightens the guitar playing masses about various concepts and techniques, these however are a little harder to review than some because there’s a great deal of theoretical knowledge contained in the two DVD’s and I’d like to present a balanced view of the pair without becoming overwhelmed with jargon.

In order to do that I’ll say from the outset that there are some players who will absolutely wallow in the depths of the subject and thoroughly absorb all the principles without pause -- most likely the more advanced Jazz/Fusion players to whom playing outside is a familiar concept. Less advanced players or those without the knowledge of theory and harmony may struggle to grasp the entirety of the video at a single sitting -- but take heart!

The beautiful part about Outside Secrets and other releases from Derry is that he of course gives you all the information you need to tackle the subject in the form of .pdf and PowerTab files covering scales/modes/arpeggios/chords/soloing formulae and all the other essentials of music theory so that you have a constantly available form of referrence for when you find yourself out of your depth -- they were a constant help to me whilst reviewing these DVD’s and I would class myself as a player than fel into the latter category. The fact that I had chord voicings, progressions, scale patterns and forumulae to refer to was incredibly helpful…not to mention that Derryl also includes three backing tracks in mp3 format and a further 14 for the .SGU (Band in a Box) format.

A further innovation is how the tablature for the licks is displayed -- individual sections are colour-coded to indicate which mode, scale or arpeggio the phrase is built on and makes it incredibly easy to follow harmonic ideas and passing tones.

For the first examples in Outside Secrets 1 Derryl explains how he improvises over a ii-V (for example Dm7-G7) / D Dorian progression. Starting with the initial choice of D Dorian and adding in chromatic passing tones he then goes on to provide further examples using the minor pentatonics in the key (so Dm, Em and Am) before heading into outside territory by utilising D Melodic Minor. F Melodic Minor is used next to give the b5 and #5 so in order to avoid mentioning the many other devices he looks at (and spoiling the suprise!) let’s just say that there’s a lot of material to choose from and of course some accompanying examples putting these concepts to use over a progression.

Not only is the “Parker” concept (Melodic Minor scales up a minor third) covered, but also the “Coltrane” concept (up a major third) which of course provides a different selection of outside tones -- there are other methods of approaching outside playing (neighbour tones, sidestepping, tonal substitution) but clearly covering every single one in the space of an hour-long video would be impossible…..because in Outside Secrets 1 Derryl also covers improvising over a minor and major blues progression!

Great value for money, and a huge wealth of material.

Rating: for those who appreciate outside playing and wish to incorporate it into their style on a solid theoretical basis.

Rating: for those who are new to the subject and only because there’s so much material that it can become a little overwhelming even with Derryl’s clearly explained and thorough examples.

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