Practicing Double Thirds in Soloing

The last thing I'd like to point out is his use of double thirds, especially towards the end of the solo. For that reason, it's worth getting into the habit of practicing in double thirds.

Starting with F Minor

• For instance, on F minor, the first five notes of the scale in double thirds use the five finger position.
• You might want to do that starting on the third.
• These are all Dorian phrases, D natural, not in the key signature, or starting on the fifth.

All of those phrases will sound great with the F minor 9 chord in the left hand.

Playing the Dorian Scale in Double Thirds

Let's now try playing the whole Dorian scale up in double thirds.

1. I'm going to use what's called two group fingering.
   • That's my first group: the first six notes of the scale.
   • Then I'm crossing over onto C and E flat for the second group, like a five finger position on C.

You can't just use your five finger positions because there are seven notes in the scale. That's why I'm starting with one and two.

Application of Double Thirds Technique

You'll see Horace Silver makes frequent use of that double thirds technique.

• Now, that fingering (this two group fingering) can be applied to any scale, but the thumb might be in a different place.
• With E flat 7, this is going to be Mixolydian.

If you put the thumb on E flat, it's not going to work so well. You want to really save the thumb for the white notes.

This time, you'll also need a D flat in there. So, I'd suggest that you start with three and five and then do your two group fingering.

Using Fragments and Textures

But again, if you just want to use fragments of that:

• Notice I'm starting and finishing on notes of the chord, 7th and 9th, 5th and 7th, 3rd and 5th, all back to front.

This method of thickening is really an important part of creating texture in your solos.

If you look at the way he finishes his solo, it consists of massive block chords.

These are big, chunky voicings:

• Four notes in the left hand
• Three notes in the right

He uses that to signal the climax of his solo. You wouldn't necessarily want to start a solo like that; save it until the end.