Micro and Macro Music Analysis

Are you learning new licks but having trouble working them into your solos?

Micro and macro music analysis can help.

I use the micro/macro terminology in response to a question I get all the time:

“How should I analyze scale degrees? By chord or by key?”

Let’s have a look at the lick below to dig in further:

First of all, analyzing scale degree numbers is an important step in understanding, internalizing, and implementing new vocabulary in your playing.

You can do this analysis a couple of different ways…

The micro approach is to figure out the scale degree numbers in relation to the chords, and the macro approach is to relate everything back to the main key center.

So, in the ii V I lick above, we could do a micro analysis like so:

The A is the 5th of D minor, so we write 5 underneath.

In a macro analysis, that same A would be a 6 because A is the 6th scale degree in C major:

Making sense?

Good.

But the question remains…

“How should I analyze scale degrees? By chord or by key?”}

In other words, which is better: micro or macro?

Ideally, you should be able to do both, but I recommend starting with micro. Yes, it requires you to “switch gears” more frequently, and you need to reorient yourself every time a new chord comes around rather than just settling into a single key center.

But I promise, it gets easier with practice and is well worth the effort!

Here’s why…

Once you understand the theory of a hip lick, you’ll be able to figure out why you like it and can then repurpose that musical truth nugget again and again when creating licks of your own.

But whatever you do, don’t waste your time analyzing lousy vocabulary. Understanding the innards of a lame lick ain’t gonna do you much good.

Truth is, I want you to feel great about your solos as quickly as possible, which is why I created an entire series of easy-to-play, pro-level jazz, bluesy, and modern lines called Sick Licks.

In fact, that ii V I line shown above is from Sick Licks – Classic Edition, Level 1. You can get the whole book and other editions from the Sick Licks collection here.

Yes, it takes a lot of work to get new lines to come out organically in your everyday playing. But by taking the time to analyze good quality lines, you will dramatically speed up the process.

Alrighty, time to get after it. Go get yourself some Sick Licks and start analyzing and internalizing today!

Happy Shedding!

Jeff