Lydian Chromatic Concept of Tonal Organization for Improvisation

by George Russell

Composer, theoretician, band leader, George Russell, first published the Lydian Chromatic Concept in 1953, and, for almost 50 years, worked on further refining it. This result is this final edition, published by the estate of Mr. Russell. (www.georgerussell.com) "Surpasses any musical knowledge I've been exposed to." Ornette Coleman. "All of the music's most important developments from modal improvisation to electronics...to free form atonality to jazz-rock have taken cues from Mr. Russell's pioneering work." Robert Palmer, The New York Times.

Genres: Music, Art

Paperback

First published February 28, 2000

About the author

There is more than one author in the Goodreads catalog with this name. This entry is for George ^2 Russell, 1923-2009.

Reviews

[Gabriel Lima · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is a reason the Lydian Chromatic Concept is so misunderstood: this book is very poorly written. George Russel uses a very thick proprietary languages that it is hard to wrap the head around, creating a lot of new terminology to describe already known concepts. It also doesn't help Russel wastes a lot of the book on a very flimsy theory of where his theory comes from rather than explaining how to use it.

That said, if manage to get past all the language the book is written, the ideas in it are pretty interesting. Want a recommendation? Before reading the book, check out the YouTube videos by rfruehwald, 12tone and bebop review. They will make your journey easier.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

incredible

[Samuel Cho · Rating 3 out of 5]

The good: a total reorganization of our understanding of western harmony. Many things are phrased as to prevent ambiguity. Thorough examples of everything supposed in this book.

The bad: too technical, with terms that are so similar, it is easy to confuse. I mean, there is a principal chord and a primary principal chord, both of which are different things.

Conclusion: worth the read to slowly toil through it. Come out at the end of the reading journey (importantly, application) with a new framework to understand music through.

[Jeremiah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not going to claim that I grasped every bit of the concept on first read, but the book as a whole revolutionized the way that I think about melody and chord relationships. I'm looking forward to reading this again and going through all of the exercises. This book has opened up a whole new realm of compositional possibilities, and I'm anxious to begin exploring it.

[Joe Chiari · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most inspiring pieces of work and certainly the most inspiring one based in music theory. A must for any serious student of jazz or classical composition and improvisation

[Firoze · Rating 1 out of 5]

Reads like pseudoscience. A couple of simple points floating in a river of bluster. My only disappointment this summer.

[Bruno · Rating 2 out of 5]

The concepts taught might look mathematically nice and be conceptually interesting but I found it practically useless (if not detrimental) aside from giving you a couple cool chords.