Things to Play on the Guitar Thread

[4real]

Well...I seem to be 'wood-shedding' a bit lately, learning a few new 'tricks' and remembering a few old ones...so I thought I'd share.

Some might come from me going through hours of instructional Vids that I have around here that I am trying to copy to DVD...some from listening, some from trying to find some way of navigating through a song...some just for fun or exploration...

This last thing is very important to an 'practicing'. If you do a lot of 'scales' or whatever, you can lose sight of the 'fun' and musicality of playing the thing. It's even easy to get carried away with modding guitars and not putting the same kind of time into playing a few things...

...

So...here's a couple of things that might open some doors to your own explorations. I think that learning a few simple tricks from anyone gives you food to adapt them to your own playing...

Mark Knophler...we all know that sound, so does everyone else. Besides his picking style and strat tones and melodic sensibility...he has a few neat things here and there that few seem to pick up on...and a masterful use of arpeggios to really bring out the harmony he is playing over.

In sultans, the chords are Dm-C-Bb-A starting the solo. The first line simply spells those changes in fifths above the roots...so the notes A,G,F,E with a bit of decoration. then for the A chord he plays this neat trick...

------------------------9--12--b13r12 10---------------------------
---------------------10----------------------10------------
-------------------9-----------------------------10-------
----------------11----------------------------------12-----
---------<12>----------------------------------------------
---<12>----------------------------------------------------

those first two notes are harmonics and the whole chord 'rings together'...climbs up a straight A major chord, down a Dminor chord...simple and effective.

...

I suppose there are things like this we all had to learn at one stage. Another is the Slash thing from 'sweet child of mine'...

I cringe at it, but I figure I should know it and it is clever and effective...and a great cross picking thing and an interesting idea to perhaps pinch sometime....

---------------15---14-------------------------------------
-----15--------------------------------------------------
--------14-12---14---14-repeat----------(12)------------
--12----------------------------------(14)-------------------
-------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------

around the D open chord up an octave but angular with the octaves and fifths and fourths as well. This "ostinato" repeats over and over but every second repeat follows the chords D-C-G by altering the first notes so D, E and G (E being the 3rd of C)

...

Ok...so I got that down pretty quick and a good exercise...but i get bored easily I guess.

So, i got to thinking...hey there are a lot of notes here that are natural harmonics...hmmm

so, came up with this...

-------------------------------------------------------
----------------------7----------------------------------
------7---12--5-----------repeat-----(12)----------------
--12---7---------7-----7------------------------------------
-------------------------------------(7)------------------
-------------------------------------------------------

kind of tricky and anti intuitive...but turns out you can play the whole thing with open string harmonics...even the run down at the end into the song (g,a,f#,a,e,a,d,a)...see if you can find them!

Now you got the same thing but with extra points for novelty value and learn a new skill...and saved from mind numbing boredom once you have the original down...LOL...unless you are a 'G'n'R fan, then you can pretend you are even better than slash!

...

Ok, one more from today's adventures...

I heard a Brad Paisleey album recently called play, which has a hot rodded surf thing called "turf's up"....starts off with this 'classic hawaiian lick sounding like a pedal steel or something...and he did it without even a trem....

---------------8~~~-----11b12------------------
--------8b10~~~~-----12b13----------------
---7b9~~~~~~~-----11b12-------------
-------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------

This is a real 'cliche' i guess, but it does the job...but on guitar a real finger stretcher.

You have to bend and hold that, while bending the string under that, and holding that...both perfectly in tune...and then play and hold the high e string...then he does that 'surf approved' half step bend move...but on his tele he bends an entire D shaped chord to end on a C major chord...perfectly in tune...me I'd use the trem to get the kind of sound. This kind of bending things are all over the hot country players stuff...

Although these moves may sound very country generally...they can be adapted to rock and blues and even jazz effectively if played with a different feel and context...and by pinching from the best and adapting to a different style, might even claim to come up with something "unique" or identifiably "you" in your playing....

....

You can and probably should run around scales and learn chord theory and such....i did...but then you need to take a break and apply that, even in small ways...and have a few recognizable licks to pull out of the bag, or unique kinds of twists on things that make them your own...and of course playing the guitar should be fun!

That knophler kind of thing that's all over his playing, might help you make sense of arpeggios and motivate you to learn them...that harmonic trick...you'd be surprised what you can paly with open string natural harmonics...work out the notes and relative octaves of the 4th frets and see how many tunes you can play...I learned the melody of 'wicked game' the other day with them....multiple bent held strings, looks and sounds impressive when in tune...good practice for that right there...came up with an original tune the other week just from trying something like that but bending three strings and holding melodically and making the harmony as well....before I heard of Mr Paisley doing something similar...all goes into the 'bag of tricks'...

...

Having a lot of fun lately stealing all kinds of things from the 'masters' so will share what I remember or come up with in my practice sessions....

"Speed" as a factor in determining if you are a "good guitar player' is so 80's now...I'm hardly a 'shredder'...but I do know a few 'head turner' moves and keep the harmony and melody in mind...as in these examples.

[irwired]

Thanks for the great content and the investment in time to share your insights.
When i started to play back in the 60s i learned from friends, we would get toghther and share what we were working on.
The web expands the neighborhood.

Thank for your generousity.

IRW
PS nice sunset photo on the guitarnuts2.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=tech&action=display&thread=5147

[4real]

Thanks IRW...actually taking photos is my 'other' hobby lately and sunsets a specialty...that's my view from my front door so I have hundreds...



Jan 1st, 2011...but I'm starting to branch out now summers come...

And with the summer comes the people and bikinis and surfers and (hot rods this weekend) and so one turns to surf (though apparently it's all rockabilly in the car culture...so maybe I'll learn something)...

So, turn up the reverb and play some surf...

Any genre can have it's particular skills to learn...many are transferable and it's all good..."surf" has some 'obvious' moves...

the glissando and double picking. Instead of practicing scales one note at a time, do them picking twice per note (alternate picking)...then work up to quadruple picking in the same time (or more if you dare). Slide down a string timing it right so you hit the target note at the time you should with quadruple picking and you have the 'classic' surf glissando...but dont forget that damping is really important to this move so you can't be flailing your picking hand about.

Same move with two strings and you have a 'bigger' version...do it with a chord. Most common is the low string going down but you can do it on any string (listen to dick dale) and either direction.

Instead of straight 8ths and 16ths mix things up for a more complex percussive thing.

...

Other moves is to take a chord and lower and raise a semitone...in tune and time. Good to restrict this to a a three note triad to sound more 'authentic'...

I'm sure there are lot's of places to pick up on the 'surf cliches' about...

Another is a heap of damping moves...fairly extreme gives you that popping sound with the reverb or echo...damping is such an important part of any technique and this genre tends to really hone these skills.

...

But the big thing with 'surf' is that it is really 'melody based' and precise. You tend to have to play clean and can't cover your mistakes with a wall of distortion. Sounds 'simple' but really expressing a melody can be tricky...many really can play all kinds of blues or shredding licks but can't play a simple melody to save themselves.

I found this to be a hugely important skill...so 'practice' will often consist of trying to play whatever tune is in my head at the time. Just find those notes, find all kinds of ways to play it, add bends and slides, harmonics, open strings, damping, picking styles...everything you can think of...add some harmony behind it, play the melody in a harmony of thirds, sixths, 4ths...whatever works.

It's amazing how this adds to your 'melodic' sense in whatever you play...cuts right back on the 'noodling' as you will start to be able to play what you imagine as you improvise, helps with making up new tunes, pushes you out of the 'boxes'...might learn some new 'scales and such, but also how to apply them..common target tones and skips and repeated notes, melodic direction and 'shape' to melodies.

...

Another thing is to open yourself up to outside influences...yeah, like sunsets! So, I was lying about the beach and going for a bit of a dip, seeing the surfers and....well...



Waves, my new photo challenge...though it's more what was in them that was 'inspiring' yesterdays tune...

I kept having the aussie song "Girls on the Avenue" in my head... ...and so when i got home I worked out a 'surf version'. Learned the melody and chords in every kind of way, every octave and technique that seemed to 'suit'...

Then I worked on the fabulous clean harmonized licks throughout the song that really is the "hook". Very similar to the sound of "Ventura Highway" that I suspect influenced it. Basically in thirds but with a quick triplet thing that's going to be hard on one guitar...and then of course, I'm going to have to get from quite high in the register back to the bottom end of the guitar to play the chords and 'melody' thing as well...hmmm

What I came up with amongst others (key of C) is this...

--12---12--12--12----0------------------0-----------------------
--13---12h13p12--------13--<12)---------8-----------------------
-------------------------14--<12>--------9------------------0----
------------------------------<12>--------10-------------2------
---------------------------------------------x----------s3--------
---------------------------------------------8------------------

So, it gives the 'sound' of the lead line in thirds, that triplet hammer/pull of move though keeps the high e thing as it's quite fast...adding an open high E makes a neat Am triad with extra 'surf' approved twang...if by chance you touch the open sting there you'll ping off a harmonic which also sounds good (adding a harmonic in the same register as other notes tends to lend that harmonic 'tone' to all the notes...see 'harp harmonic technique of someone like lenny breau or Tommy Emmanuel)...finishing with the 12th fret harmonic continues the third harmony line on the D string...now you have your hands free to move...

The C major chord is typical of the way I play...the high e doubles the E on the g string for a 12 string effect and playing the bottom note with the thumb hendrix style and leaving out the 5th on the a string gives it more 'space'. Add a tremolo surf dip and vibrato on this chord....then it's a quick move down to the open strings to play the melody, or on another verse you can play it in the register of this chord...you can even play it in a very deep baritone in parts using the open E even though in the key of C...

This song alternates at first between C and Am after this lead 'hook' btw...for the Am version of this 'chord...you can use this again doubling the e... x-0-10-9-10-0

Glad you like the pics IRW and hope there are some idea that can be pinched...if you can't get to the surf, it's actually a good idea to open yourself up to the kinds of things that inspired whatever genre you are going for...check out old blues record covers for instance and try and express that musically...get yourself in the 'mood' and express it as best you can...

[4real]

Ok...a bit rained down here in Oz...even if a world away from the flooding...

So...remembered a little 'exercise' to play with.

Many will know this idea to get all your fingers working...

-----------------------------------------------------1-2-3-4------------
-------------------------------------------1-2-3-4----------------------
---------------------------------1-2-3-4---------------------etc-------
-----------------------1-2-3-4------------------------------------------
-------------1-2-3-4----------------------------------------------------
---1-2-3-4--------------------------------------------------------------

The idea is to do this on every fret up and down...also skip strings...also leave out a finger...also...stretch the intervals between fingers...also do all this with every conceivable sequence of digits...

1 2 3 4
1 4 2 3
1 3 2 4
etc...

attempt to play them in triplets to get used to changing time across string jumps...also...work the dynamics moving slow and soft...work on different damping and tonal things...double pick all of the notes, quadruple pick for surf stuff...etc...

Play slowly with alternate picking and build up speed...metronome or drum machine and make it all even...this exercise builds strength and independence which can be good even for chord work...

Not the most 'musical' thing...but useful to get that little finger into play and to work on speed...mostly I find it helps coordinate the right and left hands getting rid of "flams"...

...

I wouldn't play the above for too long myself as it has little musical value...but here's something interesting....


----------------------------------------------------------4-5-6-7-------
------------------------------------------------5-6-7-8-----------------
--------------------------------------5-6-7-8---------------------------
----------------------------6-7-8-9-------------------------------------
----------------7-8-9-10-------------------------------------------------
---8-9-10-11--------------------------------------------------------------


--8-7-6-5---------------------------------------------------------------
------------9-8-7-6-----------------------------------------------------
----------------------9-8-7-6-------------------------------------------
--------------------------------10-9-8-7---------------------------------
--------------------------------------------11-10-9-8---------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------

This gives you the chromatic scale over two octaves from C to C.

Notice that it is a symmetrical scale and has an interesting spider like movement across the fret board...the exception being on the B string where the 4 fret pattern stays in the same position.

There are a few symetrical patterns and these kinds of playing them I call "spider scales" and will post a few more...

...

Meanwhile...last night's amazing sunset...



Been a lot of rain here in Oz...one of those 'worst natural disasters' that seem to happen all to often in this country. Those dark bands are rain bands coming through just as the sun had disappeared into the sea...the sky was lit up for hours and changed from a golden to deep purples, pinks and blues till well into the night...

[4real]

Here are some more 'spider scales' to practice crawling across the fretboard...don't forget to work both up and down the 'board

-------------------------------------------7-9-11----------
------------------------------------8-10------------------
---------------------------6-8-10--------------------------
-------------------5-7-9----------------------------------
-----------4-6-8------------------------------------------
---3-5-7--------------------------------------------------

This is the whole tone scale...on the B string you need to not shift and only play two notes. This is a good stretching thing too...I tend to play it 1st, 2nd and 4th fingers.

-----------------------------9-12-------------------------
----------------------8-11--------------------------------
-----------------6-9-------------------------------------
------------5-8------------------------------------------
-------4-7-----------------------------------------------
--3-6----------------------------------------------------

This is the diminished arpeggio...symmetrical minor thirds...watch the b string skip there.

Perhaps a more practical way of doing it is....

-----------------------------6-9-------------------------
----------------------5-8--------------------------------
-----------------6--------------------------------------
------------5-8------------------------------------------
-------4-7-----------------------------------------------
--3-6----------------------------------------------------

or...

-------------------------6-9-----------------------------
----------------------8---------------------------------
-----------------6-9-------------------------------------
------------5-8------------------------------------------
-------4-7-----------------------------------------------
--3-6----------------------------------------------------

The diminished arpeggio is extremely useful in all kinds of musical styles and worth learning and getting used to the sound.

-------------------------------------------------------------------11-12-14s15--
---------------------------------------------------10-11-13s14--------------
--------------------------------------8-9-11s12------------------------------
-------------------------7-8-10s11--------------------------------------------
-------------6-7-9s10---------------------------------------------------------
---5-6-8s9---------------------------------------------------------------------

The above is the half/whole tone scale...you can do a similar thing by reversing the intervals to whole/half tone scale...you could try stretching the 4 fingers...I tend to put in slides and reversed likely a slide on the first finger...you can add slides in various ways that can sound fairly expressive or time them so you don't hear them, just moving the fingers.

...

There are lots of ways of learning such scales and they can be an interesting sound and you are learning some more musical moves and thinking more than some of the other 'exercises' that people recommend.

However, if you do too much of this stuff, you can get up a lot of 'speed' but loose expressiveness and musicality. Better to practice these things in moderation just to get your fingers working well and coordinated. Learn to see where these kinds of scales can be used (usually over a V chord) to inject some more unusual colors into any style.

[irwired]

Thanks for the scales. ;D

I tend to play scales while walking around the house or watching TV when I'm too tired to practice any other way.

It is quite amazing what your fingers can do when you disconnect them from your brain

Great sunset with rain picture. Sky in the desert looks like that at times.
Nice wave as well. Water can be quite challenging to photograph.

Cheers from down upper

IRW

[sumgai]

Jan 13, 2011 12:52:48 GMT -5 irwired said:

It is quite amazing what your fingers can do when you disconnect them from your brain

Not really. Spastic-fingers is a well-known condition, has been for some time. In fact, I'm the poster-boy for this malady, sorry to say.




sumgai

[4real]

Here's an interesting thing to practice perhaps...especially if interested in hybrid picking or classical kinds of things.

I was watching Andy Summers "guitar" DVD which is pretty good and very long (originally 2 VHS) and covers a lot of territory from his newer jazz like music to his Police era stuff...

OK...so I've always thought their song "bring on the night" was fantastic and pinched a kind of villa lobos classical pattern for the verses.

Basically a very fast 16th note picking pattern that repeats in interesting ways with an open high e repeating on top and sixths sliding along the d and b strings. He plays it with all fingers, but you can work it well as a hybrid picking thing with the pick on the D string. For extra points, slightly mute the d string while letting the others ring true and it sounds really neat with a bit of reverb to make it pop...

---------0-------------0-----------------------------------
-----10---10-----10--------10----------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------
--10----------10--------10-----------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------

the shapes you move around in half measure and the above picking patterns are...

----0---0--0--0---0---0----0--0-------------
---10--8--7--12--5--12--10--8-------------------
------------------------------------------------
---10--9--7--12--5--12--10--9-------------------
------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------

If you can do the 'damping' thing, you are well on the way to that hybrid picking /chicken picking technique...but this really sounds lovely and hypnotic on it's own.

The chords in the chorus are simply Em7-F#m7-Am7 ...this is an interesting 'change' as well something akin to the minor subdominant thread. In E, A is the IV chord...F#m the relative minor of A. So, the F#m7 implies a dorian mode where A should be major...but turns out to be minor and a touch of that reflective thing (on the words "I couldn't find another hour of day light")...even though we are in a minor key!



Some local wildlife here, always sunsets...and down here in Oz we are having another of our great national disasters particularly up north with brisbane underwater and the floods affecting all states generally and quite a few dead and missing and many thousands being flooded completely out of their homes. Fortunately on an island there's plenty of places for all this rain to drain...and a few sunny days and a lot of eye candy on the beaches still!

[4real]

Here's a 'chicken picking' exercise (in the key of G) with a real chicken picking sound I thought up (though I am sure it is a common 'technique')...

----------------15--------------14--------------12------------10--------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
--(14-15-16)----(12-13-14)----(10-11-12)---(9-10-11)----------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------


-----------8---------7---------5---------3---------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------
--(7-8-9)--(5-6-7)--(3-4-5)--(2-3-4)---------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------

basically a variation on these sixths which is also a good picking exercise and chicken picking lick...

------15-----14-----12-----10---8----7----5----3-------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------
---16-----14-----12-----11----9----7----5----4-------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------

The top example you mute the g string (or the bottom example too for the 'chicken picking' effect) and pluck the high e with a bit of a 'snap' and ring with the middle finger.

The first example approaches every lower note of the 'sixth' chromatically from three notes below the target which also means that the pattern might start on some interesting "out notes" which country players tend to love and many find difficult to understand note choices, especially when the music is so 'diatonic' generally. It's all in hitting the consonant notes in the end.




Possibly my recent return infatuation with surf music sound lately...with my reverb well a truly set on 7 at the moment...these muted notes give you plenty of 'pop' and "fwip"....

Surf music fans here might be interested in this Melbourne band I discovered recently on the net...

Ben rogers with the suitably titled albums "instrumental asylum", "reverb rehab" and "instrumentally disturbed" LOL...worth clicking on the music player on their site here...

www.benrogers.com.au/

It's an interesting mix of surf and country, pop, rock and django with an unusual distorted tone for a 'surf' band and a hard edge considering the genre.

Worth a listen and check out his page of amazing nutzy guitars...

with a by line of "real guitars for guitar nuts" you know they have something to offer some folks on this forum!

[cynical1]

Jan 17, 2011 4:02:30 GMT -5 4real said:

Walking out of my door I saw -14C with blowing and drifting snow in a 32KM wind that's gonna go all day...

That picture was just cruel...

HTC1

[4real]

14C? oh yeah, winter...oh, -14C, snow...what is that?

I wonder how the 'environment' affects the kinds of things one plays perhaps...I find it's kind of a good idea to try and express some kind of "idea" or 'image' in a lick or a tune...

A technique I really love and sounds kind of 'snowy' or perhaps a gently falling rain is the "harp technique" that I try and throw in on some tunes or arrangements.

As it uses open strings, it works in some keys better than others...but not always your obvious ones and there are lots of them all around the neck, sound pretty and it can be pretty easy to get a lot of 'speed' and a lovely resolving cascades of dissonances...

In Aminor for instance, perhaps as a cadenza to end a song....

----------|-0~~-------------------------------------|--0~~-----
-------3-|----3----0~~-----------------------------|--0~~------
---s5----|-------5-------0~~-----------------------|--5~~------
----------|-----------s7-----------0~~--------------|--7~~------
----------|--------------------s7-------0~~---------|--0~~------
----------|--------------------------s8-----3-p-0~~|-------------

You can work out ones that go "up" rather than fall, but for some reason I always seem to make them descend...if you check out the notes it is just descending the minor scale pretty much but you want all those open notes to ring through as long as possible...

...

A bit of rain here lately and 14C at 8am...been a few 40C days with cooling sea breezes...here's your pic with a lick....



It's amazing what you can do on a guitar if you just disconnect your brain...ummm....whatever the quote was...sorry, was distracted for a bit last summer...clearly a wes montgomery technique there...kids today, I don't know...

[4real]

Well...had an interesting diversion into whole tone scales with Ash coming up with a tune "when things go black"...

guitarnuts2.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=sounds&action=display&thread=5452&page=1

Interesting and made me think about the WT thing again. When discussed above I was really suggesting using some of these symmetrical scales instead of symmetrical patterns as a practice tool.

There is a slight difference...especially makes you think about how the B string tuning affects a pattern...but mainly such exercises help strengthen the hands, build up speed and train finger independence...the main thing to do is to be able to play these kinds of things cleanly and not just go for speed....and to really watch the 'mechanics' of how your fingers are moving...not having the pinky flying out or pushing too hard on the frets...that kind of thing.

As far as a WT "lick" I came up with this kind of thing...

---------------------------------------------------------------
-------2-4------4-6------6-8--------8-10---------10-12---------12-14-------14-16-b17~~
--2-4------4-6------6-8------8-10--------10-12---------12-14--------14-16----
---------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------

It is a two finger hammer on symmetrical lick that spans the octave and gets you back out of WT territory...plus it looks cool working from one end to the other at speed....a cheap thrill!

...

But generally, keeping out of atonal things these days...

I Have been working with Harmonics of various kinds, usually 'natural" and working them in where ever possible.

Here's the "intro" that I've been using on "wonderful land" that came up recently (maj/min thread)...

----15---13-12----------------------------------------------15---13-12-----
--<12~~~~----15-13-15~~~~-----------------------<12--------------
--<12~~~~~-----------------------0~~~~~~~~----<12-----etc-----
--<12~~~~~~-----------------------3-2-0---0~~~--<12---------
--------------------------------------------------3----------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You "rake" through those harmonics (<) and let them ring...there is a 'psycho-acoustic' effect with harmonics that lends the 'flavour' of ringing harmonics to notes played in the same octave, sot he fretted notes have added chime...plus the G chord is sustained so you can do it again in the lower octave as a call and response with suitably twangy open strings allowing you to move back up to repeat. Trem work also helps with "dips" on the last note in surf/shadows style.

...

I've started to work on "sleep walk" again and remembering bits of a cleaver arrangement I was working on it...harmonics and some clever harmony work, substitutions and all kinds of things can be worked into this song.

I remember now why I transposed it from the original C to D major...this is also a handy key for harmonic play and bits of this lay out nicely.

For instance, the opening intro can also be played in D with natural harmonics...and an answering phrase with standard notes. To get them you are going to need a very clean sound and the bridge pickup selected...

-(0)-----------------------------------0--0--0--0----(0)----------------
--3------<12-<7--------------3~~-3--5--7--5--------3-----------------
--2-----------------------------4~~~-------6~~-----2---------------------
--0---<7-----------------------4~~~--------7~~~---0-----------------
--------------------<4~~--------------------0~~~-----------------------
---------------------------0-2-3~~~----------------------------------

..D.......................Bm.........G................A...........D........

Ok...there is a lot there that has become something of my "style"...

There is an obvious JB influence of course...particularly with harmonics (<)...the harmonic just a few mills behind the 4th fret is the note C# making a maj 9th melody note against the Bmin chord.

You should get the melody notes A,B,F#,C# with those harmonics....going to need a bright bridge tone and really hit that 4th fret harmonic accurately and quite forcefully compared to the others which are gentle...

All sustained chords and notes should have a very gentle "shimmer' with the arm and on chords a bit of a half semitone "dip"...use liberal reverb or a touch of background echo to get that 'effect'...sound sound a bit chorus-y....not "out of tune" or too 'sea-sick'.

With the "answering melody response" on the G and A chords to the opening "call" I use the open E string to create a kind of "12 string affect" and dissonance in the key. Sounds very "lush".

Instead of a standard Gmaj chord which also sounds good, I went for a more 'dreamy' major7th with a bit more space between the root note (walked up to with a classic low string Dwayne Eddy kind of sound)...this is a bit of a precursor to the kinds of 'sound' I am looking for the whole arrangement.

I quite like that A6 kind of cadance...but to be more "flash" and to work in some of that "dreamy" V-Aug or WT thing...this is pretty neat...

---------------------------------------------------------------
---------2-------6--------10--------14-------------------------------
-------2-------6-------10--------14----------------------------------
-----3-------7------11--------15-------------------------------------
---0-------0------0----------0-------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------

Simply the Aug triad of A sliding up major thirds to the octave with an A note in the bass. If you wanted to get even more weird "cartoony" and "flash" and turn heads...do the same thing twice as fast, but moving the shape 2 frets at a time up to the octave...

---------------------------------------------------------------
---------2------4----6------8-----10-------12------14------------
-------2------4----6------8----10-------12-------14-------------
-----3------5----7------9----11------13-------15----------------
---0------0-----0-----0-----0-------0--------0---------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------

Now...if you look at the notes in relation to the key of Dmajor...you have a lot of "out notes"...min 3rds (F) and sus4s (G) and particularly the D#/Eb...more important is what it avoids...F# and D's crucial to the D major tonality.

The result is a lot of suspense and a desperate need to resolve it...as a result...hold that last chord and give it a shimmer for even drama!

If you do this kind of move with diminished chords you get that classic "tied to the railway track" suspense thing...with augmented chords like this it should have the affect or "sound" of filling a wine glass right up to the brim...seriously, you should be clearly able to hear that association or image.

It's a bit of melodrama...but as I say, desperately needs to be resolved and a pay off...so as a last contribution, here's the main theme in lush 4 part harmony...

---10~---5~----------------------------0------0~~~-----------------------
---10~---7~---------0~~------------6---6---5~~~----------------------
---11~---7~---------0~~----------7~~~----6~~~------repeat-----
---0~~---------------0----3-7-7b8~~~~----5~~~--------------------
---------------0-----------------------------------0~~~-0-------------
-----------7------0-2-3-------------------------------------7-9------

...D........Bm7.........G................(Bb)........A7..................D....

This incorporates a clever kind of 'country' quadruple stop lick I worked out for it this morning..also touches again on that WT/aug thing.

This is a very slow 'dreamy' tune...so not too tricky. I've used the open strings to give me the B melody note on the G and sustain things as I move into position...and for extra "twang".

I'm taking the melody down to that middle register as an "answer' and bending the D string 7th fret A note up to Bb slowly...it should sound mournful (especially with that wound string) and a sound that you don't hear too often (touches of JB's cause we ended as lovers there)...and then while holding that note you get a cascade or cluster of Bb with the added b5 in there...the F note being the min3rd is also that #5 on the A chord and the open E string is kind of accenting this as the target note...then a straight A7th chord with again that 12 string twang of the open E and fretted E that is the payoff target in the melody.

Such moves are typically done with a kind of hybrid picking but at these speeds, a pick could be used well enough.

...

My thinking on arranging a tune like this is that the melody is an amazing classic and so evocative it needs to be very clear, especially if surrounded by moves like that Augmented credenza. However, the tune has been covered thousands of times and if one is going to do it, probably be a good idea to make it 'special' with a bit of 'tinsel' and flash.

Part of this "style" is by necessity, I don't have the rhythm guitar and so need to express the harmony...plus this is where a lot of the magic lies in this tune. Typically I work with a bass player...we haven't attempted this one yet, not sure if he's familiar with the tune actually.

However, such arrangements can kind of 'stand alone' as a kind of solo guitar thing...so that's an impressive thing to have up one's sleeve.

I have some more "moves" of interest so will probably explore some of those as I develop this thing more.

...

There is no need for "surf" to be dumbed down...it certainly is a bit different than playing the pentatonic blues and in these kinds of things they are very "composed"...even when 'hot-rodded' in this way. However, if you get enough "moves" and ways to play a melody...you can mix and match them to kind of improvise in a way.

For fast "surf", this too has to be kind of 'composed' to play at those kinds of tempos and with quadruple picking and such...but all the same, there is some element of improvisation and skill involved and it is not that different from other styles like 'metal' that work off patterns at similar speeds.

Some of the classic 'surf moves' are kind of subtle but very important. Trem dips and shimmers are noticeable but work between the semitones...you want to keep these things very subtle and controlled and in "time" generally...not just shaking the strings randomly.

In 'arranging' typically the tunes have calls and response in different octaves and move the melodies about especially on repeats between verses...as a one sound instrumental thing, you need to maximize the contrast...this is something Hank Marvin was really good at.

A little paying attention on these things can really help your more typical guitar playing. In a blues perhaps you will be more aware of the call and response and use octave displacement to mix things up a bit...plus you will have a more keen expectation of melody and more aware of being stuck in a noodling rut. AS a practice exercise, working hard on playing actual melodies well and creatively really pays off I think...and there really is only one way to do that.

Some creative or original "moves" (perhaps stolen from different styles or genres) can really set your playing apart and give you a 'recognizable' voice. You can readily see how guys like knophler, beck or gilmour...even guys like clapton...have created a bit of a vocabulary that they draw on...all guys as it happens heavily influenced by "the shadows" sound or at least "approach"...even if it can sound a bit twee after all these years!

Ooops, almost forgot my pic with a lick...



There you go, a life changing sunset in Morengo

[JFrankParnell]

afa the climate influencing the weather, thats what they said about grunge back in the day. The crappy Seattle weather kept everyone indoors and a bit gloomy

[4real]

Jan 22, 2011 21:04:30 GMT -5 JFrankParnell said:

afa the climate influencing the weather, thats what they said about grunge back in the day. The crappy Seattle weather kept everyone indoors and a bit gloomy

Well I don't think there is a debate about climate and weather... ...and a lot of stuff is anecdotal...but something I have thought and heard a bit about in relation to environment and music and speech patterns.

One wouldn't want to discount the social aspects of a lot of music really...and things like "gloomy' seem to be a bit subjective or perhaps in the eyes and ears of the beholder.



With speech patterns, there seems to be some 'truth' that it effects accent and phrasing and general speech patterns and there does seem to be some correlation with music as well...

For instance, I always hear that "big sky" prairie country (minnisotta?) in the work of Pat Metheny and there can be a real 'twang' in the accents of places where country music is popular....new orleans speech patterns and the music tends to have a distinctive "lope" to it.

Studies seemed to indicate that "landscape' seems to correlate...mountainous countries tend to have a more up and down 'contour' to it (think Sweden (swedish chef or yodeling) and the swedish alps) or that very flat contour of the Minnesotan speech patterns where there are wide open spaces...or a texan drawl of course...but then...these are places I've never been, but so the studies suggest. Not sure so much about the weather.

With that whole Nirvana phenomenon, I think that was largely a city economic social and large numbers of disaffected youth in a major city as much as anything. But even there, it is a matter of perception...there is an almost jubilant celebration with a lot of the best of this kind of music, just as there is with blues or metal or whatever.

But that needn't be so...one of the greatest and most successful surf bands were the 'astronauts' who had never seen the ocean and came from from the rocky mountains (hence the name) far from the California scene. Things become a fad really and anyone can join in if they immerse themselves and "get it".

There are lots of things that influence musical expression...hard to say what predominates or what exactly attracts anyone to a particular genre or aesthetic...some is what one is exposed to I guess...and I must admit that some summery stuff may seem a bit ironic or out of place if your under snow...fortuantely for me that never happens.

As for myself, well like most guitar players, I was attracted to the blues and classic rock, largely from the UK...in more recent years I got a love for the soul stuff...but I've always had some attraction to these kinds of clean toned sounds and distinctly remember when Dire Straits hit what a breath of fresh air it was to hear guitar like that on the radio.

I studies jazz and still do a bit, and of course studied a whole heap of classic and historical music in university...but hey, can't know everything and not everything is 'appropriate'...to do anything really well tends to be just as "hard" as another. I've heard jazz guys that can run around the changes at a fair clip but lack melodic invention...every now and again you hear something really simple that really connects. These days, I'm kind of looking for that kind of thing and that takes a whole different set of 'skills'...

In reality, I grew up in the city and spent most of my life living in the inner city till very recently...perhaps there is something to the weather and landscape or something...a bit of SRV blasting out the car is still appropriate as would EVH or any number of players really. You can be gloomy no matter your environment and many might see me as a generally 'gloomy' person a lot of the time.

Still...must admit it would be hard to be gloomy like that with a day like today on the island, joined the masses for the australia day weekend at a local beach and going for a bit of a surf (after doing a few hours on the guitar this morning) and was listening to some beachboys and admiring their vocal arrangements...just nice on a 30C+ day on the beach...all those colours and barely clad people around the island these days...bikinis are apparently de-rigour this year, even in the supermarket it seems...hmmm

Where ever you are, there are details...



There are a lot of interesting things raised by these kinds of thoughts...and with them some interesting exercises. For instance, things like 'melodic contour' is something that many people aren't really 'taught' or discussed, being aware of these kinds of things helps to cut back on the "ruts' that can so often plague us guitar players especially and many genres. Might explore that a bit more.

The reality is that you don't have to be a slave to your environment, climate or anything else...we all have a heritage and it's probably a good idea to build on that. We all have different goals as well, I have always admired players with distinctive voices and sought to have that in my playing. But one does need to work and push your own horizons and concepts and generally that means stealing from everywhere you can and applying it to the music that attracts you.

Anyway...enough philosophizing...it is all warm and sunny down here, but there has been quite a bit of rain (we are suffering a national disaster of floods in Oz if it isn't widely known) and everywhere you look there are things that could evoke music expression of all sorts...not sure that it really is weather dependent!

Here's my "photo of the day"...don't normally do people, but couldn't resist the camo pants, tattoos and that look on the face...beach baby, beach baby...LOL



I'll try and come up with some licks and ideas that practically put some of these ideas to use perhaps...

[4real]

Must resist too much navel gazing theory and play the guitar...so might come back to ideas of contours and contrasts...

Yesterday I was playing the song that can't be played (Bill & Ted)...Stairway to Heaven was a Hugely influential song when I started playing guitar back in the seventies...basically it marked you as a "good guitar player" (always wondered what that phrase really means) if you could play it...or even bits of it...so of course you have a guitar for a couple of months and work hard to just learn that song and skip all the other stuff to impress...well girls...

And, nothing much has changed...I was playing guitar for a girl/lady and you know, what are you going to play...and did a bit of the opening lines. Her comment..."I hope you are going to play it ALL"...ooops! I'm not going to attempt to sing it plus the lyrics are a bit naff and well...it goes on and on and on...and the solo is the best bit, but not without the band...LOL...

But all the same, it is one of those 'must learn' songs and there is a lot there to learn from. I figured I might try to at least arrange a version that sounds unique and contains the essential elements and melody and a bit of solo..if I can...and some ideas of my own...

It's coming along...may never be entirely satisfactory...

------------------------------------------0--------0--------------------------
----0-3-0----0---0----1-3-1--0---1-3----0--------0------------------1-------
--2---2---2--1-2------2-------2-2--------5-7-5---4-5p4-----0--0h2--2------
-------2------2-------4-------3----------7--------5------s7----0h2--2------
-------0------0-------0-------0----------0--------x------------------0---
---------------------------------------------------3------------3---------

This gives you something of the idea and not that hard to play and lot's of interesting learning in the exercise.

The song (heavily influenced by Harrisons 'something') makes use of something I've heard called "chromatic elaboration of a static harmony and comes up in a heap of songs. Basically it is A minor with a descending chromatic line down to F from A minor. I've kept a static A note under the line and included the vocal melody.

What I find interesting with this kind of thing is that when you do this, you find all kinds of beautiful chords and voicings, many that contain a lot of nice dissonances that are the heart of the song which includes both a harmony and melodic line and perhaps not realized was in there.

I use a few of "my" trademark techniques to flavour it also...like the open doubled strings that create a nice 12 string like chime and a few slides and hammers and such to make the line seem more "vocal" and stand out to the ear...and to provide contrast and "flash" to what might otherwise seem like a classical guitar arrangement.

Otherwise, a lot of the tune is pretty strong and some of it can be played as the original (proving that you can play it if you had a band...LOL) such as the famous "introduction" or the "makes me wonder" sections.

Now the solo thing...woke up this morning with an imagined call and response that got a lot of it worked in...but then, easier to imagine something than to be actually able to play it...hmmm

Anyway...so a coffee and strapped my guitar on (got a strap for the strat in the mail yesterday so I can improve my posture and walk about practicing )...and worked out a few more bits of it from what I could remember from my 'dream'...

And then you just get to improvise a few things...improvising and getting sidetracked a little is an important part of the process and also needs to be encouraged...even when working on thing that seem quite arranged.

...

So...when one is just fiddling about on the guitar like that, one does tend to play a bunch of 'stand by licks'...

One of these that I have been milking for years...it came to mind because it has the same triplet kind of rhythm that Page is known for, and in this solo particularly, as in the end of the solo before the words (and as we wandered down the road)...you know the bit...

So...the basic lick (I think I 'made it up' as I don't see it that often but it has a bit of JB-isms in there and can be used in everything from blues to country or rock or...rockabilly...or...funk...or...surf...or...)

------------------------------------------------------------------E-3p0---------
--------------------------------------------------------B-3p0----------5------
--------------------------------------------G-3p0-----------4----------------
--------------------------------D-3p0------------5-------------------------
A-3p0---3p0--3p0---etc--------------5-----------------------------------
--------0-----0-----0-----------------------------------------------------

Of course this is "in Am" and pedals the A pulling off from the min 3rd. You can do the same thing on other string sets for D, G, B, E as shown and make up all kinds of variations and run them together in clever ways....it's a lick that keeps on giving...

Plus, like Page I suspect...if you ain't the fastest player, these kinds of pull off licks inject some speed and allow some time to think of how you are going to get out of it. This really is the mark of ding this classic rock move, if you are going to repeat something a lot, maybe work it against time as with triplets or odd note groupings...it has to end in a satisfying way or it just sounds like "noodling' a la bad 'country rock'...LOL...Page knew how to do it, steal/learn from the masters

Ok...so back to playing with 'stairway'...this is a similar rhythm to the well known 'credenza'. Page uses if not wrote the book on classic rock soloing moves and plays on the highest strings and frets to add 'excitement' ending on a high string screaming bend...hmmm....this lick is on the lowest strings...but although less common, an extreme change in register to the lowest notes can also create a "climax" in a solo...

What I played was this to give a similar 'effect'...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
---3p0---%------3p0---5p0---7p0---8p0----10p0----12p0----14p0---------
--------5-%--------5------7-----8------10-------12-------13--------15-----


--------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------<20>~~~-------------------
----15p0-----17p0-----19p0-----<20>~~~---------------------
--------17---------19--------20------------------------------------

So...repeat the 'lick' as required (%) then work up the natural minor on the A nd E strings pulling off to the open A all the way up to the octave (17th fret A) and then a little more till you are almost out of frets...LOL

Then you need some 'big finish' climax move as a pay off...so I hit the harmonics on the A and D strings (the same Harmonics as the 7th fret) which produces the notes A and E an octave higher than fretted.

Now I play with a very clean sound these days...if you have a high gain, these kinds of harmonics can really squeal so if you wanted to really 'go nutz' you could in fact end on the harmonics on the high e and B strings on the 17th fret and work the whammy bar!

...

These kinds of "licks' or 'tricks' are good things to have in your bag and can be worked in as I say in all kinds of genres, look clever (with gain and practice you can easily get the first note as a hammer on and play with just the fretting hand with your picking hand 'fist in the air'...if you were into 'posing'...LOL), add speed and build anticipation important for a satisfactory "climax"...plus it is a bit different.

It's kind of useful to as it is a really "Big" lick...it spans a lot of octaves from the open A all the way up. Many players only explore the high end of the neck for such moves or even all their soloing....but there is a lot more of the guitar up the other end. If you practice some damping things or pinched harmonics with it...you can get a heap of different sounds out of it.

Plus, lets face it...it is a two finger lick without any stretching and a pull off...so you should have no problem getting a lot of speed with the natural up down picking.

It's also the kind of lick that works well if you are the only guitar play, say in a trio...you don't want another guitar player stepping on the same 'frequencies' as you and when you do a classic high fret move, there is a tendency for all the middle to drop out of the band...so you need to compensate.

...

Hope that ASCII Tab reads ok...it is a bugger to do, it looks ok when I type it...then I have to adjust everything so it comes up ok on screen...there must be some easier way...might have to hand write it, scan it, photobucket it and put it up as a jpeg...but I'm too lazy for that!

Ok...a picture...lets see...



Here's a slice of heaven...this house is in a place called "paradise" off the famous 'great ocean road', 15 mins from the surf and beaches of Apollo Bay (not where I live by the way...quite a long way from my island home), just on the edge of a rain forest and on the road to "paradise falls"...an amazing crystal clear waterfall in the forest.

Plus, it is something of a 'secret'...on my road trip in 2008 I actually had to ask the obvious question of the young girl at the info desk "can you show me the way to paradise"...LOL...didn't bat an eyelid and drew me a map...hahaha. So, if ever you come to Oz and perhaps going to see the "12 apostles" down that way...don't miss the opportunity to see 'paradise'...oh, and play the guitar!

[4real]

Been away and then back it has been pretty hot (40C+) so been in the water...and hurt my toe badly on a rock...so, back to the guitar...amazing how rusty one gets after not playing even for a few days...

One very famous "Lick" one should know is the "cry me a river lick" that turns up everywhere and has a host of uses.

Basically it is the opening notes to the song of the same name...in Am it can be played like this...

----7~-5-------------------------------------------
-----------5---------------------------------------
-------------5-4------------------------------------
------------------7~~~----------------------------
--------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------

It is a jazz mainstay...it spells out a minor 9th chord starting on the ninth and going to the root. Works over Am9 or Am of course, but also C maj7 or 6...or a kind of E or a D13th kind of sound...or a G9...or...Fmaj7#4...or...

Basically it can be used in a lot of places and once you recognize it you will spot it everywhere in jazz and other places.

One super "hip move" is to sweep it...I saw andy summers demo this the other week claiming he got it from barney kessell i think...same fingering as above, sweep down the 5th fret, slide back to the 4th...it's not hard to make this kind of thing very fast.

I've been playing around with my own arrangement of the tune for a while now...in 'my style' I use a bit of open string 'harp' like sounds...so play it like this...

----9~~--5--0~~~~~~-------------------------------
----5---------------0~~~-------------------------------
----5------------5~~~~----------------------------------
----5------------------7~----------------------------
---^---------------------------------------------
-rake-------------------------------------------------

Late at night and need a sleep...so here's a pic and will return with some more licks to work on...



One of my nose-y neighbours an his kid...

...

PS...would you believe this old compuer and or the forum froze before posting, turned it all off went to be and in the morning...fired it up and hte post was still there ready to send...hmmm...my luck is changing.

...

So...looked into a great Jazz book I have here Jerry Coker's "Elements of the jazz language for the developing improviser"...cause a short title is too much to expect in a jazz book!

He allows a whole chapter to it with different examples from George Benson, coltrane, Brecker...well...jazz players through a lot of era's.

But it works in any style and comes up a bit...the rhythm and the speed of the notes changes to suit of course.

He lists 5 different chords that it "fits" but in truth it is so familiar you can force it over a bunch of stuff and you don't need to have the tune play an altered chord for the altered notes in the line to make sense.

...

This leads to the idea of "quotes" in soloing...

One famous one in "rock music" and perhaps the best example of clapton's "woman tone" is the opening of the solo in "Sunshine of your love" which quotes the old song "Blue Moon" (as in 'blue moon, you left me standing alone'...etc)...

A little contrived perhaps, but it works well...even if you didn't know that was the intention or recognized the original song...and this is kind of the point that I'm about to make.

You know how you get a bit of an "Ear Worm"...a song or more likely a snatch of a song that gets in the head. Often this is because this melody is very effective. If you learn these little things, and work out how they fit...they will start to appear in some form in your playing.

Conversely, if you only practice scales and such, you will only get those kinds of sounds, blues "licks" only those sounds and not the connecting material to make it more satisfying as a true 'solo' with something to say.

In the jazz tradition it was all over the place because musicians learned by playing melodies in a band (say in a horn section) and of course such tunes would occasionally appear in their soloing. With rock players you might get a certain famous "lick"...

Even though the "tradition" is less common these days, it is well worth grabbing a little melody and making it your own...find different places and ways to play it, change the time and disguise it, incorporate various techniques like bending to make use of it.

And...it needn't be something "classic" like blue moon...something contemporary is just as good "fodder" for stealing in this way.

So a good thing to practice is to take some "ear worm" and really work it out in various ways on the guitar. You get some technique down, get your creative juices flowing, make you fingers move in ways that you might not normally reach for (like the cry me a river lick perhaps)...and it is an excellent way to train the ear to 'play what it hears'...

...

Mapping

One of the hallmarks of the great players and solos is that they tend to have a 'story' or architecture to them. Taking a look at the bigger picture and having a bit of a "map" is kind of important. Thinking about it alone can help stop just blowing off a lot of blues cliches or sweeping licks or what ever your thing is.

Take a solo you really love and admire...sit down with some paper and really listen to the density of notes and the "melodic contour"...the highs and lows and the number of notes used and in what ways. Many players have a fairly consistent "personal map"...again steal from the greats! It might be that it starts off in the low register with something melodic, builds on that a little, moves into some faster repetitive licks, then runs up to a screaming crescendo...typical of an EVH solo or a Hendrix, etc.

Anyways...it is some of these big picture things that sets one player aside from another IMHO...not the speed or the number of scales they know or the complexity of the music or the type of chords they play over.

You can combine the two idea by exploring the way songs are constructed and melodic ideas that are successful. Take the basic map, then try and use what you have to make a similar effective solo or melodic idea.

...

Another thing about learning melodies and their character give you an appreciation of the Power of Intervals...

Rather than thinking in terms of scales or notes, the power of melodic designs and associations and affects in melody largely come from the intervals between notes rather than the notes themselves.

This might be a little tricky to explain, but it is an important thing to appreciate in music...so lets have a little go...see if you can hear these things...

Take for instance a melody that has a "fanfare" quality. These melodies are usually characterized by perfect fifth and fourths.

So...lets see...theme from starwars in C

--------------------8---------------8-----------------------
-------8~~-6-5-----8~~--6-5----8--6-5-6-------------
---5-------------7----------------7-------------7~~-------
-----------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------

Classic "fanfare composing"...got your opening 5th sound then ending with the same notes inverted, creating the fourth sound...


Let's look at something more guitar and contemporary...Satriani's always with you...


-------------------5----------------------------------------
------5-6-8~~----8-6-5-6------------------------------
----5--------------------------7~~~~-------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------

See how the opening phrase fills in the fifth from the root for a similar effect...even ends on the same note...play both and you will start to hear it. I don't know if Satriani is a starwars fan, but this tune does have a similar "fanfare" quality, yes?

Take similar tunes and see the similarities in interval choice to create this effect.

The open solo phrase from "Sultan's of swing" for instance in D minor...

----------------------------5-7-5-----------------------------
-----------------6--------6-------6~-6-5-6-5--------------
-----------7~----7~~-7-----------------------7~~~------
---(5s)-7-----7---------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------

Of course there is a lot more one can look at, how such a riff is stating the Dminor7 chord...but the interval design I find to be more of interest.

See how there is that opening 4th///then again with the third between...the move up to the 7th (C note) returning to the 3rd (F note)...another 5th...

back to the answering phrase to the opening satriani tune...more "fanfare"...

-----------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------5-6--------------------------------
-------5~------7~-----------7~~~----------------------------
--5-5-----5-5------5-5-------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------

Ok...so let's take another...the old "space/surf" classic "Telstar"...key of C for comparison...

-----------------------------------------------------------
--------------------6-5-------------6-5-----------8~~------
------5~--------5------7-5-7~--------7-5-7----------------
----5-----5-7~------------------5-------------5------------
-----------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------

See how many 4ths and 5ths are used in this melodic design...either directly or filled in between high and low notes to produce the effect. G to C, C to F, D down to G...such tunes are full of such intervals structures...

....

This is a good illustration of the "power of intervals" to create certain types of melodic designs...play any fanfare type of thing and spot these kinds of things.

Ok...that's fine if you want to create the "I'm Here" fanfare thing.

Other intervals tend to have different effects...


One of the best exploration and control of intervlas is throughout the musical "west side story"...absolute masterpiece of composing and interval control...Vai's favorite...and a great way of appreciating these affects and learning new ones. Plus a huge amount of invention.

Take the tune from it "Maria"...combines the alien strangeness of the diminished fifth (#4 or b5) and resolves it up to again make this fanfare effect...

----------------------7----7---------------------------------
-------7-8~----7-8--7-8--7-8--8-7-5-------------------------
----5---------5---------------------------7-5-7-----------------
---------------------------------------------------5--------
-----------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------


One cool thing abut the guitar is that it is very visual and intervals are easy to grab. The strings are tuned in 4ths pretty much...so a 4th is a note on the string directly above, a 5th that kind of power chord shape, next string two frets up.


Check out other tunes that have something of that flavour, play them and spot the shapes..."amazing grace" for instance...
...

Learning the shapes of intervals and noting how they are used in melodies of various kinds and the qualities they have can play big dividends whether writing a tune, marveling at a great tune, or creating your own solo or composition that uses such things in creative and surprising ways. A little practice with these thing can really have give your playing "meaning"...

A lot of guitar players get hung up on the 'technique' and miss the big picture that truly great players have in mind...these are the kinds of things that can really make your playing great, even if you don't have 'amazing' technique...

Check out the opening intervals in Page's amazing "since I've been loving you" solo for more fanfare ideas (4tha and 5ths) in a blues context for instance.

For a more involved combination of effects...check out the intervals in Monk/Becks "goodbye pork pie hat"...mixing the fanfare 4th and 5th with the 'sad/reflective' minor thirds and major seconds.

With some work and appreciation, these things become more intuitive and you can improvise say a blues by reaching instinctively or reflexively for such intervals...and with guitar it is easy as it is so visual...except for that pesky B string where you have to add a fret...everything falls into kinds of 'shapes'...

Something to think about perhaps...



...or put you to sleep...

[4real]

DIMINISHED ARPEGGIOS

As there was some interest in the whole tone scale that makes a good exercise and some interesting effects due to it's symmetrical structure...maybe a bit of the diminished arpeggio might be of interest.

Basically, we are looking at a "scale" of 4 notes all a minor third apart. These noes make up the diminished chord, so is really an arpeggio...the scales associated with such chords are generally whole/half or half/whole step symmetrical scales.

I find that this diminished arpeggio to be easy and very effect at certain points and for some cool effects in moderation.

One thing to note about these things is that as there are only 12 notes, symmetrical patterns such as these repeat by the interval of their structure...in this case minor thirds, for an augmented chord, major thirds. Also, that any note could be considered the root and therefore renamed as such.

Anyway...there is a lot in the theory part of this kind of thing...but the use is more practical...

I tend to use this fingering mostly...or small parts of it...

---6-----------------------|--6-5-------------------------
------8-5-----------------|--------8-5---------------------
-----------6---------------|-------------6-----------------
--------------8-5----------|---------------8-7-5---------------
-------------------7-4-----|-----------------------7-4--------
------------------------6---|----------------------------6-5-

I visualize this over a V chord or a dom7 functioning chord in this case A. It avoids all the A's though (see how the notes C#,E,G make up the dominant A7 chord without the root note A). I will often add in this root note perhaps to end the phrase so it is good to know where those A notes are in relation to the scale/arpeggio as in the second version. You get a combination of steps as well, plus these characteristic leaps.

As a result of the min3rd steps...you can cover a lot of range quickly, good for getting some unusual angular lines that cover a bit of fretboard without a lot of notes.

-------------------------------------12-15-18--------------
-----------------------------11-14-----------------------
----------------------9-12------------------------------
---------------8-11--------------------------------------
--------7-10--------------------------------------------
---6-9-------------------------------------------------

Like the whole tone scale or chromatic scale, this symmetrical scale can take advantage for the guitars fairly symmetrical layout to create similar "spider scales" as above...this line covers 4 octaves very quickly...good for learning the 'sound' of this thing...just 3 frets between, a string and a fret up....watch the b string where you need to add another fret of course! Fun and looks cool!

Or...if you are a bit of a shredder....some sweep or tapping moves...or combine all these things...

-6---------------9-s-12-------------------15-s-18-----------------17----
---8---------11----------14-----------17-----------20----------19----19b(22)-
-----9-s-12------------------15-s-18------------------21-s-20------


You can join a couple of these together...adding this arp to the same thing a step below automatically gives you the whole/half notes, a step above the half/whole scales but encourages you to use those characteristic minor third leaps as well.

Diminished chords have many fascinating qualities, they can be used as passing chords. Every note can be considered a root, and they can function as V7th chords...that means they can resolve to any of 4 keys or chords...or another dim chord that could resolve to a different set of chords...or yet another dim chord...they are extremely mailable...but far too much for this thread to go to much into detail perhaps.

However it is a big subject....

I dont find I use these 'spider scales' too much in reality...good for practice and visulazation and learning the 'sound' of the things.

More commonly I might use a little fragment, say three notes, and move it symmetrically up the neck...in this case in min thirds, but could also move them chromatically or in half/whole or W/H steps as well...

--6-------9--------12--------15----------18--------------------------------
----8p5----11p8-----14p11-----17p14------20p17--20b(22)~~~----
-----------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------

With the pull offs, you can get a really fast triplet thing going, all the way up an octave...the last bend ends on that "A root" kind of note to break the "pattern" and resolve the tension in the thing!

or taping on any string...like this high e taping lick (3 times per triplet set) for a similar even speedier flash lick!

---T12p9p6--(x3)--T15p12p9-(x3)--T18p15p12-(x3)--15b(17)~~~---
-----------------------------------------------------



...

Ok...so where would you use this kind of thing.

Well first, sparingly I'd suggest...they are kind of connecting moves, add some strangeness and "out" sound, creates tension, makes a good satisfying resolution if handled properly. Combine it with your pentatonic licks perhaps...

Otherwise, you can force it over a dom7 chord in various ways.

Typically though, as an effect, I use such licks say on a bVI-V7-I or (i) cadence or tio imply one...very common...such as Bb7-A7-D(m).

But a more interesting thing is say you are playing a blues on the I7 and particularly the minor blues i7 chord) chord. Use this for say half a bar before the change to the IV or iv chord...and you will get this great sense of movement and resolution into the change and some sophisticated head turning lines mixed with your straight pentatonic approach. You can do the same to get back to the I chord....similarly the V kind of things...a kind of connecting chord approach.

...

If you are in say Amin and moving to Dminor (i-iv change) say in a slow minor blues...you could put in this scle built off the Bb note as with all the above examples to get a nice resolution into the new chord. The chord implied is an Adom7b9 and quite a change from the minor chord with that major 3rd in it.

You don't use these things as one might use the pentatonic scale and just force it over everything and expect it to sound ok...you use it to connect things together and add a bit of spice and mix things up in very small doses.

The affect of these things is something EVH was good at...he called it the "falling down stairs but landing on your feet effect" and often used a lot of symmetrical patterns on the guitar neck (so very nearly symetri9cal note groups due to the guitars tuning structure)...the important thing with all of these 'effects' is that you "land on your feet"...otherwise it just sounds like you fell down stairs and broke something...tragic...or worse, like you don't know what you are playing!

I think of these things as creating a bit of a "lost feeling" and losing the key for a moment. The audience's ear should pick up and immediately wonder, 'what's going on here, where does he think he's going, has he lost something?'...the pay off is with the resolution. Say you mislaid your car keys and you are in a hurry, for a sec you are in a panic...then you pat your pocket, and there they are...a great relief and off you go. If you can't find them for too long, it's just distressing and if people saw you, they'd think you a fool.

The thing is, if you do it just before the 'change' say to another chord...you find the resolution in a new and surprising place and the effect is even greater it seems. You didn't find them in your pocket say, but discover the cat has run off with them and all of a sudden you are playing over a D chord and you had a bit of adventure...maybe EVH's analogy is simpler!

You use such things so sparingly and only occasionally, you really don't need to spend hours working out a bunch of licks or practicing scales that sound weird...just learn a few or better yet, make some up as I have above to put in your bag of tricks for when the moment strikes.

And remember the key to anything like this is the resolution...you have to land on your feet and get out of it...see how I've done this at the end of these passages or find things that sound right to you.

[JFrankParnell]

reminds me of the solo on this song:

tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/z/zebrahead/hell_yeah_solo_tab.htm

solo at around 2:30

not really a favorite of mine, but I heard the solo somewhere and thought it was cool.

[4real]

I'll check it out when my internet connection speeds up again...in the mean time...

Lest this is all a bit "theoretical" (but "don't be fooled", a lot of players actually do know this kind of stuff one way or another, if "only" by ear)...

So it's been raining, my toe is giving me jip and...playing the guitar while watching CSI...and of course listening to that fabulous Who song "Who are You"...one of their best...

As it happens, in the main band I was in that gigged in the 80's, I was kind of a Pete Townsend impersonator of sorts...and we did do a fair bit of the who and similar english rockers...didn't do this sound but should have.

Here is some tab for it...and the whole album in fact...

www.911tabs.com/link/?6658937

It shows a lot of that townsend composing style and guitar play. He likes his constant bass with shifting chords under, interesting suspended 4ths and 2nds that are his trademark and nice voicings and riffs.

Because I am playing alone here and don't feel like yelling the lyrics so much anymore...I try and put a few of those elements in there as well...bit of bass, bit of melody, bit of the rocking around.

So...for instance, the chorus...

|----|--------|-------------|---------------------------------------|
|9---|7-------|10--9----10--|9----------11b(12)r11--9----|
|9---|7---9---|9---9----9---|9-----------11b(12)r11--9----|
|9---|7---9---|11--9----11--|9---9-11--------------------11-|
|7---|7-------|-------------|--9s11------------------------------|
|000 constant 8th notes throughout--0000000000000 on low e string|

Chords like that D/E are classic sounds in this style...

0-7-7-7-7-7 which is a kind of sus 2 sort of thing....

similarly chords like this A+2/E

0-7-7-6-0-0 which is also a classic (see coldplay's yellow (in B) for extensive use of this formation amongst a million other tunes over the years)

even these kinds of altered bass chords...A/G
3-x-2-2-0-0

The great thing about PT is that he slashes away there like he's chopping wood with that axe...LOL...but he has a big picture as well...writes a fabulous rock song and are a lot of fun to play...simple ideas put to great effect.

Compare to older tunes like "substitute"...

---5----5-----3-----2--------------------------------------
---7----5-----3-----3--------------------------------------
---7----6-----4-----2--------------------------------------
---0000-etc---------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------
in fact a lot of who songs...showing when you are onto a really good thing, you can milk it for all it's worth. And so does everyone else...see how LZ and Page took this kind of thing into tunes like Song remains the same...and well everyone got the PT writing style bug there for a bit...it's a great rock template...

...

In my slightly altered version of 'Who are You' that includes the melody there the riff at the end imitating the words (come on tell me who are) bends some interesting notes up a half step out of a major E box...or C# minor...but very much the kind of move one might make in the 12th fret Eminor blues pentatonic kind of thing.

A lot of times these kinds of moves can be transposed between pentatonic major and minor even though they only make "sense" theoretically in the minor...her for instance you are bending an A# in a progression that features and A and D chord and presently on an E chord!!!

The more "correct way" to do it might be to do a kind of country double stop...ala Leonard Skynard or something)...

|----|--------|-------------|---------------------------------------|
|9---|7-------|10--9----10--|9----------12--------------9----|
|9---|7---9---|9---9----9---|9-----------11b(13)r11--9----|
|9---|7---9---|11--9----11--|9---9-11--------------------11-|
|7---|7-------|-------------|--9s11------------------------------|
|000 constant 8th notes throughout--0000000000000 on low e string|

But this is a little too "true" and country rock. These kinds of little things make a difference to the overall effect between genres. You find some of this kind of thing in Becks playing too. It gives a more "shouting" kind of thing like roger daltry's voice at it's best. Theoretically correct does not always give you the best results, but if you learn what you can get away with (make your own theory) you can apply it at will.

...

Interestingly I get a great PT Who sound of this kind of era with my new strat in series mode neck and middle pups selected...gibson with bite kind of sound...maybe PT used a mini hum LP or something similar...great rock sound!

Rock on...LOL

Now if only I could work out a convincing way to play some of those classic synth loops the who are known for from "won't get fooled again' to "you better, you better, you bet"...another variation on that ground bass idea or ostinatos he uses...

[4real]

Feb 3, 2011 20:41:27 GMT -5 JFrankParnell said:

reminds me of the solo on this song:

tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/z/zebrahead/hell_yeah_solo_tab.htm

solo at around 2:30

not really a favorite of mine, but I heard the solo somewhere and thought it was cool.

Ok...got a listen...it's quite good for a rockabilly/anthem/rap kind of hybrid...sound a lot like Oz's "The Living End" and there's a bit of a modern rockabilly cult of sorts around at the moment...went to a local hot rod show and there is definitely a culture...and they all seem to be having some fun...



...

Nothing really like these things, but an interesting idea. You hear this kind of thing in Django's playing a fair bit and it is a neat and easy "trick" to add in outside notes of sorts...

If we pretend that they tune their guitars to standard...you have a minor progression something like Em/Em/C/A/B7...notice that there is an opportunity to mess with this diminished arp thing and I probably would have, over that V7 chord because the A chord is just a chord between that C-B7 or bVI-I cadance you see all the time in minor keys. Sultan's of swing for instance Dm/C/Bb/A, "runaway' all that surf stuff...there's a million of 'em.

But in this case you have this neat 'trick'...

eb|--7-6h7--------------------------------------------|
Bb|---------7h8---------------------------------------|
Gb|--------------8h9----------------------------------|
Db|-------------------9h10----------------------------|
Ab|-------------------------9h10-9-7--5~--------------|
Eb|---------------------------------------------------|

It's just the Em chord x-7-9-9-8-7 with every note approached from a step below...so running through the arp of Em approaching every note from a step below regardless of the "scale"...repeat three times over the Em chord...

There are touches of that b9 sound (the C over B7) when it comes around, first time...

eb|---------------------------------------------------|
Bb|---------------------------------------------------|
Gb|---5/7~--------------------------------------------|
Db|--------10~10~-9~9~-7/9~---------------------------|
Ab|---------------------------------------------------|
Eb|---------------------------------------------------|


kind of playing Cmaj7 over B7

and in the last cadenza...pretty much playing a G major scale with a three note per string pattern of hammer-ons to get the speed up...for extra flash points and to avoid 'stretching' you could hammer on the last not of three with the right hand!

eb|-------------------------------------7h8h10-12-----|
Bb|-------------------------------7h8h10--------------|
Gb|----------------4h5h7-----4h5h7--------------------|
Db|-----------4h5h7-----4h5h7-------------------------|
Ab|------3h5h7----------------------------------------|
Eb|-3h5h7---------------------------------------------|

With this kind of progression, it can be thought of modally...basically you have everything coming from the natural minor or aeolian mode of Em = e,f#,g,a,b,c,d,e . This mode is the same notes as Gmajor, which is the relative major to Em of course...and so quite "natural"...and it is really just running up the scale quickly...not as ear turning "exotic" in note choice as it could be, but effective in that it's a fast easy flash move, looks cool and easy to play in almost symmetrical three note patterns...someone has been practicing their major scales it's good to see

...

But...there are some other options that might also have sounded cool...playing around with these kinds of things...

You could play the Harmonic Minor, this is kind of where this "synthetic" scale comes from...altering that D note to D# gives you that maj3rd in the B7 and a min3rd skip that has that kind of diminished sound...much harder to play as this kind of hammer on lick, might need to develop a different way of playing it...or use the tapping cheat. This will give you that Malsteen kind of sound...or perhaps something a bit more "gipsy" or "classical" in effect...a little exotic...

But the diminished arpeggio fits in real well for soemthing ear turning...when I played it, over the B7 I played something like this...


-----8-------------------------------------------------------10-------------
-------10p7---7h10-p7--------------------------------------10-------------------
-------------8------------8---------------------------------8--------------
--------------------------------10p7---7--10p7-------------7-----------------
-------------------------------------9-----------9p6--------9-----------------
-------------------------------------------------------8p5---7---------------

Hard to do this ASCII tab...

still...you got a bit of that 'spider scale" thing on the last three pull offs, so got to watch the fingering to "crawl" down spider like.

You got the "WTF" weirdness of the symmetrical scale. You got a super fast "lick" using pulls and sweep/economy picking...you got a big "Hendrix Chord" at the end there (add bigsby like rockabilly vibrato perhaps)...and it misses all the B's over a B7 chord...so when you get it in that last chord...you get this satisfying "found it moment"...

All these moves come up with the great rockabilly players...a very young Jeff beck used a 'cheeky' one similar to the first approach by a half step in his "jeff's Boogie" with the yardbirds...suing the "tuning notes" out by a fret...

------0----0-------------------------------------------------
---4----4-------0---0------------------------------------------
---------------3---3-----0---0---------------------------------
------------------------4---4------0---0-----------------------
----------------------------------4---4----------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------

This spells out an Em7 chord with the open notes, approaching each from a step below as in this 'zebra' song...but has the added flash of allowing the half steps to sound together...and the humorous effect as well as if the guitarist can't tune up...LOL

...

It's a good solo to "map out" this zebra thing...it can sound a little generic. I think a lot of the effectiveness of such things is the gestures as much as anything. Express the Em harmony working down...then end with a fast triplet lick ascending up to the root of the key against the 4/4 time...a sure way of creating excitement...but a lit 'expected'...but it works every time.

People like EVH showed that if you played things fast enough, they didn't really have to make 'sense'...this kind of thing goes all the way back to "rock around the clock"...it's more of a gesture as much as anything...and ending on the right note. That there are some weird "out notes" only makes things more effective when you land on you feet perhaps than this kind of run up the scale move.

Consider the similarities between a move like this in "Rock around the clock" style...in A

---8p7p5--------------------------------------------------------
------------8p7p5-----------------------------------------------
---------------------8p7p5--------------------------------------
------------------------------8p7p5-----------------------------
---------------------------------------8p7p5--------------------
------------------------------------------------8p7p5~~--------

Not a symmetrical scale as such, but a symmetrical pattern on the fingerboard which is very close and a very similar effect, especially at speed...it's the gesture that counts...

So...EVH might do something like this in a solo such as "jump" with tapping...very much from the same tradition...and effective gesture...

--T12p8p7p5--------------------------------------------------------
----------------T12p8p7p5-----------------------------------------------
------------------------------T12p8p7p5--------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------T12p8p7p5-----------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------T12p8p7p5--------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------T12p8p7p6p5~~--------


A lot of things like this may seem like a 'cheap trick' but it is mostly the gesture as much as anything IMHO...all stems back to the birth of R&R really. And you can get all fancy with scales and such, or you can just play a fast 'against the time' kind of gesture that appears to be going somewhere...or falling down the stairs...it works as long as you "fall on your feet" in the end.

...

These kids of ideas can be exploited in in type of music or approach. It is equally effective in a pentatonic blues kind of thing to approach any note from a half step below...or just some of them, or just the chord in this way. Django loved this kind of sound...plus he only had 2 fingers! If you wanted to get really Outside, you could do that "side slipping" trick of playing a scale a half step below...so in A pentatonic, a quick burst of Ab pentatonic makes all the notes a half step below. This creates a huge amount of tension where every note is "wrong"...of course, the trick is entirely in the "resolution".

Another similar "trick" is to anticipate an upcoming chord change. Say you are in a blues in A, the next chord is D...you can start playing the D pentatonic say...the resolution comes when the song or band catches up with the soloist. Players like Django would do this kind of thing...even just strumming an upcoming chord like Dm while the band is still playing Am...and looking like a star when the tune catches up and he is already there and all those FnD notes resolve into the key change.

Cheap tricks, but very effective. Where you play in a genre that can be very conservative (such as blues) a lot of these inds of things have fallen by the wayside...so doing them can really set your playing apart from everyone else. As always...steel from the best, take the concepts, make them your own!

[Deleted]

fantastic thread, with great tabs and photos!! thumbs up!

[4real]

Thanks my Mediterranean friend...sorry about the ASCII tab being a bit hard to read, it's harder to edit to be that good...hoping to up grade the computer very soon and maybe I can do some proper stuff with guitar pro and such...feedback appreciated...

Been working on those synth parts from the...tricky hybrid picking thing...but fun once you get the hang of it..."won't get fooled again"...when I get around to it...

glad you enjoyed...suppose another pic might be an idea...



There's a bird for you...

...

Oh...and had a bit of a flash back to 1972...well, actually I was only 10 years old...but I got the Sunbury Music Festival from the local library. This was an important event in music history, there were 4 of them, this being the first featuring Billy Thorpe and Max Merritt....

It was the australian equivielent of Woodstock, and the first festival to feature only australian bands...but 1975 the whole hippy love and peace, get naked and stoned thing had turned on it's head.

1975 saw the end with the invitation of Deep Purple and the rain (Oz is suffering floods and now bush fires and cyclones at the moment btw)...DP insisted they be carried across the mud so as not to get their flares dirty...they tried to upstage aussie icon Thorpe...so a young AC-DC bet them up backstage...DP had the last laugh by flying off in a helicopter with the entire festivals takings so no one here got paid...and so ended the sunbury festivals...

But from this came the birth of much fantastic aussie music...and although never a hippie as such, there was a lot to be said for those times and attitude...very different from today...

Looks like SG's with bigsbys were the guitar of choice for most...and the lyrics were quite different from the stuff you here these days...better days in many ways...

[4real]

I have been neglecting this thread a bit, been distracted by these computer programs...but might end up making this kind of thing better, audio examples for instance, better notation, maybe GP files...

But not yet, quite.

However, I did make an audio demo for my strat recently that can be heard here...

soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=10409860

There is a section of 'funky' guitar with some heavier distorted stabs. I realized later that the funky guitar was kind of in the style of "blinded me with science" or any number of 'cheap' funky parts on a single chord...in this case, E minor.

Basically you are looking at a combination of hammering on the Emin7 shape, using an F#min7 which adds 9ths sixths and sus4s and provides some moment and the 12th fret em7 shape adding the third and 9th on top...plus a few slides...

----7---7----------9---s-12---15-14-------------------------------
----8---7-h-8----10---s-12---~---~---------------------------------
----7---7----------9---s--12---~---~----------------------------
----9---7-h-9----11---s--12---~---~-------------------------------
----7---7----------9---------------------------------------
---(0)------------(0)-----------------------------------------

This kind of thing is a common approach in the style with a lot more movement that just messing with a static ninth chord say in for a funky sound and you can create infinite variations of course...

The distorted guitar stabs might be of interest. I think of this kind of thing as a more sophisticated power chord approach and can be very effective. I later realized it has a bit of toto's 'hold the line' kind of feel to it...I probably first came across it from Free's 'all right now' chorus part that is similar with a different feel.

A power chord generally consists of a root fifth and without a third, neither major or minor. Usually in fiths with the root on the bottom but can be effective as fourths (such as the real way to play smoke on the water). Horn section parts are often done this way and have a similar function in lots of ways. You can also stack these things up in various ways to get huge 'power chord' sounds of roots and fifths...

---3------0-----0------------------------------------------
---3------0-----5------------------------------------------
---0------9-----4------------------------------------------
---0------9-----2------------------------------------------
---x------7-----2------------------------------------------
---3------0-----0------------------------------------------

the above a re a few examples. Parallel fifths tend to be heavily frowned upon in classical harmony, but can be very effective in a modern context. It need not be only reserved to the lost strings with 'al right now' for instance being used on the middle strings and the middle of the neck...

Ok...so, what I used was a variation that allows for a third and can work well...

--------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------
--s-9----7-7-7-8--s-9------------------------------------------
--s-7----5-4-5-6--s-7------------------------------------------
---(0)----------------(0)-------------------------------------
....E......D,A,D,D#..E

This creates a big but moving part and avoids some of the straight parallel sound. The D root just lowers giving you the A's major third below with a root on top...so a wide sixth interval that can tolerate a bit of distortion. An easy move from a conventional power chord shape and one reason why I tend to play them with my first and pinky as a rule.

There are variations on this kind of thing as always. Notice that the combined part never moves from the Emin and in fact, the whole tune is pretty much one 'chord'. In this section, there is movement and different shapes implying Em, E, F#min, possibly G. This creates some altered tones and tensions plus some melodic interest than a static chord would.

The complimentary part is kind of a call and response to it and thought of later. In this case imposing D and A and sliding in from Eb. F#m7 is very much like A of course and the F# the third of D so...it seemed natural to me. Again, would consider the whole thing though to simply be Emin.

The main part of the song is just that old 007 kind of CESH thing. Cromatic Elaboration of a Static Harmony and a common enough thing. More common may be to do it with the root, as per 'stairway to heaven' elaborating Am by stepping down chromatically...or Harrison,s "something" which inspired it that does it in an upper octave. "Summertime" is typically arranged this way. 'Guitar gently weeks' is more of a diatonic approach to the same kind of thing.

In this 'version' or tune, you are stepping down from the seventh to the fifth. So, Emin with a moving D,C#,C,B thing. The 007 riff steps up and down from B...B,C,C#,C over a static chord (Emin) and shares some of the qualities talked about in the Maj/min thread as well. "Desperado" uses this same line really, but changes the chords to accommodate it.

In G, there is a chromatic line from the 7th (F) to the G's fifth (D)...so, G,G7,C,Cm,G creates this line. "No body does it better" uses the same thing and most 'Bond' film music use an association and builds from the original theme in interesting ways.

I felt that just going straight down chromatically was ok, but it sounded like an accompanying part and not having a 'melody' I altered it to create one that might be a bit more interesting. When it gets to the Em+C I add a G note above it going to the open E.

Having that part, I thought it needed a 'response' so I added a low guitar part with a different tone. This also may be of interest. It uses the E,G,F# notes on the low E string...It needed to drop down to D, so I used the trem to dip down and scoop back up to the E note...poor man's baritone guitar!

Being in Eminor, there are lots of things you can do with open string harmonics as well. I found it easy enough to double the low string 'answer' with harmonics as so...

^12-------------^12------(^12)--------------------------------
-----^7------^7------------^12-------------------------------
---------^5-------------^7------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------
--0---2---3----2---0---(-)2---0----------------------------------

So, very simple effects but can be quite effective. Ending on the B harmonic ties it in well with the second guitar and sits well, alternating with the E as well makes for some subtle variation and answering phrse in this part.

Nothing spectacular in the tune and done on the run pretty quickly, but the techniques might be of interest for creating something more interesting and for creating 'movement' over a static harmony.

A similar kind of thing is used in the section with the 'piano solo' now that I think of it...the chords are Em,G,Am,C over essentially an E bass. Again, I am thinking of it as an elaboration of Em. I had in mind another 'part' but I was getting tired of hearing this for hours and 'slack' and the exercise was more about learning the drum machine software. But, one portion almost remains where it ends that section with a B major chord with a prominent B-F# notes in the piano...quite different from the notes of Em7 and being V of Em, brings it back strongly to the Em tonality without really leaving it at all.

..Ok, well traditional to leave a post here with a pic, been out and about taking a bit...lets see...



The sunset the other day was pretty good from the front door, this is just one of a series that ended up going blood red in the end...been a few pics lately and experimenting a bit more with some different kinds of subjects...but a good sunset is always a fascination!



This is an example of some 'textures' I have been working with, the water here is very clear, but it is getting to autumn and yesterday may be one of the last days of the season for swimming perhaps without a wet suit. So, expecting to be home and making music more often perhaps...

[4real]

Not been playing enough guitar lately...but wrote this interesting solo piece last week, played by Guitar Pro 6 as it will take some time to be able to play it better myself, though it is playable.

The initial ideas actually came from the keyboard, then attempted to play it on guitar, took the ideas to GP6...which is playing it to speed for me.

soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=10560445

The initial chords are G F and Em. The added tones are the 6th on the G, the b5 and 9th and major 7 on the F and a 2nd (F#) on the Em chord.

I tried to create some interest in the overall tune by the length of the parts and using a kind of 'rondo' form. A (intro/repeat/coda) B, C, B, A

Part B starts in C, part C in G. The effect of the chord sequence and extensions in the intro part have an interesting quality. Kind of in C, or a modal cadence of F to G...the Em could be seen as the relative minor to G but with the F# in it, creates a kind of leading tone and a mystery for what would otherwise be a sequence typical in the key of C (which I suppose it really is).

There are touches of classical and ragtime and celtic influences in the short tune but I thought it worked out rather well after quite a bit of a break from the guitar lately...

otherwise, here on the island, autumn is in, still some bright days and a bit of fog of the harbour..easter holidays so been fairly 'populated' of late, but still mainly sleepy in my corner of the world. Camera is playing up, going to attempt some surgery in the near future...still, getting a few shots...so as typical on this thread...

some of the passing traffic out the front door