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Minor bluesy jam anyone?

mosiddiqi

By mosiddiqi
in The Lesson Loft — Guitars

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jeremy_green Newbie

jeremy_green

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I'd like to know what Jeremy is playing when he starts playing a million notes to the bar. Is it just arps? Surely these are pre-memorised lines and not something you have picked out on the fly.

 

 

bigboy,

 

To me fast lines are about texture... or about bridging (going from one area of the neck to another) Those kinds of lines are made up of some intermixed arps and some scale fragments. No they arent really memorized lines more just happening on the fly. Everything you learn has the ability to make it into your playing by osmosis... so to say none of them are pre-memorized would be a little misleading.... I am sure some of it may be things I have played in the past but as the improv goes by I have no awareness of this.

 

I am always trying to bounce off chord tones. So as the progression moves along I am listening for strong resolve points. Then I try to riff out in and around those notes to hopefully create some kind of a statement that will wrap up with the next change.

 

My problem (and its a good problem) is that I have LOTS of ideas... often too many in fact. So I am striving to work to corral that and use some more restraint. My eagerness to get to the next line often sabotages any nice work that was just laid.

 

An improv is a spontaneous music creation on the fly and is as high an artform as there is. One of the hardest things to do is to truly get outside yourself and listen as the audience does. The ability to recognize when you are onto something and to let it breathe is the difference between a bar guitarist and the bigs.

 

It's hard because you spend so many years memorizing scales and chords and arps and technique that your mind is 90% focused on playing "right" - that only leaves 10% for listening and creating. You need to practice to the point where less CPU is required for all that crap so that the other stuff can organically just happen. In the words of Steve Morse - "Forget all that and just play"

 

Many players sadly never get to the point beyond technique (for the record i dont feel I am there yet, but am closer than I have ever been) So improvs remain a regular frustration for them. They feel eventually like they just dont "have it" ... maybe that should be adjusted to they just havent "earned it" yet.

 

It is never too early to practice listening. It is the single biggest skill any musician requires - and it cant be learned on the internet! There is a real value with sticking to something you know well and just making it work. Buddy guy is living proof that one note can slay a million if played with conviction.

 

Damn ... I need to listen to my own advice!

 

Cheers

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Mark Wein Newbie

Mark Wein

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Mark, great take! I love the way you drag the time around like a dirty little pig! Great vibes. I would expect no less!

 

Thanks! I want my phrases to feel like a vocal performance, and not an exercise....sometimes they just end up out of time, though :p

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jeremy_green Newbie

jeremy_green

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Byrd - really nice job man! Great interpretation

 

Jasco - Smokin as usual man. That was a real ride with some great twists and turns. Really dug it.

 

pmc - keep a it brother! There was lots that worked and you seem aware of what didnt. Bravo for posting!

 

Mike - great take nicely done (as expected) although I respect and understand your opinion on what is "the right thing to do" in certain situations the artist in me says F that. There is no right way only a different way. If your goal is to develop a jack of all trades session guy kind of voice then I am in full agreement. If you are hired to do a country jingle ripping out 2 handed tapping is bush. But for someone who seeks to develop their own voice in an exercise like this, they can only play the changes as they hear it - not how others expect them to hear it or how it has been done in the past. If Frissell came in and did a take I would want it to sound like him. He worked to cultivate his voice. You MUST follow your own muse, if that takes you down the path of exploring exotic sounds then that IS your voice. I hope you know I am saying this with the utmost respect. You know your stuff and are a fantastic player. This is just creative differences not a personal assault.

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Monson Newbie

Monson

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:facepalm:
:facepalm:
:facepalm:

Ah well, can't find Monson's take..trust me it was really good.
:o



Hehe, sorry, Mo! I must have accidently overwritten my take when I uploaded the BT. :o Anyway, here it is:

Monson Madness

It's not really a guitar solo as such, it's 'written' in the sense that I tried to make a sort of theme by bridging the chords using as few notes as I could boil it down to. I wanted it to sound like the theme from some cheesy '70s crime series about a couple of fat and balding cops who against all odds still manage to take care of things.

@ Mark, this is the first time I'm using my Love Squeeze in anger. Compression is at 10 o'clock and the volume is at 2 for a slight boost. With the compression set low it just tightens things up a bit and makes the tone a little fatter, at higher settings it will add a tiny bit of high end.

@ Gennation, do you remember who made the BT and posted it back then?

Everyone else, it was great fun listening to your different takes on the same track. There's a lot of diversity here!

:)

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GreenAsJade Newbie

GreenAsJade

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actually, why don't you learn it an post the chord progression. It'll be a great learning experience.


I've always wanted to transcribe my take over this progression, maybe this is a good time to. And then we can pick it apart.


 

 

Cool!!

 

Here's what I hear:

 

Em Emaj7 Em7 A7

Cmaj7 B7 Em E7

Am E7 | Am E7 | Am

Dm7 G7(*) Em Cmaj7 B7

Em Emaj7 Em7 A7

Cmaj7 B7 Em maj7

 

*: There's a strong Ab sound in here, I don't know how to notate that!

 

 

Let the picking apart begin!

 

GaJ

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GreenAsJade Newbie

GreenAsJade

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Hehe, sorry, Mo! I must have accidently overwritten my take when I uploaded the BT.
:o
Anyway, here it is:


Monson Madness


I wanted it to sound like the theme from some cheesy '70s crime series about a couple of fat and balding cops who against all odds still manage to take care of things.


:)



You totally nailed that!!! You should write movie theme songs, if you don't already!

GaJ

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gennation Newbie

gennation

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@ Gennation, do you remember who made the BT and posted it back then?


 

 

Found it, Crosscut Saw posted it. He says "It came from a Guitar One column by Tom Kolb about the harmonic minor scale." http://acapella.harmony-central.com/showthread.php?t=1696231

 

I guess back then is was 'fusion' that was mistaken, my mistake the other day, but we still had healthy conversation. I see where I added the missing chord on the chart too. GaJ got it on his though, good job.

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gennation Newbie

gennation

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Cool!!


Here's what I hear:


Em Emaj7 Em7 A7

Cmaj7 B7 Em E7

Am E7 | Am E7 | Am

Dm7 G7(*) Em Cmaj7 B7

Em Emaj7 Em7 A7

Cmaj7 B7 Em maj7


*: There's a strong Ab sound in here, I don't know how to notate that!



Let the picking apart begin!


GaJ

 

 

 

 

The intro chord are a descending line of E->Eb->D->C# giving you Em-Em/M7-Em7-A7(or Em6 as a sub for A7 keeping things as a 'straight line down"). This is the same line found in Summertime, Masquerade, and other classic Minor Ballads.

 

I don't have the chart in front of me but I'm sure your G7(*) is G7alt. The sound Ab sound comes from the b9 note in the alt portion of the chord. You can simply think of this as an Abm arp or deeper as the Ab Melodic Minor scale. But just use and Abm arp over the G7 for a while, it will create as much tension as you'll ever need on it's own.

 

You can check the original link I posted above for a comparison of the rest of your chords. There's also some explanation there of what's going on harmonically. I try and mess with it this weekend, BUT...

 

For you next lesson, listen to my take and try and learn the first 4 bars of the solo, I'm sure it's just some type of arpeggio's spelling out Em-Em/M7-Em7-Em6 and nothing more. That's usually the way you the 'the cats' play over it. If you really want your mind blown, go find a version of Ella Fitzgerald singing Summertime and lift some of her vocal licks...they are all over my take as well as Jasco's.

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Mark Wein Newbie

Mark Wein

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Hehe, sorry, Mo! I must have accidently overwritten my take when I uploaded the BT.
:o
Anyway, here it is:


Monson Madness


It's not really a guitar solo as such, it's 'written' in the sense that I tried to make a sort of theme by bridging the chords using as few notes as I could boil it down to. I wanted it to sound like the theme from some cheesy '70s crime series about a couple of fat and balding cops who against all odds still manage to take care of things.


@ Mark, this is the first time I'm using my Love Squeeze in anger. Compression is at 10 o'clock and the volume is at 2 for a slight boost. With the compression set low it just tightens things up a bit and makes the tone a little fatter, at higher settings it will add a tiny bit of high end.


@ Gennation, do you remember who made the BT and posted it back then?


Everyone else, it was great fun listening to your different takes on the same track. There's a lot of diversity here!


:)

 

That is great! I really love the atmosphere of your take...what guitar/amp?

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Frets99 Newbie

Frets99

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This was started in the Euro thread in GJ..and I was struggling to play anything over it...until, yesterday, thanks to the Taxman, I bought myself a Gibson Les Paul Standard Goldtop!!
:eek:
..I know..shocking for a Strat man like me, but I just wanted something different.


Within 15 minutes of getting the guitar out of the box I got a take down. The joy of a new toy I suppose!.


Here's the BT:


http://www.box.net/shared/858hezizkq


and my take:


http://www.box.net/shared/brqt7jqlq4


I was just trying to follow the chords...so hopefully, it's melodic. It obviously feels very different to play to my Strat and that probably influenced what I played as well.


Let's hear yours!..this is a good one for you all to practice chord tone solo'ing.



Sweet sweet take, Mo! Congrats on the new guitar. Sounds killer!:thu:

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Monson Newbie

Monson

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That is great! I really love the atmosphere of your take...what guitar/amp?



Thanks! It's a Classic Strat w/ CS69s through the compressor and into Softube VAR with the AC30 model, Normal and Brilliant channel 'jumped'. And then loads and loads of reverb.

:)

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Jasco Newbie

Jasco

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Monson Madness


It's not really a guitar solo as such, it's 'written' in the sense that I tried to make a sort of theme by bridging the chords using as few notes as I could boil it down to. I wanted it to sound like the theme from some cheesy '70s crime series about a couple of fat and balding cops who against all odds still manage to take care of things.





Nice take. :thu: You definitely 'copped' the vibe you were going for.



I can even almost tolerate the reverb. :lol:

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jeremy_green Newbie

jeremy_green

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Hehe, sorry, Mo! I must have accidently overwritten my take when I uploaded the BT.
:o
Anyway, here it is:


Monson Madness


It's not really a guitar solo as such, it's 'written' in the sense that I tried to make a sort of theme by bridging the chords using as few notes as I could boil it down to. I wanted it to sound like the theme from some cheesy '70s crime series about a couple of fat and balding cops who against all odds still manage to take care of things.


@ Mark, this is the first time I'm using my Love Squeeze in anger. Compression is at 10 o'clock and the volume is at 2 for a slight boost. With the compression set low it just tightens things up a bit and makes the tone a little fatter, at higher settings it will add a tiny bit of high end.


@ Gennation, do you remember who made the BT and posted it back then?


Everyone else, it was great fun listening to your different takes on the same track. There's a lot of diversity here!


:)



I absolutely loved this take. Beautiful job, Bravo! My hands down fav man. I'm puttin on the Ventures CD as I type!

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mosiddiqi Newbie

mosiddiqi

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Sweet sweet take, Mo! Congrats on the new guitar. Sounds killer!
:thu:

 

Thanks Frets! :)..I'm really loving the fat Les Paul sound at the moment.

 

 

Guys, I told you Monson's was good.. :)..really took me back to my "Meet The Shadows" album which was the first LP I actually bought with my own pocket money when I was about 12!.

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