Jump to content
HAPPY NEW YEAR, TO ALL OUR HARMONY CENTRAL FORUMITES AND GUESTS!! ×

Breaking out...


Recommended Posts

  • Members
Posted

I need some help from you folks. I posted this in another thread and maybe y'all can give me some

suggestions for my playing.

I ended up as a rhythm guy and I really don't "know" songs. I guess I must be strange because

I'll go to jams and sit in with folks and then I just let them call the songs and I play along.

I love playing rhythm so I just kind of hang back...I really have a difficult time doing any

lead parts...they all sound kind of the same as I'm still trying to break out of the minor pentatonic

stuff. I'm going to start a new thread just about this.

(This is the new thread now).

 

So how do I break out of the minor pentatonic thing when playing lead?

All my things kind of sound the same now and I'm sick of it. Arrrgh!

  • Members
Posted

First, try gennation's lesson site:

http://lessons.mikedodge.com/

In particular I would recommend the "Advanced Pentatonic" series and the "Beginner to Advanced" series.

 

Also, a thread like this pops up like every other week, so if you use the search function a little bit searching just the Lesson Loft you can probably find a wealth of information. Try keywords like: lead, pentatonic, improvise, solo, etc.

 

One thing I'll add is this. You said you don't really "know songs." Well you better start learning some. Every song and every solo that you learn adds more tricks to your arsenal. And if you digest that "Beginner to Advanced" series mentioned above to get some basic music theory down, you'll be even better equipped to apply what you learn to different musical settings. So go out and start learning... preferably by ear!!! You gotta train your ear, man. If you can learn to copy what you hear on record, you can learn to copy what you hear in your head. And that's what it's all about :thu:.

  • Members
Posted

Dubb said some good stuff, and Gennations site aslo is a good thing to check out.

To address your question, I would suggest learning the major scale. And checking out the CAGED method for scales.

  • Members
Posted

 

 

Well I said something similar in another thread, but here goes:

 

Make sure you know the pentonic inside and out - that's 5 positions on the neck in any key. Learn where the arpegio's lie within these patterns. Learn how to seemlessly link the patterns. Practice everyday using the scale over backing tracks in different keys.

 

Then do the same for the blues scale

Then do the same for the 5 major scale CAGED patterns

Then do the same for the 7 major scale 3-nps patterns

 

That should keep you busy for quite a while.

  • Members
Posted

Well I said something similar in another thread, but here goes:


Make sure you know the pentonic inside and out - that's 5 positions on the neck in any key. Learn where the arpegio's lie within these patterns. Learn how to seemlessly link the patterns. Practice everyday using the scale over backing tracks in different keys.


Then do the same for the blues scale

Then do the same for the 5 major scale CAGED patterns

Then do the same for the 7 major scale 3-nps patterns


That should keep you busy for quite a while.

 

 

Got it!

 

Found Mikedoge's web site again...that will learn me.

Pulled out some of the blues books will work through them.

Pulled out the Fretboard logic book this will help.

 

What are the 3-nps patterns?

 

I now am overwhelmed again and this will lead me to discovery.

 

 

  • Members
Posted

 

 

Are you improvising?

 

Don't think about theory AT ALL, if you suck at playing something NICE in minor pentatonic, the problem is more likely to be that you are too much focused on the notes positions on the fretboard, or in other words you're playing with your hands and not with your head/ears/heart. Trying to improvise in another mode/scale doesn't remove this kind of problem.

 

It's better to devote some of your practice time to write phrases in the current key. SING phrases/licks/short melodies while playing the chords that the rest of the band will play underneath your solo. FIND the notes of these short melodies on the fretboard. WRITE them down in whatever notation is easier for you. Then, when you're playing with the band, make your improvisation solos up by often using these phrases that you already know sounds good enough to you.

 

Alternatively, stop improvising altogether and write an entire solo beforehand :thu:

 

edit: Or maybe you don't suck at all, you're very good but just can't play anything else than minor pentatonics... this strikes me as odd a bit, but if that's really the case, then yes you should at least move to the full scale, or the blues scale.

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...