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Pauses, I really need to work on my phrasing


Terje

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Posted

Listening to some stuff we've recorded it strikes me once again how very seldom I take a real pause in my solos. Since I play slide I play a lot of long sustained notes. Which is fine but if you keep connecting them to the next line, and the next and the next, like I do, then it soon becomes very boring.

 

There are some reasons as to why I do this I think. One is simply lack of focus. Another is lack of a good melodic idea, so I'm actually searching as I'm playing, hoping to find a good place to land and not finding it.

 

One way to overcome this would be to have strong melodies to work from. Which is something I try to do but then I forget it and just noodle when it's time to take a solo.

 

One other thing, that a freind told me years ago, is to end phrases with some short fast notes and not with a long sustained note. Listen to good soloists and you'll hear this a lot. Their phrases may sound like they sort of end with a long sustained note but usually there comes a a fast little run at the end. Doesn't have to be something flashy really. What it does though is that it connects back to the rhythm of the song.

 

So here's a trick I'm gonna try for the next blues solo I play. Play around a good melody. At the end of each phrase of this melody I'll put a few chord stabs. How does that idea sound to you?

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Posted

Your new approach is a good idea, but here's another: Play a melodic phrase without the slide, then reproduce it with the slide. This might give you the "little" passing notes you might be passing over with the slide melodies. At the same time, try following the chord changes and incorporate the Major licks with minor licks, too. I wonder if you use a regular tuning, or something like 1st string to "D". If you use the "D" tuning, finding the minor licks will be a bit more limited, but if you use a standard tuning the first 3 strings form a minor chord, and the 2nd, 3rd and 4th strings form a Major chord....but you probably already realize this combination, or way to look at matching the progression. One other thang, for "Blues" you can play minor licks to a Major "implied" chord.....but playing Major licks to a minor chord just doesn't work. I've played slide for over 20 years and find alternate tunings to be a real good way to get out of a rut. Hope this insight is helpful, slide on!! :D

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Posted

Thanks for the advice.

 

I play slide on a balalajka so the tuning tips won't really help :)

 

But I know what you mean, and I play guitar too. Tunings are a great vehicle for opening up your ears.

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One of the ways I like to work on phrasing is to pretend I'm a horn player. I take a breath, and then I play as I'm breathing out. When I run out of breath, I stop playing and breathe in.

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Posted

About slide/bottlenecks:

 

I'm a newbie to slide playing, got some questions?

 

How is a slide supposed to fit?

do you use it on the pinky only, or what?

I got a slide real cheap a couple a days ago,

but it seems kinda big for my fingers... i've got long and thin fingers...

I think it was a Dunlop medium Pyrex, or something..

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Posted

 

Originally posted by Rand Al'Thor87

How is a slide supposed to fit?

 

 

A snug fit is better. If it's too loose it's hard for you to feel what is the right pressure on the strings.

 

 

do you use it on the pinky only, or what?

 

 

Having it on your pinky has some distinct advantages. First of all you free the other three fingers so you can fret and dampen with those. Also it may come in handy should you later start titling the slide.

 

Having it on other fingers, like the ring finger or the middle finger, has its own advantages too. These fingers are stringer and you havve more control over the slide, at least initially.

 

I wear it on my pinky, but I started out having it on my ring finger.

 

 

I got a slide real cheap a couple a days ago,

but it seems kinda big for my fingers... i've got long and thin fingers...

I think it was a Dunlop medium Pyrex, or something..

 

 

My personal recommendation for slides is the Chrome Dome made by Latch Lake. Best one around. Also pretty expensive. If you have a cheap one that you like just go for it. If it doesn't fit your fingers you can put things in it, some foam maybe, to make it fit more tightly.

 

The heavier the slide the better the tone but also it becomes harder to play. You need to find a medium as long as you're playing regular guitar. Lap steel players, and pedal steel players, all use really heavy bars cause it doesn't matter for them, the slide is lying down and the weight isn't a big problem.

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Posted

A suggestion.

 

Pick up a recording by jazz simger Jimmy Scott (Little Jimmy Scott), he's phrasing is amazing. He takes so much time it's amazing that he gets back. He is very sparse and he does a lot of long sustained notes so I bet you could pick up on stuff to apply to your slide playing.

 

 

CD reccomendations:

All The Way

Lost and Found

 

His lost Ray Charles album "Falling in Love is Wonderful" is supposed to be released soon, legend has it that it is supposed to be one of the finest jazz vocalist albums made.

 

 

DO NOT GET his "Holding Back the Years" CD, it is him doing pop tunes, it is very bad.

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Posted

I like flared slides. This is probably because none of my guitars are set up with a high action to be dedicated slide guitars. The flare makes it easier to play the B and high E strings.

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