tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51319313831936178872024-03-18T00:26:41.927-07:00The Infinite GuitarTHE INFINITE GUITAR - The success of the chrisjuergensen.com site led me by popular demand to publish the lessons from the site as a book called "The Infinite Guitar." This blog is dedicated to answering your questions about the book, music or the guitar in general. Got a question? E-mail it to me, you never know: juergensenguitar@gmail.com-CJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18270341539211116396noreply@blogger.comBlogger76125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131931383193617887.post-12350619505572641032023-02-28T07:26:00.000-08:002023-02-28T07:26:38.797-08:00New Single: VOODOO SCIENCE<p><br /></p> <iframe style="border: 0; width: 350px; height: 442px;" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/track=3945213156/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/transparent=true/" seamless><a href="https://chrisjuergensen.bandcamp.com/track/voodoo-science">VOODOO SCIENCE by Chris Juergensen</a></iframe>-CJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18270341539211116396noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131931383193617887.post-53797337075977619442021-04-03T01:26:00.000-07:002021-04-03T01:26:26.469-07:00Chris Juergensen Patreon<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEherVAeR6_jZiiKQuiNuYURY-z2Gs0X3zuhMByWV2Xw9uneLHNh2gc8IBwjNc4yw2E3YDmx3DUp49YMZaj-6_3h1kA26HoBWSu1hbtBblxZnfF9NYM4s4cDzg2vt-UUUS9yFyPse9hMo5s/s918/Screen+Shot+2021-04-02+at+16.33.02.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="918" data-original-width="714" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEherVAeR6_jZiiKQuiNuYURY-z2Gs0X3zuhMByWV2Xw9uneLHNh2gc8IBwjNc4yw2E3YDmx3DUp49YMZaj-6_3h1kA26HoBWSu1hbtBblxZnfF9NYM4s4cDzg2vt-UUUS9yFyPse9hMo5s/w249-h320/Screen+Shot+2021-04-02+at+16.33.02.png" width="249" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"> I've been meaning to do this for a long time. Becoming a patron will allow you access to PDFs for many of my YouTube videos, new video content, backing tracks to practice to and for those of you who become "All-access Patrons," chapters to many of my published books. The "Official Patron" tier is $5.00 per month and the "All-access Patron" is $10.00 per month. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://www.patreon.com/cjuergensen">https://www.patreon.com/cjuergensen</a> </span><br /></p>-CJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18270341539211116396noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131931383193617887.post-91076651163586894912016-02-02T20:47:00.000-08:002016-02-02T20:47:04.038-08:00The Collective School of Music<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I don't usually post about anything but guitar stuff on this blog but forgive me if I do post about a big change in my life. I've officially left my position as the Director of Education at Tokyo School of Music and relocated to New York City to work at The Collective School of Music. I will be staying on as Vice Principal at the seven music colleges in Japan but will not be involved in day to day business anymore. Most of you wouldn't know but I was born and raised in Greenwich Village in lower Manhattan, so I'm thrilled to find myself back in my hometown just a stone's throw away (The Collective is located on 6th avenue and 15th street). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Collective is a great school with a great faculty line up. Students get to study with some of the best musicians and teachers in the world in the heart of the greatest city in the world. I personally plan on turning the guitar program into something really exciting. Besides guitar, we also offer drums, bass, keyboards and vocals. The school is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://thecollective.edu/" target="_blank">The Collective School of Music >>></a></span>-CJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18270341539211116396noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131931383193617887.post-13784143202579194442015-09-12T19:24:00.002-07:002016-02-02T20:16:33.497-08:00Chord Shapes - Getting the Most Bang For Your Harmonic Buck<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Q:</b> Hi Chris, I am having a really hard time remembering chords. I just got into college and am playing in the Jazz orchestra. I have never really played too much Jazz and I can't come up with the chords quick enough. I got myself one of those chord books but there are too many to remember. Should I just learn one or two of them and use those all the time? Even when I do know the chord, my classmates tell me that the voicing I use isn't really right. Do you have any advice for me?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>A: </b>Yes, I totally understand where you are coming from. Your question brings back memories of my college days where I struggled with the same things. This is what I can tell you:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The chord voicings you choose depend on several different factors:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">1. <b>Situation</b> - Playing in a Big Band is a lot different than playing with a trio, especially if there is a pianist involved. There are two approaches here. First is play super simple. Don't worry about the tops and bottoms too much, the middle is fine. Look at the example below for a <b>ii-V-I</b> in C, I'm just playing two notes per chord and both the notes are only the 3rds and 7ths:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> D-7 G7 Cmaj7</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">E|----------------</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">B|----------------</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">G|--5----4----4--</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">D|--3----3----2--</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">A|----------------</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">E|----------------</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I'm just playing the b3 and b7 for the <b>D-7</b> chord, the b7 an 3rd for the <b>G7</b> chord and the 3rd and 7th for the C chord. This kind of thing will totally keep you out of trouble and out of the pianists way. The improviser is happy too because you aren't dictating what he has to play as well. If I had played a <b>G7(#5,#9)</b> chord here, the soloist would be stuck playing altered and if the pianist played some different chord, it would cause all sorts of chaos and you would be getting stares from him. I'm not in the way of the bassist so he is free to do whatever bass players do. </span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">We can do the same thing in reverse. In the previous example, I started with the b3rd and b7th of the </span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">D-7</b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> chord (in that specific order). Let's reverse those notes, playing the b7th and b3rd (in that specific order) for the </span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">D-7</b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> chord:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> D-7 G7 Cmaj7</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">E|----------------</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">B|----------------</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">G|--10--10---9--</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">D|--10---9---9--</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">A|----------------</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">E|----------------</span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Notice how in both examples, there is always a common tone. This is what we call good voice leading, one note moves in a step and one stays put. Take a standard song and use this technique as a part of your practice routine. You can't go wrong. <a href="https://chrisjuergensen.com/voiceleading.htm" target="_blank">More on voice leading here >></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">You can take this to the next step. Add in another note on top if, and this is a big if, the next note is in the chord symbol or you have enough leeway to add it in. I simply took our last example and added the 9th to the top of the <b>D-7</b> chord, the #5th to the <b>G7</b> chord and the 9th to the top of the <b>Cmaj7</b> chord. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> D-9 G7#5 Cmaj9</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">E|-----------------</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">B|--5-----4-----3--</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">G|--5-----4-----4--</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">D|--3-----3-----2--</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">A|-----------------</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">E|-----------------</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">What I mean by leeway is, for example, you are playing without a pianist or you have enough space musically to do so. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Going a step further:</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> D-11 G7#5 Cmaj9</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">E|--3--------3---------3---</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">B|--5--------4---------3---</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">G|--5--------4---------4---</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">D|--3--------3---------2---</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">A|--------------------------</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">E|--------------------------</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I've added the 11th to the top of the <b>D-9</b> chord, the root to the <b>G7#5</b> chord and finally the 5th to the <b>Cmaj9</b> chord. Other common tone. <a href="https://chrisjuergensen.com/chords2.htm" target="_blank">More about <b>ii-V-I</b>s voicings here >>></a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">2. </span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Melody</b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> - melody notes are always OK to include in a chord. Usually the melody is played above the chord so it is safe to say that you can add the melody note to the top of the chord. In a lot of Jazz, they will notate the chord without including the interval of the melody note in the chord symbol. For example, the chord symbol may be </span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Cmaj7</b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">, but the melody note is a F#. What does this tell you about the chord? Personally I would see </span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Cmaj7</b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> written on the paper but be thinking </span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Cmaj7#11</b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> (whether I play the #11 or not). In this case, I might play something like this:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> Cmaj7#11</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">E|-----2-----------</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">B|-----3----------</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">G|-----4----------</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">D|-----2----------</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">A|-----------------</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">E|-----------------</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Taking our last example:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> D-9 G7#5 Cmaj7#11</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">E|--3--------3---------2--</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">B|--5--------4---------3--</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">G|--5--------4---------4--</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">D|--3--------3---------2--</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">A|-------------------------</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">E|-------------------------</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">3. <b>Space</b> - If you have space, meaning a few bars to yourself you can obviously use some big hairy chords. For example, four bars of <b>C-7</b> to yourself, you can really play anything you like. When I was younger, I tended to collect these chords one by one for situations like this. Using the <b>C-7</b> as an example:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> Cmin9 C-11 C-11</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">E|--------------10------13---</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">B|-----4--------6-------11---</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">G|-----7--------8-------8----</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">D|-----8--------8-------12---</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">A|----------------------------</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">E|----------------------------</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">You have to be careful though, only use these when you have the space to do so. <a href="https://chrisjuergensen.com/chords_wide.htm" target="_blank">More on big chords here >>></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://chrisjuergensen.com/chords_symbols_1.htm" target="_blank">More on chords and chord symbols >>></a></span><br />
<br />-CJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18270341539211116396noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131931383193617887.post-14509366028640542102015-03-22T21:39:00.000-07:002015-03-22T21:40:12.255-07:00Crazy Scales and Chords<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVmGnJn7fN0oQbhwYQ8B5SyHXaCImOlDP8ziajvF5-kH6J8O01y1_Y1s-s0T7rJ3W88FqGC4xJ9bamRBvsEXwRJT-aDib1mOE3ZsotiJatYNzKDlUGZIMQe2NN11qNFaWvX7Yv6G8DJIU/s1600/half_whole_diminished_scale.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVmGnJn7fN0oQbhwYQ8B5SyHXaCImOlDP8ziajvF5-kH6J8O01y1_Y1s-s0T7rJ3W88FqGC4xJ9bamRBvsEXwRJT-aDib1mOE3ZsotiJatYNzKDlUGZIMQe2NN11qNFaWvX7Yv6G8DJIU/s1600/half_whole_diminished_scale.gif" height="45" width="400" /></a></div>
<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Q: </b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Hey Chris, Aside from the major scale, melodic minor, harmonic minor, and</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">harmonic major - are you aware of any scales that can be harmonized into interesting </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">modes of unique flavor? I imagine I can come up with a few with two half steps in a row, but that seems like the middle note would just act as a passing tone, right? Or could complex harmony exist with a scale with three notes in a row?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thanks, <span style="color: #333333;">Josh</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><b>A: </b>If you mean harmonizing to chords, The <a href="http://theinfiniteguitar.blogspot.jp/2010/11/halfwhole-vs-whole-half-diminoshed.html" target="_blank">half/whole diminished scale</a> does some interesting things. It has a bunch of major triads in it so there are various slash chord things you can do. It is symmetrical so it doesn't turn into modes though. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333;">If you want to talk about harmonizing to chords, let's talk first about the <a href="http://theinfiniteguitar.blogspot.jp/2010/11/halfwhole-vs-whole-half-diminoshed.html" target="_blank">half/whole diminished scale</a>. It is a symmetrical scale which makes it unlike all other scales (the other symmetrical scale is the <a href="http://theinfiniteguitar.blogspot.jp/2009/07/whole-tone-scale.html" target="_blank">whole tone scale</a>, all whole steps).</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333;">Here is a standard pattern for the scale:</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333;"><br /></span></span></span>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We can have a bunch of fun here. The scale is spelled </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1-b2-#2-3-#4-5-6-b7 </b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(all half and whole steps). We generally use this scale over a dominant 13 chord with a </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">b9</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> or </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">#9</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> as in </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">13b9</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> or </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">13#9</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpSmeC0r_eE7yMn9nFgE5k3F6Sy3lF0TDh25cEbpG9zQ6A77xrSdmMdHn2JCMkpqZAAA858Y3Ou7HjHNcQJD7zT2DucTXlgf8dOhdOlfxS0cWT3OVMREJm42tOsfOyyPRiBMhrkH0wops/s1600/half_whole_diminished_harmo.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpSmeC0r_eE7yMn9nFgE5k3F6Sy3lF0TDh25cEbpG9zQ6A77xrSdmMdHn2JCMkpqZAAA858Y3Ou7HjHNcQJD7zT2DucTXlgf8dOhdOlfxS0cWT3OVMREJm42tOsfOyyPRiBMhrkH0wops/s1600/half_whole_diminished_harmo.gif" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333;">But there is other fun things you can do. Let's use C as our example: <b>C-Db-Eb-E-F#-G-A-Bb</b>. So lets make chords (triads): <b>C-Dbdim-Eb-Edim-F#-Gdim-A-Bbdim</b>. You can have fun by using the four triads as slash chords. What I mean by this is, let's say for example, you have<b> C13b9 </b>written on your chart (or any dominant chord which you want to treat like a half/whole diminished scale chord). You can play: <b>C - Eb/C - F#/C - A/C</b> and all these slash chords will function as some sort of half/whole diminished dominant chord. Let's examine why exactly: </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333;"><b>C = C</b></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333;"><b>Eb/C </b>= <b>C7#9</b> (intervals: <b>1-#9-5-b7</b>)</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333;"><b>F#/C</b> = <b>C7(#11,b9)</b> (intervals: <b>1-#11-b7-b9</b>)</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333;"><b>A/C</b> = <b>C13b9</b> (intervals: <b>1-6-b9-3</b>)</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333;">How cool is that? Especially as if you start with the C chord, it goes from inside to outside. You can use this as an improv idea as well playing arpeggios. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333;">More fun with chords from this scale <a href="http://chrisjuergensen.com/diminished_half_whole_scale.htm" target="_blank">here>>></a></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #333333;">On to the second part of my answer to your question.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Other Scales</b></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There is so much to work through with the modes of melodic minor alone, that I've never really considered other scales, much less modes of any exotic scales very much.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333;">There is one scale that is interesting to me though, it is a melodic minor scale with a flat 2. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">There is an other post on my blog about it </span><a href="http://theinfiniteguitar.blogspot.jp/2010/04/lydian-dominant-b6.html" style="background-color: white;" target="_blank">here >>></a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The scale, as the name implies, is a melodic minor scale with a lowered 2nd: <b>1-b2-b3-4-5-6-7</b>. As any scale, it can be broken down to seven modes but the one that interests me the most is the fourth mode which looks like this: <b>1-2-3-#4-5-b6-b7</b>. I don't know what the name technically is, but by the way it looks, I call it a <b>lydian dominant b6 </b>scale. Before getting into this particular scale in more detail, let's take a look at what all the modes would be (I don't know of any standardized names for these modes so I'll just be making some up as I go based on the intervals):</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>1-b2-b3-4-5-6-7</b> = <b>melodic minor b2</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>1-2-3-#4-#5-b7-7</b> = <b>whole tone major</b> (it is basically a whole tone scale with a major 7 stuck in it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>1-2-3-#4-#5-6-b7</b> = <b>lydian dominant #5</b> (I haven't actually tried it but it looks workable to me simple because of the possible chord: <b>7#11</b> or <b>7#5</b>).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>1-2-3-#4-5-b6-b7</b> = <b>lydian dominant b6</b> (I like this one. I sounds spice over a static major triad, <b>7</b>, <b>9</b> or <b>7#11</b> chord). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>1-2-3-4-b5-b6-b7</b> = <b>locrian major</b> (freak out! Don't know what to say about this. Just have to try it out over a <b>7#5</b> chord).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>1-2-#2-3-b5-#5-b7</b> <b>altered natural 2</b> (plain old altered seems like a much better choice. But I guess there are such things a <b>9(b5)</b> or <b>9(#5)</b> chord. But then again, we have the whole tone for things like that. Don't know really, give it a shot.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>1-b2-2-3-#4-#5-b7</b> = <b>lydian dominant #5, b2</b> (sort of freaky but probably workable over some kind of <b>7#5</b> chord. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So there you have the modes. With the exception of the <b>lydian dominant b6 </b>scale, I haven't tried all of them really so proceed at your own peril. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As I said, I like #4 a lot. Give it a try over a static E chord:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn2NGOqLh9XLAnYj9h-opOTLGd5gHH2Q8cCiaGV4yNBttAWK0iLDGUWhJpo-7X_QhkuH6mGzybhnRiwTWE_mHYA52S9lLsedSfoSTziSYBycHZTexsuLcTC36tYx46iCAo8yXubBi5ECk/s1600/lydian_dominant_b6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn2NGOqLh9XLAnYj9h-opOTLGd5gHH2Q8cCiaGV4yNBttAWK0iLDGUWhJpo-7X_QhkuH6mGzybhnRiwTWE_mHYA52S9lLsedSfoSTziSYBycHZTexsuLcTC36tYx46iCAo8yXubBi5ECk/s1600/lydian_dominant_b6.jpg" height="128" width="200" /></a></div>
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-CJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18270341539211116396noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131931383193617887.post-79417783879764179102015-03-03T19:34:00.001-08:002015-03-07T17:09:18.258-08:006 Chords Explained<div class="MsoNormal">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ6ozcL9RggMp204KS2isJjxGWw_wTU3Nxtpf1_tpfSRDbInq1UkDxrS0pwFq1BqgZQuL4KFoq7M4cWYrMZjLdONVyzAdDUIxQ7jAxdaqWNfEHdyORPsIshSsIOe00aVCm6rWc2ar1ucs/s1600/c6_min6.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ6ozcL9RggMp204KS2isJjxGWw_wTU3Nxtpf1_tpfSRDbInq1UkDxrS0pwFq1BqgZQuL4KFoq7M4cWYrMZjLdONVyzAdDUIxQ7jAxdaqWNfEHdyORPsIshSsIOe00aVCm6rWc2ar1ucs/s1600/c6_min6.gif" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Q: </b>Hey Chris, thanks for all the great
content on both your blog and your <a href="http://chrisjuergensen.com/" target="_blank">site</a>. I’m also going to get both your <a href="http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/chrisj64" target="_blank">books</a>
as well. I have a question: I’ve been listening to and trying to play some of
Brian Setzer’s big band stuff lately. What is the deal with the 6 chords? You
don’t hear them so much in other genres but Brian seems to love them. Is there
anything I should know about these chords?
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>A: </b>Brian is really a great musician. I have
the greatest appreciation of him because he has really come a long way. I mean,
he was great back with The Stray Cats but he has really stretched a lot with
his big band thing and you can tell he has really been studying over the years
- Pretty rare with successful musicians. Anyway, getting to your question
regarding 6 chords. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Although 6 chords pop up in all sorts of
music, as you have noticed, they are very popular in Rockabilly and older traditional Jazz (that's why you get a lot of them with Brian - his big band is a combination of both). They are a
good replacement for any major chord. When we harmonize the <b>I</b>, <b>IV</b> and <b>V</b> chords,
we get major triads. If we harmonize the same chords to 7th chords, we get a <b>maj7</b> (<b>I</b>) chord, <b>maj7</b>
(<b>IV</b>) chord and a dominant (<b>V</b>) chord. But, when we harmonize the three major
chords to 6 chords, we get three major 6 chords. Therefore, you can play a 6 chord
as an alternative for any of the three diatonic major chords (including the dominant chord). Before we get into the minor
versions of the 6 chords, I want to describe the tonal characteristics of the
major 6 chord first.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As you probably know, the 6 chord is
spelled <b>1-3-5-6</b>, the 6<sup>th</sup> is major. Play this common voicing, it is
spelled <b>1-3-6-1</b> (it doesn’t contain the 5<sup>th</sup>, but you don’t really
need it). Play it over an the open A note on your 5<sup>th</sup> string so you
get a good sense of the chord:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">E|----5------<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">B|----7------<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">G|----6------<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">D|----7------<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A|------------<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">E|------------<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">How does it sound? Super major right?
Almost more major than a normal major chord. The major 6 sort of pushes the
chord to a brighter place. There is another good reason for this. You may have
noticed, the chord looks a lot like a <b>Dmaj7</b> chord as well:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">E|----5------<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">B|----7------<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">G|----6------<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">D|----7------<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A|----5------<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">E|------------<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You sort of get two major chords rolled
into one, an <b>A</b> major chord and <b>Dmaj7</b> chord. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But you can also see it as an inverted<b>
F#min7</b> chord right: <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>A6</b> = <b>A-C#-E-F# </b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>F#-7</b> = <b>F#-A-C#-E</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So you see, 6 chords are interesting
because you can hear and visualize them different ways. Somehow major and
somehow minor. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Min6 Chords</b></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></span>
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Let’s talk a little about the <b>min6</b> chord.
The minor 6 chord is technically spelled <b>1-b3-5-6 </b>(notice the major 6).<b> </b>There is a complication here
though. If we take the three diatonic minor chords, the <b>ii</b>, <b>iii</b> and <b>vi</b> chords
and harmonize them to <b>min6</b> chords, we find that only the <b>ii</b> chord harmonizes to
a true <b>min6</b> chord. The other two have minor sixes, which makes them into <b>minb6</b>
chords. These are nice chords, just a little less common. But the thing that you
really have to keep in mind here is that, unlike the three major diatonic
chords, you can’t replace any minor chord with a <b>min6</b> chords. You can only
really do this with the <b>ii</b> chord. You can, of course with a little common
sense replace the <b>iii</b> and <b>vi</b> chord with <b>minb6</b> chords (just be weary of melody notes and context).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As the <b>maj6</b> chord looks like an inverted
<b>min7</b> chord, let’s see what the <b>min6</b> chord looks like:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Dmin6</b> = <b>D-F-A-B</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Bmin7b5</b> = <b>B-D-F-A</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Since the <b>maj6</b> looks like an inverted <b>min7</b>
chord, I bet you were expecting the <b>min6</b> chord to look like an inverted <b>maj7</b>
chord right? Nope, looks like a <b>min7b5</b> chord. That is why the <b>min6</b> chord sounds
a lot less simple than the plain old major 6 chord. Regardless it is a nice
replacement for the <b>ii</b> chord and you can think of it as a ‘dorian’ chord. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Common Progressions</b></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A lot of time they pop up in progressions like this (the root of the minor chord moving down in half steps):</span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Diatonic Chords</b></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When we look at the whole diatonic system
harmonized as 6<sup> </sup>chords we get this:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>C6 – Dmin6 – Eminb6 – F6 – G6 – Aminb6 –
Bdimb6 </b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(<b>Bdimb6</b> sounds a lot more like <b>G7/B</b>, which
is a lot more likely).<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Difference between 6 chords and 13 chords</b></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></span>
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The difference between the two chords are simple, the 13 chords contains 7ths. A lot of people worry about where the 6th is placed (above or below the 7th in the chord) but I don't think it makes any difference.</span></span><br />
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<br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></span>
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">By the way, the 9th and 11th have no bearing on 13th chord, they are total options.</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://chrisjuergensen.com/chords_symbols_1.htm" target="_blank">More on chords >>></a></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://chrisjuergensen.com/chordformula.htm" target="_blank">Chord Construction Charts >>></a></span></div>
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-CJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18270341539211116396noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131931383193617887.post-56288942028922223412014-12-07T15:48:00.001-08:002023-02-28T23:57:29.210-08:00Soloing Like a Pro<span face="Verdana, sans-serif"><b>Q:</b> I've come to realize that playing a good solo isn't really so much about technique but a bunch of other factors. I just haven't figured it out exactly. I've been working on scales and arpeggios but I'm not sure that my guitar solos are interesting at all. Is there some sort of moment when all this work I've been doing will pay off and my solos are going to start sounding great?</span><br />
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<span face="Verdana, sans-serif"><b>A:</b> Because I teach, I think about these things all the time. I sort of traced my career backwards and looked at the way I progressed as a soloist to the point I am today. These are the things I think one has to do to become a really good soloist:</span><br />
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1. <b>Scales, arpeggios and sequences</b> - I think this goes without saying, you really have to practice playing scales and arpeggios a lot. They help you develop technique and needless to say, you use them as the tools for soloing. So what you are doing is not wrong really, it just isn't enough. It is the right place to start but you have to start moving on to other important steps. Guitarists who don't practice scales and arpeggios will never really develop great technique. But relying on scales and arpeggios <i>exclusively</i> leads to pretty lame solos. It is like knowing a ton of words and not really know how to put them together in any meaningful way. If the goal to learning scales is to use them a soloing tools, there is a better way to practice them other than to simply play them front and back to a metronome. Which brings me to my next point.</div>
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<span face="Verdana, sans-serif">2. <b>Practicing to changes</b> - I was lucky that I figured this out early. On my first lesson, my teacher taught me the minor pentatonic scale and Blues changes. I didn't realize that they were a set so I practiced them separately assuming one had nothing to do with the other. When I went to my next lesson, my teacher played the changes and I played the scale and it really surprised me. I was sort of playing a solo. It wasn't anything great but I could tell that the notes worked against the chords. With a little time I could change the order of notes and make up simple phrases and with some prodding, I learned to bend certain notes as well. From then on, I have always practiced my scales to chord changes. I first recorded the changes on a cassette tape and jammed along. As technology progressed, I eventually bought a sequencer which was even better because I could play over rhythms that I never considered before and change the chords at my own discression. I had never heard of using chord tones or anything like that but I think my ears sort of developed to the point where I could navigate through the changes mostly emphasizing the right notes in the scale for each individual chord in the progression. Playing to a metronome won't really lead to great solos, playing over changes will help immensely. So if you are at the stage where you can play scales, rather than just playing them, try to play them to chord changes being as musical as possible. If you are learning the major scales, try practicing them against various combinations of the diatonic chords. There are seven in all. Using C major as an example: <b>C-Dmin-Emin-F-G-Amin-Bdim</b> or <b>Cmaj7-Dmin7-Emin7-Fmaj7-G7-Amin7-Bmin7b5 </b>(you can also use the major pentatonic scale ver the same set of chords).<b> </b>If you are working on the minor pentatonic scale, try practicing the scale agains a Blues progression. I still do this type or practicing, even after 35 years of playing although the scales I practice may be slightly more advanced. </span></div>
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<span face="Verdana, sans-serif">3. <b>Collecting</b> - Without doing this you will remain a pretty lame soloist forever. You see, it is pretty difficult to come up with a bunch of genius phrases on your own using all the scales and arpeggios that you know. You can try of course but it is much easier to steal them. Scott Henderson said to me once; "Why would you want to try coming up with great licks and ideas by yourself when you can simply steal them from Wayne Shorter or Jimi Hendrix." Like I said before, as a teacher I listen to my students all the time and they don't really have to many interesting things to say in their solos. They don't have any cool licks. I started thinking back on how I picked up my phrasing, licks and ideas and remembered that at various times in my learning process I would often listen to musicians I liked and steal a lick. Even if it was just a measure or so, I would steal it and try to figure out a way to use it using my theory knowledge. How could I make it major or minor or whatever. And then I would make a conscious effort to use that lick when I got a chance. There is a danger however in learning exclusively from one person, you risk sounding like a less impressive version of that one musician. The true geniuses stole from a wide variety of sources. Jimi Hendrix is a great example, a musician who truly had his own voice but had varied influences. When I listen to him, I can hear Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry and Curtis Mayfield amongst others. I remember from Miles' autobiography him saying that he listened to Sinatra for phrasing.</span></div>
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<span face="Verdana, sans-serif">4. <b>Phrasing</b> - Phrasing is about timing and space. If you play nonstop, you aren't phrasing. The best way to develop phrasing is by copying a longer section of a solo and playing along. Rock and Blues are pretty simple to play along because they are generally short. I mean, you can learn 12 bars of an Albert King solo if you want to learn great phrasing. I can promise you, you will never be able to play a good Blues with doing this a lot. Blues is especially about licks and phrasing. It is more difficult with Jazz because the solos are long. I remember copying a bunch of solos on Miles Davis' Kind of Blues. The tempos are pretty slow and Miles' solos are moody and cool. On top of that, trumpet isn't like guitar at all so the lines aren't like the ones we would play so it makes for interesting licks and forces to to think about how to physically play them. All the great musicians I know told me to transcribe and it is true, the greatest musicians are also the greatest thieves.</span></div>
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<span face="Verdana, sans-serif">5. <b>Listening</b> - Don't underestimate the power of listening. Copying and transcribing will do wonders for your playing but listening has a similar effect. Listen to the players that you like, over and over. Eventually how they phrase will begin to show up in your playing. I tend to listen to a wide variety of music and these days a lot of it isn't even guitar music. I find that a lot of the harmonies and melodies begin to show up in my playing simply by osmosis. I'm hoping that Musrat Ali Khan, Stravinsky and Miles will influence the way I play and think about music and I listen to them all the time.</span></div>
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<span face="Verdana, sans-serif">6. <b>Tone</b> - I think it is OK to practice without an amp if you don't have one available but it is much better to practice with one. I think the best guitarists have this intimate relationship with their guitars. And the only real way to develop it is by playing through an amp a lot. Jeff Beck is a good example, he is always switching between pickups and adjusting his tone and volume on his guitar. He knows how to get a wide variety of tones out of the instrument. Developing this tonal sense is impossible without years of experience actually playing through an amp.</span><br />
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<span face="Verdana, sans-serif">7. <b>Playing Heads</b> - Teachers always told me this when I was younger and I always ignored their advice. One of the most important aspects of soloing is simply expressing yourself in musical terms. What this basically means that it isn't only the notes that you play but how you play the notes. You can slide up to any single note or bend up to it. What kind of vibrato will you use? All these things are really important and one way to learn how to do it is to play the heads to various songs. Listen to the way various musicians including vocalists sing or play the heads to standards, see if you can mimic their phrasing and approach. This will also help you to express yourself while soloing.</span></div>
-CJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18270341539211116396noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131931383193617887.post-17173523224433486112014-11-26T01:03:00.000-08:002015-03-06T20:07:58.781-08:00Guitar and Singing?<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Q:</b> Hey Chris, What's your opinion about the importance of singing as well as playing? I know besides playing guitar, you sing too. Did you start singing when you started paying guitar or did that come about somewhere down the line? I'm wondering because I want to sing as well and think I could broaden my horizons, so to speak doing more than just playing guitar. What are your thoughts?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>A:</b> I started singing after the fact. I actually began by singing chorus in my band, they made me do it. I think you have a better chance at getting a gig if you can sing as well as play. Things I've learned about singing from singing myself and watching students at college: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Pitch</b> - Singers who can play an instrument have good pitch. There are things you can do to change your singing voice to some extent but, I don't know, some singers just have great tone. Pitch more so than tone can certainly be developed and having a good relationship with an instrument is sort of a short cut. So if you play guitar already, you'll have a decent shot at singing as well. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If you are a singer, you can improve your singing by playing an instrument. If you are an aspiring singer, learn an instrument, obviously guitar or piano come to mind. You can help develop your ears and pitch by singing intervals as well.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Technique</b> - Developing technique obviously is important, but it isn't the goal. The goal is to sing songs with conviction and with as little limitation as possible. To sing without limitation, technique is important. One aspect of technique is range. It is difficult to develop lower range and easier to develop higher range. You have various tools to do so, including developing a stronger head voice. Without getting into physical science, you have two sets of muscles, a different set for chest voice (<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">thyroarytenoid)</span> and head voice (</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">cricothyroid)</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">. Learning to hand off from one set to the other smoothly is important. You learn to do this by singing scales in a range that that incorporates both chest (your lower range) and head voice (your higher range). If you don't learn to do this you can damage your voice by forcing yourself to sing in a range too high for your chest voice. When I first started singing as the main singer in my band, I learned the hard way. After a night of singing a few hours, I found I would lose my voice the next day, which makes you useless as a singer if you tour. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Practicing scales in the proper range is important but also singing the proper vowels are important. A person who has a weak head voice (has a problem handing off the muscles used for chest voice to the muscles used for head voice), can sing certain vowels that will help you find your head voice. A good example would be the vowels </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">"ee" "oo" and "ih" which </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">lower the formant values and make entering head happen lower in pitch.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"> </span>A good voice coach should know these things and that's exactly why they have their students sing scales using certain vowels and in a certain range that tends to stretch between the singer's chest and head voice range. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Anyways, if you can't find someone who can diagnose your problems (weak head, weak chest or has a problem switching between then), I have good news for you.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>VocalizeU</b> - Working at Tokyo School of Music I realized that a lot of enrolling students don't have the piano chops to accompany themselves singing scales. This is a major disadvantage. Obviously if you can't play scales on the keyboard, you are going to have a rough time practicing your singing. I found a great program called VocalizeU that will not only help you find your problem areas, it will also give you the proper exercises to work on daily and change them according to your progress automatically. At the college, teachers assign the proper exercises for each student but the program will diagnose your problems if you don't have a vocal coach to do so. I strongly recommend VocalizeU. You can download it to your computer or your iPad. Go here for <a href="http://vocalizeu.com/" target="_blank">more info >>> </a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Songs</b> - At least half of your practice time should be dedicated to learning songs. It is important to build a large repertoire but also important to sing songs that will challenge you technique wise. It is also in your best interest to copy some of the important nuances of the singers you like. How singers get from point A to point B is one aspect but also vibrato. You might have a difficult time finding the tone of some of the greats but you can certainly copy their vibrato. Certain singers have very obvious vibrato like Steve Perry and others like Sade, have very slight vibratos. Nobody really becomes great in a vacuum. What I mean is that all the great musicians I have worked with (singers included) had artists that they copied like crazy. I have also found that the real geniuses copied from a wide range of artists, think Janis Joplin, Aretha Franklin and Billy Holiday for example (Rock, Soul and Jazz).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Playing and singing</b> - Singing to karaoke of the songs you are working on is OK, but If you can, I really suggest that your learn to accompany yourself on piano or Keyboards. As I said this will not only help you develop pitch but also allow you develop a whole other way to make money. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Ensemble vs. Karaoke</b> - Working with an ensemble is also important. I have found that singers who have spent their whole career singing to tracks have a really hard time singing with an ensemble. I am a fitness nut and spend four or five days a week at the gym. I often see many similarities between music and weight training. Karaoke is sort of like working with machines while singing with an ensemble is more like free weights. There are very few variables regarding machines. Basically there is one motion and you can't change very much regarding the exercise. While using machines, you use a very specific muscle. When you use a barbell or dumbbell, the variables always change. For example when you do a standing shoulder press, you will have to use muscles all over your body to keep yourself balanced. Besides your shoulders working, your core muscles are working hard to keep you stabilized and by changing your grip just a tiny bit, you will work different areas of your muscles. Just putting weights on the barbell uses muscles and lifting the bar to your shoulders before you do the actual press uses a set of different muscles. That is why body builders tend to use free weights more so than machines. Machines are better than nothing at all and in many ways are better for beginners because you can avoid injuries, but they aren't the choice of more advanced athletes. Machines focus too much on individual muscles while free weights focus on wide groups of muscles. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Singing with Karaoke has no variables, it is the exact same thing every time therefore you sing the same way every time. When you sing with a band, the variables change all the time, the dynamics, tempo, volume, even the individual parts change. This forces you to change and adapt. You can always tell the singers who are not used to ensembles, they want more monitor and might stick their fingers in their ears so they can hear themselves better. They have poor eye contact with the members of the band and have a problem giving cues for endings. They can't effectively count off the song. Singing with an ensemble will help you to develop singing energy to rise above the power of an ensemble. Karaoke doesn't have volume or energy so you can sing comfortably, maybe too much so. After all, if you can't get above the track, you can just turn it down. And if you can't hit the high notes, you can change pitch. You can't really do that with an ensemble so you have to develop a certain charisma and power. Just like weight machines are great for beginners, karaoke tracks are a fine place to start. But there comes a time when singing with an ensemble will help bring you to a new level.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Singing can help you as a player</b> - I think guitarists should sing. I mean that is why the guitar was invented really. It is portable and perfect for accompanying yourself singing. I really learned to appreciate singers by becoming a singer myself and realizing that guitar players tend to walk all over singers both volume and note wise. When I record, I generally record the guitar parts first and the vocal parts last. One time after recording everything I found that my own guitar part was overbearing for my vocal track and I had to re-record a simpler guitar track. Now I tend to be more in tune with vocalists because of that experience.</span></div>
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-CJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18270341539211116396noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131931383193617887.post-48845670564855783122014-08-22T01:42:00.001-07:002015-10-24T18:44:26.933-07:00Scale Patterns<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Q:</b> I was wondering about scale patterns. Looking through your chrisjuergensen.com lessons, I notice that the major scale patterns that you use are unlike the ones that my teacher showed me. He seems to think that the 3-note per string patterns are the best ones to use. The problem is that there are 7 different patterns to remember while the ones that you refer to have only 5. What is your opinion?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>A:</b> The ones that I generally refer to are sort of the standard patterns for teaching. That doesn't necessarily mean that they are the best but they are the more or less, generic (for the lack of better words). They are just simple to play and remember, and as you said, there are only five. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In truth, there are countless ways to play any one scale. Take a C major scale for example. It is just a C-D-E-F-G-A-B note scale. We, as guitar players, tend to think in physical patterns but it doesn't have to be so. Just play every C-D-E-F-G-A-B note on your fretboard, and you will be playing a C major scale regardless of where you start or finish. I can play it from my open 6th string (which is an E note) all the way to the 22nd fret on my first string bent up to E hitting every diatonic note in-between. I can shift strings here and there to get up there, and by my calculations, from E to E, makes it a four octave major scale (technically E phrygian, a C major scale mode). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The scale patterns your teacher showed you are 3-note per string patterns. Why would you want to use these? Sometimes the 3-note per string patterns led themselves to certain techniques. I bet your teacher is into economy picking or legato and that is why he probably likes them. It is also easy to use math to develop sequences as there is the same amount of notes on each string. I tend to use them myself here and there. The only disadvantage is that, as you said, have to remember seven pattens which might seem like a chore at first. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">These patterns are fun to use for making phrases using math because there are three notes on each and every string. Try playing a 1-3-2 (C-E-D) pattern first. Do so only picking the first note and hammering and pulling the next two (using you pinky on the 12th fret and middle finger on the 10th). Then move the sequence to the next string. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">E|-----------------------------------------------------------------10--13--12--</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">B|----------------------------------------------------10--13--12---------------</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">G|----------------------------------------9--12--10----------------------------</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">D|----------------------------9--12--10----------------------------------------</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A|---------------8--12--10-----------------------------------------------------</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">E|--8--12--10-------------------------------------------------------------------</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">How about a 3-1-2 pattern or a 2-3-1 pattern (or even four note patters such as 1-3-1-2 or 3-1-3-2, etc.). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Most people never though about it but you can play 2-note per string major scale patterns as well. Why would you want to do that? Well, it would simply lead to unexpected phrasing that might be difficult using a standard pattern.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What about a 4-note per string pattern? Sure, why not. You could slide or even use all four fingers on your left hand if you are a badass. You can cover a lot of distance with one of these.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Eventually you want to be able to see the whole fretboard though. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://chrisjuergensen.com/Breaking%20the%20Major%20Scale%20Paradigm.htm" target="_blank">More on scale patterns here >>></a></span>-CJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18270341539211116396noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131931383193617887.post-85262034127620290482013-04-22T04:44:00.002-07:002014-08-22T01:48:20.736-07:00Dominant 11 vs. 9sus4 Chords<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Dear Chris: downloaded your <a href="http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/chrisj64" target="_blank">book</a> today and I'm really enjoying it. The
way you explain where the altered chords come from scale wise, I feel is
really going to open a lot of doors for me. So thanks.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Q: </b>I've found your explanation of <b>sus4</b> chords and <b>11</b>
chords quite new. I got stuck with the idea in Mark Levine's books. I've
been having to read a lot of Top 40, pop and rock in a cruise band and
I'm finding many <b>11</b> chords which (I'm pretty certain) are looking for a
<b>F/G</b> voicing. I'm gleamed from this that its all context based. The
wikipedia article says similar things to your book...</span></span><br />
<a name='more'></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<blockquote style="border: medium none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;">
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 19.1875px;">Though rare, in </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_music" style="background-image: none; color: #0b0080; line-height: 19.1875px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Rock music">rock</a><span style="line-height: 19.1875px;"> and </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popular_music" style="background-image: none; color: #0b0080; line-height: 19.1875px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Popular music">popular music</a><span style="line-height: 19.1875px;">, the third of the dominant eleventh ("as theoretically conceived": C, E, G, B</span><span style="line-height: 19.1875px;">♭</span><span style="line-height: 19.1875px;">, D, F</span><span style="line-height: 19.1875px;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">)</span> for example, is usually omitted.</span><sup style="line-height: 1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleventh_chord#cite_note-Stephenson-1" style="background-image: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;" target="_blank">[1]</a></sup><span style="line-height: 19.1875px;"> It may be notated in charts as, C11, or, more often, "descriptively," as Gm7/C.</span><sup style="line-height: 1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleventh_chord#cite_note-Stephenson-1" style="background-image: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;" target="_blank">[1]</a></sup><span style="line-height: 19.1875px;"> The fifth is also sometimes omitted, thus turning the chord into a </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suspended_chord" style="background-image: none; color: #0b0080; line-height: 19.1875px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Suspended chord">suspended chord</a><span style="line-height: 19.1875px;">.</span></span><sup style="line-height: 1em; white-space: nowrap;"><i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" style="background-image: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (July 2011)"><br /></span></a></i></sup></span></span></div>
</blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">So in a jazz context I'm going to keep the 3rd in my <b>11</b> chords to make them <i>true </i><b>11</b> chords but in pop and rock I'm going to leave it out. Sound ok?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">If you don't mind me asking - which sequencer would you recommend so I can practice improvising over changes?</span></span></div>
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</div>
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<div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>A: </b>Glad you are enjoying my book. </span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">As far as dominant<b> 11</b>
chords. I tend to think that when whoever is writing the chart is just
making a notation mistake (<b>mi</b><span style="font-size: small;"><b>n11</b>, <b>maj7#11</b> and <b>7#11</b> chords are standard fare. <a href="http://chrisjuergensen.com/chords_symbols_pt2_1.htm" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: small;">Go here for more on this >></span></a>)</span>. Regarding dominant <b>11</b> chords, I can't imagine that the person writing the
chart is actually telling you to make sure that that you keep both the
3rd and 4th in the chord. I mean, the only reason I could possible think
of is that the melody note is the 3rd, but then again why would the 4th
be important? The 3rd and 4th would be fighting each other. I just
assume that he means <b>9sus4</b> and play the slash chord. In other words, <b>G11</b>
= <b>F/G</b>. Being guitar players, we don't really have a great way to keep
the 3rd without losing something more important and even if we could get
all those intervals in there, the chord would be big and bulky, not
especially pretty. I wouldn't worry about it being a jazz or top forty
situation, stick with the slash chord and you'll always be fine.</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I disagree with the wikipedia definition somewhat, especially the part:</span></span></div>
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<blockquote style="border: medium none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19.1875px;">The fifth is also sometimes omitted, thus turning the chord into a </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suspended_chord" style="background-image: none; color: #0b0080; line-height: 19.1875px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Suspended chord">suspended chord</a><span style="line-height: 19.1875px;">.</span><sup style="line-height: 1em; white-space: nowrap;">[<i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" style="background-image: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (July 2011)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup></span></span></blockquote>
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</div>
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<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">It should say, the 3rd is more often than not omitted, thus turning the chord into a suspended chord. </span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The 5th is often omitted but that has nothing to do with making the chord a <b>sus4</b> chord or not.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Here is a<span style="font-size: small;">n<span style="font-size: small;"> example of a</span></span> voicing with both <span style="font-size: small;">the </span>3rd and 4th that seems to work for me but then again, I <span style="font-size: small;">don't <span style="font-size: small;">play all the notes at the same time. I more <span style="font-size: small;">or less play the notes separately<span style="font-size: small;"> like a pianist woul<span style="font-size: small;">d<span style="font-size: small;"> so I think a voicing like this works better for a ballad. It is spelled 1-b7-3-4-1 and if you absolutely have to play the ro<span style="font-size: small;">ot, you can do so with your thumb</span>.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp2_TY9jMUnY0rHXN8jXB4izleVQsy25PIBqYU-2IkGpr3RXW70qRQQfx59h_MxsHdW_dJbOufAVb5uqv7BUNeUsb4HSZyCUXF07JHxcvyYD26F_UCEC8ksm9Su3FBAekAanGL93-W9zI/s1600/A11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp2_TY9jMUnY0rHXN8jXB4izleVQsy25PIBqYU-2IkGpr3RXW70qRQQfx59h_MxsHdW_dJbOufAVb5uqv7BUNeUsb4HSZyCUXF07JHxcvyYD26F_UCEC8ksm9Su3FBAekAanGL93-W9zI/s1600/A11.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> </div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">As
far as practicing over changes, if you are using an ipad or any apple
device, I definitely suggest irealb. If you want a sequencer, see if you
can find a jamstation on ebay. But I can't tell you how much I enjoy <a href="http://www.irealb.com/" target="_blank">irealb</a>, so if you don't have an ipad yet and needed an excuse, you have
one now.</span></span></div>
<div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">More on <span style="font-size: small;"><b>sus4</b> chords <a href="http://chrisjuergensen.com/chords_symbols_pt2_1.htm" target="_blank">here >>></a></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">An<span style="font-size: small;">d chord formulas <a href="http://chrisjuergensen.com/chordformula.htm" target="_blank">here >>></a></span> </span> </span></span></div>
</div>
-CJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18270341539211116396noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131931383193617887.post-30045924650052948052013-02-12T07:20:00.001-08:002013-04-12T18:15:04.105-07:00Vision<style><!--
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</style> <span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Q:</b><span style="font-weight: normal;"> I just went over your <a href="http://chrisjuergensen.com/pentatonics.htm" target="_blank">minor pentatonic lesson</a>, and never have I seen anyone explain chord/scale theory in
such a straight forward no <span style="font-size: small;">BS</span> manner. I am an advanced intermediate level
guitarist, with big expectations. I have a day gig and a family and want to
know how to get the most out of the little time I have to practice everyday.
Can you give me some pointers?</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>A:</b><span style="font-weight: normal;"> Expectations should be big my
friend. Good for you. I talk a bunch about <a href="http://chrisjuergensen.com/where_do_you_go_from_here_article.htm" target="_blank">practice routines</a> in this lesson on
my site and in <a href="http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/chrisj64" target="_blank">THE INFINITE GUITAR</a>. It's hard to give specific advice without
listening to you play and getting a handle on who you want to become, in other
words, your vision. I can tell you though, this vision is almost everything. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"></span></span></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">You have to be able to see yourself as the guitarist you want to become. This
image changes over time, but it is important to always have this image
imprinted into your brain. It shouldn't be a general image, like: "great
technique and great tone" it should be more like: “Tone and conviction
like Jimi Hendrix, harmony like Alan Holdsworth, knowledge of scale/chord
theory like Scott Henderson, Blues sense and power like Otis Rush, and the
three Kings, composition skills like Lennon and McCartney.” This is more or
less my personal vision but you get the point. You have to make a dedicated
effort to learn from who you want to be like. The biggest mistake you can make is
to believe that you can become great in a vacuum. Many young guitarists seem to
think that you can develop your own style by purposely avoiding copying the “greats.”
But with all due respect, I've never met a great musician who became so without
the influence of many other musicians. There are plenty of guitarists who
practice hours and hours a day and become nothing. It is simply because they
are practicing scales to a metronome which is a sure way to be a big bore. Jimi Hendrix learned from the best of all different genres and had the vision to combine everything into his own unique brand of music, that is where his true <span style="font-size: small;">genius was.</span> <br />
<br />
</span><b>Sometimes the tiny things make all the difference</b><span style="font-weight: normal;"> - I can tell you that the most breakthroughs I've
had on the guitar are do to tiny discoveries. It may have been one phrase that
I picked up from Hendrix, Beck, Henderson, Stern or Scofield, but the two or
three second lick I may have picked up, changed my playing forever. You won't
get those hints from locking yourself into a practice routine regurgitating
scales and sequences (not to say that these things aren’t necessary, they just
aren’t the only things you need to work on) . It doesn't even have to be the “greats”
that you borrow from, I learned a lick or two from various players I’ve never
heard of on youtube that changed a lot for me. If your ears aren’t quick enough
to transcribe certain things, there is software available to slow phrases down
without changing pitch.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Theory</b><span style="font-weight: normal;"> - Theory is like rocket fuel
for what you practice. Theory allows you to use one tiny piece of information
into thousands of applications. It will allow you to categorize everything you
learn so you can use everything anytime, anyplace. It will help you see that
harmony and melody work hand in hand, that a C major pentatonic scale looks
like a like a <b>C69</b> chord turned on its side or a G altered chord is a <b>Db9</b> chord
with a different root. <br />
<br />
</span><b>Your own personal evolution</b><span style="font-weight: normal;"> - The
more you learn, the more your image changes. I wanted to play Black Sabbath
tunes when I was 13 but by the time I was 23, I wanted to play Giant Steps and
was coping my lines from Miles Davis rather than Ace Frehley. But that is how
the plan works. <br />
<br />
</span><b>Locking the emergency exit</b><span style="font-weight: normal;"> - Getting
yourself in a compromising position will do wonders for your playing. See if
you can't land yourself a gig where you have to learn 2 dozen tunes. It is the
best way to get your playing and ears in shape. Those who wait till they are
ready, never get ready, those who wait to get perfect technique, never get it. <br />
<br />
</span><b>Teaching</b><span style="font-weight: normal;"> - A student can also be
the best teacher. I suggest you find yourself a student. Even if you don't get
paid, having a student makes you organize everything you know. That is how my
book that you were so kind to have purchased came about, it is basically twenty
years of teaching people stuff.</span></span></span>-CJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18270341539211116396noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131931383193617887.post-74921385529608732762013-02-04T00:15:00.001-08:002013-02-04T04:47:26.867-08:00Finding The Right Chord<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://chrisjuergensen.com/c_chords_diatonic_roman_num.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://chrisjuergensen.com/c_chords_diatonic_roman_num.gif" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Q:</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> One of my biggest songwriting problems is when I have a song in my
head, and I'm figuring it out on guitar, and I tend to get a few chords
into it and inevitably, it seems, there is an "elusive" chord that I can
hear in my head but just can't seem to work out on the fretboard. Do
you ever have this problem, and what do you do/how do you find it?</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>A: </b>Theory will help you immensely in these situations. As I describe in chapter 18 of <a href="http://www.lulu.com/shop/chris-juergensen/the-infinite-guitar/paperback/product-321761.html;jsessionid=C7959900C98D6F9106CF921BDFE2846D" target="_blank">THE INFINITE GUITAR</a>, composition is a matter of finding a chord for your melody note. There are basically two ways to do this (at least for me). The first is working with diatonic harmony. When we work with diatonic harmony, we basically are working within the chords in one key (sometimes using secondary dominant or borrowed chords). If you aren't getting this, <a href="http://chrisjuergensen.com/composing%20music.htm" target="_blank">start over here >></a>. If you understand intervals and chords this is actually pretty easy. Let's say you are writing in the key of C. The chords in the key of C are: <b>C</b> - <b>Dmin</b> - <b>Emin</b> - <b>F</b> - <b>G</b> - <b>Amin</b> - <b>Bdim</b>. </span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So if you are stuck on a certain chord for your melody and you are mostly working with triads, for the most part </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">you</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">have three choices. For example you have a melody note and it is a F note, this note could be the root of <b>F</b>, the b3 of <b>Dmin</b> or the b5 of the <b>Bdim</b> chord. You have other choices as well. The same F note could be the b7 of <b>G7</b> or <b>G7sus4</b>, or the 4 of a <b>Csus4</b> chord. Pop music tends to favor roots, 3rds, 5ths and 7ths (mostly the b7 of dominant 7th chords rather than the 7 of major 7 chords). Jazz sometimes will favor upper extensions from time to time (7ths, 9ths, 11ths, 13ths) but there are no real rules, you can check every possible diatonic chord till you find what works for you. Sometimes using an upper extension as a melody note after using roots, 3rds and 5ths consistently will wake up the listener's ears.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Just for the sake of practice, let's write as many possible chords for a C melody note: <b>C</b> (root), <b>Amin</b> (b3), <b>F </b>(5th), <b>Dmin7</b> (b7), <b>Bmin7b5,b9</b> (b9), <b>Gsus4</b> or <b>G7sus4</b> (4), <b>Emin7b6</b> (b6) or <b>Emin7b13</b> (b13), etc. Now, some of these chords aren't going to work as well as others (like the <b>Bmin7b5,b9</b> chord) but you can see that there are plenty of choices. Try it yourself with the other 6 notes in the key.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The other composition method (actually: harmonization) method is based more on voicings rather a diatonic system. Regardless, it is still done by finding a chord for your melody note, but this time you have the choice of basically any chord. You just have to like the way your chords work together. Wayne Shorter writes a lot of music this way and this style of writing is favored by modal or modern Jazz or Fusion. For example our melody note is once again C. The C note could technically be a chord tone of any chord: root of <b>C</b> or <b>Cmin</b>, b9 of <b>B7b9</b>, 9th of <b>Bbmaj9</b>,<b> Bb9</b> or <b>Bbmin9</b>, b3rd of <b>Amin</b>, #9 of <b>A7#9</b>, etc.. Using this method you have to be well versed in voicings and have a knack for putting unrelated chords together. </span>-CJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18270341539211116396noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131931383193617887.post-62953615054791570682012-11-17T04:41:00.002-08:002013-01-05T05:21:46.252-08:00Amps and Other Things<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg84QUDrY6VZkZfuK_5M4WLQpHFomYB5gzSNS6Oikigb535yK6keAvo8u-pxGG-Aaf0agWTfVuMe0upKHh-NYmMsP1L7OaZa2LENlj6FEEKYK1q64sOVHbJi42-3SqcEywAHmJi3wkqR9Y/s1600/DSC_0339.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg84QUDrY6VZkZfuK_5M4WLQpHFomYB5gzSNS6Oikigb535yK6keAvo8u-pxGG-Aaf0agWTfVuMe0upKHh-NYmMsP1L7OaZa2LENlj6FEEKYK1q64sOVHbJi42-3SqcEywAHmJi3wkqR9Y/s200/DSC_0339.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Q:</b> I know you love Marshalls, and I am looking at building a
JTM45 head from parts. There is so much to love about Marshalls BUT they are SO
loud - and that's the 45, forget the 50s and 100 super leads. What head and
cabs do you use, and how do you tame them for say recording? Do you use a
hotplate or something? And how do you find the lack of reverb? (I notice you
mostly seem to run some delay though).<br />
</span><span style="font-size: small;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>A:</b> Regarding Marshalls, I definitely like the 100 watts the
best. The best thing about Marshalls is that they are easy to rent for a gig,
meaning I don’t have to cart my own, I can just rent one and the production
company will have it on stage for me when I get there. </span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Most smaller to medium
size venues in Tokyo already have a Marshall on stage. The 100 watt heads sound
great through a 4x12 cabinet. I'll use any marshall 100 watt head they give me
but I don't like the three channel heads (JCM 2000 TNS 100). I hate them
because the effects loop doesn't work right. Some of my delays sound out of
phase and there is always some sort of volume problem when using the loop. If
I’m recording I won’t be using the loop anyways so they work fine for me. I
just used a JCM 900 yesterday and it sounded great.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Marshalls have some manufacturing issues these days, they
break all the time and cabinets are made of crap. Neven underestimate your
cabinet, the same Celestian speakers in a crappy cabinet and a well built one
sound completely different. When I got my first road job in 1982, my Marshall
was a real work horse but those days are gone. They still sound good to me
though as long as they work right but they aren’t the same as in the old days.
There are amps made like old Marshalls that you can buy, Roy Blankenship or John
Suhr makes amps that are built and sound great like the old Marshalls but as I
said, you will have to cart them to your gig. I live in Tokyo so I can’t be
bringing a Marshall head to a gig much less a 4x12 cabinet.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Using or not using a loop:</b> I don't need reverb, but I absolutely have to have an
effects loop. So if you are going to make an amp yourself, definitely get the
specs with a loop. I run my delay in the loop and that's it, everything else
goes in front of the amp. If you prefer reverb over delay, or use both, you can
run a reverb in the loop as well. When recording, you put the delay on
after the fact so you don't need a loop, but for shows, I have to use the loop.
Why would you record dry and put it on later? Once you record with the delay on,
you can’t fix it after the fact. Check out the track below when you get a
chance, I recorded dry and added reverb and delay after. There are two reasons
for this, first, regarding delay, you have to set up the repeats with the tempo
of the song or else you’ll get all this weird rhythmic flams going on. Second,
you’ll want to control the level of the effect, what works good on one section
might be way too much on another section. If you listen to the track below,
you’ll find that I bring up and down reverb and delay levels in different sections. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I turn down the delay
during the breaks (<span style="font-size: small;">0</span>:47 for example) but it isn’t completely off either bringing it back up for the head. </span>I
actually bring the reverb up and the delay down at 6:05 because the delay gets on my nerves for the bluesy phrases. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">I crank the delay back up again at 6:20. I bring the delay up even more at 6:53 for the volume swells on my chords. I can do all this with automation when I mix the track. It would be more difficult to do it myself while I record (although I use Xotic's X-Blender live because of its big wet/dry pot that I can rotate with my foot).</span></div>
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<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Dealing with volume: </b>When I record, if I'm in any sort of
decent studio, I can just put the amp in a booth and shut the door. If I stand
in the big room, I might leave the booth door open a few inches which leads to
all sorts of problems<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span>.</span> But as I generally don’t do
punch-ins or re-record my parts, it works out OK most of the time. I like
Marshalls at 3.5 or 4. They start to sound woofy above that. The older ones
didn't have a gain control so you just turned them up as loud as possible but
the new ones have a gain control that I set at around 5 or so and I use something
to boost my signal and sustain (I personally like Xotic’s BB pre-amp or their
EP Booster). Check this video on how I get my tone:</span><br />
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Playing Live:</b> While nobody moans and groans about my volume in a recording
studio, playing live can be more of a problem depending on the size of the
venue. If the venue is small and I can't get the amp at least in the 3s, the
amp doesn't sound very good so you have to position the cab so it doesn't hit
the soundman in the face. There are guys that cover three of the speakers with
plywood and leave one open for the mic. I like the sound of the amp on stage
and don’t really like the amp blaring back at me in a monitor. I might ask for
a bit of the amp in my moniters if the stage is big enough but I generally like
the amp ten or 15 feet away from me where I can walk out of the line of fire if
my own sound gets on my nerves. Soundmen want to control everything but I
personally think you need some bleed off the stage to sound good.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">If you are interested in downloading "Nostalgia's Fate" you can do so below. Don't be shy, it's only a buck! </span><br />
<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="100" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/track=2886650063/size=venti/bgcol=FFFFFF/linkcol=4285BB/" style="display: block; height: 100px; position: relative; width: 400px;" width="400"><a href="http://chrisjuergensen.bandcamp.com/track/nostalgias-fate">Nostalgia's Fate by Chris Juergensen</a></iframe>
</div>
-CJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18270341539211116396noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131931383193617887.post-34313713886391546712012-11-04T04:32:00.001-08:002012-11-17T04:56:09.249-08:00Playing Over Dominant Chords<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/RTzzxJzuCa8?list=PL4D00B8D045E44313&hl=en_US" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Q: </b>Like your style. I need some review of scales to play with regards to
how the Dominant Seventh Chord is resolving...functioning as a <b>V</b> chord
or just a secondary Dominant (which I would play Mixo or Lydian b7). If
it is resolving to minor I'd play harmonic minor of the letter name of
the chord it's going too.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>A:</b> here is the basic overview of the dominant scales. Let's take it by how
the dominant chord is functioning. When I say functioning, I mean
resolving to a <b>I</b> or <b>i</b> chord as in <b>V-I</b> or <b>V-i</b> or <b>G7 - C</b> or <b>G7 - C-7</b>. Non-Functioning means resolving somewhere else or possibly not resolving, as in <b>G7 - F#maj7</b> or just a static <b>G7</b> jam. Keep in mind, secondary dominants are for the most part functioning. </span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>1. non-functioning (unaltered)</b> - If the chord is a <b>7sus4</b> or <b>9sus4</b> chord, the only real choice you have is <a href="http://chrisjuergensen.com/modes_4_mixolydian.htm" target="_blank">mixolydian</a>. <br /><br /><b>2. non-functioning (unaltered)</b> - A plain dominant chord or <b>7#11</b> type chord calls for<a href="http://chrisjuergensen.com/melodic_minor_modes_2_lydiandominant.htm" target="_blank"> lydian dominant</a>. This is especially true for a dominant chord that resolves down a half step <a href="http://theinfiniteguitar.blogspot.jp/2007/06/lydian-dominant-mode-and-b5-subs.html" target="_blank">(b5 sub >>>)</a>, as in: <b>G7 - F#maj7</b>.<br /><br /><b>3.
Functioning (unaltered) </b>- A plain jane dominant chord resolving to a <b>I </b>chord. This really depends a lot on your improv skills because
theoretically, as the chord has no altered extentions (<b>b9,#9,b5,#9</b>), you
really don't have a lot of choices, mixolydian or perhaps the 5th mode
of harmonic minor (if it is easy for you to think of the letter name of
the chord it is resolving to, that is fine, in other words, <b>G7-C</b> = C harmonic minor. Just make sure not to play harmonic minor over the <b>C</b> chord, just over the <b>G7 </b>chord).
You mention that the 5th mode of the harmonic minor scale works when
the <b>V</b> chord goes to a minor chord. I personally have never worried about
what the tonic chord is (minor, major or dominant for that matter). I
don't really think it matters as the tonic chord has a different scale that matches anyways. Regarding the 5th mode of harmonic minor,
remember that when the chord is harmonized to its full extent, we get a
<b>7b9</b> chord.<br /><br />But, going back to my original
point, if you are good at improvising, you can easily use one of the
scales designed for altered chords. I'll sometimes use the altered or
diminished scale over an unaltered chord because I don't mind the tension it creates before resolving.<br /><br /><b>4. Functioning
(altered)</b> - <a href="http://theinfiniteguitar.blogspot.jp/2008/06/altered-dominant-chords.html" target="_blank">Altered chords</a> are chords harmonized from the melodic minor
scale's altered mode. Chords from this scale have altered 5ths and 9ths
in any combination. You could use <a href="http://chrisjuergensen.com/melodic_minor_modes_1.htm" target="_blank">the altered scale</a> over something as simple as a
<b>7b9</b> chord or as grandiose as a <b>7(b5,#9)</b> chord. <br /><br /><b>5. Functioning (dominant 13 with a b9 or #9 or maybe a #11) </b>- In the case of a <b>13b9</b> or <b>13#9</b>
chord that resolves to a tonic chord, you would want to use the
<a href="http://chrisjuergensen.com/diminished_half_whole_scale.htm" target="_blank">half/whole diminished scale</a>. The chord doesn't even have to be a 13
chord, it could just as well be a <b>7b9</b> or <b>7#9 </b>chord. <br /><br />Looking at some individual chord might give you some insight:<br /><br /><b>7</b>
- almost anything goes: major, minor pentatonic scales, mixolydian,
lydian dominant, if you have good improv sense, you can use altered or
half/whole diminished.<br /><br /><b>7sus4</b>, <b>9sus4</b>, <b>13sus4</b> - mixolydian only, obviously major pentatonic will work.<br /><br /><b>9, 13 </b>-
same as the dominant 7 chord but you'll have to be a little more weary
when using altered or half/whole diminished because of the natural 9
and/or 13.<br /><br /><b>b5</b> - <a href="http://chrisjuergensen.com/The%20Whole%20Tone%20Scale.htm" target="_blank">whole tone</a>.<br /><br /><b>b9</b> - 5th mode of harmonic minor, altered, half/whole diminished.<br /><br /><b>7(b5,#5, b9,#9)</b>
in any combinantion - altered scale, you can play a minor pentatonic
scale on the #9 interval as well (for example, a Bb minor pentatonic
scale over a <b>G(alt)</b> chord.<br /><br /><b>13b9</b>, <b>13#9</b> - half/whole diminished.<br /><br />Whether
the chord is a secondary dominant doesn't really make any difference.
Secondary dominants are generally functioning so can be treated as such. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">More Links:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><a href="http://theinfiniteguitar.blogspot.jp/2010/06/playing-over-dominat-chords.html" target="_blank">Soloing Over Dominant Chords >>></a></span>-CJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18270341539211116396noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131931383193617887.post-22528155357145008762012-11-02T07:15:00.001-07:002012-11-17T04:57:54.403-08:00More on Minor Blues<object height="315" width="560"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/KDW8a0A0EqU?version=3&hl=en_US"></param>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Q: </b>I was just watching the video of you doing the minor blues for the Australian movie soundtrack. I have a few questions about it. I can tell it's a minor blues but what is that chord that pops up in the 3rd bar? And what else is going on in the progression. What are some of the things you are plying in the solo? Especially the pentatonic scale things that you are doing. Great song!!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /><b>A: </b>Thanks! Glad you like the tune. Your ears do not deceive you my friend, it is pretty much a minor blues with a few twists. The song is for a movie with some underworld type characters so I wanted it to be creepy. That's where that strange chord comes in to play in the 3rd bar. I've always liked tritones (diminished 5th intervals) and that is exactly what I have going on here. </span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">The song has two sections, an 'A' and a 'B' section. Here is the 'A' section (the tritone is the interval between the <b>C-7</b> and <b>F#7</b> chord):</span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /><b>|C-7 |C-7 |F#7 |F#7 |</b></span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>|F-7 |Bb/F |C-7 F/C |C-7 |</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />Besides the <b>F#7</b> chord, it is pretty much straight up, but the tritone is what makes it interesting. Next up is the 'B' section. The 'B' section is pretty much a standard garden variety minor blues:</span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>|C-7 |C-7 |F/C Eb/C |F/C |</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>|F-7 |Bb/F |C-7 F/C |C-7 |</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>|Ab9 |G7 |C-7 F/C |C-7 | </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />I wouldn't make too much out of the slash chords, when you think about it they aren't unusual really. The <b>Eb/C </b>chord is really just another way of playing a <b>C-7</b> chord and the <b>F/C</b> chord could just be thought of as the <b>V</b> chord or even a <b>C-13</b> chord. You don't have even really think about the slash chords because they are diatonic anyway. Now on to how I approached the solo.</span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">See, this is for a movie so I didn't want to play a bunch of fusion lines. I mean who wants to hear a crap-load of melodic minor scales during a movie? But on the other hand, I didn't want to throw away all the money I spent on a music education so I didn't want to completely ignore my Jazz background either. So I decided to flirt with my fusion side as well without making it sound stupid. So, taking one section at a time:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>'A' Section:</b> Obviously I'm just playing C minor blues on the <b>C-7</b> chord but I'm thinking how to set up that <b>F#7</b> chord because the C blues scale is going to collide with the <b>F#7 </b>chord like a bird with a 747. So I just looked for the common tone between the <b>C-7</b> and <b>F#7</b> chord. What do you think it is? It is a Bb note, Right? Bb is the b7 of <b>C-7</b> and the 3rd of the <b>F#7</b> chord. Notice how I play the Bb note on the <b>C-</b><b>7</b> chord at 1:40 and again on the<b> F#7</b> chord at 1:42. Now what I'm going to do is what every decent soloist has told me to do for the last 30 years and I ignored until I got clue: I'm going to pay attention to 3rds and 7ths. First I'm going to Bb and E a couple times (this is the 3rd and b7th of the <b>F#7</b> chord) at 1:45. Since I'm messin' with 3rds and 7ths, I'm going to do the same thing with the b3rd and b7th of the next chord, the <b>F-7</b> chord (Ab and Eb) at 1:49. Next, I play an F and C note (which is really the root and 5th of the F-7 chord, sort of continuing on with this motif and finally the b3rd and b7th of the final <b>C-7 </b>chord in the 'A' section (Eb and Bb). People have always said it and it is true, if you play 3rds and 7th you won't need to do much of anything else. Which bring us to the 'B' section:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>'B' Section:</b> I’m back in completely familiar territory here because the 'B' section is a standard minor blues progression. If there is anything
interesting to tell you about what I play here is that there are three minor
pentatonic scales that you can play on any minor chord (When thinking dorian,
like we are here). For a <b>C-7</b> chord, we can play a C minor pentatonic scale
(Duh!), a D minor pentatonic scale and a G minor pentatonic scale. That is
exactly what I do at 2:12. I start off playing a D minor pentatonic scale, move
the same line down a whole step to C minor and finish off at G minor at 2:15. This
works especially well because of the <b>F/C</b> chord, D minor pentatonic is the same as F major pentatonic
scale so sounds good over the <b>F/C</b> chord. For the following <b>F-7</b>
chord, I use a F dorian scale (2:19), standard fare for Jazz and some blues licks on
the <b>C-7</b> chord. I can’t control
myself anymore and use an Ab lydian dominant scale for the <b>Ab7</b> chord (2:34) and play a double stop standard type of
thing for the <b>G7</b> and <b>C-7</b> chord bringing us back to the top of the
progression. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b>'A' Section: </b></span>I just play blues on the <b>C-7</b> chord and play with some chord tones and upper extensions for the <b>F#7</b> chord. I think the lick for the <b>F#7</b> chord at 2:57 is sort of interesting. I can't remember where I stole this from but basically I play F# on the 6th string followed by the 5th, a C# note with my 3rd finger, I then slide up to the same C# note with my first finger. I continue by playing the note up a 5th from this on the 4th string, a G# note and do the same thing with this note by sliding up to it with my index finger. You get the point I think:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">|----------------------11-bend to-13-<br />|----------------11-11-------<br />|------------8-8-------------<br />|--------6-6-----------------<br />|----4-4---------------------<br />|--2------------------------- </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Blues again for the <b>F-7</b> and <b>C-7</b> chord. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b>'B' Section:</b></span> Second time through the 'B' section I do the same exact thing as I did the first time through. That is,
play around with the three minor pentatonic scales (C, D and G minor pentatonic
scales) over the <b>C-7</b> chord (3:25), and
F dorian on the <b>F-7</b> chord. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">I can’t hold back anymore
and use Ab lydian dominant on the <b>Ab7</b> chord and G altered on the <b>G7</b> chord basically using the same motif for both chords.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">The long ass outro: I
mess around a little more mixing up blues and some C melodic minor ideas. I
intended to do a fade within the first 30 seconds of the outro but had a fun
time goofing around so left it all in. The chords I play at 6:53 are different C minor type chords:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">|------10--13--<br />|--3---6---11--<br />|--7---8---8---<br />|--8---8---12--<br />|--------------<br />|--------------</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">It isn’t brain surgery but
I think I got a nice balance between blues and fusion without being too obvious
that I studied music. I think that one of the challenges of this song is
actually playing the head because of the bending on the 4<sup>th</sup> string.
Bending to proper pitch while using a floating bridge is difficult especially
if your fingers are tired.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">If you want to pay me a buck for the lesson, download this tune by clicking the 'BUY" link down there. Go on now...</span><span style="font-size: small;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></div>
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="100" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/track=2886650063/size=venti/bgcol=FFFFFF/linkcol=4285BB/" style="display: block; height: 100px; position: relative; width: 400px;" width="400"><a href="http://chrisjuergensen.bandcamp.com/track/nostalgias-fate">Nostalgia's Fate by Chris Juergensen</a></iframe>
-CJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18270341539211116396noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131931383193617887.post-74200391321187839962012-08-12T07:36:00.002-07:002012-11-17T04:55:04.274-08:00More on Modes<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Q:</b> <a href="http://chrisjuergensen.com/modes_1.htm" target="_blank">Great dorian lesson</a>, thanks. But when we see a <b>Dmin7</b> on a chart while jamming, and
thinking whether we should play a pentatonic a mode or whatever, isn't that decision should be strictly related on the KEY of
the song? Aren't we risking playing notes completely out of key when we use modes?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>A: </b>Great question. It's all about musical context. There are two kinds of harmony
and for the lack of better words let's say that one is functional
harmony and the other is non-fuctional, modal or maybe static harmony (for lack of better words). When we talk
about functional, we are talking about chords that work together inside
of a particular key. So a <b>Dmin7</b> chord inside of a <b>Cmaj7-Fmaj7-Dmin7-G7</b>
progression is functioning as a "ii" chord. As you know the "ii" chord
is the dorian chord. If you tried to play one of the other minor modal
scales it would sound wrong. You don't even really want to be thinking
modes in this case anyways, I mean it's just a C major progression and
that's all you really to know or consider. We hear the tonal center of this progression as C major.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Modal harmony doesn't work
this way. For something to be modal, the chords can't be functioning
inside a diatonic key system (matter of fact you'll notice that most modal songs don't have key signatures), in the case of our <b>Dmin7</b> chord, it has to
be static. Some possible examples would be 16 bars of <b>Dmin7 </b>followed by 8
of an unrelated chord, like <b>Ebmin7</b>. I'm using the song "So What" by
Miles Davis as an example. And the general weapon of choice for this song would be a D
dorian scale followed by an Eb dorian scale. Dorian is the general mode
of choice here but you could just as well use a <a href="http://chrisjuergensen.com/modes_2.htm" target="_blank">phrygian</a> scale or
aolian scale for that matter, there are no other diatonic chords pulling
the ear to a tonal center so it doesn't make any difference. The less
chords the better and probably one chord is best. If you want to mix
modes, the chords in your progression have to be unrelated, Like a
<b>Dmin7-F#min7-Bbmin7</b> progression. In this case you would want to play D
dorian, F# dorian and Bb dorian scales. Another thing to remember is
that the bigger the chord, the less choices you have. In other words,
over a <b>Dmin7</b> chord, you have D dorian, D phrygian and D aolian as
possible choices. If your chord was a <b>Dmin9</b> chord, phrygian has to be
excluded because the D phrygian scale doesn't have a E natural (the 9th) in it.
If you turn the chord into a <b>Dmin13</b> or <b>Dmin6</b> chord, the only choice you
have is a D dorian scale because it is the only scale that has a 6th in
it. You want to look at scales from this perspective: Dorian:
<b>1-2-b3-4-5-6-b7</b>, Phrygian: <b>1-b2-b3-4-5-b6-b7</b>, Aolian: <b>1-2-b3-4-5-b6-b7</b>.
By looking at scales this way, you can see what chord go with what
scales.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Q: </b>I've been working on "Footprints" lately. How can I solo over the changes? I sound pretty boring. Do you have any suggestions? I know it is just a minor blues for the most part but I sound lame.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>A:</b> "Footprints" is a great tune. It is actually one of the first standards that I played as well. It was written by Wayne Shorter and first appeared on his own record, "Adam's Apple" before being released on Miles Davis' "Miles Smiles" record in 1967. What a year, we get "Miles Smiles" and Jimi Hendrix' "Are You Experienced" at the same time. Not to mention "Sgt. Peppers." I was three, so I don't remember any of this. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Some Jazz players will tell you that working on "Footprints" as one of your first standards is like putting the cart before the horse. The reason is because songs like "Footprints" were written to force the Bebop players to stop playing so many arpeggios. By the 50s all these fast Bop tunes were getting out of hand and the greats at the time wanted to find another method to express themselves. What was born is what we call modal music. With modal Jazz, we get less chords. Rather than two a measure, we get more like four bars of one chord. If you have to play over four bars of <b>C-7</b>, a <b>C-7</b> arpeggio gets old quick. So you have to experiment with scales. That's why some Jazz musicians will tell you to work on "Autumn Leaves" or something like that before you start messing with the modal tunes. I say, who gives a crap? Do what you like. Guitarists are better at playing scales anyways. Do them both in any order you like. Anyways, back to the song. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">As you mentioned it is mostly a minor blues. I first learned it from the "Real Book" which has the changes slightly wrong. Or maybe not, I'm not really sure but it looks like this in the book:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>C-7</b> (four bars), <b>F-7</b> (two bars), <b>C-7</b> (two bars), <b>D7</b>, <b>Db7</b>, <b>C-7</b> (two bars) and is played in 6.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">I like these changes even though the two dominant chords are questionable. I've seen the chart with some different changes replacing the <b>D7</b> and<b> Db7 </b></span><span style="font-size: small;">chords</span><span style="font-size: small;"> (<b>F#-7(b5)-F7#11-E7(alt)-A7(alt) </b>actually). I've been told that the "Adam's Apple" version has different changes than the "Miles Smiles" version. I just like the "Real Book" version better for some reason. Maybe because it's easier.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Anyways, you can play C dorian for the <b>C-7</b> chord, F dorian for the <b>F-7</b> chord, D lydian dominant for the <b>D7</b> chord and Db lydian dominant for the <b>Db7</b> chord.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Superimposing minor pentatonic scales:</b> I like to superimpose minor pentatonic scales as well. Think: minor pentatonic scales on 1, 2 and 5 over <b>min7</b> chords. Using these changes, we can play C, D and G minor pentatonic scales over the <b>C-7</b> chord and F, G and C minor pentatonic scales over the <b>F-7 </b>chord. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Melodic Minor on the "i" chord:</b> It seems wrong but it works pretty well. As the <b>min7</b> chord obviously has a b7, the major 7th in the melodic minor scale technically shouldn't work, but it is a great passing tone against a minor 7th chord if you get a handle on it. If I have any advice about using this scale against a <b>min7</b> chord, it would be to simply be careful where you place the major 7th. It works best on the off beat. It takes a little time but has a great sound. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Setting up the </b><b>"iv" chord:</b> You can set up the <b>iv</b> chord by playing a C altered scales over the <b>C-7</b> chord right before it goes to the <b>F-7</b> chord. Most people comping will change the <b>C-7</b> chord to a <b>C7(alt)</b> for the fourth bar anyways. Even if they don't you can sort of imply the change by simply playing altered here. If you want to stick with a pentatonic scale motif, you can play an Eb minor pentatonic scale in bar four as well. An Eb minor pentatonic scale looks and functions the same way an altered scales does in this situation. The rule to remember is: <b>minor pentatonic scale on the b3 of a dominant chord = altered. </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Lessons:</span></div>
<a href="http://chrisjuergensen.com/pentatonics.htm" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Superimposing Minor Pentatonic Scales >>></span></a>-CJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18270341539211116396noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131931383193617887.post-46936887432380301062012-02-24T16:54:00.002-08:002012-11-17T04:55:36.947-08:00Getting the Blues Together<object height="315" width="560"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/VKGV4yD4YsE?version=3&hl=en_US"></param>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Q: </b>Been trying to learn a lot more of the Stevie Ray Vaughan blues style. Kind of plateaued. What would you recommend I do to be able to improvise like SRV and all of the Blues greats??</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>A: </b>First of all, let me start with what we all do at first and how eventually we have to outgrow it. We generally start off by playing the minor pentatonic scale over the whole thing. I think this is OK when we start but you realize that this method won't work too well the first time you have to play the Blues for anything longer than ten minutes. I have to usually play two or three sets of the Blues on my Blues gig and let me tell you, your audience starts to get this glazed over look after a couple songs if you just keep regurgitating the same tired pentatonic scale licks.</span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-size: small;"> A lot of guitarists will tell you that there isn't much to the Blues and that all you have to do is play the pentatonic scale but these guys generally can't hold an audience for ten or fifteen minutes. These are some important points:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">1. Vocabulary: You have to learn the licks from the greats. And you have to categorize them by where they work. For example, over the "I" chord, the "IV" chord, the "V" chord and the turnaround. When I listen to Stevie, I hear Albert King more than anything else. I wouldn't suggest you only pick apart the licks from one person but from a wide selection of guitarists or you'll run the risk of sounding exactly like that one guitarist. People often say I sound a bit like Stevie but the truth is that I never copied him much. I sound a little like him because I was influenced by the same players as he was, namely Albert King and Jimi Hendrix. I like Albert King, Albert Collins, BB King and Robben Ford. They all phrase differently as well and all have different approaches to the way they improvise. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">2. Phrasing: Phrasing is basically where you play and don't play. By copying solos from top to bottom, you are not only learning vocabulary, you learn about phrasing and if you do it enough, you'll be able to do it naturally.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">3. 3rds and 7ths: You'll find that a lot of the important licks are based around the 3rds and 7ths of the chords, this is especially true of the "I" and"IV" chords. Let's take a G blues for example. Play an F and B note (on the 2nd and 1st strings) simultaneously over the G7 chord. You are playing the 7th and 3rd of the chord. Now move these two notes down a half step to E and Bb over the C7 ("IV" chord). Now you've got the 3rds and 7th of this chord happening. You'll find this all over the place and it is a typical Blues trick.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">4. Triplets: You have to make an effort to play triplets. This is especially true for the medium and fast tempos. For practice sake, see if you can play constant triplets without stopping. This isn't a great idea on a gig, but if you practice doing this, you can build up your stamina. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">5. Pay close attention to the turnarounds. Steve played through them a lot landing on the important chord tones but there are plenty of standard turnarounds that can get you through a lot. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">6. This goes without saying but you have to copy as many solos as you can. You'll find that the best players, although play the minor pentatonic scale a lot are really paying close attention to chord tones, phrasing (And repeating themselves) and have a great sense of timing and rhythm.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Links: </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://chrisjuergensen.com/playing_the_blues.htm" target="_blank">Blues Basics</a></span></div>
-CJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18270341539211116396noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131931383193617887.post-76598853949986041802012-01-09T18:05:00.000-08:002012-11-17T04:57:32.801-08:00Melodic or Harmonic Minor<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Q: </b>I'm enjoying your <a href="http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/chrisj64" target="_blank">Infinite Guitar book</a> very much lately but I'm wondering why you dedicate so much time to Melodic Minor and not so much to Harmonic Minor. Why is Melodic Minor more important?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>A:</b> Good question. There isn't anything wrong with Harmonic Minor so to speak but Melodic Minor has more applications. Only one mode of Harmonic Minor is exclusively used and that mode is the 5th one, sometimes named the Phrygian Dominant mode. As an example, E to E in the A Harmonic Minor scale: <b>E-F-G#-A-B-C-D</b>. You would play it over an <b>E7</b> or <b>E7b9</b> chord and more often than not, it would get used over a <b>V</b> chord in a minor progression. For example in a rock application: <b>Amin-G-F-E</b>, you would want to play A natural minor over the first three chords and A Harmonic Minor over the final <b>E</b> chord. In a Jazz application, you would play it over a <b>iio-V7</b> in A minor, as in <b>Bmin7b5-E7b9-Amin7</b> (over the last chord, you wouldn't generally play A harmonic minor but A natural minor or A dorian. You can use Harmonic Minor over a <b>i</b> chord (as in A Harmonic Minor over an <b>Amin</b> chord) but it sounds like you are playing Mexican or Middle Eastern music. </span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-size: small;">I might do this if I need to play something blatantly stinky, like when a director asks me to play something that sounds like a snake charmer.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">On to Melodic Minor (click on the links for more information)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://chrisjuergensen.com/dorian_b2_mode.htm" target="_blank"><b>Dorian b2</b></a>: <b>B-C-D-E-F#-G#-A</b> (<b>1-b2-b3-4-5-6-b7</b>): This mode gets used over a <b>13b9sus4</b> chord or a <b>b9sus4</b> chord. It's not a very common chord but has a great sound.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://chrisjuergensen.com/lydian_augmented_scale.htm" target="_blank"><b>Lydian Augmented</b></a>: <b>C-D-E-F#-G#-A-B</b> (<b>1-2-3-#4-#5-6-7</b>): This gets used over a <b>Cmaj7#5</b> chord. You can play it like a <b>E/C</b> slash chord. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://chrisjuergensen.com/melodic_minor_modes_2_lydiandominant.htm" target="_blank"><b>Lydian Dominant</b></a>: <b>D-E-F#-G#-A-B-C</b> (<b>1-2-3-#4-5-6-b7</b>): Play this over a <b>D7</b>, <b>D9</b>, <b>D13</b> chord but especially over a <b>D7#11</b> chord. You can mix this scale up with a Blues scale over a vamp for some interesting contrast.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://chrisjuergensen.com/locrian_sharp_2_scale.htm" target="_blank"><b>Locrian #2</b></a>: <b>F#-G#-A-B-C-D-E</b> (<b>1-2-b3-4-b5-b6-b7</b>): This is a much better choice over a <b>min7b5 </b>chord than locrian. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://chrisjuergensen.com/melodic_minor_modes_1.htm" target="_blank"><b>Altered</b></a>: <b>G#-A-B-C-D-E-F#</b> (<b>1-b2-#2-3-b5-#5-b7</b>): Perfect for any altered dominant chord, as in <b>7(#5,#9)</b>, <b>7(b5,b9)</b>, <b>7(#5,b9)</b>, <b>7(b5,#9)</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Most common are the Lydian Dominant and Altered mode but the other modes can be used quite effectively as well. For example, over a minor <b>iio-V </b>in A minor, you could play a B locrian #2 mode (D Melodic Minor) over the <b>Bmin7b5</b>, and the E altered mode (F Melodic Minor) over the <b>E7b9</b> chord. You could even get away with playing A Melodic Minor over the <b>i</b> chord if you do it right (this works because A Melodic Minor looks a lot like A dorian, actually a dorian scale with a major 7th).</span>-CJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18270341539211116396noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131931383193617887.post-54574425841547690012011-11-13T05:29:00.000-08:002018-09-17T12:37:17.955-07:00Pentatonic Scales<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk4XkExwlGUV1_OrtC4TKyX2F80Lbexqd2DwbEpd7HEHkzEi4GS-aIS3XeZS_8fQj97Z99JjFrxVKuG5N7yQNaVbwY5fpW_nXp9KVGqVBzyKQrngmlF8j_WTlsgUpkTQIgnAS0VPoOqzk/s1600/b_minor_penta.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk4XkExwlGUV1_OrtC4TKyX2F80Lbexqd2DwbEpd7HEHkzEi4GS-aIS3XeZS_8fQj97Z99JjFrxVKuG5N7yQNaVbwY5fpW_nXp9KVGqVBzyKQrngmlF8j_WTlsgUpkTQIgnAS0VPoOqzk/s1600/b_minor_penta.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Q: </b>The way you use pentatonic scales fascinates me. Not only does it sound cool, it is easy since most of us already know the patterns. In <a href="http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/chrisj64" target="_blank">your book</a> and on your site lesson: <a href="http://chrisjuergensen.com/pentatonics.htm" target="_blank">superimposing pentatonic scales</a>, you describe the guidelines perfectly well (as in "play a minor pentatonic scale on the 3rd, 6th and 7th of any major chord") but what is the theory behind this? How and why does it work?</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>A:</b> Good question. I suppose you are at the point in your studies where you need to question these things. I did the same thing a long time ago. I learned about the concept of superimposing minor pentatonic scales years ago and by simply memorizing the rules I could apply the concept any time I saw fit. Let's review the basic rules:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b><u>For a major chord:</u></b></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: small;">Play a minor pentatonic scale on the 3rd, 6th and/or 7th degree of the chord</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Let's try it. Record yourself a long <b>Cmaj7</b> or <b>Cmaj9</b> vamp. What is the 3rd, 6th and 7th of this chord? The 3rd is E, the 6th is A and the 7th is B. If you can't understand this yet, this lesson is too much for you so you should go back and study theory starting with scales, chords and intervals. Go here for <a href="http://chrisjuergensen.com/Music_Theory_Intervals.htm" target="_blank">that lesson >>></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">It doesn't matter what scale pattern you play as long as you play the proper pentatonic scales. E is the 3rd of the C chord so you can play an E minor pentatonic scale. Try it and you'll see. Be a little careful though because the usual lines you play might not work as well but in general all the notes are OK. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Why does it work? Well, the best way to figure that out is by comparing the chord to the scale. Let's see, the scale looks like this:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>E-G-A-B-D</b> and compared to the chord, these notes are the <b>3-5-6-7-2</b> of the C major chord. These are all very consonant tones and match the chord with little rubbing or grinding. it actually looks like a<b> C69</b> chord if you place all the notes on top of each other.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Next, let's look at the minor pentatonic scale from the 6th. The 6th of C is A so an A minor pentatonic scale is what we are looking for. The A minor pentatonic scale looks like this:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>A-C-D-E-G</b> and compared to the C chord: <b>6-1-2-3-5</b>. All perfectly nice sounding notes over the C major chord. I bet someone out there figured this out already but what we have created is simply the C major pentatonic scale with here. Right? A minor pentatonic and C major pentatonic are the same scales.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Next up, the minor pentatonic scale on the 7th. The 7th of C is B so B minor pentatonic is what we're looking for: <b>B-D-E-F#-A</b> or <b>7-2-3-#4-6</b>. Now this looks very lydian to me because of the #4 (or #11 if you prefer).</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">All three of these scales combined give you the C lydian scale. Check it out yourself. C lydian: <b>C-D-E-F#-G-A-B</b> or <b>1-2-3-#4-5-6-7</b>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Now, go on, get to work. Over your <b>Cmaj9</b> vamp, try all three of these scales. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">The pentatonic scales always intrigue me because by simply taking 2 notes away from the 7 note scale you get something that actually has more personality. Less is more sometimes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The next thing I did is look for the minor pentatonic scale patterns inside the scale itself. I mean, if all three pentatonic scale combined look like the lydian scale, all three must be inside somewhere. Take a look:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">C lydian</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdJ3wP6zqtYFbrw1w19Q1LosNKrVT0sMqZPieKmCD0Wp6mzzKdX3sNywQV_POVzdWQSnIfI8etaof5FUlwxkvJcaXJSLiZZ7opPzvBjJ2fugotQWe5x0RK7YYC6XVJAPnvAf6PbppA-60/s1600/c_lydian.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdJ3wP6zqtYFbrw1w19Q1LosNKrVT0sMqZPieKmCD0Wp6mzzKdX3sNywQV_POVzdWQSnIfI8etaof5FUlwxkvJcaXJSLiZZ7opPzvBjJ2fugotQWe5x0RK7YYC6XVJAPnvAf6PbppA-60/s1600/c_lydian.jpg" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Look, here is an E minor pentatonic scale:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHifAYlSdoDGtrmRTxuhMyo2Vl2CZS1V491iVHcQLzVRkDfDJ2fStM6Oa4GPktWMOrefdOU6alWJ_0nvhf7q7f-7YUJpXuABphJyYMqrlMavqTA4Rgo5kMqP0-j1q7ni8ODC9R88gQ7NQ/s1600/e_minor_penta.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHifAYlSdoDGtrmRTxuhMyo2Vl2CZS1V491iVHcQLzVRkDfDJ2fStM6Oa4GPktWMOrefdOU6alWJ_0nvhf7q7f-7YUJpXuABphJyYMqrlMavqTA4Rgo5kMqP0-j1q7ni8ODC9R88gQ7NQ/s1600/e_minor_penta.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">And an A minor pentatonic scale:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm0nLqR8iOx0hSwDg_8uaZLrNszdsbNwedl9Wss7P1fTCdZ3HR1TEQ2ICeGolrHpBIU3pcyeMZjIbVAQWIKOxZ7JHPIFn-jDO28S41y2EvaYKaJFh7wcKCl75wtQkPygPMrbk4arEe48Y/s1600/A_minor_penta.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm0nLqR8iOx0hSwDg_8uaZLrNszdsbNwedl9Wss7P1fTCdZ3HR1TEQ2ICeGolrHpBIU3pcyeMZjIbVAQWIKOxZ7JHPIFn-jDO28S41y2EvaYKaJFh7wcKCl75wtQkPygPMrbk4arEe48Y/s1600/A_minor_penta.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">And finally a B minor pentatonic scale:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk4XkExwlGUV1_OrtC4TKyX2F80Lbexqd2DwbEpd7HEHkzEi4GS-aIS3XeZS_8fQj97Z99JjFrxVKuG5N7yQNaVbwY5fpW_nXp9KVGqVBzyKQrngmlF8j_WTlsgUpkTQIgnAS0VPoOqzk/s1600/b_minor_penta.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk4XkExwlGUV1_OrtC4TKyX2F80Lbexqd2DwbEpd7HEHkzEi4GS-aIS3XeZS_8fQj97Z99JjFrxVKuG5N7yQNaVbwY5fpW_nXp9KVGqVBzyKQrngmlF8j_WTlsgUpkTQIgnAS0VPoOqzk/s1600/b_minor_penta.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Can you see that they are all inside the lydian scale?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">We used our ears to make sure these scales work right? Next we used our eyes by looking inside the lydian scale and finding the three minor pentatonic scales. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Now we'll use our brain. You can see this one more way. Remembering that there is a major pentatonic scale for every minor pentatonic scale:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"> E minor = G major </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">A minor = C major and </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">B minor = D major. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Now look at the diatonic chords in the key of G major (G major is the same as C lydian):</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">G - Amin - Bmin - C - D - Emin- F#dim</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Are you getting my point here? The three diatonic minor and the three diatonic major chords = the same three minor and major pentatonic scales that work over our C chord. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">I've basically examined the minor pentatonic scales that work over major family chords. If you want to investigate more, go to <a href="http://chrisjuergensen.com/pentatonics.htm">the original lesson >>></a></span><br />
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<br />-CJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18270341539211116396noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131931383193617887.post-6919520836485851702011-10-06T18:30:00.000-07:002012-11-04T18:16:04.194-08:00Recording Sessions<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Q: <span style="font-weight: normal;">What is the best way to prepare for session work? How did you put your self in a position that you could go into the studio and put the perfect part to a song that you had never heard before? And do it in a few takes. What should I study and how should I prepare? '<a href="http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/chrisj64">The Empowered Musician</a>' gave some good ideas. But how do you go from playing a rock session to playing a soul session and make them both sound convincing?</span></b><br />
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<b>A: </b>My take on recording:</span></div>
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1. Half the battle is your sound. Going from Rock to Soul or anything else for that matter has a lot to do with your guitar and amp. Listen to some of the best players and ask yourself how he is getting that sound. Is it a telecaster or a Les Paul? Which pickup is being used? Is it a Marshall, Fender or VOX? <br />
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2. Simple is usually better unless they say otherwise. You always play more than you think (at least I do) so simplifying isn't a bad thing. A lot of Soul for example is just a convincing chord on 2 and 4 and nothing more. Conviction and a good tone count for just about everything sometimes.<br />
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3. Sessions are mostly done at home these days. If you had emailed me ten years ago, I would have told you to get your reading chops together. But these days I would tell you to get your recording chops together. At the college I run here in Tokyo I've made protools a required course for all students. Reading is obviously important but when you record parts at home you have very little time restrictions. You have to send the client a dry wav file but I'll often mix the guitar wet against the track to show them how I imagine the part should be mixed. So I send the dry wav plus a mixed mp3 of the song. Of course the client will mix it how he likes but sometimes it helps to give them an image. The problem with recording at home is the utter lack of conversation and creative input. You don't get any chance to talk to the other musicians about how to come up with something fun and interesting anymore or how the part could be mixed with the engineer or producer.<br />
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4. Good working instruments. Things that you sort of take for granted will screw up your sessions. You really have to make sure that your intonation is right on and there isn't any blatant fret buzz. I used my old Strat on a session recently and realized that the guitar isn't perfectly in tune all over the place. On the song I was doing, I had to play arpeggios up and down the neck on the top strings and I found that a D chord down at the bottom was in tune but when I played the D chord in the middle of the neck, it wasn't really in tune. My Strat is old and I don't think they were very particular about intonation in those days. The guitar is great for a Blues or something like that but won't really cut it for a modern sounding track. This sort of goes back to answer #1 but picking the instrument is important.<br />
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5. Be prepared to change your approach. Sometimes you think a Strat is right and the producer wants a Les Paul sound. It's as simple as that. Be prepared to switch instruments. Sometimes you think busy is good and the producer wants something simple. <br />
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6. Know a lot of music. If you want to come up with good parts, learn a bunch of music. Buy yourself the best of Wilson Picket and learn the songs and you'll be able to come up with good Soul parts. Buy yourself a Mike Landau CD and listen to all the sounds he gets. It's all about experience.</span></div>
-CJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18270341539211116396noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131931383193617887.post-74703004726938791022011-07-13T08:41:00.000-07:002011-09-01T18:00:23.735-07:00Quick Question About The Blues...<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Q:</b> Hey Chris,</span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;">I’ve been working through some of the exercises in <a href="http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/the-infinite-guitar-companion-1/16125185">your book</a> (specifically harmonizing the Major scale) and wondered about the standard Blues progression. People will often say ‘Play a blues in G Major’ Now this isn’t a diatonic progression – <b>G7</b> is the <b>V</b> chord from C Maj, <b>C7</b> is the <b>V </b>chord from E Major and <b>D7</b> is the <b>V</b> chord from G Major. So why would this be referred to as a Blues in G Major. Is it just that the Blues progression is a kind of special case, that sits outside the normal diatonic rules?</span><span style="font-size: small;"> A basic question I know, but the harmonizing exercises in your book have got me thinking about this sort of thing. </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>A:</b> Generally, at least in my circle of partners in crime, we say "Play a Blues in G" or "Play a minor Blues in G." Or even "Play a Jazz Blues in G." But not so often a "Blues in G major" it isn't wrong of course but sort of unnecessary. I guess you might say "major" just to make sure the person you are talking to doesn't play a minor Blues, but I think most players wouldn't confuse a Blues with a minor Blues. <br />
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When you try to make theoretic sense of a Blues it doesn't usually work out to well. If you had a time machine and went back to Bach's time and explained (in German) in pure theoretical terms about this style called the Blues, he would probably think you a nut case. Of course we know from playing it and listening to it, it works out pretty well though, at least to our modern ears.<br />
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It is sort of diatonic and I say that because it is based on the <b>I</b>, <b>IV</b> and <b>V</b> chords of one key. The "sort of" is because we change the <b>I</b> and <b>IV </b> chords to dominant chords. If St. Peter wouldn't let me through the pearly gates unless I could explain why the <b>I</b> chord is dominant in the Blues, I suppose I could tell him that it sort of functions as a <b>V/IV</b> chord. Right? a <b>C7</b> in the key of C is the <b>V</b> chord of the <b>IV</b> chord. <b>C7</b> goes nicely to F, a secondary dominant chord.<br />
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The dominant <b>IV</b> chord can't really be explained but if I had to come up with some sort of explanation at gunpoint, and I'm not really sure this is right, but I would say that as we like to play a minor pentatonic scale over the progression, the minor 3rd in the scale, is the <b>b7</b> in the dominant <b>IV</b> chord. Right? the Eb note in the C minor pentatonic scale is the b7th of an <b>F7</b> chord. Maybe that has something to do with it, but I'm not sure. The dominant <b>V </b>chord doesn't need much explaining.<br />
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All in all, the truth is that slaves liked the way that the minor pentatonic scale sounded of the white man's <b>I-IV-V</b> progression. And the major triads eventually turned into dominant chords. Maybe because of the b3rd in the scale but that is just a guess on my part. </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1352926509"><br />
</a></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://chrisjuergensen.com/playing_the_blues.htm">More on the Blues here >>></a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/chrisj64">Guitar Instructional Books >>></a></span></div>-CJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18270341539211116396noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131931383193617887.post-68749375776046718082011-06-27T05:27:00.000-07:002011-06-27T17:45:37.417-07:00THE INFINITE GUITAR COMPANION VOLUME 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXWAjWfA7T7ACmAZyOhY63NprxzbNdsKzU-zCOhV-SXb0_KAooujwbBx_Q4zAdBtj-jf6a8xTUC_3CBTYIKJ8iCpKAwJLRvDaXiirswV-J5WlxiAUHspjOJ242p21qzAuu3iTOtnHoEK8/s1600/IGcompanion_cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXWAjWfA7T7ACmAZyOhY63NprxzbNdsKzU-zCOhV-SXb0_KAooujwbBx_Q4zAdBtj-jf6a8xTUC_3CBTYIKJ8iCpKAwJLRvDaXiirswV-J5WlxiAUHspjOJ242p21qzAuu3iTOtnHoEK8/s1600/IGcompanion_cover.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">It took about a year and a half but its finally done. I've started publishing a companion series for <b>THE INFINITE GUITAR</b>. As IG was, for the most part, a big fat theory book for the guitar, I felt that a method book was important and I started with this one. Volume 1 is dedicated entirely to imrov based on the major scale, major scale modes, pentatonic scales and the diatonic arpeggios inherent of all the major scale patterns. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">There is 224 pages of exercises.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/the-infinite-guitar-companion-1/16125185"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">THE INFINITE GUITAR COMPANION VOLUME 1 >>></span></a></b></span>-CJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18270341539211116396noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131931383193617887.post-45781841765884096522011-06-23T22:48:00.000-07:002011-09-01T18:01:11.958-07:00Writing Music - Art or Science<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Q:</b> I'll Start off by saying that I'm really digging the Prospects album. Anyhow, lately I've been getting really interested in the art of composing music and writing songs. Is it necessary to have a repertoire of cover songs (for educational purposes?) to begin composing my own music? Did you have a vast repertoire of cover songs before you began composing, or did you start composing/writing songs out of the blue? Did any other composers that you know of do the same/different? This question has been on my mind for a very long time, but I have no connections with the experience to give me a proper answer. Thanks in advance for any advice you might have. </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b>A:</b> Thanks, glad you are digging my CD. Good question too. Now remember here, writing music is a personal experience and it is part art and science. And depending on who does this writing, the balance or ratio of art and science changes. </span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><b><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /></b><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b> Art and Science</b> - When I say art, I mean writing by pure musical instinct, for the lack of better words. When I say science, I'm mostly referring to music theory. As you might know, you can write music to some degree using strictly theory. Whether or not the music will be stimulating or not is a different story. Even people who don't technically know music theory sometimes use it and don't even know they are. Theory is sometimes learned through experience and if you learned every Beatles song by ear and sort of figured out how they write, without knowing it you would be learning about secondary dominant chords and borrowed chords. Even though they didn't technically know in theoretic terms what they were doing, they were using a very standard musical theory that they certainly used by experience. I use both aspects to some degree when writing and depending on the song, this ratio of art and science changes somewhat. </span></span> <span style="font-size: small;"><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><b><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /></b><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b> Templates</b> - There is also something that I call templates. This kind of music, or at least the chord progression is pretty much pre-determined. Two typical examples would be the "Blues" and "Rhythm Changes." There are variations on both, like a Minor Blues, Eight Bar or Jazz Blues. Rhythm Changes also have a pre-determined set of changes and the variations on these changes include various substitutions. </span></span> <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">For the most part, composers might use the "template" progression as is, and compose a melody over the top. Anybody who plays the Blues, knows about this. </span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><b><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /></b><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b> Learning From Others</b> - Some people will tell you that you shouldn't learn from other people's compositions because you'll never get an original sound of your own. I say that is the the stupidest advice I have ever heard. Out of all the great writers that I know, they all, and I mean every one of them learned through learning other composers music first. Whether they conceptualized everything using theory or not is a different story but regardless, they internalized certain tricks of the trade. So my best advice for you is to learn as many songs as you can and try to figure out how they came up with their hooks.</span> </span><span style="font-size: small;"><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><b><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /></b><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b> Me Personally</b> - Since you are listening to "Prospects" let's see if I can't give you some background on how I came up with some of the songs. The methods may surprise you to some extent. The opening song, "<a href="http://chrisjuergensen.com/prospects_short.mp3">Prospects</a>" was basically an exercise or at least an assignment by my rhythm guitar teacher in college. I won't get into the details but it is all based on theory. I added in a little musical sense and made it musical. I basically wanted to do something lydian and that was my motivation.</span> </span><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://chrisjuergensen.com/prospects.pdf"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Chart >>></span></a><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> "<a href="http://chrisjuergensen.com/when_love_greets_you_short.mp3">When Love Greets You</a>" - the second song isn't based on any sort of traditional theory but I was able to write it because I played so many Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock songs over the years. There isn't much functional diatonic harmony going on but I learned from his music how to use 9ths and 7ths as melody notes. It is really pure influence so if I never played Wayne's songs from the Real Book, I could have never written a song like this (not to say that I can write anything as well as Wayne Shorter).</span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_378830822"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span></a></span><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://chrisjuergensen.com/When%20Love%20Greets%20You.pdf"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Chart >>></span></a><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> "<a href="http://chrisjuergensen.com/extraordinaire_short.mp3">Extraordinaire</a>" - The next song is what I previously called a "Template Song." It is mostly based on a minor blues. And I couldn't have possibly written this song without having played a million other minor blues, like "Equinox" or "Goodbye Porkpie Hat" before hand. </span></span> <span style="font-size: small;"><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> So you can see my experiences helped me write all the music. I personally don't believe you can learn to be a musician in a musical vacuum so I suggest you copy and analyze as many songs as possible.</span></span><br />
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<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">More on composition <a href="http://chrisjuergensen.com/composing%20music.htm">here >>></a> and <a href="http://chrisjuergensen.com/what_is_good_music.htm">here >>></a></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
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</a></span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/chrisj64">Guitar Instructional Books >>></a></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span> </span>-CJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18270341539211116396noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131931383193617887.post-36013051266506761422011-05-09T22:24:00.000-07:002011-09-24T16:15:16.340-07:00How Do You Get That Tone?<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/0BCh5Y6bX8k" width="560"></iframe><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Q:</b> I was listening to you play on the YouTube video, the one of recording a Blues in a recording studio. How do you get that sound? I want it for myself. Are you using some sort of overdrive or something? Can you tell me how to get a similar sound?</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>A:</b> It really isn't that complicated. You really have to start with the basics, meaning amps and guitars. </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Amps:</b> I'm really old school about getting my tone. I like Marshall amps. Actually that's not really true, what I mean is that I like the sound of Marshall amps. I'm not sure that I like Marshall amps anymore because they seem to stop working on me and they don't all sound the same and on top of that, their effect loops on some of their models are weird. But when they sound and work right, I love them. There are other makers that duplicate what a Marshall should sound like but as I don't have an artist deal with any amp makers, I don't really want to advertise for anyone. But basically I like the sound or British type amps, the ones with EL34 power amp tubes and 12AX7 pre-amp tubes. The amp you hear in the recoding is a 100 watt Marshall half stack. I'm actually not sure which model because I don't usually pay very much attention, with a little tweaking I can generally make any of them sound the way I like. Anyway, I like to get about 75% of my overdrive and tone from the amp. </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Amp Tone:</b> Marshalls are easy to set although most guys don't know how. Basically you crank up the bass and mids and keep the treble down with the presence mostly off. Maybe like this (in clock settings): Bass: 3:00, Mid: 1:00, Treble: 10:00, Presence: Off or maybe add just a tiny bit. Now this totally depends on your guitar and the room. If the amp is sitting on carpet rather than on a wood floor, things change a little. I like 100 watt Marshall (type) amps because the bass response is the way I like it. I know that those little 18 watt amps are popular (and I have a few myself) but they don't have a nice bass response like a blasting 100 watt Marshall (type) amp.</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> <b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Gain:</b> I don't blast the gain on the amp, I keep it at about 4 or 5. Some or the newer Marshall amps are wired to have more gain than their older versions so you have to use your sense. </span><span style="font-size: small;"> I usually have the amp volume around 4 or 5 (this is generally enough to piss off a sound man in a medium sized venue). Anything under 4 will lead to less round tone. </span><span style="font-size: small;">Basically I want a crunchy sound, just about short of being able to play a singing guitar solo. Shoot for a great crunchy rhythm sound. I'll explain how to make it sing later. What you should do next is experiment with your pickup selector, tone knob and volume knobs.</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Guitar Tone and Volume:</b> Most Strats aren't wired right. You would figure somebody would get it right after all these years but not that many makers (other than the best ones) have figured it out. You want one volume knob, and two tone knobs. The volume knob is obviously wired to all the pickups and one tone knob is wired to the neck position pickup and the other to the bridge position pickup. The problem is that if you set your amp tone for the bridge pickup, you will find that your neck position pickup will sound muddy. If you set your amp tone to your neck position pickup, your neck position pickup will sound shrill and hurt your ears. You want to set your tone for your neck position pickup and roll off highs from your bridge position pickup, so obviously if you don't have a tone knob for your bridge pickup, you can't do this. This way you can use both pickups without one being too much of something or the other. Some guys will set their tone to the middle pickup. You should also be able to roll back volume from your guitar and clean it up almost completely. I don't generally use a two channel amp unless I need something absolutely distortion free for some reason or another. In the video, I have my guitar volume turned down to about 7 or 8 and the bridge pickup's tone down at about 4 (although I'm not sure I use this pickup at all in the recording). I think I exclusively use the neck pickup. </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Guitars:</b> The guitar on the video was made for me by <a href="http://www.devilstoneguitars.com/index_us.html">Devilstone</a> but it is just a Strat for the most part and is somewhat reasonable price wise. It is made from Alder. I think Alder sounds great and have never really liked the sound of fancy wood. My pickups are vintage Strat style pickups, nothing special at all really. If there is anything unusual about the guitar on the video, it is that the bridge saddles are titanium ones made by <a href="http://kts-america.com/">KTS</a>. They tighten up my tone and keep me from breaking strings. Besides this guitar I play a vintage Strat and an Xotic guitar that I also like. I like Les Paul sounding guitars as well and of course Telecasters. Now that you have a nice even tone and can manipulate your guitar's tone and volume knobs to create a whole range of sounds between all pickups, you'll need to use something to make your guitar sing for your solos. </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Boost/Overdrive:</b> This is where you want to plug in a booster to raise things a few decibels and add some singing sustain. Stevie Ray Vaughn used a Tube Screamer. I'm using an <a href="http://www.xotic.us/">Xotic</a> BB + in this video but these days I use Xotic's EP Booster. Basically you want the volume all the way up on the box, with the gain down to like 1. I know this is different from what most people tell you but it is true. I personally think the worst sound is a clean amp with a distortion box with the gain all the way up. I prefer a distorted amp with a slight bit of overdrive for my solos. Don't forget to play with your guitar volume and tone knobs because there are all sorts of interesting and different sounds you can find. </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Delay:</b> I'm crazy for delay but won't use a box in the studio. Obviously you want to put that on after. If you record with a bunch of effects already on your guitar, you are stuck with it. You also have to match up the repeats with the tempo of the song which is difficult with a stomp box. Live is a different story. In this case, I run the delay pedal in the amp's effect loop. </span><br />
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