enjoying modal playing

isn't that what I'm doing, modal playing? Really, it's basic, for the blues. In the key of A, for example, play the a scale for the I, the D scale for the IV, and the E scale for the V. To mix it up a little more like A minor pent for the I, D major pent for the IV, and E minor pent for the V.

My guitar teacher taught me to use a method where you stay in the same region of the neck. So if you start the I with first position in A, then for the IV use the position for D that's right in the same area (the 4th position). Then for the E scale in the V you use the nearest pattern of E (the third pattern.)

You can also start in the 3rd position for the root scale in I and the scale boxes that are in the same area. Same for starting in the 5th position for the root scale in I.

And, he said you can play the I with the first position, the for IV go up the neck to the first position for that scale (D, if your root is A), and up two more frets, 1st position for the V chord (E, in this case).

What I like is that more than 5 notes will be played with the 3 scales. I'm not sure how many, but more than 5. More notes = more sounds, more variety.

I played the fender and gibson today. i was favoring the fender lately, but today both felt pretty comfortable. i prefer the 9 gauge strings of the fender, but the gibson's 10 gauge felt fine.

also lately i haven't been using a pick, because of some thumb pain in the right hand. but now i'm holding the pick differently, trying to use my hand in a way to distribute the force more evenly so the thumb doesn't take so much. seems to reduce the twinge of pain. still gotta work on it.

moving towards rock

so today in my guitar lesson we decided to look at some rock songs. my teacher suggested Cream's "sunshine of your love," Mountain's "Mississippi Queen" and the allman brother's "Rambling Man." I"m all for it. As much as I like the blues, these classic rock songs are a part of my past -- we all grew up on this stuff. It resonates more with me than the blues songs which are mostly pretty new to me. Plus, these rock songs use major and minor pentatonic, which I Know, and they use more than I IV V chords! Gotta admit I"m a little tired of that one chord progression for every blues song.

So, now, it is time to rock!

learning about modes!

so, we have finally come to modes. My guitar teacher started me off with this: for the I IV V structure in blues, we can use first position (minor) of the I chord, the fourth position (minor) of the key for IV for the IV chord, and the 3rd postition of the V chord for V. So, for A minor blues, it works like this: for I chord use 1st position of A, for IV chord use 4th position of D, and for the V chord use 3rd position of E. This keeps the hand around the fifth fret area -- these chord positions are chosen to be in the same area of the neck. Plus certain notes are emphasized in the IV and V chords sections, but I forget which. Something about the three notes they all share, like

A, D, and G or something.

Am I right about this?

inspired by acoustic blues guitar

i find myself more and more listening to acoustic guitar blues, and less to bb king and the other nightclub bluesmen. I get more inspiration from old fashioned acoustic blues -- more of it seems relevant to what I"m trying to do on guitar. For one, it's solo. those nightclub dudes have backing bands. I'm solo instrumental, so I gotta do it all. And, I just like the sound of old time blues. But, I have no interest in getting an acoustic guitar or playing one. I still like my electrics! And, i'm not into learning the fingerstyle picking... too hard! So I"m a hybrid dude, playing a modified electro-acoustic barre chord blues.

puttin' a few things together

so this weekend a few elements came together. I figured out the placement for a Robert Johnson like chromatic seventh chord intro, the one on the top 3 strings GBE in the shape of D7 that goes from high to low 3 frets. I found where to start and end in relation to first position minor pentatonic so I can use it in any key. I also located a few other acoustic blues riff elements in terms of minor pent position so I can use them in any key. Finally, I started adding some notes outside the minor pent boxes and I'm getting an ear for which work and which don't. My guitar teacher, Tom, is right that blues sound better with added notes in the scale.

So my goal is approaching: to make myself a solo instrumental blues guitar player. I'm not an acoustic blues player -- I don't know that fancy fingerstyle picking. I use barre chords and quick riffs to play. I'm trying to take all the songs I know and put them in this style so that I have a set list of pieces to play.

Some of the pieces I'm transforming:

You Shook Me, the Willie Dixon/Led Zeppelin thing I played at a recital;

the Lake of Fire piece (meat puppets/Nirvana/Tom) I played at the last recital

a blues piece in E I'm developing

another one in A I'm working on

an exercise in my Blues book I wanna transform, in B flat

and other improv stuff I do. I want something in B also. E, G, A, and B, and B flat -- these keys, both minor, major, and mixed pent.

I also got out the epiphone dot for this weekend. I like to play it every now and then. I think in the summer it will be a great backyard patio guitar -- Fendy and Gibby stay inside!

quote

I don't play a lot of fancy guitar. I don't want to play it. The kind of guitar I want to play is mean, mean licks.
John Lee Hooker

shoulder feels better

ok, so today i played without the pick, and my shoulder is feeling better. guess i just gotta limit the pick time, and play more fingerstyle. oh, and i figured, as you can see, how to embed my youtube videos.

latest jam in E

sore shoulder

so, my right shoulder gets sore after some time of guitar playing. am i holding my pick wrong? i use only the two fingers. are my muscles too tight? am i playing too much? it hurts more when i sit and play, so i mostly stand and play, and it doesn't hurt so much. some how the sitting position makes the same area in the back shoulder hurt, on the right arm. maybe i'm too tense. gotta work on this.

i have no rhythm!

a tough lesson today. i just don't have a well developed sense of rhythm. we're working on this piece, and just the basics of swing time seem to be beyond me. just getting that intro grace note thing, the one before the first measure -- not easy. my guitar teacher is comping and i'm doing the lead from the textbook. Then, a long pause -- i hate long pauses! So easy to lose count or miscount. Then a measure that starts with a rest, and the lead begins on the second beat! screw up time!

i do not have swing in me! maybe i should study something in straight time. what would that be? folk? country?

i have a lot of fun improvising, but playing sheet music is just hard! of course my improvving needs more variety and more riffs, and I gotta learn them.... well, learning to play sheet music is just part of the game -- but not a part i'm very good at!