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First pass all alone… yuck, so embarrassing!
Rules = discipline. Principals lie beyond the Three Rules. Discover principal on your own by using/abusing the rules. “Adapt to the environment” is rule 3. Adaptation is reflective. The 3 rules can be expressed as “Do Be Do”. Definitions:
Licks: Phrases or musical ideas.
Sticks: Licks wielded routinely in a specific musical situation.
Head: “Melodic” content identified with a set of changes and/or feel. Think of the Beatles “Birthday”: you can hum it right?
Chutes and Ladders: Scalar runs, gadgets or sequence derived licks (big sticks?)
Motif: “Sticks” that fit in the arrangement or a “design feature”/”technique”.
Clams/Pickles: “bad” notes/inappropriate tensions/pitches outside the tonal center
Cliché: Not distinctive/novel/different/exciting/dangerous/experimental
Insight into the principals from first pass on the original Sunset post:
Hear the “fourths” (C with F and D with G etc…) and sliding around? Hendrix did this kinda thing, has to be the way. (C to F is a fourth, F to C is a fifth-what is duality and why is it important?) Lay your index finger across the top strings and slide around, your ear will find the sweet spots.
Hear the bends down into a sustained note on “Sunset”: a motif? Duane Allman popularized this sound. Repeating specific technique gives improv continuity: BB King= stinging vibrato, Roy Buchanan= specific inflections.
The chutes and ladders on “Sunset” are specific scalar ideas in two octaves over the central tonality. Additionally, “playing across the changes” (with scalar ideas) adds a sense of urgency and excitement. A phenom occurs as the elements of a scale change function in the progression. For example, G scale against C adds F#/Gb. This is a flat five which sounds exotic against C, but against G, F#/Gb sounds in the pocket, it is the leading tone against G.
Principles? C is the tonal center on “Sunset”. Use a 4/5 tool. Organize some improv with F, Bb, G and D scales. Choose F, the reward is Bb against C. All the other elements of F are contained in C: CDEFGAB vs FGABbCDEF. So, get a 7b against C by thinking in F. The placement of the elements of F against C makes a difference. Instead of grabbing C triade pitches: C, E, G. The bullets are F, A, C with the F triad. The other “4/5 tool” substitutions give: 3b, 5b, 2b. So, all the notes in C plus, Db, Eb, Gb, and Bb added to the “paint box” with this 4/5 tool. The tool comes from the circle of fifths/fourths. Look at the diagram, called “The Circle of Fifths”, a tonal center has a lot of mojo… google?
What about the pitches? The 1 2b 2 3b 3 4 5b 5, 6 7b, 7 are available using the 4/5 paint box. Some people hear distinct pitches in places where some of us don’t hear them. Ah, 3, 4, 5 pitches… For example, between 3b and 2 can you hear 3bb? The 4/5 tool, using strict triades produces all “tempered” pitches but 6b. Add the 5 “mystery” pitches or “tweeners” and welcome to Jerry Garcia’s paint box.
Next time modulate from C with some cool substitutions.
Rules = discipline. Principals lie beyond the Three Rules. Discover principal on your own by using/abusing the rules. “Adapt to the environment” is rule 3. Adaptation is reflective. The 3 rules can be expressed as “Do Be Do”. Definitions:
Licks: Phrases or musical ideas.
Sticks: Licks wielded routinely in a specific musical situation.
Head: “Melodic” content identified with a set of changes and/or feel. Think of the Beatles “Birthday”: you can hum it right?
Chutes and Ladders: Scalar runs, gadgets or sequence derived licks (big sticks?)
Motif: “Sticks” that fit in the arrangement or a “design feature”/”technique”.
Clams/Pickles: “bad” notes/inappropriate tensions/pitches outside the tonal center
Cliché: Not distinctive/novel/different/exciting/dangerous/experimental
Insight into the principals from first pass on the original Sunset post:
Hear the “fourths” (C with F and D with G etc…) and sliding around? Hendrix did this kinda thing, has to be the way. (C to F is a fourth, F to C is a fifth-what is duality and why is it important?) Lay your index finger across the top strings and slide around, your ear will find the sweet spots.
Hear the bends down into a sustained note on “Sunset”: a motif? Duane Allman popularized this sound. Repeating specific technique gives improv continuity: BB King= stinging vibrato, Roy Buchanan= specific inflections.
The chutes and ladders on “Sunset” are specific scalar ideas in two octaves over the central tonality. Additionally, “playing across the changes” (with scalar ideas) adds a sense of urgency and excitement. A phenom occurs as the elements of a scale change function in the progression. For example, G scale against C adds F#/Gb. This is a flat five which sounds exotic against C, but against G, F#/Gb sounds in the pocket, it is the leading tone against G.
Principles? C is the tonal center on “Sunset”. Use a 4/5 tool. Organize some improv with F, Bb, G and D scales. Choose F, the reward is Bb against C. All the other elements of F are contained in C: CDEFGAB vs FGABbCDEF. So, get a 7b against C by thinking in F. The placement of the elements of F against C makes a difference. Instead of grabbing C triade pitches: C, E, G. The bullets are F, A, C with the F triad. The other “4/5 tool” substitutions give: 3b, 5b, 2b. So, all the notes in C plus, Db, Eb, Gb, and Bb added to the “paint box” with this 4/5 tool. The tool comes from the circle of fifths/fourths. Look at the diagram, called “The Circle of Fifths”, a tonal center has a lot of mojo… google?
What about the pitches? The 1 2b 2 3b 3 4 5b 5, 6 7b, 7 are available using the 4/5 paint box. Some people hear distinct pitches in places where some of us don’t hear them. Ah, 3, 4, 5 pitches… For example, between 3b and 2 can you hear 3bb? The 4/5 tool, using strict triades produces all “tempered” pitches but 6b. Add the 5 “mystery” pitches or “tweeners” and welcome to Jerry Garcia’s paint box.
Next time modulate from C with some cool substitutions.
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