4/28 Lesson

Nice soloing tonight!

1a. It showed that you practiced form 1 to 2 pentatonic transitions. When improvising don't be shy to use techniques such as the hammer ons and the double-note lick we practiced.

1b. I gave you a new form of the major scale that meshes well with form 2 of the pentatonic. The pentatonic (5 note) scale is simply the major scale in this form less the 4th and major 7th notes.

____________1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
major ______C D E F G A B C
pentatonic _C D E G A C

Here is an example of the A Major pentatonic


Improvise between the major and pentatonic forms. this is what is going on in Comfortably Numb.

1c. Practice a great way to string pentatonic forms together at:

• Method 1
• Method 2
  

2. Download the trial version of band-in-a-box. Its good til July 1 and will be a great way to practice at tempo over a virtual band. For This exercise start by playing the 12 bar blues.

A great video tutorial that you can play along to can be found here

3. Listen to some guitarists and start to identify styles you like. the best way to get very good is to emulate players you like. You will find that they tend to use certain scale forms and you will begin to identify lines that the play variations of. David Gilmour is a case in point.

4. Learn the first three phrases or lines of of the solo in comfortably numb. If you want learn as many as you can. So much of what he is doing is the way he plays the notes. Much of his style comes from his use of sustain - so using a pod or even your amp cranked up will help.

5. What the World will never take. Strategy for learning the tune.
a. download the chords - look at them and use your chart to figure out the chord family and hence the key.
b. learn the rhythm part FIRST. this will help you know the landscape of notes and will guide you when you are improvising.
c. play back the lines of the solo and hum the tune. From the scale form pluck out the notes til they match what you are humming.
d. repeat the line until you know it then move on to the next line.
e. string the lines together and try to play them all in a row along with the CD.


6. Make sure to play your scales and call out the notes on the fretboard. you should be able to identify all the major home notes. E G A B C D F - common sharps will be F#, C# - know these as as well.

4/21 Lesson

Wow - you are doing so great. Here's the gist of tonight's lesson.

• Pentatonics - learn to move between forms. Move whenever you feel. Remember to identify the root note in each form. this will give you a base to let your hand find it's home position.

1. Day 1 - Form 1 - 2-1
2. Day 2 - Form 2-3-2
3. Day 3 - Form 3-4-3
4. Day 4 - Form 4-5-4
5. Day 5 - Form 5-1-5

• Identify the notes game - We chose A-C-D-E-G (A Pentatonic). Exercise - play each note on each string in as many places as you can find it. Remember the fretboard starts over at the 12th fret; so 15th fret is really just like the 3rd fret. this will take the mystery out of playing so high up on the neck.

• Comfortably Numb solo - You actually learned this faster than I did this week. As always here's what to do with a solo.

1. Determine the key by knowing the chords and bass line under the solo. In this case the chords are:

• D -> A -> D -> A -> C -> G -> C -> G -> A
• The notes in the first part of the solo (not in order) are G F# E D C# B A. Hmm what major scale contains these notes?
• The second part of the scale plays C and G chords. Hmm you can't have a C chord in a D scale, ahh he changes to either a G or a C scale. But he plays a F# in the second phrase. F# that is not in the key of C it must by G. This will clue your hand in to what position to be in and what notes are *legal*.

2. Learn and memorize the phrases (or lines) of the solo in chunks.

• Each line will have a starting and ending note. these are your home notes and the notes between are the stepping stones. (think F# -E -D in the 3rd phrase). Keep these in mind as you play each phrase - they will ground your solo and help it sound musical.
  

3. Listen to what the artist is doing with the notes and try to emulate it. As you progress you will borrow and combine styles of various players but for now imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Gilmour's first F# in that solo gives me chills - its as if he is singing through his fingers. Becoming a great musician involves becoming a great musical listener.

• Right handed exercise - Play long train running (Gm7 on the 10th fret) and get jiggy with it. The right wrist should be flopping around and loose. Go for smooth then increase the tempo. Practice the different up/down patterns and shape each strum to sound more musical.

As always practice a Form 1 of the minor scale and do your chromatics. Next week I will give you the really tough chromatic exercise that will feel like guitar boot camp.

Great job Rebecca - you are doing amazing.

4/14 Lesson

4/14 Wrap up:

1. Chromatic scale (use all 4 fingers, descend 1 fret at a time, play slow and clean) Skip a fret to practice stretching the fingers.
   
2. 2 string scales - practice the transitions from string to string when playing any scale. Repeat the notes on the two strings until your fingers begin to remember.
3. Harmonics - 12th fret will resonate the best, then 7th then 5th. Pluck the note hard and remove your left finger at the same time to let the note sustain. Find Roundabout on Youtube and see if you can play it.
   
4. Palm muting - This is a version of a harmonic using your right hand near the bridge. You will hear the notes continue to sustain even with your palm on the strings when you find the right spot. this is a popular way of changing the tone of a chord.

Song: Your Grace is Enough

• Listen to the way the guitar notes sustain over each other. this is the clue that led me to play the riff on the b string with the open e string.
• Know the underlying chords and bass line. this will lead you to the key which will in turn lead you to the right notes. The part just moves up and down a a scale.

4/14 Exercises:

1. Play the chromatics up and down the neck. skipping the fret and playing near the nut will really stretch out your fingers. Play slow and clean.
2. Practice form 1 and 5 of the pentatonic. Stretch goal: Say the name of the note as you play it. Do this with the A and D pentatonics.
   

4/7 Lesson

4/14 wrap up

1. Major and Pentatonic - form 1 scales
2. Finger transitions between chords. goal is to minimize finger travel. watch out for pulling on the strings when fingering your chords. come down as straight as you can using the arc in your fingers. this will keep the notes in pitch.
3. Song - Purple Haze - Goal is to play this simple pentatonic based riff with as much feel as you can get.
4. String bending - Practice push and pull vibrato with each finger. Especially your pinky. Flashy leads often cresendo with the high note ringing out. guess which finger's job is to play the really high notes?

4/7 Exercise

1. Pentatonic scales form 1 and 5 - will be the beginning of a never ending relationship with the 5 basic forms of the pentatonic.

I have charted out the 5 forms of the G pentatonic but remember you need to be able to play the scale from any fret. Start with the main keys you will be asked to play in. E, G, A, B, C#, D. So you would play the E pentatonic in all 5 forms, then G in all 5 forms then A, etc.

This alone will make you into a great soloist. Don't worry about speed. When you get bored, improvise with the scale. Listen to David Gilmour from the site I sent you. He is the master of the melodic pentatonic solo.

Comfortably Numb solo
Comfortably Numb Tab