So what else could it be then? I'll tell you and I'd also advise you to at least think about it and consider entering this or any other guitar contest at some time. What makes it really worthwhile for me is the feedback you get on your output. You can be sure that most contestants will be eager to see and hear what the others did, so you will get quite some exposure to a critical and possibly competitive audience. This feedback will help you put yourself and your playing in a new perspective. Don't worry, most people won't put you down, but they might be critical, and if you're able to take it, it will help you to keep moving in the right direction. The other important motivation for me is the opportunity to take the time to sit down and get inspired by someone else's music (in this case David's backing track). It's a very smooth and peaceful track which (at least for my understanding) asks for some emotions in what you add to it. I tried to come up with melodies and phrases in my head, not on my guitar, because in the latter case you're tempted to do what your fingers do best and not what the music is actually asking for. Whatever other people will think about my entry, I know that I found and played what was inside of me, triggered by the music. This makes me happy and satisfied, regardless of who's gonna win the pedal, or whatever it is that can be won ... :)
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
A few thoughts about entering a guitar contest
OK, I did it. I recorded myself playing a guitar solo in order to enter a contest. It's David Wallimann's 60 Second Solo Contest on Youtube. David recorded and shared a backing track and everybody can show what (s)he came up with over this backing track. So why on earth would I do such a thing? OK, you can win some pedals or something, I don't even know exactly what it is. But winning a pedal, or even winning the contest, was not what motivated me to participate. I know that there are zillions of awfully good guitarists out there that have enough time to record some amazing guitar solos which will make mine look rather modest.
So what else could it be then? I'll tell you and I'd also advise you to at least think about it and consider entering this or any other guitar contest at some time. What makes it really worthwhile for me is the feedback you get on your output. You can be sure that most contestants will be eager to see and hear what the others did, so you will get quite some exposure to a critical and possibly competitive audience. This feedback will help you put yourself and your playing in a new perspective. Don't worry, most people won't put you down, but they might be critical, and if you're able to take it, it will help you to keep moving in the right direction. The other important motivation for me is the opportunity to take the time to sit down and get inspired by someone else's music (in this case David's backing track). It's a very smooth and peaceful track which (at least for my understanding) asks for some emotions in what you add to it. I tried to come up with melodies and phrases in my head, not on my guitar, because in the latter case you're tempted to do what your fingers do best and not what the music is actually asking for. Whatever other people will think about my entry, I know that I found and played what was inside of me, triggered by the music. This makes me happy and satisfied, regardless of who's gonna win the pedal, or whatever it is that can be won ... :)
So what else could it be then? I'll tell you and I'd also advise you to at least think about it and consider entering this or any other guitar contest at some time. What makes it really worthwhile for me is the feedback you get on your output. You can be sure that most contestants will be eager to see and hear what the others did, so you will get quite some exposure to a critical and possibly competitive audience. This feedback will help you put yourself and your playing in a new perspective. Don't worry, most people won't put you down, but they might be critical, and if you're able to take it, it will help you to keep moving in the right direction. The other important motivation for me is the opportunity to take the time to sit down and get inspired by someone else's music (in this case David's backing track). It's a very smooth and peaceful track which (at least for my understanding) asks for some emotions in what you add to it. I tried to come up with melodies and phrases in my head, not on my guitar, because in the latter case you're tempted to do what your fingers do best and not what the music is actually asking for. Whatever other people will think about my entry, I know that I found and played what was inside of me, triggered by the music. This makes me happy and satisfied, regardless of who's gonna win the pedal, or whatever it is that can be won ... :)
Friday, July 5, 2013
Richie Kotzen's guitar solo on Desire by The Winery Dogs
I recently discovered the all-star trio band The Winery Dogs featuring Richie Kotzen (gu), Billy Sheehan (b) and Mike Portnoy (dr). These guys need no introduction, they've been around for quite a while, and obviously they're all excellent musicians. So I was very curious to hear them play together and I didn't get disappointed. They have a classic rock trio sound, think Hendrix and Cream with some more modern influences like Lenny Kravitz and Soundgarden. Good songwriting, impeccable playing, and also Kotzen's great soulful voice.
When I heard their song Desire, I was surprised by Kotzen's guitar solo. When you hear the song you - or at least I - would expect some typical pentatonic or maybe dorian rock solo, but Richie Kotzen chose to use a lot of chromaticism in a way that I found interesting. So I transcribed his solo and I'll also use it in my lessons. It's only in the last two measures that he shows off some nice pentatonic bending licks played through a wah-pedal. Enjoy!
You can find a pdf-version on my TABs and Sheet Music page (scroll down to 'Advanced').
This is me playing the solo:
When I heard their song Desire, I was surprised by Kotzen's guitar solo. When you hear the song you - or at least I - would expect some typical pentatonic or maybe dorian rock solo, but Richie Kotzen chose to use a lot of chromaticism in a way that I found interesting. So I transcribed his solo and I'll also use it in my lessons. It's only in the last two measures that he shows off some nice pentatonic bending licks played through a wah-pedal. Enjoy!
You can find a pdf-version on my TABs and Sheet Music page (scroll down to 'Advanced').
This is me playing the solo:
Also check my post on the intro and main riff of the song!
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Improvising over static sus4 chords
In my last post I explained the structure of suspended fourth (sus4) chords. Now I would like to say a few words about improvising over these chords. By 'static', I mean sus4 chords that do not resolve to another chord (usually a fifth below). These static chords are used in a modal way with no need to resolve. As I mentioned in my last post, a great example for such static sus4 chords is Herbie Hancock's composition Maiden Voyage.
I would like to focus on pentatonic scales because they sound great over suspended chords, and most guitar players already know them. As you probably know, the most common pentatonic scales are the minor and the major pentatonic scales:
A minor pentatonic scale: a - c - d - e - g
C major pentatonic scale: c - d - e - g - a
These two scales are of course identical, they just have different roots. Let's have a look at the notes of a 7sus4 chord with added tensions 9 and 13, e.g. with root D:
D13sus4 = Am9/D = d - g - a - c - e - b
(If you have trouble understanding this, just check my previous post).
If you compare these notes to the notes of the A minor pentatonic scale, you'll notice that the scale contains all chords tones except for the 'b'. That makes this scale is a great choice for improvising over a D13sus4 chord (and over all other D7sus4 chords with or without added tensions). If you want to use a scale that also contains the 'b' (which is the '13' of the chord), then you'll have to exchange this note for another chord tone if you want to stick to pentatonic scales (because they only contain five notes, whereas the D13sus4 chord has six notes). The E minor pentatonic scale adds the 'b' at the expense of the 'c':
E minor pentatonic scale: e - g - a - b - d
Listen to the next two sound samples to hear how those two scales sound over a D13sus4 chord:
A minor pentatonic scale over D13sus4:
E minor pentatonic scale over D13sus4:
I hope you agree that they both sound good.
Let's summarize: if you want to play pentatonic lines over a suspended fourth chord (e.g. D7sus4, D9sus4, D13sus4), use a minor pentatonic scale with the root either a perfect fourth below or a major second above the root of the chord. Over a D7sus4, this gives A minor and E minor pentatonic, respectively.
I'd recommend to you to use this pentatonic approach to improvise over Maiden Voyage by Herbie Hancock. The song starts with 4 bars of D13sus4 (Am9/D) followed by 4 bars of F13sus4 (Cm9/F). These 8 bars are then repeated. For a start, just use these 16 bars for playing some pentatonic lines. So what are the scales? As mentioned before, over D13sus4 you can use either the A minor or the E minor pentatonic scale. Over F13sus4 you use the C minor or the G minor pentatonic scale. Enjoy!
I would like to focus on pentatonic scales because they sound great over suspended chords, and most guitar players already know them. As you probably know, the most common pentatonic scales are the minor and the major pentatonic scales:
A minor pentatonic scale: a - c - d - e - g
C major pentatonic scale: c - d - e - g - a
These two scales are of course identical, they just have different roots. Let's have a look at the notes of a 7sus4 chord with added tensions 9 and 13, e.g. with root D:
D13sus4 = Am9/D = d - g - a - c - e - b
(If you have trouble understanding this, just check my previous post).
If you compare these notes to the notes of the A minor pentatonic scale, you'll notice that the scale contains all chords tones except for the 'b'. That makes this scale is a great choice for improvising over a D13sus4 chord (and over all other D7sus4 chords with or without added tensions). If you want to use a scale that also contains the 'b' (which is the '13' of the chord), then you'll have to exchange this note for another chord tone if you want to stick to pentatonic scales (because they only contain five notes, whereas the D13sus4 chord has six notes). The E minor pentatonic scale adds the 'b' at the expense of the 'c':
E minor pentatonic scale: e - g - a - b - d
Listen to the next two sound samples to hear how those two scales sound over a D13sus4 chord:
A minor pentatonic scale over D13sus4:
E minor pentatonic scale over D13sus4:
I hope you agree that they both sound good.
Let's summarize: if you want to play pentatonic lines over a suspended fourth chord (e.g. D7sus4, D9sus4, D13sus4), use a minor pentatonic scale with the root either a perfect fourth below or a major second above the root of the chord. Over a D7sus4, this gives A minor and E minor pentatonic, respectively.
I'd recommend to you to use this pentatonic approach to improvise over Maiden Voyage by Herbie Hancock. The song starts with 4 bars of D13sus4 (Am9/D) followed by 4 bars of F13sus4 (Cm9/F). These 8 bars are then repeated. For a start, just use these 16 bars for playing some pentatonic lines. So what are the scales? As mentioned before, over D13sus4 you can use either the A minor or the E minor pentatonic scale. Over F13sus4 you use the C minor or the G minor pentatonic scale. Enjoy!
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Sus4 Chords
I decided to write a few lines about sus4 (suspended fourth) chords because I found that students can get quite confused about them, especially because of the large number of different symbols that are used for these chords in lead sheets.
In sus4 chords, the third of a (major or minor) triad is replaced by the fourth scale tone, i.e. by the note which is a perfect fourth above the root note. OK, here's an example: in a Dsus4 chord, the third of the chord (either F# in a D major triad, or F in a D minor triad) is replaced by a G, which is a perfect fourth above the root D: Dsus4 = d - g - a
Many of you guitar players have probably discovered this chord: XX0233
OK, that was simple, and there is usually not much confusion about such basic sus4 chords. However, it gets a bit more complicated when tensions are added, e.g. D7sus4, D9sus4 or D13sus4. (There is no D11sus4 for because the 11 and the 4 are the same notes.) These chords sound really nice because of their open character. They can either function as dominant chords resolving to a tonic chord, such as in the progression D7sus4 - Gmaj7, or they can be used as static chords with no need to resolve. Check out Herbie Hancock's Maiden Voyage for an example of static sus4 chords.
Let's now take a closer look at sus4 chords with added tensions:
D7sus4 = d - g - a - c
D9sus4 = d - g - a - c - e
D13sus4 = d - g - a - c - e - b
Looking at the chord notes of D9sus4, it turns out that the notes above the root note 'd' spell out an inversion of an Am7 chord: a - c - e - g. So an D9sus4 is equal to an Am7/D (Am7 over D as bass note). Sometimes the note 'a' is omitted, which gives a C/D chord (C major triad over D). For D13sus4 we get an extra note 'b', and the notes above the root spell out an Am9 chord: a - c - e - g - b. So we get D13sus4 = Am9/D, or - if the 'a' is left out - we get Cmaj7/D.
To sum up, we get the following equivalent chord symbols:
D9sus4 = Am7/D ≈ C/D
D13sus4 = Am9/D ≈ Cmaj7/D
These chords can be used interchangeably and they all have the same open sounding character. Here are some useful voicings for these chords:
D9sus4: X 5 5 5 5 5; 10 X 10 9 8 X; X X 12 12 13 12; X 5 X 5 5 3; 10 X 10 12 10 12
D13sus4: X 5 5 5 5 7; 10 X 10 12 12 12
And of course, if you play with a bass or keyboard player, you don't necessarily need to play the root on the guitar, so can use any voicing of C, Cmaj7, Am7 or Am9 to get the right sound. Have fun experimenting with these chords!
In the next post I talk about an easy way to improvise over these chords.
In sus4 chords, the third of a (major or minor) triad is replaced by the fourth scale tone, i.e. by the note which is a perfect fourth above the root note. OK, here's an example: in a Dsus4 chord, the third of the chord (either F# in a D major triad, or F in a D minor triad) is replaced by a G, which is a perfect fourth above the root D: Dsus4 = d - g - a
Many of you guitar players have probably discovered this chord: XX0233
OK, that was simple, and there is usually not much confusion about such basic sus4 chords. However, it gets a bit more complicated when tensions are added, e.g. D7sus4, D9sus4 or D13sus4. (There is no D11sus4 for because the 11 and the 4 are the same notes.) These chords sound really nice because of their open character. They can either function as dominant chords resolving to a tonic chord, such as in the progression D7sus4 - Gmaj7, or they can be used as static chords with no need to resolve. Check out Herbie Hancock's Maiden Voyage for an example of static sus4 chords.
Let's now take a closer look at sus4 chords with added tensions:
D7sus4 = d - g - a - c
D9sus4 = d - g - a - c - e
D13sus4 = d - g - a - c - e - b
Looking at the chord notes of D9sus4, it turns out that the notes above the root note 'd' spell out an inversion of an Am7 chord: a - c - e - g. So an D9sus4 is equal to an Am7/D (Am7 over D as bass note). Sometimes the note 'a' is omitted, which gives a C/D chord (C major triad over D). For D13sus4 we get an extra note 'b', and the notes above the root spell out an Am9 chord: a - c - e - g - b. So we get D13sus4 = Am9/D, or - if the 'a' is left out - we get Cmaj7/D.
To sum up, we get the following equivalent chord symbols:
D9sus4 = Am7/D ≈ C/D
D13sus4 = Am9/D ≈ Cmaj7/D
These chords can be used interchangeably and they all have the same open sounding character. Here are some useful voicings for these chords:
D9sus4: X 5 5 5 5 5; 10 X 10 9 8 X; X X 12 12 13 12; X 5 X 5 5 3; 10 X 10 12 10 12
D13sus4: X 5 5 5 5 7; 10 X 10 12 12 12
And of course, if you play with a bass or keyboard player, you don't necessarily need to play the root on the guitar, so can use any voicing of C, Cmaj7, Am7 or Am9 to get the right sound. Have fun experimenting with these chords!
In the next post I talk about an easy way to improvise over these chords.
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Guitar Massacre
Hey everybody,
today we played the first try-out of our new Vanillewijs theater show for children. We're very happy with the result after many months of hard work.
For you guitar guys I'm posting a part of the soundtrack that we wrote for the show. This piece is the only one which has just guitar tracks in it. It goes with a fight scene between a sea monster and two kids (don't ask, just go and see the show ...). It was quite some fun recording a bit of good old rock guitar, just listen for yourself:
GuitarMassacre
More news coming soon!
bye,
mathias
today we played the first try-out of our new Vanillewijs theater show for children. We're very happy with the result after many months of hard work.
For you guitar guys I'm posting a part of the soundtrack that we wrote for the show. This piece is the only one which has just guitar tracks in it. It goes with a fight scene between a sea monster and two kids (don't ask, just go and see the show ...). It was quite some fun recording a bit of good old rock guitar, just listen for yourself:
GuitarMassacre
More news coming soon!
bye,
mathias
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