The "What did you work on today?" thread.
- Thread starter Mark Wein
- Start date
hobo
simple guitar player
Just a place to post what you've been practicing and see what everyone else is doing....I saw a thread ike this on another forum and thought I'd steal it
wow, this is a cool idea
hobo
simple guitar player
Legato lick in E minor MW lesson
Oct. 30 2nd day. Put the metronome on 40 bpm, can get all the notes ok, speed has improved, but won't move up on the metronome yet, need to smooth out my playing more. No distortion yet, clear tone. What I may try to do is now remember the name of the notes, but not sure yet idn_smilie
Oct. 30 2nd day. Put the metronome on 40 bpm, can get all the notes ok, speed has improved, but won't move up on the metronome yet, need to smooth out my playing more. No distortion yet, clear tone. What I may try to do is now remember the name of the notes, but not sure yet idn_smilie
Most of my music time is currently taken up with writing songs. I did spend some time last night just playing along with Deep Purple's "Stormbringer" album for fun :rawk:
I've also been working on tritones..I love that interval, so I've been over-using it in every lick/song I come up with.
I've also been working on tritones..I love that interval, so I've been over-using it in every lick/song I come up with.
Believe it or not my biggest growth this week was from getting rid of my PodXT and just playing through an amp in my teaching studio. I'm coming to the realization that the modeler makes things too easy to sound good and when I go to play in a rehearsal or gig I can't make it happen through a real amp.
That's interesting...I only use my POD XT for recording..I do all my practice through a small Vox Valvetronix combo...also a modeller, but it does have a tube which certainly improves the "feel" of the amp. I was thinking about getting one of those small 1/2 watt tube combo's though...I have noticed that when I play through my bigger Marshall or Mesa amps..it's like I've found a whole new level of suck
That's interesting...I only use my POD XT for recording..I do all my practice through a small Vox Valvetronix combo...also a modeller, but it does have a tube which certainly improves the "feel" of the amp. I was thinking about getting one of those small 1/2 watt tube combo's though...I have noticed that when I play through my bigger Marshall or Mesa amps..it's like I've found a whole new level of suck
Its not anything I've ever heard anyone talk about but I think that the modelers have enough compression that they "fill in the gaps" in my inconsistent picking. Having to sound good through a 25 watt SS Fender this week has bumped up my playing through amps in class....I'll be cusious what I sound like at rehearsal.
Last night I decided I really liked the sound of the Major scale with a b6. ...very sweet, slightly exotic sounding arpeggios can be built off that..I really liked the regular AMaj "Sweep shape" triad played in two octaves at the 12th fret with a bend from the 5th to the b6 at the end on the high E 
It starts all happy and Major as you'd expect and then goes all dreamy on you.
I have no idea if this is useful to anyone, but I liked it.
...very sweet, slightly exotic sounding arpeggios can be built off that..I really liked the regular AMaj "Sweep shape" triad played in two octaves at the 12th fret with a bend from the 5th to the b6 at the end on the high E It starts all happy and Major as you'd expect and then goes all dreamy on you.
I have no idea if this is useful to anyone, but I liked it.
Last night I decided I really liked the sound of the Major scale with a b6.
It starts all happy and Major as you'd expect and then goes all dreamy on you.
I have no idea if this is useful to anyone, but I liked it.
Thats a cool sound...I forgot about that one...
Tonight will be the night where we listen to all the stuff I've recorded over the past couple of weeks on my Line6 Backtrack..which is a great tool...and decide if any of it is any use. I hate these nights 
Once that's done, I'm going to work on alternate picking (a Steve Morse exercise which is HARD) and then have fun with a Dom7 chord vamp type thing where I'll try and play "outside"..using the stuff I learned from a Don Mock book..melodic minor substitution ideas..and my ears hopefully.
I'll post any incredible insights tomorrow.
Once that's done, I'm going to work on alternate picking (a Steve Morse exercise which is HARD
) and then have fun with a Dom7 chord vamp type thing where I'll try and play "outside"..using the stuff I learned from a Don Mock book..melodic minor substitution ideas..and my ears hopefully.I'll post any incredible insights tomorrow.
Well, that was a fairly productive evenings work. We reckon there's at least one song to be had out of all the bits I'd recorded over the last two weeks..so I'm quite happy with that. Once we've got this months recordingfest done, I'll put together a rough arrangement.
I then spent around 30 minutes on the Steve Morse picking etude..lots of string skipping and all played with strict alternate picking. Tough, but I think it's working for me.
Finished with jamming on the dom7 vamp...I'm finally beginning to "hear" how the melodic minor scale works..I'm hearing it now not so much as a "minor" scale..but just a way of generating altered sounds over Dom7 chords..that's a bit of a breakthrough for me.
So I tried it, up a fourth, up a fifth, down a whole step and up a half step over the vamp as suggested by the Don Mock book...very neat. I LOVE the "up a fourth" which is pretty "inside" but gives you that delicious b6 flavour. "Whole step down" is very nice too..giving you the spanish/latin flavoured b9 against the Dom7 chord.
Still getting my ears round the "Half step up"..which gives you all the altered notes..I think this works best if the Dom7 resolves to a I chord rather than staying static. I'll mess with this some more tonight...plus more alternate picking and there's a John Petrucci lick that I want to steal..so, I'll be slowing it right down and frowning a lot.
I absolutley LOVE playing guitar, just to be clear. Can't imagine not doing it.
I'll listen to you clip later at home Hobo!
I then spent around 30 minutes on the Steve Morse picking etude..lots of string skipping and all played with strict alternate picking. Tough, but I think it's working for me.
Finished with jamming on the dom7 vamp...I'm finally beginning to "hear" how the melodic minor scale works..I'm hearing it now not so much as a "minor" scale..but just a way of generating altered sounds over Dom7 chords..that's a bit of a breakthrough for me.
So I tried it, up a fourth, up a fifth, down a whole step and up a half step over the vamp as suggested by the Don Mock book...very neat. I LOVE the "up a fourth" which is pretty "inside" but gives you that delicious b6 flavour. "Whole step down" is very nice too..giving you the spanish/latin flavoured b9 against the Dom7 chord.
Still getting my ears round the "Half step up"..which gives you all the altered notes..I think this works best if the Dom7 resolves to a I chord rather than staying static. I'll mess with this some more tonight...plus more alternate picking and there's a John Petrucci lick that I want to steal..so, I'll be slowing it right down and frowning a lot.
I absolutley LOVE playing guitar, just to be clear. Can't imagine not doing it.
I'll listen to you clip later at home Hobo!
"Good Times Bad Times" is awesome..killer Page solo in that..poast clips!
I will when it sounds good. My voice is for shit this week (I've been fighting off being sick and not sleeping due ot sick kids) and I haven't put as much time into as I need...
