What Scales To Practise ? |
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What Scales To Practise ? |
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Jun 15 2007, 03:59 AM |
a minor pentatonic and minor pentatonic would be the same shape. a minor would just happen to start on the 5th fret minor pentatonic is just the generic name for all the scales using that shape. right? That's pretty much it, although you are talking about one particular pattern for that scale - there are 5 different patterns to play each pentatonic scale, but they are the same for all keys, so you only need to learn them once. -------------------- Check out my Instructor profile
Live long and prosper ... My Stuff: Electric Guitars : Ibanez Jem7v, Line6 Variax 700, Fender Plus Strat with 57/62 Pickups, Line6 Variax 705 Bass Acoustic Guitars : Taylor 816ce, Martin D-15, Line6 Variax Acoustic 300 Nylon Effects : Line6 Helix, Keeley Modded Boss DS1, Keeley Modded Boss BD2, Keeley 4 knob compressor, Keeley OxBlood Amps : Epiphone Valve Jnr & Head, Cockburn A.C.1, Cockburn A.C.2, Blackstar Club 50 Head & 4x12 Cab |
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Jun 15 2007, 09:10 AM |
Thanks for all the replies. But could someone please show some light on what scales did people like Kirk Hammet, Jimmy Page, and Slash use. I would really like to flirt on the same territory as them. Hey Kris I am especially expecting you to answer this. I'm pretty sure kirk hammet and jimmy page used the pentatonic scale alot? I'm no expert, but I think they did But if you want to play rock'n'roll the pentatonic scale is awesome, you can also just add a couple of notes here and there to make it more interesting. http://www.all-guitar-chords.com/guitar_sc...or&get2=Get |
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Jun 15 2007, 02:42 PM |
Thanks Robin for the link. But now I have an even more interesting question. I just found out that A minor pentatonic and C major pentatonic have the same notes, of course with different root. So how do you decide whether some piece is in C major pentatonic or A minor pentatonic. To put the same question in a different manner, how is playing In A minor pentatonic different from playing in C major pentatonic. That's actually a pretty insightful question! This is an area of theory that's pretty hard to explain (although Ben did a great job above). I'd just like to add that you need to look at more than just the notes, you need to understand the whole musical framework including the chords as Ben said. The chords give your brain a cue to understand whether you are playing Am Pentatonic or CMaj Pentatonic - the notes on their own are ambiguous. In theory terms, what you are doing here is scratching the surface of modes - which is a very interesting topic in which different scales share the same notes but are used in a musically different way. If that interests you, I have a lesson on Major modes here. -------------------- Check out my Instructor profile
Live long and prosper ... My Stuff: Electric Guitars : Ibanez Jem7v, Line6 Variax 700, Fender Plus Strat with 57/62 Pickups, Line6 Variax 705 Bass Acoustic Guitars : Taylor 816ce, Martin D-15, Line6 Variax Acoustic 300 Nylon Effects : Line6 Helix, Keeley Modded Boss DS1, Keeley Modded Boss BD2, Keeley 4 knob compressor, Keeley OxBlood Amps : Epiphone Valve Jnr & Head, Cockburn A.C.1, Cockburn A.C.2, Blackstar Club 50 Head & 4x12 Cab |
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Jun 15 2007, 03:11 PM |
Thanks Ben. But lets say we are having a chord progression that ends at Cmaj7. Now when soloing how would I make sure that it sounds to be in C major pentatonic and not in A minor pentatonic, and vice-versa, even when the notes are same for the two scales. It will sound in Cmaj penta automatically - technically you can play either Am or Cmaj Pentatonic and you will be using the same selection of notes - as I said in my earlier post, its actually the song as a whole that determines the key, including the chords. I realize that this is confusing ... look at it this way. A scale is a pallette of notes you can use to build a solo out of. If the notes are the same, it doesn't actually matter which of the 2 scales they are from in the context of the song, the results will be identical. Eventually the idea is to move away from individual boxes and just understand the notes in the context of the song. Once you have the key in mind, you know the notes you can play. However, from an ear training point of view we would make the distinction as the 2 scales sound diferent because you will be playing the notes in a slightly different order, starting from the A instead of the C - this ifference is also taken into account when you design the chord progression (which is based on the scale), so it all works out in the end - the confusion comes from looking at the notes and the chords in isolation. -------------------- Check out my Instructor profile
Live long and prosper ... My Stuff: Electric Guitars : Ibanez Jem7v, Line6 Variax 700, Fender Plus Strat with 57/62 Pickups, Line6 Variax 705 Bass Acoustic Guitars : Taylor 816ce, Martin D-15, Line6 Variax Acoustic 300 Nylon Effects : Line6 Helix, Keeley Modded Boss DS1, Keeley Modded Boss BD2, Keeley 4 knob compressor, Keeley OxBlood Amps : Epiphone Valve Jnr & Head, Cockburn A.C.1, Cockburn A.C.2, Blackstar Club 50 Head & 4x12 Cab |
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Jun 15 2007, 04:01 PM |
let Andrew chip in -Ben Hey, you're doing a great job Part of the problem here is that all of these concepts are so interrelated that its difficult to pull parts out in isolation. All I can says is that when you understand all of this you'll understand all of this Bens point about building chords from the scale is discussed in a lesson here - this may give you some insight. If you are finding the discussion around modes a little intimidating, just file it away for future reference. The essential part of this is that the scale and chords, along with which of those chords the song resolves to, taken together present to your mind as a whole the feel of the song. Play the same notes in a different order with the same chords in a different order and you will get a totally different feel. And finally, which pentatonic scale you use depends on the ordering and resolution of the chords- which is in fact determined by the key you are in. This post has been edited by Andrew Cockburn: Jun 15 2007, 04:02 PM -------------------- Check out my Instructor profile
Live long and prosper ... My Stuff: Electric Guitars : Ibanez Jem7v, Line6 Variax 700, Fender Plus Strat with 57/62 Pickups, Line6 Variax 705 Bass Acoustic Guitars : Taylor 816ce, Martin D-15, Line6 Variax Acoustic 300 Nylon Effects : Line6 Helix, Keeley Modded Boss DS1, Keeley Modded Boss BD2, Keeley 4 knob compressor, Keeley OxBlood Amps : Epiphone Valve Jnr & Head, Cockburn A.C.1, Cockburn A.C.2, Blackstar Club 50 Head & 4x12 Cab |
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Jun 15 2007, 06:58 PM |
One way is through phrasing. Phrasing is how we play notes, how we arrange them, how we use rythm, timing and how we articulate them. In blues, most phrases are 'question and answer'- we play one line, and then answer it with a similar line. Check BB kings playing for many examples. For Paul Gilbert esque- (yes i know im a fusion/jazz instructor but you gotta know you roots ), they are normally very repetitive, fast and included the b5 alot from the Blues scale. He plays around with patterns, so try making some patterns up based on the blues scale and minor pentatonic. -Ben This is actually the route I took to develop my playing from bluesy to a more rocky sound - I took the pentatonic and started adding legato passing notes - the famous blues flat 5 of course but others as well to give it a more regular feel. You end up putting in little chromatic runs between the scales notes which helps you with speed and regularity. -------------------- Check out my Instructor profile
Live long and prosper ... My Stuff: Electric Guitars : Ibanez Jem7v, Line6 Variax 700, Fender Plus Strat with 57/62 Pickups, Line6 Variax 705 Bass Acoustic Guitars : Taylor 816ce, Martin D-15, Line6 Variax Acoustic 300 Nylon Effects : Line6 Helix, Keeley Modded Boss DS1, Keeley Modded Boss BD2, Keeley 4 knob compressor, Keeley OxBlood Amps : Epiphone Valve Jnr & Head, Cockburn A.C.1, Cockburn A.C.2, Blackstar Club 50 Head & 4x12 Cab |
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Jun 15 2007, 08:12 PM |
Thanks Ben & Andrew... so for rock, playing a similar pattern X amount of times maybe followed by a more unique ending will give a more rock'ish sound? I always end up doing bluesy sounding bends... guess I need to break that habit. No probs. I wouldnt say you need to 'break' that habit for bending, you just need to know when to apply it, and certain rules for genres. Take E minor pentatonic, and make some scalic patterns (patterns based on the scale) to get you from one area of the fretboard to the other. check out this link for pattern playing: http://youtube.com/watch?v=z9rAn6lzOxw Im not an advocate of 'pattern playing' but it has its uses. Notice the pattern repeated. -Ben |
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Jun 15 2007, 08:27 PM
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Can you guys show me all the pentatonic scales i should learn?
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