Ok Muris,
Attached is a video of the 1st Mixolydian solo. I'm not sure what you'll find here execpt for my vibrato technique or lack thereof. Oh yea, and also that my guitar string needs trimming. Even though it's pretty simple, it still sounds great and has some fun stuff in it. I'm really looking forward to starting the intermediate lesson for this. For me it will be quite a challenge.


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One question, I should probably know this already, but what's the difference between "A Mixolydian" and the key of D?


Jim.

Well played Jim,and what a lovely PRS!

Since you've nailed it very good I would
suggest you to play the same piece
but with more wider vibrato,both on fretted
and bended notes,to see what will happen.

Now about Mixolydian Vs. Ionian.
A Mixolydian has note A as a root and A chord as a root chord.
D key has D as root and D chord.
They have same notes indeed but rotes are totally different.
Play A major/Ionian scale and then A Mixolydian,
you'll hear the difference,7th degree in Mixolydian in flatted
while everything else is the same.

Hmmmm ...A flatted 7th.
Very well then, here's my theory exercise for the day...

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Yep. I hear what you mean!


I'll start working on that vibrato too. For vibrato, I've always just shook my hand sort of parallel to the string and I've got to start instead to bend & release rapidly. It gives a much wider/deeper vibrato doesn't it? It's harder to do but seeing and hearing it done right is a strong motivator. The way I've done vibrato for so long is kind of "nervous" sounding. I'm finding that a great exercise for vibrato is E Minor Melodic Solo. I guess tho, I should work on proper vibrato on every piece.

Ahh,you almost got it Jim!!

You should play A major scale and then A Mixolydian.
Then you'll hear it's just one note difference.
But you played A minor scale.

As for vibrato,if you play faster
there is no time to apply nice and wide vibrato.
But there are moments to do that as well
and E Minor Melodic Solo is a good example for that.
There are different types of vibrato but band&release
is the most common one I would say,
specially if you want to get wider vibrato.

Whoops. I'll have to look at that video again and revisit the scale I was playing. You've got a good ear for sure!
Minor = flatted 3rd right?

The wider vibrato is definitely something I want to get good at. I like the idea of being able to control the depth and rate better by bending the string than by just shaking the left hand. Gotta work on it tho.

Thanks for the complement on the PRS too. I've always wanted one ever since I first played one at a music store but only recently could actuallty get one. It plays and sounds beautifully & also is a great motivator for me to do it justice in my playing.

Well not exactly cause we rarely say flat 3rd,
it's actually minor 3rd but IS flatted compared with major 3rd.

Here are the notes for better overview
A Major scale : A B C# D E F# G#
A Minor scale : A B C D E F G
A Mixolydian: A B C# D E F# G

Now notice that triad on root note in both major scale and Mixolydian
is the same, A C# and E notes which creates A major chord,right?
Triad on root in A minor scale is A minor chord,A C and E.

That's why I said play A chord(A major chord)
and then A scale and A Mixolydian.
Same chord on root,the only difference is 7th degree,
in A major scale we have G# note while
A Mixolydian has G note,that is flat 7th.

I am having to revisit some of my theory for sure. ... and my scales. I watched that video I did again and yea, I was playing an A minor scale.

This is turning into a good exercise in itself. :-) Major vs. Mixolydian, vs. Minor scales and hearing the differences. From there, I guess I'd better build the chords around each degree of each scale.

Funny, how I starting out just wanting to improve my right hand technique and end up getting into all kinds of stuff. This is great. As always, thanks for all your help.

Yeah,practicing and theory always come along,
you start with something and suddenly you
end up with something completely different.
But that's is point of playing guitar after all,
exploring and having fun.

I think a good idea besides just "hearing" the difference is to kind of put words to eat. For me "Phrygian" sounds Malmsteen-ish. So when I hear a Phrygian mode I can recognize it by it being Malmsteen-ish.

Lydian has a somewhat sophisticated sound to me... but well, I've only really got phrygian down! Still working on putting words on the others.

Lydian was always kind a Satch mode to me,
Flying in a Blue Dream etc.


Speaking of Malmsteen,
I would say it's Phryigian Dominant actually,
not just Phrygian, tho he uses Phrygian as well.

Yes, you are right. But of course, what it feels like to the individual may vary from person to person

And as I've not listened to enough Satch, that's probably why. But yes, you are right... Lydian is very Vai/Satchy.

Good company indeed.

Now you've done it! Now, I have to go fill up my iPod with Malmsteem, Satch, and Vai for some "field research"!

Sure,go ahead!

Here's my take on the main/backing riff for this series.

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This week I worked on wider movements with the right hand especially when playing slower. Not sure if you can see it here. During warm up, the wider movements help me to figure out which hand muscles are doing the most of the work and which are the right ones to use. For now, I think that it will always be true that during warmup, I should do wider moves at slower tempo (like you've suggested) every day. Then after warmup, return to what seems more natural for the tempo of the song with respect to making smaller moves. I don't have that much "range" when it comes to tempo. Of course, I can play really, really slow, but not very fast yet. I suspect that as I play faster, I will still want to warm up with wider moves to remind myself of what the right hand should be doing prior to "getting into it".

One thing I also noticed is that at faster speeds (not really fast yet, but fast for me), my hand will begin to move towards and away from the guitar instead of parallel with the body of the guitar. This is particularly true if I get tense or try to start increasing speed before warming up. The warm up with wider moves helps my rh to "get the idea" so to speak.

Absolutely,wider moves are great
to fell your picking and every note you pick.
At faster tempo you cannot do it that wide
because there is no enough time,
but that won't be the problem cause
you "get the idea" when practicing slowly,
just as you said.

Now few words about the take you provided,
Timing is 100% ok, picking hand does it very smoothly
so I really have no suggestion on that matter.
The only thing I noticed is the moment when you played
Em7 chord (without 5th), it sounds a bit muddy
but it's just related to the way you hit the strings.
Try it with more attack and also angle the pick a bit,
to get more brighter tone,you can even add more
treble and cut some middle in your tone.
Those grips/chords might sound not so great when played on
distortion but all you have to do it to apply more
power and attack when you play them.
Also you can apply the same to the whole section/lesson,
it will sound even more solid and steady.
All in all it's very well done,good progress.

You mentioned "more attack". Does this mean, hit the strings harder, or pick harder?
If so, then I will definately give that a try. I know that when strumming my acoustic, I tend to hold onto the pick very lightly. This is to allow it to glide over the strings more smootly. Maybe this is not the way to approach picking individual notes where I tend to let the pick "angle" glide over the string?

Hmm,it sounds like the same to me,isn't it?

Hi Muris,
Below is my take on the Intermediate Mixolydian Solo. It kind of looks like slow motion after getting used to watching your video at full tempo. Even for the "tempo challenged" player like myself, this is a fantastic lesson. The timing changes going from 16th to 16th triplets to 32nds are a great exercise and fun to play. ...having fun with the video editing software too.

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I'd like to be able to say I'm getting much faster, but the metronome tells me I've only gained about 5% since beginning my renewed focus on alternate picking. I'm getting more accurate at the speeds I've always been comfortable with though and hoping that and additional 5% will come without thinking about it too much.

Anyway, take a listen and let me know if you find anything in particular that I should focus on to improve.




Jim.

That's discipline at its best Jim,great take!
There are tiny problems when you do those small bares
with index and ring finger but that is REALLY minor issue
cause you have done it with lots of accuracy,
you're hands are looking stable,
now slightly try to build the tempo and that's all,
I have nothing else to say,very well done.

Thats a really good take man...... Awsome

Thanks Supersize. Much appreciated.

Regarding the barres with ring and index finger, yes, I noticed that when I do that to play sequential notes on the same fret and it's tricky to keep the sound of the first note from "bleeding" into the second. It sounds cool in some situations, but here it's definately better I think to keep each note "pure". So in that pentatonic lick at the very end, I tried to make sure to get the fingering the same way as you did it in the video and use a different finger on each note even when the sequential note is on the same fret (different string). It's easier to get each note to ring independently though tricky to train my fingers. Funny how training your fingers is. All you gotta do is work through it slowly at first (like developing a plan) and then after a while your fingers can do it automatically. I'll work on adopting this for the arpeggio triplets section that's just before the break (chords played in riff).

Thanks for the complements. I'm learning so much from working through these lessons.

That was played very clean and it sounds cool man. Great progress!! Guitar tone is great also. Just work on what Mirus suggested.

My suggestion:
Try to work on your vibrato before speed. This will help get you connected to the solo with feeling and expression. Stay at the same tempo as this recording an experiment with bend + vibrato, wide V, fast V (all on the key notes) and it will give everything more expression, movement and life. Relax your left hand some and let it happen.

At the same time start on a different recording with your same practice routine trying to play faster. Listen to them both played back and then be honest with yourself and what you hear.

Speed is cool and sounds great but if a listener can’t feel what you’re playing or relate they won’t listen.

You’re progressing really well. Keep going!!

Some great advice UncleSkillet.
Indeed, when I listen to my takes, I can hear that I want to improve my vibrato. Each new tune that I learn, I'm spending some time with this and hopefully over time, it will get more natural sounding and happen more automatically where I don't have to think about the mechancis of the vibrato, rather only think about the expression. Your explanation is the clearest I've seen on how to practice this.

So every day into my practice routine, I'm hoping to focus on the "expressive" aspect of playing while also working on the "technical" aspect ... speed in this case. So every day, I spend about half time learning new stuff, and half time pushing the tempo of stuff I already know.