Ari's Rock N Roll Dojo Options

[Kristofer Dahl]

Hey Ari,

Awesome to have you on the site and well done with your REC takes so far!

Your energy is contagious and I am very much looking forward to mentoring you 🤗

I have already got a first impression of where you would like to take things through our PM correspondence.

But now I want to ask you more specifically:

* Can you list, in order of priority, what ability you would most like to have. So you can disregard what you think you should learn first - let's do some dreaming first 😁

* Please share your favorite bands and guitarists with me!

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[Ari]

HI Kris,

Thank you, I'm looking forward for this too..

The ability I would like to most have right now is improvising on all over the neck board combining melody and rhythm..

Favourit bands and guitarists? I have tons! lol

Red Hot chilli pepper - John Frusciante
Joe satriani
Steve vai
Eric Johnson
AC/DC - Angus Young
Metallica - Kirk Hammet
Gary moore

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[Kristofer Dahl]

Awesome!

EJ/Vai/Stach might have been the most influential block of guitarists for me as well 😁

Since you are already doing really good on the REC board building your rhythm chops - I think a good starting point for us would be to hone in on your lead work.

Once we have made sure you have got the basics down, we will be able to start exploring position shifting (playing all over the neck).

Also, we will look at including double- & triple-stops, as well as regular chords - into your scalar practicing. The goal is a seamless combination of solo and rhythm guitar - in an improvised setting. 👌

To kick this off - I want to ask you if you have ever practiced any scale? Do you remember the name of it?

If the answer is yes, then feel free to shoot a video of you playing it!

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[Ari]

Hi Kris..

I haven't been playing scales for quite sometimes, and all I know so far are mostly pattern 1 on Major and Pentatonic scales.

Here are the videos.

Am Pentatonic


On the last part of the scale was not pattern 1, I just wanted to "improvise" a bit by extending the pattern

A Major Scale


I hope those can help you to figure out my level and how to improve it.

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[Kristofer Dahl]

Awesome Ari 😎

You have already come a long way, learning two different scales, which require different types of fingering.

Not only that, but you have also started connecting different scale positions with each other - in order to play horizontally / diagonally on the fretboard. This is often considered a crucial milestone to start soloing "freely" all over the fretboard.

Also, you hands are (almost) all of the time synchronised - which is an even harder achievement and this tells me you have been practicing seriously and not tried to rush things.

All in all - very well done 👌

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I am now extremely curious as to how much you have actually started using these scales in a musical context.

I would like to ask you to record youself playing jamming over a backing track. You can choose any backing you want, but here is an example.

If the word "jamming" intimidates you - you can just think of it as playing any of these scales over a backing. If you do know some licks, feel free to use them.

Looking forward to hear back from you mate! 👊

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[Ari]

Finally I got a new camera! So it's more focus on the guitar..

Here is I tried to improvise on C major backing track, I found the track on youtube and it's quite easy.

I tried to mix around C major scales, and pentatonics. As for the pentatonic, I wasn't sure whether I used Am or C major pentatonic, since one is the relative to the other. Also, I recently learnt about 3 notes per string on major scale, I applied it as well.

When I listen my playing, I think it was okay although there were some mistakes here and there. Now my question is, do I need to target the note according to the chords changes? or do I need to change the key according to the chords? How do I do either of them?

I tried to do some bending or including some blues notes during practice. But, I felt like both of them didn't work. Or do they?

Thank you Kris, I need some inputs and feedbacks.

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[Kristofer Dahl]

Very cool Ari,

Let me start with an assessment of your improvising -

* You have already reached a very high level of melodic ability, pouring out 5 minutes of non-stop melody is something many guitarists dream of being able to do. It is the perfect foundation for any fancy playing you want to add on top of those melodies.

* Your lines sound very "scalar" - meaning we can clearly hear you are mostly playing scales up and down. But again, you do it very tastefully.

* You use almsot no rock licks/cliches. This is why your playing sounds kinda 'soft' and does not remind much of EJ/Vai/Satch etc. Solution? Learn new licks and practice including them in your lines.

As for the pentatonic, I wasn't sure whether I used Am or C major pentatonic, since one is the relative to the other.

Yes they contain them same notes. But if the key is C Major you should think of what you are playing as C major Pentatnoic - otherwise you will not visualise the notes in relation to the correct root notes. This will give you unnecessary problems further down the line.

. Now my question is, do I need to target the note according to the chords changes? or do I need to change the key according to the chords? How do I do either of them?

Being able to target chord notes is a fantastic tool to have at your disposal. But bear in mind you are already doing this subconsciously using your ears - otherwise your lines would not sound as melodic.

In order no actively target chord notes, you first need to learn those chord notes all over the fretboard, or at least in the position you intend to solo in. So if the chords are C, Am and F - you could learn these:








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Relevant to your question about bending - I would like to suggest that the lowest hanging fruit for you to get closer to you inspirations / heroes, is to actually learn some cool rock licks. You have already come a long way in your improvising - and cool licks are really the missing element that would give your playing a substantial boost.

So my next task for you would be to show me if you know any rocks licks? Ie licks that use the pentatonic scale?

Feel free to record another video. You really don't need to improvise over a backing for this task, but playing to a metronome/drum machine is a big plus.

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[Ari]

Thank you Kris

So how do I learn some rock licks? I know I heard many of them are using pentatonic, for example Back in black ACDC, Angus used pentatonic E minor. It's in my library now, so by people says use it, do they mean use as it is? or tried to modify it? maybe adding or reducing some notes or something else? What I mean is how do I learn and use other's licks? It's just like learning a new language isn't it, but rather than copy and paste the whole sentence?

And by you meant "Rock licks", do you mean the tones and how it sounds? like adding some overdrive or crunch? not only the notes?

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[Kristofer Dahl]

Great feedback Ari - I think we are honing in on the issue now 😎

Once you get some clarity regarding these questions - you will be able to start practicing (and eventually using) a new rock repertoire in your solos.

What I mean is how do I learn and use other's licks? It's just like learning a new language isn't it, but rather than copy and paste the whole sentence?

You are spot on here. In the beginning we need to closely emulate, note for note, other people's licks (and sometimes longer lines or even solos). Just like learning a language.

Once we start to get a hang of of the little quirks (meaning the timing, the bends, the nuances) we can start attempting to use it in our own jams.

When I designed the Lead Basics course with Gab, this is exactly what I had in mind. So I think this lesson provides exactly what you need to understand this.

If it feels too easy, skip directly to part 4 and learn at least one of the licks, and then try to use it by yourself over the backing track provided. When you feel you start to get a hang of it, or need new input - please share a video with me!

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