Theory Questions Answered Options

[The Professor]

What's On Your Theory Mind?

Hey everyone! As we head into the weekend, I'm starting to plan my theory articles for next week. So, in order to make sure that what I'm covering is related to what you want to know, I'll open up this thread so that you can post any Music Theory questions, or suggestions/requests for upcoming lessons.

As suggestions and questions come in I'll put together lessons and articles on those subjects so that we can all dig into that material together.


So, what is on your mind theory wise? Let me know what you'd like to see for an upcoming lesson, or post a theory question and I'll be happy to answer it for you.

[audiopaal]

I have a question..
Where should I start/What should I start with?

I know very little theory, but maybe it's time to look into it a little bit.

[The Professor]

I have a question..
Where should I start/What should I start with?

I know very little theory, but maybe it's time to look into it a little bit.

Check out this group of articles, they are a good introduction to music theory and can help build a strong foundation to move on from there. If you have any questions about these lessons just let me know. Cheers.

[audiopaal]

Check out this group of articles, they are a good introduction to music theory and can help build a strong foundation to move on from there. If you have any questions about these lessons just let me know. Cheers.

I can't see any articles..?
Do you mean the links in your signature?

[The Professor]

I can't see any articles..?
Do you mean the links in your signature?

Sorry, this link here.


https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_fo...showtopic=48817

[audiopaal]

Sorry, this link here.


https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_fo...showtopic=48817

Thanks, I'll have a look

[The Professor]

Giving this one a bump for the weekend. What's on your mind theory wise right now?

[audiopaal]

Really great link mate, very helpful!
If I don't learn anything now, it's all my own fault

[The Professor]

Cool glad you dug it! Theory can seem daunting at times, but once you dig into it, it can be really fun!

[sammetal92]

Hey Matt, I know some scale shapes now by heart (major and minor pentatonic, major and minor scales, harmonic minor to be exact). I did do a lot of improvisations some time ago but I have come across a lot of backing tracks which are weird in the sense they stay in the same key for almost the whole time but the scale just doesn't work on them.

So I decided to memorize some arpeggios. But I am having some troubles. My questions are:

1. I learned scales by remembering how they sound, like the harmonic minor and the pentatonic minor, I can differentiate between both of them because their notes together sound different. Arpeggios sound a bit weird to me, even though they have the same notes in their respective chords. The sounds of the notes in them doesn't seem to fit very well according to my ear but they do sound good when soloing. So that's kind of hindering my ability to memorize the shapes. Any tips? Or should I just hang on till they sound and feel natural?

2. The idea of changing the whole arpeggio whenever the chord changes is sounding huge to me, I mean theoretically it seems like a major task of changing the arpeggio whilst the song is playing. Also if I don't know the chords in advance, I won't be able to predict what arpeggio to use. These things kind of scare me. Is it really that complicated when using arpeggios in improvisations?

Sorry for the long post and the long questions, but I started using arpeggios since last week and they've been really weird to me, specially because I'm so used to using scale shapes on the neck to solo. Any help would be immensely appreciated

This post has been edited by sammetal92: Aug 15 2013, 11:32 AM

[The Professor]

Hey

Those are some great questions! There are a few exercises you can do to get over these humps, and at least to me, they're fun to do which is cool.

Try these out for size.


1. Record yourself playing two chords, Am and C, 4 bars for each chord.
2. Solo over each chord using only the arpeggio so that you get used to switching arpeggios when the chord changes
3. Take this exercise to other 2-chord combinations, but keep it at 4 bars a piece so you have time to make a comfortable switch.
4. When this is easy, make it 2 bars per chord, and eventually one bar.


The second exercise is to learn how to think of arpeggios over key centers, so just like you think of scales.

1. Record yourself playing a I IV V chord progression, such as C F G in the key of C major.
2. Work out the arpeggios in the key of C on the neck, so C Dm Em F G Am Bdim C
3. Solo over that chord progression and use any arpeggios from the key of C major to build your lines
4. Start to hear moments where certain arpeggios work and other don't, just like you would work out with the notes of the scale when playing over any key center
5. Take this approach to as many keys on the neck as you can, and then change the chords to other famous progressions and repeat the exercise.

You should also check out the solos by Frank Gambale, especially from the 70s and early to mid 80s. He is the absolute master of using triads and 4-note arpeggios in these ways, so learning a few of his licks or solos will also help you get to the point you want to with arps.

Hope that helps, try these out for a few days and then post your thoughts and progress and we can take it further from there.

[sammetal92]

Thanks for the quick response! Those are some great tips, I'm gonna start with them as soon as I get home!

[casinostrat]

I have a question about scales. I was practicing this lesson today: https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/The-Be...Dominant-Scale/


and it made me wonder what the rules are for determining rather a scale is dominant or not? Does it depend on the structure of the scale or is it related to what chord progression is being used when playing the scale over music? Thanks in advance!

[The Professor]

I have a question about scales. I was practicing this lesson today: https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/The-Be...Dominant-Scale/


and it made me wonder what the rules are for determining rather a scale is dominant or not? Does it depend on the structure of the scale or is it related to what chord progression is being used when playing the scale over music? Thanks in advance!

Hey, glad you are checking out that lesson, great scale to work on!

To determine if a scale is dominant or not you just need to look at two notes, the 3rd and the 7th. If you have a major 3rd and a minor 7th then it's some sort of dominant scale. From there you can look at the other notes to determine if it's got any alterations such as b9 or #5, but the 3rd and 7th are a great place to look to start.

The most common dominant scale is the Mixolydian mode, which is built R-M2-M3-P4-P5-M6-m7, so it has the major 3rd and the minor 7th, and everything else is normal so no alterations.

I would try that out, and start with learning the Mixolydain mode first to get that scale and sound under your fingers, then you can move on to other dominant scale and sounds from there. Cheers!

[casinostrat]

I have a question about modes of the melodic minor scale. In one of my notebooks I wrote this down a long time ago but forgot about till recently.......

Melodic Minor modes based on altering just one note in three note per string pattern:

Ionian b3 Like regular Ionian mode but with a b3....
Dorian b2 Etc...
Phrygian b1
lydian b7
Mixolydian b6
aeolian b5
Locrian b4

Would this even work? I thought the melodic minor was a minor scale with a #6 and 7?
Any help appreciated

[Cosmin Lupu]

Hey mate, I am not good at all with this mode as I have barely used it, but I can recommend you to take a look over the Melodic minor dedicated thread and understand the theory from that spot on, because it's very well written

https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_fo...showtopic=48834

[casinostrat]

Hey mate, I am not good at all with this mode as I have barely used it, but I can recommend you to take a look over the Melodic minor dedicated thread and understand the theory from that spot on, because it's very well written

https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_fo...showtopic=48834

Thanks Cosmin! Just what I needed!

[Cosmin Lupu]

Thanks Cosmin! Just what I needed!

Heh! I can't be anything else but happy! Throw in a recording of an idea after you nail the principles, if you'd like

[Marius Pop]

@casinostrat: Hey mate! In my experience, keeping things simple work out for the best. You can find a lot of tricks of altering one scale to turn it into another one, but the best thing would be learning the melodic minor scale properly as in real situations you won't have time to think a lot, you must actually play something meaningful
Your approach works and yes the melodic minor scale is a minor scale with a #6 and a major 7th. You can see it this way too: A minor melodic is actually G major but with G# instead of G (or A minor dorian with a major 7th), but again, the best thing, in my opinion, would be learning the scale as it is. It's a really usefull scale and as you can see it's really similar to a minor scale (especially a minor dorian scale )
Hope this helps!

[Cosmin Lupu]

@casinostrat: Hey mate! In my experience, keeping things simple work out for the best. You can find a lot of tricks of altering one scale to turn it into another one, but the best thing would be learning the melodic minor scale properly as in real situations you won't have time to think a lot, you must actually play something meaningful
Your approach works and yes the melodic minor scale is a minor scale with a #6 and a major 7th. You can see it this way too: A minor melodic is actually G major but with G# instead of G (or A minor dorian with a major 7th), but again, the best thing, in my opinion, would be learning the scale as it is. It's a really usefull scale and as you can see it's really similar to a minor scale (especially a minor dorian scale )
Hope this helps!

There you go - you have the theoretical basis and Marius' practical and experienced suggestion You can start working now!