A newage introduction to an old concept

This past week has been a very busy one for me and I haven’t been able to practise the guitar as much as I would have  liked to but as much as the world demands our attention so to does the beloved guitar!!  I was very fortunate to have  had a few moments to myself this week to pick up the guitar and practise Drive by Incubus which is what I learned last Saturday at Shine.  Its been very easy to pick up the gist of the song as I am still learning to read tablature by listening to the song first and how it should sound.  Luckily I have also found some websites to assist me with where to place my fingers for certain chords and that has helped me tremendously.  I can play the full guitar lead and now Im just practising over and over to perfect it.  I want to be able to impress my Guitar tutor at Shine this Saturday.   After being able to play the whole song not so much as perfect but recognizable I was inspired to try and practise other songs.  To keep up the momentum I also signed up at our local library and borrowed two introductory guitar books.  These books have kept me motivated and focused on taking one day at a time.  I have an insight into what to expect on my path to learning guitar and this is very exciting for me.  I have learned a  few words I can use when using guitar jargon.  Also browsed over numerous pages of guitar chords I never knew existed.  Practising these guitar chords gave me a new appreciation for the sound they give.  I can now recognise these sounds in songs if I listen closely.  Overall this has been a satisfying introduction.

Reigniting a 13year old flame

I was excited and nervous all wrapped into one!! I was about to take my first professional guitar lesson in 13 years. It’s one of those things you always promise yourself you’d get round to doing and never do. Memories of how the guitar had influenced my life came flooding through my mind. I used to love playing in our school culture group from the age of 8 in front of our school and in front large crowds and judges during competitions, back then it came so naturally and I played by ear. Memories returned of our church minister (later to be my guitar teacher) strumming with such passion and enthusiasm as if to match the tone of each word he was singing. Occasionally my father would be off on his own to one corner of the house practicing some unknown ditty, by the end of the day he’d have the song down pat. And now here I was on a Saturday morning practicing guitar in Parramatta with Daniel from Shine. I decided this was pretty awesome and now that I had picked the guitar up again, I wouldn’t be putting it down anytime soon. After formal introductions and a brief exchange of history we decided to practice Drive by Incubus. On producing 2 sheets of tablature I quickly realized I couldn’t read any of it. Within 5minutes thankfully I had been given a crash test course on how to read guitar chords and I was away. After 30 minutes of getting the feel of the strings pressed beneath the pads of my fingers and the strumming of the strings either downwards or up I felt home again. Like I never left home and I had never put down my guitar. It was good.

Playing blind

Today, a remarkable thing happened. In an inspired session of playing, I think I played some of – if not the best – improvising I ever have.

I started by recording a progression of four chords as a foundation. I added a small embellishment just for a bit more dimension. After that, I just winged it.

I didn’t plan to have them in any particular key. The chords were selected in about a minute – purely based off them sounding like they sat nicely next to one another.

I can imagine readers thinking the lead guitar improvisation had to be in a key, which is true; the twist is I didn’t know what it was.

Not knowing meant I couldn’t rely on the familiar movements my fingers often make when going through scales; movements largely conditioned from hours of playing the pentatonic scale and muscle memory. Because my fingers had to find new steps to take, the music sounded new.

When I hit off notes, things were kept interesting by continuing in those new direction.

I’m really pleased with the fruits this style of playing sprouted, though, I unfortunately wasn’t able to record it all (it continued for about half an hour). I have, however, included at this link the chord progression it all started from. Put it on repeat and try to make something grow out of it.

Most importantly, try not to think about what key it’s in.

Easy ear training

Last night, while re-stringing my guitar, a new method of ear training occured to me.

It was the first time I’ve ever tried it and all went relatively well. I began playing chords while isolating strings which were clearly sticking out from the rest. When all were sounding quite harmonious, I tweaked things further by playing familiar solos – that way, a mistuned string stands out like a sore thumb.

In the end, I thought my guitar sounded great. Solos rolled off without hiccups and chords sounded tight. However, when I checked with a tuner, every string was half a step down. Still, not bad for a first go.

It’s not a bad way to do some quick ear training, especially when you don’t want the distraction of the computer; it will also come in handy when you don’t have a tuner to rely on.

A modified version of this method is to keep one string properly tuned while deliberately de-tuning the remaining strings then finding your way back.

Less is more

When I make compositions it’s quite easy to become over-enthusiastic.

I’ll usually start with something fairly simple – like a bass line repeated over and over. Then chords. Then lead guitar, followed by little embellishments here and there. It all becomes over-saturated very quickly.

When you look at some of the most memorable or recognisable riffs in contemporary music, you often think of examples that are very simple. “Smoke on the water”, “Eye of the tiger” and “Smells like teen spirit” are just a few off the top of my head – all of which I learnt within a month of picking up the guitar.

Its become a bit of a test to refrain from adding too much in. Whenever I put music together, there’s always an urge to add more and more until it becomes something like an overdone steak; a little less cooking and it would’ve been fine.

That’s one thing I’m going to try work on in the following weeks. I feel I’m not the only one with this problem. As such, I’ll let you know when and how I crack it.

II, V, I revised

Last week I wrote of II, V, I chord changes. After this week’s lesson, there are a few things I need to correct and clarify.

In that post, I wrote II, V, I progressions establish a new key centre – a musical focal point. What I explained inaccurately was that you have to remain in the same key throughout. This is not entirely true.

II, V, I still works in the same key, though I find it’s best suited to a bridge of a song or when you need something that sounds different but familiar to the main musical theme you are constructing.

The progression is usually applied starting on one key then moving to another; for example, you can begin in C and move to D by playing Em (II), A (V) and D (I). D would become the key centre and you can then carry on in that key.

The sound of moving from C to D via the II, V, I route is a smooth one. To an ear attuned to contemporary western music, it just sounds “right”. Some keys, however, do not go together as comfortably.  It’s largely a task of trail and error to find out which combinations work.

A beautiful mess

I remember when I first started out on guitar, the idea of figuring out the chords to a song myself seemed impossible; so much so that I didn’t ever bother trying.

Until I heard this song.

It’s a newer Mraz tune but I still remember being blown away by an early bootleg of it. Because it was in its infancy at the time, no websites had tabs or chords published so I had to figure them out myself.

I was surprised at how easy the task of decoding the song was. There are no shortcuts, its all trial and error, but if you don’t become intimidated by the task at hand and just work on completing it, it actually doesn’t take too long.

Obviously, I did not write the song but I feel a closeness to it every time I play it.

The chord progression is I major, III minor, IV major, V major. The bridge is II minor, V major. It’s in the major scale but I’ll leave it up to you to find the key.

A tip for those who want to play it the way Mraz does, he actually plays the IV major twice in a row; first in an open string variation then as a root 6 chord (i.e. – as a chord with the root note on the string furthest away from the floor).

I, V, VI, IV

I’ve been playing guitar this week trying to look as chords as numbers – something I’ve always been told but is only sinking in now.

I stumbled across the fact that two distinctly sounding Mraz tunes actually use the same structure.

“0% Interest” and current radio hit, “I’m Yours” – both of the major scale – use a I major, V major, VI minor, IV major progression.

You have to change the strumming pattern for each song but the similarity is undeniable. One starts on a B and the other in F – but I won’t spoil all the fun – you have to figure out which is which. Or, on the other hand, you can change the keys to put your own personality on the songs.

“Absolutely” deconstructed

Continuing with our look at Jason Mraz, I will delve further into his songs. In class this week, we checked out “Absolutely Zero”. I’m not sure if I fully understand the concept of it but will provide my layman interpretation here.

The song is in F major and relies heavily on a II minor, V major, I major chord progression which is a jazz standard.

In relation to the song, Mraz uses lands on the I major at the start of each verse which add a sense of drama, suspense and anticipation of what comes next. He continues the cycle slowly over the verse to land on the I major again at the start of the next stanza.

What makes this structure so popular is its strength at establishing a new key centre. Play it on your guitar in any key. You’ll hear when you reach the I, the mood, feel, sound – whatever you choose to call it – completely changes and a new feeling is set.

Jason Mraz

It was a pleasant surprise to find out many Shine students have been asking to learn songs from Jason Mraz – the guy who first inspired me to pick up a guitar.

What I like best about Mraz is he never plays any song the same way twice. I’ve seen him live four times now – including on his recent visit to our shores – and each show had a different vibe. It’s a great philosophy easily applied to guitar.

For you young song writers and composers, Mraz also has a remarkable talent to blend singing with guitar playing as if the two instruments work entirely as one. He often eliminates the need for a bassist, playing low notes that lead into chords.

Try doing what he does, as well as trying different chord voicings and playing familiar songs with altered tempos and rhythms. Technicality is one thing but personality is another.

In class over the weekend, we looked at his song, “Absolutely Zero”. The chords are F, F7, Gm, Cm, A#m, and Dm. To paraphrase a Mraz song, “Make it yours”.