Chord and Pentatonic soloing/Diatonic and Pentatonic soloing

[PCM]

@Griff and Gents,

I just wanted to say that the theory session yesterday and on 9-16-2019 was some of the best "playing" theory information I've ever seen or received during my guitar journey (for want of a better word). I can't imagine that many of the guitar names from the 50's and 60's had to figure a lot of that stuff out themselves.

I hope your work on the "progressive" or advanced course comes to fruition. I wanted to add one, very small suggestion...I've been attempting this type of playing and material for close to 9 months now and am falling into the trap that you said you noticed when people start moving to this level...sounding "scaler" when starting to lay modes over a blues background or any song for that matter. I don't have a large vocabulary as I don't play or gig professionally. But I can "lickify" major and minor pentatonics much better than modal overlays. I hope the course contains a rather comprehensive section on solos and riffing to help minimize the "scaler" sound. I've been through the modes course twice now and it helps, but it is definitely a different way of thinking about the fretboard. I think it might require lots of "exercise" modules (IMHO only).

In closing, just wanted to say this access program and course material is money very well spent.

Nice work again!

PCM
Spring, Texas

 

[Griff]

@Griff and Gents,

I just wanted to say that the theory session yesterday and on 9-16-2019 was some of the best "playing" theory information I've ever seen or received during my guitar journey (for want of a better word). I can't imagine that many of the guitar names from the 50's and 60's had to figure a lot of that stuff out themselves.

I hope your work on the "progressive" or advanced course comes to fruition. I wanted to add one, very small suggestion...I've been attempting this type of playing and material for close to 9 months now and am falling into the trap that you said you noticed when people start moving to this level...sounding "scaler" when starting to lay modes over a blues background or any song for that matter. I don't have a large vocabulary as I don't play or gig professionally. But I can "lickify" major and minor pentatonics much better than modal overlays. I hope the course contains a rather comprehensive section on solos and riffing to help minimize the "scaler" sound. I've been through the modes course twice now and it helps, but it is definitely a different way of thinking about the fretboard. I think it might require lots of "exercise" modules (IMHO only).

In closing, just wanted to say this access program and course material is money very well spent.

Nice work again!

PCM
Spring, Texas

Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed the session.

I will also add that, usually when things start sounding too much like scales, you have to change the recipe a little bit.

In other words, while you want to dabble in some of the modes, you don't want it to be the only flavor people hear. Being able to add in other sounds like, of course, the blues scales, but also some arpeggios (CBCBS) and the Pentatonic 6 sound, will help to dilute the modal sound and bring you away from sounding like a scale.

Any time you play many notes that are close together, you're going to get a scalar sound, so even it's chromaticism you have to use it sparingly (and probably forgive my spelling of chromaticism... )

Everything in moderation tends to sound best!

 

[PCM]

...In other words, while you want to dabble in some of the modes, you don't want it to be the only flavor people hear. Being able to add in other sounds like, of course, the blues scales, but also some arpeggios (CBCBS) and the Pentatonic 6 sound, will help to dilute the modal sound and bring you away from sounding like a scale...

...Everything in moderation tends to sound best!

Thanks for responding @Griff...

I'm finding that "modal sprinkles" start to sound good when played over blues formats that have a non-standard change such as a secondary dominant or a change similar to the "Stormy Monday" walk up to the third interval. Some of the tracks you have published have different changes intermixed in the format ("Lonesome Train," etc.). Adding just a minimal "modal" or "I pentatonic" touch when these changes occur seems to add a bit of interesting color where none existed...is that the approach suggested?

Thanks again.

PCM

 

[Griff]

Thanks for responding @Griff...

I'm finding that "modal sprinkles" start to sound good when played over blues formats that have a non-standard change such as a secondary dominant or a change similar to the "Stormy Monday" walk up to the third interval. Some of the tracks you have published have different changes intermixed in the format ("Lonesome Train," etc.). Adding just a minimal "modal" or "I pentatonic" touch when these changes occur seems to add a bit of interesting color where none existed...is that the approach suggested?

Thanks again.

PCM

Definitely... but more importantly is that, when you change the scale or the sound, you want to gravitate to the note that changed. As you know, the difference between any 2 modes is often just 1 or 2 notes. If you hammer on those 1 or 2 notes, you get a better sound because the change is more apparent.