Music Theory

[Robert Lee]

This is the perfect place to talk about music theory.
Check out the attachment on the Voodo Blues Scale.

Robert Lee

[Robert Lee]

Five Note Freedom ala Robben Ford
See Attachment! New Licks New Places!!!!

[Bruce C.Fremont]

Cool and useful thread Robert. Thanks for starting it.
Here is a method that Hawkeye and I were discussing around three years ago on The Blindmans Blues Forum. I'll include some of our discussion. See attachment at bottom of page.

Hawkeye said>>>
If you can count ... you can use the following illustration to span the entire neck of the guitar in all keys using the blues scale. Memorize all the 'box' positions ... and learn to move them to the appropriate fret according to the key you are in .
For example ... this diagram is for the key of "F" ... so move it all up to the 7th fret ... and start playing.

Learn one box at a time ... then learn to connect the boxes as you play ... and you'll be able to play up and down the entire neck in any key.

I replied>>>
Hey Hawkeye thats cool. Thats the stuff. Never looked at it as a "BOX." Intresting concept. That is exactly what I have been doing for 40 years, working in and around the box's. It's true, tried your little diagram out. Those notes (positions) are the spots I work from but I use many added half steps, bends, etc. And it does work anywhere and in any key with some minor adjustments hear and there. For example in B flat I had to adjust one note a half step to stay in scale.

After playing for over 40 years my fingers just do the walking with out much input from the brain so to backtrack down to the simplicity of your "BOX" concept I discovered those boxes are what I do.

Now I learned the old fashion way by learning the various scales per key and mode etc., etc.

I wish someone had showed me that "BOX" thing 40years ago. I can see you can draw out those box's for all of the various modes and styles and be able to do a basic fit-in to just about anything to do a simplified in-key solo.

Good concept and easy teaching method. I'll pass that one on to the teacher at the store.

Hawkeye replied>>>

BC,

By the way ... at the risk of totaly confusing Randy101 ... I gotta tell you this ... not only does this box system work for blues ... but if you take the same 'boxes' in the same order and play it out of the relative 6th ... say the song is in A ... instead of star ting all the 'boxes' at the fifth fret and working up for there ... play out of the realtive 6th of A ... or F# ... starting all the boxes at the second fret ... and allofthis becomes major insted of minor.

In other words ... play a blues song in the key of A starting all the boxes at the fifth fret ... play a song that is major in the key of A ... by Dylan, Ellington, the Beatles, Basie, Waller, anything that is major rather than minor at the relative 6th, or F#, at the second fret.

If a song is blues in the key of C start all the boxs at the 8th fret ... if song is major in the key of C... start all these boxes at the fifth fret ... key of A, or relative 6th.

Ya see ... in the blues world in Oakland ... we play9ed) lots of hard core urbn blues tht are minor (pentatonic scale) based ... but you also had to b able to play lots of R&B songs that are major ... like "Dock of The Bay" ... or "Sunday Kind Of Love" ... or "At Last" ... and those songs are major ... so us blues players could use our same 'box system' and not have 'to sit out' because a particular song being performed wasn't "blues."


I replied>>>
Ok, well this is cool stuff. I have been experimenting with it all over the place, especially with R&B and Motown stuff with all of the chord changes that genra has to it. The system works out very well.
Ha Ha, I love to play in B flat. That key sounds great but it gives most guitar players around here the creeps because they can't follow the dots on thier guitar necks. Everything is a half step this way or that way. The Box seems to work in that key too with a little adjustment.

Cool deal on the Box.

[Robert Lee]

Here is a link for sequencing your boxes!!!!!!!!
http://www.brightcove.tv/title.jsp?title=10255495&channel=6118724

Have fun!!!!!!!

[Robert Lee]

16th note patterns for Pentanonic Scales
Light em Up!!!!!!
http://www.brightcove.tv/title.jsp?title=10257506&channel=6118724

[Robert Lee]

Outside the Box

[Garth Osborn]

When I have more time (getting ready for my first day at my new job) I'll delve into this a bit more deeply.

Being mostly a self-taught player, what I've discovered when I've made an attempt to learn something, is that I have "already been doing that" for a long time. I just didn't know what it was called.

For example, about 3 years ago, I bought a thing at the music store about pentatonic scales, because I had read an article about Dickey Betts (one of my favorite players), and he said he used pentatonic scales all the time. So I studied the thing I bought and realized I had been doing that for years, just didn't know that it was called a pentatonic scale.

I'm sure once I explore the "box" system more, a lot of it will be familiar to me. But as Robert Lee said to me, why wouldn't you want to educate yourself about what you do? Even if the concept isn't something new, I can at least communicate in musical language about this sort of stuff.

When I hear stuff like in Hawkeye's comment above (play out of the relative 6th of A), my eyes roll around in my head and my brain sort of hits the brakes. But I will resist this and attempt to learn some cool new stuff.

Thanks, guys.

[Robert Lee]

Notice on interview with John Mayer

JM:"I was 13. I remember the first night I got my guitar, trying to figure it out for myself--and it didn't take long to figure out a chord. I had the guitar two weeks before I took lessons, and I feel like that's the best thing you can ever do for yourself."

[Robert Lee]

"Outside the Box"

Knowing the Pentatonic (5 Note Scale) is only the beginning---knowing what chords you can play a Pentatonic over is the key. Here is a file with 11 different chords that you could play a C minor Pentatonic over. Check it out.

[Robert Lee]

Guitar Players

Ever feel like your playing the same licks you have been for the last 20 years? Check out the Syllabus for Modern Blues course offered at Cascade Community School of Music.

Take your playing to the next level.

Did anyone notice that Robben Ford was on Tour with the Allman Brothers

You toured with Gregg Allman a couple of years ago. Did you enjoy playing Gregg Allman and Allman Brothers music?


Robben Ford

RF: Very much. It was a real hand-in-glove fit for me, working with Gregg. The idea was for it to continue, but last year they called me to add some more dates. They kept adding dates and more dates. I’m like, "Wait a minute guys; I have a new record to do." That was Truth, the latest one. I thought, well, okay, maybe I’ll just wait until November to start. They just kept adding more dates, so I called and told them I couldn’t do it. I had a record to make and I was looking forward to it. So, I bowed out. But musically, playing that music was just great.

[Robert Lee]

Mambo Blues

mp3-backing track included

[Robert Lee]

Try these Blues Backing Tracks to practice over.