General Music Chat

What if I have no idea what key I'm playing in? I rarely do. I never know what notes I'm playing.

Knowing it intuitively rather than academically makes no diff in your playing. You've put in the necessary time to "know" it, one way or the other. Knowing it intuitively just makes it rather difficult to talk about with others. The trained guy can tell you what you're doing & why, the untrained or self-taught one just does it by "feel."

Still, if it's fitting in, then you are following the rules of music, whether you can describe it or not, & you are working within the parameters of the piece.

I've seen & heard your work, & you know more than you may think you know, Paul.

OK OK OK OK

If I were to say where I start on soloing it would be the blues pentatonic scale. But at times I just throw in some chromatic little parts, you know one fret at a time and then I might even do a pinch harmonic with a few taps thrown in to accenuate what Im doing.

Still when Im in the moment I no longer think in these terms. So many scales can fit different keys. I crack up at some players who just lose it cause something fits outside thier realm of thought. They stop and wonder what just happened. In my world I just let it flow, some of my f**k ups are better than other guys best licks, so I try not to label what Im doing anymore. In my band, they give me the freedom to explore and I do all over the place sometimes it works sometimes it doesnt. For a label the lydian mode does it for me at times at times it doesnt work.

Anyway Im rambling here.

For basics in general rock and blues, learn that pentatonic scale up and down the neck and in different keys and you will be rocking in no time.

Just my 2 cents which obviously isnt worth much these days.

Rock On Bros!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If I play 10 songs, you'll almost certainly hear 10 different progressions.
But some of my songs have 4 different progressions in the song - they could be split apart to make 4 different songs, if i wanted to simplify them . . .
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As to which scale I'm playing in at any given instant: don't have a clue.
. . . dosen't matter to me, either . . .
I'm with a lot of you guys here; I play by ear. I don't need to engage the logical half of my brain into interpreting what I'm playing . . .
I do the practical application - I'll leave the rest to the theorists . . .

If it sounds good, you are on course.

The picky players start a pentatonic major/minor scale, may drop a "passing tone" and then move to a different key, different scale.

Ie. starts in A minor pentatonic, insert passing tone, D minor pentatonic, passing tone(s), E minor pentatonic..etc.

And that's way too much for me. I may start in A minor and end up at D minor, but how I got there is just as much fun as the most basic part of the whole tune.

Too much mechanics makes Johnny a dull and lifeless guitar player.
I'd rather have huge heart than musical theory out the ass.

If it sounds good, you are on course.
. . .
Too much mechanics makes Johnny a dull and lifeless guitar player.
I'd rather have huge heart than musical theory out the ass.

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Ditto.

For minor chord progressions, my favorites are Phrygian, Aeolian and Locrain modes.

For major, I like to use Lydian mostly.

I include pentatonics for phrasing.

major, minor, pentatonic, chromatic, all different modes and tricks

I like pizza after scales

F*** THAT..

Chromatic scales are for hardcore players.

If you want to be even semi-melodic, minimize your chromatic slides.

The world has enough of that unless you desire to be a spinoff of Dillinger Escape Plan-esque audio horrors.

The minute I hear too much in the way of "Chromatic activity", I'm headed for the doors.

That's why I LOCK THE FUKKIN' DOORS!

lol Works until the pyrotechnics get out of hand, then it's a hog dog roast. lol

Like in Rhode Island . . .
There were a bunch of sad people, that night . . .

2 5 simple and even an idiot can remember it if they can play in time, since there is no 1 you can go on forever if you have the chops to be creative, use mix scales with lyd scales wit pent scales all minor scales any key and really scare them by coming back to a maj [to let em know where you are ] then you can hit em up with a phryg to aoleon like Di meola. real simple, but lots of fun. All the while you can try and write new little licks and go off on tangents. I would put up a sample but you can't load a 2 hour solo up here.