Dec 24 challenge Alan L

[Alan L]

I wanted to keep this organic, not too structured. So I recorded two passes of the backing track. This is my favorite 3 consecutive verses that captures (most of) what I was trying to say.

Concepts include: Major and minor pentatonic (with blending,) Dorian and Mixolydian licks*, triad and 7th arpeggios, 6 to 9 slide, and even got a diminished arpeggio substitution in there!

Thanks for listening! 🙂

*if you superimpose the major and minor pentatonic scales you get this 8 note scale:
1 2 b3 3 4 5 6 b7 8
And you get the same exact scale by superimposing the Mixolydian and Dorian scales! So in a lot of ways I don’t even think about modes anymore and just think in terms of the pentatonics. Cleared up some mental space for me and a neat little trick I thought I’d share! 😀

[Bill]

Some cool concepts here Alan, nice phrasing and a good sound.
It’s amazing how many ways there are to look at the fretboard. For me, it’s all triads, chord shapes and a couple pentatonics without a regard for modes.

[donmati]

Nice, another very personal approach. Good rendering.

[Jennifer D]

That was a very nice choppy piece with some very good phrases, I enjoyed it. Thanks also for sharing the tip on the 8 note scale. 👍

[AndréM]

Excellent rendition.
Nice diminish arpeggio.
Well done.

AndréM

AndréM

[Michael L]

Hi Alan, this was an enjoyable listen. A lot of your ideas are great rhythm ideas as well as lead. Thanks for the scale “trick”, I’ll have to play with that one.

[JoeD1]

You took this in a very different direction than what I expected and it was quite good!

Joe

The sight of a touch, or the scent of a sound,
Or the strength of an Oak with roots deep in the ground.
--Graeme Edge

[James B]

Nicely played, Alan. Lots of unique ideas. Love the way you worked in the diminished scale.

James

[Guido]

Your melodies were very melodic and wisely crafted, Alan! What stands out even more to my ears are your great rhythm ideas, very original, that turned the piece in something different from any other rendition! Great composition and rendition!

Guido

[Ralph P.]

Nice Jazzy Bounce Alan. The backing track is rather solemn, but you livened it up. Good job.

Ralph

Ralph P.

[Catherine Arsenault]

Nice Jazzy feel coming through !!!

[Laurel C]

This has a spritely touch of swing, a really nice take to add on this backing track. Great lead lines as well as rhythm. An outline of your recipe for success gives the meaning behind it all. Nice tip, on in looking at the major and minor pentatonics being an 8 note combo.

[Mark T]

That was some really accomplished playing, Alan, with some lovely intricate licks – nicely done 👍🎶😎

[Garry]

I really enjoyed your approach of mixing rhythm and lead lines Alan. This worked well. Thanks for tip on mixing the pentatonics, I’ll definitely keep that in mind. All the best! 😎🎸😎

[charjo]

That had a really sophisticated sound, Alan. Great playing.
I agree with your scale analysis. I think I try to get there by seeing arpeggios, chord shapes, triads and intervals around the roots. That also adds the potential for chromaticism. I’m trying to apply that scale to each of the chords in the blues.
John

[Alan O]

Hi Alan, very nice sounding melodic composition! Thanks for the tip on superimposing the major and minor pentatonic. I’m gonna try looking at it that way next time.

Alan

[Bob Utberg]

Yes Alan, can basically play what 9 or 10 of the notes from A to A! LOL. And you choose great ones all along the watchtower and your comp! Nice space between ideas! That Larry Carlton/arpeggio thang at 1:27 was soooo tasty I had to order a pizza!!! Well done!

Bob U. (aka Bobby Ut)

[Manfred M]

Very interesting approach with some jazzy vibes, Alan. Perfect choice of notes for this.
It’s amazing how differently you can approach this backing track and still achieve such excellent results as you have here.

Take the chance to meet your AM friends on Zoom
The next Meetup will be in spring 2025

There will be a detailed announcement here in the forum a few weeks before.

I look forward to meet you.
Manfred

[Mike D]

Nice Staccato notes in there with a smooth jazzy vide. Well done!

Live on planet Earth ? You got the blues.

[JoLa]

Simply delightful, Alan!
That’s what my ears wanted to hear with this track and you implemented those jazzy blues licks just perfectly. I love the idea of also incorporating the chords into improvisation like you did here and there, it gives a full professional level sound. Really nice performance!

🎸JoLa

[sunjamr]

Nice job, Alan. I always like hearing some jazz chords thrown into the mix. I reckon a lot of us also think mainly in the pentatonic scales, then just fill in those other pesky notes as needed.

Sunjamr Steve

[John H]

Nicely played Alan! You tether between lead and rhythm nicely. No easy task. You came up with som very tasty riffs and licks. Well done.

John

[Serena C]

your ideas were very creative Alan! I’ve particularly enjoyed the 6 to 9 slides, well done!

If I wasn't making mistakes I wouldn't be the kind of player I want to be. Perfection is dangerous.
It's all about taking risks, sometimes you get to some place, sometimes you get to a different place. (Brian May)

[Martin W]

Nice one Alan , you brought a lot of variety to the track and all those ideas come together well and give a sophisticated sound , and took into a different direction especially with those 6/ 9 slides gives it a jazz edge.
I like the way you simplified the scale , sometimes theory can get a bit overwhelming.
Excellent post .

Martin

[Gary W]

Well played Alan, nice original sound. I tried to squeeze in a diminished arpeggio but gave up! You succeeded!

Gary

[Andy N]

What a fresh approach to the challenge you gave us there Alan. That had a cool jazzy vibe enhanced by those rhythmic stabs. Lots of ideas slipped in there too.
I’ll check out that scale tip too. I’d noticed how similar the Dorian and the combined maj/min pentatonic were but missed the mixolydian.

[David H]

Great mix of styles, nice and loose! And most importantly well executed with confidence.

[Dieter]

Great licks and sound.

Dieter

[Author]

Posts