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@Brian,
I think there is a wealth of learning to attain by studying the backing tracks Brian creates for the lessons, especially for those starting to create their own backing tracks or for members starting to play with other musicians.
Many members have been with Active Melody for a while now and some of the emphasis on home base and finding the major pentatonic from the minor pentatonic home base is becoming repetitive and can be learned in earlier lessons. I’m wondering if Brian could start to place more emphasis on the chord progressions and where they come from especially when unexpected chords are substituted. I’d also like to hear more about the composition and construction of the backing track.
I was struck by how simple and beautiful the backing track for EP 173 “Lovely Lisa” was and tried to analyze it. The entire piece is played over a I, ii, IV, VI chord progression in A minorCymbal 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &
bass drum 1 or 4, 1
bass guitar 1 ,&1
guitar arpeggio & 2 & 3 & 4 &
guitar quick strum ,3The timing above seems to propel the progression forward and I’d love to start learning the little tricks that make this work.
Anybody interested in analyzing the backing track or theory related to the piece each week in the Music Theory forum? The multi-instrumentalists among us could probably add a lot.John
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Hey John, I think that would be very cool for a few of you to analyze these from time to time and break it down from a theoretical standpoint. I would probably learn something too 🙂 I tend to come up with these things based entirely on feeling with no theory going into it. So any theory would come after the fact.
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@Brian, I wish I had your feel for the music. Any little tips you can add to your lessons about accompaniment, like that quick guitar strum on the third beat, would be appreciated. I will probably pay attention to the backing tracks a little more and put some questions out there for the members.
John-
Hi from Mike in the UK. Just enrolled with Active Melody. EP174, Lovely Lisa is my first project. I class myself as top end of beginner and wanting to progress through the intermediate stage. On the video, Brian counts in as “1 and 2″ but the notes are sixteenth notes so I wonder if it is more accurate to capture the feel of the piece to as
” 1-ah-and-ah-2-ah-and-ah etc” ?
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The little strum that you hear in the rhythm in an old R&B technique. I’ve heard it in other things, can’t think of one now though – but it isn’t something I invented. I just had it in my head from something I’d heard before. I remember watching a blues band play in Memphis once and the rhythm guitar player did that on a song and I was struck by how simple it was, yet how much it added. It’s interesting to listen to the jam track for EP174 without that added strum, it falls a little flat. I guess these are things you just pick up over time.. sort of like a collection. Now you have it too and you won’t forget it. 🙂
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@Sal, It’s in the key of A minor.
I think he arpeggiates an A minor bar chord X2, an A diminished chord X1 (flat the 5th- ie. move the 3rd finger from 7th fret to 6th fret of the A minor bar chord or move the 2nd fret down to the first fret on the 4th string if playing open position A minor), D minor X1, E minor X1 A minor X1, G major X1 and repeat.
John -
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Something else I found interesting in this backing track. Brian is using small chord voicings on strings 4, 3 and 2 for arpeggiating the chord progression, A, Bmin, D and E between frets 5 to 9. When I did my little backyard gig in the summer, as the accompanying and lead guitarist, I found that these little higher voicing small chords were necessary to be distinguished from the first guitar.
John -
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@Sal, just had another thought on BLG 002. The full bend is from the 4th to the 5th and matches the 5th in the A minor chord. The half bend is from the 4th to the flat 5th and matches the flatted fifth in the A diminished chord. That’s why it sounds so good. From what Brian says above I don’t think he thinks about these things but just hears them.
John -
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Yes, I’ve had a go at making some of my own backing tracks, and they don’t sound half as good as Brian’s. For one thing, I can’t play a keyboard at all, so that limits me to things I can do with a guitar. Which is why I recently bought the Electro-Harmonix B9 Organ Machine. And that’s why I’m thinking of buying a bass guitar soon. Drums are easy, if you use Garageband or Logic Pro.
Sunjamr Steve
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I’ve been messing around with the chords and replaced the Bm chord with a B7 chord. Sounds good as long as I strum more towards the 5th string open high B vs the 2nd sting low B.
My question is, is there any reason from a theory perspective that the B7 chord does not play with the A, D and F in this chord progression as a substitute.
You may just tell me…”if it sounds good it sounds good” 🙂
Thanks
Jeff -
Hi Mike
If the song begins on Beat 1 of bar 1 the song is usually counted in by the ‘time signature’ If it is in 4/4 then 1 2 3 4 or commonly 2 3 4 (you don’t really need them all to set the tempo)
If the song has ‘pickup notes’ into the one then the count is best broken up. If there are 3 eighth notes before 1 then
1 and 2 and 3 would be right. The ‘and of 3’ 4 and, would be the pickup notes.
If a song is in 2/4 many will count it in 1 2 1234. The first 1 2 really does’t give you the feel so the 1234 in double time sets the tempo better and allows you the option of using it for the pickup notes as well.Gordo
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