Doddy

[quote name='chrismuzz' post='1154667' date='Mar 8 2011, 10:25 PM']Or the harmonic minor (decending) if I'm feeling really adventurous And yes, I learned it when I went through the obligatory Yngwie Malmsteen phase [/quote] Yeah,but harmonic minor is the same both ways. Melodic minor isn't

[quote name='JellyKnees' post='1154630' date='Mar 8 2011, 10:05 PM']The British Pink Floyd show recently played at the Liverpool Echo arena – a great band’s music is being turned into a kind of musical theatre. It’s Elvis doing vegas, it’s the Coen brothers remaking True Grit, it’s just …..a bit crap somehow.[/quote] How is playing at the Echo turning it into 'musical theatre'? It's a band,albeit a tribute show,playing in a large arena to a lot of people. I think it's a bit mad that a tribute show is that big,especially the Pink Floyd ones,but it isn't anything like musical theatre. Incidentally,it's interesting that you use the term 'musical theatre' as a derogatory term. Interesting definitions of crap too.

[quote name='MuckedUpFunkies' post='1154639' date='Mar 8 2011, 10:08 PM']I found that the Diminished/HalfWhole tone scale helped loads with getting to know the fretboard. And for some reason I have a real love for the superLocrian scale...[/quote] Close..... the diminished scale is whole tone/half tone. SuperLochrian is cool,but is really best practised later on down the line. [quote name='chrismuzz' post='1154645' date='Mar 8 2011, 10:10 PM']Being primarily a rock and metal player, my favoured scale has always been minor, with a raised 7th thrown in there! I mess around in different modes, but minor scales are always my reference. Because I'm a rebel and that[/quote] So,the melodic minor (ascending) then

[quote name='paul_5' post='1154493' date='Mar 8 2011, 09:02 PM']hold down the D and G strings at the 9th fret, now play the open E string. See? it's most of an 'E chord', but without an 'E' at the bottom (you've inverted the chord)[/quote] .....and without the third. Basically when you are playing two notes on the same fret you are playing a root and fifth. So,if you play an E on the G string and a B on the D string you have a root and fifth of E. If you also play the E on the A string you've got E,B,E (root,fifth,root 8va),which is what guitar players call 'power chords'. They are tonally ambiguous because there is no third to identify if it's major or minor,but they are useful for filling out the sound. Harmonic chords work in the same way.

[quote name='hellothere' post='1154447' date='Mar 8 2011, 08:36 PM']Well I can see where you are coming from, I really can, and I DO plan on learning to read one day but I feel that it is more than I am willing to take on at the moment, whether that is a just a mental block I don't know lol.[/quote] I think you've decided that you don't really want to learn to read yet. That's fair enough,but it really won't take up any extra time as just learning the theory,because they are both together. Like the Major said,it's so much easier to do the two because it allows you to identify the written note. Although the reading isn't a priority right now,it will allow you more access to the theoretical material that is Whereabouts in Derbyshire are you?

[quote name='hellothere' post='1154346' date='Mar 8 2011, 07:36 PM']I know it is good to be able to read sheet music but I'm busy doing a degree at the moment and it sounds like a large undertaking. So can anyone either explain or point me to lessons that explain the real basics behind theory that dosn't involve sheet music. I fuilly intend to learn sheet music one day but i literally dont ahve the time right now. So I want to find things that will teach me what is required to just jam with my friends easier and to understand the theory behind the theory if that makes sense?[/quote] If you want to know the theory it will be so much easier if you learn to read at the same time. It'll will make things easier to explain and easier to understand the relationships of the notes. It won't require any extra time as you will be learning both together as one.

[quote name='BigRedX' post='1154023' date='Mar 8 2011, 04:34 PM']Just out of interest what does your endorsement deal get you?[/quote] It gives me a great deal on excellent cables. The thing is,I was using Spectraflex cables long before I got a deal with them.

[quote name='risingson' post='1154320' date='Mar 8 2011, 07:22 PM']If people want to see live music then they go to Liverpool, it's really simple. The Wirral isn't and never will be the right area to host live original music unless something drastically changes.[/quote] Plus,Manchester is only half an hour away where even more gigs await.

[quote name='JellyKnees' post='1154273' date='Mar 8 2011, 06:59 PM']Well he did a few, but it was a pretty small number compared to his own vast output. And he certainly didn't do them 'tribute band' style. He used Louie Louie throughout his career as motif to represent bad cover band music - hardly the best example for you to choose really.[/quote] I'm sure that in the early days when he played it,the audience knew that he was playing it on an ironic fashion. The point I was making was that The Mothers used to put on a show and,god forbid,entertain the public.As good as the music became,if they hadn't have entertained people their chances of success would have been slimmer. The same with Hendrix-it wasn't until he started playing with his teeth and burning his guitar that people really started to take notice.

[quote name='JellyKnees' post='1154200' date='Mar 8 2011, 06:12 PM']No discernible musical backbone....ever heard of Half Man Half Biscuit? Elvis Costello? OMD? The Coral? Never mind... And zero desire? Are you sure? Regarding Liverpool, there are a hell of a lot of bands chasing a relatively small number of gigs. Many of the gigs are also pay to play.[/quote] But all the bands that do well,do so by touting themselves out of their niche area. If you are prepared to travel there are literally hundreds of places to play original music. [quote name='JellyKnees' post='1154207' date='Mar 8 2011, 06:18 PM']He was taking the piss when he did that...I suggest you read his autobiography. It gives a great insight into how the music industry was gradually taken over by the hippies and accountants. And Hendrix's version of Wild Thing was pretty radical compared to the Trogg's original.[/quote] I've read Zappa's autobiography thanks. He used to regularly play cover songs though all through his career. Hendrix doing wild thing wasn't really all that radical-it had a more crazy solo,that's about it. Oh,and the first Beatles album was mostly old rock and roll songs.

[quote name='JellyKnees' post='1154030' date='Mar 8 2011, 04:40 PM']Ok, so was Jimmy Hendrix giving the audience what they wanted? Frank Zappa? Pink Floyd? Maybe, once they'd built a fanbase and released a few records, but certainly not in the first instance.[/quote] Hendrix did stuff like play with his teeth and Zappa did stuff like shoot cream out of a stuffed giraffe.......That is giving the audience what they want by being entertaining. That's not counting the fact that Hendrix played tunes like 'Wild Thing' and Zappa played 'Louis Louis'. If your original music is good,you can and will get gigs with it,but you have to push it,be prepared to travel outside of your locale and consistently do a good job. This is also applicable to cover and tribute bands. If you are good at what you do,you'll get plenty of gigs,if you suck you won't. Besides,most people would rather hear Oasis songs than original songs that sound like Oasis.

Oh dear.

[quote name='cheddatom' post='1152502' date='Mar 7 2011, 02:13 PM']It depends. Some places it's just a flat fee. I think the most we ever got was £100 in a flat fee to be fair. If it's based on tickets...[/quote] My last serious original band used to play a bunch of pubs around the Stoke area,never for tickets,and always got a couple of hundred quid for them.We had got enough material for over an hour and a half,and we always had a good crowd at gigs.It helped that we were,individually,quite well known and respected around the area,but even then,if the band would've sucked we wouldn't have got the gigs. Plus,we put are arses on the line and toured America which helped.

[quote name='JellyKnees' post='1153751' date='Mar 8 2011, 01:33 PM']It all depends on why you play music in the first play. I play (and write) music as a creative outlet. There's nothing very creative about doing covers, unless you're going to do something radical with them, in which case you're probably not going to get much work. Tribute bands, by their very nature, offer zilch room for creativity. The reason they suck is that they are killing the market for original music by creating a nice safe entertainment form for pubs and clubs to offer to the public. They are the flip side to the cheesiness that is the Stars in Their Eyes, the X Factor etc... If there are no (or very few) outlets left for original live music, then how are new bands going to develop in the first play? How will anyone ever know if they are any good or not? So don't give me all the crap excuses about entertaining the public.[/quote] I won't give you the 'crap excuse about entertaining the public' when you stop using the crap excuse of 'killing the market for original music'. I've done the Tribute thing-although I'm not now-and I've done the original thing. The venues available to tribute bands are different from the ones available to original bands and the target audiences are different. It's a whole different scene. Let's be honest about it,I don't know one person in a tribute band that doesn't have another musical venture that allows them their creativity. Some even support their own tribute band at gigs.

Roy Vogt's DVD set looks really good-but I'd expect nothing less,he's a top teacher. DVDs are great,but most of them are more about the entertainment value of seeing a favourite player than actually learning anything.I still buy loads of them though. YouTube videos can vary so much that if you watch the wrong ones it could do more harm than good(Expert Village,anyone?) Most DVDs are around £20-£30,so you should be able to get a decent lesson with someone for similar money,where you will learn more to suit you.It doesn't need to be regular if you are given enough to work on and will be more beneficial.

I've used Spectraflex for years and never had the slightest problem.They are the best cables I've used. I reckon I know what the majority of posts will say though

[quote name='DazBoot88' post='1152254' date='Mar 7 2011, 10:04 AM']I was thinking of using the rockschool grade books as a benchmark and take it from there. I suppose my basic aim is to get people playing multiple styles at a good level while putting heavy emphasis on groove. Thanks for the interest and advise so far.[/quote] The Rockschool grades are OK,and I've taught them,but I don't think I'd use them as a basis for lessons unless someone specifically wanted to do them. 'Multiple styles at a good level while putting heavy emphasis on groove'.... I get that,but how will you approach it? Will you be showing licks and playing songs,or will you be explaining how to create music? Will you be explaining the basics of scales and arpeggios and then expanding on them and using them musically? Will you be showing the student at least the basics of reading or will it all be ear and tablature? The main reason I'm asking,is because in your opening post you mention right at the beginning and right at the end that it's about the money as your finances are bad. I can understand why you'd think that you could earn a bit from teaching,but I wonder if you are actually thinking of teaching for the right reasons.

[quote name='JPS' post='1152564' date='Mar 7 2011, 03:09 PM']Thanks for the interesting answers guys, especially liked the idea of getting away from merely running the shapes and trying to play them and use them in a more musical fashion (I'm certainly guilty of merely running through the same shapes and patterns). Would you also include major and minor pentatonic and blues scales in lists of really useful scales (plus maybe mixolydian and dorian)? My next question is why do you practise scales? Is it for increased dexterity, greater knowledge of the fretboard, as a source of musical ideas for improvisation/solos etc? Is it essential to practise them i.e. if you don't improvise or solo etc?[/quote] I'll be honest,I never practice the blues scale,because it's essentially the minor pentatonic with a chromatic note between the fourth and fifth. I'd personally focus on the major and various minor scales(natural,melodic,harmonic) initially,before moving on to the more modal scales like Dorian and Mixolydian.Mainly because you will understand them better if you have a solid grounding in the major and minors first. Pentatonics are very useful,but are derived from the 'full' scales,so are slightly secondary. Why practice scale? Once they are solid you can use them as dexterity/warm up exercises,but there are better reasons. Increased fingerboard knowledge is a good one,but another big one is knowing the notes that work in certain keys and over certain chords(although arpeggios are more essential for chords,scales will help to expand it).They are also important in the understanding of intervals,which is why you should break them up. You don't need to be an improviser or soloist to get the benefit from studying scales.

[quote name='Stan_da_man' post='1152368' date='Mar 7 2011, 11:49 AM']It was Doug Wimbish wasn't it?[/quote] No-Wimbish came in after that track. Edit.... It was a guy called Chip Shearin that played the bass on 'Rappers Delight'.

Well,this was only in December,just gone.

If you are solid with the notes then it's just a matter of speed. In which case,practice slowly and accurately. If you feel inclined,get the metronome out and play it,correctly at a slow tempo. Then you can gradually bring the tempo up(say, 5 bpm at a time) until it becomes too fast for you or you are up to tempo. Only do this if you can actually play the line first-if you are struggling with this,practice it without the click for a bit. Its better to play it slowly and accurately-speed will come naturally.

How old is it? Edit..... Snap!!!!!

[quote name='BurritoBass' post='1151926' date='Mar 6 2011, 09:43 PM']I'm probably guilty of going through the same few scales repeatedly when I should be stretching myself. Arpeggios is a good idea and I might start doing those [/quote] For great arpeggio exercises check out 'Chord Studies for Electric Bass'. It's the business.

[quote name='Blademan_98' post='1151969' date='Mar 6 2011, 10:16 PM']. As to which scales I practice, it's Major and Minor as stated with a blues scale to get me smiling [/quote] Take away the flat 5 from the blues scale and you've got a minor pentatonic.

I've spent a lot of time running scales. I still run all the major and minor scales for practice but I spend more time on arpeggio exercises right now. As far as scale exercises,play them all over the 'board-this is easier if you know the notes rather than just a pattern-and play them in different intervals.I particularly like 3rds and 6ths,but play all of them.You can also run them in groups of 3 or 4(eg. C,D,E. D,E,F. E,F,G. etc),both ascending and descending. Like I said,I think that it's important to actually learn the notes of the scales rather than becoming dependent on patterns.