6 ways to overcome fear of composing

I often wonder about the role of composition in the construction of the musical personality of a guitarist. When guitar player start playing the majority throw themselves to flashy things such as licks, solos and improvisation. Why not composition?

Speaking of me, I started composing music sporadically when I was 18 following diverses emotions, without having the theorical tools or knowing the legacies of the elders.
I notice that when the desire to compose music is not bolder than the passion for improvisation or technical licks, when experiments combine with frustrations, it is SO easy to stay in his confort zone as a guitar player.

The most intense years of my musical construction were before, during and after my studies at Music Academy International in France. When I as 20 all my time my focused on instrumental practicing, because of my passion for jazz guitar improvisation and the technical and theorical knowledge of guitar.

Retrospectively I realized that my confort zone was defined by many subjective fears that all people have, but amplified here through the prism of composition:

• Fear of doing something new: I'm wallowing myself in the lofty security of my daily quiet practicing habits.
• Fear of being fully accountable of my artistic output: I prefer to play the music written by others.
• Fear of judgement of others: people will think that my music sucks.
• Lack of musical knowledge: I’ll write a short story once I’ve learnt the entire dictionary by heart.
• Lack of self-knowledge: I don’t know the deep reasons why I play music.
• High demands on myself: first I need to master improvisation on "All the things you are" and "Giant Steps" at tempo 250, then maybe I’ll be worthy of writing something cool.
• Feeling of not being ready: I’ve never written any note, there’s no way I can pull this off.

In my humble opinion, composing and playing his music is the ultimate significance of the word « jazz » as a complement to improvisation duties: responsibility, discipline, construction of an original personality through the output. An interesting parallel can be drawn between business and music. Do I want to work 9 to 5 and be an employee OR do I want to invent my job and be an entrepreneur? Do I want to play music composed by others OR do I want to write my own score? Do I want to spend my life pleasing my parents OR do I want to live my life on my own term? Etc, etc....

Composing music became a need when I was 26, as an evidence and an urgency, after a musical sabbatical year due to an unbearable feeling of boredom. You build a wall laying down each perfect brick after the other. I developed my practice of composition with patience and indulgence, without judgement, with the intuition that composition would be a constructive way of expressing myself.

Here are 6 key ideas or concepts that I came up with in my on-going journey as a composer. I must confess that the composition, arrangement and production of my album Seven Seeds of Life (released in 2011) was a significant quantum leap in my artistic path. These ideas allowed me to confront my doubts and fears in the manifestation of my projects.


1) Try to compose sh*tty music

This concept comes from Effortless Mastery by Kenny Werner, this was a huge game changer in my life as a musician. Since then I’ve never been afraid of blank pages.
The best way of confronting my fear of a disastrous output is to purposely try to produce sh*t.
If I’m firmly aware of my personal aesthetic standards, my artistic experiences, my years of development as an artist, then there’s NO WAY I can produce average work according to my standards.

When that fear rears up its ugly head, I firmly say to myself:

• I’m exactly at the right time and the right place that is good for me, as a human being and musician. This moment is a perfect as it should be.
• I’m fully accountable for the path that led me up to this day.
• I’m clear about my expectations and the path behind me.
• There’s NO WAY I can produce something I'm not connected with.

When I composed « Hit the Freeway » I started from a simple groove, then I improvised with atonal phrasing. I recorded everything without any judgment.
This atonal harmonic context allowed me to face my fear of judgement. How can this eccentric and atonal phrasing be accepted by a non-musican audience? These constraints allowed me to solve this problem and come up with creative solutions.

When I look back on this album, this tune was composed in 2008 and was a snapshot of my life. Despite the imperfections that I notice now, I don’t change any note of that tune when I play it.
Having a continuous improvement state of mind is a good antidote to fear of judgement or fear of not being ready.
I only consider compositions bad or naive retrospectively.
I can beat around the bush, be frustrated with not finding the cool idea that will make a difference in my composition, I can develop silly ideas, but I’ve never been afraid of a blank page with this concept.


2) Channel personal experiences in my music

"Bitter Man", "Welcome Back" or "Time’s Up" all originated from specific personal experiences. A memory, a film, a relationship. Good ideas usually come from personal background.
For these compositions I developed an idea (melody, chord changes) as much as possible and built the canvas of the song.
Writing from within improves the sense of accountability, creates a connection between the heart and the art.


3) Compose something on a regular basis

Will power is a muscle that needs to be trained everyday. Inspiration comes from intention. As Oprah Winfrey says, "Chance is just opportunity that meets preparation". Discipline and repetition are the keys to progress: composition skills are practiced like improvisation or guitar techniques.
All great leaders are masters at scheduling. Steve Vai confirmed in a 2009 Guitar Player interview that beyond all his entrepreneurial and artistic enterprises, he always allocates 1 hour every day to create something new (guitar techniques, composition, melody, groove, etc).
Seven Seeds of Life was composed and recorded in a year, 2 hours a day. Discipline creates the comfort zone. With method, healthy habits, a neat organization and a compound effect, miracles happen in projets. With accurate progress tracking and with just 2 hours a day, an entire album can be composed in 6 months, a book can be written in a year, or any other project.
For example Everyday Hemingway would wake up insanely early and try to write between 500 to a 1,000 words.


4) Score other composers and deconstruct compositions

This practice leads to an analytical approach of composition, demystifies compositions and artistic father figures.
Sometimes we don’t dare to score music we look up to. For example, I used to play with a bass player who never wanted to score his favorite album Maceo Parker’s "Life on Planet Groove" because he didn’t want to waste the emotional connection with this piece of music. This point of view is honorable. But I learnt a lot about jazz and composition when I decided to score Kenny Garrett’s « Songbook » album, Wayne Shorter tunes for Miles Davis Quintet.
Scoring leads to a personal connection with music, as much in improvisation and as in composition. It allows mastery of forms, harmony, writing skills.

A nice thing is to analyze why some tunes are cool, some are not. Why AC/DC’s "Highway to Hell" is so great? Why Desmond Child’s touch is so recognizable in Aerosmith, Bon Jovi or Alice Copper songs? What are the arrangement tricks of Mutt Lange for Brian Adams of Def Leppard tunes so cool?
All great composers have their own habits that can be traced easily.


5) Keep it simple, keep it short

All great tunes are simple and revolve around just 1 or 2 ideas.
Ravel’s Bolero, AC/DC songs, Mozart's melodies. The form is so perfectly crafted that each section, each note is not only an emotion but also a function.
"Time’s up" was purposely written with just 2 ideas on a AABA structure. If the AABA form is so widely accepted, why try to change it? In this form I sticked to just 2 ideas and gave my all the tell the most beautiful story I could.


6) Strenghten the basics (theory, groove, melody)

Perpetual learning is a nice way to stay hungry. Practicing the basics strengthens the roots of my confort zone. There's always is new way of looking at things every day: composition, orchestrations, arrangements. Teaching is also a powerful way of practicing the basics.
My goal is to keep my theorical knowledge always sharper than my compositions. I do my best to always be able to arrange a melody in different ways.
"Welcome Back" could have been arranged for a jazz trio, guitar duo, rock power ballad settings. I chose to record that tune for a guitar solo.

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10 steps to learn a new scale

Lately I asked myself what would be the most efficient, most laser focus method of learning any new material on the guitar such as scales.

I observed myself for a few weeks while practicing usual and uncommon material, what works, what doesn’t.

This post is based on my practicing experience as a guitar player passionate about productivity. My rule is just a picture of my way of practicing at the moment, knowing that methods or systems are meant to be improved.

The approach is a progressive and structured way of learning new material on the guitar, a method that can be adapted to arpeggios, intervals and clusters, too.

My main equipment is a guitar, a timer, a metronome and a looper pedal (or EHX Freeze pedal).

My timer sets the framework of my practicing schedule. If I don’t set clear goals, I won’t hit any target. All my objectives are set in advance, ideally the day before in order to avoid any trivial decision before starting the practicing session.

As for any learning process, repetition is the path to mastery. I practice regularly and commit to the schedule I’ve decided. If I’ve planned 30 min, I practice with total focus during 30 min, nothing less, nothing more. Focus is a muscle and I stick to my schedule to get fit.

As an example these 10 steps are applied here on G melodic minor scale.

1. Master the structure. This is theory, the s..t sandwich we all have to eat. If I can’t explain it, I can’t play it, period. Harmony is the grammar of music. I know that without theoretical knowledge I can’t go very far. There are a lot of great books about harmony. What is the scale made of? What are the intervals? How many notes? What is the name? Am I talking about a mode or a scale?

2. Know the context. This is theory again. Each scale is related to a specific system. Major, melodic minor, harmonic minor are basic systems. Diminished, augmented, whole tone are advanced systems. What system is related to that scale? What chords can be played on this chord? (By the way, is my chord knowledge robust enough to experiment easily on the guitar?)

3. Identify the root on the guitar. I draw a map of the scale on the guitar. Scales start from a root, the lowest note of the scale. I use low and medium strings (E, A and D strings) to have clear pictures on the guitar. The root can be an open string too.

4. Physically feel the intervals with the root. This step is inspired by the great Mike Stern who recommends to sing the root, slowly play the scale, ear thoroughly each note to connect ears and fingers with the rest of the body, as a complete resonant ensemble.

5. Hear the sound of each note on chords. I use a looper of a Electro-Harmonix Freeze pedal to play the chord. Then I simply experiment each note on chords. I try all main chords related to the scale, in all possible systems I've identified in step 2. For example I test G melodic minor on several chords, such as Gm, C, Am7, C7, D7, BbMaj7#5, F#7#9, etc...I test the sound of the scale with chords and notice its resonance in me.

6. Master each string. This is the horizontal approach. I disconnect scales from any pattern or positions. I apply the structure mastered in step 1 on each string of the guitar. I identify each note (name, neck position) of the scale on each string.

7. Master two basic positions (root on E and A). This is the vertical approach. Major chords positions are grounded in E and A strings. I use this comfort zone to apply the root of the scale on these position. I visualize basic scale positions and more advanced (3 or 4 notes per strings).

8. Practice patterns in position. This is where fun begins. Once the comfort zone is spread out and grounded on scale positions, I apply groups of notes or patterns to the scale. I use cycles, polyrhythm, odds groups of notes.

9. Improvise with constraints. Contraint is the mother of opportunity. I focus on specific limits and practice in small batches (10 min for example). 2 or 3 strings, a specific neck area, an interval, a rhythm pattern, etc...

10. Improvise for fun. I gather all the material I've learnt so far. I forget all limits I've experienced before. I just play for fun with the heart, doing my best to create beautiful music with everything I know on today's subject. Singing the phrases I'm playing is a great way of coming up with cool and original ideas.

( Note: George Benson is the boss )

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Pattern transposition (part 2)

 Hi !

Today I'm getting back to pattern transposition and focus more on cool material that can be applied directly in a warmup situation or strict practicing sessions.

I've written a 9-bar phrase that can be broken down into 6 sequences. Each sequence can be view as an exercice on its own. This approach is inspired by the great Pat Metheny practicing book "Guitar Etudes".

This entry is about technical practicing with harmonic material such as chromatisms and arpeggios. Each element is transposed in intervals (2nd, 3rd, #4th).

Each separate element should be transposed and practiced in all neck areas.

( fig 1. ) is a chromatic lick is inspired by the great Mick Stern. A motive of 8 notes based on Bm starts with the 9th and the 11th and ends with chromatism. Then the motive is transposed in descending #4th cycles. B --> F --> B --> F, etc...

( fig 2. ) The pattern is based on major triads (Eb starting on the 3rd) transposed in 2nds. The transposed motive in Db is approached by a wide interval (sixth) to give an "open" sound. Eb --> Db

( fig 3. ) The pattern is a major 7th arpeggio with superstructure (9 and 13) that begins on the third. The transposition is in 2nds from G to A.

( fig 4. ) This pattern is based on Bm aeolian mode (Bmb6 sounds) and an augmented triad that starts on the b6. Then the motive is transposed in 2nd intervals. Basically, this is a pattern applied on B whole-tone scale

( fig 5. ) The pattern is a major 7th arpeggio with diatonic 4ths. The pattern is in F then transposed in descending 3rds (Db).

( fig 6. ) has an approach similar to ( fig 3. ). This is a major 7th arpeggios with super structure (9, #11, 13) transposed in 2nds. Basically, this is BMaj7(9/#11) made of BbMaj7 and Am7 arpeggios.
The C motive ends with a E triad to come up with CMaj7 #5/#11 sound.

Enjoy it!

Jean-François

www.soubelet.com 

Sixth senses (part 1)

Hi !

Today I’m sharing some ideas on how I like to practice basic material, and to focus on a cool interval, the sixth, very convenient in comp and solos.

The purpose of this post is:
to understand the connection between a third and a sixth,
to identify sixths intervals on the neck, especially vertically,
to play modes in sixths
to practice intervals with different rhythms,
to bring extra notes to the sixth and create patterns,


The sixth is nothing more than an inverted third.
C-E is a major third. E-C is a minor sixth
D-F is a minor third, F-D is a major sixth.

( fig. 1 ) shows these simple intervals and enable to hear thirds and sixths.

Now let apply major and minor sixths on a mode. « Moving chord tones » was all about applying chord tones on a mode (F# mixoydian), today we’re applying sixths on the same mode.

( fig. 2 ) is a plain reminder of F# mixolydian.

Now let’s play sixths on each note of this mode.

( fig. 3 ) is F# mixolydian played in sixths vertically, in Intervals only

If we break intervals into single notes, ( fig. 4 ) shows how to break F# mixolydian into sixths vertically.

I’ll focus on how to play sixths horizontally in future posts.

In my humble opinion, one of the purposes of practicing is to connect the dots between scales, modes, chords and others, in order to have a 360° overview of the basic material.

( fig. 5 ) shows how a play sixths with the addition of 5th, one step or half-step below the sixth. This 3-note pattern is a cool way to practice with a different rhythmic approach, in this case with triplets.

( fig. 6 ) is roughly based on the same approach, now with the addition of 7th, one step or half-step above the sixth.

These two exercices are efficient to practice many different ways of playing sixths, and also to connect the dots with diatonic intervals such as fifths and sevenths. Not to mention that that seventh are really important for chords.

I intend to post about substitutions in the future. For the moment, let’s have fun with sixths on F# mixolydian.

In ( fig. 7 ) the purpose is to play sixths, two degrees above one another.

Ex: F# - A#, then G#-B, then A#-C#, etc…

The structure of this 4-note group is 1-6-3-1.

We notice that each pair of sixths is some kind of arpeggio, not so far from the diatonic arpeggios we all know.

Ex in bar 14: F#/D#/A/F#, G#/E/B/G#, etc…

The benefits of this exercice are:
- mastering sixths positions,
-  introduction to substitution approach,
-  enlargement to the sound,
- coming up with new patterns.

Have fun


Jean-François

www.soubelet.com

 

Pattern transposition (part 1)

Hi !

Today I'm starting a serie of exercices on a subject that is dear to me in improvisation and practicing: patterns.

Lately I've talked about motives in improvisation, stressing out a rhythmic approach.

Here we'll focus on choice of notes, intervals and modes. Since we'll be in a practicing mood, rhythm will be restricted to plain sixtenth-notes.


The purpose of this blog entry is twofold:

• Step 1: to show how to take a simple 8-note pattern then to develop the idea as far as possible.
• Step 2: to transpose a pattern in different ways with modulations.

( fig. 1 ) shows the basic idea: a 8-note pattern in A minor pentatonic. I stole this idea from Michael Brecker lines and from Paul Gilbert killer rock licks, mixing strict alternate picking and hammer-ons and pull-offs. With accents carefully chosen at high speed and with this pattern developped all along A minor pentatonic scale, this simple lick can be really effective in a hot improvisation.

Now let move to C minor pentatonic and let blend with F# minor pentatonic (b5 transposition) to bring in some "out-phrasing atmosphere". In ( fig. 2 ) this modulation is performed in the same area of the neck, the pattern is transposed every 8 notes. The basic idea of the ( fig. 1 ) pattern is underlying all the way.

( fig. 3 ) takes the basic pattern further up the road of modulation. Now we're in C augmented scale, with the same pattern contour and accents. If we step back for a while, we notice many common grounds between ( fig. 1 ) and ( fig. 3 ). This is the same damn idea, transposed in another scale.

( fig. 4 ) brings some kind of Oz Noy touch with the introduction of the whole tone scale. Oz is fond of this scale and uses it in a very clever and subtle way.
Basically, we only take the first ascending part of the original pattern, then we basically go down with the C whole tone scale.
After playing ( fig. 4 ), you notice 2 things:

• we start the idea on an E, then on a C, then G#, E, and C
• we come up with a pattern transposed according to the C augmented triad. 

Actually this is not a surprise, since C whole tone scale is built on Caug and Daug triads.


After hours of practicing I've noticed this pattern transposition approach being really effective to practice muscles, rhythmic endurance, modes and picking accuracy.

We'll see later on how to apply this approach on modes and arpeggios, vertically and horizontally on the neck.


Shred on

Jean-François


Don't hesitate to drop a line below, or on Facebook or Twitter to let me know about your thoughts on this blog post. That would be really helpful for me. THANKS !

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The other side of the coin (part 1)

Hi !

Today I’m sharing ideas on right hand picking after having numerous bad experiences a long time ago.

Imagine the situation: you’re a sideman, you got the gig, playing in a band in a cool venue. 
For 10 songs, your job is just to groove hard on chords, play a few lead licks sometimes but no real guitar solo on the horizon.
On the 11th song, then comes the 24 bar-guitar solo where everyone is excited (including you) and expecting you to burn, to be up to the great guitar player they all know.

Unfortunately, even if you spent hours practicing awesome licks, crazy shreddy alternate picking lines, soulful blues bends, elaborate bebop lines : all this background is destroyed by the funky hour you just spent playing rhythms with downstrokes, more focussed on groove than the subtleties of picking. Your right-hand is unbalanced, sort of attracted by a mysterious force towards the ground, on which you keep on desperately looking at, since you’re too ashamed of yourself playing like crap. 

What the hell is going on? Even if you’re trying hard to ignore this unbalance, everything you’re playing is not like what you’re usually practicing. You’re not confortable, sort of caught off guard by the situation whereas you know you’re a decent badass six-stringer.

Sounds familiar ? 

I’ve lived these moments, so I had to work on a territory I rarely used to go: the upstrokes.
Since playing downstrokes on the beats is natural, we guitar players tend to feel/think that upstrokes are less important or even not natural.

Here’s what I've noticed: 

• If I want to play better on what I know and usually do, I must work hard on what I rarely do.
• The more prepared and confortable with upstrokes I am, the more efficient I am in solos.
• If downstrokes are easy, natural and into the light, they can only shine if what is in the shade (upstrokes) are clean and strong.
• Right-hand picking is like a coin. One side is a downstroke, one side is an upstroke. Each side is as important as the other: If I want to improve, I have to work in both territories and leave no stone unturned.

Here are a few exercices I like to practice when I’m preparing for a gig, a recording session or any other guitar situation.

( Fig. 1 ) is a 5-note chromatic line played on even rhythms. Downstrokes and upstrokes are exaggerated with accents. Each accent is deliberately placed on a specific note in the 5-note line.
bar 1: accent on 1
bar 2: accent on 2
bar 3: accent on 3,
etc….
The purpose is to flush the crazy idea that all accents must be on downstrokes, to have more control on the music you play with your pick, to feel the independence of the upstroke from the downstroke.

( Fig. 2 ) is the G major scale we all know, played differently. It starts with an upstroke instead of a downstroke. After a few minutes you’re confortable with changing strings with an up-down right hand movement. You feel that your pick is "inside" the strings, your right-hand picking is more accurate.

( Fig. 3 ) is based on a G Maj7#5 arpeggio. I’ve seen John McLaughlin warming up playing strict alternate picking on triads. I’ve humbly practiced this approach and came up with my own stuff. Like ( Fig. 2 ), the cool thing is to reverse what we already know: upstrokes are played on beats, instead of downstrokes. For jazz lovers, note the substitution on B7 ( = GMaj7#5/9) then D#min7b5 ( = GMaj7#5/9/#11) in bar 8.

( Fig 4. ) is G major scale played in triads. Every group of 4 notes starts with an upstroke for all the good reasons I’ve developed before. The nice thing is the mix the accent-thing of ( Fig. 1 ) with a triad approach. In this exercice the accent is displaced: on the first note, then the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, the back to the 1st note, etc….


Have fun ! 

Jean-François

www.soubelet.com 

Moving chord tones (part 3)

Hi!

Today we carry on with chord tones practicing in two directions:

• how to play chord tones in diatonic patterns, the direct suite of part 2
• how to play chord tones with the addition of extra notes, creating some melodies on the top and on the bass.

( fig. 1 ) shows the progression of chord tones in a 1-5 pattern.
1 is F#, first degree of F# mixolydian,
5 is C#, fifth degree of F# mixolydian,
Then this movement in fifths is transposed in ascending thirds according to F# mixolydian.
F#-C# becomes A#-E, then C#-G#, then E-A#, and so on....
This exercice is good to practice intervals (fifths and thirds) horizontally and vertically on the neck; this also allows to play 3 octaves of the guitar in just 2 bars.

( fig. 2 ) takes the approach of ( fig. 1 ) in triad patterns.
Basically, we apply a chord tones on each note of each triad of F# mixolydian, in a 1-5-3 approach.
These are the triads of the pattern:
F#, G#m, A# dim, B, C#m, E#m, E.
F# is played in 1-5-3: F#-C#-A#
G#m is played in 1-5-3: G#-D#-B
etc....
This progression is a nice way of practicing rhythm (triplets) and chords positions altogether.


Now let's see how we can come up with tools to create melodies with chord tones.
( fig. 3 ) introduces the fourth, which is half-step or half-step above the third.
Each chord tones is followed by the related fourth. I purposely grouped all chord tones positions in the same neck area, in order to display many ways of playing the fourth.

( fig. 4 ) take the idea of ( fig. 3 ) horizontally on the neck in order to reach another range.

Let's do with the root what we just did with the third.
( fig. 5 ) is a interpretation of ( fig. 4 ).
Instead of playing the fourth of the chord tones we play the second, half-step or half-step above the root.
In my opinion, this lovely approach is perfect to break down all prejudices on melodies, bass, chord progressions. Each note become a potential melody on the bottom, the middle and the top.
We'll develop this concept later on.

Have fun!

Jean-François


Don't hesitate to drop a line below, or on Facebook or Twitter to let me know about your thoughts on this blog post. That would be really helpful for me. THANKS !

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The motive of the crime (part 1)

Hey !

Today I'm starting to speak about a vaste and important subject in improvisation and composition.

From my humble point of view this is the spine of any great improvisation and any great composition: motives (commonly called "patterns").

These are fragments of musical statements that are developped (or just repeated) in order to create a robust frame in which songs, solos and melodies are built.

So many great songs are composed on motives, from pop to heavy metal, from world music to classical.
At least we can find some similarities between Metallica's "Sad but True" and the intro of Mozart's "Serenade #13 In G, K 525, Eine Kleine Nachtmusik". 

In this post I'll focus mainly on rhythmic motives. Some motives can also be considered only with notes choice or movements, regardless of rhythm.

( fig. 1 ) is the Mozart's famous catchy "Kleine Nachtmusik" line that we all know. The motive is built on G (the key of the tune) and D7 (the related dominant).
What makes this line so mighty is not only the Wolfie's genius but also the 2-bar rhythmic motive that is transposed from G to D7. Also the conclusive movement of the second line that mirrors the suspended first line (ending on the note D) creates no doubt on the resolution on bar 4.

Now what is cool is to strictly separate rhythm from notes or harmony in solos.
Why not take a simple rhythmic motive (a canvas) and play all the notes (colors) we want on it ?

Let's play on B7.
Basically we can play B mixolydian or B mixolydian #11 (F# melodic minor) and other simple stuff such as B blues or Ab major pentatonic.

( fig. 2 ) is the main 2-bar motive we'll develop in this exercice. This is just F# melodic minor scale played in a jazzy mood, mixing some diatonic chromatisms, arpeggios and some kind of "pentatonic" sound on bar 2 with a little help from my scale.

( fig. 3 ) takes the rhythmic motive of ( fig. 2 ), plugged with a descending B7 arpeggio and chromatisms around the 7th and 3rd of B7.  

( fig. 4 ) starts with the #11th of B7 and leads to a bluesy tone on the 3rd. Bar 2 stresses the 2nd (C#) and the 6th (G#) of B7 to bring a jazzier sound. The end of bar is a plain excerpt of F# melodic minor in order to stress the B7#11 sound.

( fig. 5 ) is deliberately based on an A lydian #5 position, i.e F# melodic minor starting from the 3rd degree (A on fret 5, E string).  Bar 2 is a jazzy chromatic lick leading to the 3rd and 7th of B7, the chord tones.

As you can see in these short examples, possibilites are limitless in solos and compositions if we keep the same motive.
I could even play any crazy note I want (atonal, chromatic or tonal) and still be consistent with the rest of the solo because the spine is still here. Consistency, that's the point.

I'll develop other examples on motives in the next future.

Play strong

Jean-François


Don't hesitate to drop a line below, or on Facebook or Twitter to let me know about your thoughts on this blog post. That would be really helpful for me. THANKS !

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Moving chord tones (part 2)

Hi!

Chord tones are back with a vengeance.

Whereas part 1 was dedicated to the introduction to chord tones and some ascending phrases, part 2 goes deeper into diatonic movements and emphasizes on descending movement all along the neck.

The raw material is still F# mixolydian harmonized in chord tones (1 root, 3rd third, 7th seventh) with the same chord structure (3rd is actually the 10th).

With two, three or four notes per string, we guitar players love structures when it comes to scales.  
( fig. 1 ) is a plain way of playing F# mixolydian with a 4-notes-per-string approach. This phrase starts with a F# on the melody and finishes with a F# on the bass.

( fig. 2 ) is built on a F# mixolydian pattern played in fourth. This example is interesting because of the mix between vertical and horizontal chord tones positions, as the objective is to strictly follow the pattern from F# to F#.

( fig. 3 ) is built on a simple 4-note pattern that is developed in a diatonic way. Because of the long range of this pattern (one octave between F# and F#), the phrase is restricted by the architecture of the guitar neck. Hence the limitation in two bars in this exercice.

( fig. 4 ) is one of my favorite approach of chord tones. An ascending phrase that mixes chord positions on 2 different sets of strings.
Set 1 with E, A and D strings.
Set 2 with D, B and E strings.
Of course, these sets can be customized with any adjacent strings (ex: Set 2 with A, G and B strings) and that freedom is the cool aspect of the exercice.
The 4-chord pattern is developped all along the neck, allowing to play nicely from fret 2 to fret 18 in just two bars.

( fig. 5 ) is the classic diatonic cycle in fourths. Each chord is a diatonic chord resolution for the next one, and so on. This cycle encompasses the famous II V I turnaround that is the core of jazz harmony.
Note in the last bar a new chord tones position with a different set of strings (A, D and G). The introduction of this new position brings numerous chord changes that we'll discuss later.


Play on!

Jean-François

Don't hesitate to drop a line below, or on Facebook or Twitter to let me know about your thoughts on this blog post. THANKS !

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Augmented reality (part 1)

Hi !

Today I'm back with a beefy subject. We'll talk about a really important color in modern music and that is dear to me: the augmented sound.

As the major third is a very powerful interval, the augmented triad brings a perfect balance between 3 notes and some kind of mystery too.

Basically the augmented triad is made of two major thirds piled up on one another.

The symetry of this triad brings limitless chords, phrasing and composition possibilities, and also paved the way to pieces of music that made history, such as "Giant Steps" by the great John Coltrane.

The purpose of this lesson is to:

• identify the main positions of the augmented triad
• train the ear to this specific sound 
• check how the augmented sound can be applied on 3 scales
• practice a few phrasing applications with the augmented sound

Here we'll talk about E augmented as an example.

In a nutshell, E aug can be summarized as the infinite possibilities of three notes (E, G# and C) played together.
Here we'll follow the transposition from E in major thirds pattern: E, G#, C, E, G#, etc...

Which means that E aug is understood as E/G#/C triad in this blog post.
A really cool exercice would be to play E aug with E/C/G# instead of E/G#/C !

( fig. 1 ) allows to practice the main positions of E aug triad on the guitar, listen to the augmented sound and figure out the symetrical architecture of this specific triad.

( fig. 2 ) shows the main E aug triad positions in upward and downward patterns.
Note on the last beat the triad combination E/C/G# that I mentioned above. The next step would be to transpose this combination on the ( fig. 2 ) pattern !



Now let's talk about chromatism, maths and...family.

We all know that the chromatic scale is made of 12 notes. The augmented triad is the perfect addition of 3 notes with 2 major thirds that can be transposed symetrically.
As a consequence we come up with four triad combinations (12 = 3 x 4) with the same symetrical architecture :

• E/G#/C : E aug
• F/A/C# : F aug
• F#/Bb/D : F# aug
• G/B/D# : G aug

If you push G aug a half-step higher you reach G# aug, which is just E aug transposed one major third higher.
 
My personal organization of augmented triads is to split them in "brothers" and "cousins":

• E aug, G# aug and C aug are "brothers" because they originate from the same source (or parents?) : E, G# and C notes.
• E aug, F aug, F# aug and G aug are "cousins" because the indirectly come from the same source: the architecture of the augmented triad in major thirds.
• With ( fig. 3 ), you can hear and notice the 4 groups (or "cousins") I've just mentionned.

Now let's play music with the augmented triad and try to apply the sound in a cool way.

( fig. 4 ) is the basic A melodic minor scale position.
( fig. 5 ) is a phrasing example with the augmented sound on A melodic minor with the E aug triad.
You can play the melodic minor scale in many chords situations, playing this example on a plain Am chord works fine.

( fig. 6 ) is the basic A harmonic minor scale position.
( fig. 7 ) is a phrasing example with the augmented sound on A melodic minor. with the E aug triad. With this scale, I like to pivot on the minor 6th and the major 7th to emphasize the harmonic minor sound.
Like ( fig. 5 ), playing this example on an Am chord is a nice and simple approach.

( fig. 8 ) is the basic E augmented scale position.
This 6-note symetrical scale is useful to play on augmented chords and others chords too.
E augmented scale is : E, G, G#, B, C, D#
Another point of view is to consider this scale as a combination of E aug and G aug (or B aug) triads

( fig. 9 ) shows a phrasing example with the E augmented scale.
This phrase works nice on a Am chord. The scale allows to bring chromatisms in a structured way


Have fun !

To be continued...

Jean-François

Don't hesitate to drop a comment to let me know about your thoughts on this blog post. THANKS !

www.soubelet.com

"Soft Whisper" guitar solo (excerpt) - Backstage Pass - The Guitar Channel (EN)

Hi,

Today I'm sharing with you an excerpt of the transcription of my guitar solo on "Soft Whisper", 6th track of my instrumental album "Seven Seeds of Life".

-->  Click here  <---

I'm doing this for two reasons:

1. I'll propose in the next future a thorough theorical analysis of the chords structure (12 bars) and the guitar solo to talk about modal jazz-fusion improvisation
2. The complete transcription in tab (48 bars) and the mp3 backing track are available for those who subscribe to the Backstage Pass in The Guitar Channel.

The Guitar Channel is a vivid French startup that proposes quality interactive content on guitar (podcast, video, soundseeing, blog). I had the pleasure to meet with CEO Pierre Journel for an interview in April 2012 when "Seven Seeds of Life" was released.
The Backstage Pass enables you to get numerous cool benefits on The Guitar Channel. Among them, you can listen to my interview (in French) in podcast format ^^

Jean-François
www.soubelet.com

"Soft Whisper" guitar solo (extrait) - passe Backstage - La Chaîne Guitare (FR)

Bonjour,

Aujourd'hui je diffuse un extrait du relevé en tablature du solo de guitare de "Soft Whisper", 6ème titre de mon album instrumental "Seven Seeds of Life".

-->  Cliquer ici  <---

Je le fais pour deux raisons:

1. Je proposerai prochainement une analyse théorique précise de la grille d'accompagnement (12 mesures) et du solo pour évoquer le jeu jazz-fusion modal.
2. Le relevé complet du solo en tablature (48 mesures) et la backing track en mp3 sont disponibles pour celles et ceux qui souscrivent au passe Backstage de La Chaîne Guitare.

La Chaîne Guitare est une startup française très active proposant du contenu interactif de qualité sur la guitare (podcast, vidéo, soundseeing, blog) et j'ai eu le plaisir de rencontrer Pierre Journel en avril 2012 pour une interview à l'occasion de la sortie de "Seven Seeds of Life".
Le passe Backstage permet d'accéder à de nombreux avantages qualitatifs et quantitatifs sur le site de La Chaîne Guitare. Il vous permet en particulier d'écouter à mon interview en format podcast ^^

Jean-François
www.soubelet.com

Moving chord tones (part 1)

 
Hi!

Today we'll talk about chords, intervals and modes. Here my purpose is to show a cool approach to link a few concepts.

The hidden challenge is to get out of the confort zone and find creative tools that can be used in composition, improvisation and accompaniment.

We'll work on a F#7 chord. The related diatonic mode is F#7 mixolydian, 5th degree of the B major scale.

(fig. 1) displays the most common way of playing F#7.
If we strip down this chord we come up with the most significant notes: the root, the third, the seventh. See (fig. 2) in this case : F# (root), A# (third) and E (seventh).
The third and the seventh of a chord are called "chord tones".

Put into practice, (fig. 1) may work in pop or rock, but might quite irrelevant in an improvised music context (such as jazz) where a minimalist approach of chords such as (fig. 2) is more than welcome to give some fresh air to the music.

Since we talk about F#7, let's talk about F#7 mixolydian. See (fig. 3).
Simply put, this is B major scale starting on the 5th degree (F#).

Now let's play intervals and build chords tones on each degree of F# mixolydian.
Step 1 is to harmonize F# mixolydian in sevenths. See (fig. 4)
Step 2 is to harmonize F# mixolydian in tenths. The 10th of a chord is just the 3rd an octave higher. See (fig. 5)

When we mix (fig. 4) and (fig. 5) we come up with F# mixolydian harmonized in chord tones.
You can play this harmonization in vertical (fig. 6) but also in a horizontal approach to reach higher notes.
(fig. 7) is built on F# mixolydian played 3 notes per string.

Let's go back to the usual way to practice a major scale and apply to F# mixolydian.
We all know how to play B major scale broken into thirds, (fig. 8).
If we apply the chord tones harmonization on this pattern we play (fig. 9). This is a vertical approach of F# mixolydian.
Of course F# mixolydian can be played horizontally, with 3 notes per string for example. And now you have the necessary tools to play this phrase by yourself...    :)

To be continued 

Have fun!

Jean-François


Don't hesitate to drop a comment to let me know about your thoughts on this blog post. THANKS !

www.soubelet.com

Atonal phrasing

Hi

Last year I recorded a demonstration video for an equipment I dig and that I use for any recording session, the PI-101 Wall of Soung plug-in made by the cool people of Two Notes Audio Engineering.

In this video I decided to point out how I use this killer technology in my work. This was also an opportunity to deliberately experiment a few musical concepts I love in my music writing.

Today I'm sharing the first part of the guitar solo, beginning at 3:07 in the enclosed video.
My purpose is to display an example of atonal phrasing with some techniques such as transposed patterns and sweep picking.

bar 1: patterns transposed in major third and flat 5th.
bar 2: previous phrase transposed one minor third down.
bars 3 and 4: ascending blues pattern freely revolving around G diminished scale.
bar 5: small wacky part, mostly based on intention and rhythm.

From my humble point of view, atonal phrasing can NEVER work (for me) if any one of these ingredients is absent in the moment:

• intention, 
• conviction, 
• control, 
• technique, 
• rhythm, 
• fun,
• subversion, 
• harmony, 
• knowledge, 
• respect.

 Enjoy
J-F

Left-hand accuracy exercice

Today my left-hand is as shitty as my smile during a hangover.
I felt so ashamed of myself that I couldn't help writing an exercice to develop my dumbass left-hand accuracy.

This exercice mixes:

• right-hand tapping
• descending hammer-ons
• slides
• odds pattern (5 + 3)
• chromatism

The objective is to play each note clearly and with perfect accuracy, in time, without hesitation and regardless of speed.

Chromatism helps to develop the strenght of each left-hand finger.
It also allows to play a lot of notes at fast tempo...because this is simply fucking cool :)))  #shred

When practicing with a crunch sound, I enjoy letting ring the last note of the pattern before changing string. Just to have more control of the sound and to bring a "grungy" touch.
Ex: bar 2, between A# and B

Have fun

Dominant seventh exercice

The purpose of this exercice is to integrate several jazz ingredients in improvisation such as:

• modes
• triads
• chord tones
• rhythm patterns

The basic pattern is applied on a 7 -- m6 resolution, then transposed in fourths.
A7, A7alt, Dm6
D7, D7alt, Gm6
G7, G7alt, Cm6
C7, C7alt, Fm6
F7, F7alt, Bbm6
etc...

• A7: A dorian b9 mode ( = G melodic minor) is used to get an A7sus4b9 color on A7. Then C# is integrated to mess up with C and D on A7, and bring some kind of ambiguity.

• A7alt: Bb melodic minor ( = A altered mode) pattern with augmented triads to point out a clear A7(#5) sound.

• Dm6: the last pattern of Bb melodic minor is used on Dm6 to introduce a short D melodic minor flavor. Then E and B bring a Dm6/9 color on a Dm6 chord.

The 2-bar pattern is to be transposed in 12 keys while using the fourth cycle I started in this exercice.

Have fun

Pat Metheny-style fluidity exercice

Hi
When it comes to fluidity on jazz guitar, Pat Metheny is the master. His techniques have been pushing guitar forward for decades.

The purpose of this exercice is to strenghten the fluidity in musical statements.

This exercice is freely inspired by Pat Metheny and mixes hammer-ons, pull offs and some slides.

• The 1st part is based on a simple 4-note pentatonic pattern, transposed in downward major thirds.
• The 2nd part is a pattern revolving around the augmented scale, transposed in ascending major thirds.

From my point of view:

• practicing this exercice in clean sound and bridge position is good for picking accuracy,
• practicing this exercice in distorted sound is good for string skipping accuracy and overall fluidity.

Chromatism and diminished scale exercice

Hi,
This example shows a chromatic approach of the diminished scale.
I deliberately broke down the rhythm between the ascending and descending pattern to have more fun (and difficulties).

Fourths exercice

Just me, having fun on Bbm in fourths.

Hope you'll enjoy. 

Chromatism exercice

This exercice I just wrote is based on a chromatic approach of DMaj7#11. Then the pattern is developed downward in major thirds.

Enjoy