MUSIC THEORY 101 Don't Be Afraid :)

[John Vasco]

jonesy,
I still think the Bonzo's solo is brilliant. An incredible piss-take on all the flash guitarists. As for EVH - technically brilliant but totally ****in' boring. Give me Peter Green, Mick Taylor or Paul Kossoff anytime.

[jonesy]

Originally Posted by John Vasco

jonesy,
I still think the Bonzo's solo is brilliant. An incredible piss-take on all the flash guitarists. As for EVH - technically brilliant but totally ****in' boring. Give me Peter Green, Mick Taylor or Paul Kossoff anytime.

Oh I agree, the Bonzo solo was a great socio-musical satement, just messing with you a bit..thats why I put EVH he is/was a lot of flash for sure

Not sure who Paul Kossof is, I will (google him and check him out) but Peter Green and Mick Taylor are 2 players I have studied for a long time now, and both are very soulful Gary Moore should be mentioned as well. I am a blues player by nature, Hendrix, SRV, Buddy Guy, Elmore James, John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, but like to rock out and push the blues hard. I think one note with feeling is still far better than 10 notes without. Joe Bonamassa is one of my new favorite players, check him out he has a new double live CD out...

Have a great weekend Vasco. Peace, jonesy

[jonesy]

PAUL KOSSOFF, UK BLUES LEGEND

[Phil47uk]

Originally Posted by John Vasco

Phil47uk, jonesy,

Listen dudes, and listen good. Pack up all you musical theory and cop a load of this. Pay particular attention to the guitar solo at 1:05. Absolutely stunning in its delivery and execution, and totally impossible to tab.

YouTube - Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band - Canyons of your mind 1969


And totally ****in' hilarious. Pure genius, pure genius! Ain't no band around nowadays like them.

...

Great one John.. I remember those guys well. I have shared a few gigs with this lot too on occasion back in the good old days. Remember Bob Kerr?

YouTube - Cocktails for Two with Bob Kerr's Whoopee Band

YouTube - Cocktails for Two with Bob Kerr's Whoopee Band

[John Vasco]

C'mon jonesy, you teach music theory and are into the blues, but you're not sure who Paul Kossoff is... Bit like saying you're a Liverpool fan but have never heard of Bill Shankley. As for blues, listen to Gus Cannon's Jug Stompers, or the Memphis Jug Band, to get an excellent feel for early blues - recorded in the late 1920s.

Phil, that Bob Kerr clip is superb. They were up there with the Bonzos. Didn't the Bonzos open for Led Zep on one tour? God knows what Page, Plant et al made of them! Through the holes in your string vest...!!! The sweet essence of giraffe...!!! And the guitarist scratching his arse at 1:43. Wonderful.

[jonesy]

I guess I did know his music, but did not know him by name, just his guitar licks...

YouTube - Free - All Right Now RARE

YouTube - Free - All Right Now RARE

[jonesy]

Every Major has a Relative minor...One Pattern, Two Scales
Many times when a student gets a new scale they don't really know what to do with it as far as making music goes. Just playing the notes of a scale or mode isn't really what I call music, it is just a bunch of notes in order. If you use your ear and just a little bit of theory, it may put you in the right direction quicker as far as soloing goes, rather than stumbling around in the dark. Learning one pattern and then getting two scales out of is another way to make the most out of what you know and to start seeing how theory applies to your fretboard.

G major pentatonic for Bluegrass & Country
------------------------0-3---
-------------------0-3--------
-------------0-2--------------
--------0-2-------------------
----0-2-----------------------
--3---------------------------
Use this scale over country, bluegrass and gospel songs with the chords G, C, D, Em


E minor pentatonic for Blues
------------------------0-----
-------------------0-3--------
---------------0-2------------
----------0-2-----------------
------0-2---------------------
--0-3-------------------------

Use this scale for rock and blues songs with the chords E, A, B7

If you notice this is the same pattern just starting and ending on different notes. The E pent. starts on E and ends on E, The G Maj pent, starts on G and ends on G. Hmmm, not so hard right?

Every major has a relative minor CDEFGABC= C MAJOR ABCDEFG= A MINOR
The relative minor is always the 6th note of that Major scale. So G Major has the relative minor of Em. So all the notes in both scales are the same, this is actually the basis for the modal system but I don't want to go there now.

To me the E minor pentatonic scale sounds like Blues and G Major pent. has more of a Country or Bluegrass flavor, or at least that is how I think of them. This pattern is laid out in the first three frets. When you play a G chord look where your fingers are, they cover many notes in the scale... I play my G like this most of the time G+D

G+5
----3--
----3--
----0--
----0--
----2--
----3--

These open scales cover 2 Octaves, and are very handy when playing acoustic guitar, and you can play them with only one or two fingers and really get flying....now all you have to do is find the little licks, bends and double stops within these scales so you can actually make music with them...check them out and see what you can come up with??? Peace, jonesy

[jonesy]

USING OCTAVES AND MOVING A PATTERN TO ALL 12 POSITIONS

I am really big on stressing the Basics, because without learning them you will not be able to master more advanced things. The 2 scales I posted earlier were down in the open position. Lets take them up One Octave up the fret board, and we get the 1st position Blues scale at the 12th fret. The 12th fret notes are the same as our open strings just one Octave higher.
I cant' see your face but I hope it does not look like this or this but more like this or make sure you understand what an octave is.

I know for a lot of you advanced players this may seem like boring rehash but you would be surprised how many people do not get this concept. The name of this thread the last time I checked was Music Theory 101 and I want to keep it clear and easy to understand for most of you.

Here is the E minor pentatonic scale you all probably know E-E two Octaves
----------------------------------------12---
--------------------------------12-15-------
-------------------------12-14--------------
------------------12-14---------------------
-----------12-14----------------------------
---12--15-----------------------------------

Take the same exact pattern but now Play G-G and you have the G Major Pentatonic scale. Kinda like using mode theory on pentatonic scales
----------------------------------------12---15
--------------------------------12-15----------
-------------------------12-14-----------------
------------------12-14------------------------
-----------12-14-------------------------------
--------15--------------------------------------

Ok so now you have 2 more scales that you can use for solos and you can alternate between these and the open ones in the earlier post.

Now not to be confusing but I want to show you something else I have learned about "shifting" patterns...

E minor pentatonic
----------------------------------------12---
--------------------------------12-15-------
-------------------------12-14--------------
------------------12-14---------------------
-----------12-14----------------------------
---12--15-----------------------------------

Take the scale above, if you are playing it correctly your first finger is on the 12th frets...now move the whole pattern 3 frets lower, now your pinky should be over the 12th frets. This lowered position is the E Major pentatonic scale. This works in all of the other 12 Keys as long as you use this same pattern as shown. Moving one pattern around and getting to know it well and see how it applies IMO helps you learn practical theory that can be used on a Players level, more bang for the buck.

E Major pentatonic scale
----------------------------------9-12-
----------------------------9-12-------
----------------------9-11-------------
---------------9-11--------------------
--------9-11---------------------------
---12----------------------------------

Practice hard and keep the music flowing. As always any questions, comments or rude remarks are always welcome & appreciated...
peace, jonesy

[madams17]

Jonesy, Thanks for picking this thread back up. It's nice to see your perspective on things.

[jonesy]

Thanks for the kind words, a lot of the young players have shown interest so I guess I will keep plugging along when I can

[jonesy]

Found this quote on one of the MLP members signataure and just had to post it as 'food for thought"...

“First of all, it doesn't matter if you can play a scale. It doesn't matter if your technique is good. If you have feelings that you want to get out through music, that's what matters. If you have the ability to express yourself and you feel good when you do it, then that's why you do it.”

-Neil Young-

[madams17]

Originally Posted by jonesy

“First of all, it doesn't matter if you can play a scale. It doesn't matter if your technique is good. If you have feelings that you want to get out through music, that's what matters. If you have the ability to express yourself and you feel good when you do it, then that's why you do it.”

-Neil Young-

Amen!

[tintin]

In that vein....

[jonesy]

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!

[jonesy]

"POWER CHORDS AND REAL GUITAR CHORDS"

Most of the barre chords I use have the root note based on the 5th string or 6th string. And both of these are based off of the open A and open E shapes, and then your finger barres off open frets and you move the chords up and down the neck. These chords will voice 5 or 6 strings instead of just the 2 or 3 strings used in power chords or 5ths. It is probably easier to see in tab below what I am talking about.

CHORD SHAPES WITH ROOT NOTE ON 6TH STRING
E5***E min**Fm*F major*Gm7*Am7+6*A7*
-------0-------1-------1-------3-------5-------5-------------------
-------0-------1-------1-------3-------7-------8--------------------
-------0-------1-------2-------3-------5-------6--------------------
-------2-------3-------3-------3-------5-------5--------------------
---2---2-------3-------3-------5-------7-------7-------------------
---0---0-------1-------1-------3-------5-------5------------------

CHORDS SHAPES WITH ROOT ON 5TH STRING
A5***B minor**B5**BMaj7**B7**Em
-------2--------2-------2---------2------0----------
-------3--------2-------4---------4------8---------
-------4--------4-------3---------2------9---------
-2-----4--------4-------4---------4------9-----------
-0-----2--------2-------2---------2------7-----------
--------------------------------------------------

If you are coloring a picture and only have 2 crayons it limits your creativity and expression versus having 5-6 colors of crayons to choose and use in our picture. Music is like that to me and notes are like the colors on the Tonal palette. So if you are only using 2 finger power chords, try playing a few of the others I have tabbed and you may find something you can use for your style of music...
Rock on and Remember "You will Play How You Practice"

[Kenny]

thanks a lot Jonesy and all others that have contributed, I just read it from start to finish and already I fell I have a better understanding of theory. Thanks!

[Big_dawg]

Merry christmas (yeah I know Im late!) Jonesy...

Keeop this thread going strong into the new year, sometimed the only reason I log on here....

[jonesy]

Originally Posted by Big_dawg

Merry christmas (yeah I know Im late!) Jonesy...

Keeop this thread going strong into the new year, sometimed the only reason I log on here....

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you as well. I was kinda wondering where you have been bro, and YES I will try my best to keep this thread moving ahead in 2009.

[jonesy]

"JANGLEY CHORDS" FOR ACOUSTIC OR ELECTRIC GUITAR

Jangley may not be an official music theory term, but it is what I use to describe the kind of chords shown below. I figured out a few of these on my own when I was about 18 after buying a 12 string Ovation guitar. It had great tone but no so good when I tried barre chords up the neck. So I would play chords in same position but not barring off all the strings with my first finger. Instead I would fret the bass note of every chord along with 3rd and 5th and then let my first two strings ring open in a droning type fashion. Tab below....

**B****A****G****F#****
---0-----0-----0------0----------------------------------
---0-----0-----0------0----------------------------------
---8-----6-----4------3---------------------------------
---9-----7-----5------4---------------------------------
---9-----7-----5------4---------------------------------
---7-----5-----3------2--------------------------------

These sound Chords HUGE when played on an electric guitar set clean, lots' of cool overtones.

Here a few more I have run across over the years, I think Tom Petty seems to use a lot of these type of chords as well as Yes (Star ship trooper) and many other groups.

Starship trooper chords from the best I can remember, listen to it and you can get the strumming pattern...

*****G*****D#******C+G***********
---10--10-----6--6-------3--3--3---3----------
----8--8------4--4-------1---1--1---1---------
----0--0------0--0-------0---0--0---0--------
----9--9------5--5-------2---2--2---2--------
---10--10-----6--6-------3---3--3---3-------
----------------------------------------------

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1J04ZR_k7rA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1J04ZR_k7rA

CLICK ON LINK SHOWN AT TOP OF VIDEO AND IT WILL TAKE YOU TO UTUBE

Here is another type kind of a "Jangley double stop" using an A5 shape and then sliding it up and down while picking the notes. Found a decent tab and also the audio/video for anyone who wants to give it a go

Queen of Spades by Styx, uses these shapes.....listen to they way they ring out.



/ Styx / Pieces of Eight (1978) / Queen of Spades guitar tab

--------------------STYX-----------------------



Styx: Queen of Spades
>From the album
Copyright 1978
Tabbed by ovationone5@aol.com<--------e-mail me if questions



Intro

(X4)
C#? C#? C#? B5 Asus2 Asus2 Asus2 B5
e||-0-------0-------|-0-------0-------|-0-------0-------|-0-------0-------|
B||---0-------0-----|---0-------------|---0-------0-----|---0-------------|
G|4-----6-------6---|-----6---------4\|(2)--2-------2---|-----2---------4/|
D|4-------6-------6-|-------6-------4\|(2)----2-------2-|-------2-------4/|
A||-----------------|---------------2\|(0)--------------|---------------2/|
E||-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|

C#? C#? C#? B5 Asus2 Asus2 Asus2
e||-0-------0-------|-0-------0-------|-0-------0-------|-0-------0-------|
B||---0-------0-----|---0-------------|---0-------0-----|---0-------0-----|
G|4(6)--6-------6---|-----6---------4\|(2)--2-------2---|-----2-------2---|
D|4(6)----6-------6-|-------6-------4\|(2)----2-------2-|-------2-------2-|
A||(4)--------------|---------------2\|(0)--------------|-----------------|
E||-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|

B? B? B? B? C#? C#? C#? C#?
e||-0-------0-------|-0-------0-------|-0-------0-------|-0-------0-------|
B||---0-------0-----|---0-------0-----|---0-------0-----|---0-------0-----|
G|4-----4-------4---|-----4-------4---|-----6-------6---|-----6-------6---|
D|4-------4-------4-|-------4-------4-|-------6-------6-|-------6-------6-|
A||-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
E||-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|

B? B? B? B? Asus2 Asus2 Asus2 Asus2
e||-0-------0-------|-0-------0-------|-0-------0-------|-0-------0-------|
B||---0-------0-----|---0-------0-----|-0-0-------0-----|---0-------0-----|
G|4-----4-------4---|-----4-------4---|-2---2-------2---|-----2-------2---|
D|4-------4-------4-|-------4-------4-|-2-----2-------2-|-------2-------2-|
A||-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
E||-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|

(X3)
C#? C#? C#? B5 Asus2 Asus2 Asus2 B5
e||-0-------0-------|-0-------0-------|-0-------0-------|-0-------0-------|
B||---0-------0-----|---0-------------|---0-------0-----|---0-------------|
G|4-----6-------6---|-----6---------4\|(2)--2-------2---|-----2---------4/|
D|4-------6-------6-|-------6-------4\|(2)----2-------2-|-------2-------4/|
A||-----------------|---------------2\|(0)--------------|---------------2/|
E||-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|

C#? C#? C#? B5 Asus2 Asus2 Asus2
e||-0-------0-------|-0-------0-------|-0-------0-------|-0-------0-------|
B||---0-------0-----|---0-------------|---0-------0-----|---0-------0-----|
G|4(6)--6-------6---|-----6---------4\|(2)--2-------2---|-----2-------2---|
D|4(6)----6-------6-|-------6-------4\|(2)----2-------2-|-------2-------2-|
A||(4)--------------|---------------2\|(0)--------------|-----------------|
E||-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|

B? B? B? B? C#? C#? C#? C#?
e||-0-------0-------|-0-------0-------|-0-------0-------|-0-------0-------|
B||---0-------0-----|---0-------0-----|---0-------0-----|---0-------0-----|
G|4-----4-------4---|-----4-------4---|-----6-------6---|-----6-------6---|
D|4-------4-------4-|-------4-------4-|-------6-------6-|-------6-------6-|
A||-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
E||-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|

B? B? B? B? A5 A5 A5 A5
e||-0-------0-------|-0-------0-------|-----------------|-----------------|
B||---0-------0-----|---0-------0-----|-----------------|-----------------|
G|4-----4-------4---|-----4-------4---|-2-------2-------|-2-------2-------|
D|4-------4-------4-|-------4-------4-|-2-------2-------|-2-------2-------|
A||-----------------|-----------------|-0-------0-------|-0-------0-------|
E||-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|

Verse

Main Guitar
e||-----------------|-----------------|
B||-----------------|-----------------|
G|4-6---6-4-6---6-4-|---------4-------|
D|4-6---6-4-6---6-4-|-4---4---4-------|
A||-4---4-2-4---4-2-|-4---4-0-2---0-2-|
E||-----------------|-2---2-----------|

Fill
e||-----------------|-----------------|
B||-----------------|-----------------|
G|4-----------------|-----------------|
D|4-----------------|-----------0h1h2-|
A||-----------------|----------0h2----|
E||-----------------|---------0h2-----|

Main Guitar
e||-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
B||-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
G|4-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-|-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-|-6--6-4-6---6-4--|-6---6-4-6---4---|
D|4-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-|-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-|-6--6-4-6---6-4--|-6---6-4-6---4---|
A||-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-|-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-|-4--4-2-4---4-2--|-4---4-2-4---2---|
E||-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|

Fill
e||-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
B||-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
G|4-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
D|4-----------------|-----------------|-------------0h2-|-------------0h2-|
A||-----------------|-----------------|-----------0h2---|-----------0h2---|
E||-----------------|-----------------|---------0h2-----|---------0h2-----|

Chorus

(Muted)
e||-----------------|
B||-----------------|
G|4-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-|
D|4-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-|
A||-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-|
E||-----------------|

e||-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
B||-------5---------|-----------------|------5----------|-----------------|
G|4-6-6---4---2---4-|-6-6--6-6--4-----|-6-6--4----------|-4-4-------------|
D|4-6-6---2---2---4-|-6-6--6-6--4---4-|-6-6--2------2-4-|-4-4-----4-2-4---|
A||-4-4-------0---2-|-4-4--4-4--2-0-4-|-4-4----0-2-4----|-2-2---0-4-2-4---|
E||-----------------|---------------2-|-----------------|---------2-0-2---|

Solo (Verse´s Riff in the background)
sry im learning it ill tab it sooner or later!promise!!!
e||-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
B||-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
G|4---------------Be my guest and help me with this solo...---------------|
D|4-----------------|---------------@;-)----------------|-----------------|
A||-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
E||-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|

(This part has power chords for the intro)
e||-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
B||-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
G|4-6-6-----------4-|-2-2-----------4-|-6-6-----------4-|-2-2-------------|
D|4-6-6-----------4-|-2-2-----------4-|-6-6-----------4-|-2-2-------------|
A||-4-4-----------2-|-0-0-----------2-|-4-4-----------2-|-0-0-------------|
E||-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|

e||-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
B||-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
G|4-4-4-----------4-|-6-6-----------6-|-4-4-----------4-|-2---2---2---2---|
D|4-4-4-----------4-|-6-6-----------6-|-4-4-----------4-|-2---2---2---2---|
A||-2-2-----------2-|-4-4-----------4-|-2-2-----------2-|-0---0---0---0---|
E||-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|

Chorus

Solo 2
the solo im learning sry
e||-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
B||-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
G|4--------------Be my guest and help me with this solo too...------------|
D|4-----------------|---------------@;-)----------------|-----------------|
A||-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
E||-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|

The end fades with that C#? chord from the intro repeated over and over
C#? C#?
e||-0-------0-------|
B||---0-------0-----|
G|4-----6-------6---|
D|4-------6-------6-|
A||-----------------|
E||-----------------|

[jonesy]

BUMP Greetings folks, any questions comments or rude remarks are always welcome

[MisterPaul]

Read the thread from start to finish. Thanks Jonesy. Very helpful, especially to beginners like me.

[jonesy]

Originally Posted by MisterPaul

Read the thread from start to finish. Thanks Jonesy. Very helpful, especially to beginners like me.

Hey Thanks glad you found it useful, I tried to keep things simple and easy to understand. ImHO Music theory does not have to hurt your brain
Any questions or topics you would like to see covered please let me know, I am always looking for new ideas for future posts?

Peace, jonesy

[tang350]

Jonesy,

I just have to say this thread is amazing, bless you for the work you've put into it!!!
I was rattling around the forums doing some searches for info on some LP reissues and happened upon this thread. I signed up primarily so I could thank you properly in a post - looking forward to being a regular on here, me thinks .

I've been playing a little over two years and have been hesitant to get into theory, just because it seemed to complex. I'm going to pick up the two resource books you mentioned earlier in the thread! I must say just the first few items I read really helped me get my head around why some things work together abd others don't.

Thank you again!

[jonesy]

Originally Posted by tang350

Jonesy,

I just have to say this thread is amazing, bless you for the work you've put into it!!!
I was rattling around the forums doing some searches for info on some LP reissues and happened upon this thread. I signed up primarily so I could thank you properly in a post - looking forward to being a regular on here, me thinks .

I've been playing a little over two years and have been hesitant to get into theory, just because it seemed to complex. I'm going to pick up the two resource books you mentioned earlier in the thread! I must say just the first few items I read really helped me get my head around why some things work together abd others don't.

Thank you again!

That is so nice to hear bro, really inspiring Thanks for taking the time to post here and welcome to the MLPF. If you have any theory or wiring questions please let me know ok? IMO People all tend to think about theory a bit differently, but once you understand the basics of it, it is not all that hard

Peace & Blessings, jonesy

[tang350]

Just a bump to keep this up there...perhaps, dare I say, a sticky?

[jonesy]

Yeah I was just thinking about this thread today, sorry been swamped bro. Anything in particular you have any questions on??

[tang350]

Hey, bro...I'm still getting through the first few pages...so far so good, but i am sure i will have some questions and will get back to via the thread

[Kenny]

Hey Jonesy, whenever I solo usually I find myself stuck in one position most of the time and it just sounds kind of boring. Do you have any tips for moving up and down the neck while soloing? sorry if you answered this before, I havent checked this thread in a while.

[blakem]

Dude...this is a great thread!!! I absolutely love it!! Learned alot!

[jonesy]

Originally Posted by Kenny

Hey Jonesy, whenever I solo usually I find myself stuck in one position most of the time and it just sounds kind of boring. Do you have any tips for moving up and down the neck while soloing? sorry if you answered this before, I haven't checked this thread in a while.

Hey thanks for the question Kenny, it happens to a lot of us that play blues and rock. Most of the time we learn the 1st position blues box and do not bother learning the other 4 boxes that let us connect it all together. Pretty soon all of our solos start to sound a lot a like, or after solong for a short time seems like you run out of ideas?

Look for earlier post on the 5 pentatonic scale boxes/positions. An easy trick is to us the octave for a little variety. Say you are playing blues or rock in the key of E and you are using the open E blues scale. You can take that same scale up to the 12th fret(octave)and play the same licks up there but they will sound different because of the notes being higher.

Also check earlier posts for Linear or String scales, those are a great way to bust out of the box and head up or down the neck on any string. Try playing an entire solo on just one or two strings, it will take you right out of the box for sure.

Check out that info I posted earlier in this thread and see if some of it will help you Free yourself from the confinements of the box. Also I bend a lot, and adding interesting bends and double stops will spice up your playing "In the box" as well.

Keep Rockin' bro and remember you will play how you practice. So practice they way you want to play, start slowly and smoothly then work up the speed until you get where you want to be