So you want to know about music eh? Then watch!

[Phil47uk]

After having quite a few people privately message me re tips on music theory etc, I thought I’d paste up a whole series of three programmes for people to watch. Yep..fifteen videos in all..
Now you see, the problem with the guitar is that many people know bits here and bits there, so one could liken it as some sort of jigsaw puzzle, where you have five bits here and a couple over there and maybe a small chunk over there.. The problem in the big scheme of things though, is what do you do with these chunks and how do you fit them together.. So! Like the jigsaw puzzle, find the straight edges to build a solid framework and you’ll find it much easier to put the puzzle together.

If you are seriously interested in music and how it works, I would advise you to sit through as many videos as possible and check them out.
The videos cover all genres of music, for the simple reason that all music is made up from the same notes. They also cover scales..Harmony..Chord construction, modes etc etc.

No, the videos are not soley about the guitar, but music as a whole, but don’t let that put you off, in fact it will demonstrate how modern music has evolved and how even in todays rock music, we draw from the past.

The problem with half of the stuff you get on places like you-tube, is that you often get some guy with a bleached perm showing you how to play 10 million note solos and making a mountain out of a mole hill trying to explain modes in double Dutch.

There ya go again.. Another couple of odd bits for your jigsaw.. The trouble is..Where do you use them in everyday musical situations?

So let’s look at music as a whole entity rather some odd bit here and there. Let’s see how it evolved..How it’s used..Where is it going.

If you are the sort of person who is going to say.” Hey it’s got classical music in it man. That’s not for me, then your assumption will be perfectly correct.. It’s not for you… And nor really is music full stop if you have a blinkered view.

Before you commit yourself to watch all the videos, here’s a taster from series three about harmony, just to get the flavour.
Anyway, I hope some here will enjoy them and also gain a wealth of knowledge and understanding from them too.

Enjoy...


Phil.

Here's a taster of the series, which includes everything from Mozart to Hendrix.

YouTube - How Music Works 3 - Harmony - Part 3

YouTube - How Music Works 3 - Harmony - Part 3

Melody

YouTube - How Music Works 1 - Melody - Part 1

YouTube - How Music Works 1 - Melody - Part 1

YouTube - How Music Works 1 - Melody - Part 2

YouTube - How Music Works 1 - Melody - Part 2

YouTube - How Music Works 1 - Melody - Part 3

YouTube - How Music Works 1 - Melody - Part 3

YouTube - How Music Works 1 - Melody - Part 4

YouTube - How Music Works 1 - Melody - Part 4

YouTube - How Music Works 1 - Melody - Part 5

YouTube - How Music Works 1 - Melody - Part 5

Rhythm

YouTube - How Music Works 2 - Rhythm - Part 1

YouTube - How Music Works 2 - Rhythm - Part 1

YouTube - How Music Works 2 - Rhythm - Part 2

YouTube - How Music Works 2 - Rhythm - Part 2

YouTube - How Music Works 2 - Rhythm - Part 3

YouTube - How Music Works 2 - Rhythm - Part 3

YouTube - How Music Works 2 - Rhythm - Part 4

YouTube - How Music Works 2 - Rhythm - Part 4

YouTube - How Music Works 2 - Rhythm - Part 5

YouTube - How Music Works 2 - Rhythm - Part 5

Harmony

YouTube - How Music Works 3 - Harmony - Part 1

YouTube - How Music Works 3 - Harmony - Part 1

YouTube - How Music Works 3 - Harmony - Part 2

YouTube - How Music Works 3 - Harmony - Part 2

YouTube - How Music Works 3 - Harmony - Part 3

YouTube - How Music Works 3 - Harmony - Part 3

YouTube - How Music Works 3 - Harmony - Part 4

YouTube - How Music Works 3 - Harmony - Part 4

YouTube - How Music Works 3 - Harmony - Part 5

YouTube - How Music Works 3 - Harmony - Part 5

P.S.. There is also a whole series on bass too , but I didn't include that.. Worth checking that out though, even if you aren't a bass player.

[Harpozep]

Great series.
Thanks for bringing it to our attention!

[sliding tom]

Excellent - is that BBC produced? They are doing great docus. I'll have to take some time out to watch through all the parts. Thanks, Phil!

[Phil47uk]

Originally Posted by sliding tom

Excellent - is that BBC produced? They are doing great docus. I'll have to take some time out to watch through all the parts. Thanks, Phil!

Thanks Harpozep sliding tom.

The series was a channel 4 production for the UK. It probably was sold to other countries, but who has seen it on this forum I don't know.
It is very well put together and Howard Goodall presents it crisply and sharply without getting bogged down and too technical.

I see so many guitarists who are limited by the same old case of accute pentatonicitus and flash runs.. Of course there's nothing wrong with that, if that's all one wants to aspire too, but if one really wants to understand the medium one is working in then one should look at music as a whole.. ie..Rhythm.. Melody...Harmony etc.

Oh yes of course there are those who will tell you that you don't need to know anything about musical theory as it cramps you style..
I have just one word to answer those people.. Bollocks!
They spend months downloading solos from the internet and trying to play them at breakneck speed, or as loud and distorted as possible, without having a clue to as to what they are actually doing. Again, fine if the bedroom is ones domain, but get out there on the gig circuit and boy O' boy you'd better know more than a few party pieces.

A good example was a session I did a few years back.. The producer had booked a few guys and also some friends of his. Anyway this anorexic guy with all the hair guy turns up with half a guitar store.. You name it, he had it.. Pedals..Gadgets. galore. He then sets up and starts trying to impress everyone widdling away.. I just smiled to my self coz I knew what was coming..Sure enough the singer comes in with some chord charts for a last minute B side number. She said she wanted a sort of latin feel and handed out the charts.. I made sure he got guitar 1...
You should have seen his face... He was totaly fucked. The silly bugger didn't know anything about chords or rhythms other than the usual power chords and metal rhythm. He wouldn't have known what a latin rhythm was if it had bit him up the arse and maj 7ths and inverted chords might as well have been Egyptian hieroglyphs. We had a few runs and it sounded bloody aweful. He tried a solo, but the usual pentatonic and minor runs kept coming out and things went from bad to worse.
Eventually the producer took me to one side and said.. "For fucks sake Phil can you do this. I don't want to upset him, but we are just never going to get this done".. Anyway I grabbed a nylon strung electro acoustic.. Went DI into the desk and took it in one take.
So am I a genius?. Hell no, it's just that I have always tried to be as versatile as possible and simply knew a few tricks of the trade. He could have played it easily.. If only he had taken the time to broaden his listening interests. The solo was modal using a simple diatonic scale embelished with the odd dominant seventh flurry..

It's like being an actor. The guy that will always work is the sort of person that can play a Scotsman one day and a Texan the next. The language is the same in each case, but how adaptable are you at the accents. That's what counts. The same applies to music.. How do you phrase say a country rhythm and then rhumba.

Check out videos on melody.. You can see peoples of the world singing in their own language and styles.. They all sound completely different, yet are all using the same notes. Therefore it's often not what you say, but the way that you say it.
Of course this post is aimed at the general guy in the street who is maybe thinking of pursuing his/her interests in music. They may of course become famous over night and in that case may well be given a grammy award for farting during a solo. But for us mere mortals who want to stay afloat and survive in the biz. ( because boy! Believe me, you come down a lot faster than you go up ) it's a very good idea to cast your nets wide.
Styles of music come and go like the breeze in popularity.. I know, I have seen more musical styles become popular then die over the decades than most people have had hot dinners. How have I survived?.. You tell me. perhaps I'm just lucky, although I'd like to think it's because I have been adaptable.

Unfortunately for everyone like yourself who is willing to take time to at least plough through a couple of the videos for knowledge and information there will be a hundred who will think..' Bugger that, I aint watching all that crap'... 'Quick... Where can I find a thread that will show me how to instantly get Slashes tone'.
A sign of the times I'm afraid.. Everyone wants to be there instantly.

Phil.

[TurboSi]

Thanks for posting this

[Phil47uk]

Originally Posted by TurboSi

Thanks for posting this

The pleasure is all mine TurboSi... I hope you enjoy them.

[Phil47uk]

Here's an interesting use of the Dorian mode in contemporary music, other than the usual Widdle widdle explanation of it.. Sting borrowed heavily from the old traditional English folksongs and used the haunting Dorian mode against what could only be described as a sort of jungle rhythm..The two genres differ totally , yet work well when combined. The same notes as used in Greensleeves.

YouTube - We Work The Black Seam (lyrics)

YouTube - We Work The Black Seam (lyrics)

[sliding tom]

Originally Posted by Phil47uk

A sign of the times I'm afraid.. Everyone wants to be there instantly.Phil.

I'm afraid that's right.

[Phil47uk]

Originally Posted by sliding tom

I'm afraid that's right.

You know that's the funny thing Tom. Some people often ask for advice but only want to hear what they want to hear. The nature of the beast I'm afraid.
On numerous occasions I have had guys from bands book a lesson because they are stuck in a rut. When you tell them straight up what's wrong with their playing they will make all the excuses in the world to justify themselves.
" Oh yeah.. I know that, I just haven't had the time to work on it."

Once a guitar teacher booked some lessons with me and as soon as he arrived proceeded to try and give me a lesson, not really listening to a word I was saying.
Eventually I put on a back track and recorded both him and I improvising a solo, then played them back. When he heard himself he said.. " Who's that, is that one of your pupils, it's not me?" When I assured him it was him, he got really pissed and wanted to do another take. In the end I recorded him about half a doz times and each time he was getting madder and madder. I told him where he was going wrong, but he just wouldn't listen. That was the last I ever saw of him...
He wasn't coming to see me for any advice on his playing . He was simply coming to prove to himself that he didn't need any.
I used to take lessons back in the 60's from a great UK Jazz guitarist. He was a complete nutter and didn't really have any bedside manner, but boy could he play.. He gave me a line to play and when I played it back he shouted.. "Don't tickle the fucking thing son..Hit it "... We've all been there..

As you can see by the nature of many threads in forums. People are obssesed with guitar technique.. Nothing wrong with that at all as long as they realize that it goes hand in hand with what they are trying to create, which is MUSIC!.. The nuances..The rhythms...The subtleties..The colours on the palette...But notice that's a subject many hardly ever debate... Shame really.

[guitarEd]

Well ol" Howard must know what he is talking about....after all he has an accent...lol

Seriously Phil, great find, and I watched all vids. They really give a good overview of how
music has evolved over the years, and all the many influences that gives us what we play and listen to today...

And I also agree with your follow up posts about how players today, only want quick answers. It is not only guitar players, but I see it on bass and drum forums as well (I play those too,)
How do I play like....
Where can I find the tabs for....

The thinking these days, if you know a few licks and a few power chords, bands and producers will be knocking down your door to sign you up...
When you tell these guys, that yeah, they may have Slashes solo down note for note, and the tone is kind of close... there is no "feeling" in what they play...these guys get kind of upset, pout, or simply adjust their pedals for more OD or distortion...

Oh, and dont ever change the key of a song they know.....they almost sweat blood...lol

Ed

[Big_dawg]

Originally Posted by Phil47uk

You know that's the funny thing Tom. Some people often ask for advice but only want to hear what they want to hear. The nature of the beast I'm afraid.
On numerous occasions I have had guys from bands book a lesson because they are stuck in a rut. When you tell them straight up what's wrong with their playing they will make all the excuses in the world to justify themselves.
" Oh yeah.. I know that, I just haven't had the time to work on it."

Once a guitar teacher booked some lessons with me and as soon as he arrived proceeded to try and give me a lesson, not really listening to a word I was saying.
Eventually I put on a back track and recorded both him and I improvising a solo, then played them back. When he heard himself he said.. " Who's that, is that one of your pupils, it's not me?" When I assured him it was him, he got really pissed and wanted to do another take. In the end I recorded him about half a doz times and each time he was getting madder and madder. I told him where he was going wrong, but he just wouldn't listen. That was the last I ever saw of him...
He wasn't coming to see me for any advice on his playing . He was simply coming to prove to himself that he didn't need any.
I used to take lessons back in the 60's from a great UK Jazz guitarist. He was a complete nutter and didn't really have any bedside manner, but boy could he play.. He gave me a line to play and when I played it back he shouted.. "Don't tickle the fucking thing son..Hit it "...:laugh2: We've all been there..

As you can see by the nature of many threads in forums. People are obssesed with guitar technique.. Nothing wrong with that at all as long as they realize that it goes hand in hand with what they are trying to create, which is MUSIC!.. The nuances..The rhythms...The subtleties..The colours on the palette...But notice that's a subject many hardly ever debate... Shame really.

Best piece of advice Ive seen in ages...

[Adwex]

Thank you Phil, I will watch all the videos, enthusiastically.

[Adwex]

Originally Posted by Phil47uk

<snip>....
As you can see by the nature of many threads in forums. People are obssesed with guitar technique.. Nothing wrong with that at all as long as they realize that it goes hand in hand with what they are trying to create, which is MUSIC!.. The nuances..The rhythms...The subtleties..The colours on the palette...But notice that's a subject many hardly ever debate... Shame really.

I have horrible technique, so I am certainly not obsessed with it. While the ability to play the instrument is impressive to me, I'm much more interested in WHAT I play, rather than HOW I play it.

[sliding tom]

Originally Posted by Phil47uk

People are obssesed with guitar technique.. Nothing wrong with that at all as long as they realize that it goes hand in hand with what they are trying to create, which is MUSIC!.. The nuances..The rhythms...The subtleties..The colours on the palette...But notice that's a subject many hardly ever debate... Shame really.

As I have mentioned in another thread today: it's more important to be a musician whose instrument happens to be the guitar than to be a guitarist who happens to play music.

[Phil47uk]

Originally Posted by guitarEd

Well ol" Howard must know what he is talking about....after all he has an accent...lol

Seriously Phil, great find, and I watched all vids. They really give a good overview of how
music has evolved over the years, and all the many influences that gives us what we play and listen to today...

And I also agree with your follow up posts about how players today, only want quick answers. It is not only guitar players, but I see it on bass and drum forums as well (I play those too,)
How do I play like....
Where can I find the tabs for....

The thinking these days, if you know a few licks and a few power chords, bands and producers will be knocking down your door to sign you up...
When you tell these guys, that yeah, they may have Slashes solo down note for note, and the tone is kind of close... there is no "feeling" in what they play...these guys get kind of upset, pout, or simply adjust their pedals for more OD or distortion...

Oh, and dont ever change the key of a song they know.....they almost sweat blood...lol

Ed

....

Dead right about the guys who want to learn Slash solos note for note, but don't know the hell what on earth they are doing.
This is what I tell the kids at school.. "Ok so Slash is going in for a recording session.. What does he do, go and download a solo from the web?"
They think about it for a few seconds and reply. " No he makes them up himself doesn't he ?"
"Dead right son, now wouldn't you like to be able to do that yourself too?"
DING!... The penny suddenly drops...

Of course there is nothing wrong with ripping a guitar line..Hell everyone has done that and I am as guilty as anybody back in the late 50's and early 60's for knowing every Duane Eddy instrumental backwards..

The problem is that one mustn't just stop there and the only way to create your own distinctive style is amalgamate a mish mash of everything you like and work it from there, listening to all different genres of music on the way.

You know we all get "Oh wow! from people on gigs and although nice doesn't really do anything for me coz they'd probably say the same to anyone who walked in of the street with a guitar.

The best compliment or criticism I can get is from a respected fellow musician.. Now that really means something to me.

A good example of that was a year or so back when I was playing a gig. Suddenly the door of the club opens and in walks Mutter Slater from Stackridge.. He shouts up to me on stage.." Fuck Phil I can hear the music from the car park 200 yards down the road"..I was going to go over to have a drink at the 'Three Horsehoes pub', but I thought.. Hey that's old Phil playing, I'll go see what its all about and say hello to the old bugger".

He knew it was me from 200 yards away!!.. That to me was a compliment indeed.

Of course whether one knows it's you and they like what they hear is another story... But at least they know it's you..

[Phil47uk]

Originally Posted by Big_dawg

Best piece of advice Ive seen in ages...

Hi Big_Dawg. Thanks.

I posted the thread for people, not to hear me rant and pontificate on about what one should, or should not do regarding their guitar playing but merely to introduce those who are interested in music as a whole to a very well put together and narated documentary that they might not have been aware of. They are free to take from it what they will.

[Phil47uk]

Originally Posted by Adwex

Thank you Phil, I will watch all the videos, enthusiastically.

Hi Adwex. Yeah I thought the series was brilliant. The guy has got a great way of putting it across without making things too theoretical and boring.
And the great thing is that it's not just a stuffy old Classical music documentary. It covers all genres of music, so there is something in there for everyone. I love the way he talked about dissonance and how certain notes clashed, then looked at the opening few bars of Purple Haze.
He then went on to say that if you had played that a few hundred years ago people would have been horrified, as that sort of harmony was refered to as the Devils music.
In music, the interval of the diminished fifth, exactly half the octave, and considered in the Middle Ages to be the moral antithesis of the octave's perfect consonance, or ‘diabolus in musica’ (devil in music). Its prominence during the late 19th and early 20th centuries helped to undermine the remaining foundations of tonality, as in Debussy's Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune (1894).

[Phil47uk]

Originally Posted by sliding tom

As I have mentioned in another thread today: it's more important to be a musician whose instrument happens to be the guitar than to be a guitarist who happens to play music.

Very true. There are many out there these days who seem to be under the impression that music is some new kind of Olympic sport.. Lots of fancy tricks etc etc. Somehow along the way many have lost the plot completely. And that is true of not just guitar players, but also drummers and bass players.
Don't you find it funny that you don't seem to see many other instruments join in with the madness.. For instance when was the last time I heard an Obe player say.. " Hey I can play the Bb Harmonic minor scale in three octaves in 0.89 th of a second..
They would look at you as if you were completely insane.

[Phil47uk]

Originally Posted by Adwex

I have horrible technique, so I am certainly not obsessed with it. While the ability to play the instrument is impressive to me, I'm much more interested in WHAT I play, rather than HOW I play it.

I wouldn't worry about technique for techniques sake.. Can you move a person emotionally with your music?.. That's the real test and what matters.

[Adwex]

Originally Posted by Phil47uk

I wouldn't worry about technique for techniques sake.. Can you move a person emotionally with your music?.. That's the real test and what matters.

Agreed. Music is the language of emotion.

[fatb0t]

this is very enlightening, thank you

[Kapeji]

I am off for an Op on Friday (X4 Bypass) and have downloaded the whole lot onto my Ipod, this will make the days more interesting!

Cheers!

[sliding tom]

[QUOTE=Kapeji;607228]I am off for an Op on Friday (X4 Bypass) Cheers!/QUOTE]

Well, all the best to you then - may your Op turn out well.

[Phil47uk]

Originally Posted by fatb0t

this is very enlightening, thank you

I hope you enjoy it fatb0t..
Yeah, personaly I feel it's high time many guitarists got out of the little myopic box we have dug for ourselves over the years and looked at music in a much wider area.
The problem I have noticed with many is that they are fine with their pentatonic riffs and power chords, but haven't a clue when it comes to working with other musicians other than slap happy bassists and loud drummers.
As I said before though, there is nothing wrong with that, if that is what you want and where you want to remain, but this post is really for the more adventurous amongst us and those who may wish to try and carve out a career in the music biz, or simply broaden their perspective.

[Phil47uk]

Originally Posted by Kapeji

I am off for an Op on Friday (X4 Bypass) and have downloaded the whole lot onto my Ipod, this will make the days more interesting!

Cheers!

Best wishes for the op Kapeji..You'll be out and rockin in no time...
Let us all know when you are out..
Yeah, that lot will certainly keep you busy.

[Thickfreakness]

Thanks for the videos. I've been putting off learning theory for a long time and this is just the thing I needed.

[5F6-A]

bravo

[Kapeji]

There are also 5 more in the series on Bass, find them on Youtube

YouTube - How music works

Cheers Phil!

[Phil47uk]

The problem with things these days is that there are just so many 'So called experts ' haunting forums and, writing tab and generally trying get in on the act who know absolutely bugger all about music as a whole.. This is evident by how many replies to questions on forums re theory where all the poster has done is go to his or her favourite guitar site and paste and copy something someone else has already written and make it look like their own handywork.

Of course as well as that, many people just don't want to hear what you tell them.. They only want to hear a quick solution. The problem being is that quick solution usually only bogs them down even more.
I take no credit whatsoever for the links to those videos above. None of it was my handywork.. All I endevoured to do was to point people who get into a rut to something that actually makes sense for a change and is well narated and put together.

It's a pity that more people don't justs sit back and take in a series like 'How music works'. Look at music as a whole entity.. It's history..Where and how scales, melody, chords and rhythms evolved. How they are used and where they have gone and are going. They would be surprised at what they could learn.
Personally I don't bother in writing many replies to theory questions, for the simple reason that there are already a hundred and one people doing that already ( Some with good advice and some with a complete load of old waffle )

Some are probably put off by the fact that the series is not soley dedicated to a pointy headstock guitar and a pedal board. Others, that it's just too long winded for their concentration span. Once again, a pity because all music is related. The blues for instance.. Why those particular scales used are so effective. The history of field chants and holler's.. Call and response.. All a rich history of Afro American music..To understand where and why it evolved is to have an insight into the culture. Just learning a minor pentatonic scale and wailing away, is not what's it's all about. It's about phrasing.. Timing.. Rhythm and the passion of those particular peoples.

My old farts rant for the day...

[guitarEd]

nice rant Phil, you have a way of hitting the nail on the head...

ed