WholeNote.com Guitar Lessons

Modes Made Easy

Mark Friedman — Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

WholeNote Guitar Lesson Excerpt: "Modes Made Easy" by Mark Friedman

I am not going to tab out the rest of them, but i'm sure you can figure them out ...if not email me and I'll tab them out. I will continue the list though; F Lydian, G Mixolydian, A Aeolian, and B Locrian. So you've figured out how to play these modes in C but lets say we want to do it in the key of G Major. Well first spell out the G major scale; G A B C D E F# G. So an A Dorian would be a G major scale starting on A and ending on A. But what if you want to do it in reverse and say you wanted to play E mixolydian for instance. Well Mixolydian is the 5th mode so in what scale is E the 5th note? Just count back and sure enough its A Major. So to play E mixoldian play A major starting and ending on E. By now you're probably wondering well gee if i just play C major then how is it suppost to be sounding different and why is it a D Dorian ...geeze these modes are stupid ..well there are two things that will make them sound different. First is the chords you play them over...If you play a C major scale over a C major chord then sure enough it'll sound like C major ..however if you play C major over a D chord then it will sound different ..hence Dorian. The second thing that comes into play is the style and how you approach the scale ...if you play it and emphasize D as the bottom note then it will also contribute to the Dorian sound. Now below is basically going up and down changing after 4 measures from Major to Dorian. The chord in the groove will also change. I am writing this at my office so I cannot hear what I put in there so it may or may not demonstrate the change. In the next page I will just put up the goove which will allow for you're own experimentation.

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The DayDreamer

Rick Payman — Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

WholeNote Guitar Lesson Excerpt: "The DayDreamer" by Rick Payman

We all occasionally dream of being somewhere else, someone else, or with someone else.

This relaxing piece is played up the neck and makes use of open first and second strings.

The piece presented here consists of three sections which are duplicated on the following pages, for your convenience.

The whole or any part to be repeated at your discretion.

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Paganinis Perpetual Motion

Peppe Lahtinen — Sat, 18 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

WholeNote Guitar Lesson Excerpt: "Paganinis Perpetual Motion" by Peppe Lahtinen

Niccolo Paganini was a true master of violin and composer from the romantic-period. This melody (also known as "Moto Perpetuo") can be played fast or slow depending on your choice. Theoretically the melody is based on C major scale although it uses tones from D major scale in bars 8/17 and A harmonic minor scale (A minor is the relative minor of C major) in bar 16. This kind of scale changes very very typical in music of Paganinis era. I hope you find this piece enjoyable to play and practise. Good Playing!!!

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B MINOR TRIAD & ARPEGGIO POSITIONS

Charles Gacsi — Fri, 17 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

WholeNote Guitar Lesson Excerpt: "B MINOR TRIAD & ARPEGGIO POSITIONS" by Charles Gacsi

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What You Won't Do For Love

Robert Strait — Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

WholeNote Guitar Lesson Excerpt: "What You Won't Do For Love" by Robert Strait

Here is a quick chord-melody arrangment for the intro to Bobby Caldwell's "What I Wouldn't Do For Love". You can check out the related thread here.

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Minor Blues

Christopher Sung — Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

WholeNote Guitar Lesson Excerpt: "Minor Blues" by Christopher Sung

Jazz reharms of blues progressions in a minor key aren't too difficult to get a hold on. It uses the basic blues form, but minor chords are used instead of 7th ones. The other main difference is that it uses a bVI7-V7-I turnaround instead of a II-V-I. Thus, in measures 9-11, you'll see an Ab7-G7-Cm7, instead of the Dm7-G7-C7 that you'd see in a major blues.

Here's the full 12-bar form with a sample solo. In the following pages, we'll dissect the chord choices and scales used. For now, just get familiar with the form and sound.

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Follow those changes

PJ Labinski — Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

WholeNote Guitar Lesson Excerpt: "Follow those changes" by PJ Labinski

If you compare a dominant A chord to the A blues scale, you will see that the chord contains a maj 3rd (C#), while the scale has a min 3rd (C). This difference is one of the major factors in creating the "blues sound". A fresh approach is to use the major pentatonic scale over the I chord in a blues progression. Now lets apply this to a 12 bar progression...

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A Maj 16th Note 6-string Sweeping

Michael Mclaughlin — Mon, 13 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

WholeNote Guitar Lesson Excerpt: "A Maj 16th Note 6-string Sweeping" by Michael Mclaughlin

this is a six-string sweeping passage that I play when i'm warming up.When I play sweep arpeggios that like this one include sweeping across all six strings I use strickt up and down picking patterns(hence the term sweep picking)when the arpeggio is ascending from low to high use down stokes only I use the wieght of my hand to kind of drag the pick across all six strings and conversly when going back down from high to low use up strokes The way you angle the pick will help too when using down strokes(ascending) point the tip of the pick up a little so it's facing more towards the sealing and towards the floor when using up strokes(descending)one more quick tip in order to play sweeps cleanly you must mute the note after picking it to stop the notes bleeding into one another and then it would be chord not a true arpeggio.

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Giuliani - Op.50 No.23 In Am

Cen na — Sun, 12 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

WholeNote Guitar Lesson Excerpt: "Giuliani - Op.50 No.23 In Am" by Cen na

Have fun, and remember to send feedback if you find any mistakes :)

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Beginners Luck #2

Rick Payman — Sat, 11 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

WholeNote Guitar Lesson Excerpt: "Beginners Luck #2" by Rick Payman

Here's another example, this time with a 6/8?? feel.

Suggested right-hand fingering [ T=Thumb, 1=1st finger, 2=2nd finger, P=left hand pull-off ]

T 2 P 1 2 P T 2 P 1 2 P | ...

Until next time - Good Luck!

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