Hey Kristian, if you don't mind me asking what kind of scales do you tend to use? I am trying to get into transcription, and as I have little experience with it I need a good starting point.
Scales
- Thread starter Thor Arise
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That's what I got an epiphone special. That guitar is the shit. For a cheap guitar it sounds good as hell.
Mine isn't a special, it's a studio, but my girlfriend has a special and yeah, for that price it's amazing. Nothing tops my explorer though!
Kristian Niemann
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Hello there!
It depends on the song but I mainly use:
- the major scale and it´s modes
- harmonic minor (basically only the 1st and 5th mode which is sometimes called Phrygian Dominant)
- the pentatonic/blues scale.
I´ve sometimes used the whole-tone and chromatic scales for certain "out"-sounding phrases but in general I stick to the ones above.
One more cool, odd scale is this one (I dunno the name): 1 2 b3 b5 5 b6. Becker and Friedman used it quite a lot for that Japanese sound. I like that one too.
Cheerzzzzzly!
/kristian
It depends on the song but I mainly use:
- the major scale and it´s modes
- harmonic minor (basically only the 1st and 5th mode which is sometimes called Phrygian Dominant)
- the pentatonic/blues scale.
I´ve sometimes used the whole-tone and chromatic scales for certain "out"-sounding phrases but in general I stick to the ones above.
One more cool, odd scale is this one (I dunno the name): 1 2 b3 b5 5 b6. Becker and Friedman used it quite a lot for that Japanese sound. I like that one too.
Cheerzzzzzly!
/kristian
Jacob Kjær
has been in you.
Thanks Kristian! I guess I had better get to work on my modes, I only know Ionian, Aeolian, and Phrygian, plus one position of the Harmonic Minor.
Also Jakob: I will have to check that out, sounds pretty cool.
Also Jakob: I will have to check that out, sounds pretty cool.
Kristian Niemann
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No probs.
Learn the 7 3-notes/string positions of the major scale and also learn where the strong notes (ie the chord tones) are for each sound/mode.
For example: If you play over a C major chord you use the C major scale right? If you know all those 7 positions you can wail all over the neck in C major and your strong, "good" notes are gonna be C E G (the chord tones of a C major chord). Those are the notes you may want to target at key points in your solo; on strong beats and/or chord changes for instance (...meaning when the chord changes TO a C major of course!)
Now if you play over a G7 chord youre gonna play G Mixolydian, which has the exact same notes as C major and you can use those same shapes, only now the strong notes are gonna be G B D F (yep you guessed it...the notes of a G7 chord) and you target those notes.
This kind of thinking will make your playing sound a lot more convincing, especially if you play over progressions with more than 1- 2 chords in them, rather than just running scales all over the place.
And remember to throw in some greasy blueslicks as well, they ALWAYS sound great!
Learn the 7 3-notes/string positions of the major scale and also learn where the strong notes (ie the chord tones) are for each sound/mode.
For example: If you play over a C major chord you use the C major scale right? If you know all those 7 positions you can wail all over the neck in C major and your strong, "good" notes are gonna be C E G (the chord tones of a C major chord). Those are the notes you may want to target at key points in your solo; on strong beats and/or chord changes for instance (...meaning when the chord changes TO a C major of course!)
Now if you play over a G7 chord youre gonna play G Mixolydian, which has the exact same notes as C major and you can use those same shapes, only now the strong notes are gonna be G B D F (yep you guessed it...the notes of a G7 chord) and you target those notes.
This kind of thinking will make your playing sound a lot more convincing, especially if you play over progressions with more than 1- 2 chords in them, rather than just running scales all over the place.
And remember to throw in some greasy blueslicks as well, they ALWAYS sound great!
Jacob Kjær
has been in you.
Amen! Allow me to examplify this with some Paul Gilbert. He can hardly ever help throwing the same 8 bluesy sounding notes on the high strings.
For example, forn A minor pentatonic looks like this in 5th position:
Code:
e 0 0
B 0 0
G 0 0
D 0 0
A 0 0
E 0 0
- 5678He would play the following notes:
Code:
e 0 00
B 0 00
G 0 00
D
A
E
- 5678After you learn the sound of that one, you will notice that he does it ALL the time. Two examples:
Lick using that shape
Terribly fucking good solo using the shape at 2:10. In F minor I think, not sure. I tabbed that one by the way, it's a great exercise. Anyone got tabs for the string skipping lick right after? I've tried to tab it at least 5 times now
. (I'm looking at you Kristian )Once again thank you guys, I really appreciate it. Paul Gilbert is one of my favorite guitarists (alongside Kristian, Alexi Laiho, and Chuck Schuldiner), and now that you mention it I do hear that in a lot of his music.
Edit: Also, Kristian, would it be counter-productive for me to learn my modes, notes, etc in c# standard? Should I just learn them as if it were in standard or should I actually tune back up to it and learn them then?
Sorry about all the questions!
Have you looked at Ultimate Guitar? They might have a tab for it.
Edit: Also, Kristian, would it be counter-productive for me to learn my modes, notes, etc in c# standard? Should I just learn them as if it were in standard or should I actually tune back up to it and learn them then?
Sorry about all the questions!
Jacob Kjær
has been in you.
Kristian Niemann
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Well, if youre just practicing the physical patterns it doesnt matter which tuning youre in, the patterns are what they are.
But if I were you, Id work it all out in standard E tuning and then when you play in C# just remember everything is located 3 frets higher, i.e. the low G is not on the 3rd fret anymore - it on fret no. 6. But you knew that already!
But if I were you, Id work it all out in standard E tuning and then when you play in C# just remember everything is located 3 frets higher, i.e. the low G is not on the 3rd fret anymore - it on fret no. 6. But you knew that already!
Kristian Niemann
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Here you can probably find every lick Gilbert´s ever played.
http://www.racerxband.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=11606
http://www.racerxband.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=11606
Hey Kristian, any idea why some of your posts on megatherion cut off? I found a thread on your playing style but your replies cut off so I wasn't able to read them.
http://www.megatherion.com/forum/index.php/topic,136.0.html
Also, thanks for that PG link!
Edit: ^ You're probably starting to get kind of annoyed lol so this will be my last question ^
http://www.megatherion.com/forum/index.php/topic,136.0.html
Also, thanks for that PG link!
Edit: ^ You're probably starting to get kind of annoyed lol so this will be my last question ^
Kristian Niemann
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Nah man, keep those questions coming. Thats why Im here!
And to answer the question: I have no idea why those posts got screwed up. Perhaps because Therions webmaster is a moron? ;-D
And to answer the question: I have no idea why those posts got screwed up. Perhaps because Therions webmaster is a moron? ;-D
Jacob Kjær
has been in you.
Whoa, very nice resource. Some really bad tabs in between, though. Karn Evil 9 for example :Smug:
Definitely gotta practice the tapping-version of GOOMY, will be killer for opening small gigs
Kristian Niemann
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Speaking of Gilbert and GOOMY...have you seen this little guy?
Un-fucking-real.
Un-fucking-real.
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ah yes, me in my younger days. :Smug:
But in all seriousness.........Holy Shit that kid is insane I wish I could play that well
Lol, well thanks for putting up with all my inquiries, I'm sure I'll have more questions down the road. It's a shame I don't live in Sweden, I would kill to have the honor of taking lessons from you
Oh I do have a totally off topic question...do you know if it is possible to change your username? Because I am really dissatisfied with mine lol everything was taken so I just typed something in
Edit: Lol...ok time to pester you with more guitar/music questions-as far as transcription goes, is it just as helpful to improvise over a song? For example, I will sit and solo over a Therion song by mimicking the main guitar line (or vocal melody) and adding a few parts to it, using some techniques, etc...
Another Edit: Also, if you don't mind, kind of a personal question. I read that you started at 17, which really encouraged me because I felt as if I would never be able to make it starting at 16, much less be ready to attend berklee once I graduate (you went to MI, correct? would it be better for me to head over to the west coast and go there?) Also, how many hours a day did you spend playing on average?
Ok that should be all the questions I have for the time being.......sorry I know it's a lot lol thanks for everything.
But in all seriousness.........Holy Shit that kid is insane I wish I could play that well
Lol, well thanks for putting up with all my inquiries, I'm sure I'll have more questions down the road. It's a shame I don't live in Sweden, I would kill to have the honor of taking lessons from you
Oh I do have a totally off topic question...do you know if it is possible to change your username? Because I am really dissatisfied with mine lol everything was taken so I just typed something in
Edit: Lol...ok time to pester you with more guitar/music questions-as far as transcription goes, is it just as helpful to improvise over a song? For example, I will sit and solo over a Therion song by mimicking the main guitar line (or vocal melody) and adding a few parts to it, using some techniques, etc...
Another Edit: Also, if you don't mind, kind of a personal question. I read that you started at 17, which really encouraged me because I felt as if I would never be able to make it starting at 16, much less be ready to attend berklee once I graduate (you went to MI, correct? would it be better for me to head over to the west coast and go there?) Also, how many hours a day did you spend playing on average?
Ok that should be all the questions I have for the time being.......sorry I know it's a lot lol thanks for everything.
Kristian Niemann
Member
- Jul 30, 2007
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Oh I do have a totally off topic question...do you know if it is possible to change your username? Because I am really dissatisfied with mine lol everything was taken so I just typed something in
Try mail@ultimatemetal.com. They can probably help you out.
Both transcribing and improvising are extremely important so you should do as much as you can of both. If I would design a practice routine, at least 25% of the time would be spent on transcribing and learning licks/solos/songs etc etc, and I´d spend the same amount of time or more on improvising USING the stuff you´ve transcribed.
It depends on what you want to learn; styles etc. MI is pretty "loose" with the curriculum (meaning that if you have a solid grounding in theory, reading music, technique, scales/arps etc BEFORE you go to the school you can easily just breeze through the classes and focus on the real fun stuff which is playing) as the school is more geared towards performance rather than academic studies.
I have no idea how Berklee is but it seems to be a more "serious" school.
What and why do you want to study at these places?
As much as possible really. In the beginning around 16 hrs a day, then 10 as I got older and had other shit to do, then 8, 6, 4, 2.....now Im back up a little to 3 hrs a day. Any less than that I start to suck real bad.
Jacob Kjær
has been in you.
That is very rude. He is a very skilled, hard working guy, and he does most of it for a fraction of the usual cost. Don't even suggest that he might be a moron, it is very offensive.
Kristian Niemann
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Perhaps you didn´t see the ;-D symbol?
But designing a webpage for a band FOR PROMOTIONAL PURPOSES that only maybe 10% of the population can access is kinda moronic. Sorry.
But designing a webpage for a band FOR PROMOTIONAL PURPOSES that only maybe 10% of the population can access is kinda moronic. Sorry.
