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Al, maybe my videos of the blues heads might help:
Mickey Baker Jazz Guitar | Rob MacKillop ~ Musician
They are more swing blues than Muddy Waters blues. They follow standard blues chord progressions very closely.
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07-01-2014 08:44 AM
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That 'blues solo' is one of my favorite things in Mickey's book. It took me awhile to get under my fingers, but I've been known to use it as an set-piece intro to a tune.
About runs. He lists several in the book. Pages of them. Just pick one that suits the chord in the blank spot and play it, see what you think. At this stage, it's not necessary to know what makes a run a run or why a particular run works the way it does---just play them. Over and over. You'll develop a feel for your favorites (and a grudging respect for those you don't love but come to realize have their good points...)
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Rob,
Excellent stuff and it's funny how a piece always sounds different when someone else is strumming it. Lesson 36 has been my bugaboo for the past two weeks. The timing is killing me but it's coming along.
Thanks for taking the time to work thru the lessons. It is truly a bonus.
All the best and cheers,
AL B.
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I've been playing that song lately for my mom. (She can't get out anymore, so I give her a weekly concert. Gives her something to look forward to and keeps me learning new--to me--songs!) "Dock" is, as you say, simple but effective. It isn't a happy song but it's hard to play / sing it and not feel good. A lot of that has to do with the groove, I think. Lulls you in like ocean...
Originally Posted by Rob MacKillop
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Sitting on the dock of the bay is a great song for teaching students about parallel harmony. It's in G Major, which is made up of the chords G, Am, Bm, C, D, Em, Fsharp dim. But all the minor chords are turned into Major chords, each time giving a little lift to the song.
Try playing it in "proper" G Major, and then as written with the minor chords changed to Major - quite a difference!
For those who don't know the chords:
G / B / C / A x2
G / E x2
Strum those chords while singing the tune. Then do it again with the B, A and E chords all minor.
Its a classic.
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Hey, Rob, when you play it, do you strum the walk-down from C to A? (C B Bb A, which goes along "sittin' when the evening comes".) I'm sure you do but someone just strumming might assume that's the bass player's part, but if there's no bass player.... Originally Posted by Rob MacKillop
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Yes, I just strum each chromatic chord, all majors of course. Though I can sometimes be lazy and just imagine it ;-)
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Ha! Yeah, I know what you mean. Originally Posted by Rob MacKillop
Curiously, as easy as it is to strum those chromatic chords, if you're not paying attention to the groove and either rush or drag 'em, it makes the boat crash right into the dock!
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Hahaha. Good analogy.
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You play that so well, Rob. I actually prefer the slower version, though I know Mickey wrote it to "bounce." Originally Posted by Rob MacKillop
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I know what you mean, Mark. It works at a number of tempos.
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Hi fellow musicians..I've been playing guitar for quite a while and 1st became aware of Mickey's book many years ago but didn't really start start studying it systematicly untill this year and my playing has improved exponentially since..I highly recommend doing it the way he says in the book..2 hours a day no excuses..if you are working somewhere 12 hours a day rethink your priorities as you stll have time..also I started in January just to keep my head right..it's all connected to time.
Mike and Rob's info is the best..I studied classical guitar at university for 4 years with an instructor who never picked up a guitar and played just handed out lessons and sold me an expensive instrument which didn't help much.
To the people who don't get him please remember he was a top session player...self taught intellectual born into poverty..also a southerner and a new york hipster..just try reading his minimal commentary and listen..in his day the guitar was a rhythm instrument..most of what he recorded was buried in the mix...you have to listen..try listening to his french recordings.
There is a lot of room for personal expression in the course..he doesn't really say much about rhythm for example..try learning the exercises on an acoustic guitar with a pickup at low volume sitting (or standing) near your amp facing it and listening to your modulating harmonics and establish a beat..a metronome helps..play slow..concentrate on accuracy and speed will come naturally..double the beat when you are ready..get rid of your electronic tuner and use a tuning fork...I found playing with my fingers instead of a pick helpfully as I could emphasize specific notes in the chords and create different colors..however the alternate picking techniques he teaches are important too...it seemed to me to be the key to creating the staccato effect in R@B that was missing in my playing..up/down.
There's a pdf file in a previous post listing typos..personally i've found locating the highest and lowest note in an exercise 1st helps working out fingering..so does adding notes w/pencil in the book.
I'm starting book II in January..then repeat in July..wish me luck.
There are a billion starving children in the world..get your priorities straight.Last edited by lonepilgrim; 11-19-2014 at 01:02 PM. Reason: typos
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lonepilgrim,
Same boat here. Let me know how you do in lesson 37. I struggle to come up with the fill-ins. I have a hard time hearing the flow of Mickey's tune. At times it sounds like a sentence spoken with the last word or two dropped off.
Just me I guess but at times I have a hard time hearing it as "Blues" as titled.
Al B.
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So if I download this tef pad for android, will Michaels files open on my iPad?
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Question , on lesson 3 line 1 , should the Gdim chord be a G#dim , I'm asking because of the talk about mistakes in the book and because I'm more familiar with G G# Am chord movement , thanks and happy thanksgiving .
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That's what I assumed.
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Thank you, I know it seems basic , but as with many things people here stress a solid understanding of the fundamentals .
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Hi,
I am also struggling with the chord substitutions from lesson 3. Can somebody point me out to the right direction in order to better understand the substitutions that MB did in that lesson? Or maybe a good book on that topic?
Cheers and merry christmas,
p4chuss2
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Here's my interpretation of Lesson 3 subs...
There are 4 systems of 2 staves each. The 1st stave in System 1 has a possible mistake. The Gdim in bar 4 should most likely be G#dim7, which is a common way to step from G major to Aminor. But whether it is a mistake or not doesn't really matter...
What is important is to think of DESTINATION CHORDS. In the above example, we go from G Major in bar 3 to A minor in bar 5. The "Standard" way gets there via Gdim or G#dim7. The "New" way gets there by taking the destination chord of Am7 and sliding down into it from two frets above.
This is actually not uncommon. For example, in a three-chord traditional Blues in G I could approach the C7 or C9 chord by sliding into it from either one fret above or two frets:
G7 (four beats or strums) / C7
becomes
G7 for three beats, then D7 for half a beat, Db7 for half a beat/ C7
So if you try to compare the notes of G#dim7 with Bm7 and Bbm7, you might get a little or mightily confused. Ignore that, and instead look at the "harmonic flow", where the main chords are, and the different ways of arriving at them.
When it comes to sliding into a chord from one or two frets above, use the same shape of the destination chord.
OK, that's what is happening in bar 4.
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Now let's look at bar 6 going into 7.
The Standard stave has D7 going to G, that is V7 to I in the key of G.
The New stave has Am7 followed by D13b5b9. All Mickey has done is put a ii chord (Am7) in front of the V chord, giving a ii/V/I cadence, the most common chord sequence in jazz. Whenever you see a V7 chord, you could place a ii chord before it - in most instances.
The D13b5b9 is just an altered dominant chord. All chords can be altered, the dominant (V) chord usually more than most. All those alterations are dissonant, and beg to get resolved when we reach the I chord. That gives a sense of movement, of tension and release.
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3rd System, bar 2.
Here Mickey subs a bar of E7 with Bm7 and Bm6. This is another very common sub, but the names of the chords are a bit misleading. Lets compare the notes of E7 with those of Bm6:
E G# B D
B D F# Ab
Ab = G# Therefore both chords have three notes the same: B D G#. We could call this a rootless E7 - all the notes of E7 are there, except the root, E. It could also be called Bm6 without the 5th (F#). So, in effect, Bm6 and E7 are (to a degree) interchangeable.
So if we rewrite this New bar to Bm7 E7 - we have another ii/V cadence.
The same sub happens in the 4th system, bar 1, and elsewhere.
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I hope that clears up any confusion?
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Hi Rob. I really appreciate your kind answer. Many many thanks
. It absolutely clarified! Very kind and clear explanation. Many thanks and Merry Christmas! Regards, p4chuss2
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I'm so happy to find this thread. I bought this book about a decade ago with the intention of learning to play some jazz. I think I made it through lesson 6 before my rock band got so busy it ate all my practice time. Ding, round #2. I'm starting again, fresh, and after a couple days I'm comfy playing through lesson 2. Onward and upward! I don't think I'll get pushed off the trail this time. Really happy to find this forum and this thread.
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When I'm transposing chord progressions from G to Bb, in lesson 5, is it okay if I'm picturing the fretboard or do I need to know and memorize for example that C transposes to Eb?
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I'd say both help.
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When I was faced with transposing I would immediately think of either 1) The standard music stave, picture G, picture Bflat, and then say ok I can count up 1 + 1/2 tones - so that's the transposition I'm doing. 2) Imagine a keyboard, again picture G and Bflat and count up the same.
Then I realised I was missing a trick, I desire to play guitar not piano, why am I not visualising the fretboard?
That would help me orientate myself, especially if I chose a different string to visualise each time - and the more you do it the easier it becomes.
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I don't have that book so I can't see the progression, but for me the easiest way of transposing is doing it by using the number system.....degrees of the scale. So in my head a progression like Bm7, E7#9, Am7, D7b9 automatically becomes a variation of iii-VI-ii-V so when adding extensions becomes Dm7, G7#9, Cm7, F7b9. Originally Posted by jtpal25
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