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Good to see so many up and running with this.
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01-30-2017 10:19 AM
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Is that cool or what?
(I posted this in the "Comping, Chords and Chord Progressions" forum; perhaps some who see the video there will join us here. Wouldn't it be nice?)Last edited by MarkRhodes; 01-30-2017 at 11:02 AM.
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Way cool! What a nice guy to do this!
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Basics 2
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Not sure if there's any interest in this group of watching these takes on pedal steel or not. So, if I get a few 'Likes' on the videos, I'll keep posting them here. Otherwise, I'll spare you and just post them over at the Steel Guitar Forum. Don't worry, I won't be offended if you don't 'Like' them; I know it's not your instrument...
Meanwhile, here's Basic-3 in Bb...
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Originally Posted by jasaco
I'm a bottleneck slide player myself and dabble a bit in lap steel. I have one six-string lapsteel tuned to C6. Did you use the pedals and levers much?
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Originally Posted by TOMMO
Some of the occasional hesitation you'll see/hear in my playing of the exercises comes from my brain trying to make a very quick decision of whether to change frets or use a pedal or knee lever, since there are so many different ways to play them on a pedal steel and I haven't yet built up a strong muscle-memory around one way.
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Originally Posted by jasaco
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Originally Posted by hats
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I think it would be a good idea for us to chat about these exercises and not just play them, lest we (read, "I") end up doing so mindlessly. So, I went back to take another look at them on paper, analytically, and what I see is:
- All of the first 3 exercises consist basically of guide tone lines, i.e., leaning heavily on the 3rds and 7ths, with some use of roots and 5ths and not much else.
- In Basic-1, the bridge consists of 3 chromatic walk-ups from the 3rd to the 5th of each of the first 3 chords (E7, A7, D7).
- There are some very occasional 7b9 chords included. When I studied with Jimmy Bruno, one of his pet peeves was that people would write a chord with the color tone or extension as part of the name of the chord (e.g. G7b9), instead of writing it as a simple 7th chord, over which you happen to be playing the b9 tone. I think his argument is that, if it is written into the chart, then you damn well better play that accidental every time, whereas, if it's left off, then the soloist (and the comper) is at liberty to add spice whenever and however they wish. Makes sense to me. But I guess Frank is here just pointing out that when you do play that b9 tone over the 7th chord, it creates a 7b9 chord. Ok, fair enough. Don't need to make a federal case out of it...
- Looking ahead, it looks like Basic-4 will introduce a number of new concepts and tones. For starters, it converts the bridge from all Dom7ths to a sequence of iim7/V7s, introduces use of an augmented 5th, and leans more heavily on 7b9 chords throughout the 'A' sections (almost every other chord is a 7b9). He uses them where in Basic-3, he previously used a Dim7 chord. For example, in Basic-3, second chord of the 1st bar is #Idim (i.e., Bdim BDFAb); in Basic-4, that has been changed to a VI7b9 (i.e., G7b9 GBDFAb) - almost identical except that the G7b9 is rootless, no G. So, if the bassist decides to play a G, it will sound like VI7b9; if s/he plays a B, it will sound like Bdim. Either way, it should sound good. But one implication for soloing is that you can use any diminished lines you've learned, or think up on the spot, over a 7b9 chord EXCEPT for the root! Conversely, over the dim7 chord, you can play any dom7th arps or runs based on the tone a M3 below the root (so for Bdim, root is B, go a M3 lower and get G; use G7 lines). Seems like we ought to finish Basic-4 with a real good sense of the 7b9 and #5 sounds in our ears, plus the interchangeability of dim7 and 7b9 chords. Addendum: I just spotted that he also introduces the tritone sub in the chord changes. In bar 9, at the start of the second statement of the 'A' section, he replaces the VI7b9 (G7b9) with biiim7 (Dbm7), which will descend chromatically a half step to the iim7 (Cm7) chord.
Any other observations from the rest of y'all playing this game?
Cheers,
jasacoLast edited by jasaco; 01-31-2017 at 11:14 PM.
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I'm very interested in this topic - is this the book you are working from and does the audio include backing tracks or just recordings of the examples/etudes?
Frank Vignola's Complete Rhythm Changes Play-Along for Guitar eBook+Online Audio - Mel Bay Publications, Inc. : Mel Bay
Will
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Originally Posted by WillMbCdn5
For the first few, I made my own Band in a Box tracks, which I'm happy to email to anyone who has BIAB and would like them. I think someone else in the group has offered to share iReal Book tracks. Worst case scenario, I could export my BIAB track as an mp3 and email you that, if you need something to play against.
Either way, yes! Do join us!Last edited by jasaco; 01-31-2017 at 11:46 PM.
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I use the tracks that came with the book but I also use iRealBook and make my own backing tracks with Frank's Chord Progressions.
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It seems to me that there are a few major differences between Basics 1 and Basics 2.
First, Basics 1 has much more movement than Basics 2.
The first 8 bars of Basics 1 are : C A D G C A D G C Bb A Ab C
The first 8 bars of Basics 2 are : G G A Ab G G A B C C C C C
Secondly, the Bridges are very different. Basics 1 moves up steadily, whereas Basics 2 features arpeggios.
I think that Frank's point is that there are different ways to approach what is basically the same chord progression.
There's my 2 cents
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Recorded number 3 and then realized I hadn't recorded number 2, so these were back to back.
Sitting nearer the boombox this time but the backing track (the CD that came with the book) is scarcely audible. I've got two more 'basics' to use as experiments in where I sit and where the camera goes. Maybe by the time we get to the etudes, I'll have worked out the kinks.
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Basics-4
(I think I may have hit one wrong note toward the of the first chorus but I think I redeemed myself in the 2nd chorus )
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... and the Pedal Steel version of Basics-4
(As in the guitar version, I think one 3-note phrase may be a tad off toward the end...at least I'm consistent! )
I feel a little like Ginger Rogers who once told Fred Astaire, "I have to do everything you do, only backwards - and in heels!" LOL!
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Hi - I'm quite late. Haven't recorded in quite a long time, and never a video clip with this camera so I had to sort out some quirks first. Sorry for the boomy bass - I'll have to work on that for the next clip). So here's my shaky take on Basics 1 (more like a test drive for the camera....LOL!):
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I must say that doing these exercises is also really helping my reading skills on guitar since I never look at the tablature. So I'm meeting two of my objectives simultaneously with these exercises.
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Book arrived, so I better get moving and try and keep up...
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Basic No. 2
Struggling to keep up!
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Here's Basics 2:
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Here is the last of the 'Basics' exercises (Yay!), #5.
As you'll see, I've also decided to get more out of each exercise by singing along with it (during the second chorus), to connect the dots on the page with the fingering and with my ear and the sound in my head. I think this will be of great value to me. YMMV, but I doubt it!
A word of caution. There is a typo in the chart which shows the 2nd chord as Bbdim, when it really should be Bdim, just as in the previous exercises.
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Originally Posted by jasaco
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Another quote by Herb Ellis: "If you can't sing it it ain't worth playing!"
Mention that to a shredder.....
More typos ahead.....
1979 L5 CES - Sweden ~$7k
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