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Basic Music Theory

Hey fellow musicians… Ron Greene here,

There are a lot of decent basic music theory books, tapes etc. on the market these days, and many of them provide good technical content. However, most of the information in them seems to lack specific details that otherwise, really never get you to the point of playing your instrument.

For example, this free music theory publication does a good job of explaining Key Signatures and the history of music, yet, this subject might not interest you as much as getting your instrument out and actually getting down to the matter at hand… playing it! Continue reading Basic Music Theory →

Guitar Legend John McLaughlin Retires

Jazz-rock legacy of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, John McLaughlin (age 75 at the time of this blog post) is retiring from touring.

Many of us musicians have known John as an esoteric monster on the strings. His departure from mainstream songs to introspective nuance has been instrumental (no pun intended) in providing for insightful creative considerations of arpeggiated themes in playing styles.

The article below mentions some fun highlights of McLaughlin’s final performance in Los Angeles at UCLA’s Center for the Art of Performance at Royce Hall in December 2017.

Appreciations for John’s input in our wonderful world of music!

Jam On!
Ron

(credit given via: Richard S. Ginell released in sfcv.org)

Article December 12, 2017

“The 75-year-old English guitarist (now a resident of Monaco) has said that his The Meeting Of The Spirits tour would be his last in North America, and the concert at Royce — where he played way back in 1974 — was the last stop. Fellow guitar-slinger Jimmy Herring, one of the few McLaughlin acolytes capable of dueling mano-a-mano with the master, shared the bill…”

Read more about this John’s farewell tour here…

https://www.sfcv.org/reviews/none/guitar-legend-john-mclaughlin-retires-with-an-incendiary-farewell-concert

How to play great sounding guitar lead notes…

Using the Music Dial Chart Guitar Solo Scales Dial…

Good solo or lead playing is a form of personal expression. Feeling, tone, phrasing and technique are all used to create a personal style. The ultimate goal is to play solo melody or lead notes that sound great when played with the rhythm accompaniment chord progression and which enhance the overall feeling of the song.

Start your learning patterns with the 4 basic and popular scales, used to play lead guitar for all styles of music, including… rock, pop, country, blues, traditional, jazz etc.

These scales include… Major scale, Major Pentatonic scale, Relative Minor scale and, Relative Minor Pentatonic scale.

On the Guitar Solo Scales Dial, select one of the 4 scales, depending one the key and style of music you’re playing.

When using these patterns for Major or Major Pentatonic Key, emphasize the black notes on the Dial, which is the keynote or ‘tonic’ of the Major Scale.

For example, when playing songs in the Major Key of C, emphasize the black note, which is a ‘C’ note. When playing songs in the Relative Minor Key of Am, emphasize the black note, which is an ‘A’ note.

For ease of playing, first learn the pentatonic scale note patterns (black notes only on the Guitar Solo Music Dial). Then learn the major scales and relative minor scale note patterns (black & white notes).

With a little practice and experimentation, you’ll be able to hear and feel the different emphasis and sound when playing with the 4 different scale note patterns.

Playing Scales…

The first and last note of each scale is called the root note. The root note for major key scales is the black note on the Music Dial. The root note for minor key scales is also the black note.

To play each scale, locate the lowest root note on the lowest string. Play each scale note from the lowest to highest, ending with the octave higher root note.

Other Guitar Techniques…

Some of the techniques used in playing ‘hot’ solos include, string bending, hammering on, pulling off, sliding, vibrato, two hand tapping, harmonics, tone, distortion, sustain, etc.

Some of the approaches to improvising solos include, using scales notes to play the melody, using scales notes to play a solo different from the melody, using scales notes or chord notes to play repetitive riffs, using chord notes to play chord arpeggios for each chord in the chord progression… etc.

Enjoy exercising your individual artistic expression!

Jam On…
-Ron

Tips on Earning Money in the Music Industry…

As a musician, you’ve no doubt given the thought that one day you can take your playing, singing and/or songwriting skills and make-it in the music biz, while earning a decent living doing so. Any insights along this path can be helpful and you’ll discover in this article a nice checklist of items to incorporate into your music career resolve.
Jam On!
-Ron

(By Bobby Borg on Sonicbids Blog – also shared on hypebot.com)

There are literally hundreds of tips on making it in the music business, and we all know how overwhelming that can be. If you’re wondering which ones you should try to integrate into your daily life starting today, these 15 basic guidelines…

NY Subway Musicians Play Together via the Internet…

We’re getting closer (it depends on location these days) as musicians at being able to co-collaborate via the Internet and jam live together. The idea kinda emerged many years ago when lead guitarist, Jeff Skunk” Baxter with Steely Dan, created one of the first ways to gig with other musicians in different locations, all at once.

In this article…
An online video by director Chris Shimojima and producer Anita Anthonj set each performer up with a computer that connected them to the composer Ljova, who directed them from Bryant Park. Though there were many connection issues, the musicians were able to work through it and perform an original piece together from the different locations.

Jam On!
-Ron

As one of the NY street artist mentioned…
“I could see the composer was not matching up with music in my headphones,” she said. “I decided to go by ear and not the visual.”

Learn (w/video) more about this interesting experiment here:
https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-musicians-collaborate-subway-stations-article-1.1996403

Listening to Vinyl Records/Albums…

Here’s a curious follow-up to the original vinyl age of dics. Vitaphone offered something stranger than time travel… They pulled back the screen from another dimension.
In this video (and further reference hereof) you’ll discover some very interesting facts about getting the best sound out of your Vinyl listening pleasure.
Jam On!
-Ron

(credit to: Seth Winner, via: Bob Kosovsky)

Vitaphone was a sound film system used for feature films and nearly 1,000 short subjects made by Warner Bros. and its sister studio First National from 1926 to 1931. Vitaphone was the last major analog sound-on-disc system and the only one which was widely used and commercially successful.

The name “Vitaphone” derived from the Latin and Greek words, respectively, for “living” and “sound”.
via Widipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitaphone

In Memory of the Passing of Musicians in 2013

The passing of musicians in 2013…

NPR just released a nice montage and dedication of the passage of this planet’s wonderful musicians, departed this past year…
Jam On!
-Ron

NPR Music remembers the musicians, composers, producers and other visionaries whom we lost in 2013. Explore their musical legacies…

See the dedication here -> https://apps.npr.org/music-memoriam-2013/

Saxophonists, Clarinetists and other Wind-Instrument players, Beware…

‘Saxophonist Lung’ can afflict wind-instrument players…

Wow, this is quite interesting (subj.)… Wind instrument players please keep your reeds and mouth-pieces very clean. You could be affected by this ailment. If you blow with a reed (or any wind band instrument) this short article may be very beneficial reading…
Jam On!
-Ron

(By Marc Lallanilla, Assistant Editor – via lifescience.com)
A man in Atlanta had been diagnosed with a severe case of saxophone lung. Though the name of the condition seems odd, it’s quite appropriate, since saxophonists, clarinetists and other wind-instrument players are among those who contract the illness most often…

More on this peculiar ailment here…
https://www.livescience.com/41057-what-is-saxophone-lung-hypersensitivity-pneumonitis.html

The history of the Hammond Organ…

the Hammond Organ

The history of the Hammond Organ goes beyond the iconic double level keyboard… Hammond patented over 100 product ideas, including… (in 1922) 3D movies and a few years later he was first to market the electric clock!

Ironically, the syncronistic motor in the clock contributed to his insights in the development of the Hammond Organ (in the 1930s). An interesting note is the fact that Lawrence Hammond was never a musician and never thought a musical instrument was in his future.

Of course, the B3-Hammond went on to become the most classic ‘jam Organ’ of all times with the help of Jimmy Smith’s Jazz electric keyboard intro… Then rock opened the doors even further.

And… the history of Hammond, well… here’s the ‘History!’

I especially love the part about how Hammond was able to use the word ‘Organ’, whereby before, the word was reserved for pipe organ manufacurers only. Also includes the first lady of the Hammond and the most interesting, early conflicts with Hammonds important counterpart, the Leslie speaker enclosure… Wow!
Ron-

Further citations for your reference…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hammond_organ
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leslie_speaker

The Bad Plus finding jazz in Stravinsky’s ‘The Rite of Spring’…

the Bad Plus

I just knew that someday a (capable) Jazz group would render a Classical movement justice. In this instance… the Bad Plus has taken it upon themselves to really encapsulate the works of Stravinsky. Now, there are a lot of considerations when taken-on a task of this magnitude.
For instance: the very thought that a modern-day acoustic Jazz trio could even approach the powerful scores of Stravinsky’s orchestral may seem a tad silly, until you consider how interestingly enough the composer’s other works sound in similarly to existing sounds of the Bad Plus’ 3-piece jams.
Ron-

Listen to the entire movement of Stravinsky’s ‘Rite of Spring’ by the Bad Plus here ->
https://youtu.be/DdE49jdfn6Y

AND… read an in depth review in Chicago Tribune
( by: Howard Reich October 22, 2013)
“Stravinsky’s orchestral score – with its convulsing rhythms and shattering dissonances – will be delivered by the bare-bones instrumentation of Ethan Iverson’s piano, Dave King’s drums and Reid Anderson’s bass. While they’re trying to capture the savage intensity of Stravinsky’s original, a series of abstract videos will play on two screens, just as an orchestra 100 years ago accompanied members of Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes during that notorious premiere of Vaslav Nijinsky’s provocative choreography…”
Read article in its entirety here ->
https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/chi-jazz-stravinsky-reich-20131023,0,4995862.column