Need to turn a new leaf....crap! its a heavy leaf!

[maddog]

Re: Need to turn a new leaf....crap! its a heavy l

Well all Im saying is that, everybody from Steve Vai to George Benson to Michael Romeo use scales and arpeggios for improvising. Feelings etc can help to inspire your creativity. But a solid grasp of music theory will let you understand why these "shapes" work. Most importantly it will help you communicate with other musicians!

[shredmonster]

Re: Need to turn a new leaf....crap! its a heavy l

There is no substitute for knowing theory and scales. You can let go once you learn them but a musician that does not know them sounds like it.

[Ace]

Re: Need to turn a new leaf....crap! its a heavy l

I know my way around the fretboard well enough, but when I improvise I don't think in terms of scales and arpeggios. Or at least I try not to. Sure, I can run the melodic minor as fast as just about anyone I know, but when I'm writing music I avoid it like the plague. I set the theory aside until it IS time to go to the bass player and drummer and explain what I've done. I don't even count in my head when I play. I just do it. Some of my riffs have come up in REALLY weird time signatures(decimals) and we've modified them to work better in the scope of playing with a band. But when it comes time to write the new song, it's an emotion, a guitar and my soul. Not a chart, a metronome and a structure.

[xenophobe]

Re: Need to turn a new leaf....crap! its a heavy l

Yes, well that's how patterns work with technical death... a lot of times they follow theory, and a lot of times they stray far away from it.

[AlexL]

Re: Need to turn a new leaf....crap! its a heavy l

[ QUOTE ]
...But a solid grasp of music theory will let you understand why these "shapes" work. Most importantly it will help you communicate with other musicians!

[/ QUOTE ]

Hear hear. I have a buddy who is a natural musician, and basically tells me I am wasting my time learning scales, modes and such. But it really does help to quickly communicate ideas when everyone in the room understands what a Dorian mode is or what an augmented fourth is.

The other thing for me is that I really enjoy learning music theory. I find it interesting, especially when it comes to "breaking rules" with chord substitutions and so on.

I respect your abstract ideas about composition Ace, and you are probably a better guitarist than I am. However, I can't help but chuckle to think about the conversations you must have with other musicians when playing them your original material:

Bassist: "Hey, man, that was a cool run; what was that?"
Ace: "My zip code!" [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

No disrespect intended, bro - it's all good.


- E.

[Ace]

Re: Need to turn a new leaf....crap! its a heavy l

None taken. There's a million approaches to writing music. If everyone did it the same, how fun would that be? Whatever tools you use, it's all about getting what's in your heart out into other people's ears and hearts.

[maddog]

Re: Need to turn a new leaf....crap! its a heavy l

...and having fun!!

[KevinDguitar]

Re: Need to turn a new leaf....crap! its a heavy l

Here's my take on things...Knowing scales/modes and various chord voicings is like adding to your vocabulary. Hopefully none of us express ourselves now the same way we did when we were say, five years old. The older you get, the more expansive your vocabulary becomes and the better you are at expressing your ideas and conveying your emotions to others. Do you use every word you know in every conversation you have? Of course not, but they are there at your disposal, if needed, cataloged away inside your mind.
In the beginning when a player learns a new scale, usually for a while we tend to just run up and down that scale really fast because its a new trick/toy and then things may start to sound too mechanical.
Say you learn a new scale/mode...figure out a boxed/cage pattern for it with a sixth string root and a fifth string root and maybe then learn how to use it ascending and descending on a single string. Once you know and can visualize it on the neck..then you can play only the notes out of it that you want, as opposed to just being an automatron running up and down it really fast, but saying nothing. Knowing the basics of theory is like giving yourself an endless palete of colors to choose from. The whole cliche' about learning the rules so then you can break them holds true. Combining scales to make new hybrids or playing things that "pitch axis" or are in parallel keys...say one section in E minor and then changing to E locrian..but the tonality stays centered around the mother pitch of "E" is a cool place to start experimenting too.
Hope some of this helps and that it wasn't too rambling or confusing. [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]
God Bless,
Kevin

[rps14a]

Re: Need to turn a new leaf....crap! its a heavy l

thats a good way to sum things up! i usually write just what i hear in my head, but im always into learning new scales and modes and all because they will give you a new perspective on things and you might hear something you never knew was there.