Post your weeks guitar goals.

[tapper mike]

I's going to be a semi passive week on guitar for me. Still scale patterns and maybe an hour of covers. Most of my concentration will be on the linnstrument. A few years back I played it better than I do today.

[tapper mike]

I still haven't re entered into Steely Dan aside from going thru a couple of pieces on the linnstrument trying to cop the various keyboard and even some of the guitar parts on the linnstrument.

I'm really cracking down on rejuvenating my finger picking and quite a bit of travis picking on top of that. I've gone hog wild into Americana / Folk / Folk Rock

[tapper mike]

Finally trying to graduate from "Intro to Travis" to actually working out travis picking songs as performed. It's a huge leap from "easy guitar" to actual version. CSNY Helplessly Hoping to be exact. It's coming along and then when I look away it's not coming along. Mostly when I look away from the score. I've become so addicted to reading scores I lose it all or most of it when I try to recall without the sheet. Not the end of my world but oft times depressing.

Scales are getting pretty dang boring but I want to rebuild to the improvising level I had decades ago when I could improvise in any key over common and uncommon chord progressions.

[mystran]

Scales are getting pretty dang boring but I want to rebuild to the improvising level I had decades ago when I could improvise in any key over common and uncommon chord progressions.

Does the key even matter? I mean, if you've internalized a minor scale, then playing F minor or A minor or Bb minor or C# minor or whatever ... it's the same thing, you just put the root in a different place, no?

I'm asking ... 'cos the way I think about keys is that ... I just kinda don't (on any instrument.. on keyboards I sometimes might think about it a tiny bit 'cos those pesky black keys, but even then ... not really) ... like if there's something fancy like switching between parallel modes, that's something I might actually actively pay attention to 'cos you kinda need to know where those happen, but even then I kinda just think "3rd chord goes on major scale" more so than worry about which major it is...

ps. I mean the way it works for me is that if you ask me to play pretty much any scale, I won't have much trouble doing that... but if you dare to ask what those notes actually are, it'll probably take me like 5 minutes to figure it out.

[lfm]

Scales are getting pretty dang boring but I want to rebuild to the improvising level I had decades ago when I could improvise in any key over common and uncommon chord progressions.

Does the key even matter? I mean, if you've internalized a minor scale, then playing F minor or A minor or Bb minor or C# minor or whatever ... it's the same thing, you just put the root in a different place, no?

Same spot on fretboard, or moving all over is very different.
- and doing it cross strings/fretboard diagonally
- most common maybe tie boxes different positions together

I like the thinking of Bukovac, do things all over fretboard, or in the same place
- 15:40 into this he starts going through sixes intervals all over a minor scale


To get the intervals under your fingers, kind of.

I hear the next note I want in my head, and then just grab it on next or previous string or some frets away.
- that's my goal

To really hear "next note I hear is a minor or major interval away" every time is where I fail to often.
- some chromatic intervals are half step a way, and some full step in a scale
- doing sixes like in video is clever since useful as is
- sometimes two frets apart sometimes one fret

Do chord arpeggios all places you can find etc.

Learned a lot on these few minutes with Bukovac.
- going all the way down fretboard on 1st/3d string and know where there is a change one or two frets apart doing the minor scale as here
- or in the same spot around 12th
- diagonal, a few on same strings, then going down a string and continue

Everybodys journey is different, I thought this was cool.

[tapper mike]

There are more things in the heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy

Progressions do not have to fit into a specific key when working with modality you need to be able to transition smoothly between different keys or tonal centers fairly quickly

Let's take some "common" Thematic progressions which don't comply with standard diatonic structures.


Many songs pop rock country blues and many many more also stray from purely diatonic structures. How and what you play over those chords should be graceful and in context. Sure you could always resort to a completely dissonant occupation of that space but it would be great if you could seemlessly move across that section. Being able to shift to accomodate the chord tones kind of relies on your ability/familiarity with the key that non diatonic chord is associated with. Diatonic or pentatonic using modes.

Writing a cohesive melody starts with Firmus Cantus Start on the tonic, end on the tonic

I want you to look at this guys track record even if you don't know who he is.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson_Riddle_discography

Nelson Riddle would often modulate to different keys in a given song to change the mood. Being able to transition seemlessly from one key to another either directly or via modulation requires one to have a comprehensive working knowledge and being able to shift keys seemlessly


...more to come

[pekbro]

Fortunately, I don't have to think about all that stuff. Thank you brain...

I think my goal is to actually do something cool with a guitar and this bitchin SW looper.

https://hzitools.com/

[lfm]

...more to come

More on modulations I like this guy


Learned a lot about voicings looking at how he does it too. Just lovely.
- even without modulations, just the base progression
- a lot of coins dropped

Plenty ways to do it...but off to guitar again which is current objective....

[tapper mike]

...more to come

More on modulations I like this guy


Learned a lot about voicings looking at how he does it too. Just lovely.
- even without modulations, just the base progression
- a lot of coins dropped

Plenty ways to do it...but off to guitar again which is current objective....

God I miss those days of modulations and passing chords and key changes
I used to play "So What" on the guitar tapping style more like a chapman stick.

It's great that you bring this up as I'd forgotten part of my scaling regiment. 12 keys seven days in a week. Two weeks you have two days to see if you can cut the mustard. Even before I had a four track cassette I'd have this little panasonic cassette records. I'd lay down a basic rhythm track using ii-V-I and cycle via whole tone down.


| Dm7| G7| CMaj7|
| Cm7| F7| BbMaj7|%| Bbm7| Eb7| AbMaj7|
| Abm7| Dbm7| GbMaj7|%| F#m7| B7| EMaj7|
| Em7| A7| DMaj7|
| Dm| G7| CMaj7|

Now take it all down a half step and repeat.
When you solo over it try to move positionally as little as possible one fret and play over the progression where you are. This will test your metre on how well you really know your scale positions.
When moving from chord to chord focus on the 3rd, First chord is Dm7 so start on the F note. Next chord is G7 so figure out a way to naturally seamlessly land on the b note on the first beat of the second measure and so on.

Above what I posted is a "simple" modulation. This can be heard on the chorus section of Michael Franks" Popsicle Toes" made famous again by Diane Krall

[tapper mike]

If you learn it the correct way and reinforce it you won't have to think it will just be there.

Learning to tie shoe laces. When we are young if we have shoes with laces someone always tie them for us. Then we are shown and we try. The more we try the easier it gets. Eventually we aren't impressed with ourselves being able to tie our shoes and forget all about the challenges. We just do it without thinking. The same can be said about applying theory. Sure we may stumble at first but if we aren't willing to take the first step and then the second we have given up before we've given ourself a chance to succeed. The more we apply ourselves the better we get and the less thinking we actually have to do.

I've been going through the same process with Travis Picking. Yes I can pick fingerstyle and the hardest part of learning to properly pick travis style is not to use the methods that have served me well for decades. Everyday I work through exercises and I'm making progress slowly. Slowly but progress. It's not an even acceleration. I'm guided by the fact that other approaches have been challenging as well but with time, patience and dedication I've come to a point of fruition where I'm just playing and making it happen. If I continue to dedicate myself on this path I'll have a better chance of achieving my goals than if I run away from it. Or leave it on a shelf for someday that never comes and when it does come I have to start all over again.

[mystran]

I hear the next note I want in my head, and then just grab it on next or previous string or some frets away.

This is kinda how I tend to play... 'cos I'm too lazy to actually learn very many specific patterns... and also because I've always had a very strong sense of "melody in my head" (ever since I was a kid) and those melodies don't always strictly follow scales anyway.

I do tend to gravitate a bit towards "easy to finger" positions (and tend to move diagonally to keep the same fingering for three octaves if possible.. not always, but ... yeah, sorta have a habbit of doing this), but lately I've been practicing taking a 3nps scale, playing the first 6 notes (two strings) then starting again (still the same two strings) from the 2nd scale note, 3rd scale note and so on until I've done the whole octave, then coming down the same way... and I feel like speeding this up has really helped me get more used to just "whatever position" 'cos you end up doing all the different fingerings and the only remaining thing you need to worry is the pesky G-B third.

ps. Oh... actually there's another thing to worry about: running out of frets at either end of the fretboard.

[lfm]

ps. Oh... actually there's another thing to worry about: running out of frets at either end of the fretboard.

I was a bit surprised how having fret 17th where body begins helps to reach.
- you just go there more often when it's easy
- Gibson Modern Lite I got have that

Next look for 24 fret necks, maybe?

Or do as Jeff Beck, take a slide and go all the way up to bridge pup !!!!

[mystran]

Next look for 24 fret necks, maybe?

I have 24 frets. I still run out of them at times.

[tapper mike]