Posted on

Practice Track for Bassists: F major

This is a practice track for beginning and intermediate bassists in a light rock style, based on a simple two chord progression in the key of F major:

||: F              |F                |Gm          |Gm           : ||

There are two rhythm guitar parts, with the guitar in the lower register playing simply on the chords F and Gm. The guitar in the upper register plays a funkier rhythm part, using the chords F6/9 and Gm9.

In the second half of the tune, a lead guitar plays a melody line based on the F major and G minor arpeggios.

To practice your bass playing, try the following approaches:

Beginners:

(1) Play the tonic (F or G) on beat one of each bar

(2) Add the fifths (C and D) to (1) above, playing special attention to the drums, trying to mirror the drum rhythms (especially the bass or kick drum) on the bass.

Intermediate :

(3) It doesn’t hurt to play through once using approaches (1) and (2) above. Then see if you can play through the F major and G minor arpeggios for each chord, for example:

(4) If you need more challenge, play through the arpeggios using 1 beat notes, for example:

(5) Once you have the arpeggios under your fingers, try a walking bass line. Start at an arpeggio note, and walk up or down the F major scale until you reach the arpeggio note of the next chord. You may have to skip a scale tone to always start beat one on an arpeggio note, as in the following:

(6) Play what you think sounds good – using combinations of the ideas above, or using your own creativity.

Here is the track – enjoy!

F & Gm: Light rock practice track for bassists.

Posted on

Practice track for Bassists

This is a practice track for beginning and intermediate bass players who are interested in playing jazz styles. I have taken the following four chords:

||:Am7 |D7 |Gmaj7 |Cmaj7 : ||

which are the chords ii V I IV in the key of G major.

These chords are common in many jazz style progressions, and can be found, for example, in the first four bars of Autumn Leaves. To construct a bass line over these chords, take the following steps.

(1) First have the G major scale under your fingers. You can use the open position, or any moveable scale shapes that you know.

(2) Play through the progression playing the tonic of each chord on beat one of each bar.

This very simple bass line is the foundation upon which many things can be built. To this we can add a note leading into each new chord.

(3) On beat 4 of each bar play the note of the G major scale below the note of the chord root you are about to change to. For example on beat 4 of the Am7 bar, play a C, the note below D.

(4) On beat 4 of each bar, we can also play the note above the chord root we are heading for:

(5) Once you are familiar with both of these, you can mix them up, leading into some notes from below, other notes from above.

This technique makes for a strong bass line, particularly when going around the cycle of fourths, as in the progression above. One reason is that the diatonic (i.e. from the major scale) leading note is either the fifth or the third of the current chord in the above progression. The only exception is the change from Cmaj7 to Am7 in point (4).

(6) Now try combining two leading notes on beats 3 and 4:


(7) To play a simple walking bass line, simply add scale notes in between in pitch, between the other notes, making sure that the note on beat 4 always leads into the next chord:

The above are only my examples – there are a great many variations on bass lines you can create using this simple technique – and they will all sound great over these chords and over many other jazz style progressions. Using this technique you can play something different on every run through the chords, but always strongly working the changes. That’s one way you can create interest and dynamism in the music!

This is only one “concept” for constructing bass lines, and you will need to develop a selection of such approaches. As you gain experience in listening and playing, your ear will tell you more and more what will sound good in any given situation.

And here is the practice track to try these techniques with – for best results, get completely comfortable with each step before going on to the next!

Autumn Leaves First 4 bars

If you find that the chords are changing too fast for you, try the following track, which has the same four chords, but each chord goes for two bars:

Autumn Leaves First 4 Bars – 2 bars per chord

Enjoy!

 

Posted on

Practice Track: The Black Nag

This is a practice track for beginning or intermediate guitarists. The tune is a traditional Irish tune, “The Black Nag”. Normally it is played quite quickly, but I thought I would do a slow version so beginning players can enjoy learning the tune as well. In due course I plan to post some faster versions as well, so you can get up to normal playing speed! It isn’t a traditional arrangement – but don’t let that stop you enjoying it!

TheBlackNag

Here is the tune:

Enjoy!

Rob

Posted on

Rob’s Residency at the Homestead Continues

You can still catch me down at the Samford Homestead Restaurant on Friday nights in February and March – (except Friday 2nd March). I play from 6:30pm till 10:00ish.

Phone Steve at the restaurant for bookings or more information, on 3289 1485.

I do a set of guitar jazz favorites, accompanying myself using looping pedal! Here is my version of the theme from Black Orpheus – a Bossa Nova classic by Luis Bonfa! Enjoy!

Posted on

Practice Track: G major ii-V-I

Here is a practice track for beginning and intermediate guitarists – done in a light rock style. The chords are

||: G |Am |D7 |G : ||

Practice soloing over the progression using the G major scale. Some other strategies you might find interesting to play with are

  1. Use the arpeggios for G major seventh, A minor seventh, and D seventh over the appropriate chords
  2. Use G major (E minor) pentatonic or D major (B minor) pentatonic over the G major chord, and A minor pentatonic over the A minor and D7 chords. Note that all three of these pentatonic scales contain only notes from the G major scale.
  3. Mix up arpeggios, pentatonic patterns, and major scale runs.

Enjoy!

G major ii-V-I

Posted on

Rob at the Homestead

My residency at the Homestead Restaurant in Samford continues in January. I will be appearing on Friday the 13th, 20th and 27th! So pop in and say hi! I play from 6:30 until 10ish! Phone Steve at the restaurant for bookings or more information, on 3289 1485.

I do a set of guitar jazz favorites, accompanying myself using looping pedal! Here is a a video of me doing Autumn Leaves, so you can get an idea of how it sounds!

Posted on

Teaching Dates 2011

I wish all students and their families a merry Christmas and a happy new year, and look forward to seeing you all again next year!

Teaching dates for 2011 are:

Term Dates Length
Term 1 Monday 23 January – Saturday 31 March 10 weeks
Term 2 Monday 16 April – Saturday 23 June 10 weeks
Term 3 Monday 9 July – Saturday 22 September 11 weeks
Term 4 Monday 8 October – Saturday 15 December 10 weeks

Note that lessons are not held on public holidays. However lessons are held on pupil free days.


Posted on

How to tune the guitar

So you’ve just got your guitar, and you’ve had your first lesson, but somehow the notes seem funny. You’re guitar has probably gone out of tune! Guitars will need tuning each time you play them! So how do you tune the guitar?

There are three main methods. You can tune using an electronic tuner, you can tune to a piano or keyboard, or you can tune one string to a reference pitch (such as a tuning fork), and tune the rest of the strings to it. The easiest method is to use an electronic guitar tuner. So we will look at that first.

Tuning with an electronic tuner
Electronic tuners which can be used for guitar come in two varieties – guitar tuners, or chromatic tuners. Guitar tuners have a setting which when activated means the tuner looks for the specific sound of one of the six strings of the guitar. These tuners may also have a setting for bass or violin, so make sure you set it to guitar! When you play a string, the tuner will match it to the closest guitar string, and tell you whether it is sharp (too high in pitch) or flat (too low in pitch). If the guitar is way out of tune, the tuner might think you are tuning a different string, so look on the screen for an indication of the string, and make sure it matches the string you are tuning. Then turn the tuning peg to make the pitch sharper or flatter as needed to centre the needle or light on the display. Then do the same for the other strings!

It helps to know the names of the strings so you can check that the tuner has picked out the right note to tune to! The thickest lowest sounding string is E, also called the 6th string. Next in pitch is the A or 5th string, then the D (4th), G(3rd), B(2nd) and finally highest in pitch the top E (1st) string. Note that there are two E strings, a low one, and a high one!

A mnemonic to remember the names of the strings (lowest to highest in pitch) is the sentence: Every Australian Dog Gets Beef Everyday. The letter begginning each word is the name of the strings in order from lowest to highest in pitch.

Chromatic tuners are a little bit harder for beginners to use, but once you know the names of the strings, they are just as easy as the others. Chromatic tuners tune to the closest note to the one sounding, whether it’s the proper note for the string or not. So if you are not careful, you could find yourself tuning your string to a C# or a Gb, and then wondering why your guitar still sounds very out of tune! The trick is to make sure you are tuning to the right note for each string. If you are tuning the G string, for example, and the tuner registers F or Gb (G flat), then you must sharpen the note (make the pitch higher) until the tuner registers a G, and then continue to tune until you centre the needle or light on the display. Use the mnemonic above if you can’t remember the names of all the strings!

Many tuners have different modes, and can operate in guitar mode, chromatic mode, or bass or violin mode – so make sure your tuner is in guitar or chromatic mode! Other problems can occur if you inadvertently change the reference frequency. Pianos and keyboards and most orchestral and band instruments are tuned to a reference frequency of 440 Hz for the pitch of A. Most tuners allow you to change this reference frequency up or down, and if this happens you will be out of tune with records, radio, pianos, keyboards etc! Make sure that the numbers 440 appear on the display, and not 445 or 436 etc! Tuners often allow you to tune flat by one or more semitones. This is often indicated by one or more flat symbols, which look a little like a script lower case ‘b’, in the display. Make sure there are no flat symbols showing when you tune your guitar, otherwise you will be out of tune with other instruments! (Though you will be in tune with yourself!)

Tuning to a piano or keyboard
Just play the note on the keyboard that corresponds to the string of the guitar, and adjust the tuning peg until the two notes sound the same. Listen for the two notes beating against each other, making a “wah wah wah” sound. This should get slower and slower until it disappears when the two notes are in tune. If you don’t know the names of the notes on the piano keyboard, use the picture below!

Tuning with a tuning fork or other reference pitch

If you have a tuning fork for A 440, tap the tuning fork on your knee, and hold the stem of the tuning fork to the body of the guitar, where you won’t damage the finish. This will make the sound of the tuning fork much more audible. Then play the A string and tune until the pitches match. Once again listen for the beat between the out of tune notes, which sounds like “wah wah wah”, and adjust the tuning peg so this beat slows down and disappears. This is easier if you play the harmonic on the 12th fret of the A string, as the tuning fork sounds an octave higher than the string.

When the A string is tuned, tune the other strings to the A string, using the following diagram:

(1) Place finger on the 5th fret of the bottom E string. Turn the tuning Peg of the bottom E string until the pitch matches that of the A string which you just tuned to the reference pitch. Listen for the “Wah Wah Wah” of the beats getting slower and slower until they stop when the two notes are in tune.

(2) Place finger on the 5th fret of the A string, which gives you a D. Turn the tuning peg of the D string until the two notes match.

(3) Place finger on the 5th fret of the D string, which gives you a G. Turn the tuning peg of the G string until the two notes match.

(4) Place finger on the 4th fret of the G string, which gives you a B. Turn the tuning peg of the B string until the two notes match.

(5) Place finger on the 5th fret of the B string, which gives you an E. Turn the tuning peg of the high E string until the two notes match.

Your guitar should now be in tune. Strum a chord, such as a G major, C major or E major. If they don’t sound right, you will need to repeat the process again, taking more care to match the notes. As this is a skill that requires practice to get right, keep persevering, and ask your teacher or a friend who plays to help you tune up. If your guitar doesn’t tune up properly, even for your teacher or an experienced player, you might need new strings. If new strings don’t help, you might need a set-up on your guitar from a luthier (ask at your local music shop), to adjust the intonation. If you have a cheap guitar, it is probably time to get a better, more expensive model!

Tuning with harmonics

Harmonics are bell like tones produced when a finger on the left hand lightly touches the string without exerting any downward pressure, at an exact location (e.g. above the 12th fret), while the string is plucked. To sound a harmonic, lightly rest your finger on the bottom E string exactly above the 12th fret, without pressing down as you normally would. Pluck the string, and immediately remove your finger. A note an octave higher than the open string should sound. Harmonics can also be found at the 7th fret, and the 5th fret, and many other positions on the neck.

To tune using harmonics, first adjust the A string using a pitch reference such as a tuning fork.

(1) Sound the harmonic on the 5th fret of the bottom E string, and at the same time sound the harmonic on the 7th fret of the A string. Adjust the tuning peg on the bottom E string until the two notes are the same. As above, you will hear the beating of the notes (the wah wah wah sound) slow down and stop when the strings are in tune.

(2) Repeat with the harmonic on the 5th fret of the A string and the 7th fret of the D string, tuning the D string until the harmonics stop beating.

(3) Repeat with the harmonic on the 5th fret of the D string and the 7th fret of the G string, tuning the G string until the harmonics stop beating.

(4) Sound the harmonic on the 7th fret of the bottom E string, and the open B string. Tune the B string until the notes stop beating.

(5) Sound the harmonic on the 7th fret of the A string, and the open top E string. Tune the top E string until the notes stop beating.

Your guitar should now be in tune!

It may take you several attempts to get your guitar in tune, but persevere. It is a skill that improves with practice!

Posted on

Soloing over Scarborough Fair

The subject if this post is how to solo over the traditional tune Scarborough Fair. My arrangement of the melody puts it into the Dorian Mode of the G major scale. That is the key is A minor with a major sixth (F#) instead of the usual minor sixth (F). Note that the G is not sharpened by an accidental as it would be in the A harmonic minor scale. A simple way to think of it is as the notes of the G major scale, but with a root note of A instead of G. The tune finishes on its root of A.

The approach is simple: play using the notes of the G major scale throughout! If you are familiar with the arpeggios for the chords used (Am, G, D, and C) your solo will sound more convincing if you outline the changing chords with notes from their arpeggios. Otherwise, use your ear to pick out the notes that go with each change of chord. Use phrasing and plenty of space.

Here is my chart of the arrangement. One of the differences between written music in classical style and the jazz tradition is that classical music is meant to be played exactly as written on the printed page. However in Jazz, the solo performer often takes a lot of leeway with the written tune, adjusting the timing and feel, and even adding or subtracting notes in order to convey their artistic vision of the tune. You can observe this with the simple chart – if played exactly as written, many of the nice nuances of the original folk song will be missed. However the chart in this case gives enough of the tune for you to interpret it in your own style.

An interesting feature of the arrangement is that the tune is 19 bars long: a 4 bar phrase followed by 3 five bar phrases,  which contributes to it’s haunting quality.

Here is a practice track to hone your skills. The melody is played at the beginning and the end, with 4 repeats in between for you to practice your solo.

Scarborough Fair Rhythm Track

Here is the rhythm track again with my solo:

Scarborough Fair

Enjoy!

Posted on

End of Year Concert – Samford

Our End of Year Concert will be held at St Paul’s Aaglican Church Hall in Samford, on Saturday 3rd December. This is a chance for students and their families to get together and celebrate achievements in guitar! It is a great opportunity for students at all levels to get some experience playing in front of a friendly and supportive audience. It will also be a chance to meet some of the other Rob’s Guitar School students and their families. Students will have two opportunities to participate – performing some of their pieces, either solo or accompanied by myself, and towards the end of the afternoon, the older students can join in a jam session.

Program
1:30pm: Meet and greet.
2:00pm: Student recitals.
3:00pm: Afternoon Tea (Please bring a plate to share).
3:30pm: Jamming with Rob.

Date: Saturday 3rd December
Time: 1:30pm to 4:30pm
Place: St Paul’s Anglican Church Hall, 12 Mt Samson Road, Samford, QLD 4520. Park in Church Grounds. The Hall is behind the Church.
Directions: From Ferny Grove turn right at the round about at entrance to Samford Village, and proceed through village along Main St. As you cross the creek leaving the village, the church is on your right. From Dayboro, Church is on left just before entering village.
Cost: A gold coin donation per person to help cover costs will be appreciated.