Blues Muse

spinland
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Mon Oct 16, 2017 7:28 pm

Okay. So, I learn stuff in a crazy-quilt hopscotch of what rabbit holes make sense to me at the time. I was the despair of my teachers over most of my life, and I regret their pain, but I am who I am and there ain't no reason for me to change. I'm thick-headed, stubborn, and (sometimes, when lightning strikes) I can enjoy flashes of insight that move me forward.

Welcome to my world. Please hold still.

Right now I'm fixated on how it seems "the blues" inform nearly everything musically I care about. I don't know Muddy from Waters song catalog wise, but the sense and sensibility (great book) of what drives that music is what's speaking to me, so there I go.

So. Minor pentatonic, but add the "blues note" and use artistic bending of certain notes to hit both major and minor pentatonic notes in the same riffs. Mechanically simple, but insanely complex to master (like chess). I love stuff like that.

Gonna share some of my cheat sheets because, well, this is my thread to muse aloud about what's going on with me musically and I can, so I shall. You're welcome.

The Rosetta Stone for me (after grokking the CAGED system and how to use it to grab chord fragments for any desired key) is what you dab hands already know as the extended blues scale. Here's my cheat sheet for two major families of related scales, rooted on the sixth and fifth strings, respectively.

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Now, of course the fretboard is bigger than that, and there's so much fun to be had ripping past the bottom of those charts. One tool for visualizing the "extra stuff" for showing why cutaway bodies are useful is what one author calls the "heat map." This is a crazy-fun chart and I love the at-a-glance nature of it when I'm practicing.

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Now, the higher end of that heat map touches on the Master Class for blues style playing, immortalized by the Maestro Himself: BB King. The magenta portion of that heat map roots the famous "BB Box" which is sheer brilliance. Ride that blues scale into the sweet spot and then solo over any part of the I-IV-V you like using the same "home keys" (typewriter class phrase). Hybrid major/minor pentatonic taste treats are all there.

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Of course I have many, many more hours of hard work ahead of me, but these are the road maps I'm following and I'm having a hella good time.

In the end that's what counts.

Mark


TGNesh
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Tue Oct 17, 2017 7:38 am

:ohmy: Wow.....that's some work you'v put in there, good for you Mark! :)


spinland
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Tue Oct 17, 2017 7:41 am

Labor of love, Ness, labor of love. It also helps keep me sane. :silly:

I'm very much looking forward to advancing to a place where I feel I have some little bits and bobs to share here. It's coming along.

Mark


spinland
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Tue Oct 17, 2017 8:39 am

Oh, important disclaimer: I did not create those charts. I know I've created some in the past but in these areas I was fortunate enough to have run across existing ones that speak to me. The labor of love to which I refer is in my use of them. :side:

Mark


spinland
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Tue Oct 17, 2017 10:02 am

This is the view to the right from my workstation seat right now. Keeping her close for when the muse strikes between waiting for file transfers and render jobs.

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