Q. Not sure which kind of 7th it is, in my jazz music it says "C7". It is the solo section in "Basically Blues", the first measure, and I have know idea what to do! there are other chords in there and I can learn them if i knew what they were, like "Bmi7" or "G6". This is a really cool piece, and I can't wait to see how it turns out!
A. Another poster said it well when he called C7 a dominant chord. Since dominant chords and their scales occur naturally off the fifth scale tone of a major scale, C7 is the dominant of F, so the primary scale choice is a C scale which uses the notes from F major (including the Bb, which is the seventh of the root, C).
Philip U, I'll recommend using the chord syllabus to the foreword of the New Real Books; in it every conceivable chord is shown- including advanced notions like 9ths, 11th, 13ths, and even slash chords (sometimes used as an abbreviation for a 9sus chord). Almost all the examples use C as a root, so you would need to move patterns to the root shown in the chart. If at all possible, use a piano or even small keyboard (yes, even a Casio or other home portable will do, but be sure to transpose appropriately for your instrument) to develop your sense of intervals in both a visual and listening sense. For now, here are the spellings of the three examples you cited:
C7: C E G Bb
Bmi7 B D F# A (scale could be related to A, G, or D major - depends on other chords around it and/or the melody, if any)
G6 G B D E (could be related to G or D major- it's D major if any melody note is a C# instead of a C).
I hope I've been helpful; happy improvising to you!
What is the most efficient way to improve piano technique?
Q. Ahh, just to elaborate. I practice, a lot, but I'm not sure if I'm practicing in a way that would help me improve the fastest.
Right now my approach is to learn up various difficult pieces, but I'm progressing painfully slowly.
Left: Jamming with tunes I know off the top of my head is absolutely no problem for me, because I have perfect pitch. However, I find myself getting constantly stuck because my left hand simply cannot keep up- I struggle to find the chords on my left, but my right hand can effortlessly pull off running passages of notes. How would you suggest I practice to get rid of this problem?
Tehran: Yes, that's the way I learn up difficult pieces. But my problem is, outside of playing these pieces and set notes, my technique is near abysmal.
When I say piano technique, I don't mean something like being able to play a set sequence of notes you learnt by setting them into the proverbial stone of your mind. I mean it as the ability to spontaneously create or being able to be a perfect sight reader without prior practice of the said piece. The former is muscle memory, while the latter is simply better core technique. And I'm asking, what's the most efficient way to improve this core technique?
A. Well, as the top poster suggested...practice...practice,...practice. One other think. If you really want to evolve and open your mind. Jam with your favorite music and try different approach as to Modes and soloing.
I practiced hours by copying guitar solos and following other guitarists work. Eventually. I developed a ver good ear, and a perfect sense of timing. Today, I teach :))
I do play piano and there again, I love to improve / It is easier on the piano because you can chord with your left hand and do counter-melodies with the right.
Edit....if your left hand doesn't keep up, then you are lacking in modal trechnique. Do you know your scales in all modes ?
I suspect that is lacking. And to jam with music you already know ispointless. Jam with music you never heard and then, apply different modes and these same modes have to have the correct chords to match.
Here is a good link that may help you in the left hand. I use this chart when I let my students play and I supply the chording. At least, I can hear and see what they are doing wrong.
http://www.apassion4jazz.net/jazz-chords-scales.html
This is related to jazz but will help you immensely in supplying you different scales to apply against your chording.
It would be fun if you had another pianist chording so you could exchange ideas. Or even, recording your left hand and on the playback, apply different modes with the right. Just a thought...
Enjoy.
Guitar for beginners; where to start?
Q. I want to learn how to play guitar. I don't know why, but it just feels like it's not a choice for me. When I hear a song I want to play it myself. I have to play it myself. That being said I started searching and trying myself. I got a book, but quickly got tired of classic music style. While I can play Yankee doodle and ode to joy well that's about the only ones I enjoyed. Arura Lee was okay. Mary Ann? who ever hear of that? I like rock and country. I want to play that. not classic, piano, high class crap. Blah.
So I decided to go for guitar tabs. Unfortunately I can't find any good tabs for songs I can play. Songs like Simple Man, Next Girl, You Really Got Me, Rock Lobster, Fortunate Son, ect. 70's to now (especially 80's rock) all these tabs are confusing, don't sound anything like the song at all, and not really forgiving for newbies.
Then I decided to try guitar lessons. But I couldn't really get anywhere without chords. I got a poster that shows the chords but I quickly lost interest in playing just chords. It's like going to the gym; you know you should but... you know. Plus I don't have the muscle control to do it effectively and it's soo God-dang annoying to get it wrong again and again. I'm still going to practice them as often as I can force myself to. but if it's not fun, it's not worth playing.
Where I'm getting to is I have tried on my own, and will still try even if I don't get any help here. But, to the good guitar players, what songs should I start on? I know Smoke on the water is good. and Cheap trick's I Want You to Want Me is good too, both of which I'm looking into now.
What were the first 10 songs that you played? and what got you into guitar? (this one is to try to give me some more motivation)
I know most are gonna say " just keep doing it" and "if it's not fun or worth it to you it's not for you" To that I say "This is gonna happen. I'm gonna learn to play. Even if it takes 10 years to get the chords right" and "if playing Yankee doodle and Ode to Joy 30 times is fun for me, it's for me."
It's just hard to do if it seems more like a chore than anything else.
A. It doesn't sound like playing the guitar is the choice for you, or maybe you are someone who would like to be able to play but has no interest in actually learning. There are plenty of people like that and it's not a problem: not everyone wants to learn (rather than play) an instrument.
I don't know what book you got or what you mean by "classic music" but I wonder why you spent time trying to learn songs you dislike. You needed a book that would teach you the basics of playing guitar not individual songs. If you'd had the correct book and had worked through it you would have learnt the chords that, apparently, you haven't.
Tablature is just a way of transcribing music (same as standard notation only more limited and limiting) and is meant for people can already play so you wouldn't learn anything there.
If you went for lessons from a good teacher then, as a beginner, you wouldn't be expected to know chords, although you would be expected to practice them. A good teacher would take you from not being able to play at all to at least knowing the basics. Again, I wonder what sort of lessons you had and what the teacher tried to teach you.
You then, "lost interest" in learning the chords that you say yourself you needed to learn and seem to be quite unhappy that you needed to learn how to play them! No offence, but did you think that that you would be able to play without any problem and without making any effort? The problem seems to be that as soon as you come up against something that is difficult, something that you can't do easily, you don't want to know. You've said it yourself: you've tried learning from a book, lessons from a teacher, learning chords from a chart and missing out the "learning" bit and trying to play "by numbers" and it, "seems more like a chore than anything else". The thing is, to people who really do want to learn, nothing could be less like "a chore" - I spent hours just practicing chords, playing them individually, playing them in sequences, families of chords (for example all the chords starting with "A"), finding two, then three, then four different ways of playing the same chord, playing a sequence using only barre chords etc. etc. musically, it was one of the most magical times in my life.
However, to answer the last part of your question: you shouldn't "start" on any songs because you can't play the guitar. What you should do is learn the basics of playing the guitar, develop the skills and knowledge you need so that you can play any song within you ability range.
Good luck with whatever you decide but my best advice would be to find something else you enjoy that isn,t a chore to you.
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