Kim Richardson - Guitar

Our final lesson of the term was about putting modes in to context. We started off by learning the chords to 'Good Times' by Chic which were Em, E7, A7 and A6 and they looked like this.                                               I got in to the rhythm well -  keeping that funk strumming pattern is easy for me so I enjoyed it. At first I struggled with the chord changes but I got used to them fairly quickly. The next task was to find a scale that would work over the top of it. We figured out that the key of this song is D because it uses an A7. Because the first chord is an E minor we were able to use an E Dorian scale, starting on the 12th fret of the bottom string and we had a go soloing in that. Similarly we could use a Mixolydian D scale starting on the fifth fret of the bottom string. At first I just ran up and down the scales while somebody played the c...

Today we looked at modes in scales on the guitar which is something I've not learned about before. I only really knew that a mode was a scale but starting on a different note; for example if you were playing the C scale but you were to start on D, that would be a mode. We started with the major scale which is this pattern of tones and semitones: T - T - ST - T - T - T - ST A mode would be moving the first 'T' to the back of the list and playing from the second 'T'. T - ST - T - T - T - ST - T So if we were in C major the scale would've gone from: C - D - E - F - G - A - B to D - E - F - G - A - B - C instead. The major scale is the first mode which is called the Ionian mode. The second mode as shown here would be called the Dorian mode, and so on. There are 7 modes in total and they come in this order: Ionian (Major) Dorian (Minor) Phrygian (Minor) Lydian (Major) Mixolydian (Major) Aeolian (Minor) Locrian (Minor) Each mode has a dis...

The lesson today was all about documenting our home practise so we filmed videos to show what we have been working on. I played a couple scales I have been working on using the five steps technique which has really been helping me to learn positions of pentatonic scales. The next step for me is to move away from using scales with a root note on a dotted fret so that I can use the patterns anywhere on the neck. I am going to continue practising this at home so that in the future I will be able to solo using all five positions of a pentatonic scale. I have also been working a song called The Longest Wave by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. It is a riff that uses arpeggios and chords and I have been practising it since I first heard it. The recording is played very fast so I am mainly practising with a metronome but today I videoed it so that when I do get it up to speed I can visibly see improvements. This is the first part of the song I have learned:   ...

Today we began to look at Funk! Last week we were given a song called Cissy Strut by The Meters to look at which included two riffs and used the 12 bar blues that we have previously been looking at. We noted that Funk is largely made up of semi quaver beats and lots of upstroke strumming on beats 2 and 4. This is what makes a song sound 'funky' but the fast tempo and horn sections differentiate it from Jazz or Reggae. So for the first part of the lesson we practised the two riffs of Cissy Strut; it was in C minor so from learning about blues I know that the first chord is Cm, the second is Fm and the third is Gm. I could also use a C minor pentatonic to improvise over the solo. The second funk song we looked at today was Papa's Got A Brand New Bag by James Brown. This song uses 9th chords which I have seen a lot of before in funk music but they are awkward chords to play if you haven't played them. I figured out that by keeping the end of my third finger flat on t...

Today we filmed our blues videos and I think it went okay. Beforehand we practised the G pentatonic and learned the relative E minor scale so that we had more to experiment with in our solos. We also recapped on the G7 chords and the shuffle riff. I am comfortable with the riff now as it is easier to use my first. second and fourth fingers to play it. This is because you can stretch your first and second fingers than your third and fourth. We filmed our videos in pairs and I was with Kyle. We ran through the 12 bars a few times, taking turns to play the solo and the riff or chords and then filmed it. I think it went okay, I was just nervous.

Next week we have another video assessment so today's lesson was about preparing for it. We will have to show what we've learned about blues over the last half term so today we recapped over everything we've done so far. We began with scales in G minor. I confidently know the first position of G minor off by heart but I am unsure of the other positions on the neck so we spent the first 10 mins of the lesson figuring it out. I used a previous method we had learn to work it out - playing the fist five notes of the scale and then moving up two frets. I am familiar with other patterns that scales take so by using that (and also some trial and error) I was able to figure out another two positions of G minor! I will now be able to discuss this in my video assessment next week. Position 1 was the one I already knew and I learned 2 and 3 in the lesson. I can run up and all 3 positions confidently now. Positions 4 and 5 are what I will work on over the next week so that I can ...

Today we refreshed looking at keys and we discussed why you wouldn't have A# instead of Bb and now I understand the idea more clearly. I'm going to practise writing scales out at home and maybe even memorise them. Doing this will also help me learn the notes on the fretboard. For the bulk of the lesson we looked at arpeggios and practised playing some. I've never really been familiar with arpeggios but I learned that they are very common in most types of modern music. I was given some G7 arpeggios to practise and I found them quite confusing because 7ths sounds neither major or minor so I didn't feel like I was playing the right thing as they never sound resolved. They were also difficult because unlike pentatonic scales, there was no pattern or symmetry to them. For the last part of the lesson we went back and played a G major arpeggio over a blues in G however this time it was different because every time we play G7 we would solo in the arpeggio and then on the C7...