In this video lesson I show some ideas for funk comping. The video is pretty self explanatory, so I’ll just sommarize by saying
1. try not to use massive chords with 6 notes, less is more.
2. break up bigger chords in smaller parts, double stops are great.
3. leave space for snare and think of your part as a piece of a bigger collage
4. look for 4ths inside chords and scales, those work great.
more tips to come in part 2…coming soon! Stay tuned.
It’s not a secret that one of my all time favourite guitar instructional books is The Advancing Guitarist
This is where http://www.thestringery.com/featured/random-chords-generator/ comes into play.
On this site you can easily generate random sequences to improve your chord recognition knowledge and improvisational skill. The default number of chords is 16 but you can easily change that number. I advice to play along to a drum beat or a metronome, so that you are more focused, starting with a chord per bar.
Also you could leave the recording backing track for a few days, so you completely forget what you recorded, and use it to practice your aural recognition skills (ear training). Try and see if you can recognise a major chord from a minor, or what extensions are contained in a chord.
I am also sure you will find some ‘snippets’ that will inspire you…maybe the beginning of your next masterpiece.
If you enjoyed the free version of ‘The guitar kit’, ‘THE GUITAR KIT PRO’ is an even bigger collection of music and guitar templates, that I personally use to teach, now available in a consistent and professional look.
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‘THE GUITAR KIT PRO’ INCLUDES:
(in 60 JPG’s and a 71 page PDF eBook)
BLANK MUSIC PAPER TEMPLATES:
BLANK STAFF PAPER TEMPLATE
BLANK TREBLE CLEF STAFF (without Barlines)
BLANK TREBLE CLEF STAFF (with Barlines)
BLANK TREBLE CLEF STAFF+TAB (without Barlines)
BLANK TREBLE CLEF STAFF+TAB (with Barlines)
BLANK TAB ONLY (without Barlines)
BLANK TAB ONLY (with Barlines)
BLANK PAGE WITH BARLINES
BLANK GUITAR NECK BOX 6 FRETS
BLANK GUITAR NECK BOX 12 FRETS
BLANK GUITAR NECK BOX 24 FRETS
SCALES:
MAJOR/MINOR PENTATONIC SCALE/ BLUES SCALE (5 SHAPES)
MAJOR SCALES (5 SHAPES)
MAJOR SCALES 3 NOTES PER STRING (7 SHAPES)
MELODIC MINOR (5 SHAPES)
MELODIC MINOR 3 NPS (7 SHAPES)
HARMONIC MINOR (5 SHAPES)
HARMONIC MINOR 3 NPS (7 SHAPES)
WHOLE TONE SCALE
DIMINISHED SCALE
MODES OF C MAJOR
MODES OF C MAJOR, PARALLEL APPROACH
MODES OF C MELODIC MINOR
MODES OF C HARMONIC MINOR
ALL MODES – FORMULAS
CHORDS:
BASIC CHORDS CHART (Most popular open chords and Barre chords)
7TH CHORDS CHART :maj7, m7, 7, m7(b5)
CHORD VOCABULARY:
MOST POPULAR CHORDS (TONIC:C)
MOST POPULAR CHORDS (TONIC:Db/C#)
MOST POPULAR CHORDS (TONIC:D)
MOST POPULAR CHORDS (TONIC:Eb/D#)
MOST POPULAR CHORDS (TONIC:E)
MOST POPULAR CHORDS (TONIC:F)
MOST POPULAR CHORDS (TONIC:Gb/F#)
MOST POPULAR CHORDS (TONIC:G)
MOST POPULAR CHORDS (TONIC:Ab/G#)
MOST POPULAR CHORDS (TONIC:A)
MOST POPULAR CHORDS (TONIC:Bb/A#)
MOST POPULAR CHORDS (TONIC:B)
ARPEGGIOS:
MAJOR/MINOR/AUG TRIADS ALL INVERSIONS
7th ARPEGGIOS ALL INVERSIONS
7th ARPEGGIOS 3 STRING SETS
MISC TEMPLATES:
12 BAR BLUES FORM (ROMAN NUMERALS)
12 BAR BLUES IN E
12 BAR BLUES IN A
12 BAR BLUES IN C
12 BAR BLUES IN G
GUITAR ANATOMY/FINGER NUMBERING
NOTE NAMES ON TREBLE STAFF/NOTE VALUES
NOTES ON GUITAR NECK
CAGED SYSTEM
STRUMMING PATTERN TEMPLATE
HARMONICS CHART
CIRCLE OF FIFTHS
MAJOR SCALES ALL KEYS
INTERVALS CHART
INTERVALS ON THE GUITAR NECK
TRIAD INVERSIONS (CLOSED)
TRIAD INVERSIONS (SPREAD)
GOALS SETTING TEMPLATE
STUDENT NOTES TEMPLATE FOR TEACHERS
Giant Steps has always been a challenging standard to play, in this video I give a few tips on how to approach this famous tune.
The Chords (from the fake book-as far as I know it is not copyrighted material so I am posting the original):
One good ‘pattern’ to start familiarising with the progression in playing 1235 for every chord (meaning the 1st,2nd,3nd and 5th of every chord). For the original key it would be B,C#,D#,F#(Bmaj7) then D,E,F#,A (D7), G,A,B,D (G)and so on…
It’s all about getting used to keep your brain engaged at any time. A great exercise!
In this video I show how to use the Superlocrian mode (nothing more than the 7th mode of a minor melodic scale) to improvise over altered chords. On C7 the choice would be C Superlocrian C, Db,Eb,E, F#,G#,Bb (also known as Db melodic minor starting from C). Listen to a few examples of resolution from C7(alt) to F major and to F minor in the second part of the video.
