Night Classes are ten-week TrueFire
Welcome to week four of Intermediate Blues Rock Solos, where we continue with last week’s look at “Straight Up” by Jeff Scheetz, part of his Rock Solid TrueFire course.
Jeff stresses mixing pentatonics with modal scales to keep things interesting. For a simple chord progression like this, we can play very melodically, although we also have a great opportunity to throw in a curve by incorporating large intervals. Within a progression like this, using large intervals that approximate a sax player’s approach can really hit the spot.
Read on for the full
Performance
Jeff walks you through some of the concepts he uses for the extended solo. Incorporating intervals and sequences gives a fresh sound even when using the same old minor pentatonic scales. Experiment with the ideas Jeff uses to create alternative sequences using different intervallic licks.
Jeff also demonstrates a hammer-on/pull-off lick using the Dorian mode on a single string. This lick helps outline the Dorian’s note positions on an individual string while offering an alternative to playing in one position.
Breakdown
Video two contains a short recap of the material we’ve worked with and an extended solo over this week’s chord progression.
Practice Regimen For Week 4
Day 1: Review last week’s material with the objective of understanding and playing the Dorian mode down near the first blues position. Next, learn both the blues and Dorian scales on strings one, two and three horizontally. Then, play with the jam track while improvising using the fifth blues position, bends and slides. Improvise again targeting chord tones. Each chord has three different chord tones and there are four chords within the progression. Outline each chord by playing the tonic, 3rd and the 5th.
Am = A, C and E
G = G, B and D
D = D, F# and A
C = C, E and G
Day 2: Watch video one and print the chart. Use it to learn the intervallic sequence and then play it slowly. Use the hammer-on/pull-off lick on one string to familiarize yourself with the Dorian mode. Notice how Jeff frets the two stacks of 5th interval riff, which is reminiscent of the Police’s “Message in a Bottle.” Play around with this lick, while being sure not to overstretch your fingers.
Day 3: Watch the extended solo in video two. Look through the chart and pick out some licks that you like. It’s not necessary to play the solo verbatim, just grab the concepts you like and create your own licks using their approaches. Improvise over the jam track using these licks. The majority of them can be used over the entire progression.
Day 4: Experiment using sequences. Use the minor pentatonic scale to create a three-note pattern. Start with the tonic on the sixth string, then play the same pattern moved up one scale note, moving up another scale tone the following time and so on. Use the same type of pattern, starting on the tonic on the first string, and play it backward. Repeat the exercise with the Dorian mode.
Day 5: Today, improvise using all the concepts Jeff has demonstrated over the past two weeks. Make clear statements in your leads, don’t just run scales. Next, introduce question-and-answer phrases, like those we worked with in week two. Develop phrases using the stack of 5ths-trick Jeff used. Place the riff on top of the four tonics in this progression A, G, C and D and see what you can come up with.
Night Classes are ten-week TrueFire