Blizzards mean a lot of shoveling, snow-blowing, picture-taking, and--for me--a great opportunity to put up a new post. Last post I talked about the importance of entering a guitar contest. At the time of this writing there are at least three I know about; names and links are below:
- Play That Riff by Shredknowledge (ending ---?)
- Guitar Addiction by Guitareuroshop (ending 1/1/11)
- Bernie Rico, Jr. Guitar Giveaway (also ending 1/1/11)
...As you can see, two of them end real soon, so get those picks a-flutterin' and those fret-hands a-flyin'!
Well, it's about time for a guitar lesson here at Enjoying Guitar. My first lesson--Be Yourself on the Guitar--was hands-off (literally) and dealt with establishing one's identity on the instrument--very important indeed. However the time is nigh to get hands on, so get out your guitar and let's go...
This lesson is for beginner to intermediate players. However, advanced players may take a look as well...you might find something you can use, either for yourself or a student. So without further pickrastination I'm going to talk a little about Melodic Sequences and then go into this post's lesson.
I first heard about melodic sequences from rock virtuoso/guitar hero Paul Gilbert (can't remember if on video or an article). The concept has been around since classical music. I'll briefly explain it: a melody is an arrangement of notes that usually reappears (but doesn't have to). Improvised solos, by the way, are spontaneous melodies. A melodic sequence is a *numeric formula that has been applied repetitively to one or more scales or arpeggios. *This gets into scale degrees, a topic which I won't cover here since it can easily occupy a post, or series, by itself.
Melodic sequences can be as little as two notes. Beethoven's famous 5th Symphony, for example, begins with a simple four-note melody, or motif: G-G-G-Eb. This is followed by F-F-F-D. These are melodic sequences. How to tell? Both phrases have the same number of notes--a requirement for melodic sequences--and make use of the same interval(s), in this case the interval of a third (again, as intervals and scale degrees are related, more on both in the future): G to Eb is a Major third, and F to D is a minor third.
Another feature of melodic sequences is that they are organized in the same way. For example, G-G-G-Eb and F-G-F-D are not melodic sequences although they are closely related.
The great thing about sequences is that they tend to make for excellent fret-hand exercises AND action-ready phrases (or 'licks') at the same time. So you can get a good warm up or work out with them, then use them while composing or improvising!
Ok let's get playing. Here's melodic sequence #1:
This is really a group of two-note sequences. The first four are circled in the TAB portion. The BPM (beats per min.) I suggest for this exercise is eighth notes @ 120 (click per note).
The two things to concentrate on are correct fret-hand positioning--or 'posture', and note-clarity. Of course, keeping a steady rhythm is also very important: try your best to match the clicks on every note.
Next is melodic sequence #2:
Next is melodic sequence #3:
This is a group of two (alternating) four-note sequences, making this a group of compound sequences. BPM: eighth notes @ 120.
Next is melodic sequence #4:
This is a group triplet (3-note) sequences. These are 8th note triplets: three notes in the space of two (twelve notes in the space of eight per measure in this case).
Some metronomes can be set to triplets. This will alter the speed of the notes while the BPM stays the same. Just think: simple math. Remember, triplets are always three for two.
If you can't set your metronome to triplets, alter the BPM to 2/3 of the original tempo--so in this case--eighth notes @ 80. Playing triplets at this tempo will be just as fast as playing 'regular' 8th notes @ 120.
The last melodic sequence for this lesson is below...
Melodic sequence #5:
This is a group of triplet arpeggios. Play note-per-click @ 80 BPM.
These five melodic sequences will be easy to memorize once you get used to the sound / fret-hand feel of them. Obviously, there are many other keys and scales to apply these sequences to, as well as tons of note-combinations yeilding endless sequence possibilities. But realize that just some done right will get you great results.
-6SV
[added 1/14 - I've just posted the VIDEO version of this lesson on YouTube. By the way, the 3rd sequence is different on the video--it is not a compound sequence like the one above. So the vid might be cooler but this is a better lesson!]
