Your description of the pick grip or pick placement is one of the most helpful descriptions I've seen.
Would you be willing to post a few photos of your pick grip from a couple of different angles?
Does your pick grip change at all when you play mandolin? (I've seen a video of you tearing it up on the mandolin and I'm curious because I started out on the mandolin).
Thanks so much for your lessons. How much do you think of the scale degrees when you're playing or putting together a solo? Is it mostly useful in identifying the chords, or do you really use this idea to help craft the color of your solos?
I'm especially interested in getting into your head about how you shape solos through a chord change. In the White Dove example, you explain that the melody goes 5,5,5,3,2,1,6,1... (approximately). But when the melody hits that first 6, it triggers the G chord, so do you think about buiding a solo in G at that moment? So in the G scale, the 6 is now a 3, relative to G.
Am I completely over thinking this? Trying to keep track of the separate scale degrees through each chord change seems kind of confusing, but I think there might be value in knowing which notes to play through a key change, especially if you're improvising. Hitting the 1, 3 or 5 of the new chord at the beginning of a key change seem like pretty safe bet.
What are your thoughts on how much it's helpful to do all this metal math, or is developing a less structured feel for the music more helpful?
When I’m playing I’m not doing a bunch of quick calculations as in your example in the second paragraph. But I do know the sound of a 3rd or a 5th or a 6th over a given root or chord. So it’s less a math problem, and more me applying a label to a subjective experience of sound. Or said another way, by using scale degrees and I have labels for the “color” of a given note relative to the key center. And actually, knowing the sound or color of intervals between any two notes is important as well. Any major 6th interval will sound like any other major 6th interval, regardless of where they fall relative to the root.
That said, different people process information differently and if you’re someone who is interested in the puzzle of tracking the scale degrees through different chord changes then more power to you!
Another way of looking at it involves keeping track of what scale degree you are on relative to the root of the chord at any given time. So as the chords change you can always try to see the root, 3rd, 5th of the new chord. I use that approach a lot!
Chris,
Your description of the pick grip or pick placement is one of the most helpful descriptions I've seen.
Would you be willing to post a few photos of your pick grip from a couple of different angles?
Does your pick grip change at all when you play mandolin? (I've seen a video of you tearing it up on the mandolin and I'm curious because I started out on the mandolin).
Thanks,
David
Hi David,
Yes, happy to take some pictures in the next day or so. Traveling now. In the meantime, I use the same pick grip whether playing mandolin or guitar.
Cheers,
Chris
Chris,
Thanks so much for your lessons. How much do you think of the scale degrees when you're playing or putting together a solo? Is it mostly useful in identifying the chords, or do you really use this idea to help craft the color of your solos?
I'm especially interested in getting into your head about how you shape solos through a chord change. In the White Dove example, you explain that the melody goes 5,5,5,3,2,1,6,1... (approximately). But when the melody hits that first 6, it triggers the G chord, so do you think about buiding a solo in G at that moment? So in the G scale, the 6 is now a 3, relative to G.
Am I completely over thinking this? Trying to keep track of the separate scale degrees through each chord change seems kind of confusing, but I think there might be value in knowing which notes to play through a key change, especially if you're improvising. Hitting the 1, 3 or 5 of the new chord at the beginning of a key change seem like pretty safe bet.
What are your thoughts on how much it's helpful to do all this metal math, or is developing a less structured feel for the music more helpful?
Thanks,
David
Hi David, and thanks for your question!
When I’m playing I’m not doing a bunch of quick calculations as in your example in the second paragraph. But I do know the sound of a 3rd or a 5th or a 6th over a given root or chord. So it’s less a math problem, and more me applying a label to a subjective experience of sound. Or said another way, by using scale degrees and I have labels for the “color” of a given note relative to the key center. And actually, knowing the sound or color of intervals between any two notes is important as well. Any major 6th interval will sound like any other major 6th interval, regardless of where they fall relative to the root.
That said, different people process information differently and if you’re someone who is interested in the puzzle of tracking the scale degrees through different chord changes then more power to you!
Another way of looking at it involves keeping track of what scale degree you are on relative to the root of the chord at any given time. So as the chords change you can always try to see the root, 3rd, 5th of the new chord. I use that approach a lot!
Does that help?
Chris