As I've been getting closer to the February Music Camp, I've been refining my Swing Guitar Lesson and getting more and more excited. Then, the other day I get in contact with one of the organizers and discover that not only will I be giving a workshop on Swing Guitar, but I will also be doing one on Swing Ukulele (as well as leading a few Ukulele jams).
No details are set yet, but I've already had to send in a synopsis of each lesson. The trick was, I'm don't really have the Ukulele workshop written yet!!!
Now, I'm scrambling a little to get my draft finished so I can iron it out.
The cool thing is, I've never really thought about Swing Ukulele the same way I do Swing Guitar. Because of the regular repertoire inherent in the Ukulele culture, which is very saturated with swing tunes as much as it is with folk and classic rock, I've always felt Swing Ukulele was sort of a natural part of any Ukulele player's repertoire.
But, now I'm really looking at it. I'm breaking down what I do already and what I find myself working on in this genre. What I'm finding is that there really are some differences between just playing Ukulele and playing Swing Ukulele. What is even more astounding to me is the amount of differences I've finding between Swing Guitar and Swing Ukulele!
Eventually, I'll post a lot of my findings and ultimately my lesson here. But for now, I think I need to concentrate on writing and polishing both lessons and getting ready for the upcoming awesomeness of the Folk Alliance Music Camp!
~Danny
Showing posts with label jazz. Show all posts
Showing posts with label jazz. Show all posts
Sunday, January 12, 2014
Monday, October 14, 2013
Swing Guitar: Part Six
Simple Moving Bass Notes
Six Foot One is a good example of a tune that we can use the simple concept of alternating bass notes. As in many forms of music, bass lines can be very simple in Swing (they can also be very complicated walking bass styles).
Alternating bass usually refers to alternating between the root (or tonic) note of a chord and the fifth as the bass of the chord. To create the alternating bass style we are going to use a couple of chord shapes that we have already seen together.
If you don't remember the chords to Six Foot One, here is a refresher.
Now, let's look at how we alternate those bass lines.
And the video...
Notice how the alternating bass line moves the rhythm of the song. This is really useful technique for adding that sort of moving or driving sound to your playing.
A word of caution, though... When playing with a bass player, this sort of movement can really get in the way of the overall sound. It's important to let the bass player be a bass player. Just like it is important for them to let you be a guitar player!
That said, in ensembles where there is not a bass player, and especially when you are playing solo or accompanying a soloist, this method is really useful. Just to play around with it, try not using a pick and just using your fingers!!!
~Danny
Six Foot One is a good example of a tune that we can use the simple concept of alternating bass notes. As in many forms of music, bass lines can be very simple in Swing (they can also be very complicated walking bass styles).
Alternating bass usually refers to alternating between the root (or tonic) note of a chord and the fifth as the bass of the chord. To create the alternating bass style we are going to use a couple of chord shapes that we have already seen together.
If you don't remember the chords to Six Foot One, here is a refresher.
Now, let's look at how we alternate those bass lines.
And the video...
Notice how the alternating bass line moves the rhythm of the song. This is really useful technique for adding that sort of moving or driving sound to your playing.
A word of caution, though... When playing with a bass player, this sort of movement can really get in the way of the overall sound. It's important to let the bass player be a bass player. Just like it is important for them to let you be a guitar player!
That said, in ensembles where there is not a bass player, and especially when you are playing solo or accompanying a soloist, this method is really useful. Just to play around with it, try not using a pick and just using your fingers!!!
~Danny
Monday, October 7, 2013
Swing Guitar: Part Five
This is part five of my Swing Guitar Workshop which I will be teaching at the Folk Alliance Winter Music Camp this coming February. Make sure to visit their website and get signed up for the camp. There will be tons of great classes from local and national musicians on all types of music.
Six Foot One, Tons of Fun
Again, we need to change names around. I'm betting you know the tune. It's FIVE times as fun as a FOOTball game played by TWO leprechauns.
Hehe...
This tune makes a great teaching platform from the Circle of Fifths because it basically follows the circle in a dominant cycle. Plus, after we learn the regular tune, we will come back to this and look at it with some fun bass note stuff in another lesson.
Just in case you didn't know, the symbol "N.C." in the last two measures of the B section mean "No Chord". Basically, after you play the G7, there is a break there. When I play solo, sometimes I will mute all the strings and strum (or scratch as I call it) to the bit to keep time.
Take a look at this handout I'm using for the class for an explanation of the chord shapes that I will be using.
Now, here is the example via SoundCloud:
Take a look at this and play around with it. We will get some variations into the tune in a future lesson. In the mean time, if you have any questions, feel free to ask!
~Danny
Six Foot One, Tons of Fun
Again, we need to change names around. I'm betting you know the tune. It's FIVE times as fun as a FOOTball game played by TWO leprechauns.
Hehe...
This tune makes a great teaching platform from the Circle of Fifths because it basically follows the circle in a dominant cycle. Plus, after we learn the regular tune, we will come back to this and look at it with some fun bass note stuff in another lesson.
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| made with iRealb |
Just in case you didn't know, the symbol "N.C." in the last two measures of the B section mean "No Chord". Basically, after you play the G7, there is a break there. When I play solo, sometimes I will mute all the strings and strum (or scratch as I call it) to the bit to keep time.
Take a look at this handout I'm using for the class for an explanation of the chord shapes that I will be using.
Now, here is the example via SoundCloud:
Take a look at this and play around with it. We will get some variations into the tune in a future lesson. In the mean time, if you have any questions, feel free to ask!
~Danny
Monday, September 30, 2013
Swing Guitar: Part Four
This is the fourth installment of my series on Swing Guitar comping. As I've mentioned before, this is my prep work for an upcoming workshop that I will be teaching for the Folk Alliance's winter conference. Check them out for more information. I hope to see you there!
This lesson will focus on a tool that musicians of every level and genre use: The Circle of Fifths.
I talked a little in previous lessons about how this was used in terms of dominant cycles. This will be just a brief explanation of how to use the Circle of Fifths as a comping tool and as a reference tool. There are so many different uses of the Circle that I won't be able to cover all of them here, but I do hope to give you a good working explanation as well as how to use it in Swing Guitar.
What's a Fifth
When we say a fifth, we are talking about an interval between two notes. In this case, a root (or tonic) note and the fifth degree (or note) on a scale.
To find that fifth, we count the root as one and work our way up the scale. In the key of C, the fifth note is G. To build our circle, we keep doing this until we come back to C natural. In all, there are twelve notes (just like there are twelve positions on a clock; weird!).
The Circle
As a cool little mathematical (read: magic) result, by moving through the twelve notes around in fifths, when we reverse it, we are working in fourths! Notice that "F" is the fourth degree of the C major scale.
Minor chords
As a reference, many people who use the Circle tend to group the relative minors of each key/chord with the majors already listed. To find a relative minor, we simply count up six notes on the major scale. Notice that would be "A" on the C major scale so we use Am.
Below is the circle with the relative minors written in for you.
Dominant Cycle Exercises
Learning to use the Circle as a practice tool can making learning new chords shapes, progressions, scales, arpeggios, licks, or any other melodic or rhythmic device a lot more fun. Here are some ideas on how to use dominant cycles for practice:
Scales
- Choose a scale such as a mode of the major scale
- Use one fingering to play the scale in C
- Move a fifth to play the scale in G
- Keep moving in fifths around the circle
- Do the same as above moving in fourths
Chord Progressions
- Pick a progression in C keeping chords within two or three frets
- Move a fifth to G and play it again
- Keep moving until you have gone around the circle
- Do this again moving in fourths
Chord Shapes
- Pick a chord shape you are trying to master
- Play the C version of the shape
- Move a fifth to G and play it again
- Keep moving until you have gone around the circle
- Do this again moving in fourths
Again, working in dominant cycles in a great way to learn the relationships of different chords and notes. And by playing though exercises using the circle, you will inevitably learn the fretboard as well.
Backcycling
Last but not least, I wanted to share something that makes the circle really useful in jazz. Backcycling is method of following the chords of a particular key backwards. Let's look at the C major scale notes again and then harmonize them.
This lesson will focus on a tool that musicians of every level and genre use: The Circle of Fifths.
I talked a little in previous lessons about how this was used in terms of dominant cycles. This will be just a brief explanation of how to use the Circle of Fifths as a comping tool and as a reference tool. There are so many different uses of the Circle that I won't be able to cover all of them here, but I do hope to give you a good working explanation as well as how to use it in Swing Guitar.
What's a Fifth
When we say a fifth, we are talking about an interval between two notes. In this case, a root (or tonic) note and the fifth degree (or note) on a scale.
The Circle
As a cool little mathematical (read: magic) result, by moving through the twelve notes around in fifths, when we reverse it, we are working in fourths! Notice that "F" is the fourth degree of the C major scale.
Minor chords
As a reference, many people who use the Circle tend to group the relative minors of each key/chord with the majors already listed. To find a relative minor, we simply count up six notes on the major scale. Notice that would be "A" on the C major scale so we use Am.
Below is the circle with the relative minors written in for you.
Dominant Cycle Exercises
Learning to use the Circle as a practice tool can making learning new chords shapes, progressions, scales, arpeggios, licks, or any other melodic or rhythmic device a lot more fun. Here are some ideas on how to use dominant cycles for practice:
Scales
- Choose a scale such as a mode of the major scale
- Use one fingering to play the scale in C
- Move a fifth to play the scale in G
- Keep moving in fifths around the circle
- Do the same as above moving in fourths
Chord Progressions
- Pick a progression in C keeping chords within two or three frets
- Move a fifth to G and play it again
- Keep moving until you have gone around the circle
- Do this again moving in fourths
Chord Shapes
- Pick a chord shape you are trying to master
- Play the C version of the shape
- Move a fifth to G and play it again
- Keep moving until you have gone around the circle
- Do this again moving in fourths
Again, working in dominant cycles in a great way to learn the relationships of different chords and notes. And by playing though exercises using the circle, you will inevitably learn the fretboard as well.
Backcycling
Last but not least, I wanted to share something that makes the circle really useful in jazz. Backcycling is method of following the chords of a particular key backwards. Let's look at the C major scale notes again and then harmonize them.
C - D - E - F - G - A - B
Now Harmonized (make them chords)
Cmaj7 - Dm7 - Em7 - Fmaj7 - G7 - Am7 - Bm7b5
Now, let's put them in order with the circle. Note that the if we look at C and move around the circle in fifths until we run out of notes on the C major scale, we end with B. So, that is where we will start.
Bm7b5 - Em7 - Am7 - Dm7 - G7 - Cmaj7 - Fmaj7
Now let's look at the numbers for those chords:
vii - iii - vi - ii - V - I - IV
Here is a look at it with all that on the circle.
Notice the ii - V - I in there??? In fact, some tunes you will see this cycle work through from start to finish! This means that if you can master this harmonization of the circle in all keys you have the bare bones to learn a lot of the jazz and swing repertoire that is out there!
Take a look at all this and have fun with it. If you have any questions, feel free to post them and I'll do my best to help explain!
~Danny
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