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What Music Theory do you know?


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Is this from a composition point of view..? For guitar passages or song writing?

 

I can help you with songwriting, especially incorporating riffs, but I don't know much purist musical theory though..!

 

You went for a Vintage Sunburst then..?

 

Check my avatar......... S N A P !

 

Looks like you got the flame you were after...!

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Well both, what you should know and what helps with song writting, help away :)

 

Yeah, were VS/Tobacco Burst Brothers now! (Dont tell anyone else but I wouldnt touch any other Standard colour..except Ice tea the rest are kinda...nevermind! heheh)

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Very little. I took lessons using the Mel Bay for a couple of years when I first started playing, but Glow Worm is a far cry from Detroit Rock City so I became bored with lessons. Everything else I learned by listening to records, copping licks and making up my own stuff. I understand keys and intervals and other rudimentary theory but I play mostly by instinct and the "If it sounds good, it is good" school of thought.

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Well both' date=' what you should know and what helps with song writting, help away [img']http://forum.gibson.com/public/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif[/img]

 

Yeah, were VS/Tobacco Burst Brothers now! (Dont tell anyone else but I wouldnt touch any other Standard colour..except Ice tea the rest are kinda...nevermind! heheh)

 

I thought you were going for a Vintage SB..? Is that avatar a Tobacco SB..? In some pics the Vintage and Tobacco look really similar..!

 

For writing songs........ I usually get a decent chord progression from little more than fooling around, then hum a melody over it. Hopefully, I'll come up with a catchy, accessible melody that sits within the envelope of the chords. USING MY GIBSON GUITAR.

 

By this point I usually get a feel for which way the song is going - sad, c0cky, anthemic, melancholy, etc.... Then the hums become lyrics. Again, they have to fit with the rest of the song, to follow the mood. USING MY GIBSON GUITAR.

 

I like painting with words - exploring some "tricky English", examples of which are:

 

They say that you should say what you see / I see it's only fair to say to you I need you there

 

or

 

If you don't need no-one, and know forever dont / Know there's someone, somewhere, who knows they never won't

 

or.... my current latest lyrical hook:

 

I'll confess to knowing best / more than most know of the rest / know things you don't know you don't / go where you don't know you won't

 

Then I formalise the song in terms of verce-verse-chorus-verse-chorus-middle 8-solo-chorus-chorus (usually).

 

If I want to record it for the guys I use Drums on Demand in Sonar.

 

ALL WITH MY GIBSON GUITAR, OF COURSE !! !! !!

 

I'm not much of a soloist, I tend to hum them, then play what I just hummed and go from there.

 

I've posted on collab forums, and got some good results.

 

Ok, more songwriting than guitar theory - but I'll leave that to the experts.....!

 

Anyone..?

 

:-k

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the gutar is a musical instrument... so is the piano i heard my unca saying the flute was a musical once but i havent got no proof so i couldnt tell. i think i know that for sure. (knowing that is a need when you are a recording musician and enginer hehehe) (and here i was telling you guys to stop harrassing little skynyrd :-k )

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I thought you were going for a Vintage SB..? Is that avatar a Tobacco SB..? In some pics the Vintage and Tobacco look really similar..!

 

For writing songs........ I usually get a decent chord progression from little more than fooling around' date=' then hum a melody over it. Hopefully, I'll come up with a catchy, accessible melody that sits within the envelope of the chords. USING MY GIBSON GUITAR.

 

By this point I usually get a feel for which way the song is going - sad, c0cky, anthemic, melancholy, etc.... Then the hums become lyrics. Again, they have to fit with the rest of the song, to follow the mood. USING MY GIBSON GUITAR.

 

I like painting with words - exploring some "tricky English", examples of which are:

 

They say that you should say what you see / I see it's only fair to say to you I need you there

 

or

 

If you don't need no-one, and know forever dont / Know there's someone, somewhere, who knows they never won't

 

or.... my current latest lyrical hook:

 

I'll confess to knowing best / more than most know of the rest / know things you don't know you don't / go where you don't know you won't

 

Then I formalise the song in terms of verce-verse-chorus-verse-chorus-middle 8-solo-chorus-chorus (usually).

 

If I want to record it for the guys I use Drums on Demand in Sonar.

 

ALL WITH MY GIBSON GUITAR, OF COURSE !! !! !!

 

I'm not much of a soloist, I tend to hum them, then play what I just hummed and go from there.

 

I've posted on collab forums, and got some good results.

 

Ok, more songwriting than guitar theory - but I'll leave that to the experts.....!

 

Anyone..?

 

=P~

 

 

Although can't say what you're seeing, I can see what you're saying. =P~

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Since there have been several questions lately on theory, I can't help but weigh in. IMHO, the trick is to learn theory so you and your music can transcend your instrument. When you learn theory, you start to see that playing any instrument (guitar, piano, flugelhorn, whatever) is mainly an exercise in physically getting the music out of that instrument. When you know how music (at least in the 12 tone sense) works and WHY it works, then a whole new world opens up. I became happiest as a musician years ago when I stopped trying to play like anyone else (or everyone else), and dug into my own understanding of how and why music works (theory), and then used that knowledge when I played.

 

Obviously this is not to say that creating music is an exercise of the head and not the heart. I’m just a complete advocate of learning theory so you can concentrate on creating your own voice. An analogy might be like when you first learn to drive you have to think about using the pedals, and turning the steering wheel. But once you practice driving, eventually you go from one place to another and never think about the individual actions of driving. Theory is the same way… when you learn how and why music works, you stop thinking about it in terms of (Gibson Les Paul) guitar techniques, and start reacting to the music as music.

 

A great resource for theory is this site: www.musictheory.net. This is not a “guitar” site and is not going to show you how to play the solo to some specific song. Theory is universal no matter the instrument... I advocate learning in this context and then applying that knowledge to your guitar. It’s a big world.

 

Peace!

Karma

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I hit the string(s)' date=' they make a noise, if I press the strings at a point on the neck, the noise is different...that's the extent of my theory.[/quote']

 

I'll gladly share my formal music theory training, taught to me by the lead player in the last band I was in :

 

 

3 notes make a chord.

 

 

 

Ok.... that and Tim A's spreadsheet are pretty much it... so I'll go ahead and get in the same boat with Guitarandfeather O:)

 

 

We can fish and talk about music theory.

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First of all, karma, I'm sorry, but I can't take anything you say seriously because of your avatar.

I can honestly hear Brian's voice in my head when I read it. O:)

 

Chanman, has that spreadsheet helped you at all? Just curious.

It's actually helped me tremendously because I can play in any key anywhere on the neck.

Not just saying that because I made it, but it did help.

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I just made something in Excel that helped me apply patterns to the guitar's neck...it's based on where the root is. So, as long as you know where the root is and you play a specific pattern, you're in that key. If you have Excel and want it, send me a pm with your email.

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We can fish and talk about music theory.

 

 

Sounds like a plan!!! They're gettin' BIG Striped Bass off the beach up here in the Mini-State (Rhode Island)! I'll bring the Eels, and the balloons, you bring the hooks, and the flashlight.:) eusa_clap.gif :) =D> =D>

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Sounds like a plan!!! They're gettin' BIG Striped Bass off the beach up here in the Mini-State (Rhode Island)! I'll bring the Eels, and the balloons, you bring the hooks, and the flashlight.Applause Applause Applause Applause Applause

 

Eels, balloons and a flashlight to go fishing???? Sounds like something Skynyrd would do...

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Chord progression.

I found this to be a cool tool to write songs.

The basics is' date=' you start at "I" (the one chord)

The one chord can move to any other chord.

Then use the arrows to find your other choices.[/quote']

 

Knapp - can you explain this a little further..? Do the Roman Numerals relate to notes in a major scale? Forgive my ignorance!

 

Ryan

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