What are you playing or practicing right now?

good luck to anyone trying to play any of those guys never mind all three — and keep it classy.
 
bodia said:
Yeah, the whole alarm going off at 4:00 AM thing sucks. That KISS concert earlier this month was a tough night. I didn't get to bed until 1:00. I can barely make it until 10:00! That is definitely one thing I'll look forward to on April 28th, no alarm. That'll be the first day of the Mrs' retirement.
Click to expand...

I’ve had a little trouble getting back to speed since the hand surgery - happened the last time, too, w/the foot. So Monday morning is going to be interesting after a 2.5 hour drive home after the show. Energy drinks at the rest stop!!!

When we were in Cleveland for Tremonti a few years back, we were talking to a couple that were in their 30s (estimate). Turned out they’d driven from Columbus, about the same distance as us but from a different direction. They said, “So where are you guys staying? We found a hotel a few blocks away.” Staying? We’re going home - it’s only 2.5 hours. “Wow, that’s hardcore.” I mean, I’m not *that* old!
 
veinbuster said:
Playing a Sarah McLachlan book I found in the cupboard. It turns out she wrote some interesting guitar parts - complicated a bit because I’m too lazy to change to her tunings.

And experimenting with delay on the Kemper while I am away from the tubes.
Click to expand...

Which Sarah book? I like a lot of her earlier stuff, and I bought the sheet for “Adia” because I just had to look at the chords and melody around the line “We are born innocent”. Chills just about every time. The line at about 1:08 of this vid.


First heard her on MuchMusic way back in the early 90s, when they were still available on the big satellite dish. I actually drove to Toronto to buy the Canadian verion of “Solace” because it didn’t have the Donovan cover on it and I knew she didn’t want it on her album. Love “Path Of Thorns” from that album.
 
bodia said:
Yeah, the whole alarm going off at 4:00 AM thing sucks. That KISS concert earlier this month was a tough night. I didn't get to bed until 1:00. I can barely make it until 10:00! That is definitely one thing I'll look forward to on April 28th, no alarm. That'll be the first day of the Mrs' retirement.
Click to expand...


I'd be like "Hey, boss. I wanna see this Rock concert. Can I take the next morning off, and make up for it another day?"
 
Ken H said:
Practicing scales...with a side of Bourbon....:)
Click to expand...

In my younger (military) days, it was a half gallon of old #7 or Jaegarmeister while friends would have their bottles and we would drink until the last man lost his ability to play even the simplest things and then go hit the bar from 10p to 5a.

More than once, we'd walk back to base and try jamming again at 7 or 8 in the morning

Not advised. MPs aren't exactly Rock fans. Neither are Squad Leaders, Platoon SGTs, or 1SGs.

Commanding officers hate getting calls about drunk soldiers murdering guitars on the weekend. They can get pretty creative with punishments.
I had a CPT order me to purchase a Britney Fkng Spears CD and play it everywhere I went.

I did in fact purchase said CD, and played it all the way to the mental health office

Me: 1
Army: 0
 
markd21 said:
I have been working with Arabic and Gypsy music. Scales, of course, but mostly the chord theory - focused on borrowed chords and modal movement. I am trying to develop some "hybrid" compositions that utilize Middle Eastern folk structures and alternate tunings. It's a brain exercise, for sure...plus it's stretching my theory skills, which has been my goal over the last year or so. I want to be less of a "guitarist" and more of a composer that utilizes guitar. The tracks I am recording for my current solo album are pretty much piano focused. Only one song has guitar at all.

I am also working on classical chord progressions - getting myself away from "pop" song constructs. I want to be able to create a piece of music that is "classical" enough to be able to give to my friend - who is a middle school orchestra teacher - for her kids to perform at a concert. I am getting closer to understanding how to break chords apart for multiple instruments to play the voicings. I realized it's the same thing that a lot of Black Metal bands do with splitting the root and 5th between two guitarists when tremolo picking. I am just contemplating how to handle some of the "deeper" portions of the voicings, like the 3rds or 7ths. Also, chopping up the chord into different rhythmic "movements" to enhance the dynamics. It's growing a little at a time. I'll get there.

THEN, I am also working on creating 4 bar pieces of music that can be looped for YouTube vloggers. Things that go beyond just "beats" - little pieces of actual music that can be dropped into a video editing program and stretched to fit as needed. I am trying to make it interesting, but not distracting - background music, really. I am using loops and writing a lot with MIDI for this. Totally NO guitars - I'll tell you what, trying to communicate a vibe with a melody in 4 bars really challenges my writing. I like to write long songs that build.

Anyway, everyday is working on one of these different bits. I still play guitar everyday. Sometimes it'll be for 5 minutes just to run a scale. Other times I have an idea and I pull out my phone and video myself playing the riff so I don't lose it. Sometimes I just want to hear one of my killer PRS'....
Click to expand...


My brain hurts now. Was there any English in there? XD



I want to hear some, if that's ok. Got YouTube? That's all I have
 
alantig said:
I’ve had a little trouble getting back to speed since the hand surgery - happened the last time, too, w/the foot. So Monday morning is going to be interesting after a 2.5 hour drive home after the show. Energy drinks at the rest stop!!!

When we were in Cleveland for Tremonti a few years back, we were talking to a couple that were in their 30s (estimate). Turned out they’d driven from Columbus, about the same distance as us but from a different direction. They said, “So where are you guys staying? We found a hotel a few blocks away.” Staying? We’re going home - it’s only 2.5 hours. “Wow, that’s hardcore.” I mean, I’m not *that* old!
Click to expand...

I'm 31. Any venue in Las Vegas is going to end up being an hour just to get out of town, and then it's 2.5 hours home. If I can drive past the racetrack without stopping.

I'll be damned if I'm getting a hotel in Vegas just for a concert. I did that for Acca Dacca, and some scumbag tried to break into my flippin truck!

I put my green dot laser directly in his eye, and when that safety clicked off, he probably broke Usain Bolt's record!

The good hotel rooms are cost prohibitive on weekends
 
markd21 said:
I have been working with Arabic and Gypsy music. Scales, of course, but mostly the chord theory - focused on borrowed chords and modal movement.
Click to expand...

I’ve been fiddling with a bit of Eastern influence m’self, though mine’s been all over the map, using stuff from everywhere, plus synths. And I’ve worked with orchestral stuff from time to time too. Maybe we were separated at birth, though that’s impossible since I’m old enough to be your ancestor!

I’ll post an example of the Eastern-influenced thing later today when I get a chance to. Meantime, orchestral...here’s a sample of an orchestral piece I did for an ad project a few years back; orchestration is a lot of fun, once you get the hang of it. The classic book on orchestration is Rimsly-Korsakov’s Principles of Orchestration, and I highly recommend it.

https://soundcloud.com/lschefman/western-theme-master-3
 
Last edited:
I'm playing 100% Irish music (acoustic) in prep for "gig" at St. Patrick's Day party. After that, it's back to electric!
 
Last edited:
@LSchefman - that was VERY cool!!!! I am totally envious of how much melodic content you can fit into such a short amount of time!! I'll check out that book - I am working through a lot of the concepts on my own or via YT videos I can find. Books work well for me. As far as being separated at birth, lol - I hope to one day do the things you do....the music for commercials, etc.

@Tremontinator - Here's the only thing I have up so far that demonstrates my experimentation in Arabic music. I dig this tune a lot, but it is very heavy - and I am not really "there" anymore. Doing heavy music got too easy, so I decided to move in a direction where I'd need to deepen my chord vocabulary and overall knowledge of music as a whole. The latest bits and bobs and folk oriented, and not very good at this point. It's actually frustrating, lol. It's one of the reasons I am working with alternate tunings/open tunings to try to see if I can find an "easier" way to get where I want to be.

Anyway, here's the progressive doom metal instrumental, aptly titled "Arabic Doom". The title is based on the scale and tempo of the piece - I based everything on an Arabic scale, and the tempo is 98bpm.

 
Specifically David Gilmour/Floydish stuff lately, it's the main reason I built a pedalboard. More generally focusing on making everything sound full, sweet, and melodic :)
 
Last edited:
[QUOTE"markd21, post: 461235, member: 9266"]@LSchefman - that was VERY cool!!!! I am totally envious of how much melodic content you can fit into such a short amount of time!! I'll check out that book - I am working through a lot of the concepts on my own or via YT videos I can find. Books work well for me. As far as being separated at birth, lol - I hope to one day do the things you do....the music for commercials, etc.

@Tremontinator - Here's the only thing I have up so far that demonstrates my experimentation in Arabic music. I dig this tune a lot, but it is very heavy - and I am not really "there" anymore. Doing heavy music got too easy, so I decided to move in a direction where I'd need to deepen my chord vocabulary and overall knowledge of music as a whole. The latest bits and bobs and folk oriented, and not very good at this point. It's actually frustrating, lol. It's one of the reasons I am working with alternate tunings/open tunings to try to see if I can find an "easier" way to get where I want to be.

Anyway, here's the progressive doom metal instrumental, aptly titled "Arabic Doom". The title is based on the scale and tempo of the piece - I based everything on an Arabic scale, and the tempo is 98bpm.

[/QUOTE]


I'll have to check it out
Thanks for sharing
 
markd21 said:
@LSchefman - that was VERY cool!!!! I am totally envious of how much melodic content you can fit into such a short amount of time!! I'll check out that book - I am working through a lot of the concepts on my own or via YT videos I can find. Books work well for me. As far as being separated at birth, lol - I hope to one day do the things you do....the music for commercials, etc.

@Tremontinator - Here's the only thing I have up so far that demonstrates my experimentation in Arabic music. I dig this tune a lot, but it is very heavy - and I am not really "there" anymore. Doing heavy music got too easy, so I decided to move in a direction where I'd need to deepen my chord vocabulary and overall knowledge of music as a whole. The latest bits and bobs and folk oriented, and not very good at this point. It's actually frustrating, lol. It's one of the reasons I am working with alternate tunings/open tunings to try to see if I can find an "easier" way to get where I want to be.

Anyway, here's the progressive doom metal instrumental, aptly titled "Arabic Doom". The title is based on the scale and tempo of the piece - I based everything on an Arabic scale, and the tempo is 98bpm.

Click to expand...

You did a terrific job with this idea! I wish I had your playing chops, too.

Melodies are easy; I experiment and try stuff. I figure if I can’t remember or sing it after hearing it, it’s not a melody. If I can, it’s a melody. Doesn’t mean my melodies are good ones, but that’s not for me to judge. This isn’t a rule for anyone else, it’s just how I think of it.
 
Last edited:
So here's the sort of semi-Eastern track I wrote. The story behind it is that I read a book on ancient Sumerian culture (3500 BC, I was but a lad), and one of the things in the book was a reference to Sumerian instruments (they've dug them up), and clay cuneiform tablets with instructions on tuning, playing, scales, etc (they used what we call now a Western whole tone scale). Evidently, the instrumental parts were basic, and there was singing, percussion, and other playing on top.

So I tried to imagine what this sounded like, and then it kind of grew into an electronic piece using a synthesized Guzheng sound (obviously not a Sumerian instrument), and kind of got out of what its original intention was, using all kinds of elemental ideas from all over Asia.

Nonetheless, I named it "Uruk" after the most important city in Sumeria. Incidentally, there is some speculation that the word, 'Uruk' was maintained in the culture and is the source of the word, 'Iraq'.

Here's the link to the music:

https://soundcloud.com/lschefman/uruk-3-7-19
 
I think the modern master of that kind of stuff is Loreena McKennit. She's definitely worth a listen if you're headed in that direction :)
 
LSchefman said:
So here's the sort of semi-Eastern track I wrote. The story behind it is that I read a book on ancient Sumerian culture (3500 BC, I was but a lad), and one of the things in the book was a reference to Sumerian instruments (they've dug them up), and clay cuneiform tablets with instructions on tuning, playing, scales, etc (they used what we call now a Western whole tone scale). Evidently, the instrumental parts were basic, and there was singing, percussion, and other playing on top.

So I tried to imagine what this sounded like, and then it kind of grew into an electronic piece using a synthesized Guzheng sound (obviously not a Sumerian instrument), and kind of got out of what its original intention was, using all kinds of elemental ideas from all over Asia.

Nonetheless, I named it "Uruk" after the most important city in Sumeria. Incidentally, there is some speculation that the word, 'Uruk' was maintained in the culture and is the source of the word, 'Iraq'.

Here's the link to the music:

https://soundcloud.com/lschefman/uruk-3-7-19
Click to expand...

LSchefman said:
Speaking of Gypsy music, I tried my hand at some 30s Gypsy Swing for a film score snippet:

https://soundcloud.com/lschefman/gypsy-swing-lcs
Click to expand...

KILLER!!! Dang it, man...what's your secret? These sound amazing.

I'm building my sound libraries, but it's the structures that are baffling me. Are you starting with melodies first? I tend to go for a chord bed/riff first, but then locked into a pop construct...

At any rate, awesome!
 
Me: Hi guys! I like to learn Bluesy Rock with a splash of Heavy Metal. What about y'all?

PRS Forums: <Highly sophisticated music far beyond my comprehension>

Inner me: OMG! Legends!

Inner me again: I should just give up


Still inner me: dude, you're just struggling with pentatonic scales


Me here now: <Awestruck>
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

The Fight
How do you stay creative?
2
Replies
25
Views
2K
solacematt
solacematt
Back
Top