The gentle art of ripping someone's face off

evolucian · 2013-04-06T13:42:41+00:00

The solo. Two little words, that when used together, inspire fear and loathing in many a guitarist/musician still on their musical journey. It is usually acc...

The gentle art of ripping someone's face off

Lethe

The point and purpose... You completely missed it...
Nice playing though... If you want to show off your skills you should start another thread and try pimp your lessons there.

chrisbark

Hey man , I dont have to do anything

Just like you didn't have respond to a Lesson thread with something completely off topic.

I could offer advice to those who are interested

Why don't you start your own thread ? How to rip someones face off in 6 hours with 6 modes?

dont box yourself in with Limitations

Working within constraints is part of being creative. Key centre, tempo, style, etc all limit the possibilities but also allow you to narrow things down and create something that makes sense. Try playing a bluegrass/reggae solo at 179BPM in C#m that really works over this piece.

You can play on a progression like that for 6 hours straight, pick the best parts, and then you have your section

This was one of the pitfalls Evo mentioned at the start. Playing over a jam track for 6 hours will help you come up with ideas and figure out what works over the track but it doesn't necessarily translate to a killer solo that tells a story.

Like Lethe said, nice playing but keep it on topic or keep it moving.

evolucian

guitarbyquintin wrote: LOL
Hey man , I dont have to do anything,

This is true, as I don't have to bother ripping your track for these fine gents and ladies on this here forum either. So seeing as you're being a prick, read on if you must

I felt the jam the way I played it.

Thats nice, you went out of time in sections, forgetting to feel the pulse. And it wasn't a jam

I could offer advice to those who are interested. 36 seconds would be a waste of time.

I'm sure you could. The best advice is to feel it, but also play in time and feel the pulse and play within it. You are not a beginner. You were taught by professionals to be professional and one of the professional things is to actually follow the rules... apart from being on time. I see you're friends with Heath... if I pass this on to him he'll tell you the same. That I can guarantee you. As far as 36s being a waste of time, that is all that was allotted to you. If you went into a session and the producer said the same 36s to make magic happen and you did the shit you did, you know you wouldn't be hired again. No one wants to see the wankery of a musician in a studio and hearing the excuse "Aw man, I was just winging it as I felt it duuuuuude". It's not gonna fly with them, and clearly not in the confines of this thread either.

Perhaps this thread is good for you in that you could actually learn something. "The Quintin Louw" makes mistakes y'all. So does Peter but that's not for now, we'll leave that for another thread. So what is it that this thread can teach you? Read on

the point is, dont box yourself in with Limitations. Because it will show in your playing.

The limitations were that you had 16 bars in which to create a solo. And it will show in your playing! You are absolutely correct in that assumption as you displayed a serious flaw in judgement/understanding by looping it for 4 minutes and having an unstructured solo. The point of this track was to have a structured solo fit for release, albeit a mock version of a release. "It will show in your playing" is exactly what it did. You worked on a few lines prior to recording it, but didn't work on them hard enough to actually fit it into the allotted time. Patience and perseverance would be what the thread can teach you, along with humility.

If you feel like breaking the music rules, you should be able to.

In essence, there are no music rules to break. There are no rules with regards to composition. Just look at serialism as a point of reference. You may have a fixed tone row, but your tones in that row definitely do not mean that they are your chord roots. A fixed series of pitches never repeated in the sequence could be in any part of your composition in any chord/melody or any voice if you're writing in four voices. BUT, there are rules towards structure. If you only have 16 bars, you cannot have a solo of 19 bars instead. If someone has ocd, that now 19 bar solo has totally messed with the order of things and the universe will now fall apart in a matter of seconds. A producer would ask you wtf you are doing. A composer will get someone else who can actually play in the 16 bar allowance. A recording engineer will scratch his head in disbelief as something is not quite right here. Get the message yet?

You can play on a progression like that for 6 hours straight, pick the best parts, and then you have your section.

I do recall mentioning that as one of the ways in which a solo could be written. However, it is best done on your dime in the studio or at home. And seeing as this thread is designed for people at home, then its ok to wail for 6 hours and keep the best parts and work it into the structure.

If you think too much about what you are going to fit into 36 sec, you are thinking too much.

Maybe you were thinking too much about thinking too much. Maybe you didn't think at all... none of us will ever know this enigma that lies before us.

I think before and then just jam and feel it.

That is very nice. But it wasn't a jam track, it was a lesson as outlined in the first post.

Thanks for the thread though

You're welcome.

Shibbibilybob

I kinda like the idea of using time limits to practice. It has helped me to write short and concise solos. It's not that long solos are bad or anything, simply that challenging myself to write a short solo challenges me to dig in to what I am playing and focus on the bits that are interesting.

[deleted]

Maybe you were thinking too much about thinking too much. Maybe you didn't think at all... none of us will ever know this enigma that lies before us.

Ha ha. I think I think you're right!! But perhaps I'm thinking too much....

guitarbyquintin

Thanks for the tips!

Q

evolucian

Structure: tempo 130, 4/4, Key of D
2 bars of the 2nd chorus
8 bars of the bridge (D - D/C# - D/B - D/A)
8 bars solo (F#5-G5-F#5-G5-A5)x2
2 bars final chorus

Ok, so here we have part 2. This is an 8 bar example. I gave the last 2 bars of the chorus leading into 8 bar bridge, 8 bar solo and 2 bars of the final chorus.

Now someone would ask "why so much prior to the solo?"
Well, to get a feel for the song you are soloing over. Ok, now I know the full chorus is not in here, but its partly there nonetheless. The bridge is included and you can do a lead in into the solo (the lead in can be two beats, a bar or two bars... doesn't really matter. As long as the lead in doesn't go against the vocal line, complimentary all the way). Luckily there are no vocals so you can use your imagination as to where it would be. I left two bars of the final chorus for a tailend of a solo if needed.

This is now a practical version of a solo within a song. My idea behind this track was to create something like Creed would. Admittedly for the solo I used Creed as well as Alter Bridge. 8 Bars doesn't fly by as fast as you think it would, but if you are not prepared for it... zoom zoom. Be sure to match the tempo in your daw. Good luck.

https://www.box.com/s/f3a1ew0e4sacnk2lwdv1

No repeats pls.

Arno-West

evolucian wrote: Thank you Quintin for making a truly useless post and clip (as I will not be downloading a 102MB clip nor listening to it). Read the rules. And quite possibly, as a GIT grad, you didn't need to do it. Yet we are all here to learn from each other and about each other, anyone and everyone is welcome to participate, provided they follow the rules of clip sizes.

Very glad you got to use all those magical possibilities in 36 seconds. Well done.. my frikkin hero. Equally impressed at 36s = 102MB. Did I mention its 102MB yet? I don't think I did... YOUR CLIP IS 102MB!!!! YOU MUST REALLY BE BRAND SPANKING NEW!!!

Now seeing as I can't listen to your track, please explain to me how you approached it using all your extra goodies... pretty please? As this would possibly give some members an idea of how to approach a specific subset of chords using certain outside pitches and why they work, I think its a good idea. As it is only a 16 bar set piece, I suspect the order of things will not carry so many fancy titles and could be reduced to far less.

Please extract the audio, keep it at 16 bars (18 bars with one empty bar on the beginning and end, totalling 36 seconds) and rip it back out at 128k. Then we can all listen to it in peace and... stuff.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

evolucian

Why oh why did the thread die? If you've learned enough, then so be it ?

Arno-West

Maybe the GIT guy scared everybody off?? I didn't bother to download 102mb of modes, but it seems as if he covered the entire book of Guitar Theory in one shot.

Grant

What GIT guy? ?

singemonkey

Still wanting to double thank Evo for the "Let go of the "I suck" thing." Was working on a solo this week and my first efforts left me with the "I suck" thing. Read this thread and went back to it. Results improving rapidly. Just taking what I know how to do and making it work.

chrisbark

Nooo don't let it die !
I'm finding it a lot harder to come up with something I like for this one, lets see what the weekend brings.

evolucian

Cool singe... glad it helped man ?

Crafty

Wicked post!!!
Not nearly there yet, but when i get to this stage, a poster of this will be waiting on my wall, or a link in my favourites.
One day I will yet do the solo of Fleetwood Mac - I'm So Afraid.
PS half the song is a solo at the end. Skip to about 4 minutes i think
=

chrisbark

Took me ages to come up with anything for this one, probably cos I don't play in Dmajor very often 8)
Approach was pretty similar to last time but less focused on making the changes. https://www.box.com/s/rstqzrsqilh7mygvxdrk

Basically I was trying to

Stay in key and hit some chord tones
Make a statement and develop it
Build up some tension and interest and end on a high point

Looking forward to hearing how you tackled it Evo so you can show us how its done.

evolucian

chrisbark wrote: Took me ages to come up with anything for this one, probably cos I don't play in Dmajor very often 8)
Approach was pretty similar to last time but less focused on making the changes. https://www.box.com/s/rstqzrsqilh7mygvxdrk

Basically I was trying to

Stay in key and hit some chord tones

Make a statement and develop it

Build up some tension and interest and end on a high point

Looking forward to hearing how you tackled it Evo so you can show us how its done.

This was a very nice take on it chris. Your lines were very interesting and well played. Your last note would have been cool an octave higher by playing the note you did, then hitting the 12th harmonic followed by the 5th fret harmonic (relative to note played) while maintaining the vibrato. Well done dude

Mine's not gonna show how its done, hehe. Mine is just a version... I built up into my solo from the bridge section already. I was aware there would be vocals so I never added too much except for long held notes. I'll try put it up later today if you're keen.

*edit* There is a link I made a few years ago to it. It's the complete song though (minus vocals and bass), with the solo starting at 2:17 (not downloadable... if I set it correctly that is, lol)

https://www.box.com/shared/v9zq0z08jk

If its too much for you guys, I'll upload just the solo section... but do let me know though otherwise I just never get to things.

chrisbark

Very cool track Evo, and monster solo ... I could feel my face peeling off ?
The longer held notes on the bridge section really contrast nicely with the blistering lead playing on the solo-section.
Mine would probably have been better if I could have done something like that that instead of just diving straight into it.
Your lead tone is also very Creedy ... I would be interested to know more about your amp/pedal/guitar settings ?

Anyway I hope some other brave souls will enter into the fray and keep this thread going.

warrenpridgeon

Intimidating ???

My guitar neck plays a little sucky at the moment ? but going to take it to get it repaired... need to pack a day pack and a tent for the journey tho... hehe

evolucian

chrisbark wrote: Very cool track Evo, and monster solo ... I could feel my face peeling off ?
The longer held notes on the bridge section really contrast nicely with the blistering lead playing on the solo-section.
Mine would probably have been better if I could have done something like that that instead of just diving straight into it.
Your lead tone is also very Creedy ... I would be interested to know more about your amp/pedal/guitar settings ?

Anyway I hope some other brave souls will enter into the fray and keep this thread going.

Thanks dude, appreciate it.

As far as settings go, I'm not sure. This (and all my tracks) are done with guitar rig. I think this song in particular may have used 3 different settings... two of the amps would have been the mesa clone and the ultrasonic. There may be an Amplitube set there too, not sure. My recording drive with cubase on is giving me problems so it's unplugged at the moment, so unfortunately I can't verify it at this time. I never adjust my guitar tone knobs so they're always full (like most rock bunnies).

I also hope a few more people take part... nevertheless I'll still keep updating this.

lol warren... journeys are always a good thing ?