Box Patterns

[werbo1]

How can i get away from playing box patterned riffs?!
Especially in minor grooves i need to learn how to incorporate other notes and maybe even switching positions, but i don't find switching positions really necessary.

Or is the box pattern not even a big deal? With minor stuff only two notes aren't in the pattern, and i do play those (the 3rd and 6th scale steps), but most of the time i just ifnd myself using fifths and other box patterned notes to find a groove.

when playing major stuff, i always try to go to a scale position, but its still hard to step away out of the box pattern of 1-3 1-3 2-3 because those ntoes are the mos timportant notes of the mode.

HELP!!! in a nutshell, how cna i make more grooves and stuff off of unboxed patterned stuff and play while changing positions

or does anyone have an example of stuff to help me write some grooves like that?

[Wrong Robot]

put your fingers in places outside of or inside of the boxes. See what happens.

[Correlli]

Learn about Cadence.

In plain english, cadence is all about correcting notes that Seem (sonicly) to not fit with the a given key.

So when you play a 4 bar phase, which contains some notes that sound as though they don't fit, use cadence at the end of the phrase to "correct" the harmony.

There four types, but the one I use the most is -

Dominant to the Tonic
---------------------

This will finish the phrase quite nicely, and correct any "bad sounding" notes.

And even if you don't play any "odd" notes, make sure you always finish the phrase on the Tonic.

I'll post up an example tomorrow.

[werbo1]

thanks Kiwi, i briefly remember my music theory teacher talking about cadences but we never really got into the stuff. Anyways i'm just gonna start experimenting and see what happens

[Bassist4Life]

You want to create grooves that aren't so boxed in? Try this...

Put your bass down. Create a groove in your head. Hum it out loud until you know exactly how you want it to sound. Pick up your bass. Make it happen. You may have to move out of that boxed in position.

Joe

[Daniel Baskin]

Get comfortable with your scales and modes.


And I really mean it when I say modes.

[i like tictacs]

Originally Posted by Kiwi Kid

Learn about Cadence.

In plain english, cadence is all about correcting notes that Seem (sonicly) to not fit with the a given key.

So when you play a 4 bar phase, which contains some notes that sound as though they don't fit, use cadence at the end of the phrase to "correct" the harmony.

There four types, but the one I use the most is -

Dominant to the Tonic
---------------------

This will finish the phrase quite nicely, and correct any "bad sounding" notes.

And even if you don't play any "odd" notes, make sure you always finish the phrase on the Tonic.

I'll post up an example tomorrow.

[werbo1]

Yeah , i am really comfortable with scales but the modes i am comfortable with are mixo, aeolian, and ionian. You will notice, however most notes are in that box, so maybe its not a big deal. I'm still gonna try to move away from it

[WillPlay4Food]

Originally Posted by Bassist4Life

You want to create grooves that aren't so boxed in? Try this...

Put your bass down. Create a groove in your head. Hum it out loud until you know exactly how you want it to sound. Pick up your bass. Make it happen. You may have to move out of that boxed in position.

Joe

This is a great idea. I find that most grooves that I come up with in my head cover a 2 octave range. This will get you out of your box. Also try practicing 2 scale octaves or even better, going all the way up the neck. This will help you get more comfortable moving around on the neck.

[Correlli]

Originally Posted by werbo1

thanks Kiwi, i briefly remember my music theory teacher talking about cadences but we never really got into the stuff. Anyways i'm just gonna start experimenting and see what happens

Just to follow up about cadence.

The example below shows a 4 bar phrase in the key of C.

In the third bar, I've augmented the D and F.

These notes now become non-diatonic, so to resolve the harmony, I used full cadence in the following bar. You will see that the last two notes, are the dominant and tonic.



To get away from "playing in the square", try diminishing and augmenting a few intervals. Produces some interesting sounds.

[dlloyd]

Originally Posted by Kiwi Kid

Just to follow up about cadence.

The example below shows a 4 bar phrase in the key of C.

In the third bar, I've augmented the D and F.

These notes now become non-diatonic, so to resolve the harmony, I used full cadence in the following bar. You will see that the last two notes, are the dominant and tonic.



To get away from "playing in the square", try diminishing and augmenting a few intervals. Produces some interesting sounds.

Cadences involve the entire harmony, not individual notes. A "perfect cadence" goes from the dominant chord to the tonic chord.

What you've got in that example are chromatic approach tones. You could play a whole-note C in the fourth bar and it would resolve fine.

(edit: actually, it wants to go to the D natural or E... point stands though, this is not a cadence in itself.)

What's the context of the phrase?

[Bruce Lindfield]

A little knowledge is a dangerous thing!