Recent content by Sloop John D

Think more about rhythm. The bass has a stronger impact on the rhythm of music than most other instruments in a band. If you're not focusing on rhythm, you're missing out on about half of your instrument's role. Learn about chord inversions. You don't always have to open each bar of music...

Here's a free app: [Invalid or Expired Link Removed].

When he starts playing his Phrygian mode solo, drop the root down two steps so it's all in Ionian.:D

That is a really cool book. Thanks for posting that.

I also like this site. It's extremely well organized and very easy to follow. It's so hard to find music theory materials that are simple and straight forward.

I haven't heard the song, but throwing in a major 3rd over a minor key tune suggests a brief deviation to the mixolydian mode, a common technique used by Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath. The solo from War Pigs is a great example. At the beginning of the solo, Iommi riffs with the major 3rd in what...

Here's an example. Invalid Link Removed Here's the basic structure: Intro: The song begins with a very brief instrumental introduction to the song. Instrumental intros are typical, and generally they're based on the verse or the chorus of the song. This particular intro is actually pulled...

This is the best way to develop your talents. Knowing what you need to do is usually not the hard part. The hard part is having the discipline to actually go through with it.

The worst teachers I've ever had just had me learning new songs every week with no explanation of the theory involved or how I might be able to use techniques from the song in my own music. The best teachers will teach theory and show how various techniques can be applied in your own music...

In addition to the I -IV - V blues progression and the ii - V - I Jazz progression, there's I - vi - IV - V, which I believe developed from the doo wop era in the late 50s. It was developed heavily by soul musicians during the 60s, who would use it in conjunction with the I - IV - V progression...

What theory do you know at this point? That could help us give you some suggestions about what you would want to study to begin playing in the style of the players you named. Also, a nice thing about the modern jazz players is that a lot of them have lesson videos on youtube. If you look...

The best method is to listen and study concurrently. Although I think it's assumed that if you're learning music, you're also listening to music. I don't know if anyone actually follows a book on music without listening to any music at all.

Same story here. I played for nearly ten years before I got anywhere, and during that time I even had lessons with a couple different teachers. The problem is that a good player doesn't necessarily make a good teacher. It wasn't until I started picking up music books and relying on the multitude...

If you want to follow your drummer better when he plays around with the time signature, you might want to start studying rhythm in more depth. I think one of the best ways to start is to look at drum rudiments. Drum rudiments are basically the various types of drum patterns a drummer can...

The only scale you need to learn at the moment is the major scale. That's the scale that almost every chord and chord progression you'll be playing along to is derived. Once you have the major scale down, learn about stacking 3rds to create chords. Once you have an understanding of how...