Using 5ths or octaves.

[BassDude24]

I like to use fifths and octaves in my writing as well, only problem is, the more you use them the more repetative you sound. SO, use them, but try to stay away from them if you know what I mean. Like, don't do the same thing twice in a line, do it, and then blow someones mind out with your sound as you do what they don't expect you to, don't write so that someone listening in their car can figure out what is coming up next in the song before it comes up...

Just my personal opinion of course.

 

[CrawlingEye]

I know exactly what you mean, I came up with a very effective line that shows a good example of this. It starts out from a 1/6 roll of the major pentatonic then goes to this weird thing where I repeat the same 3 notes over and over but in a different sequence and tempo each time. And then just kinda roll down the strings.

The idea of it wasn't intended to specifically play my root, then goto the octave, then straight to the fifth, but just bull**** around then hit my octave, screw around more, then hit my fifth. yah know?

I came up with a raggae type riff using octave, fifth, then roll down the neck.

small pause, octave, 5th, then from the 5th I roll from the 5th to my first finger. sounds cool. (I'm hitting the octave and 5th with my pinky and root with my middle finger to put things into prespective... I'm too lazy right now to type up the tab or anything.)

thanks for your help.

 

[CrawlingEye]

As far as my sequences go, I generally have no specific sequence, I usually just play around on the major pentatonic. But I was wondering if there's anything else that I might find more effective in using?

Sometimes I don't even use scales... I see them as templates, and if I get a riff in my head and a scale doesn't fit it... that's too bad.

But more templates would always be nice! (meaning if there's any scales that would work nicely, be sure to list 'em. And I'll learn 'em (meaning you just have to list the name))

 

[JimK]

Here's an example of what I'm talking about...using octaves, 5ths, & now the major pentatonic(since you have added that into the "equation").

The rhythm is all 1/8th notes(count 1&2&3&4&)played @160bpm. Here goes-

Bar 1
/1&.&3&.&/
/AA.EAA.E/ A=5th fret(E string); E= OPEN

2nd Bar
/1&2&3&.&/
/AAaEAA.E/ a=OCTAVE/7th fret(D string)

3rd Bar
***Same as 2nd Bar***

4th Bar
/1&2&3&4&/
/AADDD#D#EE/ D=5th fret; D#=6th fret; E=7th fret
(...all played on the A string).
That's an example of slipping in the root-5th-octave

Now, using the exact same rhythm for the following 4 bars, insert some of your pentatonic notes-
/AA.C#BB.E/
/AA.F#F#BB.E./
/AA.F#F#BB.E/
/AAC#C#F#F#EE/

A=5th fret(E string)
C#=4th fret(A string)
B=7th fret(E string)
F#=4th fret(D string)
E=7th fret(A string)

 

[Angus]

I'm not quite sure what the question is, but...

For ska, you might want to practice some walking lines, like in Jazz music. They tend to have lots of those.

ALL scales you will run into have a 1 (root) and 8 (octave) in them, and most have some sort of 5 (whether it be natural, flat, or sharp).

That said, you should work on your triads. You will probably only need major and minor, and MAYBE diminished. A triad is a chord built on the 1,3 and 5. For this exercise, we'll throw the octave in there (called a 1, for this).

Major: 1-3-5-1

Minor: 1-b3-5-1

Diminished: 1-b3-b5-1

What you'll do is simply arpeggiate them, then invert. Like this:

1-3-5-1, 3-5-1-3, 5-1-3-5, 1-3-5-1. You will land two octaves above the lowest note. In C, it'll look like this:

C-E-G-C, E-G-C-E, G-C-E-G, C-E-G-C.

Most ska lines are built off of those, so try that. For the walking lines, try to use some of the notes in the chord you are playing over (in case that wasnt obvious!). I.E., use b3's and b7's over a minor chord, not 3's or 7's. You COULD, but it'll sound pretty weird.

Regardless, most lines are built of walking and triads, so that will give you a good base to start of off. I hope this helps.

 

[CrawlingEye]

Actually, that was probably the most effective thing I've heard in this entire threat. Thanks!

And everyones elses posts were effective also, thanks!