A Eureka moment (maybe)

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VikingBlues
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A Eureka moment (maybe)

Post by VikingBlues »

I seem to have had a moment of clarity :aha: (a rare event - about as rare as a total eclipse). Sort of a 'Eureka' moment. Though maybe everyone else knows these things and I'm too myopic to have spotted it before? :icon_whoknows:

When playing a melodic style of lead .... as I tend to try to do .... it's just hit me today that it's not a bad idea to :-
1. Play a short phrase moving down the way generally
2. Repeat that phrase with an extra note or two at the end
3. Play a phrase that's based around the notes of 1. and 2. but in a different order
4. Play a phrase using those notes in an upward direction and run it up to a higher position on the fretboard.

Repeat 1. to 3. from that higher position on the fretboard, and for 4. have the final phrase coming back down, or moving up further or occasionally staying in the same area of the fretboard.

Repeat this basic sort of scheme while not necesseraily landing in the same area of the fretboard on each occasion when you shift at stage 4.

I've tried to do that with this (I better say it's a Kevin MacLeod BT (Incompetech.com) called 'Last Kiss Goodnight').
download/file.php?id=1343
Sorry - I've maybe overdone the treble balance!

Am I on to something here or am I just off my head d'you think? :think:
Attachments


'Eureka and Goodnight' - a moment of clarity?
Eureka and Goodnight.mp3 - (2.76 MiB)

An improv a day keeps the demons at bay!
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HalfBlindLefty
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Re: A Eureka moment (maybe)

Post by HalfBlindLefty »

Awesome VB. ! Reminds me of those 50/60's ballads :) I guess it's the BT calling for that. Fits about the "My girl Donna" era.
You handle this kind of songs very well ! Great sound, despite the treble. Well played.
Want a stab at Let it be me ?
Great BT by the way.

Love this one.

You think about how and what you play a lot and that's a good thing. Strange... I don't, ever..... I just go with the flow
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tytlblues
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Re: A Eureka moment (maybe)

Post by tytlblues »

Very nice VB, I think the Melodic playing suites you very well, as I have said many time. Funny how and when those Eureka moments strike Huh? Just wish I could have more of them!

TB :high5:
Tytlblues

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vancouverois
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Re: A Eureka moment (maybe)

Post by vancouverois »

Sweet ballad and playing! :clap: :thumbsup:
Jan 15th 2007
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Blindboy
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Re: A Eureka moment (maybe)

Post by Blindboy »

:clap:
Very nice... It is good to analyze your playing now and then. I would say "don't over do it" but what works for me probably won't work for you. (And this is working well for you... sounds great) If I think too much about what I am playing, or going to play, it usually paralyses me. :roll:
Keep up the good work. :thumbsup:
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VikingBlues
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Re: A Eureka moment (maybe)

Post by VikingBlues »

Don't worry too much guys - I'm not going to go too heavily into analysing what I'm to play - it was just one of those rare moments when I understood logically what the melodies I was instinctively hearing in my head were doing. So I gave the logic a quick test run - though you'll notice instinct took over a few times and I didn't follow the planned structure all the way through! :big_smile:

Maybe the thought process was stimulated by a couple of hours of an evening watching / hearing great guitar playing in a couple of back to back documentary programmes with footage of Pink Floyd. The surprise from that viewing was that despite closing the second programme with that very powerful live version of 'Comfortably Numb' at Live 8, the one that stuck in my head and refused to go away was the track they broadcast before that - 'High Hopes' from the Division Bell. Though 'High Hopes' does see the remaining three members at their best and Dave Gilmours vocals have never sounded better.
HalfBlindLefty wrote:Awesome VB. ! Reminds me of those 50/60's ballads :) I guess it's the BT calling for that.
Spot on about the BT - it's described - now I go back to check it - as 'Classic 50's/60's I, iv, IV, V chord progression as in "Unchained Melody" or "Sleepwalk".'
HalfBlindLefty wrote:You handle this kind of songs very well ! Great sound, despite the treble. Well played.
Want a stab at Let it be me ?
Great BT by the way.
Odd that it suits me - not an era I have listened to much - still a lot of the notes and phrasing are dictated by the BT - on which subject - here's a link to the BT page - it's down at the bottom left. 'Last Kiss Goodnight'.
http://incompetech.com/m/c/royalty-free ... genre=Rock
BTW - I can see why your thoughts lead to 'Let it Be Me'! Intersting thought?!....... :away:
An improv a day keeps the demons at bay!
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2WheelsOfBlues
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Re: A Eureka moment (maybe)

Post by 2WheelsOfBlues »

Great one VB :clap:

Like it a lot. :thumbsup:
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12bar
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Re: A Eureka moment (maybe)

Post by 12bar »

I think you wrote down what you already did before without thinking, maybe a little more structured. You're a melodic player (like Mark Knopfler), not so much lick based, which makes is easier to do what you described. And you did very well! :thumbsup:
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VikingBlues
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Re: Let It Be Me (Can the 'Eureka' ploy work?)

Post by VikingBlues »

12bar wrote:I think you wrote down what you already did before without thinking, maybe a little more structured.
That's so right - you've scored a bulls-eye there. :thumbsup:

It is nice to find some sense to what you do by instinct sometimes.
HalfBlindLefty wrote:Want a stab at Let it be me ?
Well - I've had a stab and I hope it's not too messy. :yikes:

I've called it 'Almost Let it Be Me'. I've not played it note for note what was sung in the original, partly due to not knowing it very well, but also as that would be very dull. Hopefully enough of the original melody survives in it's fragmented state to show what the inspiration was.

http://www.box.net/shared/mlqdy9717qcl7xjkcy95

I let the BT do the intro itself. I've done a lead part and another track with some rhythm / background guitar. Used the Hagstrom this time - not given her an outing for far too long. BT came from guitarbackingtrack.com - under Everley Brothers.

I don't know if it's much good but I do know I enjoyed playing it and working out a rough improv. It's delayed me posting up the collab version of the 'Major Key Improv' though - I will get round to that. See you all later. :away:
An improv a day keeps the demons at bay!
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HalfBlindLefty
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Re: A Eureka moment (maybe)

Post by HalfBlindLefty »

This is a interesting rendition of Let it be me. You manage to play enough of the melody notes to keep the piece recognizable.
Then again, you manage to play your own notes and phrases, that manage to let VB shine through.
I'ts clear you didn't play through it a thousand times, but stil,l this is a good piece of music.

Well done VB, I like it :) Love to hear you play this in a year or so !
A long time ago, in the old forum : Registered: Mon, 27 Nov 2006. Wonder were the other old members all went....
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VikingBlues
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Re: A Eureka moment (maybe)

Post by VikingBlues »

Thank you HBL. :D I really wasn't sure how well it hit the mark. :icon_whoknows:

Plus - when you have something as well sung as the original song is, it's very tricky to know how to do anything that's going to just sound like a poor (or very poor) imitation.

I think you're right - it could well be one to revisit every so often.

As I did enjoy the process I'll maybe trawl around a few songs of that era / that type to see if I can get more polish / success to this sort of cover. Though my lack of knowledge of the genre will make the search a little less than organised! Although I recognised it as soon as I looked it up and heard it on YouTube I will admit if you'd asked me who sung 'Let it Be Me' I wouldn't have been able to tell you. :shy:

EDIT : As far as my worries on the 'Let it Be Me' recording go I think Sandra has just hit the nail on the head - my version doesn't have a strong enough melody of it's own - I think I'm hearing them singing as I'm playing and I'm playing counterpoint. Take away their singing part and you're left with a recording with not enough strong melody. I was thinking I maybe should have made it a two guitar part - one lead following the melody pretty closely and one doing the counterpoint work. But of course there isn't one melody - they're doing harmonies in their singing so that's two guitars for the melody and one for the counterpoint. I don't think I'd be able to work out what they're doing on the harmonies in any case so that makes that difficult. Oh Well. :sad:
An improv a day keeps the demons at bay!
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