Chromatic notes... how many you can play?

[weelie]

I just thought of trying to fit as many different notes in solo I could. So quickly tried it, took like 5 minutes in total. Solo is 3 tracks.

This is just a quick 15s country solo in open G Major pentatonic" position, and the backing is juts the G chord plus a quick D major at the end. I played, in passing the notes G, F#, F, E, d#, D, C#, C, B, A#, A... but didn't dare try the G#...

http://www.box.net/shared/b5y39m380u3h18mt14rp

Anybody else fancy try to fit as many as you can, over any backing you like. Any key.

[VikingBlues]

Interesting experiment .. if I can find a bit of time I might just have a go. I sorta like the way the solo sounded - it's got a quirky edge to it which I'm sure comes from those extra notes we don't normally expect to hear - it put me in mind of a drunk man trying, not quite sucessfully, to move in a sober fashion.

[weelie]

drunk man walking sober, I like that.

The solo above I played direct to my Boss RC2 loop pedal, so the drums are from that, as is the tempo, didn't change the tempo. Through microcube on British setting. Just fingers and on a Squier tele

[12bar]

Sounds funny, sometimes a bit odd - maybe you've just found a new musical direction...

[weelie]

well it's one micro-step in my learning to play country guitar. I hardly play any blues now. If i did i wouldn't be able to add a lot of chromatics, would sound like *very* bad jazz.

[VikingBlues]

I've been intending a go at this experiment for a long time. As the creativity is in a trough now seemed a good time. But ... with a blues backing (in my hands) it doesn't really sound quirky like weelie's first post ... sorry!

Every note is used on a Bb pretty standard blues backing. Didn't play the B very often though. In the second 12 bar section there's a segment where I try a series of groups of three decending adjacent notes. Eb D Db / Bb A Ab / F E Eb / Eb D Db / Bb A Ab. They sound quite normal unfortunately.

download/file.php?id=1647

It just proves what Hawkeye Herman, the blues guitar teacher I've done a lot of on-line lessons with, says - you can play any note at all in blues and it'll sound fine if you don't linger on the ones that aren't in the scale.

[weelie]

great that you jumped on this one, vb, thanks! I'll give yours a listen later, as i am on my mobile now.

I'll also try post an F blues one later this week.

[weelie]

Here's the F Blues: http://www.box.com/s/i0ubr6bhhjxjp21do3k6
Actually it's straight from a lesson (trying to play the solo in the lesson). Used pretty much all the 12 notes. The take is a bit slow, I now hear, did this 2 weeks ago, just haven't had time to upload to PC and the internet...

(As I started the thread with a country twang thang, here's another one that I did this Friday: http://www.box.com/s/blvlfhorcsy231pnnr6k )

Both played/recorded to my Boss RC2 loop pedal and then through to a Micro Cube. Guitar is a stock Squier Classic Vibe Custom.

[VikingBlues]

Sounded fine for all the notes used - and I like the tones of the Classic Vibe - keep seeing very positive reviews of these.

You captured the country twang thank great - and the piece from 2 weeks ago was wonderfully light and airy too - a happy blues.

[weelie]

thanks!
Yeah, i dig the cv guitar. The tone on the tracks could use a little hair, but lineout from mc sounds terrible unless gain knob is set low.