Mining the Sea
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- VikingBlues
- Posts: 4468
- Joined: Sat Apr 03, 2010 7:44 pm
Mining the Sea
I don't know what genre this is, but I thought it was about time I threw another of my strange acoustic efforts into the forum here. Been a while!
Not really even a hint of blues I'm afraid, but like the blues can be, it is happily for me entirely improvised. I love improvisations on an acoustic in open and altered tunings where the open string notes are scale notes and can be used to good effect in chord voicing and resonance and drone effect.
I've recently taken my main acoustic guitars out of DADGAD tuning and moved them to Csus2 (CGCGCD) to have an explore.
This one is an exploration of that tuning, but in the natural minor scale.
I hope you find something to like about it.
https://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=13693370
This was played on the all Mahogany Vintage Gordon Giltrap Signature guitar - cheap but great sound and quality for any price. Just recorded on a portable Zoom H4n portable recorder and no adjustments to eq and no fx added.
Similar to the concept that creativity improves physical and mental health, I see researchers have also studied the effect of music improvisation on health and found that improvising music can have a distinct effect on well-being, separately from other musical behaviours. It is said that engaging in improvisation exercises helps reduce stress and anxiety, which in turn can improve mental health conditions. I used to semi-joke that improvisation was better than medication in making me feel good - seems that there is a basis in reality for having that feeling.
I also think that a joy of improvisation is that throwing away of a lot of inhibition ... inhibition being something that otherwise dogs my footsteps.
Not really even a hint of blues I'm afraid, but like the blues can be, it is happily for me entirely improvised. I love improvisations on an acoustic in open and altered tunings where the open string notes are scale notes and can be used to good effect in chord voicing and resonance and drone effect.
I've recently taken my main acoustic guitars out of DADGAD tuning and moved them to Csus2 (CGCGCD) to have an explore.
This one is an exploration of that tuning, but in the natural minor scale.
I hope you find something to like about it.
https://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=13693370
This was played on the all Mahogany Vintage Gordon Giltrap Signature guitar - cheap but great sound and quality for any price. Just recorded on a portable Zoom H4n portable recorder and no adjustments to eq and no fx added.
Similar to the concept that creativity improves physical and mental health, I see researchers have also studied the effect of music improvisation on health and found that improvising music can have a distinct effect on well-being, separately from other musical behaviours. It is said that engaging in improvisation exercises helps reduce stress and anxiety, which in turn can improve mental health conditions. I used to semi-joke that improvisation was better than medication in making me feel good - seems that there is a basis in reality for having that feeling.
I also think that a joy of improvisation is that throwing away of a lot of inhibition ... inhibition being something that otherwise dogs my footsteps.
An improv a day keeps the demons at bay!
Re: Mining the Sea
I found myself walking through the beautiful Scottish Highlands when I listened to it, and it felt good.
A wonderful improvisation, very melancholic. You seem to be able to switch tunings without problems!
A wonderful improvisation, very melancholic. You seem to be able to switch tunings without problems!
Re: Mining the Sea
A cool Celtic dream lovely improvised by a Viking Bard, my opinion though
"Don't be afraid by wrong notes, it doesn't exist" Miles Davis.
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- Posts: 46
- Joined: Thu Feb 15, 2018 3:15 am
Re: Mining the Sea
Reminded me of the mood I get when I listened to "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald," which I believe is kind of Scottish? Either way, excellent playing and recording.
Re: Mining the Sea
This is lovely! I admire the way you can play in different tunings. I have trouble keeping track just when I switch to open G (DGDGBD) for slide. You may not be playing blues, but I can certainly hear the emotion in your playing on this.
"Throw yo' big leg over me Mama, I might not feel this good again!"
- VikingBlues
- Posts: 4468
- Joined: Sat Apr 03, 2010 7:44 pm
Re: Mining the Sea
I'm grateful for your positive responses there guys!
It's not a great time of year work-wise, or weather wise and the guitar is a welcome oasis where I can lose myself and forget reality for a while.
To get complements as well is a welcome bonus!
Fenson - that Celtic influence seems to have seeped so much into my being that I can't escape it's influence showing through in whatever I play. Not that I am unhappy about that being the case.
Hellhoundsonme, you mention "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" which is certainly Celtic sounding, and it has a Scots feel as a result - interestingly the tune that Gordon Lightfoot has for that song is also used by teh wonderful Christy Moore in Bobby Sands song "Back Home in Derry" - in this instance very Irish sounding - but again Celtic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jg-Lhlx8uBA
Gerd and Rusty - you both mention the tuning thing. A big plus with Csus2 tuning is the way the scale notes fall on the fretboard - very little need for remembering complicated patterns.
Here's the C minor scale in Csus2 tuning:-
and here's the C Major in Csus2 tuning:-
The top string is a bit trickier to remember as there's one note out of pattern, but even the segment where the notes don't all line up in a straight line across the bottom 5 strings it's a very memorable "v" shape sort of pattern.
The fact that all 5 bottom strings are the note of C or G, the perfect 5th, which fit in nicely with pretty well anything being played in the key makes improvising easier. All those open strings available for resonance make creating a mood much easier.
I think I find standard tuning one of the more difficult tunings to play in these days!
It's not a great time of year work-wise, or weather wise and the guitar is a welcome oasis where I can lose myself and forget reality for a while.
To get complements as well is a welcome bonus!
Fenson - that Celtic influence seems to have seeped so much into my being that I can't escape it's influence showing through in whatever I play. Not that I am unhappy about that being the case.
Hellhoundsonme, you mention "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" which is certainly Celtic sounding, and it has a Scots feel as a result - interestingly the tune that Gordon Lightfoot has for that song is also used by teh wonderful Christy Moore in Bobby Sands song "Back Home in Derry" - in this instance very Irish sounding - but again Celtic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jg-Lhlx8uBA
Gerd and Rusty - you both mention the tuning thing. A big plus with Csus2 tuning is the way the scale notes fall on the fretboard - very little need for remembering complicated patterns.
Here's the C minor scale in Csus2 tuning:-
and here's the C Major in Csus2 tuning:-
The top string is a bit trickier to remember as there's one note out of pattern, but even the segment where the notes don't all line up in a straight line across the bottom 5 strings it's a very memorable "v" shape sort of pattern.
The fact that all 5 bottom strings are the note of C or G, the perfect 5th, which fit in nicely with pretty well anything being played in the key makes improvising easier. All those open strings available for resonance make creating a mood much easier.
I think I find standard tuning one of the more difficult tunings to play in these days!
An improv a day keeps the demons at bay!
Re: Mining the Sea
Yep...this is just lovely VB!!!...wonderful sounds from that scale!! Beautiful acoustic tone as well!
Tytlblues
"Notes are expensive... spend them wisely”
BB King
"Notes are expensive... spend them wisely”
BB King
- VikingBlues
- Posts: 4468
- Joined: Sat Apr 03, 2010 7:44 pm
Re: Mining the Sea
Thank you kind Sir.
I would also thank Vintage, the luthier Rob Armstrong, and Gordon Giltrap, for combining to make such a great sounding affordable acoustic.
An improv a day keeps the demons at bay!