Chops: Intermediate
Theory: Intermediate
Lesson Overview:
• Create a hybrid scale from the Mixolydian mode and blues scale.
• Develop singable melodies to play over a blues.
• Learn how to incorporate nine of 12 possible notes over any chord.
Click here to download a printable PDF of this lesson's notation.
One thing I love about the blues is that you can make it as simple or complicated as you want. I’ve heard some awesome solos that only used two or three notes from the blues scale, and I’ve heard some great solos that used all kinds of complex concepts and more “academic” scales. I’ve also witnessed some less-than-stellar solos that use both approaches. However, when guitarists start to venture into the realm of “modal” blues, they generally throw a lot of good things out the window. You know, essential elements like good timing, good phrasing, and the idea that there should still be a melody present. The last thing you want is to sound like you are playing some kind of étude.
The transition from soloing entirely with the blues scale to modal playing—mostly using the Mixolydian mode, since it functions over dominant 7 chords—can at times sound academic. In this lesson we will look at a method for making this transition not sound like some lame exercise.
Here’s the first thing: Never turn your back on the blues scale as you transition into modal melodies. It has been, is, and will forever be your mamma. That scale can get you out of a jam like no other. And besides, it just sounds great. Period. Plus, it works over all three (I, IV, and V) chords in a typical blues progression. On the other hand, the Mixolydian mode needs to change to fit over each chord. So let’s keep it simple and just work on one mode for now and fuse it with the blues scale.
I suggest you try out the new sound (the modal sound) on just one chord at a time. Play the G Mixolydian mode (G–A–B–C–D–E–F) over the I chord in a G blues and the G blues scale (G–Bb–C–Db–D–F) over all the other chords. This keeps things from getting complicated.
Also, rather than approaching the modal thing as a “new” concept, let’s just build on the foundation we already have in the blues scale. Simply adding a few notes will build on something we already know.
Now, if we compare the notes in the G Mixolydian mode and the G blues scale, you notice the only notes we need to add to the blues scale are the 2/9 (A), 3 (B), and 6/13 (E).
Start to build a number of melodies—with good phrasing, of course—that focus on the blues scale with the occasional hint of the modal sound we’re working on. Check out the solo in Fig. 1. For this example, I’ll only add the major 3 (B) and 6 (E) to my palette.
When you learn a scale, it’s important to visualize and understand how it lies on the fretboard. This will open up your fingers to new ideas and give you a feel for how to connect different shapes on the fretboard.
There are a lot of possibilities, when you create a hybrid scale by fusing the G Mixolydian mode and the G blues scale. When viewed this way, the only notes that aren’t included within the one-octave framework are Ab, D#, and F#. Down the road, we’ll come up with some other rules to include them. In Fig. 2, you can see a few suggested fingerings for this scale—one based off of a 6th-string root and then off a 5th-string root—in the key of G.
This Mixo-blues fusion of scales creates plenty of possibilities for our I chord. For those of you playing along (and I hope that is all of you), you can now apply this same principal for the IV chord (G blues + C Mixolydian) and the V chord (G blues + D Mixolydian) to cover all three chords found in the blues progression.
Good luck and have a good time with all this material. Remember, when you are learning something new, try to see how it can relate to something you already know. This way you won’t feel like you are always learning everything from the very beginning each time you embark on a new musical journey. Practice hard. Practice smart.
Corey ChristiansenCorey Christiansen, a former senior editor and guitar clinician for Mel Bay Publications, is known for his fluid jazz improvisation and instructional chops. He teaches full-time at Utah State University and is an Artist-in-Residence at the Jacobs School of Music in Bloomington, Indiana, the Atlanta Institute of Music, and the Broadway Music School. To learn more about his CDs and DVD, and see his current workshop and performance schedule, visit coreychristiansen.com. Photo by Jimmy Katz
Hotone Wong Press
Cory Wong Signature Volume/Wah/Expression Pedal
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Reverend Vernon Reid Totem Series Electric Guitar - Shaman
Silos features six presets, tap tempo, one full second of delay time, and three voices—two of which are styled after bucket-brigade and tape-delay sounds. In the $150 price category, it’s not unusual for a digital delay to leave some number of those functions out. And spending the same money on a true-analog alternative usually means warm, enveloping sounds but limited functionality and delay time. Silos, improbably perhaps, offers a very elegant solution to this can’t-have-it-all dilemma in a U.S.-made effect.
A More Complete Cobbling Together
Silos’ utility is bolstered by a very unintimidating control set, which is streamlined and approachable. Three of those controls are dedicated to the same mix, time, and repeats controls you see on any delay. But saving a preset to one of the six spots on the rotary preset dial is as easy as holding the green/red illuminated button just below the mix and preset knobs. And you certainly won’t get lost in the weeds if you move to the 3-position toggle, which switches between a clear “digital” voice, darker “analog” voice, and a “tape” voice which is darker still.
“The three voices offer discernibly different response to gain devices.”
One might suspect that a tone control for the repeats offers similar functionality as the voice toggle switch. But while it’s true that the most obvious audible differences between digital, BBD, and tape delays are apparent in the relative fidelity and darkness of their echoes, the Silos’ three voices behave differently in ways that are more complex than lighter or duskier tonality. For instance, the digital voice will never exhibit runaway oscillation, even at maximum mix and repeat settings. Instead, repeats fade out after about six seconds (at the fastest time settings) or create sleepy layers of slow-decaying repeats that enhance detail in complex, sprawling, loop-like melodic phrases. The analog voice and tape voice, on the other hand, will happily feed back to psychotic extremes. Both also offer satisfying sensitivity to real-time, on-the-fly adjustments. For example, I was tickled with how I could generate Apocalypse Now helicopter-chop effects and fade them in and out of prominence as if they were approaching or receding in proximity—an effect made easier still if you assign an expression pedal to the mix control. This kind of interactivity is what makes analog machines like the Echoplex, Space Echo, and Memory Man transcend mere delay status, and the sensitivity and just-right resistance make the process of manipulating repeats endlessly engaging.
Doesn't Flinch at Filth
EarthQuaker makes a point of highlighting the Silos’ affinity for dirty and distorted sounds. I did not notice that it behaved light-years better than other delays in this regard. But the three voices most definitely offer discernibly different responses to gain devices. The super-clear first repeat in the digital mode lends clarity and melodic focus, even to hectic, unpredictable, fractured fuzzes. The analog voice, which EQD says is inspired by the tone makeup of a 1980s-vintage, Japan-made KMD bucket brigade echo, handles fuzz forgivingly inasmuch as its repeats fade warmly and evenly, but the strong midrange also keeps many overtones present as the echoes fade. The tape voice, which uses aMaestro Echoplex as its sonic inspiration, is distinctly dirtier and creates more nebulous undercurrents in the repeats. If you want to retain clarity in more melodic settings, it will create a warm glow around repeats at conservative levels. Push it, and it will summon thick, sometimes droning haze that makes a great backdrop for slower, simpler, and hooky psychedelic riffs.
In clean applications, this decay and tone profile lend the tape setting a spooky, foggy aura that suggests the cold vastness of outer space. The analog voice often displays an authentic BBD clickiness in clean repeats that’s sweet for underscoring rhythmic patterns, while the digital voice’s pronounced regularity adds a clockwork quality that supports more up-tempo, driving, electronic rhythms.
The Verdict
Silos’ combination of features seems like a very obvious and appealing one. But bringing it all together at just less than 150 bucks represents a smart, adept threading of the cost/feature needle.
EarthQuaker Devices Silos Multi-generational Time Reflection Delay Pedal
