rhinoguitar

Time to get back to some playing. Just clearing my mind a bit. The gig schedule has been above average so my time has been limited.

New promo video for kids. Buffalo’s 3 piece
I’ll post some live snips later on. Next show is July 23rd at Rock Camp in Springville New York.

Happy it - I like blues progressions but I realize I don’t play over them that often. So here is a take on a G funk - looking at various passing tones, diminished scale and Messiaen scales. Have a great

Happy it Here we are in full on mode. Once again you can see what happens when your brain interferes with your hands. If I can’t get the line started I have to slow everything down. It would be nice to fire off those ideas when they come to me but I’m just not there yet. Will keep going. Enjoy the process it’s never easy. Hope you all have a great

Feeling outside. Practicing another messiaen mode. Forgot the number. Two maybe. 4 semi-tones and a minor third. Never mind the rhythm hiccup and the garbage at the end. My alternate picking is not on par on the 339. Must keep

Happy it - I dig I never had one until now. Just a joy to play. Here I’m working on a modal progression that goes between two keys. I could stay on C minor Pentatonic but what fun is that. Just trying various ideas. Working on transitions between different lines.

Boring video warning!! Happy Friday!!

So this is one practice method that can be used for exploring options for soloing choices that may not stick out to you as first choices.
I like doing this as it pushes me into different directions.
The drone track can have a groove or not. It’s up to you. This one was an ambient vibe one and I like a lot of space so I can think and reflect while doing this.

The drone note is a G so I used:
G Major
G Lydian or D major
G Phrygian or E b Major
G minor Pentatonic or Dorian or F Major
G Aeolian or Bb Major
G Harmonic Minor
G Melodic Minor
C Melodic Minor
D Melodic Minor
I could have used Eb Melodic Minor but I didn’t 😭
G diminished
G symmetrical or Messiaen Mode 3
I forgot Whole tone as well 😞🙄 maybe next time.

Happy it - I hope you’ve all had a pleasant week and will enjoy the awesome from where ever you are. I’m continuing the reading of chord changes and improvisation on the spot. It’s a little better but not fluid at all. I am looking at fluency and note choices for now. I think phrasing will come naturally after my brain gets used to not breaking in the middle of that process.

Happy it Not sure what else to say except the world is all sideways at the moment. Have a great weekend everyone. I’ll be at Attitudes tomorrow with Reset To Vinyl and I’ll have CDs for sale as well of some of my solo music.

Improvisation over a track and again sight reading the and focusing on shorter phrases. Gaining fluency is the key to all of this. Happy

Happy it - I hope your week was as good as mine was. The quest to shape lines over chord changes continues. This a Ben Harrison and I have to say that his are always the most challenging. I’m sight reading the changes and just trying not to jump around the too much. Hoping to make some musical sense. I don’t have complete control and it’s going to take a while to get there but the end result will be worth it.

Sight reading chords and improvising on the spot. Not easy. Sometimes you just have to dig into what you have available at the moment and try to make music happen. Doesn’t matter if it’s one, two or four chords.

Happy it - it’s been a while since I posted. I had to take a small break but I’m back to work on things that make me feel uncomfortable. That is another useful technique. I’m purposely slowing down and thinking of pace and note choices. I’m really looking at outside playing and I want to get a better flow to my improvisation. I am not really good at it and that’s the important point to remember. Take something you’re not good at and double down to get better.

Starting of the new year with a little Db jam. Looking at creative ways of going outside at times. Chromatic tones will not be enough this year

Happy it which is also I hope everyone has a peaceful weekend and gives something special of themselves this season.
I am starting out early with the of playing through changes. I’m not very good at it so we can see how this goes over time. Should be cool as I really need to get it together.

Is it why yes it is. Enjoy the day where ever you are. Working on a funk backing track and using some symmetrical, pentatonic and passing tones. used is a TL series with some of my own mods, coil tap, in the bridge and my 89’ Seymour Duncan JB in the neck - plays great!

Happy it - going into this on a funky style Floyd A Dorian with some Dorian, pentatonic and chromatic notes. This time the gets the spotlight. I haven’t played this one in a bit.

Two chord vamps are a great way to work on changing chord tones. This one is in D minor with F maj and D minor as your track. Triads and pairs of triads can be used as well as pentatonics both major and minor can be used. Even if the progression is diatonic this is a good way to think of playing over changes.
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Happy it everyone! Things are getting back to normal at least health wise for me. Hope you are all well. The A Dorian jam here has me using some passing tones, symmetrical, melodic minor, diminished and triad pairs. Just getting back to some of this to keep my head in the improvisation space.

Mellow - learning to co exist among the - practice tip: slow your roll. Speed is not everything and is one part of the equation. I find it easier to focus at a faster tempo once I lay out the slow movements and thought processes. Then when you speed up it becomes easier and your lines will not just be scale practice or patterns.

Happy it guys. I’ve been out of the loop for a while due to gigs and learning new material. It’s been rough. Also wearing a heart monitor this week. Things are okay just looking for some answers. Hope you guys have a great

A little improv where I’m basically reading the chords and just reacting to it. This is a good way to test ability in real time. I should do this more often. 😂 what other types of practice do you do to test your abilities?

Towards the end of the week and feeling pretty good. I have to sometimes just play and let out some things. Plus working on my improvisation chops. I’ve been working hard on Rush tunes over these last several weeks. Can’t wait to see how that sounds on the stage this

Saturday jam. Over a track my son jammed on my iPad. He’ll be 12 tomorrow. I will probably record something over it like I did for the track he made at the old age of 7 lol. That track is on my bandcamp page. The tele has some mods to it. A vintage Duncan JB in the neck and a triple ply pick guard. Plays great.

Good morning. And let’s kick off the week by working on new things that make you think on your feet. Stick the landing. That’s a marketable

it everyone. Hope we are all doing well. Although this is a backing track it still has a great to it. It’s also chill which brings out another side to my playing. Taking more breaths helps to break up things a bit. Hope everyone has a great

Happy it - I was on vacation last week. Nice break in the action and now the gigs pick up again. It’s good to be back out playing. Also working on a tribute project as well. First gig this fall. Can’t wait! Do you guys like Rush? Three guys who wrote some killer music and helped with the prog era development.

Happy it everyone! May we have a safe while doing some things we love. Here i am just putting hands on the and saying go. No hard thoughts or second guesses. Just playing and seeing if I can turn a bad note into a good one. 😂