Dan always has such brilliant nuggets of information to share with us and this episode holds some immensely valuable and powerful thoughts and ideas. After a brief recap we have a round of improvisation which leads our discussion to pickup choice and tonal differentiation. Dan shares some ideas about how you can gain different sounds with your technique and touch.
Then we discuss rhythmic motifs and grouping notes to gain interest and be more sensitive to what the track is doing. This leads us to discuss how you must listen actively and deeply to a track to really consider what the tone of the piece is and how the instrumentation of it allows space for improvising. First Dan talks about trying to label the emotion of a track and then he really highlights to me that the main driver of a musician is that they have something to say and want to express themselves through their music.
Dan talks about how you can use rhythm, volume, dynamics and tone as the vehicle to deliver your story. Phrasing is key but nuance and subtlety can be very effective for really giving the listener something to grasp onto.
My apologies for the slight delay on this episode: sometimes the editing process can be a little more tricky, but I have finally got it to a sound which I am happy with. I really hope that you enjoy this too.
Timings for the podcast:
| 00:01:22 | Brief recap |
| 00:04:09 | Last couple of episodes we were adding the 2nd / 9th, Blues note and 6th |
| 00:06:33 | How can we add a little style and technique |
| 00:07:26 | First round of soloing over the backing track |
| 00:11:12 | Be your best judge – look at your playing and be honest |
| 00:12:59 | Pickup choice for tonal differentiation |
| 00:13:53 | Playing 12 frets higher over the fingerboard to get a clarinet like sound |
| 00:14:47 | Jingle jangle – play near the bridge |
| 00:15:18 | changing your pick up is a good way to change your tone |
| 00:18:09 | Rhythm of playing a melody – grouping notes, Dan demoing a noodling shambles |
| 00:19:12 | You have got to listen to the track – what’s the track saying? |
| 00:19:24 | Gary mentioning Dan tells a good story when he improvises |
| 00:20:07 | Labelling the emotion of a song |
| 00:21:48 | Funkadelic – Maggotbrain |
| 00:22:25 | Bowie’s guitarist |
| 00:23:13 | Tell a story through the guitar melody and improvisation |
| 00:23:33 | e.g. Imagine you’re in a disaster scenario |
| 00:23:56 | Think about what you’re playing over and be sympathetic to what you’re playing over |
| 00:24:28 | Second round of improv |
| 00:31:36 | Talk techniques next time |
| 00:32:41 | The main driver of music is we have something to say and want to express ourselves through our music |
| 00:34:01 | Think of a song like a book – a beginning, a middle and an end |
| 00:34:58 | Dan’s advice for Gary is to remember that the biggest difference you can make in improvising is through rhythm, volume, dynamics and tone |
| 00:36:37 | Dan demoing how the dynamics can be controlled by a mix of volume and playing lightly or digging in |
| 00:37:36 | Use nuance, subtlety and change your tone through your technique – playing softly and disguising the gain |
| 00:38:51 | Leave yourself headroom and limit your finger noise using the volume knob and nuance in your playing |
| 00:39:55 | Homework: play over a backing track focussing on volume, subtlety and different sounds |
| 00:41:14 | Try to tell a story in your playing and practise trying to play with emotion |
Please use the timings to visit and revisit this episode
Last ten lessons for new arrivals or those who want to brush up on this content
Curt Mangan Strings / Website: https://www.curtmangan.com/
https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?visual=true&url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F806879662&show_artwork=true&maxheight=1000&maxwidth=723And 9 of our older videos – a format we are veering away from to focus on our audio podcast releases.
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Gary and Dan
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