Applying Syn's Etudes To Different Chord Progressions And Stuff

Isaac Moss · Mar 26, 2019

Hey guys! I just wanted to ask a quick question about how exactly I might apply one of Syn’s Etudes to a different chord progression or scale as he always puts below them. Anyways I haven’t learned any of them but I might at some point to you know… STEAL LICKS or something XD, but anyways by a different chord progression does he mean first transcribing the backing track and then using the same intervallic relationships over different chords? But by doing that I would basically think he means different keys because like putting one from minor into a major progression might end a bit weird but I’m not too sure haha.

idssdi · Mar 26, 2019

Try to transcribe the backingtrack like you said. And analyze the notes that are in the etudes. You can probably make up arpeggios from them and that allows you to find the key of the etude so you can use it over different chords. I think the most important thing to realize is which pick goes over which chord because it’s likely you can only steal part of the etude not really the whole thing.

Calvin Phillips · Mar 26, 2019

You can start the elude on the note you play chord wise. Then play it through. Might have to make it a mode if necessary. If you make it into a melody you probably can take a good chunk out.

Isaac Moss · Mar 27, 2019

Ah that makes more sense now, but what did by making it a mode? I think you meant like having to use one to stay in key but I’m not sure. Thanks for the insights guys!

Calvin Phillips · Mar 27, 2019

Well.. if you play a chord.. that first chord tends to be the tone center or the root note of the scale you may use in the song. Lets say its g.
Play g a b a.
You can either use g.. or figure out what scale uses all 3 chords. Usually.. the scale is the same as the 1st chord you play.
I figure with modes its more like.. you’re playing g a b a verse.. then hit let’s say a b a b a for the chorus. Suddenly your tone center isnt g. So you can use your the mode that matches best with b. Then use the mode equation in the scale you use for the chorus. Atleast.. that’s how I got it. You’ll let me know if I’m wrong.

idssdi · Mar 27, 2019

Calvin-you’re really confusing me here. Modes generally depend on where the tone center is (the whole concept of using them is easy but theory wise it can be really tricky). Let’s say you’re in A dorian which is the second degree of the G major scale so you will have to figure out where the tone center is before anything else(jazz is a ii-V-I progression a lot of the time but that doesn’t nescecarily mean it’s in dorian(even though dorian will work over the ii chord). Basically modes are easy to use(for me anyway) but theoretically calling stuff to be in a certain mode is a lot trickier than you might think.
Basically I recommend not using the modes for the whole etude transcribing thing because some might be major and some might be minor(you can’t use a minor lick over a major chord so it won’t work).

Calvin Phillips · Mar 27, 2019

If my wording doesnt make sense it’s possible. Like I said modes are something I haven’t gotten 100% into.
Edit: My original post was on a phone and auto correct changed some stuff in there .. go figure. Thought I caught them all clearly did not.

idssdi · Mar 28, 2019

No worries Calvin! I just panicked because I thought I had the modes figured out.
Isaac-ill just take alternate picking etude VII. You can probably distinguish some intervals there. In the first bar you can see a major third, b2 and 5th. This tells you that it is probably played over a major chord. The second bar has a minor third in there with a 5th aswell so probably played over a minor chord. Doing something similar for the 3th, 4th and 5th bar gives you 3 major chords for those.
In this case I would say the backingtrack is B-Em-C-F-B. You can do something similarly for all the other etudes aswell. Try to look for major or minor thirds and you know over what chords you can use them.
Also realize that in this particular etude he basically does the same lick over both major and minor chords so you just need to know that one lick and move the third around depending on whether you’re playing over a major or minor chord.

This reply was modified 7 months, 1 week ago by Ids Schiere.

idssdi · Mar 28, 2019

Ooh and Calvin as for mode there. The flat second in the B kind of implies that it is B phrygian dominant. Em is just E aeolian, C just C ionian and F just F ionian. Since Em and C are both in B phrygian dominant and the tonecentre of the whole piece is B I would say that the whole piece is in B phrygian dominant and F is kind of an outside chord here.

Calvin Phillips · Mar 28, 2019

Yeah.. that mode choice is a little beyond me. Lol
I’m still at basically step 1 with modes which is ideally just educated guesses.

Isaac Moss · Mar 28, 2019

Oh Ids so when you named the chords does that mean that you could use any note of those scales even if they weren’t in the original key?

idssdi · Mar 28, 2019

That’s kind of tricky TBH. Usually you can just use your ear and play the notes out of the scale that sounds good to you. In this case the lick is very arpeggios based and that will always work over the chord of which it is based.

Isaac Moss · Mar 28, 2019

Ah thanks again man!

Calvin Phillips · Mar 28, 2019

If you’re working with the arpeggios you can probably get away with shredding the triplets up and down the arpeggios notes. (If that makes sense).
Basically triplets each string starting on the notes that create the arpeggios. Using the caged system you could shred up and down the arpeggios as you move up the feet board arpeggio positions(theres 5 or 6 positions I believe over 24 frets).Depending on the elude you use.. this could be an easy switch or not. Ids definitely had a better mode explanation then me but I feel hes been doing them for a whole so definitely one to go to if you have questions there.
The joy with the eludes is you dont have to follow them 100% as long as you recognize the patterns the eludes make you could play them from anywhere on the feat board.

Isaac Moss · Mar 29, 2019

I get what you’re saying about the arpeggio shapes, that’s a pretty good idea that could even be used for improv and stuff, and sorry if this is a lot to ask but what is the use of the CAGED system for soloing. I watched the videos on them and I wasn’t able to see them as much else besides ways to play chords differently.

idssdi · Mar 29, 2019

CAGED generally refers to chord shapes but the bigger picture is just finding the same set of notes, whether you play the together or separately, all over the fretboard so it applies to chords as well as to scales.

Isaac Moss · Mar 29, 2019

Oh okay so it’s kind of like arpeggio shapes.

Calvin Phillips · Mar 30, 2019

Yeah the shapes. That also helps with not just improv..but finding the most comfortable place to play what you wanna play on the fretboard. Obviously each person will be different.. tone matters too.
It’s a rather important lesson imo.

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