Melody & Motif - Lesson 2

[Ezequiel Romanko]

Basically it’s like an up tempo waltz. Most blues tunes are actually in 12/8. Count by 3
1-2-3 1-2-3 1-2-3 1-2-3

so it's like thinking a 4/4 but in triplets?

 

[Jak Angelescu]

I think what I love the most about this series, is that instead of playing my Gardenscapes game waiting on something, I can actually still turn on these lessons and learn something just by watching them/listening. My new homework is I'm going to try to write my own little simple blues melody like you did as an example and try to find my motif and not betray the song

 

[Rute Rodrigues]

So motif works for every instrument? Even singers? For example when you hear a song and the chorus and most of the times, in the last chorus, the singer sings diferent notes here and there. For example this song: She sings diferent notes in the last chorus. Is this also a motif?

 

[Ed Seith]

Hey Syn! Quick question for fractal users, what amp model did you use while recording 'The Stage' i use a 5153 100w Red channel for most of my tones on the other albums but i have the stage cab pack and was wondering if you used a different amp model!

I know through other discussions here, there, and everywhere, Syn has stated that the Hellwin was designed by the same guy that did the 5150, and the 5150 was the starting point for the Hellwin, with tweaks and such to Syn's taste. There are other places I can't remember the source for at the moment that DO call out the 5153 Red as the Fractal amp used for Syn's AxeFX tone.

That said, there are a lot of other factors that come into play - the cabinet, the mic choice, the volume, guitar and pickups, the placement, hell, even the level of humidity in the room can affect the tone if you're anal enough about it (that's where the idea of an ISO cab makes sense). It's possible the biggest change Syn made in the studio for The Stage is his newer custom pickups.

But the truth is, I don't know, and Syn can't remember (and he probably wants to keep some of his secret sauce close to the vest anyway, so people don't just ENTIRELY cop his tone and never find their own), so the Cab Packs, his notes, and the 5153 Red are probably as close as you're gonna get from The Man Himself. I use all of those things, but I never did them in an attempt to cop Syn's tone - I had already been using the 5153 in my AxeFX2 before this site was even live, and when I bought his cab packs it was for a few reasons - 1. Try em out. 2. Support the school. 3. Still searching for a cab IR that didn't have artifacts that irritated my ear and took me out of the zen. They worked on all 3 levels for me - his cabs are the first ones I've tried (built in or bought) that I didn't hear any strange artifacts in (the artifacts are no doubt a result of my particular playing or picking style, but every other cab IR failed to handle it like a live amp would, and his do).

 

[Calvin Phillips]

So motif works for every instrument? Even singers? For example when you hear a song and the chorus and most of the times, in the last chorus, the singer sings diferent notes here and there. For example this song: She sings diferent notes in the last chorus. Is this also a motif?

Exactly. All a motif is.. is a tweak in the melody the 2nd time around. Anything that can carry a melody will work.

 

[Jak Angelescu]

Papa Gates: "I'm just gonna shoot from the hip and play something silly"
*Proceeds to write a saucy blues song right on the spot*

One thing I noticed a lot for me that helps doing motif is to do like what he does here and to play the chords in the progression and put in the melody in between them. I notice blues does that a LOT!

Can anyone help me understand and find the chord progressions used in the backing tracks here?
*cough* @Ids Schiere *cough*

 

[idssdi]

Papa Gates: "I'm just gonna shoot from the hip and play something silly"
*Proceeds to write a saucy blues song right on the spot*

One thing I noticed a lot for me that helps doing motif is to do like what he does here and to play the chords in the progression and put in the melody in between them. I notice blues does that a LOT!

Can anyone help me understand and find the chord progressions used in the backing tracks here?
*cough* @Ids Schiere *cough*

I'll take a look at it when I have the time, which backing tracks are you interested in?

 

[Jak Angelescu]

I'll take a look at it when I have the time, which backing tracks are you interested in?

This one specifically

 

[idssdi]

This one specifically

I'll take a listen when I get home

 

[Calvin Phillips]

Papa Gates: "I'm just gonna shoot from the hip and play something silly"
*Proceeds to write a saucy blues song right on the spot*

One thing I noticed a lot for me that helps doing motif is to do like what he does here and to play the chords in the progression and put in the melody in between them. I notice blues does that a LOT!

Can anyone help me understand and find the chord progressions used in the backing tracks here?
*cough* @Ids Schiere *cough*

This is something I noticed too.. makes it easy for 1 guitarist when he basically does it all lol

 

[Ed Seith]

One thing I noticed a lot for me that helps doing motif is to do like what he does here and to play the chords in the progression and put in the melody in between them. I notice blues does that a LOT!

That is ALL blues, for sure. I actually heard one of the great funk bass players (Bootsy maybe?) say something similar about playing funk bass lines - "play the first half of the measure straight, to set the feel, then improv the rest, before starting over with the beat for the first half again."

 

[idssdi]

This one specifically

Its effectively a 12 bar blues in A so A7-D9-A7-D9-A7-E9-D9-A7. That would be I-IV-I-IV-I-V-IV-I. If you take for example something like Olivia by John Mayer it has the same harmony but in G. One thing to notice here is that the backing tracks uses color chord(moving up a half step before it goes to the next chord), those are explained in part 2 lesson 8 I believe. It's pretty easy to hear where they are.

 

[Jak Angelescu]

Its effectively a 12 bar blues in A so A7-D9-A7-D9-A7-E9-D9-A7. That would be I-IV-I-IV-I-V-IV-I. If you take for example something like Olivia by John Mayer it has the same harmony but in G. One thing to notice here is that the backing tracks uses color chord(moving up a half step before it goes to the next chord), those are explained in part 2 lesson 8 I believe. It's pretty easy to hear where they are.

Thank you so much Ids! You're the best!

 

[idssdi]

Thank you so much Ids! You're the best!

It's lesson 9

https://syngates.com/lessons/color-chords-lesson-9.171/

 

[Jak Angelescu]

I couldn't help it

 

[Christian Schulze]

I couldn't help it

But its true! I am cooking another CJ's 2 cents on something very close to this XD

 

[Gabriel Perez]

I’ve been revisiting this series because it feels like I’m falling out of love with the guitar. And of course, I just needed a little bit of blues in my life.

 

[juiceellish]

@Brian Haner Sr. What was that bit of scale you used towards the end of the "happy shredding"? Something Melodic Minor?

 

[Brian Haner Sr.]

@Brian Haner Sr. What was that bit of scale you used towards the end of the "happy shredding"? Something Melodic Minor?

YES! It was based on an Altered Scale - which is the 7th mode of the Melodic Minor. Definitely on the jazzy side.