Practicing without a guitar?

imalrightjack · February 2014

Hi,

I'm sick of wasting my lunch breaks during the day at work and want to do something productive for my musical development. Any suggestions? My theory isn't wonderful and my knowledge of modes needs work so I can do some reading, although I'm not sure the best way to nail this stuff just using pen and paper/thinking/reading.

Another option is a Gripmaster. Or anything else like that perhaps?

Thanks,

Steve

octatonic · February 2014

Forget gripmasters- they will just fuck up your tendons.

You need to be swift, not strong.

Really the best thing you can do is compound learning- music theory type stuff.

Can you harmonise in your head?

Can you run through II V I's in your head?

Can you name the notes of Eb Lydian and think where they are on the fretboard?

I can tell you that if you can do this stuff in your head you will have a big advantage over people that cannot.

This is what I do when I'm on public transport, when I'm driving, when I'm standing in queue's.

it is about being actively involved in music, even when you don't have a guitar in your hand.

Leave the physical/digital skill for when you have a guitar in your hand though.

viz · February 2014

octatonic said:

Forget gripmasters- they will just fuck up your tendons.
You need to be swift, not strong.

Really the best thing you can do is compound learning- music theory type stuff.
Can you harmonise in your head?
Can you run through II V I's in your head?

Can you name the notes of Eb Lydian and think where they are on the fretboard?

I can tell you that if you can do this stuff in your head you will have a big advantage over people that cannot.
This is what I do when I'm on public transport, when I'm driving, when I'm standing in queue's.
it is about being actively involved in music, even when you don't have a guitar in your hand.

Leave the physical/digital skill for when you have a guitar in your hand though.

Octa, that's exactly what I was writing and you've said it spot on.

octatonic · February 2014

Cheers vizster.

imalrightjack · February 2014

Great stuff, octatonic. Any suggestions on methods for learning in your head?

viz · February 2014

octatonic said:

Cheers vizster.

aye.

Grunfeld · February 2014

imalrightjack said:

Great stuff, octatonic. Any suggestions on methods for learning in your head?

First.... catch octatonic's head.

octatonic · February 2014

imalrightjack said:

Great stuff, octatonic. Any suggestions on methods for learning in your head?

It all depends where you are at now.

So... to work that out I have a few questions.

No looking anything up- you need to work them out in your head and write them down here.

1. Name the notes of C pentatonic minor

2. Name the notes of Bb pentatonic major

3. Can you harmonise C major in your head? What is the VI expressed as a 7th chord?

4. What is a I IV V in G major.

5. What are the chords of a ii V I in Eb?

If these are all too easy then tell me and I'll give you the next 5.

If you can't answer any of them then start with the major scale in C and the Pentatonic minor scale in A- i.e. look them up, write them down and memorise them.

viz · February 2014

Go on gis the next 5.

octatonic · February 2014

viz said:

Go on gis the next 5.

I'm just making them up as I go, you know....

Ok, well..

6. Write out the A superlocrian mode

7. What parent scale is the superlocrian mode derived from?

8. In following the chord progression: Dm7, G7, Cmaj7, Cmin7, F7, Bbmaj7, what is the C maj7 -> Cmin7 chord change also known as?

9. What are the notes in the G diminished (half whole) scale?

10. Are we bored yet? (serious question)

viz · February 2014

I enjoyed the clarification of question 9, otherwise I woulda given you two answers

and I don't actually know the answer to 8, though I know what I call it.

octatonic · February 2014

viz said:

I enjoyed the clarification of question 9, otherwise I woulda given you two answers and I don't actually know the answer to 8, though I know what I call it.

:-)

What do you call it?

viz · February 2014

Oh you know, a sort of darkening preparatory chromatic change down from the major 7 in readiness for the major 3rd of the F.

octatonic · February 2014

viz said:

Oh you know, a sort of darkening preparatory chromatic change down from the major 7 in readiness for the major 3rd of the F.

LOL.

Or you could call it a parallel modulation.

You might find this interesting- yes Clarky wrote it.

http://www.paul-clark.com/pages/tutorial/parallel-modulation.pdf

viz · February 2014

Ah yes ok fair enough, I misread your example and thought you were going from Cmaj7 to C7 (I always seem to see that min as meaning just the 7 going dominant 7, especially after a Maj7 - derrrr). Nice document, thanks!

frankus · February 2014

Or just get a travel guitar.

Having spent 4 hours a day commuting and my lunch break playing "number wang" with music theory.. I know the answer to Octs questions off the top of my head.

1. The same as C minor less the D and Ab.

2. The same as Bb major less the Eb and A.

3. I can harmonise it on a bus? By 7th chord do you mean quartal harmony or a dominant chord (which it isn't)?

4. The ingredients of every pub open mic night ever...

5. Fmin6 Bb7b13 Ebmaj7

6. Darers go first

7. The major scale with a flat 3rd ... in one direction...

8. Rudolph UNTERPANTZEN!?

9. Same as the notes of the Bb diminished scale?

10. Utterly.. can I go and play guitar now?

However my inneptitude on the guitar remained utterly unshaken.

viz · February 2014

deleted

imported_none · February 2014

What I like to do sometimes is think of a melody from a song I've heard and try to work out the intervals between the notes. I'll sing the melody in my head, and then just sing the first 2 notes over and over until I decide, for example, that it's descending by a minor third. Then sing the next 2 notes (in my head) over and over until I think, for example, that it's going up a perfect second. Then do that for the whole melody. I don't have perfect pitch, but I'll work out all the notes, relative to one another, and write it down, and then later when I've got access to a guitar/piano, I'll see if I was right. It's fun to do if you don't mind pulling silly faces and occasionally singing a note out loud by accident.

mudslide73 · February 2014

Buy Zen Guitar by Philip Toshido Sudo.

I always take it on holiday. I bought it for my co-guitarist when he badly broke his hand. Excellent at renewing enthusiasm and appreciation of music in general.

axisus · February 2014

I like practicing without a guitar. My vibrato is soooooooo much better.

imalrightjack · February 2014

I need to work out how to get notifications from this site...
Without resorting to cheating, therefore quite possibly wrong!
1 - C Eb F Ab Bb
2 - Bb C D F G
3 - Am7
4 - G C D
5 - F Ab Eb
octatonic said:

imalrightjack said:

Great stuff, octatonic. Any suggestions on methods for learning in your head?

It all depends where you are at now.

So... to work that out I have a few questions.
No looking anything up- you need to work them out in your head and write them down here.

1. Name the notes of C pentatonic minor
2. Name the notes of Bb pentatonic major
3. Can you harmonise C major in your head? What is the VI expressed as a 7th chord?
4. What is a I IV V in G major.
5. What are the chords of a ii V I in Eb?

If these are all too easy then tell me and I'll give you the next 5.
If you can't answer any of them then start with the major scale in C and the Pentatonic minor scale in A- i.e. look them up, write them down and memorise them.

Howdy, Stranger!

Categories

In this Discussion

Become a Subscriber!

Practicing without a guitar?

Comments