The Practice Studio Canteen: for your quick questions on Theory and Technique

bigjon · August 2013

If you've got a quick question about theory or technique, post it here and the rest of us will help if we can, while we take a break from furious woodshedding in the practice studio :-)

ChristophEar · August 2013

Here's something I wanted to ask which doesn't really warrant it's own thread...

When you (bassists) play pull-offs, do you "pluck" the string with the top finger as it leaves? i.e. instead of just lifting the higher-fret finger vertically off the board, do you twang it sideways as it leaves so the string gets re-plucked for the lower-fretted note?

It's a habit I seem to have from tapping on electric guitar, but now I find myself using it on bass because otherwise the lower note doesn't sound too clearly when I pull-off.

Necessary technique or sloppy bad habit?

monquixote · August 2013

ChristophEar;1537" said:
Here's something I wanted to ask which doesn't really warrant it's own thread...

When you (bassists) play pull-offs, do you "pluck" the string with the top finger as it leaves? i.e. instead of just lifting the higher-fret finger vertically off the board, do you twang it sideways as it leaves so the string gets re-plucked for the lower-fretted note?

It's a habit I seem to have from tapping on electric guitar, but now I find myself using it on bass because otherwise the lower note doesn't sound too clearly when I pull-off.

Necessary technique or sloppy bad habit?

I always flick my finger down when I pull off. You don't get a very well defined note if you just lift it.

bigjon · August 2013

monquixote said:

ChristophEar;1537" said:
Here's something I wanted to ask which doesn't really warrant it's own thread...

When you (bassists) play pull-offs, do you "pluck" the string with the top finger as it leaves? i.e. instead of just lifting the higher-fret finger vertically off the board, do you twang it sideways as it leaves so the string gets re-plucked for the lower-fretted note?

It's a habit I seem to have from tapping on electric guitar, but now I find myself using it on bass because otherwise the lower note doesn't sound too clearly when I pull-off.

Necessary technique or sloppy bad habit?
I always flick my finger down when I pull off. You don't get a very well defined note if you just lift it.

Me too, I flick downwards and away from the pickups towards the headstock.

mike_l · August 2013

I'd flick the string too, like I do when guitaring (makes the string ring a bit more) not that I've played bass in a while.......

BTW, Jon, that C#M9 in your sig, would that work in All along the watchtower? in place of the straight C#m? I'm guessing yes, but can't think ATM

bigjon · August 2013

BTW, Jon, that C#m9 in your sig, would that work in All along the watchtower? in place of the straight C#m? I'm guessing yes, but can't think ATM

Edited the quote to read C#m9 instead of C#M9 - there's an important difference! Yes, it would work well, especially in the breakdown section with the whammy-bar swoops, with a cleaned-up tone to let the adjacent D# and E pitches in the chord ring against each other

mike_l · August 2013

Thanks Jon, I shall try putting it in next time I play AATW,.

It was only a slight typo, I did mean C#m9, not C#Major9, that would be wrong. Even by my standards........

ChristophEar · August 2013

Cheers for the pull-off input! I'll keep doing it this way then.

bigjon · August 2013

ourmaninthenorth said:

While we're on the Kind of Blue subject bigjon, can you shed any light on the intro chords Bill Evans uses on Flamenco Sketches (or Peace Piece) ? I think it's the crowning glory of the album.

asked in the Chord of the week thread: any takers?

Phil_aka_Pip · August 2013

mike_l said:

Thanks Jon, I shall try putting it in next time I play AATW,.

It was only a slight typo, I did mean C#m9, not C#Major9, that would be wrong. Even by my standards........

FWIW I think use of "M" instead of "maj" (or the little triangle) in chord nomenclature should be totally banned. In handwriting it is far too easy to mistake for "m". Or you should say C#-9 for the minor chord ... but I loathe seeing "M" for when people mean major.

bigjon · August 2013

ourmaninthenorth said:

While we're on the Kind of Blue subject bigjon, can you shed any light on the intro chords Bill Evans uses on Flamenco Sketches (or Peace Piece) ? I think it's the crowning glory of the album.

On first listen the first two chords sound like Cmaj7 followed by Dm7(/C), then he ladders up progressively higher voicings of a Cmaj9 chord where the top note tracks the successive notes of the the Cmaj9 arpeggio after the C, namely E then G, B, D.

Nearest approx voicings on the guitar would be:

Cmaj7 x3545x then Dm7 x5756x for the first two chords, then

Cmaj9 ascending voicings x3545x, 8x998x, x35557 and 8 x 9 9 8 10

I played piano for 10 years before I started on guitar, and beautiful tracks like these are when I'm glad I can still play, more fingers than five and more strings than 6 are needed! Hope that helps, @ourmaninthenorth :-)

ourmaninthenorth · August 2013

Thanks a million bigjon...

bigjon · September 2013

@mike_l has requested help with a Queensryche song: having a listen now . . .

mike_l said:

I'm struggling with this, particularly the open chords, any help please

or a live version

viz · September 2013

Xxx230 Xxx231 Xxx233 Xxx010 Xxx011 Xxx010

bigjon · September 2013

viz said:

Xxx230 Xxx231 Xxx233 Xxx010 Xxx011 Xxx010

But when the guitarist is shown playing it in the video, he's clearly playing xx0530 for the first chord.

And there appears (from the video!) to be an overdub of xxx78x for the third chord as well.

viz · September 2013

Haven't seen the vids coz on the train so doing it from memory, but that would seem a rather strange way of getting the G note - not to play it but to supplement the live track with a backing track. Perhaps it's all dubbed and he's just playing nonsense?

mike_l · September 2013

@viz @bigjon ; thanks guys it was the last chord I was struggling with. I just couldn't get it right, no matter what I tried.

viz · September 2013

The xxx010? Cool.

mike_l · September 2013

the xxx010/xxx011/xxx010 part.

viz · September 2013

Yep it's a C - Csus - C. The C is the same as a normal C without the bottom strings. The top 3 strings are the same shape as a D shape, 1 tone lower.

mike_l · September 2013

bigjon said:

viz said:But when the guitarist is shown playing it in the video, he's clearly playing xx0530 for the first chord.

And there appears (from the video!) to be an overdub of xxx78x for the third chord as well.

Both the guitarists are playing variations on the chords, I just couldn't figure out the last bit (C-Csus-C).

The part I wanted to learn is the part Viz transcribed, as played by Michael Wilton.

The other parts could quite easily be played by the second guitarist.

mike_l · September 2013

@viz @bigjon ; Spot on guys, Baring variations of playing style/amp/FX settings it now sounds exactly (as close as) to the album

viz · September 2013

Michael Wilton is effing ace.

mike_l · September 2013

One of my favourite guitarists. He worked best with Chris De Garmo, although the latest Queensryche album is awesomes

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The Practice Studio Canteen: for your quick questions on Theory and Technique

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