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Sheen Hi Fred,
I've just finished the family of chords and the familial heirarchy. I understand the pattern of chords and moving through the pattern horizontally and vertically.
However, I don't understand how to use the pattern to improv.
For instance, with the spiral mapping and jumping, I was able to find a note that fit in with the song I was listening to and find out where in the pattern that note fit then just follow the pattern while soloing.
How does that work with the family of chords? It wasn't clear in the book if I should just progress through the entire family heirarchy, just play the male chords, female chords or whatever.
Or is there not a particular pattern I can use to play along with a song or band if I can find a chord that fits?
By the way, spent an hour tonight sitting and jamming with my favorite classic rock station. My son is freaking out that I can actually play along with the stereo now - uhhh, so am I!!!!!!!!!!!!! How did you hear about us? -Web 29 March 2006 01:17am |
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Fred Okay, so you are delving into the family of chords and you want to know how to use it, right? Well, there's something about chords versus soloing that you will have to realize. When you're soloing with a song, you are much more free to wander around that when you play chords. When you play chords, you really have to be right on with the same chord as the band is playing, or you sound out of place. For example, when I'm jamming with someone, and I'm playing chords, sometimes they'll try to play chords right with me, and many times it sounds bad, because they may not know exactly what my progression is. Likewise, when I'm playing my chords, my bass player really needs to know what chords I'm hitting and be right on. If he and I don't know what the other is doing, we are better off just letting him choose chords and make the progressions while I just solo away. We are much less likely to "step on eachother's toes" that way.
When my students solo over my chords, I just give them free reign and tell them not to even try playing chords with me. My bass player and I take care of that part, until they are ready to start developing chords on their own...after they have gotten strong with soloing over the pattern.
And when my bass player and I make up chords, we keep the pattern as simple as possible, so as not to confuse the crap out of eachother. Like, we will do Papa and YSis as a pair about 4 times, and then go to Mama, and YSis for about 2, and just keep cycling through that for the entire solo session.
So, that sheds some light, but you still need more to understand the usefullness...see next message... How did you hear about us? -Web 29 March 2006 06:09am |
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Fred So, what is the use of the family of chords? Well, you can use it to create your own songs, your own progressions and you can use it to figure out your favorite songs. For example, All Along the Watchtower (Hendrix) is OSis-Papa, OSis-YSis, etc...where the real home chord is Papa. So, it's really made of the same chords as the end of Stairway to Heaven (Led Zepplin). And the solo pattern fits right in as it should depending on where Papa is for each of those two songs. Right? Figure out where Papa is and start the first row bridge set right there and you're off! You know the entire fret board. You know all the chords to...if you were the guy writing the song, you would know what other "naturally occuring" chords you could add to the song. Like, if you found that Stairway To Heaven puts Papa on the 5th fret of the top string, you would know that OSis is on the 3rd and YSis in on the 1st, but you would also know that you could get away with using all the other family members and how to find them based on their distances from the other chords. Like, you could throw Mama into the mix...in other words you would know you could get away with a major chord on the 8th fret of the top string. And it would not freak anybody out. The solo would just take on the character of the sound of Mama. Or, you could suddenly choose to start strumming YBro-OSis and make the song sound just like "Evil Ways" by Santana.
I hope that starts to shed some light on how you are supposed to think about the family of chords.
I also want you to imagine witnessing how I might use them in a jam session. See next message... How did you hear about us? -Web 29 March 2006 06:21am |
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Fred Here's how I might use the family of chords in a jam session with one of my fellow gurus on this method:
We sit down and just start playing away, all the time. It's great fun! My singer my have his acoustic and I might just start strumming a minor chord on, let's say, the 7th fret (I could play one anywhere...). What he will probably do is assume it's Papa, and if I see him start a bridge set on the 7th fret, I'll know that he has assumed exactly that. So, when I change chords, I'll make sure I choose as though that chords really is Papa. In other words, I'll imagine all the other chords neighboring that chord to be where they should be if that's Papa.
Now, if I want to play a trick on him and make him sound like he and I don't know what's supposed to be going on, I'll pretend that first chord is OBro. I could do this by moving to a major chord (YSis) on the 8th fret. That would actually betray his solo a little bit. You see? Because the way his solo pattern would lay over my chords would be such that a bridge set would start at the 7th fret. In other words, there would be no note on the 8th fret at all. That's what his solo pattern would be sort of "saying" as he cruized around the fret board while I strummed that first minor chord. And as soon as I played that chord on the 8th fret, it would sound funny...because, the ear would be picking up a little conflict...our chords and solo would not be in agreement, and it's a fact that the ear can actually hear, and if you look at the pattern your eyes can actually see it.
So, here's the golden rule about chords and solo: As long as both chord player and soloist are imagining the pattern to be positioned on the fretboard the exact same way, they will be making music. If not, it will sound like there's at least a little problem between the two.
So, the image of the family of chords is supposed to help you choose chords on the fretboard that don't "betray" the soloist.
So, back to my singer and I working on a little jam. Many times, I'll just look over and tell him "Papa on the 4th fret"...and that's all that needs to be said. He just starts working his fingers over the pattern and I start playing chords, wherever I care to (as long as it obeys the family of chords). In fact, I could tell him "Papa on the 4th fret" but then start strumming Mama on the 7th fret...and that would be OK, because if Papa is on the 4th, then Mama should be on the 7th. I can pick and choose any chord I want as long as is fits the way it should according to where the soloist is putting the pattern.
Now that doesn't mean that there isn't an art to creating a progression. I have played with people who are learning the family of chords and some of them just keep playing random chords...they put them in the right places according to the method, but there's something lacking in "movement" if you don't try to move from one chord to another such that the tension builds and builds until it really calls you back to the home chord.
I think I'll illustrate this point pretty clearly when I add some sound files/jam tracks to the web page.
I hope this has opened it up for you at least a little. Let me know what does and doesn't make sense.
One thing is for sure, you are making progress! And you'll never go back to the way things were!!! I'm really happy for you!
Keep firing away...I'm diggin' it! How did you hear about us? -Web 29 March 2006 06:42am |
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