Sequencing
Hi David,
I am completely stuck. I've studied your videos over and over and just cant grasp the idea of sequencing.
Ive been trying to sequence the following lick :
4' 4 4+3'2 2''2 3 2
Please can you go through the steps to get to the IV chord.
Have a great day
Regards,
Paul
Hi David,
I think the pitches are : Db D C Bb G F G B G
Thank you
Regards,
Paul
Well done.
Your I7 Chord is G B D F (1, 3, 5 and b7). Your chord scale is built by filling in the notes between the chords, so you get G A B C D E F G and translates to 1 2 3 4 5 6 b7 for scale degrees.
Now take your pitches and turn them into scale degrees.
I think that the scale degrees are :
b5 5 4 b3 1 7 1 3 1 but i'm not sure about the b5 and b3
Great. I recommend you use b7 instead of 7 (7 denotes major 7, but we're using the flat-7th). So you get...
Db D C Bb G F G B G = b5 5 4 b3 1 b7 1 3 1
Now your goal is to move it to a IV7 Chord. What are the notes of the IV7 Chord and its Chord Scale?
IV7 Chord = C E G Bb
Chord scale = C D E F G A B C
Scale Degrees = R 2 3 4 5 6 7 R
Very close, here's the slight change...
IV7 Chord = C E G Bb
Chord scale = C D E F G A Bb C
Scale Degrees = R 2 3 4 5 6 b7 R
Now to do the sequence. Your scale degrees for the I7 Chord were b5 5 4 b3 1 b7 1 3 1, so use these same scale degrees for the IV7 Chord. What do the notes turn out to be?
Here goes :
IV Chord
Note = b2 G F b7 C b3 C E C
Hole = 4' 6+ 5 3' 4+ 3' 4+ 2+ 4+
Heres hoping
Don't change the scale degrees, you want the SAME scale degrees, but this time for the IV7 Chord...
Lick Scale Degrees = b5 5 4 b3 1 b7 1 3 1
Your first note is the b5, which is Gb relative to the C Chord, so 2' would be a good choice. Continue on...
Hi David,
I'm confused and lost I think I must be having a mental block............ please help
Sure...
If you're on the I7 Chord and you play 2 draw G, you're playing the root of he I7. Let's say the lick then goes to 2" F, which is the b7th of the I7. So... 2 2" is G F and is the Root and b7.
Following me so far?
You say to yourself, "That lick sounds good, I want to play that same lick, but on the IV7 now."
To have the same sound, or relationship, on the IV7 you also play the Root b7 of the IV7. The root is C and the b7 is Bb. This gives you 4+ 3' for the IV7 Chord.
Play 2 2" for the I7 with a jam track (four times to match the four bars of the I7 chord in the 12 Bar Blues) and then when the IV7 comes play the 4+ 3' twice.
Still following me?
Excuse me for not giving you the answer for your lick, I wan' to help you get it on your own. P.S., if you haven't gotten to the point where sequences are taught in the Music Theory lessons, you'll want to continue your music theory lessons until you get there.
Thank you for this explanantion, I understand where your coming from. I'll try and finish off this lick and come back to you when I think I've finished.
Thank you for your patience,
Have a great day
Hi David,
I can now understand sequencing the whole scale degrees from the I Chord to the IV Chord, I can also understand that Db in the I Chord transposes for Gb in the IV chord and that the b7 (F) in the I Chord transposes to the b3 (Bb) in the IV Chord. But try as I might, I can't transpose the 3' (Bb) in the I Chord for the IV Chord. I am still stuck even though I have reviewed Music Theory 6.
Have a good day, Many Thanks
Paul
No worries... more ideas...
B is the 3rd of the I7 Chord, so this makes the Bb the b3rd.
The 3rd of the IV7 Chord is E, so lowering it by half step is Eb. Eb is found only as 8'+. So unfortunately your lick lick can't be sequenced unless you want to play on the high end (not common).
Take a listen the Blue Midnight bass line lick in Solo Harmonica Study 3 (http://www.bluesharmonica.com/lessons/solo_harmonica_study_3) and see if you can use the same type of rhythmic substitution I used (watch video as well)... just an idea.
Otherwise you need to change your I7 lick to work over the IV7. This is a fact of life, sometimes playing the harmonica you have to change things due to note unavailability.
Tell us what you come up with... including compromise if you do end up changing it.
Many thanks for the reply, now I understand. I will be changing my I7 lick as you suggest and will let you know what I come up with. I'm also going to go back on all my favourite I7 licks from the study songs that I'm using for the improvisation process and sequence them so that I can get as much practice as possible.
Regards,
Paul
Excellent idea. At your level I recommend you apply the Chorus Form process... AAA, AAA with fills, AAB, AAB with fills, A B/A C (all three versions), move your lick up an octaves, down an octave, play it in fragments, change the textures, etc... every practice session (20m of a 60m practice session). This will be essential for the growth of your improvising skills.
Many Thanks, you are an excellant teacher.
No problem!
No worries, I'll walk you through it. You have the lick...
4' 4 4+ 3' 2 2'' 2 3 2
Tell me the pitches relative to the C Harmonica...