Lydian Lullaby

I wrote Lydian Lullaby several years ago.  Mostly octaves using the E Lydian Scale.  I prerecorded some feedback and a basic beat on my BOSS Loop station.  The primary influence for this piece was probably Steve Vai--not his shredding (which I can't imitate), but his melodic use of the Lydian mode.  As always, there are a few mistakes here.  I'm always surprised at how difficult it is to get a perfect performance filmed.

Surfing With the Hungarian

This tune utilizes the A major, minor, and Hungarian minor scales.  This performance has a few rough spots, but the overall quality of the composition is well captured.  I used my BOSS RC-2 Loop Station for the background parts.  The influences for this piece include Ted Nugent (Hibernation), Dick Dale and the Del Tones (anything off of King of the Surf Guitar), and Joe Satriani (I'm not worthy, but I tried).

Happy Halloween!

I recorded the underlying "spook alley" music onto my BOSS loop pedal a few years ago.  Don't ask me to explain what's going on with it.  Just a lot of dissonances stacked on top of each other.  I used my Eric Johnson Stratocaster and a Vox amp with vibrato and reverb set about half way.

The piece is hypnotic and repetitive, but I justify the length of the recording because various voices from the dead tell some tales along the way.  I played these over the top of the BOSS recording today:

1) A slide applied to the strings of my strat close to the bridge provides a spine-tingling chime.

2) A 1/4 size classical guitar with only two very detuned strings on it provides the woes of a damned soul.

3) Pick scrapes near the bridge of my strat provide a laughing ghost.

4) The whammy bar randomly attacked on open strings provides another tale from a miserable shade.

It's all kind of corny, but there are some really striking moments in it all, and it is pretty dreary music if you keep listening to it.  You get mesmerized by the plaintive howling...

Night Thoughts

I've been playing with this chord progression for the last few evenings:

|: EM7 | EM7 | Em/M7 | Em/M7 | C#dim | C#dim | C#dim | C#dim :|
|: G#7 | G#7 | G#7| G#7| C#m9 | C#m9 | C#m9 | C#m9 :| Gdim | Gdim | Gdim | Gdim :|

I'm not sure if the chords are exactly functioning the way I've described them, for there are many ways to think about the chords in the progression, but what I've written gives an approximation.  I played the first eight measures over an E pedal tone.

For the solos, I thought about the first eight bars as chords within G# harmonic minor (Ab made the chords harder to name), the first chord suggesting the sixth mode, the second chord suggesting some sort of hybrid of the sixth mode, and the third chord suggesting the seventh mode.  At times, I thought of the third chord as an inverted A7.  I used the G# Phrygian Dominant scale for the G#7, the C# pentatonic minor for the C#m9, and the Locrian #2 scale for the Gdim.

I used the Boss RC-2 Loop Station for the chords, my Eric Johnson stratocaster, my VOX amplifier, and all fingers for my picking attack.

I'm very happy with the mood of the piece and with the inventiveness of the solos.  These are my nocturnal meditations, my contemplations of Nyx for these last few nights.  Al Di Meola was definitely an influence on this one.

Sassdrudge Blues

This is a 12 bar blues piece that I've toyed with for a few years.  The I chord riff is based on a unique approach to the E blues scale.  The IV chord is based on the A Hungarian minor scale.  The V chord is based on the B blues scale.  The big bend at the end of the turnaround was influenced by Tony Iommi.

I prerecorded the main riff and the drum machine on my Boss RC-2 loop station.  I played slide leads over the top of the loop on my Stratocaster.  I tried to capture a sassy, plaintive, vocal-like quality with the slide.

Obituary of the Nations

Here's a groove I've been playing around with.  It's based in B harmonic minor modes.  I used my Walden Natura and BOSS RC-2 loop station for this recording.  The first time through, I let the pre-recorded loop play.  I soloed over it during the second and third loops.  There's a lot of drama in the music.  The solos have some throw away moments, but there are some great moments as well.  Hey, my time and my resources are limited, and if I don't put out imperfect material, I'll never get a record of my musical vision out there.

An Augmented Mood

I wrote this piece around the time I moved from Seattle to Utah.  I was in my early twenties.  As I mentioned in another post, I enjoy using the jazz minor modes in funk music.  This was my first composition to do so.  The Bb augmented chord which makes up the third mode of the G jazz minor scale is emphasized in the main riff, as are the two modes built off of the E and F# -7b5 chords.  The solos take place over the C and D dominant chords.  There is a section that features a series of dominant 7ths in a II7-V7-I7 type progression.  These chords briefly take the piece outside of G jazz minor.

I made this recording using my Eric Johnson Stratocaster.  The amp is my Vox 15-watt.  The chords and bass were prerecorded on my BOSS RC-2 loop station.  Some of the leads were worked out previous to the recording, while others are improvised.

An Angry Blues Jam

This is just me blowing off some steam a few months back.  The rhythm part is a simple 12-bar blues that I pre-recorded on my Boss RC-2 Loop Station.

Funksylvania

I don't know when I wrote Funksylvania.  It's a jam that I've tinkered with for many years.  Explaining it will be more complicated than the blues and major mode pieces I've posted so far have been.

Some of my favorite scales for funk music are the modes of the jazz minor scale.  The jazz minor scale is a synthetic scale, which means it is derived from the traditional major scale by altering one note by a half-step.  This one alteration creates drastic differences in the character of the chords spelled out by the scale.

When the rules of creating tertian chords are applied to the traditional G major scale and its modes--G(do) A(re) B(mi) C(fa) D(sol) E(la) F#(ti) G(do)--most of the chords that result are very stable, commonly used, consonant chords: GMaj7, Amin7, Bmin7, CMaj7, D7, Emin7, F#-7b5.

When the rules of creating tertian chords are applied to the jazz minor scale and its modes--G A Bb C D E F# G--the chords that result are filled with commotion and dissonance:  Gmin7b5, Amin7, Bbmaj7#5, C7, D7, Emin7b5, F#min7b5.  The dissonant tritones in these chords, and the lack of any stable resolution of them, are perfect for colorful jazz-funk music.

Funksylvania can be divided into three repeating sections.  The first section begins with a funky riff based on the E Locrian ♮2 mode of the jazz minor scale.  The second section contains ascending power chords formed from the various flat, natural, and sharp fifths that appear in the jazz minor scale.  After repeating these two sections a couple of times, Funksylvania shifts into a funky vamp that climbs from C7, to D7, to Emin7b5, to F#minb5.  After the vamp climaxes, the whole piece returns to the first section.  Tasty chords and riffs formed from the jazz minor modes are peppered over the top of all three sections.  The form may be repeated as often as desired.

An improvised solo begins the first time the funk vamp of section three is played.  This section allows for improvised melodies based on the exotic Lydian Dominant, Mixolydian b6, Locrian ♮2, and Super Locrian modes.  The solo continues over the repeating form until the soloist decides to be done.  All of the jazz minor modes are given a chance to sing.

If this all sounds a bit complicated to some of my non-musician readers, that's because it is.  But don't worry--as a listening experience, Funksylvania offers easy, tasty, funky goodness with some unexpected but pleasant melodic and harmonic twists.

I recorded this version with my Eric Johnson Signature Stratocaster.  I used a Vox AC15 amplifier.  I prerecorded all guitar parts on my BOSS RC-2 Loop Station, except for the improvised solo beginning at 1:12, which is played over the top of the looped recording.  The  BOSS pedal also provided the prerecorded drums.