Hi, fellow guitar enthusiast. it’s been a while since I’ve dropped in here but I have a new series of licks I think you might like. I’ve called it Licks à Lorange.
The 9 that I’ve done so far have a definite blues feel to them, but unlike most teachers, you won’t read or hear me mention anything about blues scales or Pentatonic boxes. I never learned that way and my brain simply can’t see music in that linear fashion. I have always thought chords. Why? Because thinking chords is something musicians have to do anyway. If you want to become proficient, you must know the chord progression. After 53 years of playing, I can say with confidence that that really is all you need to know. The scales and modes will take care of themselves.
I take my music — whether it’s the blues, pop, rock or jazz — one chord at a time. Within the framework of each, I have learned what notes work and which ones don’t, and I see them all as numbers. Scale degrees. Aha, I hear you say, so you do think scales! No, I don’t. I think only of the chord in play – the Chord Of The Moment – and I know which notes are which within the chord itself, and I know which notes are which outside of the chord. The numbers are the degrees of one scale only, the Major Scale. So … OK … I guess I am, in a sense, thinking of one scale. By the way, I do know all my scales and modes in a theoretical sense, but I never, ever, practice running up and down them. There is a saying: “Practice scales and you’ll wind up playing scales”. Call me weird, but I love melody, not scales, and melody is found in the chords. I coined another saying: “Melody Loves Chord Tones”. It’s simply a fact. Take any great melody, whether a well known tune or a well known melodic solo, pick it apart and analyse it and you’ll find that just about all notes are chord tones. That’s why they sound so right.
In any event, what you’ll see and hear me talking about in the 9 videos are scale degrees. ‘root’, ‘flat3’, ‘sharp 5’, ‘flat 7’. That kind of thing. It is in fact the language that musicians use in the studio and it’s nothing new. That’s how we communicate. I have played hundreds upon hundreds of sessions over the years and I can tell you that never has anyone put a scale chart or mode chart in front of me, or even mention scales. It’s always been and always will be a chord chart. So, know your chords.
Go here to check out the ‘Licks à Lorange’, I think you’ll enjoy them.
I’ll be back with more musical insights soon,
Kirk Lorange