Guitar Challenge (Improv) - Layla style Backing Tracks

That was great Sairs! Did you do the rhythm to? Just curious! Sounded GRoOvy! :smiley:

1 Like

You’re already a sultan, just keep swinging Brian style

And lots of welcome steer and stretch from @stitch

Looking forward to my second dance with the two-timing lady Layla :laughing:

Maybe with a little nudge the @TheMadman_tobyjenner will get in on the action and take her for a whirl round the dance floor :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

1 Like

Listen to what she has to say. She can make you a player.

2 Likes

Me too…but later we make sure that Layla doesn’t yell either …“me too” :grimacing: :see_no_evil:

3 Likes

I’m just starting down my improv path Gordon, so it is beyond my paygrade to comment on the technical but from a lay-mans point of view I really enjoyed it.

1 Like

Thanks so much Rick. I really appreciate your encouragement in this ‘Layla’ project. There is so much to it, the theory, the technical and of course the ‘feel’.
I can practise the technical stuff and I like to think I’ve got reasonable feel for the Blues. It’s the theory of how the different scale patterns work that I find a struggle but with your help I’ll get there.

1 Like

I like to think that one day I may have a reasonable feel for the blues … makes me feel blue trying to sound like a bluesman :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

1 Like

@Socio @adi_mrok @Bytron08
Thanks for the listen and support guys.

Byron. The backing track is a loop I made with my Trio+ pedal. It’s a Dm, Bb, C, Dm progression. I made the loop using the SG as my acoustic doesn’t have electrics.

Adrian. So my SG was involved!

@roger_holland @SgtColon
Rogier, Stefan. Thanks for listening and sending support. Always much appreciated.

You’ve sure got the Layla vibe going, Gordon, sounded good to me.

1 Like

@Mari63
Thanks Mari, glad you liked the vibe. It’s all still very much a work in progress.
I’ve done an electric one too.
Hey Layla, wanna fool around electrically?

1 Like

Thank you for referring me here from the electric thread Gordon! You’re making solid progress on your lead playing. It’s only been a few months since you posted your noodle on your (beautiful!) SG. And as you said, a lot of useful info in this thread as well.

1 Like

Good evening Peeps

Well in the latest round of Layla inspired impros from @sairfingers and @DavidP , some may have notice myself and @stitch mentioned in despatches. So why the sudden interest in the Clapton unplugged classic? I thought a little back story might help those who are wondering.

The Blues Brothers – mid Feb I wrote to David and Gordon having dropped on some videos on YouTube which was part of a larger playlist from StichMethod Guitar. The initial video came under the banner Understanding Blues Guitar and was focused on how to use/apply the minor pentatonic scale. Ok nothing new there you may say, there are hundreds out there on YT and Justin’s lessons as well. So why the punt this to my good friends The Blues Brother who are both in the early days of improvising?

Well, a couple of things but the main was the guy spoke in INTERVALs not fingers. That one fact also meant I had to include our good friend and interval promotor @stitch. History, when Rick first introduced me to intervals the world of guitar suddenly made sense, with a few shapes in my head I could find any scale on the neck, simples.

Anyway, I shared a mini playlist I had created (Penting By Numbers) based on the videos I thought would help Gordon and David improve and extend their impros and an introduction to the King Boxes (Albert and BB) and getting the lads out of their Pattern 1 comfort zone and start exploring. So that conversation has been bouncing back and forth ever since.

One of the reasons I copied Rick on the first message, was that I am in no way an expert on any of this and just a few yards up the road from David and Gordon. But I knew from past experience and guidance I had received, Rick would keep us on the straight and narrow and plug the massive gaps in my knowledge.

So getting back to Layla, if you remember her. Why Layla? Well, the conversation arrived at learning individual licks and trying to drop them into impro’s and the struggle that sometimes is. Rick said a better method based on his learning experience back in the day (ie the days of transcribing sans tab, internet & Justin) was to learn solos. My take on that was a solo is just a string of licks stuck together, learn a solo and you are learning lots of lick and much more but on context not isolation. Sounded like a plan. :+1:

So, Rick suggested the solos in Layla Unplugged as a good place to start. Not too hard and a reasonable tempo. And that’s pretty much where we are at. To get us going Rick shared another Stich video “Stealing and Simplifying Clapton”, which is based on the Pattern 1 (E Shape) D minor pentatonic. With David and Gordon sharing their exploits, I thought I’d better crack on and record mine, though I am still uncomfortable videoing impro’s.

Because I know few other shapes, I am meandering around the neck a little but hopefully then end result has that Layla vibe. All a bit slow and ponderous but its foundation lay(la)ing.

And the title? I looked up the definition of Layla, curious of its origins and its apparently Night or Dark in Arabic.

Finally, I was going to make this another Madman’s Diary Chapter but there are other actors on the stage, with what’s been posted so far, I suspect others maybe intrigued and dusting down their EC mojo. So, let’s keep an open book for now and an open invitation.

BTW no processing on this. Dialled an Eric Clapton ES335 effect on the Mustang. Dumped the BT in Reaper using my core setup template, hit record in OBS and play in Reaper and let it cycle. This was loop 2 and decided it would do for demo purposes.

Enjoy.
:sunglasses:

Backing Track Dm Bb C Dm (Am C) From Now YOU Shred

9 Likes

Nice picking and tone Toby. Enjoyed this a bunch. You, David and Gordon should get together in a collab. :+1:

Good one Toby. Nice use of the fret board I even detected you throwing a motif in there

Yeah we could form a Cream cover band :rofl: but the way my hairs growing I’d have to be Ginger !! Thanks for the comments, hopefully more to come.
:sunglasses:

Cheers Rick.

You may have noticed I was off down to the 3rd fret, as I’d been throwing in the low end as well but bottled it at the last moment. Yeh the odd motifs I worked out in my head during the prep stage. Missed out the 5 b7 double stops though but I’ll save them for next time ! And I froze on the way to the final tonic. :scream: Thanks for all the guidance and support as always. Now back to Warren…
:sunglasses:

1 Like

You continue to learn, polish skills and be an all round cool music making dude Toby Jenner.

PS The neck of your guitar is crying out for your headless Cherry fixer luthier. I thought the bends were meant to be strings only :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

Hoho seems one of the webcams is having a mini fishbowl moment. Honest all is well with the Strat. Maggie I am just having fun and sharing the love while I can. So much to learn but happy to cause distractions from things outside the forum.
:sunglasses:

1 Like

sounds good but who the hell are sairfingers, DavidP, stitch, David and Gordon? :laughing::laughing::laughing: