I have started learning the string bending technique - and a lick or two

[DavidP]

@DavidP

And I do think this Category may fit better in the Community Hub, than in Social. @Richard_close2u , I made this suggestion before but don’t recall seeing a response?

Thanks Richard

[firstrazor]

David, I enjoy looking at you enjoying the practice of licks and bendings and legatos. I can even see some John Mayer like facial expressions when you do bending

I am starting “one day one lick” from this new year’s day, just restarted with the same pattern one licks you did. Maybe I should also open a road case. Sharing Personal Cloud files seems to be a good idea, because my guitar play is mostly over dubbed on origin song, which is always rejected by YouTube.

[Mari63]

@DavidP

So a small part of me wants to start a trend. So if you are working on something where such videos would be appropriate, please do share.

I was thinking that it would be helpful to me to post my progress and get feedback rather than learn in a vacuum on my own. The ‘issue’ is demonstrated by my frequent response when I go to the door to pick up an Amazon delivery during these Covid days (or a pizza delivery!) - crap, I forgot to put my good sweatpants on! Audio may therefore work better for me lol

@DavidP

Do you think I did better than in the first video?

I listened through again to both and honestly it’s hard for me to make a comparison like that in the absence of a chordal background to hear the music in. That’s why I find it helpful to both practice over a backing track when I’m doing intentional practice and not just noodling

[Mari63]

@DavidP

My aspiration is to be able to not just have some noodling fun, but also to sound bluesy. Hence I made my choice. This following on from the Simple Blues Lead study

I went and listened to that and thought it was a great beginning. For me I think I will use that format for ‘episodes’ in my Learning Log, (not the cool multiple guitar shots, that looks too tricky for me right now)

[DavidP]

@firstrazor

@firstrazor

David, I enjoy looking at you enjoying the practice of licks and bendings and legatos. I can even see some John Mayer like facial expressions when you do bending

Thanks Mark. Guess the facial expressions are more sign of concentration than emotional connection.

@firstrazor

Maybe I should also open a road case. Sharing Personal Cloud files

I created a Google account just to have a Google Drive repository to share files for the Community. Easy to upload from my phone and paste in links.

I hope you will do that and create a LL or WAYL topic to share progress

[DavidP]

@mari

@mari

crap, I forgot to put my good sweatpants on! Audio may therefore work better for me lol

sure your ‘bad’ sweatpants are just fine. I assume you have sweatpants on

I hate it when they arrive and start honking, while I’m running around to find keys and put a shirt on (SA summer is topless for me and no shirt worse than bad pants)

Anyhow you have time to get suitably dressed before making the video. As you can see I had time to put a shirt on

@mari

honestly it’s hard for me to make a comparison

For this it’s just about getting the bends closer to pitch more frequently. And I’m not into measurement enough to count the number of bends made and assess the quality to track progress.

@mari

For me I think I will use that format for ‘episodes’ in my Learning Log, (not the cool multiple guitar shots, that looks too tricky for me right now)

I look forward to it.

The lead video with the closeup inset was easy to do in OBS, provided you have two cameras. In my case a webcam and phone. Two phones would also work.

Trickiest part in the rest is syncing the clips. My video editor has a feature that automates that.

But not an issue if playing over a BT. Then the OBS with two cameras is easy and cool.

[TheMadman_tobyjenner]

@DavidP

I do try this. But public confession … my ear still needs significant schooling. To me even when a tuner or meter says the tones are matching, they still don’t sound the same to me. I think I am getting better in this, but would benefit from deliberate practice to train my ear.

There are some “exercises” you can do to get that target note ingrained before you bend. Again best with a backing track. Say you are bending C to D. e string 8th fret. To the BT beat try and fret each note for a couple of bars, C D C D C D C D etc, then slide from C to D for a couple bars. Then go back to fret each for another few bars. Working on listening to the D, so its not just one instant of the note before you bend. Get comfortable with that D or which ever note you are bending to (same exercise) then go for it and use your ears and feel it as well. Just a thought from a lesson I found elsewhere

[stitch]

@DavidP one of the best songs to practice bending is Wonderful Tonight by Clapton
Justin shows how to do the into on an acoustic but doesn’t teach it.
It’s not hard to play so transcribing it yourself will get the bends down faster than learning it
off a youtube lesson.
Give it a go.

I just watched you video again and noticed your not using your wrist and hand to do the full bends.

String Bending Technique

[sairfingers]

@DavidP @mari
I’ve only recently started with the improv stuff so I’m not in a position to offer advice. What I can say though is that I find both major scale maestro lessons and the blues improv lessons dovetail very well. The same techniques apply.

I know one minor pentatonic pattern, one major pentatonic pattern and one major scale pattern. At the moment that’s plenty.

[DavidP]

@TheMadman_tobyjenner

@TheMadman_tobyjenner

fret each note for a couple of bars, C D C D C D C D etc, then slide from C to D for a couple bars. Then go back to fret each for another few bars. Working on listening to the D, so its not just one instant of the note before you bend. Get comfortable with that D

Thanks Toby, I’ll give this a try, makes sense.

@stitch

@stitch

one of the best songs to practice bending is Wonderful Tonight by Clapton
Justin shows how to do the into on an acoustic but doesn’t teach it.
It’s not hard to play so transcribing it yourself will get the bends down faster than learning it
off a youtube lesson.
Give it a go.

Not hard is perhaps relative, and I confess feel a little anxious about transcribing. That said, it is a good idea and I’ll give it a go.

@stitch

noticed your not using your wrist and hand

Thanks Stitch, will pay more attention to this.

[sairfingers]

@DavidP @mari
Following on from my attempt at Four Strong Winds, I’ve been looking again at the YouTube video of Neil Young and Willie Nelson playing it.

It’s in the key of C and Willie is improvising over it. I’ve been trying to do the same, playing along to the video using C major pent scale and A minor pent notes. Good fun!
Here’s the link. You can fast forward and miss out the intro blurb.
https://youtu.be/yIQu_MVZcas

Addendum: I don’t know anything about harmonica playing, but it strikes me that the harmonica improvs are played using the same technique.

[Mari63]

Thanks Gordon, I will check that out. I’ve tried a few times to solo over easy-ish songs with fairly typical chord progressions but it’s never worked and I go have to jam tracks or my looper pedals. Hopefully this one helps!

[DavidP]

@sairfingers

Thanks for sharing the link, Gordon. What a treat. I do love a performance on stage that is essentially campfire strum a dum dum. It demonstrates that good music doesn’t need to be flash and fast, full of effects, a glitz and glam show.

YT served me up Sugar Mountain next from that show, which is one of my favourites.

As for Willie, he looks a little about how I feel when playing with someone or trying to solo … a little like a rabbit caught in a bright light.

But that brings me back to the point you’ve raised, with @mari joining in … improvising or playing a solo. My 2 (South African) cents …

I think you can go a long way by accenting chord tones as you follow the harmony. If the notes that you end phrases on are chord tones I think it will sound good. If the notes played in a phrase also follow the melody then even better. And the timing and feel of the solo to be at one with the song. Note length and rests being something to be mindful of.

All easier said than done. I guess this is why transcribing is given so much importance by Justin (and others here in the Community). Training the ear to hear and be able to reproduce what you hear on the guitar, eventually to hear melody and harmony in your mind and produce that on the instrument. I went to have breakfast midway through Four Strong Winds, humming the melody (well I think so). The next step would be to sit with my guitar and transcribe that.

Your discussion here has reminded me of one of @Richard_close2u expositions that was created after @batwoman shared this lesson in improvisation taught by Chet Atkins. It was shared in stages with much discussion in between, as is the way of Richard’s teaching, which led me to produce this consolidation. Perhaps worthwhile to go back to the lesson, refresh on the concepts, and maybe do something similar in the key of G?

Now I do love discussion, and am delighted that my Topic focused on my efforts to develop my bending and first foray into learning some basic blues licks, has led to a more general conversation. I’m now just wondering if it isn’t worth taking this conversation to it’s own Topic focused on improvisation? May be something of more general interest to folk here that will be missed because it is hidden in this Topic which frankly may only be being read by people who know me and thus have some interest in what I am doing?

What do you think?

[sairfingers]

@DavidP

I’m now just wondering if it isn’t worth taking this conversation to it’s own Topic focused on improvisation? May be something of more general interest to folk here that will be missed because it is hidden in this Topic which frankly may only be being read by people who know me and thus have some interest in what I am doing?

What do you think?

Difficult one David, we’ve talked about this before. Getting the balance between too many Topics and too few.

I’m having difficulty keeping up with all that’s going on here and am currently only looking at AVoYP and posts from the people I know and whose progress/views interest me.

[Mari63]

@DavidP

I’m now just wondering if it isn’t worth taking this conversation to it’s own Topic focused on improvisation?

I agree with Gordon that there is a lot going on and it’s difficult to keep up, but improvisation is a big interest for me so I will continue to follow this topic or will bookmark any topic it spins off into. You (we) might get more input in a separate topic. That said I’m back to work Monday after a lovely 3 weeks off so my free time and is about to plummet.

[DavidP]

@mari

That said I’m back to work Monday after a lovely 3 weeks off so my free time and is about to plummet

Sadly the same goes for me

[Mari63]

I can’t bring myself to put a ‘like’ on that post David!

[DavidP]

Four weeks since I shared the last practice video. Since then I’ve had to go back to work, which has had some impact on my practice, reducing frequency and duration of sessions.

But on the upside, I restrung my guitar with 9s.

I also picked up a fantastic tip from @Richard_close2u (one of our Mods, a fine musician, and guitar teacher in his own right) to use the Smoke on the Water riff to provide a more musical context to aid bending to pitch … or in my case, closer to pitch. It is astonishing how it changes how one hears the whole step bend from the second to the third note.

Now, does anybody else have some all time classic riffs or melodies that are deeply ingrained that could be used in a similar way?

Here’s a snapshot. It’s a little long so you may want to skip ahead and just sample this. Maybe you want to skip the whole thing

I so wish I didn’t stick my tongue out the way I do … this emoji is clearly mine

Apart from being a long way from being able to use this freely, still early days, I am wondering about my hand action, if maybe I am still pushing too much with the fingers, not relying enough on the rotating hand?

@TheMadman_tobyjenner this is not one I’d nudge anyone to watch but if you are suckered in, then check out 4’20"

Bending and Lick Practice wk 7

[TheMadman_tobyjenner]

Bookmarked for post dog walk, before I start my morning practice.

[DavidP]

@TheMadman_tobyjenner

before I start my morning practice.

I’d suggest keep it bookmarked for after dog walking AND morning practice