OK so hopefully some of you will have seen Mr Preece’s 3-2-1 Loodle post recently and the practice of focused improvisation using only 3 notes, 2 chords and 1 bend. Well this is my attempt.
There has been a sidebar, off piste chat, between @stitch @DavidP @sairfingers and myself for a number of months now (to be honest I can’t remember when it started) but it was around the time David and Gordon started some Blues Impro. Rick had helped me no end over the years, so the idea was to pass on my some of my limited experience while drawing down on Rick’s expertise of many decades ! There has been a few projects and challenges borne of those first discussions and this is the latest gauntlet that Rick thrown at our feet. Naturally we rose to the occasion.
Like David, I have included a link to the Active Melody video Rick shared with us, in case anyone else fancies a nibble. As David said you are limited to just 3 fretted notes and 1 bend, using a backing track with just 2 chords. I have added a fretboard diagram showing the positions used in this exercise, which like David is over a A minor Backing Track but I have shown the notes as intervals, so you could move this to a different key (eg drop 2 frets and use a G minor BT). The bent note is the 4th interval, in this case D bending a full tone to the 5th interval E.
So the initial exercise is to improvise in the position shown above but then move around the neck using different scale patterns, once you get used to the constraints of the exercise.
With my moto of why reinvent the wheel, I popped over to YouTube and got hold of 6 backing tracks, with just Am and D7 (or subtle derivatives). Chopped them up into suitable lengths, from 11 minute jams to AOVYP friendly.
So here is The Madmans’ SoulFunk Boogie in A minor (A 3 2 1 Production)
Comments, feedback, critique most welcome. If anyone else is interested in trying this and would like some ready made backing tracks (BPM 96 to 120) I can share them from my Cloud.
Cheers
Toby
Original Backing Track Courtesy of BassLog
