Vintage Club #3 with Richard | Melody

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Tag using the @ function to Richard_close2u @Richard_close2u if you wish to ask a direct question or make a direct comment.

You can view the archive page and download all lesson notes and resources here:

If you make a recording please do share and post in this topic.
:slight_smile:

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Sorry I couldnā€™t make the 3rd session Richard, but I got good benefit from the first 2. Iā€™ll catch the 3rd when it comes out . Thanks for all your hard work on this :+1:

All notes, backing tracks etc. are now available to download for free on the archive page. See post 1.

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Thank you for your work on this Richard.

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Read through the notes this morning Richard. A comprehensive reflection of the session, so big thanks. :+1:

One question on the melody exercise, as I think I got a bit carried away jamming along at the end of the session. Is the suggestion to try and stick to the diagonal 3rd pairings when creating your own melodies AAā€™AB or can you move vertically and horizontal to link the pairs.
I know you kinda said just go for it, for the more advanced players but I thought Iā€™d check focusing on the 3rds was the main remit. Hope that makes sense.

Thx

:sunglasses:

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Music to my ears Toby! Metaphotically speaking. When you record your melody that will transform to become literal! :slight_smile:

The pairs are a road map to help navigate up and down the neck. Once you have good familiarity with the fret position on both strings, then of course you can burst out, slide around, use various techniques (hammer-on, flick-off, bending, legator sliding along one string etc.). You could even punctuate your melody with a tiny sprinkling of a double-stop 3rd for a little je ne sais qua (without playing too much in 3rds together as that would be akin to harmony, not melody).

Enjoy.

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Richard. Thank you so much for your work. Im going to work through this during Christmas.

Could I ask. Are melody,lick and riff all the same things?

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Peter

My take on this is
Riffs are rhythmic repetitive phrases that repeat throughout a song at key points, intro, verse links - Think Smoke On the Water
Licks - Short phrases that enhance support and punctuate the chord progression, supplement the melody, especially lyrics - call and answer. Licks can and are linked to create longer bridges and solos.
Melody - Most frequently the ā€œnote lineā€ that the lyrics follow and flow through the song parts - Verse Chorus etc. I am sure there is a better expression than ā€œnote lineā€ but struggling for the find one.

YMMV and just MHO.

Hope that helps.
:sunglasses:
Melody

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You read my my mind in respect of direction but wanted to confirm there were no specific restraints ala those old ring fenced Mode exercises. Hoping this can sprinkle some life into the PMT ā€œwork in progressā€ piece and spice up the 1/4 notes. But Iā€™ll map this out as a starter. Thx. :sunglasses:

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Thank you so much for the great material, Richard :sunflower:

The comprehensive notes and backing tracks are very helpful, and Iā€™m happy to work through all this exciting stuff in my own pace once again.
There have been many lightbulb-moments for me.
However ā€¦ when Iā€™m practicing these note pairs on the two thinnest strings I always end up with the lead lines of ā€œMargaritavilleā€ :grin:

The live classes are such an awesome project! :smiley: :+1:

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This was discussed recently Peter so I wonā€™t veer too far off topic. RE: the lick challenge - what is the difference between a lick and a riff?

Discussion of melody wasnā€™t included however.

The melody work I have given here over eight bars could be the springboard for a guitar solo or a vocal melody such as might fit a verse or chorus. Or it might simply be an instrumental stand alone piece.
A lyric to a song is definitely sung with melody and that is repeated throughout. The verses tend to have the same melody - perhaps little variations as the lyric-story and song develop. The chorus contains the same melody and is the ā€˜hookā€™ (think of the Chris de Burgh song again ā€¦ no lyric in most of the chorus but a catchy melody ā€¦

laa - lala - laa - lala - laa - lala - laa

A guitar solo / lead guitar part can also been thought of as being played melodically. George Harrisonā€™s solos in The Beatles re renowned for their melodic quality - so melodic you could whistle many of them.
Not all solos are melodic or contain melodic sections. Some contain melodic phrases mixed in with free form improvised parts. Here is a small excerpt from a much larger solo. The structure of this melodic excerpt could be described as [ A ] [ A ] [ Aā€™ ] [ B ]

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Gunhild
@Gunhild
I thought the same as you I can play the riff from Margaritaville with these pairs of notes.
Also not quite but the intro riff for Brown Eyed Girl uses similar pairs of notes.
Michael

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The live classes are a great idea and will hopefully be continued in 2024!
One question: is there a certain expression in music theory for those note pairs? I always find it helpful to class information in relevant context.
Sorry, if this has been mentioned during the session, but I missed your whole introduction and the last part due to connectivity problems.

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Brilliant that clears a lot up.
I try to whistle my solos-you can tell Im a beatles fan! and I find it works in call and response for blues.

Learning so much today. Its really enjoyable

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Thanks Toby. Yes,its falling into place.

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Andrea

The pairs are called Thirds. For an in depth exploration take a look at Richardā€™s thread on the topic, which he migrated across from the old forum.

3rds & Thirds

:sunglasses:

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Thanks Toby! I really have to catch up on theory Grade 3, when life is a little less rough again than this year :roll_eyes:. At least, I know now what needs to be learned :wink:. :hibiscus:!

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Listen to Vintage Club 1.mp3 by Geoff-M on #SoundCloud

Quick go, recording using. Tablet computer in front of amplifierā€¦ Hope I had the right ideaā€¦?

@richard_close2u

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Andrea, I did consciously avoid terminoligy hoping that it would free people up to play, explore and create unencumbered. I was asked in Q&A at the end of the session so added it to the final page of the downloadable notes also.
As Toby has said, they are 3rds. :slight_smile:

@Gunhild and @MAT1953

Brown Eyed Girl and Margaritaville both use 3rds in their intro / lead lines. :slight_smile:

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@GeoffMolyneux You get a special Santa gift this year for being the first person to share a recording.

One sliggtly pedantic point that I do not want to give you any cause for concern or worry. I did show the notes as pais so this is all down to my lack of clarity in exllaing. I should have demonstrated more examlles. You were playing the 3rds as double stop pairs = harmony. The concept I wanted people to take away as an exercise in melody was for single note playing. Single notes = melody.
Listen to the four examples I have shared as audio files and follow the tab too - all single notes.
Thanks for getting the ball rolling!
:slight_smile:

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