ripock
Well-known member
I practiced clawhammer on my kamaka today. I also practiced all the essential chords (maj, min, dom7, min dom7). I have been getting sloppy and playing without the strap and the different angles are still a shock. I need to do myself a favor and quit playing on my lap. It just sets up bad expectations if not bad habits.
I also re-did my blue mode cheat sheet. Previously I had only earmarked the roots. Now I have each degree marked as well. My thinking was this: why only switch modes at the root? Now I can go from mode to mode...at least, I think I can. E.g., If I play, from the G string, a supertonic shape, when I get to the C string I am on the 4th degree of the mode. Now, instead of finishing that supertonic shape, I can immediately start, from the C string, a dominant shape, which begins on the 4th degree. I briefly experimented with this and there is the problem of getting watered-down. All the modes contain the same notes, so they all sound appropriate musically. There are no sour notes, but it tends to sound diluted or purposeless. I think the solution is in some degree speed and phrasing. If you do it fast enough, it just sounds like a riff. And if I keep the root in mind, I can punctuate the phrase even though I have moved from mode to mode. Okay, that probably is something for the future. At this point I have to learn to walk before I can run. Even though I have the capability to formulate longer phrases, I probably stick to getiing better at root note changes and then build my way up
I also re-did my blue mode cheat sheet. Previously I had only earmarked the roots. Now I have each degree marked as well. My thinking was this: why only switch modes at the root? Now I can go from mode to mode...at least, I think I can. E.g., If I play, from the G string, a supertonic shape, when I get to the C string I am on the 4th degree of the mode. Now, instead of finishing that supertonic shape, I can immediately start, from the C string, a dominant shape, which begins on the 4th degree. I briefly experimented with this and there is the problem of getting watered-down. All the modes contain the same notes, so they all sound appropriate musically. There are no sour notes, but it tends to sound diluted or purposeless. I think the solution is in some degree speed and phrasing. If you do it fast enough, it just sounds like a riff. And if I keep the root in mind, I can punctuate the phrase even though I have moved from mode to mode. Okay, that probably is something for the future. At this point I have to learn to walk before I can run. Even though I have the capability to formulate longer phrases, I probably stick to getiing better at root note changes and then build my way up